People who repeatedly suffer at the hands of enemies and allies alike tend to have trouble burying the hatchet.

Thus, President Donald Trump surely must rank among history’s least vindictive and most magnanimous figures.

Thursday on his social media platform Truth Social, the president issued an olive branch of sorts to his former friend and ally Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X and one-time head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, by declaring “This is not so!” in response to rumors that he, the president, would refuse government contracts and other forms of federal assistance to Musk’s companies in the wake of their personal falling out last month.

“Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!” Trump wrote.

“I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before! The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us. We are setting records every day, and I want to keep it that way!” the president added.

Donald J. Trump Truth Social 07.24.25 09:34 AM EST

Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to…

— Fan Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) July 24, 2025

According to The Washington Post, Musk’s companies, including SpaceX and the electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla, “have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits” going back more than 20 years.

The establishment media, of course, took an interest in investigating such things as long as Musk remained Trump’s ally.

Last month, however, Musk very publicly broke with the president over the latter’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” The former head of DOGE objected to the amount and type of government spending in the bill.

Musk’s antics in response to that bill, however, came across as shockingly erratic. For instance, he hinted that perhaps the president should face impeachment and, worse yet, suggested that Trump’s name appears in some incriminating way in the much-ballyhooed files pertaining to the late pedophile and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Earlier this month, after Trump signed the “Big Beautiful Bill” into law, Musk talked openly of establishing a third party, the America Party.

In recent weeks, however, Musk-related news has subsided. On X, in fact, Trump’s former friend and ally has kept his political commentary to a minimum.

Then, on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked if Trump wanted Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, to receive government contracts, to which she replied, “I don’t think so, no,” per Axios.

In related news, Musk’s Tesla fell sharply on Thursday, down 9 percent in mid-morning trading.

Thus, Trump might have timed his Truth Social post to help prevent Tesla stocks from falling any further.

Of course, in that case one wonders why the president would do such a thing. Why help his former ally? After all, in the midst of the “Big Beautiful Bill” brouhaha, Trump — perhaps jokingly — did not rule out deporting Musk.

The answer appears at least partially rooted in the president’s willingness to make common cause with former rivals. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Secretary of State Marco Rubio leap to mind.

One senses, however, that the reason for Trump’s public endorsement of Musk’s companies runs deeper.

Not long ago, the two had formed a powerful alliance that looked for all the world like a friendship.

Then, like Founding Fathers John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, a political disagreement severed their relationship.

Adams and Jefferson, however, eventually remembered the good qualities that once made them friends.

In like manner, Trump might have remembered that Musk, for all his flaws, and despite the Epstein-related transgression that many would regard as unforgivable, still has the qualities that, not long ago, made him one of the president’s most valuable allies.

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