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Trump is 'going to forgive' Elon Musk, but key aide adds caveat to patch-up talk
Howard Lutnick was also asked about Musk's views being relatively in favour of the H1-B work visa, even as Trump has moved to curb the programme
One of Donald Trump's closest aides and US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick was asked on Sunday if the President would make up with his ex-best friend, billionaire Elon Musk.
“He's a very kind person, so he's going to forgive Elon. Will he forget? No, he doesn't forget,” Lutnick said, responding to question about Trump and Musk's brief at far-right activist Charlie Kirk's memorial recently. He was speaking an interview with the US channel News Nation.
Lutnick was also asked about Musk's views being relatively in favour of the H1-B work visa — by which mostly Indian techies come to the US — even as the Trump administration has moved to curb the programme with a $100,000 fee and stricter rules.
The secretary reiterated the logic given for the curbs: “I think we should only give jobs highly skilled jobs to the most highly skilled people… The idea of having tech consultants and trainees who are inexpensive should be eliminated. I have a strong opinion. I think the President is right with me on those same topics."
He then moved to Musk, and Trump's approach to friendship in general: “I think Donald Trump is a really kind person. The media just don't see him, but I've been friends with President Trump for over 30 years… So he's going to be kind and he's going to be warm, as he is as a person, but do I think it's going to go back to being lovey-dovey? No. I think Elon Musk had really earned the president's friendship and admiration."
He added, “Then in his departure, he expressed a part of himself that was very negative, and I don't think the President's going to forget that negativity.”
Since their very public fallout, Musk and Trump were not seen together in public before the funeral in Arizona.
From being Trump's “First Buddy” to falling out with him over government financial plans, or Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill’, their relationship has come a long way.
But a moment at Charlie Kirk's funeral suggested that all might not be sour between Musk and Trump. The official broadcast of the event showed them sitting together and interacting.
This meeting came amidst Trump's decision to make H-1B visas harder to get. Musk has been a vocal supporter of the H-1B visa, given that his companies have a significant number of employees on H-1B visa. But he has kept quiet on Trump's decision so far.
