Trump Warns Musk Against Supporting Democrats: ‘Serious Consequences If He Does That’

International

oi-Amit Vasudev

Published: Sunday, June 8, 2025, 10:39 [IST]

The
fallout
from
Donald
Trump’s
acrimonious
split
with
Elon
Musk
took
a
fresh
turn
on
Saturday,
as
the
US
president
issued
a
stark
warning
to
the
South
African-born
billionaire
not
to
back
Democratic
candidates
standing
against
Republicans
who
had
supported
Trump’s
flagship
tax
bill.

Trump
declared
that
he
had
“no
intention” of
speaking
to
Musk,
who
until
recently
served
as
a
special
advisor
at
the
White
House.

The
Tesla
and
SpaceX
boss
had
publicly
lambasted
the
tax
legislation,
branding
it
“an
abomination”,
and
hinting
he
may
financially
support
Democratic
opponents
of
those
Republicans
who
had
voted
in
favour
of
it.

Speaking
to
US
broadcaster

NBC
News,
Trump
said
Musk
would
“have
to
pay
very
serious
consequences
if
he
does
that,”
though
he
did
not
elaborate
on
what
those
consequences
might
entail.

The
president
further
criticised
Musk
as
“disrespectful”,
adding
that
he
had
“no”
desire
to
mend
fences.

Once
close
allies,
Trump
and
Musk’s
relationship
soured
dramatically
after
Musk
resigned
from
his
post
at
the
Department
of
Government
Efficiency
(DOGE)
on
30
May.
Musk
had
been
a
prominent
donor
to
Trump’s
2024
campaign,
contributing
more
than
$250
million.

The
feud
swiftly
became
public,
with
both
parties
trading
blows
on
social
media.
In
a
particularly
explosive
claim,
Musk
alleged
–
in
now-deleted
posts
on
his
platform
X
–
that
Trump
was
named
in
unreleased
government
files
connected
to
the
disgraced
financier
Jeffrey
Epstein,
who
died
in
custody
in
2019
while
awaiting
trial
on
sex
trafficking
charges.

“Time
to
drop
the
really
big
bomb:
(Trump)
is
in
the
Epstein
files,”
Musk
posted,
offering
no
evidence.
“That
is
the
real
reason
they
have
not
been
made
public.”

Responding
to
the
deleted
claims
in
his
NBC
interview,
Trump
dismissed
them
as
“old
news”,
stating:
“Even
Epstein’s
lawyer
said
I
had
nothing
to
do
with”
the
late
financier’s
alleged
crimes.

The
public
row
between
former
allies
Donald
Trump
and
Elon
Musk
deepened
on
Saturday,
as
the
US
president
reiterated
he
has
no
plans
to
speak
with
the
billionaire
entrepreneur.

Musk
this
week
publicly
attacked
Trump’s
signature
policy
–
the
so-called
“big,
beautiful”
tax
bill
–
and
suggested
he
might
support
Democratic
challengers
to
Republicans
who
had
backed
the
legislation.

Trump
has
now
warned
Musk
he
could
face
“serious
consequences”
should
he
follow
through.

Meanwhile,
in
other
developments,
China
has
confirmed
that
its
vice
premier
will
meet
a
US
delegation
in
the
United
Kingdom
next
week
for
talks
on
trade.