The Vice President, J.D. Vance, stepped up to support Trump amidst recent tensions with tech billionaire Elon Musk, highlighted during an interview.
This disagreement, which spilled over onto social media, has been characterized as a “national divorce.” Vance took issue with Musk’s remarks that connected Trump to deceitful investor Jeffrey Epstein, labeling them as “big mistakes.”
“Chasing the president like that is a big mistake,” Vance commented during a podcast earlier this week. “If there’s some sort of feud, it’s a problem.” The episode was released on Saturday.
The Vice President also refuted the allegations linking Trump to Epstein. Musk later deleted the controversial post from his platform, X.
The rift between Trump and Musk began when Musk criticized Trump’s expansive “big, beautiful bill,” which encompasses much of the president’s legislative goals. Musk described the bill as “nasty and hateful,” arguing that it lacked essential spending cuts.
Trump remarked at the White House that he and Musk had initially enjoyed a “great” relationship, but now expressed uncertainty about that connection moving forward. He suggested Musk might struggle in the 2024 election without his endorsement and hinted that a third party might emerge.
In response, Trump threatened to revoke federal contracts linked to Musk’s companies.
Though Vance professed loyalty to Trump, he did commend Musk’s business acumen, particularly his role in Government Efficiency. “I’ll always stand by the President, but I hope Elon can make a turnaround,” he noted. “Maybe that seems distant now since he’s facing some challenges.”
Vance also suggested Musk’s frustrations are partly due to backlash from the GOP over his growing political presence. “Elon is relatively new to this scene and hasn’t fully grasped the dynamics yet,” Vance explained.
Despite acknowledging Musk’s grievances regarding the settlement package currently facing hurdles in the Senate, Vance described it as “a good bill, but it’s not entirely sufficient.”
