JD Vance Reacts to Trump and Musk’s Public Meltdown

Vice President JD Vance cracked a joke on social media Thursday about billionaire Elon Musk’s bitter feud with President Donald Trump.

The Context

The war of words between Trump and Musk has intensified GOP fissures at a critical legislative moment, with the fate of the Trump-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” still uncertain as it wends its way through Congress.

Musk has repeatedly criticized the bill, calling it “outrageous” and “pork-filled” this week, adding that it’s a “disgusting abomination.”

Trump initially avoided directly addressing Musk but waded into the battle on Thursday, calling his one-time close ally “crazy” and suggesting he has “Trump derangement syndrome.”

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, from left, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance attend a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show on October 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Alex Brandon/AP

What To Know

Vance, who was among Musk’s staunchest defenders after Trump took office in January, weighed in on the president’s falling out with Musk on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday evening.

The vice president posted a photo of himself sitting next to podcaster Theo Von and wrote: “Slow news day, what are we even going to talk about? @TheoVon.” Musk replied to Vance with a laughing emoji.

In a second post, Vance followed up with, “President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I’m proud to stand beside him.”

The SpaceX CEO’s once-cozy relationship with the president has rapidly disintegrated since the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” passed the GOP-controlled House of Representatives by a single vote last month.

After Musk lambasted the Trump-backed spending package as “outrageous” and suggested that Republicans who voted for it should be ashamed, Trump hit back on Truth Social.

“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!” the president wrote on Thursday afternoon.

“The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!” he added.

“Such an obvious lie,” Musk responded on X. “So sad.”

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon chimed in, suggesting that Musk’s immigration status should be investigated.

“They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien and he should be deported from the country immediately,” Bannon, a longtime Musk critic, told The New York Times.

What People Are Saying

Trump posted to Truth Social on Thursday: “I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress. It’s a Record Cut in Expenses, $1.6 Trillion Dollars, and the Biggest Tax Cut ever given. If this Bill doesn’t pass, there will be a 68% Tax Increase, and things far worse than that. I didn’t create this mess, I’m just here to FIX IT. This puts our Country on a Path of Greatness. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky posted to X on Thursday: “I do support President Trump and I support most of the bill. I’m his biggest defender on foreign policy. But at the same time I want conservative government so I have to fight for what I believe in.”

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Thursday, in part: “Look, I think it’s incredibly unfortunate. You and I are both good friends with President Trump and we’re both good friends with Elon Musk. They’re both extraordinary men, and they’ve both done extraordinary things for our country.

“Elon is an incredible inventor and business leader. His buying Twitter was massively important, his leadership of DOGE for President Trump was massively important. President Trump is doing phenomenal work every single day. His victory pulled this country back from the abyss. I’ll tell you Sean, I was in the Oval Office with the president when this back-and-forth began, and it’s really unfortunate. They are both, I think, American heroes. They are both incredibly strong leaders. And listen, it’s obvious they are both pissed off right now,” Cruz said.