After throwing a tantrum over the "Big and Beautiful" tax and spending bill and having a rift with U.S. President Trump, billionaire Musk changed his phone number and no longer responds to messages from U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Johnson detailed the situation on the "Pod Force One" podcast of the New York Post, which aired on July 16 local time.

Musk and Trump, Associated Press

Johnson said, "I sent him a long text message, and then he changed his phone number."

"Later, I realized I had sent it somewhere, and he (Musk) never read it, so I was looking forward to meeting him," Johnson said, "We must correct the mistake."

He said, "Frankly, I think the president also thinks this way, but there are some differences."

Johnson pointed out that there were "many factors" behind the rift between Trump and Musk, and he would "let others judge."

Johnson also admitted in the program that he, like Musk, is deeply concerned about the rapidly growing national debt, but he emphasized, "We cannot solve these issues overnight, but we have a plan, and I think this will make everyone who is worried about our deficit and debt happy."

"Musk is a genius; the things he does I can't even understand deeply, but legislation is not one of his specialties," Johnson said.

About his current relationship with Musk, Johnson said, "Clearly, I have no problem with Musk. I respect everything he has done, but I just want him to fully understand what we are doing and remind him of our strategy. This is a long-term operation."

In mid-May, Musk stepped down from his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and a few days later publicly criticized the "Big and Beautiful" bill. Musk condemned the bill as "extremely crazy and highly destructive," saying it would "destroy millions of jobs in the United States and cause great damage to our country."

When the bill passed in the House of Representatives by a narrow margin and Trump signed it on July 4, Musk announced the establishment of a new party, "The American Party."

For this, Trump quickly responded, calling Musk's idea "absurd." He wrote on social media, "I am deeply saddened to see Elon Musk completely 'off the rails' over the past five weeks, almost becoming a wrecking train."

Trump also said, "He (Musk) even wants to form a third party, although such parties have never succeeded in the United States—the system seems not designed for them at all. The only 'use' of third parties is to create complete chaos and destruction, and we've had enough of those radical left-wing Democrats who have lost their confidence and sanity!"

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