President Trump threatened Elon Musk with "serious consequences" should he decide to fund Democrats in upcoming elections, the latest in the ongoing public spat between the world's richest man and the world's arguably most powerful one.
Mr. Trump told
NBC News' Kristen Welker in a phone interview on Saturday that he has no desire to rebuild his relationship with Musk after
the billionaire criticized the
budget bill passed by House lawmakers last month. When asked by Welker if his relationship with him was over, the president said, "I would assume so, yeah."
"I'm too busy doing other things," Trump continued. "You know, I won an election in a landslide. I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened, I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him."
The president also issued a warning amid chatter that Musk could back Democratic lawmakers and candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.
"If he does, he'll have to pay the consequences for that," Trump told NBC, though he declined to share what those consequences would be. Musk's businesses have many lucrative federal contracts.