Elon Musk is making a "huge mistake" by targeting the President of the United States, JD Vance has said. Referring to Musk's recent barrage of angry posts aimed at Donald Trump, the Vice President described the billionaire as an "emotional guy" who lost his cool.
"I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine," he said in an interview released Friday, addressing the very public breakdown between Trump and Musk -- once close allies.
"I think it's a huge mistake for him to go after the President like that. It's going to be bad for the country and I don't think it's going to be good for Elon either. I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear," he added.
Vice President JD Vance goes on Theo Von's podcast and responds to Elon Musk's posts about President Trump:
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) June 7, 2025
“First of all, absolutely not. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein. That's totally bs.”
“I'm always going to be loyal to the president. And I hope… pic.twitter.com/5nJGETddT5
Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink, unleashed a storm of social media posts attacking Trump, criticising his tax and spending bill, suggesting impeachment, and even alleging that the government was covering up Trump's ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In response, Trump called Musk "crazy" and threatened to cancel his federal contracts. Musk, in turn, said he'd pull back NASA's Dragon spacecraft.
"It happens to everybody," JD Vance said about the outburst. "I've flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours."
The vice president made the remarks during an interview with comedian Theo Von, known for provocative jokes and his recent appearance opening for Trump at a military base in Qatar. The interview was taped Thursday, as Musk's posts were going viral on X, the social platform he owns.
At one point, Von showed Vance a post where Musk claimed Trump's administration hasn't released Epstein-related records because Trump is mentioned in them. Vance responded, "Absolutely not. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein."
"This stuff is just not helpful," Vance added, reacting to another post by Musk that called for Trump to be impeached and replaced with Vance. "It's totally insane. The president is doing a good job."
Still, Vance acknowledged Musk's achievements, calling him an "incredible entrepreneur," and praised his "department of government efficiency" for cutting costs, even though it led to thousands of job losses.
Defending the bill that Musk heavily criticised, Vance said the goal wasn't just to cut spending, but to extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts. The bill has drawn concern for potentially increasing the federal debt by $2.4 trillion and leaving over 10 million people uninsured, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Musk called the bill a "disgusting abomination."
"It's a good bill," Vance insisted. "It's not a perfect bill."
Earlier, billionaire Bill Ackman had called for peace between the two. Musk agreed Ackman was "not wrong," hinting he was open to dialogue. Reports say the White House is trying to mediate the conflict, although officials have not yet confirmed any scheduled call between the two.
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