Donald Trump and Elon Musk have been embroiled in an internet slanging match this evening, during which the President was accused of having a criminal affiliation with deceased convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
Despite tech boss Musk previously having supported the US president's controversial campaigns and hotly-debated executive orders since his return to the White House, the former political pals appear to have turned on one another in recent weeks.
Their 'break up'
Last month, Musk announced that he'd resigned from the role of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-lead - a 'special government employee' position Trump bestowed upon him following his inauguration in January, that can only last 130 days.
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"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," he wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) at the time.
"The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."
In the days prior to his departure, the Tesla CEO began making a number of pointed remarks about Trump's finances - specifically, criticising the right-wing leader for a 'big beautiful bill' he'd been backing, that would increase the deficit by $3.8 trillion by 2034.
"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," he told CBS last week.
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"I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. My personal opinion."
Since then, however, it appears that any trace of amicability between the powerful pair has dissolved completely, and earlier this week, the duo began insulting one another in the public arena.
Shots fired
The most heated rant appears to have kicked off with Musk once again airing his views on his Trump's dubious money matters, tweeting on Tuesday (4 Jun): "I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.
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"Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it."
In response, Trump told attendees at the Oval Office today (5 Jun): "Look, you know, I've always liked Elon, and it's always very surprised you saw the words he had for me, the words and he hasn't said anything about me."
He added: "But I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here."
Musk later responded in a tweet that reads: "False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!"
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Criminal allegations
Perhaps the most scandalous of all the latest accusations, however, was one made by the South African businessman earlier this evening, claiming that Trump's relationship with deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was deeper than the public might have perceived.
"Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public," he wrote online. "Have a nice day, DJT!"
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The Epstein files are documents, videos, and investigative materials related to the former media mogul's heinous abuse crimes, which have fuelled conspiracy theories surrounding possible political influence for several years.
It should be noted that Trump being named in these documents does not imply wrongdoing, and there were no allegations made against the President.
Seemingly in response to the shock claim, Trump then fired another message in the father-of-13's direction, writing on Truth Social of his departure from the DOGE position: "Elon was 'wearing thin', I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!"
Sharing the post on X, Musk captioned it: "Such an obvious lie. So sad."
Seemingly ignoring the startling allegations regarding his relationship with Epstein - who committed suicide in prison in 2019 - Trump went on to turn the conversation back to finances.
"I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago," he wrote in another Truth Social post. "This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given.
"If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT.
"This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, US News, Politics, News
Rhianna Benson