The US president’s decision to increase the budget deficit instead of cutting costs was the last straw, the tech tycoon has said
US President Donald Trump’s decision to increase the budget deficit instead of cutting costs has prompted Elon Musk to oppose Trump’s policies, the tech tycoon has said.
Musk made the comments in a thread on X when asked by a user what prompted him to go from “loving” Trump “as much as a straight man can” to opposing the president and attacking his policies.
“Increasing the deficit from an already insane $2 [trillion] under Biden to $2.5T. This will bankrupt the country,” Musk replied.
Musk was a key supporter in Trump’s return to the White House last November. Following the president’s inauguration, the tech billionaire became a key figure in the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was established to cut federal spending and costs.
The Trump-Musk honeymoon turned out to be short-lived, after the billionaire stepped down from his post last month. Since then, Musk has been critical of Trump’s flagship legislation – the One Big, Beautiful Bill – which envisions massive increases in spending, cuts to social programs, and a sharp increase to the budget deficit limit.
The two have been locked in a war of words, with the president accusing his former ally of receiving more government subsidies “than any human being in history,” while openly considering the potential deportation of the South African-born entrepreneur.
This week, the One Big, Beautiful Bill narrowly passed the Senate and House, and was signed into law by Trump on July 4.
Musk, having pledged to launch his own political party if the bill passes, announced on Independence Day the creation of the America Party, representing the “80% in the middle.”
Musk has said he wants to make his new party active by the midterm elections next year, suggesting that he will focus on a handful of seats to take advantage of “the razor-thin legislative margins” and therefore have “the deciding vote on contentious laws.”
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