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NBC News reports Trump Warns Musk of ‘Serious Consequences’ if He Backs Democrats

President Donald Trump on Saturday said there would be “serious consequences” if tech mogul Elon Musk funds Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who vote in favor of the GOP’s sweeping budget bill.

“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview, but declined to share what those consequences would be. “He’ll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that,” he added.

The president also said he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk after a feud between the two men erupted into public view earlier this week. “No,” Trump said when asked if he had any wish to do so. Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said, “I would assume so, yeah.”

Musk on Thursday launched a barrage of posts on X against the president, including a now-deleted post highlighting the onetime links between the president and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump responded to Musk’s criticisms, telling reporters, “I’m very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill. I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”

Shortly after those comments, Musk launched his flurry of posts, including a now-deleted post promoting a call for Trump to be impeached and another where he said the president’s tariff agenda would cause a recession later this year.

Trump on Thursday also responded with his own posts on Truth Social. In one post, he wrote, “I don’t mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago,” suggesting that Musk knew what was in the bill before it was passed.

He also wrote on Thursday, “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” referring to federal contracts with SpaceX. “I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”

On Saturday, Trump said he hadn’t given his suggestion about canceling Musk’s companies’ federal contracts any more thought. “I’d be allowed to do that,” he said, “but I have, I haven’t given it any thought.”

During an interview on “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” that was taped on Thursday but released Saturday, Vice President JD Vance described Musk’s attacks on Trump as “nuclear” and said that it may not be possible for Musk to “come back into the fold.”

The Coward’s Way Out

Musk backed down by deleting his Tweets that tied Trump to Epstein and called for Trump’s impeachment.

He’s worried about a Tesla (TSLA) stock plunge and losing government contracts. It’s too late for that.

It’s better to admit mistakes and apologize, or defend them with evidence. But it’s better still to not act like a big-mouth ass in the first place.

Deleting posts and walking away is the coward's way out.

Third Political Party

Musk threatens to start a third political party. But what issues does he have that resonate with voters?

Musk is upset about not enough budget cuts. Who does that appeal to other than Libertarians?

A centrist Democrat or Republican candidate could do very well, if they could get nominated. But a new centrist party?

If no candidate gets a majority of votes in the electoral college, then the House chooses.

At Least 20 Republican Senators Want Changes to One Big Beautiful Bill

Meanwhile, please note that At Least 20 Republican Senators Want Changes to One Big Beautiful Bill

It will take some wizardry or huge capitulation to thread this needle.

In the Senate, Republicans can lose at most 3 votes. I highly doubt 4 of 6 Republicans will hold firm on green energy tax credits to sink the bill.

However, there could be 4 Senators on Medicaid and there likely are 4 Senators who want demand more cuts.

The compromise would be do what you can with trading as little as possible Medicaid for totally whacking SALT.

Will House Republicans really refuse, allowing the largest tax hike in history?

My sense is the House is bluffing over SALT.

Republicans can (and should) kill Trump’s proposed no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and auto loan interest deductions.

Question of the Day

Q: Can this Leaky Boat Sail?
A: One way or another it will.

But it will not contain the chainsaw that Musk wants.

Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, said the package’s aim to cut $1.5 trillion “isn’t squat, quite honestly.” And Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, has also rebuffed the cuts, saying the amount is “not going to do it.”

I know how these fights end, and it’s with capitulation by alleged deficit hawks.

What Should We Do?

The idealist Mish would scrap the bill and start all over along the lines of my May 25 post, What Should We Do to Get Government Spending Under Control?

That’s the question I was asked today. 12 Ideas.

The pragmatic Mish would settle out of court right now for $2.0 trillion in cuts despite the fact such a bill would still add to the deficit.

My prediction: $1.7 trillion in cuts, up from $1.5 trillion, not at all beautiful, but definitely big. Much less would not be surprising.

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