In summer 2024, Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president, seemingly making a U-turn on his previous opinion of him. Musk donated more than $280 million to Trump and other Republican candidates, and when Trump inaugurated, Musk became the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with the intent to aggressively cut government spending. But now, amid hints that not all is well between Musk and Trump, the relationship between the billionaire and the president may have finally soured. There’s a piece of legislation that recently passed the House that has been touted by Trump as ” one big, beautiful bill.” And Musk, who until May 30 was working for the federal government and seemingly supporting Trump, doesn’t like that bill at all. 

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He posted on X, “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.” Musk followed it up with a post that said, “Mammoth spending bills are bankrupting America! ENOUGH.” And people on X took notice of his critiques.

Some were confused as to why Musk was so angry. “But wait, you actually created this monster yourself! Didn’t you support him? Didn’t you work for him?” one person asked. Others made jokes. “You guys couldn’t make it work as friends after the break-up, huh?” one said, while another posted, “The MAGA civil war has officially begun.”

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Elon Musk had tiptoed around the idea that the “big, beautiful bill” didn’t meet his satisfaction, but his X posts have really hammered the point home. The bill is expected to raise the national debt by billions upon billions, which seems to bother Musk the most. It would also cut Medicaid and SNAP benefits and provide tax cuts for higher income households (we’re not sure if Musk, the richest of the world’s billionaires, is bothered by that aspect). The bill has yet to pass the Senate.

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On the same day as Musk’s posts, Trump posted on Truth Social — the social media platform that Trump helped create and which looks a lot like X — referring to the bill as “a big WINNER!!!” He has yet to publicly respond to Musk’s statements against the bill.

Musk had been leading DOGE as a special government employee, so his time with the federal government was always limited to 130 days. At the Oval Office press conference on the day of his exit, Trump gave Musk a golden key in commemoration of the occasion, and it seemed like all was well between the two of them. But Musk has come out so publicly and so fiercely denouncing the bill that Trump and his White House have been pushing for, and if there’s one thing that Trump values highly, it’s loyalty. Musk is proving himself to be someone who will speak out against the president. Given the oversized egos both men possess, the end of their bromance seemed inevitable to many. It was really just a matter of time.

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