Vance says Musk making huge mistake in going after Trump
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Take your experience further with Premium access. Thought-provoking Opinions, Expert Analysis, In-depth Insights and other Member Only BenefitsVice President JD Vance said Elon Musk was making a “huge mistake” going after President Donald Trump in a storm of bitter and inflammatory social media posts after a falling out between the two men.
But the vice president, in an interview released on Friday after the very public blow up between the world’s richest man and arguably the world’s most powerful, also tried to downplay Musk’s blistering attacks as an “emotional guy” who got frustrated.
“I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear,” Vance said.
Vance’s comments come as other Republicans in recent days have urged the two men, who months ago were close allies spending significant time together, to mend fences.
Musk’s torrent of social media posts attacking Trump came as the president portrayed him as disgruntled and “crazy” and threatened to cut the government contracts held by his businesses.
Musk, who runs electric vehicle maker Tesla, internet company Starlink and rocket company SpaceX, lambasted Trump’s centrepiece tax cuts and spending bill but also suggested Trump should be impeached and claimed without evidence that the government was concealing information about the president’s association with infamous paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
“Look, it happens to everybody,” Vance said in the interview. “I’ve flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours.”
US Prez warns of serious consequences
Donald Trump said there would be “serious consequence” if Elon Musk funds US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the president's sweeping tax-cut and spending bill and said his relationship with his billionaire donor is over. In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to say what those consequences would be, and went on to add that he had not had discussions about whether to investigate Musk.