WASHINGTON — President Trump played it cool Friday morning when discussing his feud with Elon Musk — turning a brief phone conversation with The Post toward his polling numbers and a better-than-expected May jobs report instead of directly addressing the strife with his former top ally.
“Nothing catches me by surprise. Nothing,” the president said of the personal attacks launched at him Thursday by the former Department of Government Efficiency leader.
“The numbers are through the roof, the stock market is up, billions are pouring in from tariffs, and my poll numbers are the highest they’ve ever been. Other than that, what can I tell you, right?” Trump went on in a cheerful tone.
The public blow-up between Musk and the president stemmed from the former’s complaints about the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is projected to add approximately $3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next 10 years.
“He knew the bill as well as anybody,” the president said of the world’s richest man when asked if the two had ever had it out over the legislation.
“The bill is great. It’s going to pass, but the bill is great, and it’s going be great for everybody, including him. And you see it now. And take a look at what happened today with the job numbers. They’re through the roof, and the stock market’s up already 600 points.
“This is what I do for a living, OK?”
A senior House GOP aide who’d been in contact with the White House said Friday the administration hasn’t given Congress any direction on how to handle the delicate situation.
“The White House hasn’t asked us to take any shots at Musk or to defend Trump — ‘Go after Elon, he’s a traitor,’” this person said, noting that the president’s staff prefers “to take control of the rhythm.”
“We revolve around Trump.”
The Republican staffer went on to note that Musk’s departure from government service May 30 followed a disappointing earnings call with Tesla shareholders and fire-bombings of the electric cars that appeared to leave him “genuinely shaken” — as well as a failed effort to cut more than $1 trillion in spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“There’s a faction of Congress that’s totally opposed to DOGE, and I don’t think he fully realized that,” this person explained.
Additionally, Trump’s last-minute withdrawal of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to lead NASA appeared to be the inciting event for the tech billionaire to come out against the president’s “big beautiful bill.”
That led to Musk lashing out at the president’s “ingratitude,” suggesting he should be impeached and claiming Trump was personally delaying the release of the Justice Department’s evidence on the infamous sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein because it would implicate him.
“Musk has no knowledge of the Epstein files,” the aide pointed out, describing the richest man in the world as “very mercurial and scattered but also brilliant.”
The House aide added that there has since been no “hemorrhaging of the determination to do the bill” and “no uptick in callers” to congressional offices calling for a detente between the president and Musk.
“We all assume it could come to a speedy truce faster than any politician could get involved in it,” they said.
One issue that could linger will be fundraising if the Tesla and SpaceX mogul refuses to throw his weight behind Republican candidates in next year’s midterms.
Musk donated $289,100 to the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s main campaign arm, in August 2024.
“If that goes to zero, Republicans in the House are going to feel the brunt before Trump does,” the source said. “It’s like losing ten [George] Soroses. How would that feel?”
