"Proud to stand beside him": JD Vance backs Donald Trump amid controversy

Washington DC [US], June 6 (ANI): US Vice President JD Vance has extended support to US President Donald Trump amid the public breakdown.

In a post on X on Friday, Vance said, "President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I'm proud to stand beside him."

This comes after an online feud in which American business tycoon Elon Musk called US President Donald Trump out for ingratitude as the two disagreed on the latest US bill.

Musk's dramatic meltdown came at a pivotal moment for Trump's self-described "big, beautiful bill," which encompasses sweeping tax reductions and expanded military expenditures.

The two took to their respective social media platforms to spew sharp criticism and allegations against each other, waging a war of words between the two most prominent personalities in the world.

The feud reached its peak when Musk made explosive allegations about Trump's connection to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, marking a dramatic escalation in their increasingly personal conflict. The feud between the two men got nastier, less than a week after Musk officially left his position spearheading the quasi-official Department of Government Efficiency.

When Trump was asked about Musk's criticism of his signature budget legislation, he said, "Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will any more," Trump told reporters, his disappointment evident.

The president expressed his frustration more directly, saying, "I'm very disappointed in Elon. He knew every aspect of this bill--better than almost anybody--and he never had a problem until right after he left."

Trump continued his criticism, adding: "He said the most beautiful things about me, and he hasn't said bad about me personally, but I'm sure that'll be next, but I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot."

Musk's response on X was swift and defiant, flatly contradicting the president's account. "False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!" he wrote, before escalating the personal attack by claiming that without him Trump would have "lost the election" and bemoaning what he called "such ingratitude".

But Thursday brought a far more acrimonious and personal tone to the exchanges when Musk launched his most damaging attack yet. In a jaw-dropping social media post, Musk alleged that Trump's name "is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public."

The tech billionaire amplified his attack by reminding his 220 million followers of Trump's quote about Epstein from a New York magazine profile more than two decades ago: "He's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side." Musk concluded his post with a gleeful taunt: "Have a nice day, DJT!" and suggested marking the post "for the future. The truth will come out."

The exchange rapidly devolved into a series of increasingly serious threats. Trump responded by threatening to terminate Musk's lucrative government subsidies and contracts, prompting the SpaceX boss to counter with his own nuclear option: potentially decommissioning the Dragon spacecraft that had recently rescued astronauts stranded on the International Space Station for months. However, better judgment prevailed after a user advised the two to take a step back.

As the feud intensified, Musk crossed into unprecedented territory by suggesting Trump should be impeached and that JD Vance should replace him as president. Right-wing influencer Ian Miles Cheong, who has 1.2 million followers on X, posted that "my money's on Elon" in the battle between Musk and Trump, asserting that "Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him." Less than 30 minutes later, Musk reposted Cheong's message, adding simply: "Yes."

Musk also warned that Trump's global tariffs would "cause a recession in the second half of this year" and launched an online poll asking whether a new political party should be formed, moves that are certain to enrage the president.

Trump also took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to fire a fresh salvo against Musk. In a post on Truth Social, he stated, "I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It's a Record Cut in Expenses, USD 1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn't pass, there will be a 68 per cent Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn't create this mess, I'm just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN." (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)