U.S. President Donald Trump gestures while boarding Air Force One as he departs for New Jersey at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., June 6, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
President Donald Trump told NBC News on Saturday that Elon Musk would see “serious consequences” if he backs Democratic candidates who challenge Republicans supporting the “big, beautiful bill.”
“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News’ Kristen Welker in a phone interview.
“He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” he continued, without giving specifics on what that would look like.
Trump also said that he thinks his relationship with Musk is done after their public feud erupted this week.
“I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened, I gave him breaks in my first administration and saved his life in my first administration,” Trump said.
“I have no intention of speaking to him,” Trump added.
When asked whether he thinks his relationship with Musk is over, he said, “I would assume so.”
Trump also accused Musk of being “disrespectful to the office of the president.”
Trump’s remarks are among his most extensive public comments yet on his feud with Musk, and the latest sign that the president is not interested in mending his relationship with the onetime ally.
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Musk has been a vocal critic of the Trump-backed spending bill that moved through the House last month.
Earlier this week, Musk called the spending bill a “disgusting abomination” that will lead to exploding federal budget deficits.
“In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,” he wrote in a separate X post.
Musk’s criticism of the spending package — which is now being considered in the Senate — is in part what spurred the clash between the two men.
Trump told NBC News that he is still “very confident” that the bill will be passed by July 4, and that he doesn’t think Musk could derail the bill.
“If you look at the Republicans, we’ve never been more unified,” Trump told NBC News. “The bill is fantastic.”
— NBC News contributed reporting
