[By Guancha Observer Network, Zhang Jingjuan] After Musk's "special government employee" experience card expired, he continuously criticized President Trump's "large and beautiful" tax reform bill. Now, this criticism is gradually damaging their relationship.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on April 4th, after Musk harshly criticized the bill, Trump became increasingly impatient with the billionaire. Previously, Trump's decision to withdraw the nomination of Musk's key ally to lead NASA has left the tech tycoon dissatisfied. This change has added cracks to their already delicate relationship.
A senior White House official said that Trump was displeased with Musk's public criticism of his hallmark bill, adding that Trump could not understand why Musk suddenly intensified his criticism after closely cooperating for four months. This official stated that Musk's latest offensive caught Trump's senior advisors off guard.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the recent withdrawal of Trump's nomination of Jared Isaacman to lead NASA by the White House has further exacerbated their already fragile relationship. Isaacman is a close ally and friend of Musk, and Musk had strongly recommended him for the position of NASA administrator.
A source who knows the inside story said that this decision infuriated Musk, who complained to colleagues last weekend about donating hundreds of millions of dollars to help Trump win the previous presidential election only to see Isaacman's nomination withdrawn. People close to Musk revealed that the frustration caused by the NASA incident prompted him to more aggressively publicly criticize the tax reform bill.
On June 3rd, just four days after stepping down, Musk couldn't resist criticizing the "large and beautiful" tax reform bill proposed by American Republicans. Aimed at cutting taxes and welfare, the bill has been questioned for potentially increasing the federal deficit and narrowly passed in the House of Representatives by one vote.
"Sorry, but I can't take it anymore," Musk posted on the X platform, calling the large, ridiculous, and politically manipulated congressional spending bill nauseating.
He pointed out: "Those who voted for this bill are despicable: you know you're wrong. You know it deep down."
On April 4th, Musk continued to criticize the tax reform bill, urging his over 200 million followers on the X platform to call their congressmen to "kill the bill."
In contrast, Trump posted an image of Musk's resignation statement from last week on his self-created social platform without any additional comments.
Local time on May 30th, 2025, Washington D.C., U.S. President Donald Trump and American entrepreneur, "Department of Government Efficiency" director Elon Musk held a press conference at the White House. May 30th was Musk's last day in the "Department of Government Efficiency." IC Photo
The report noted that Trump and Musk have long praised each other in public. Last week, Trump warmly hosted a farewell ceremony for Musk at the Oval Office of the White House and highly praised his contributions during his term in government. However, due to Musk's previous criticism of Trump's trade policies and ongoing friction with his advisors, this surface-level warmth cannot hide the occasional suspicion and dissatisfaction expressed by Trump and his advisors in recent months.
When asked whether Trump and Musk still maintain a good relationship, a White House official said it was too early to draw conclusions. The official said that while Trump may be forgiving, he will not forget such offenses.
The report pointed out that before Musk intensified his criticism of the tax reform bill, some of Trump's allies were concerned that once Musk left the White House, he would freely criticize the government. Sources familiar with the situation said that some government officials encouraged members of Congress to post positive messages about Musk's contributions on social media to avoid future conflicts.
People close to Musk said that he has long been dissatisfied with this tax bill, worrying about the clause that cancels electric vehicle tax credits. Tesla, Musk's car company, is one of the largest electric vehicle manufacturers globally. SpaceX, which Musk founded, has government contracts with NASA. Isaacman, who is also a key customer of SpaceX's emerging commercial space business, has flown to space twice aboard SpaceX's spacecraft and spent hundreds of millions of dollars on these missions.
White House officials privately dismissed Musk's criticism, saying that he is more concerned with his own commercial interests than public interests.
It is worth noting that the day before Trump hastily withdrew NASA's nomination (May 30th), coincidentally, was the last day of Musk's term at the "Department of Government Efficiency." Regarding Isaacman's situation, Musk commented that NASA "finds it hard to find someone so capable and kind."
According to sources familiar with the matter, Isaacman told colleagues that he believed Musk's departure gave the Trump administration an opportunity to exclude him from the nomination.
White House officials denied that this move aimed to remove Musk's allies from government positions, stating that Trump withdrew Isaacman's nomination upon learning that he had donated to Democratic figures.
However, Isaacman noted in a recent podcast interview that White House officials had known about these donations several months ago.
The Wall Street Journal believes that Musk's actions have made the difficult path for Republicans to pass this bill, which includes tax cuts and border spending, even more complicated. His posts have incited some Republicans, but given Trump's strong support for the current proposal, it remains unclear whether this will change the situation. Last month, the House passed the bill, and now the Senate is expected to make amendments before sending it back to the House for approval, in order to meet the Republican-set July 4th deadline for Trump's signature.
"This is Donald Trump's hallmark achievement. It is very important to him. Members of Congress should think carefully before hindering this victory," said Dusty Johnson, chairman of the Main Street Caucus of the Republican Party and Republican congressman from South Dakota.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said he had a wonderful, friendly, and productive conversation with Musk on Monday, but "24 hours later, he did a complete turnaround and publicly opposed the bill. To be honest, this surprised me." He said he called Musk on Tuesday night hoping to talk to him on Wednesday, but Musk hasn't returned his call yet.
Johnson believes that Musk made a "big mistake" this time and that Trump was "not happy" about his complete reversal.
This article is an exclusive contribution by the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7512301366845620763/
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