Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade revealed Wednesday morning that Donald Trump is privately seething over his “first buddy” Elon Musk publicly blasting the “One Big Beautiful Bill” as a “disgusting abomination,” but that the president is “so smart” to stay silent for now.
Musk, who wrapped up his time as a special government employee last week, tore into the president’s signature spending legislation Tuesday, saying he “can’t stand it anymore” and had to speak out against the bill that a non-partisan Congressional Budget Office projects would add trillions of dollars to the national debt.
“This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” the Tesla CEO tweeted. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”
Musk added: “It will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit to $2.5 trillion (!!!) and burden America (sic) citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
Shortly after the one-time DOGE chief blasted the spending bill online, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked to respond during Tuesday’s press briefing. “The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill, it doesn’t change the president’s opinion,” she reacted. “This is one big beautiful bill, and he’s sticking to it.”
With some Republicans on Capitol Hill coming out in support of Musk’s attacks on the president’s legacy legislation, including MAGA lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, the president has remained silent over his top ally’s takedown of the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” However, according to the president’s favorite morning show, Trump is absolutely beside himself over Musk’s public disavowal of the spending measure.
“I think the Elon Musk thing really caught the president by surprise,” Kilmeade declared during Wednesday’s broadcast of Fox & Friends. “And I hear he is furious!”
Knowing the president was almost certainly watching him live, the veteran Fox host then praised Trump for not returning fire at Musk as the Senate debates the bill.
“I think he’s so smart to keep his powder dry,” Kilmeade continued. “Because it just plays into what critics would have to say, ‘The right can’t get out of their own way.’ Instead, you have a goal: Pass it. Elon Musk is not in the Senate or the House. Don’t worry about it.”
Meanwhile, the other members of the Fox & Friends crew attempted to thread the needle between maintaining the close relationship between Trump and Musk intact while asserting that the president has every right to be angry.
“I don’t think Elon is anti-MAGA now, or anti-the president now. He worked so hard, put a lot of stuff on the line to get a lot wasteful stuff cut,” co-host Lawrence Jones noted.
“I was shocked to hear him say that,” Ainsley Earhardt added. “I can understand why the president would not be happy about that.”
During a press conference later on Wednesday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson – who was barely able to get the bill passed through the lower chamber of Congress – also insisted that the president was upset with Musk for coming out against the legislation this week.
At the same time, Johnson revealed that Musk had essentially ghosted him after the two had been in constant conversations over the previous few days.
“I called Elon last night and he didn't answer, but I hope to talk to him today,” the speaker sighed. “I talked to President Trump… He's not delighted that Elon did a 180.”
According to Axios, the main reason why the world’s richest man – who had expressed reservations about the legislation before – came out so forcefully against the measure this week is that he’s “frustrated at failing to win favorable treatment in the bill and the administration at large.”
“Elon was butthurt,” one source told Axios.
The report laid out “four inflection points” that spurred Musk’s attacks, which involved the legislation cutting elective vehicle tax credits, the White House not extending his role as a “special government employee,” the administration not tapping Starlink for national air traffic control and Trump withdrawing the nomination of a Musk ally to lead NASA.
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