Simply final week, Elon Musk accused President Donald Trump of getting deep ties to infamous intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein. Now Musk is attempting to be associates once more.
After a spectacularly public breakup, the tech billionaire issued an early-morning semi-retraction, kind of apologizing for going scorched-earth on the president.
“I remorse a few of my posts about President Donald Trump final week,” Musk wrote. “They went too far.”
He didn’t say which posts crossed the road—and actually, there’s no scarcity of contenders.
As Trump threatened to strip Musk’s firms of their authorities contracts and subsidies, Musk fired again with a veiled menace that he’d outlast Trump politically, instructed the president needs to be impeached and changed by Vice President JD Vance, and warned that Trump’s tariffs would “trigger a recession within the second half of this 12 months,” and claimed, “With out me, Trump would have misplaced the election.”
Oh, and Musk additionally accused the Trump administration of masking up the information round Epstein with the intention to shield the president.
“[Trump] is within the Epstein information. That’s the actual purpose they haven’t been made public,” Musk posted. (That one’s since been deleted.)
Musk is clearly attempting to revive their once-close alliance. In latest days, he’s additionally shared Trump’s Fact Social posts in regards to the brutal immigration raids and subsequent protests in Los Angeles, and he’s even nodded alongside to a submit suggesting the 2 are “stronger collectively.”
Possibly Musk noticed the general public wasn’t precisely rallying to his aspect within the breakup. Maybe he realized he nonetheless desires these authorities contracts. Or perhaps the strain from Trump’s interior circle lastly obtained to him. Who is aware of.
What’s not clear is whether or not Trump desires him again.
On Friday, Trump principally dismissed the drama, telling CNN, “He’s obtained an issue. The poor man’s obtained an issue.” However by the point Musk’s retraction dropped, Trump’s tone had softened.
In a quick interview with the New York Publish on Wednesday, Trump mentioned he thought Musk’s apology was “very good.”
“I assumed it was very good that he did that,” he mentioned, although he dodged whether or not he was able to make up.
And in a beforehand recorded New York Publish podcast launched Wednesday, Trump mentioned he didn’t blame Musk for something however was “dissatisfied” in him.
Will Trump ever forgive Musk?
“I assume I might,” the president replied within the interview, although he shortly pivoted. “My sole perform now’s getting this nation again to a stage larger than it’s ever been.”
Trump additionally walked again earlier threats to yank Musk’s federal contracts or probe his immigration standing—assaults egged on by Steve Bannon, an off-the-cuff Trump adviser and a loud critic of Musk.
Notably, Bannon isn’t letting it go. He’s publicly urged Trump to launch a number of investigations into Musk, beginning with whether or not the world’s richest man is an “unlawful alien.”
He “crossed the Rubicon,” Bannon mentioned of Musk on Friday. “There’s no going again.”
This week, Bannon ramped issues up much more, calling for a particular counsel to research Musk over alleged drug use, referencing a report from The New York Instances that claimed Musk was utilizing whereas working intently with the administration.
“Pull the safety clearance for the medicine, briefly,” Bannon mentioned. “Examine the entire drug scenario.”
The entire meltdown traces again to when Musk’s function within the administration ended. As soon as the face of Trump’s push to slash spending and intestine the federal workforce, Musk turned on his previous boss quick, calling Trump’s signature home invoice a “disgusting abomination.” From there, the spat spiraled into wild accusations and private jabs.
There’s some chatter that the latest protests in Los Angeles may’ve prompted Musk’s tried truce, since immigration is among the few points he and Trump nonetheless largely align on. Musk’s been echoing Trump’s speaking factors on the protests, seemingly attempting to indicate they’re nonetheless ideologically synced.
Nonetheless, attempting to make peace with somebody you simply accused of being concerned with a intercourse offender says extra about Musk than anybody else.
