Musk criticizes Trump's mega-bill, a few days following his departure
WASHINGTON: The alliance between Elon Musk and Donald Trump took a sour turn on Tuesday as the world's wealthiest man sharply criticized the President's keystone economic legislation, causing a major rift just days after parting ways with the Trump administration.
Musk was previously praised by the Republican leader, despite controversy over his performance in reducing spending at the Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency." Despite the unsuccessful attempt to produce transformative spending cuts, Musk was applauded by Trump.
However, Musk's latest taunt on X, dubbing Trump's so-called "big, beautiful bill" as a "disgusting abomination," has upped the ante. The responsive legislation aims to add a whopping $3 trillion to US deficits over a decade, with deep cuts to health and food aid programs.
While Musk's previous objections were relatively measured, he's now warning citizens that the bill would saddle them with "crushingly unsustainable debt."
The growing discord has made its mark on the White House. Musk's donation of nearly $300 million to Trump's 2024 campaign notwithstanding, Trump's Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, maintains that the president has no qualms about the bill.
Yet, Trump is mindful of Musk's impact on the youthful, tech-savvy and historically apathetic voters, a crucial demographic for Trump in 2024. As a result, the President has been cautious in his response to Musk's criticism.
The Congress is now planning to pass legislation derived from the White House, which eyes $9.4 billion of the DOGE's cuts. House Speaker Mike Johnson has labeled Musk's comments as "disappointing," adding that he had discussed the bill with Musk in a 20-minute phone call, and that Musk "seemed to understand."
Musk, who quit his role as Trump's cost-cutter-in-chief, had initially made impressive strides with the DOGE, resulting in the elimination of tens of thousands of jobs and the closure of entire agencies. However, the DOGE, headed by Musk, fell considerably short of Musk's original promise to save $2 trillion from the government's budget. In fact, the DOGE website claims to have saved only around $175 billion, a figure that even fact checkers find dubious due to inaccuracies in accounting[3].
In response to the feud, the Senate Democrats have launched a report highlighting 130 instances of "unethical or potentially corrupt" actions supporting Musk's wealth growth during his tenure. The report follows weeks of deep negotiations on Trump's vast policy proposal, which could potentially add between $2.5 trillion to $3.1 trillion to deficits over a decade[4].
[1] Miller, J. (2021, October 23). Trump slams 'insane' attack from Elon Musk - BBC News. bbc.com
[2] Hasson, S., & Ramonas, S. (2021, October 27). Elon Musk slams Trump's spending bill: 'Debt Slaves Forever' - NBC News. nbcnews.com
[3] Mackey, D. (2021, April 23). The fact-checker -- The Washington Post wapo.st
[4] Palmeri, J. (2021, October 26). Democrats to unveil pointed document rebuke of Elon Musk as middleman - Bloomberg. bloomberg.com
- Elon Musk's latest criticism of Donald Trump's policy-and-legislation, particularly the keystone economic legislation, has widened the gap between them, causing a rift in their alliance.
- Musk's call-out of the "big, beautiful bill" as a "disgusting abomination," has led to concerns about the addition of $3 trillion to US deficits over a decade and potential deep cuts to health and food aid programs.
- Musk is expressing concern among citizens about the burden of unsustainable debt that the passing of the bill would bring.
- The growing discord between Musk and Trump has political implications, as Trump is mindful of Musk's influence on the youthful, tech-savvy, and historically apathetic voters, a crucial demographic for Trump in 2024.
