Donald Trump has claimed Elon Musk is suffering from 'Trump derangement syndrome' as the pair's friendship publicly breaks down.
Once one of the biggest supporters of the Trump administration, former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Musk has now engaged in a very public spat with the US President, following disagreements over spending in the government's big beautiful bill.
Anyone who found themselves scrolling through X last night (5 June) will have likely done a double take after the Tesla founder tweeted that he was responsible for Trump winning the 2024 election and even made the extraordinary claim that the 78-year-old was listed in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
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Naturally, anyone watching this public breakdown in relations will have found themselves wondering what Trump's reaction would be to all of this – given the fact that he and Musk were once joined at the hip.
The Republican leader addressed Musk's sudden hostility during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, saying that he believed the X owner was suffering from some kind of 'Trump derangement syndrome'.
"Look Elon and I had a great relationship," he told the cameras (via Metro). "I don't know if we will anymore."
Trump then went on to suggest that Musk was struggling to adapt to life post-White House, saying that he believes it to be a common thing with former government employees.
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"He's not the first," He continued. "I think Elon misses this place... People leave my administration. And then at some point, they miss it so badly. And some of them actually become hostile.
"It’s sort of Trump Derangement Syndrome."
Trump has also addressed Musk's outburst on social media, calling the 53-year-old tech billionaire 'crazy' on his Truth Social platform.
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"Elon was 'wearing thin', I asked him to leave, I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY," he wrote.
Meanwhile Musk has claimed Trump is the reason that unsealed Epstein documents haven't been published, writing on X: "Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.
“Have a nice day, DJT!”
He then followed the claim up with a second tweet, adding: “Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out.”
Well I don't know about you, but I don't think we'll be seeing any more Tesla sales pitches on the White House lawn anytime soon.
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, US News, Politics, Social Media
Brenna Cooper