Trump-Musk feud: US President Donald Trump finds himself increasingly isolated and suspicious within his own political circle after a very public fallout with tech billionaire Elon Musk. The controversy, which began with Musk calling for Trump’s impeachment and pushing Vice President JD Vance as a possible replacement, has now snowballed into a crisis of trust.
Musk-Vance dynamic alarms Trump
Michael Wolff, renowned author of Fire and Fury and longtime Trump biographer, recently revealed on The Daily Beast podcast that Trump is “spiralling into paranoia” over the growing influence of JD Vance and Musk’s endorsement of him. According to Wolff, Trump never fully trusted Vance, seeing him as an “unlikely Republican” whose popularity is largely rooted in Silicon Valley circles, not traditional conservative strongholds.
Trump’s decision to make Vance his running mate in the 2024 race was, Wolff claims, influenced by Musk’s massive financial backing—which was reportedly conditional on Vance being picked. Now, with Musk turning on Trump, the president sees that choice as a potential liability.
Trump to test Vance’s loyalty?
Wolff predicted that Trump will now set up “a series of tests” for Vance to prove his loyalty. These tests, he suggested, are designed to ensure that Vance is not conspiring with Musk or plotting his own political future.
“He’s got to profess absolute loyalty to Trump, or he will be sidelined,” Wolff said, adding that Trump expects unrelenting flattery from those around him.
Vance, seemingly aware of Trump’s mindset, has already begun damage control. “I’m the vice president to President Trump. My loyalties are always going to be with the president,” he declared.
Trump-Epstein rumour
As if the internal distrust wasn’t enough, Musk further complicated Trump’s position by suggesting—via a now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) post—that Trump is mentioned in the infamous Epstein files. Though the claim remains unverified, Wolff noted that the Epstein scandal has long loomed as a “silver bullet” threat over Trump’s political ambitions.
Trump’s past association with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, dates back to the late 1980s and has repeatedly been used to tarnish his reputation, especially during election cycles.