‘He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,’ US president says while declining to elaborate about what consequences would be
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump warned of “very serious consequences” if billionaire Elon Musk finances Democratic candidates against Republicans who support the Republican Party’s broad budget legislation.
“He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview on Saturday, while declining to elaborate about what the consequences would be.
The US president noted that he has no interest in mending his relationship with Musk following their recent public fallout, responding with “no” when asked if he hoped to reconcile.
“I would assume so, yeah,” said Trump when asked about whether he thought his relationship with Musk was over.
Following his public split with Musk, Trump said he believes the Republican Party is more unified than ever. He added that he has no plans to speak with Tesla’s CEO, adding: “I’m too busy doing other things.”
“I have no intention of speaking to him.”
Trump criticized Musk for showing “disrespect” toward the presidency, saying: “I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the president.”
On Thursday, Musk shared a series of posts on X targeting President Trump, including a now-deleted post referencing Trump’s past ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Responding on Saturday, Trump dismissed the claim. “That’s called ‘old news,'” which has been discussed for years.
“Even Epstein’s lawyer said I had nothing to do with it. It’s old news,” he highlighted.
The public dispute between Trump and Musk erupted on Thursday after the president blasted the billionaire for opposing a Republican policy measure due to its projected impact on the deficit. The clash quickly escalated, sparking fallout in Congress and affecting Tesla’s stock. — AA
