Former adviser taunts president over links to Epstein while Trump threatens to cancel contracts for Musk companies

Elon Musk called for Donald Trump to be impeached after mocking his connections to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as the president threatened to cancel federal contracts and tax subsidies for Musk’s companies in an extraordinary social media feud on Thursday.

The deterioration of their once close relationship into bitter acrimony came over the course of several remarkable hours during which the president and the world’s richest man hurled deeply personal insults over matters significant and insignificant.

In the most churlish moment of the astonishing saga, Musk said on X the reason the Trump administration had not released the files into Epstein was because they implicated the president. He later quote-tweeted a post calling for Trump to be removed and said Trump’s tariffs would cause a recession.

  • mcv@lemm.ee
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    11 days ago

    I think they’re both right. The government should cut all ties with Musk’s businesses, and Trump should be impeached. That way everybody wins.

    • Wilco@lemm.ee
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      11 days ago

      It hurts to agree with them doesn’t it? Yet, it’s so funny to watch them bite at each other.

  • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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    11 days ago

    … I was not expecting this many people to (so strongly) take sides in what is basically a kerfuffle between two mega villains.

    (Og) Nazis had a lot of infighting too, still fascist mass murderers.

  • Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    Wow they are arguably the most powerful people in the world and they are having a public squawky slappy fight like stroppy toddlers.

    Meanwhile humanity is circling the drain. We are so fucked.

    • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      Fortunately, America has an affinity for reality TV, and so they’re distracted from whatever else this is a distraction for. I just have a part of me that can’t believe what’s happening.

        • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          I try to focus more locally whenever I get bent out of shape over the more broad scope of life. I can reach out and touch problems in my area, and it feels good to get involved in trying to fix things. Will it solve Gaza? Will it solve Trump? Nah, but maybe I help plant some trees, clean up the brook in town, just get involved. Who knows, maybe it trickles up (ha).

          • Regrettable_incident@lemmy.world
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            11 days ago

            Yeah, same here. Back when I was younger I was really into direct action. Big demos - there’s no buzz like a riot, fighting up against the police lines - and smaller, quieter actions. These days, I feel like I’m a bit too old for all that - and looking back I’m not sure all those actions changed a single thing. Except maybe made me feel like I was doing something useful. Also, it was fun. And I still think it’s important to counterprotest when nazis take to the street. But yeah, I’m more at the local level too. I kinda feel like getting engaged locally is maybe more useful than the big, flashy stuff. You can get stuff done, even if it’s not big changes. Lots of small changes add up. Plus, you’re meeting like-minded people, growing local community resiliency. If shit goes proper bad, these local community groups will become vital.

  • conditional_soup@lemm.ee
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    12 days ago

    Elon’s going to lose this fight. All the other rich people backing Trump still think the snake won’t bite them, and Elon doesn’t have the same cult of personality Trump does. He had some good will for a while, but he’s been burning that ever since the weird pedo guy thing, and that’s nowhere near Trump’s fucking cult energy. Forty years from now there’s still going to be dumbasses and edgy teens talking about how they heard a rumor that Trump is still alive out there in the wastes that used to be middle America.

  • SamHoppers@lemm.ee
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    11 days ago

    Never could have seen this coming… two narcissists that only get along as long as they’re powdering each others butts.

  • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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    11 days ago

    “[They] detested each other. Which makes sense, because they were both detestable.”

    Gen. Sir Harry Padgett Flashman, VC

  • Rooty@lemmy.world
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    12 days ago

    At this point Trump running interference and cockblocking Thiel and his billionare creeper squad from re-enacting the Business plot would be the best ( and funniest ) result.

    • Allonzee@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      There you go. Ignore the content of the screeching and look at what it’s trying to accomplish.

      You know what would also get a lot more Teslas sold in a correctly Trump hating world, and partially decouple Trump from the political fallout of the DOGE mess?

      Exactly what’s happening.