It’s being reported by the WSJ that President Trump is losing patience with Elon Musk over his criticism of the Big Beautiful Bill.
Here’s what they write:
President Trump is losing patience with Elon Musk after the billionaire attacked Republicans’ sprawling tax-and-spending bill. Musk is irked about Trump’s decision to withdraw the nomination of a key ally to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The result is a fraying relationship between two of the world’s most powerful men.
A senior White House official said Trump wasn’t happy about Musk’s decision to lambaste his signature legislation, describing the president as confused as to why the Tesla chief executive decided to ratchet up his criticism after working so closely with the president for four months. The official said senior Trump advisers were caught off guard by Musk’s latest offensive.
The uneasy alliance between the two men was also strained by a recent move by the White House to nix Trump’s nominee to run NASA, Jared Isaacman, according to people familiar with the matter. Musk, a close ally of Isaacman, had advocated for him to get the job.
The decision infuriated Musk, who complained to associates over the weekend that he had donated hundreds of millions of dollars to help get Trump elected in last year’s campaign, only to see Isaacman’s nomination pulled, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. Musk’s frustration over the NASA episode made him more willing to aggressively criticize the tax bill, people close to him said. Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Asked whether Trump and Musk continue to have a strong relationship, a White House official said it was too soon to tell. The official said that Trump could be forgiving, but that he doesn’t forget slights like this.
It’s entirely possible that this is accurate, especially given that this is Trump’s signature legislation. It does seem like he would be upset by this, especially given the weight of Musk’s opinion. But take it all of this with a grain of salt until Trump validates it or corrects the record.