Republicans stick with Trump in wake of explosive clash with Musk
Republicans appeared to rally to President Donald Trump’s side Friday as his feud with Elon Musk continued to consume the party, disrupting the president’s legislative agenda at a key moment.
While many expressed hope that the two would reconcile, they also made clear they continue to regard Trump as the leader of the party and defended the “big, beautiful bill” central to a dramatic blow-up Thursday between the two men. Musk this week had urged lawmakers to kill it.
“I don’t argue with [Musk] about how to build rockets, and I wish he wouldn’t argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said in a CNBC interview, where he nonetheless praised both men as “two titans” he respects. “I hope it all resolves today.”
In brief interviews with reporters Friday morning, Trump sought to shift focus to his signature tax and immigration bill, which is pending in the Senate. Still, he was not done criticizing Musk, in one interview calling him “the man who has lost his mind.”
“I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem,” Trump told CNN on Friday morning, adding that he would not “be speaking to [Musk] for a while, I guess, but I wish him well.”
Thursday’s clash escalated quickly and left some Republicans feeling torn between two men they have hailed as political revolutionaries in their own rights. Trump said that Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, had gone “CRAZY” and threatened to cancel federal contracts for his companies, while Musk claimed he was the only reason Trump won the 2024 election and suggested that Trump should be impeached.
“It’s been hard to watch today,” pro-Trump activist Charlie Kirk said Thursday night on Fox News. He added in a social media post: “I hope Elon and Trump reconcile and do so privately. It would be good for the country and the world if they do.”
Catturd, a popular conservative influencer on the Musk-owned X platform, said he lost followers - including Musk - on Thursday as he sided with Trump in the feud. Catturd wrote that Musk had “crossed a redline” after suggesting that Trump was listed in Jeffrey Epstein’s files. The influencer encouraged his 3.7 million X followers to continue opposing Musk.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to echo Trump’s jabs at Musk during a Fox News interview Thursday night, instead pitching Trump’s legislation. She noted Trump “graciously” hosted Musk in the Oval Office days ago to mark the end of his service in the administration as DOGE chief.
“The only difference between Friday and today is Elon went back to his companies and as a businessman, he has a right to speak for his companies,” Leavitt said. “But as president, President Trump has a responsibility to fight for this country.”
Leavitt did emphasize to Fox News host Sean Hannity that Trump is “the unequivocal leader of the Republican Party” - a point echoed in public comments from some of Trump’s more ardent allies.
“Just to be clear, I voted for Donald J Trump on Nov. 4, 2024,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) wrote on social media. “Not anyone else.”
Musk spent Thursday night responding to users commenting on the clash, including Bill Ackman, the hedge fund billionaire who is an ally of both men. Ackman wrote that Trump and Musk should reconcile for the good of the country and that they “are much stronger together than apart.”
“You’re not wrong,” Musk replied.
At the same time, Musk had not entirely de-escalated. He made multiple posts using a slur for people with disabilities to refer to Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump adviser who suggested to the New York Times that Trump should deport Musk. Bannon was already an outspoken Musk critic before Thursday.
Administration officials began working Friday morning to portray Trump as taking the high road.
“There are many lies the corporate media tells about President Trump. One of the most glaring is that he’s impulsive or short-tempered,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X, without directly referencing the feud. “Anyone who has seen him operate under pressure knows that’s ridiculous.”