Donald Trump said on Saturday there would be “serious consequences” if Elon Musk financed US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the president's massive tax and spending cuts bill, and that his relationship with his billionaire backer was over.
In a telephone interview with NBC News, Mr. Trump declined to say what those consequences would be and added that he had not discussed investigating Mr. Musk.
Asked whether he thought his relationship with the CEOs of Tesla and SpaceX was over, Mr Trump replied: “I would assume so, yes.”
“No,” Mr. Trump said when asked by NBC whether he wanted to repair his relationship with Mr. Musk.
This week, Mr Musk and Mr Trump began trading insults, with Mr Musk calling Mr Trump's bill a “disgusting abomination”.
Mr. Musk's opposition to the measure complicates efforts to pass the bill in Congress, where Republicans hold narrow majorities in the House and Senate.
Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX chief executives was over, Mr Trump replied: “I would assume so, yes.” Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The bill narrowly passed the House last month and now goes to the Senate, where Trump's Republican allies are considering changes.
Independent analysts estimate that this measure will increase the US national debt by $2.4 trillion over 10 years.
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Mr Trump said on Saturday he was confident the bill would be passed before the July 4 Independence Day holiday.
“In fact, yes, the people who were going to vote for it are now enthusiastically going to vote for it, and we expect it to pass,” Mr. Trump said on NBC.
Mr Musk has deleted several social media posts critical of Mr Trump, including one expressing support for impeaching the president, in an apparent bid to de-escalate their public feud that erupted on Thursday.
Mr. Trump late on Friday offered to renegotiate federal government contracts held by Mr. Musk. People who have spoken to Mr. Musk say his anger has begun to subside and they think he will want to repair his relationship with Mr. Trump.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
