Why Trump-Musk Feud Probably Won’t Spark A MAGA Media Civil War

If you’ve spent any time online over the last 48 hours or so, you’ve probably seen the political equivalent of a bar fight that’s been playing out between President Trump and Elon Musk. The president put Musk on blast for criticizing his administration’s “big beautiful bill” — a sweeping piece of legislation that, among other things, cuts taxes, boosts spending on defense, and eliminates a Biden-era EV credit that once helped Tesla. A furious Musk shot back with multiple posts on X, insisting that Trump “would have lost the election” without his support and sharing a “Kill Bill” meme to encourage lawmakers not to support the legislation.

Trump, to no one’s surprise, didn’t take that lightly. He floated the idea of killing government contracts tied to Musk’s businesses, accused the Tesla co-founder of “wearing thin” and declared that Musk “just went crazy.” Likewise, some corners of the MAGAverse have registered their disapproval, with Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls — previously a Musk cheerleader — telling him, “You’ve lost your damn mind.”

“Oh man, the girls are fighting, aren’t they?”

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., went even further when asked about the escalating Trump-Musk feud. He told reporters, in response to Musk calling for Trump’s impeachment: “I mean, it’s just going off the deep end.” And the reactions continue to ripple out from there. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller seemed outright baffled by it all in a tweet Thursday night, insisting that the policy bill in question delivers wins from across the GOP wishlist. And AOC went viral for perhaps the most headline-grabbing quip of them all (“Oh man, the girls are fighting, aren’t they?”).

As far as the MAGA media sphere is concerned, meanwhile, it’s worth noting that there’s no reason yet to assume this shouting match will devolve into some kind of lasting civil war once the dust has finally settled. In fact, here are four reasons why the Trump-Musk blowup is probably closer to something like a family squabble than anything that would cause right-wing media to fracture in a major way:

1. Conservative media allows room for value clashes

For one thing, MAGA media encompasses everything from nationalists and culture warriors to libertarians, populists, and establishment Republicans — camps that, obviously, don’t all neatly align with each other. Trump’s America First nationalism bumping up against Musk’s more libertarian ideals, for example, is nothing new. The president’s base includes Fox News viewers as well as followers of the more rough-and-tumble right-wing blogosphere.

2. Right-wing media needs Trump and Musk

In MAGA media land, Trump is the main character. Everything from Fox to Newsmax still circles around his influence. At the same time, Musk owns the infrastructure of conservative discourse, via X. That puts both men in a sort of co-dependent situation – Musk owns the medium, while Trump’s ideas are the message. Their clash generates headlines, but don’t expect this news cycle to meaningfully upend the major characters, narratives, and overall dynamics of the right-wing media ecosystem.

3. MAGA media isn’t fanning the flames

I might end up eating my words on this next point, but a cursory spin around the MAGA mediaverse thus far also suggests that conservative outlets themselves aren’t in a rush to escalate the Trump-Musk feud. Despite the viral soundbites and social media fireworks, the response so far has been more of a both-sides hedge. Case in point, two current Breitbart headlines: “Musk Says ‘Yes’ to Donald Trump’s Impeachment” and “Musk vs. Trump: Elon’s History of Grabbing Government Subsidies.”

In other words, see point 2.

If anything, conservative media will be reaching for popcorn rather than choosing a side here. Trump’s favorite New York City tabloid, in fact, is already doing just that: New York Post stories online Thursday dived into every facet of the drama, from Musk’s impeachment suggestion to a closer look at Musk’s government contracts as well as Trump ally Steve Bannon calling on Trump to deport Musk and seize SpaceX.

4. The audience scrolls for Musk – but turns out for Trump

Finally, at the risk of re-asserting point 2 yet again:

Musk has earned praise from conservatives for wading into the culture wars and for his trolling of the left — but the loyalty of Trump’s base is simply on another level. Have Musk stans ever packed arenas, over and over again across several years, to listen to him speak for hours at a time? Trump occupies the center of a movement, whereas Musk is a chief provocateur for that movement. And in the right-wing media ecosystem, that difference is everything.