Billionaire backtracks after harsh criticism of Trump’s spending bill, online jabs
June 11, 2025 | Washington, D.C. — After a week of intense and highly public online exchanges, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk appeared to reverse course on Wednesday, expressing regret over his recent criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump. The online feud, which began with Musk slamming a federal spending bill supported by Trump, quickly spiraled into personal attacks and political fallout.
From “disgusting abomination” to a public apology
The controversy began when Musk targeted Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”, a massive Congressional spending package, calling it a “disgusting abomination” and accusing lawmakers of bankrupting the nation. “Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,” Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
He further advocated for a new draft of the bill, adding, “No one who actually reads the bill should be able to stomach it.”
White House pushback, Trump responds
In response, the White House dismissed Musk’s comments, stating, “The federal government will not consult every policy decision with Elon Musk.” Trump himself chimed in, expressing disappointment in Musk and suggesting the billionaire had knowledge of the bill.
Musk quickly refuted the claim, writing, “False, this bill was never shown to me even once and was passed in the dead of night so fast that almost no one in Congress could even read it!”
Escalation and Fallout
As the feud escalated, Musk called for the bill to be killed, arguing that “Bankrupting America is NOT ok!” He also criticized Trump’s tariff policies, predicting a recession in the second half of the year, and even claimed that Trump was linked to the Jeffrey Epstein files, a statement that sparked widespread speculation and outrage.
At one point, Musk even responded “yes” to a post calling for Trump’s impeachment.
Trump then threatened to terminate government contracts and subsidies for Musk’s businesses, prompting Musk to announce that SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft — a threat that appeared to be short-lived.
Musk reverses course
By Wednesday, however, Musk appeared to have a change of heart. In a surprising shift, he acknowledged that he may have taken things too far, saying he regretted some of his remarks about Trump.
The billionaire’s statement, which many interpreted as an attempt to de-escalate tensions, sparked mixed reactions online. While some saw it as a strategic retreat, others speculated that the week-long feud was “staged” or politically motivated.
Looking ahead
While it remains unclear whether the fallout will have long-term consequences for either man, Musk’s reversal may signal an effort to preserve ties with the Republican establishment ahead of the 2024 elections, or simply a desire to move past a controversy that spiraled out of control.
As Musk himself put it in a previous post, “Do the right thing and you will get good things back.”
