President Trump’s second term in office brought a lot of new characters and concerns to the table. We’ve had wars breaking out, alliances crumbling to pieces, and unrest in every crevice of America, but with all the bad came something no one anticipated: a bromance that reached heights that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley could only dream of. Trouble has struck paradise, however, as their bromance turned nuclear in an all out messy, public breakup.
Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in America, initially joined Trump in his campaign for presidency. The two grew even closer after the campaign with Musk going so far as to call himself “first buddy” and investing upwards of $200 million. Their relationship was shrouded in controversy, however, as Trump gifted Musk the position of senior advisor to POTUS and eventually the head of DOGE. Musk himself was the source of great dissension for the public as his position and qualifications were brought under fire. Adding gasoline to that, Musk’s speech at one of Trump’s inauguration celebrations ended with a memorable salute harkening back to the dark times of WWII.
Musk was always a contentious choice in the eyes of the public, but the President did not seem to mind until Musk turned on his “big, beautiful bill.” Musk left the White House at the end of May, and, according to Steve Bannon, it was not his choice. “Elon had asked for an extension or some sort of workaround to the limitation of his time. And it was denied. And the president said it was time to kind of move on.” This forced departure lit a fire under Musk because what followed was nothing short of a public tantrum. Musk posted on his socials, “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
As Musk’s threats rose, Trump took action against his ex-BFF, threatening his company if his “crazy” actions persisted. Musk went on to claim, “without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.” When asked for his stance on the blowout, President Trump stated that Musk was likely attacking the bill due to “the phase-out of the electric vehicle tax credit, which would likely have repercussions for Musk’s Tesla.”
Musk has since issued an apology statement on his social media, but the sincerity of the statement remains to be seen. All in all, the bromance between the wealthiest man and most powerful man in America seems to have come to a resounding end.