Musk-Trump Bromance Goes Up in Flames

Last Friday, Elon Musk and Donald Trump had a massive farewell party in the Oval Office, where both of them were ecstatic and both were happy to be going on their own paths, as Musk’s tenure of being a special government employee expired after 135 days, to prevent conflicts of interest. Trump gave Musk a key to the White House, and both had an inseparable bond.

Starting during campaign season, both of them had an inseparable bond, and no one expected their alliance to go up in flames. Musk headed DOGE, got direct access to Trump a lot of the time, and shadowed cabinet meetings, all while having major government access to resources like Social Security Databases. Trump frequently mentioned him in rallies and Musk was a central figures in the 2024 election and beyond. 

However, just 5 days later, their alliance took a turn for chaos. It soon got nasty. For context, Musk was upset with Trump that there are a lack of spending cuts in the OBBB, Trump’s proposed budget bill full of Republican priorities. This led to Musk being quite vocal about it, tweeting that it’s a “pork-filled” spending bill, and that the bill has to be killed, in favor of a slimmer, “more beautiful” bill. He also reposted old tweets of Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson about fiscal responsibility, in an attempt to show them as flip-floppers. Obviously, this enraged Trump, and in a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said a few things about Musk, including that he had a good friendship with Musk, and that he wishes him well. Moreover, Trump said he would cut the government subsidies of Elon’s projects, like SpaceX, and also said that Elon’s going crazy because the EV Tax Credit would be removed, naturally hurting Musk’s biggest company, Tesla.

With this, the full on war started, with nearly all of it taking place on Trump’s Truth Social, or Musk’s Twitter. Elon, naturally enraged after Trump’s comments, went on full offensive mode and first listed grievances with the bill, and then dropped arguably the biggest shocker in this entire feud.

Elon Musk alleged that President Trump was in the Epstein Files, and that is the reason why they haven’t been made public. This, however, is a questionable claim, as special government employees (like Musk), do not have access to classified information such as the Epstein files. This is especially interesting considering that while there have been some instances of President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein together, nothing has been proven that Trump was in the Epstein files.

Naturally, this made many people tune into what was going on on Twitter and Truth Social, with people giving their own analysis. People were hosting polls left and right, and people had to say a lot on the topic, with some supporting Musk, and some supporting Trump in the feud. 

Eventually, the feud got less heated, and Musk walked back a lot of his criticism, and deleted posts like the Epstein one. Trump mentioned that he doesn’t want anything to do with Elon, and that he doesn’t mind him anymore.

Overall, with this feud, one thing is clear: power is always desired. Musk made tweets about making a new party, and leading it, and also encouraged people like Thomas Massie and Rand Paul to speak out even further against the bill. It’s become a spectacle for the public, however, it also shows the harsh reality of dirty politics and its place in our system. 

Extemp Analysis by Daphne Kalir-Starr

Extemp Question: Will DOGE continue to have an effect on the US government after Elon Musk’s departure? 

AGD: I think the most logical way to go about this AGD is to use humor. The opportunities are endless, you could make a crack using a “ship” name (“Trelon? Elump? While the relationship between the world’s richest man and our president had endless couple names, it seems as though it’s honeymoon period is over”) or whatever makes you smile (“An ancient Italian proverb warns husbands not to confuse wives with their mistresses, but it seems like Donald Trump has done just that, kicking his beloved wife Elon out of their house. But now, he’s about to see how expensive this divorce really is.”) I would be careful about injecting too much humor into this speech unless it truly is original, because at this point, your judges will likely have heard too much about the Trump/Elon bromance. 

Background: As usual, a short three to (AT MAX) four sentences here. First sentence explains Elon Musk’s role at DOGE, and DOGE’s promise to cut 1 trillion dollars in government waste. The second sentence about how Trump and Musk have had a falling out, maybe mention how Trump said he was in no rush to reunify with Musk. Third sentence introducing potential actors to take over DOGE after Musk’s departure (introduce Amy Gleason who is the acting officer,) or how DOGE has become institutionalized as a government agency, making it hard to get rid of.

SOS: Always relate back to human lives. Find a program that DOGE is likely to cut which will affect Americans. (“It's when considering the  Atlantic explains on May 8th, DOGE has cut 10 billion dollars to live saving vaccine development initiatives, which helped keep XYZ million Americans safe, we need to ask today’s question.”)

Q: Will DOGE continue to have an effect on the US government after Elon Musk’s departure? 

A: Yes, because they’ve become institutionalized beyond Musk. (Honestly, I think you could take this question either way but I think the evidence points to yes. If you want to say no, I would define the term effect to your benefit.) 

1. Unprecedented access to critical data

2. Convinced GOP leaders to codify recommendations

3. (Challenge yourself and brainstorm a third point!)

Read More Here

• Clare Duffy, Amy O’Kruk, CNN

• Nik Popli, TIME

• Peter Baker, New York Times