Trump-Musk feud live updates as president says he’s not focused on rift

In a phone conversation Friday morning, President Trump told chief Washington analyst for CBS News Robert Costa that he’s moving forward with his presidency today, and “totally” focused on domestic and foreign policy matters — not on Musk and their public feud. He also cast this moment as a positive one economically, even as many of his supporters and critics are paying close attention to Musk’s attacks on his administration. 

“That’s all I focus on,” Mr. Trump said of his presidency. “I don’t focus on anything else. That’s why I have my highest poll numbers.”

“It’s going really well,” the president added. “The country is doing great, has never done so well. Jobs numbers are great, everything is good.”

According to two sources close to the president who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations, the atmosphere at the White House this morning is muted about Musk. The president, they said, is unhappy with him. But the president also finds him to be “immature” and “acting out,” as one source described Mr. Trump’s view of the situation.

“This is a fluid thing and a lot can happen. It’s wait and see, wait and see what happens, what Musk does, how the president digests it,” one of the sources said. “We’re all not going to get ahead of this and he’s just doing what he always does, be the president and keep on moving.”

A senior administration official said Mr. Trump is thinking about selling the Tesla he purchased earlier this year.

In March, the president said that he would buy a Tesla “as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk.” Several models of the vehicle were displayed on the driveway at the White House for Mr. Trump to shop from and he ultimately selected a red Model S, which starts at around $80,000.

Mr. Trump told reporters then that he would write a check for the car and leave it at the White House for his staff to use. 

On the heels of their public spat, Musk is seeking a call with Mr. Trump. A call hasn’t taken place, a source familiar with the discussions told CBS News. The source said Mr. Trump hasn’t elected to schedule a call with Musk.

A second source told CBS News that the president isn’t interested in speaking with Musk.

The alliance between President Trump and Elon Musk went up in flames Thursday, days after the world’s richest man left the administration and tried to wield his influence to kill a massive budget bill that is central to enacting the president’s top legislative priorities. 

Their spat played out in public and marked another remarkable turn for Musk, who spent tens of millions on Mr. Trump’s reelection campaign and was given the reins to slash the size of the federal government. Here’s a look back at how Mr. Trump and Musk got here.

By Caitlin Yilek and Joe Walsh

In response to the spat between Mr. Trump and Musk, Vice President JD Vance reaffirmed his loyalty to the president, writing on social media that he has “done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I’m proud to stand beside him.”

As the feud between Mr. Trump and Musk unfolded Thursday, the billionaire claimed on X, the social media platform he owns, that the president’s name appeared in the files related to the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who faced charges of sex trafficking and died by suicide while in federal custody in 2019. He said “that is the real reason” the files haven’t been released to the public.

Musk teased the allegation by claiming it was “time to drop the really big bomb.”

Trump administration officials pledged to release more files related to Epstein’s case once the president returned to the White House for his second term. The Justice Department in February released some information to more than a dozen right-wing influencers, but some who were part of the group said they learned nothing new.