Vice President JD Vance has weighed in on the escalating conflict between President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, characterizing the public spat as detrimental to both parties and the nation. During a candid conversation on Theo Von's podcast, Vance expressed hope for reconciliation despite the increasingly hostile exchanges between the former allies.
According to The Daily Caller, Vance made it clear where his loyalties lie while still acknowledging Musk's contributions. The vice president praised Musk's entrepreneurial accomplishments and his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative but emphasized his primary allegiance remains with President Trump.
The interview comes after days of increasingly bitter public exchanges between Trump and Musk, culminating in explosive allegations from the Tesla CEO that were later deleted from social media. Vance's comments represent the first major administration response attempting to defuse the situation.
Vance suggested Musk's political inexperience may be contributing to the conflict. He noted that the tech entrepreneur has faced significant backlash since becoming more politically active, including attacks on his businesses.
"Elon's new to politics... his businesses are being attacked nonstop, they're literally like firebombing some of his cars, and by the way, we're looking into a lot of this stuff," Vance explained during the interview. "I think part of it is this guy got into politics and has suffered a lot for it, and I get the frustration there."
The vice president acknowledged Musk's frustrations while still maintaining that the public criticism of Trump was misguided. He expressed concern that the feud could have negative consequences not only for the country but for Musk personally.
The public disagreement erupted Tuesday when Musk harshly criticized Trump's signature spending legislation, which he characterized as a "disgusting abomination" in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
"I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it," Musk wrote on the platform he owns.
The tech billionaire further claimed the bill would increase national debt by $2.5 trillion and predicted that Trump's tariff policies would trigger a recession before year's end. The criticisms struck at the heart of Trump's economic policy agenda, prompting a swift response from the president.
President Trump responded by accusing Musk of hypocrisy, claiming the tech entrepreneur had been fully informed about the legislation's contents before its passage. According to Trump, Musk only objected after learning about planned cuts to electric vehicle mandates.
"I'm very disappointed because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here... he had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem and he only developed the problem when he found out we're going to have cut the EV mandate," Trump stated during a press briefing.
The conflict quickly intensified, with Musk eventually making explosive allegations about Trump's connection to Jeffrey Epstein in a post he later deleted. This marked a significant escalation in the feud between the two influential figures.
Vance emphasized throughout the interview that he believes the ongoing conflict serves neither party well and damages the country's interests. The vice president expressed hope that Musk would eventually return to working with the administration.
"My hope is, [Musk] comes back, says 'look, made some mistakes, didn't mean to say everything, let's smooth it out and let's all be friends,' because again I care about the country, and I think the country's better off under the president's leadership, Elon's helping us out as opposed to fighting the administration," Vance stated.
He concluded the interview by reiterating his desire to see the conflict resolved quickly, noting that neither he nor President Trump wants continued hostility with the influential tech entrepreneur who had previously been a key supporter of the administration.
