President Donald Trump has broken his silence after Elon Musk stepped down from his role as head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
With his ‘first buddy’ stepping down from his post in politics, all eyes were cast on the POTUS for his thoughts on the departure – but it wasn’t until almost a day later until we heard from the 78-year-old.
It has long been rumored that their relationship had become fractured, with the pair having been inseparable in the first few months of the Republican reclaiming the Oval Office – but in terms of the billionaire’s exit from the Trump administration, it was expected.
That is because Musk had been working under a distinct role in the US government as a ‘special government employee’ – which allowed him to work for up to 130 days in the office each year.
However, his resignation came three days early, and only one day after he criticized Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’.
Elon Musk had been working under a distinct role as a ‘special government employee’ prior to his exit (Yuri Gripas for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Speaking to CBS in a preview clip that aired on Tuesday (May 27), Musk said: “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill frankly, which increases the budget deficit not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the Doge team is doing.
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful… but I don’t know if it could be both, my personal opinion.”
The bill devised an increased in defense spending, including Trump’s ambition to implement a ‘Golden Dome’ above the US, which would protect it from enemy missiles, as well as multi-trillion dollar tax breaks.
However, as Musk mentioned, it undermined his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – with the new legislation could could increase government spending by around $600 billion in the next fiscal year.
President Donald Trump is set to give Musk a fare well later today (May 30), from the Oval Office (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Regardless, of any friction between the couple, Trump looks set to give Musk a proper send off for his involvement in helping him reclaim the White House.
Taking to Truth Social, the president posted: “I am having a Press Conference tomorrow at 1:30 P.M. EST, with Elon Musk, at the Oval Office.
“This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way. Elon is terrific! See you tomorrow at the White House.”
Yes, the pair are set to say fare well later today on May 30 – which is much better way for the world’s richest man to depart, with Trump only having posted a cryptic message hours after news broke that Musk was leaving politics.
Posting a meme to his account, it pictured Trump walking in the middle of a darkened street at night, captioned: “He’s on a mission from God & nothing can stop what is coming.”
As for Musk himself, he announced his departure on his social media platform, Twitter – which he rebranded to X.
“As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending,” he posted.
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Politics, US News
Joe Yates
Elon Musk quits Doge and leaves Trump one final message after publicly criticizing bill
Just a day after publicly criticizing President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’, the billionaire has stepped down from his post
Elon Musk has announced he is stepping down from his post in politics after sharing his ‘disappointment’ in the Trump administration.
The world’s richest man was working under a distinct role in the US government as a ‘special government employee’ – which allows him to work for up to 130 days in the office each year, before his official exit on May 28.
So while his departure was expected, the Tesla owner has resigned three days earlier – and just a day after publicly criticizing President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’.
Speaking to CBS in a preview clip that aired on Tuesday (May 27), Musk said: “I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill frankly, which increases the budget deficit not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the Doge team is doing.
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful… but I don’t know if it could be both, my personal opinion.”
The BBC has reported that following his criticism, the White House was working to ‘offboard’ Musk yesterday and he’s now added further comment on his platform X.
Elon Musk publicly criticized the Trump administration shortly before he stepped down from his government role (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The billionaire posted: “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.
“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.”
The POTUS has been tight lipped on the matter so far, but he did send a cryptic message on Truth Social.
Posting a meme to his account, it pictured Trump walking in the middle of a darkened street at night, captioned: “He’s on a mission from God & nothing can stop what is coming.”
Despite not being voted in by the public, Musk has been heading up the new government division alongside former Republican presidential candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President @realDonaldTrump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending. The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government.
His mission was to streamline the US government through plans to axe thousands of jobs and drastically reduce the wage bill, and once he had finished his mission, he had vowed to disband the department – setting a completion date of no later than July 4, 2026… Independence Day next year.
As Trump put it, his primary objective is to ‘dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies’.
The initiative has already engaged in mass layoffs across the country, overseen the removal of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) programs, and it’s made sizeable cuts to the Department of Education.
Musk was referred to as President Donald Trump’s ‘first buddy’, with the pair having been inseparable in POTUS’ first few months in office (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
What is the ‘big, beautiful bill’?
The spending bill includes an increased in defense spending, including Trump’s ambition to implement a ‘Golden Dome’ above the US which would protect it from enemy missiles, as well as multi-trillion dollar tax breaks.
Having just squeezed through the House of Representatives, it will now go to the senate.
It is believed that the new legislation could could increase government spending by around $600 billion in the next fiscal year – which the SpaceX owner believes ‘undermines’ his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Jeff Bottari
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Politics
Joe Yates
Elon Musk slammed for response to post ‘body-shaming’ Taylor Swift after Trump said ‘she’s no longer hot’
It’s not the first time Musk has brought up Swift either…
Elon Musk has highlighted comments made by Donald Trump on social media about Taylor Swift ‘no longer’ being ‘hot’.
It’s not like Donald Trump and Elon Musk have anything better to do, right? Not like one is supposed to be running the country and the other overseeing Twitter alongside advising said president of the US.
Instead, it seems the pair have been directing their keyboard warrior fury towards none other than pop star Taylor Swift.
Whether it be in 2018 when Trump said he liked Swift’s music ’25 percent less’ after she showed support for the Democrats, earlier this year when Trump highlighted Swift getting ‘booed out of’ the stadium after a Chiefs game, or yet another jab made about her Super Bowl appearance.
It appears Trump isn’t finished there, now taking aim at Swift’s appearance.
Donald Trump shared another bizarre post about Taylor Swift (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
In a post to Truth Social on May 16, Trump said: “Has anyone noticed that, since I said ‘I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,’ she’s no longer ‘HOT?'”
A Twitter account titled Autism Capital later shared a screenshot of the post to the platform, adding: “Trump woke up today and said ‘You know what it’s been a while since I blasted Taylor Swift.'”
Another account then shared a photograph of Swift performing on stage alongside a ‘Pepe the Frog’ meme edited into the image holding a ruler by Swift’s bottom.
And who should respond? Why, Kekius Maximus of course, AKA Elon Musk – adding a laughing emoji.
And it’s not taken long for people to slam Musk for his response to the post.
People have called out Elon Musk’s response (X/@elonmusk)
One Reddit user accused Musk of ‘body-shaming’ the singer.
A second added: “They need to leave her the f**k alone what’s their obsession with her.”
A third theorized the reason Trump and Musk are so ‘obsessed’ with Swift is because ‘she’s their class peer as a billionaire and they hate it’.
And someone else wrote: “Same guy who threatened to put a baby in her last year? Dude is disgusting.”
Indeed, it’s not the first time Musk has brought up Swift either.
What do you make of that, eh Elon? (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
When Trump went head-to-head with Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the US, Swift weighed in online with where she’d be casting her vote.
Swift took to Instagram to state her support for Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, explaining that an AI image of her seemingly endorsing Trump had supported her decision for transparency.
She said: “It really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation. It brought me to the conclusion that I need to be very transparent about my actual plans for this election as a voter. The simplest way to combat misinformation is with the truth.”
At the end of the statement, she signed ‘childless cat lady’ below her name, referencing JD Vance’s remarks about prominent Democrats being a ‘bunch of childless cat ladies’.
And in a bizarre turn of events, Musk then took to Twitter to respond: “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
Oh, and Musk hasn’t stopped there either.
Musk and Trump’s weird ‘obsession’ with Swift? She’s been good at shaking it off (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
After being accused of doing a ‘Nazi salute’ while at Trump’s inauguration ceremony, Musk seemingly saw it as yet another opportunity to mention Swift.
Musk later shared a picture of Adolf Hitler performing a Nazi salute alongside a shot of Swift with her arm raised.
On Reddit, a post included footage of Swift from the supposed incident in 2014, showing she’s actually blowing a kiss to the crowd…
UNILAD has contacted representatives of Elon Musk and Taylor Swift for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Andrew Harnik/Getty
Topics: Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Reddit, Social Media, Taylor Swift, US News
Poppy Bilderbeck
‘Real’ reason Elon Musk is stepping down from DOGE as Trump reportedly confirms with ‘inner circle’
The SpaceX founder claimed reports about his departure were ‘fake news’
Elon Musk has spoken out on the reason he’ll be leaving the White House after reports emerged that Donald Trump had discussed his imminent departure with his ‘inner circle’.
News of the president’s discussions emerged in a report from Politico published yesterday (April 2), which cited ‘three Trump insiders who were granted anonymity to describe the evolving relationship’.
The report claimed that Trump had told his ‘inner circle’, which includes members of his Cabinet, that Musk would be ‘stepping back’ from his current role after he helped launch the Department of Government Efficiency and cut federal spending.
Musk’s role within the government has long been a source of confusion, with the White House stating in February that Musk was a ‘senior adviser’ to Trump, while he has elsewhere been described as a ‘special government employee’.
Musk is a ‘special government employee’ at the White House (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
There were claims he was in charge, then suggestions that he had ‘no actual authority to make government decisions’, but now it’s become clear that Musk likely won’t be hanging around forever anyway.
The insiders told Politico that Trump is pleased with the work of Musk and DOGE, but that both men had decided in ‘recent days’ that it would soon be time for Musk to step back.
In the wake of the reports, Musk wrote on Twitter that the claims were ‘fake news’ as he’d already been planning to leave as part of an existing time limit on his role.
Since Musk is a ‘special government employee’, his work within the government is not set to exceed 130 days, ABC News reports, meaning his term would be up around the end of May.
Musk branded discussions around his departure as ‘fake news’ (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Musk’s comment on Twitter came in response to a post from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who wrote: “This ‘scoop’ is garbage. Elon Musk and President Trump have both *publicly* stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”
When asked by reporters about the 130 day limit, Trump indicated that Musk had other duties to take care of outside of DOGE.
“Well, I think he’s … amazing. But I also think he’s got a big company to run. And so, at some point he’s going to be going back. He wants to,” the POTUS said.
Though Musk is expected to step back from DOGE in the coming weeks, one senior administration official told Politico the SpaceX founder is likely to retain an informal role as an adviser.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Harnik
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Politics
Emily Brown
Trump’s unbelievable response to Elon Musk after he publicly criticized ‘big, beautiful bill’
Musk has resigned from his post in politics a day after criticizing Trump, with rumors of an alleged rift taking place between the two
President Donald Trump has spoken out after Elon Musk publicly criticized his administration’s ‘big, beautiful bill’.
The world’s richest man has stepped down from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, handing in his resignation yesterday (May 28) – a day after a clip aired of him lambasting the House-passed Republican bill.
“I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill frankly, which increases the budget deficit not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the Doge team is doing,” Musk said in a preview clip for CBS on Sunday, that aired on Tuesday.
“I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful… but I don’t know if it could be both, my personal opinion.”
The spending bill includes an increased in defense spending, including Trump’s ambition to implement a ‘Golden Dome’ above the US which would protect it from enemy missiles, as well as multi-trillion dollar tax breaks.
Now, when asked by reporters in the Oval Office for his reaction to the Tesla owner publicly sharing his ‘disappointment’ with his legislation, Trump replied: “Well my reaction is a lot of things. Number one, we have to get a lot of votes we can’t be cutting, you know?
“We need to get a lot of support, and we have a lot of support – we had to get it through the House.”
He went on to claim that if the spending wasn’t approved taxpayers would have to pay a 65 percent increase in taxes, along with ‘lots of other big problems’, instead of having ‘the largest tax cut in the history’ of the US.
Elon Musk has resigned from his post as head of the Department of Government Efficiency days before his time in office was due to come to an end this year, with rumors of an alleged rift taking place between President Donald Trump and the billionaire (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Unbelievably, Trump went on to slightly criticize his own bill – with the POTUS rarely, if ever, conceding to having issues with his policies.
“We will be negotiating that bill and I’m not happy about certain aspects of it, but I’m thrilled by other aspects of it – that’s the way they go,” the businessman explained.
“It’s very big, it’s the big beautiful bill but the beautiful is because of all of the things we have – the biggest thing being I would say the level of tax cutting that we’re going to be doing.”
His tone is in stark contrast to how he announced the legislation on Truth Social, which could increase government spending by around $600 billion in the next fiscal year.
It read in part: “‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ has PASSED the House of Representatives! This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!”
