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Hours after fiery exchange with Elon Musk, Donald Trump softens tone: 'Oh, it’s okay'
According to POLITICO, White House aides have scheduled a call on Friday with the billionaire Tesla CEO to broker peace.
Hours after a fiery public exchange between US President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, signs of a truce between the two of the world's most powerful men are emerging.
According to POLITICO, White House aides have scheduled a call on Friday with the billionaire Tesla CEO to broker a peace.
They are also attempting to convince the president to soften his public criticism of Musk to prevent any further escalation.
When asked about the public exchange with one of his strongest backers, Trump told POLITICO, "Oh, it’s okay.”
Donald Trump vs Elon Musk
The exchange between Trump and Musk began after the US President, in a televised Oval Office, said that he was "very disappointed" after his former aide and top donor criticised his "big, beautiful" spending bill before Congress.
Also Read | Trump-Musk fallout: How it will impact the president and the tycoon
“I’m very disappointed in Elon," Donald Trump said. “I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Trump also suggested the world’s richest man misses being in the White House and has “Trump derangement syndrome", according to the Associated Press.
Also Read | How Donald Trump-Elon Musk tensions went from bad to worse in days: A blow-by-blow recap
The two then traded insults over social media, with Musk – who was Trump's biggest campaign donor to the tune of $300 million – claiming the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without his support.
Musk also, without proof, claimed that Trump was mentioned in government documents on disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On the other hand, Trump suggested Musk's multibillion-dollar government contracts, including for launching rockets and for the use of the Starlink satellite service, should be terminated to save money for the federal government.
Also Read | Tesla shares plummet 14% amid Elon Musk-Donald Trump feud, $153 billion lost. What's next?
"The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," Trump said on Truth Social.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told AFP that Musk's Epstein tweet "is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' because it does not include the policies he wanted."
