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National
NL Team

‘I hate my X, honeymoon is over’: Front page headlines on Trump-Musk break-up

Once close political allies, US President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have turned on each other in a spectacular public feud. The fallout, triggered by a dispute over Trump’s flagship tax bill, has spiraled into a barrage of personal attacks, with Musk calling for Trump’s impeachment and accusing him – without evidence – of ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Trump hit back by threatening to strip Musk’s companies of government contracts.

The implosion marks a stunning reversal in a relationship that once symbolised the fusion of Silicon Valley wealth and Trump-era power politics. Musk backed Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign and was rewarded with a prominent role in the administration as head of a new department dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency. Their public appearances were full of mutual praise, with Musk emerging as one of the administration’s most visible faces.

Musk had initially supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Republican primaries, but his loyalty had shifted after an assassination attempt on Trump, leading him to offer full-throated support and even appear with the president at campaign events. Despite the renewed alliance, tensions lingered beneath the surface. The eventual rupture came over Trump’s flagship legislation – the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”. Musk condemned the bill for possibly increasing the national debt and cutting electric vehicle subsidies critical to Tesla’s business.

Things escalated dramatically when Musk launched a personal attack campaign on social media, suggesting Trump should be impeached. Trump retaliated by claiming he had pushed Musk out of the administration and threatened to cut federal support to his companies. 

According to the Wired, the feud is putting pressure on some of Musk's closest associates from the tech industry, including Trump’s AI and crypto czar David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, and other investors, to choose whether to align themselves with the Tesla CEO or continue supporting the president. So far, some people appear to be trying to walk a fine line between backing Musk while not outwardly criticizing the White House.

The front pages of several prominent American dailies had the news as their lead.

The New York Post’s front page featured Trump and Musk faces in two halves of a broken heart with an all-cap headline: ‘I HATE MY X!’.

The frontpage of New York Post with Musk and Trump's picture in a broken heart

A single-column news article on The Boston Globe’s front page was headlined, ‘Like that, honeymoon over for Trump/Musk’. 

Frontpage of The Boston Globe

Chronicling their social media spat through X and Truth Social posts, The New York Times’ lead story ran the headline: ‘Trump and Musk shatter alliance in an angry burst of public insults”.

Frontpage of The New York Times

The Wall Street Journal’s headline of the lead story on its front page was, ‘Fiery Trump-Musk Feud Breaks Out’.    

Frontpage of The Wall Street Journal

‘Trump and Musk trade threats as alliance flames out’ was the headline that The Washington Post ran on its front page.

Frontpage of The Washington Post

Papers from other countries also took note of the episode. ‘Impeachment, Epstein and bitter acrimony: Trump and Musk joust in astonishing social media duel’ was The Guardian’s front page headline, with a picture of POTUS pointing a finger at Musk. 

Meanwhile, Indian social media users took a jibe at the incident, wondering whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi can announce a ceasefire now – a reference to Trump taking credit for the pause in the military standoff between Indian and Pakistani forces in the wake of Operation Sindoor.

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