
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, Twitter, US News
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, Twitter, US News
President Donald Trump has taken a swipe at his former 'first buddy' Elon Musk, saying he is 'disappointed in him'.
It has long been rumored that their relationship had become fractured, with the pair having been inseparable in the first few months of the Republican reclaiming the Oval Office back in January - but in terms of the billionaire's exit from the Trump administration, it was expected.
That is because Musk had been working under a distinct role in the US government as a ‘special government employee’ - which allowed him to work for up to 130 days in the office each year.
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However, his resignation came three days early, and only one day after he criticized Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office today (June 5), Trump said: "Look, you know, I've always liked Elon, and it's always - very surprised. You saw the words he had for me, the words and he hasn't said anything about me, that's bad.
"I'd rather have him criticize me than the bill, because the bill is incredible. Elon and I had a great relationship, I don't know if it went well anymore.
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"I was surprised because, you were here, everybody in this room practically was here as we had a wonderful send off. He said wonderful things about me couldn't have nicer. Said the best thing.
"But I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here."
Musk has since responded to him on Twitter, penning: "False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!"
It isn't the first time Musk has been vocal on the bill.
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Speaking to CBS in a preview clip that aired on Tuesday (May 27), Musk said: "I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill frankly, which increases the budget deficit not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the Doge team is doing.
"I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful... but I don't know if it could be both, my personal opinion."
The bill devised an increased in defense spending, including Trump's ambition to implement a 'Golden Dome' above the US, which would protect it from enemy missiles, as well as multi-trillion dollar tax breaks.
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However, as Musk mentioned, it undermined his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) - with the new legislation could could increase government spending by around $600 billion in the next fiscal year.