Musk deletes explosive posts about Trump as US president issues threat

Billionaire Elon Musk has removed several of his explosive posts that targeted US President Donald Trump, appearing to seek a de-escalation of their public feud.

Musk posted on X on Thursday: “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” he wrote. “That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!”

But on Saturday (Sunday AEST) the tweet was no longer available, with the link to the post now showing a message that said, “Nothing to see here”.

Musk also deleted his social media post that signalled support for impeaching the president.

Meanwhile on Saturday, Trump told NBC that he had no desire to repair his relationship with Musk, and said there would be “serious consequences” if Musk funded US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the president’s sweeping tax cut and spending bill.

In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to say what those consequences would be, and went on to add that he had not had discussions about whether to investigate Musk.

“I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him,” Trump said in the interview, calling Musk “disrespectful”.

Asked if his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said “I would assume so, yeah.”

Musk and Trump began exchanging insults last week as Musk denounced Trump’s bill as a “disgusting abomination.” Musk’s opposition to the measure is complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress, where Republicans hold a slim majority in the House of Representatives and Senate.

The bill narrowly passed the House last month and is now before the Senate, where Trump’s fellow Republicans are considering making changes. Nonpartisan analysts estimate the measure would add $US2.4 trillion to the US debt over 10 years.

Trump said on Saturday he was confident the bill would get passed before the US July 4 Independence Day holiday.

“In fact, yeah, people that were going to vote for it are now enthusiastically going to vote for it, and we expect it to pass,” Trump told NBC.

Trump late on Friday suggested a review of federal government contracts held by Musk. People who have spoken to Musk said his anger has begun to recede and they think he will want to repair his relationship with Trump.

With Reuters, Bloomberg

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