Musk puts on with Donald Trump

Just a few days after the retreat from Washington, Tech billionaire Elon Musk goes to US President Donald Trump on a collision course. Musk attacked the tax and expenditure law promoted by Trump as « disgusting hideousness ». Then he followed up with a warning to congress members who vote for the project: « In November next year we will fire all politicians who have betrayed the American people. »

At the beginning of November 2026, there are temporary elections in the USA, in which all members of the House of Representatives and a good third of the senators have to face the voters.

For congress members, such words from Musk’s mouth are not an empty threat: after all, he donated more than $ 250 million for Trump’s election campaign last year. Musk is by far the richest person in the world with an estimated assets at $ 400 billion. Even if it consists largely of shares, it can easily relax high sums for election campaigns.

Musk stands against the white house

The budget, which Trump calls the « great beautiful law », made it as the first congress chamber in May with a narrow majority through the House of Representatives. In the Senate, however, several members of Trump’s Republican Party block themselves. They interfere with the planned raising of the debt upper limit and want stronger spending cuts.

Trump is currently trying to bring the skeptical republican senators in line. Musk’s advance undermines these efforts. He also interferes in the relationship between the president and the congress in an unusual way. Trump often threatens renegade MPs and senators to support their rivals in the party in the next election.

The White House initially reacted to Musk’s criticism with shrugs: « The President already knows what Elon Musk thought of this law, » said spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. Trump sticks to it. However, that was before Musk’s reminder to congress members.

Musk: « I can’t stand it anymore »

Musk said two weeks ago that he would probably spend less money on political purposes in the future. « I think I did enough, » he said in an interview. At the same time, he restricted if he would see a reason to spend money on politics in the future, he would do this again.

Musk had already criticized the law in the past few days – but with much more reserved words. For example, he showed himself « disappointed » that it was the reduction in government spending by the Doge undergrow committee. At the same time, he told the CBS station that he was « something in the clamp » because he did not criticize the government, but also did not want to support all their decisions. Now he initiated his violent criticism with the words: « I’m sorry, but I can’t stand it anymore. »

Applause from left

On his online platform X, Musk criticized, among other things, that the plans would drive the « already gigantic » budget deficit and the public debt. Everyone who would have voted for the law should be ashamed: « You know that you did the wrong thing. »

With the package, it is planned to permanently extend tax relief from Trump’s first term. In addition, he wants to fulfill his campaign promise to no longer tax tips and overtime payments. This should be counter -financed, for example, by cuts in social benefits – which is due to the Democrats of sharp resistance.

The tech billionaire got applause from the notoriously left-wing democratic Senator Bernie Sanders: « Musk is right », he also wrote to X. Sanders that the richest Americans would get $ 664 billion in tax relief and at the same time removed $ 290 billion in the meal care of needy.

Defeats in Washington

When withdrawing from Washington, Musk referred to the rule that contracts of external government employees were limited to 130 days a year. However, there had already been evidence of a weakened influence of Musk in Trump’s environment in recent months. According to media reports, he lost power struggles with several ministers. Finally, Trump also decided to take the previous candidate for the management of the space agency NASA out of the race.