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Donald Trump, sounding like a glorified mob boss, warned Elon Musk -- the world's richest human -- of "very serious consequences" over the weekend if he financially supports Democrats in the wake of a highly publicized falling out with the president. Taking the feud a step further, Trump made it sound as if his relationship with Musk is over. If that is the case, why should Musk give two hoots what Trump thinks about any political leanings he might assume and any money he might put behind them? How would that be any of Trump's business? The answer? It isn't. But all Americans -- especially the MAGAs who provided the votes that put Trump in the White House -- should be alarmed by a president who would stoop so low as to threaten anyone, whether he is a billionaire like Musk or not. The Guardian has the latest under the headline "Trump warns Musk of ‘very serious consequences’ if he backs Democrats; US president says he’s ‘too busy doing other things’ to try to reconcile with the erstwhile ally and campaign backer. Edward Helmore reports:
Donald Trump warned Elon Musk on Saturday that he faces “very serious consequences” if he funds Democratic candidates following the pair’s epic public bust-up this week.
The warning, delivered in an interview with NBC News that was broadcast on Sunday, follows days of feuding and threats after Musk called Republicans’ budget legislation an “abomination.”
Trump told interviewer Kristen Welker his relationship with the tech mogul was over and warned Musk against choosing to fund Democrats after spending close to $300 million in support of Trump’s re-election last year. “If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” he added.
Trump was also asked whether he had any wish to repair his relationship with Musk. “No,” he said. Asked whether he thought their relationship was over, he said: “I would assume so, yeah,” and said he had no plans to speak with his erstwhile sidekick.
“I’m too busy doing other things,” Trump said, adding: “I have no intention of speaking to him.”
If Trump is too busy doing other things, how would he find time to inflict "serious consequences" on Musk for choosing to support Democrats? Does any law give Trump the authority to determine how Musk, or any American, chooses to spend his money -- politically or otherwise? My research, so far, has not turned up such a law. Does that mean Trump would be wise to keep his nose out of Musk's business? Probably so.
If I were Musk, I would consider sending a letter to Trump and the GOP, demanding they refund the $300 million I spent to get Trump and other Republicans elected. If the refund was not forthcoming in a timely fashion, I would consult a lawyer about the possibility of suing for the money -- complete with a full-scale discovery effort to uncover every fact and document that would be relevant to our case. It's a safe bet, I'm guessing, that Musk would have no problem finding a lawyer to take his case -- and his money. Trump did his best to downplay the impact of the spat with Musk, Helmore writes:
[Trump claimed] the feud had helped to unify the Republican party around him, saying the “party has never been united like this before. It’s never been. It’s actually more so than it was three days ago.”
Musk’s opposition to the Republican budget bill, formally the “one big beautiful bill act”, would not, he predicted, affect its passage through Congress. The bill narrowly passed the House and is now under consideration in the Senate. However, some conservative Republicans share Musk’s concerns about the need for significant spending cuts and are considering making changes.
The bill extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and includes new spending for border security and the military. Some Republicans aim to offset these costs with cuts to programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and green-energy tax credits.
Projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and independent analysts indicate the bill would add between $2.3 and $5 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years. White House officials contend that the economic growth generated by tax cuts will offset the increased spending.
Still, Trump told NBC he is “very confident” that the bill will pass the Senate before July 4.
“I think, actually, Elon brought out the strengths of the bill because people that weren’t as focused started focusing on it, and they see how good it is,” Trump said. “So in that sense, there was a big favor. But I think Elon, really, I think it’s a shame that he’s so depressed and so heartbroken.”
Earlier, Musk deleted a post from X, the social-media platform he owns, that asserted links between Trump and disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein.
[Trump] also accused Musk of being “disrespectful to the office of the president”.
“I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You should not disrespect the office of the president,” he said.
Everything I've seen that Musk has said or written in recent days has nothing to do with showing disrespect for the office of president; it's about him having little respect for the current holder of the office. From The Guardian report:
Questioned about the inflammatory post, Trump said: “That’s called ‘old news’, that’s been old news, that has been talked about for years. Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It’s old news.”
Musk has also retracted a threat to begin “decommissioning” SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft used by NASA to ferry astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station.
The original threat came after Trump suggested he might cancel SpaceX’s federal contracts. On Saturday, the president said he hadn’t given the subject any more thought.
“I’d be allowed to do that,” he said, “but I haven’t given it any thought.”
Earlier on Saturday, JD Vance told interviewer and comedian Theo Von that Musk was making a “huge mistake” going after Trump, but downplayed Musk’s attacks as being made by 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,” the vice president said.
But he added: “Look, it happens to everybody. I’ve flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours.”
“I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine,” Vance said.
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