Trump and Musk’s public fallout sends shockwaves through the MAGA movement

The explosive feud between U.S. President Donald Trump and his until recently “First Buddy,” Elon Musk, sent shockwaves through the American right on Thursday, especially on the fringes of the MAGA movement, whose main leaders rallied around Trump. The demonstration of support was led by national populist ideologue Steve Bannon, who has clashed in the past with the world’s richest man. Bannon even suggested deporting Musk from the United States.

The dispute between Trump and Musk — which unfolded in real time on social media — came just six days after the president bid farewell to the businessman in a laudatory ceremony in the Oval Office, where Trump literally handed Musk the keys to the White House, where he had often spent the night. The public display of affection took place 130 days after Trump’s inauguration — the time limit set by law for special government employees, a category under which the White House had placed the South African-born magnate — when he agreed to take the helm of the public spending chainsaw known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

That appointment — which led to the dismissal of tens of thousands of federal workers and the end of several agencies — turned Musk into a villain for Democrats and a hero for the MAGA movement. But Musk’s honeymoon ended on Thursday, as the magnate lost tens of billions of dollars with each new insult and exposed himself to possible retaliation from the most vindictive occupant of the White House in recent memory.

When Musk announced his definitive farewell to Washington last week, he had already made public his disagreement with the “big, beautiful bill” that Republicans are trying to push through Congress under pressure from Trump and his allies, who see the initiative as a key part of their agenda. Since then, Musk has increasingly intensified his criticism of the measure, even going so far as to call it a “disgusting abomination” in a message on X, the social platform he owns.

It was a reporter’s question about those criticisms, posed during a joint appearance with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, that sparked the outbreak of hostilities on Thursday. Trump said he was “very surprised” and “disappointed” by Musk’s comments, arguing that Musk opposed the bill — which, according to the Congressional Budget Office, could add $2.4 trillion to the deficit — because it would negatively affect Tesla, his electric car business.

Escalation of personal attacks

This sparked a verbal and testosterone-fueled escalation: Musk accused Trump of lying, Trump threatened to cut “Elon’s government subsidies and contracts” and Musk boasted of having helped Trump win the elections: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate [instead of the current 53-47]. Such ingratitude,” he posted on X.

When Trump said that he asked Musk to resign, arguing the businessman was “wearing thin,” Musk — who had been attacking the “big, beautiful bill” all day on X — dropped a “really big bomb.” “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,” he posted.

And there, Musk hit a MAGA nerve. The “Epstein files” refers to the list of names written in a black notebook by millionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who, according to police, died by suicide in a New York jail while awaiting trial for child sex trafficking — crimes that allegedly implicated some very powerful men. The conspiratorial far right in the U.S. has spun a wide range of falsehoods around that list and the supposed reasons why authorities refuse to make it public. So seeing it used against their leader was a plot twist few expected — even though there are photos and videos of Trump with Epstein together from the time when they knew each other.

With Trump’s return to the White House, many believed the moment of truth had arrived, and Attorney General Pam Bondi overplayed her hand by inviting a dozen influencers to Washington, with whom she shared underwhelming information. The result was frustration among prominent MAGA figures, as the declassification of documents — most of which were already known — left them wanting more. Needless to say, the episode only fueled further conspiracy theories.

Baseless accusations

Musk, a well-known spreader of fake news, offered no evidence to support his claims, but predicted in another message that time would prove him right. By then, he had fully gone off the rails, just as the world looked on in disbelief at the barrage of cheap shots — like spectators at a bar brawl — and Tesla’s stock began to plummet (down 14%). A simple act, like reposting a message on X, was enough for his more than 220 million followers to assume he was calling for Trump’s removal.

The original post, by influencer Ian Miles Cheong, read: “President vs. Elon. Who wins? My money’s on Elon. Trump should be impeached and [Vice President] J. D. Vance should replace him.” In his retweet, Musk simply wrote “yes,” though it wasn’t entirely clear whether he was agreeing he would win — more likely — or with the call for impeachment. Either way, the message sparked a new conspiracy theory in MAGA circles: namely, that Silicon Valley is behind all of this in a plot to install their puppet, Vance, whose career began in the world of big tech, where he still maintains ties.

In his eagerness to have the last word, Musk launched a poll on X asking whether it was time to create a third political party — one separate from both Democrats and Republicans. He proposed a party that would represent the “80%” of the population who are in “the middle.” By 9:30 p.m. Washington time, the poll had garnered nearly 3.5 million votes, with eight out of 10 respondents in favor of creating such an alternative.

As Democrats — hungry for a boost after months of political stagnation — popped popcorn in the microwave, the memes exploded: “Who gets custody of [manosphere icon and podcast host] Joe Rogan?” one joked. Reuters published a photo of the Tesla Musk had sold to the president, still parked at the White House, and rapper Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) weighed in on the drama: “Broooos please noooooo. We love you both so much,” he posted on X, adding the emoji of two figures hugging.

Other prominent figures in the MAGA movement also jumped into the fray. Far-right influencer Laura Loomer came out in defense of Trump, while Charlie Kirk, a youth vote evangelist, praised the “blessing of having him as president.” Steve Bannon, for his part, told The New York Times that immigration authorities should investigate Musk’s status — despite the fact that he has been a U.S. citizen for over a decade. “I am of the strong belief,” Bannon said, “that he is an illegal alien and he should be deported.”

Both Bannon and Loomer had clashed publicly with the world’s richest man this past December over H-1B visas, which tech companies use to recruit talent — like Musk himself in the 1990s. The racist far-right sees such visas as something that should be restricted, arguing that the measure goes against the interests of U.S. workers and Trump’s anti-immigration crusade.

Trump, who had not yet returned to power, came to Musk’s defense. That was six months ago — though it feels like an eternity. Back then, Musk seemed untouchable, and the bond between these two larger-than-life men, each with an even larger ego, appeared unbreakable. Still, in Washington, there was widespread speculation about how long the relationship would last.

On Thursday, the answer arrived: exactly 136 days. That’s how long it took from Trump’s inauguration to the dramatic public fallout of this odd political couple.

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