President Donald Trump is reportedly seething over Elon Musk’s public trashing of his “Big Beautiful Bill” but knows it’s better to keep his mouth shut on the subject for now.
The former ‘First Buddy’ dramatically turned on the president in an unhinged late-night posting spree on Tuesday, labelling his spending plans a “disgusting abomination” which would “burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”
Reacting to the meltdown on Wednesday morning’s Fox & Friends, host Brian Kilmeade said: “I think the Elon Musk thing really caught the president by surprise. And I hear he is furious!”
The Fox host frequently has the ear of the president, and his response is a solid indicator of how Trump may respond to Musk’s betrayal over the coming days.
“I think he’s so smart to keep his powder dry,” Kilmeade added. “Because it just plays into what critics would have to say, ‘The right can’t get out of their own way.’
“Instead, you have a goal: Pass it. Elon Musk is not in the Senate or the House. Don’t worry about it.”
Kilmeade’s co-host Lawrence Jones attempted to spin Musk’s criticism by suggesting he was still on the president’s side, despite his blistering criticisms on Tuesday night.
“I don’t think Elon is anti-MAGA now, or anti-the president now,” Jones said. “He worked so hard, put a lot of stuff on the line to get a lot wasteful stuff cut, and it doesn’t sound like Congress is showing that same willingness.”
Ainsley Earhardt responded by saying: “I thought Elon was very respectful in some of the original interviews, saying ‘look, we have differences and I don’t agree with him on everything.’
“But this latest comment about calling the big, beautiful bill a disgusting abomination, I was shocked to hear him say that I can understand why the president would not be happy about that—this is someone who worked on his team.”
Musk’s comments have garnered a mixed reception amongst conservative circles. Speaker Mike Johnson rebuked the billionaire and said his comments were “terribly wrong,” while Sen. Eric Schmitt said: “We need spending reductions, no doubt. But we’re going to work through it.”
The former DOGE chief found himself an ally in Rand Paul however, with the Kentucky senator tweeting: “I agree with Elon. We have both seen the massive waste in government spending and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake. We can and must do better.”
