Donald Trump as soon as referred to as Elon Musk “one of our great geniuses,” evaluating him to inventor Thomas Edison.
But the previous president’s relationship with the Tesla CEO seems to have soured.
At his rally in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, Trump branded the billionaire “another bulls***” artist,” saying Musk had claimed that he voted for him in the 2016 election.
Last month, Musk tweeted that his vote for Mayra Flores, who won a Texas special election, was the “first time I ever voted Republican.” And in remarks during a tech summit in May, Musk said he has voted “overwhelmingly for Democrats” in the past and “would possibly by no means have voted for a Republican.”
Trump recalled those comments during his rally on Saturday.
Trump on Elon Musk: “You know, he stated the opposite day, Oh, I’ve by no means voted for a Republican. I stated, I did not know that, he instructed me he voted for me. So he is one other bullshit artist.” pic.twitter.com/1cBiZsX1BJ
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 10, 2022
“You know, he said the other day ‘Oh, I’ve never voted for a Republican,'” Trump stated. “I said, ‘I didn’t know that.’ He told me he voted for me. So he’s another bulls**t artist.”
Trump additionally commented on reviews that Musk would now not be shopping for Twitter, after beforehand pledging to reverse Trump’s ban from the social media platform as soon as he owned it.
“He’s not going to be buying it,” Trump stated. “Although he might later. Who the hell knows what’s going to happen? He’s got a pretty rotten contract.”
Musk might have fallen afoul of the previous president after indicating that he would again Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis within the 2024 election.
Musk just lately stated he was “undecided” about whether or not to again Trump or DeSantis in 2024, however stated on Twitter that he was leaning in direction of DeSantis.
Neither Trump not DeSantis have confirmed they may run for president in 2024, however the Florida governor is seen by some as the one candidate who might block Trump’s path to the Republican nomination.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP by way of Getty Images
DeSantis has not confirmed if he’ll run whereas Trump has been hinting that he’ll run for a second time period, he has but to announce his candidacy.
The former president has reportedly instructed confidants that he might launch his presidential marketing campaign in Florida particularly to “stick it” to DeSantis, in line with Rolling Stone.
A latest New Yorker article reported that stress between the pair had “hardened into resentment” as DenSantis’s recognition grew. And earlier this 12 months, Trump branded DeSantis “gutless” for refusing to reveal whether or not he had acquired a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot.
Trump looking forward to 2024 might have performed a job in why he focused Musk at Saturday’s rally.
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Musk had stated forward of the 2016 election that he didn’t consider Trump was the “right guy” to steer the U.S.
But he later served on Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum as one among numerous CEOs advising the president on the financial system. He left in protest after Trump introduced he was leaving the Paris local weather settlement.
The pair appeared to stay on good phrases regardless of that and Musk’s public opposition to different Trump insurance policies.
Trump had heaped reward on Musk in a January 2020 interview with Squawk Box, saying: “He’s one of our great geniuses, and we have to protect our genius. You know, we have to protect Thomas Edison and we have to protect all of these people that came up with originally the light bulb and the wheel and all of these things. And he’s one of our very smart people and we want to cherish those people.”
Musk, in flip, thanked Trump a number of months later for his assist of controversial plans to open Tesla’s automotive manufacturing facility in California in violation of restrictions put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.