Donald Trump refuses to get into a fight with Elon Musk over ‘disgusting abomination’ budget bill

A five-tweet burst of withering criticism from Elon Musk at President Donald Trump’s tax cuts was met with a restrained response from the White House, suggesting the President is not ready to end a political and personal alliance that defined the early days of his second administration.

“Look, the President already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters early Wednesday morning, Australian time. “It doesn’t change the President’s opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill and he’s sticking to it.”

The world’s richest man erupted on X earlier at Mr Trump’s budget, which would extend trillions in tax cuts without similar-sized spending reductions.

Not only did his comments suggest the famously opinionated Mr Musk is turning away from the man who gave him access to the inner circles of the White House, they reflect a widespread concern among investors and economists that Mr Trump’s populist economic policies are damaging the world’s richest - and most indebted - country.

“Mammoth spending bills are bankrupting America! ENOUGH,” Mr Musk posted on X with a chart of US government debt around 9.30am, AEST. “Congress is making America bankrupt.”

‘Outrageous’

A few hours earlier, the Tesla and Space X chief executive attacked Mr Trump’s spending plans, although he blamed Congress, where the Republican majority approved the bill by one vote on May 22.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” he wrote on X. “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.”

The tweet has been seen 60 million times and has 400,000 likes. Afterwards, Mr Musk reposted four posts from other people agreeing with him.

Mr Musk’s criticism has extra impact because he headed, until a week ago, the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, an appointment that was one of the President’s first and most popular decisions.

Getting alarmed

Mr Trump’s bill is already driving up the cost of credit in the US. With interest payments now at $US1 trillion ($1.55 trillion), some commentators are questioning whether the US Government might default on its debt, an event that would likely trigger a global financial correction.

“Wall Street Is Sounding the Alarm on US Debt,” a Wall Street Journal opinion article was headlined Tuesday. “This Time, It’s Worth Listening.”

Ray Dalio, one of America’s prominent hedge fund managers, told Bloomberg that America has “three years, give or take a year” to avoid an economic “heart attack.” The owner of Bridgewater Associates published a book on Tuesday titled “How Countries Go Broke, The big cycle” that argues spending cuts need to be combined with higher taxes and lower interest rates to prevent a US government bankruptcy.

Breaking up?

Whether the comments mark the end of a friendship is unclear. A former Democrat voter, Mr Musk became a devoted financial and personal supporter before last year‘s presidential election. The two men engaged in lavish praise of each other, although Mr Musk ‘s biggest business, Tesla, became a target of left-activists.

The 53-year-old entrepreneur consumed so much of the hallucinogen ketamine during last year’s election campaign that it affected the operation of his liver, the New York Times reported last week.

A father of at least 14 children, Mr Musk’s already-extreme behaviour became more erratic this year. He insulted cabinet members, made what looked like a Nazi salute and gave garbled answers to an interviewer.

In the past six weeks, as Mr Musk has promised to spend less time on politics, Tesla’s share price has risen 40 per cent. Tesla’s chairman, Australian Robyn Denholm, sold Tesla shares worth $300 million over the past six months, according to the New York Times.

Mr Musk was criticised for his criticism. One US newspaper argued he was upset the law would reduce subsidies for Tesla’s electric cars.

At a farewell celebration on Friday in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said Mr Musk’s role “has been without comparison in modern history.” Mr Musk said he would visit the White House as a “friend and adviser” to the President.

Four days later, Mr Musk implied that Americans would vote out Republicans who supported the president’s budget at the mid-term elections.

“In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,” he wrote on X.