The relationship between tech investor Elon Musk and MAGA Republican President Donald Trump might be best described as complicated. Musk and Trump teamed up for the 2024 election over their shared White nationalism.
In the immediate aftermath of the inauguration, Musk held a major role in the second Trump administration, heading up the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that slashed appropriated funds' budget line items from agencies and departments across the federal government—something only Congress has authority to do—often based on a label of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) assigned by AI output and carried out by untrained, unqualified "tech bros."
After massive public backlash over cuts, many of which were reversed by the judicial system, the Trump administration distanced themselves from Musk and disavowed DOGE. Musk then repeatedly attacked the POTUS and his allies over their Big Beautiful Bill undermining the effects of DOGE's unauthorized budget cuts.
The two at-that-time billionaires traded jabs in a feud played out online—both men own their own social media platforms—and in front of the press. Trump suggested deporting Musk while the tech investor brought up Trump's longtime close ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But then Musk and Trump were back together for state visits to the Middle East and China in 2025 and 2026.
Texas MAGA Republican Senator Rafael "Ted" Cruz, who has his own complicated relationship with Trump, claimed he had a front row seat during part of the feud during a recent appearance on PBD Podcast.
You can watch the clip here:
On Wednesday, Cruz told host Patrick Bet-David he was in a meeting with Trump when aide Natalie Harp handed the POTUS a printout of an X post made by Musk.
Cruz said of his Oval Office meeting on June 5, 2025:
"And in the middle of it, that is when Elon Musk tweeted that Trump was on the Epstein list."
"And so Trump—now, he’s not on his phone anymore nearly as much, so what happens when something gets tweeted is they print it out, [aide] Natalie [Harp] comes in, prints it on a piece of paper, and hands it to him."
"And he literally reads that tweet and I’m sitting in the Oval and his knuckles turn white."
Musk had taken to his X platform on that Thursday in June, tagged Trump's official account, and posted "time to drop the really big bomb."
Musk then posted:
"[President Donald Trump] is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!"
Musk would, after Trump threatened to cancel his billions of dollars in government contracts, delete that tweet and others, including one that called for a third impeachment of Trump.
Bet-David asked Cruz:
"You also don’t know the tweet yet?"
Cruz replied:
"I don’t know what it is yet. I mean, he shows it to us."
Bet-David confirmed:
"It happens that second?"
The MAGA Senator confirmed:
"They hand it to him that second."
"And he was so pissed. I joked I learned some curse words I didn’t even know... Trump had some technicolor views to say about Elon."
Despite their very public feud, Trump would add Musk to his entourage on Air Force One for his May 2026 state visit to China.
People were unsurprised by Trump's reaction to Musk's tweet.
@jman42/Bluesky
Cruz had been a harsh critic of Trump when the pair squared off as Republican presidential candidates in the 2016 election. Trump would call Cruz's wife Heidi ugly and accuse his Cuban immigrant father of being part of a conspiracy that killed Democratic President John F. Kennedy.
At the time, Cruz denounced Trump's campaign tactics and inflammatory rhetoric. But once Trump took office, the Texas Republican quickly converted to a loyal member of the MAGA movement.
Cruz has faced criticism for his opportunism, lack of integrity, and hypocrisy ever since.
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