President-elect Donald Trump may already be tired of his billionaire buddy before being sworn in as the 47th president, sources close to Trump claim.
Whether they’re spending the holidays at Mar-a-Lago together or helping kill a year-end congressional spending bill, Elon Musk and Trump seem like they can’t get enough of each other.
Their whirlwind relationship has taken center stage in the media, with Trump uncharacteristically ceding the spotlight to his outspoken supporter, who donated a cool $277 million to the campaign, making him the largest donor in the 2024 election cycle to either party. But for this inseparable duo, the tides might be turning as rumors circulate that Trump is losing patience with the world’s richest man.
Anonymous sources close to the incoming administration revealed that the president-elect is irritated with Musk’s antics and the sheer amount of attention he’s drawing. “100 percent Trump is annoyed,” one Trump insider who worked on the 2024 campaign told the outlet. “There’s a Chinese saying: ‘two tigers cannot live on one mountaintop.’”
Another anonymous insider provided insight into the Trump-Musk bromance. “There was likely an allure to it in the beginning, but it seemed like it could go ugly. Trump is Trump. I think it’s just the way Trump is. Someone that is around that much and having influence would be a bother,” said the source.
“I mean the guy came in, gave a boatload of money, and wants to take over the place,” the insider continued. While the unnamed tipster doesn’t believe Musk has “bad intentions,” they added, “you also can’t just inject a shadow president somewhere.”
Musk’s recent tweet telling anti-immigration MAGA supporters to “go f**k yourself in the face,” might have something to do with the rumored change of heart.
When Trump appointed Indian immigrant Sriram Krishnan as the new AI adviser to the White House on Dec. 22, it sparked a bitter feud among the MAGA crowd over foreign worker visas.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who is heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency with Musk, jumped into the fray and slammed American culture for breeding “mediocrity.” Then Musk poured gasoline on the fire, threatening to wage “war” with a certain faction of anti-immigrant Trump supporters.
“The reason I’m in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B. Take a big step back and F**K YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend,” he wrote on X.
Staunch conservatives erupted in outrage, with Steve Bannon and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer joining in the mud-slinging. The former called Musk “a toddler,” and the latter said he was a “stage 5 clinger.”
Many Trump supporters noticed their blue verification marks on X suddenly disappeared after clashing openly with Musk.
After the dust settled, on Dec. 29,Trump’s incoming chief of staff, Susie Wiles, fired off a memo to all members of Trump’s transition team and incoming administration on the importance of discretion with social media use, reported Mediate. She prohibited anyone from commenting on social media without first getting approval from the incoming White House counsel.
While Trump is no stranger to controversy, it’s a lot of drama for a “shadow president” to stir up. After all, Musk is not the main character here, the insiders insist.
“The media is portraying him as a co-president,” said the Trump insider who worked on the 2024 campaign. “Musk is a character actor. There is only one executive producer, one lead in this TV show, and that is Trump. Elon will have his role, his focuses, but he is meant to disrupt the status quo in Washington, and Trump is weaponizing him.”
“The only one to move the MAGA movement is Trump. Elon will be able to amplify the message,” but they added, “Unless you’re family, you’re not family.”
