Trump-Musk involve rift publicly

The clash between U.S. President Donald Trump and former adviser Elon Musk has gone public, as the two exchanged insults following Musk's criticism of one of Trump’s major domestic policies, reports BBC.

The two billionaires escalated the feud throughout Thursday (June 5), lobbing barbs at each other on the social media sites they each own, suggesting a bitter conclusion to their unlikely alliance.

On this day, Trump said he was "disappointed" with Musk's criticisms of his administration's centrepiece tax and spending bill, musing that it may be the end of their "great relationship".

Musk then accused Trump of "ingratitude", adding: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election".

The breaking point in the relationship between the president and his one-time ally came after weeks of Musk lobbying against Trump's spending bill, which was passed by the US House last month and is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

Shortly after leaving the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) after 129 days in the job, Musk took to his site X to call the bill a "disgusting abomination" and posting: "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong."

The partnership between the two men began when Musk endorsed Trump last July after an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. The Tesla boss reportedly funneled $290m (£213m) into getting him back into the White House.

Amid a flurry of posts on X after Thursday's news conference, Musk took credit for the sweeping Republican victory in last November's election, writing: "Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate."