We reported earlier on signs that the ice was cooling, that Elon Musk made a significant step in the direction of President Donald Trump by apologizing after their dustup, saying he did "regret" posts that he made.
READ MORE: Elon Musk Takes a Big Step Toward Trump With This 'Regret' Post
Now, Trump is weighing in, in a podcast interview that was released on Wednesday, but was recorded on Monday.
"Look, I have no hard feelings," Trump said during an interview on "Pod Force One with Miranda Devine" that was published Wednesday. "I was really surprised that that happened. He went after a bill that’s phenomenal. He just — I think he feels very badly that he said that, actually."
Trump said he was "disappointed," but he was open to the idea. Trump said he didn't blame Musk for anything."
"I guess I could, but we have to straighten out the country," Trump said when Devine asked if he and Musk could become allies again. "And my sole function now is getting this country back to a level higher than it’s ever been. And I think we can do that."
Toward that end, he secured a win by reaching a trade deal with China, with rare earth minerals and a 55 percent tariff on China, among other items. He also said that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping would work closely together to open up China to American trade.
READ MORE: Breaking: Trump Gets Big Win in Deal With China
Later on Wednesday, Trump commented to The NY Post about Musk's morning tweet apologizing, "I thought it was very nice that he did that."
There was also a report from The NY Times about how the beginning of the rapprochement evolved. So I note up front: it's The NY Times, but it does seem consistent with the facts we're otherwise seeing. It also kind of sounds like it's a deliberate leak to indicate positive movement.
President Trump received a phone call from Elon Musk late on Monday night, which led to a public expression of regret from the billionaire early Wednesday for the attacks he had lodged against the president in their extraordinary public showdown last week, according to three people briefed on the call.
Mr. Musk’s outreach to Mr. Trump came after the tech entrepreneur spoke privately on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, about a path to a truce between the two men, according to two of the people. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private discussions.
It sounds like JD Vance was testing his diplomacy chops, and it looks like it bore fruit. He had been supportive of Trump but had indicated in a podcast interview with Theo Von that they could ultimately work it out if Elon "chilled out."
So we'll have to see, but it does sound like we are down the track several steps toward an eventual reunion.