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Trump Threatens Musk's Subsidies Over Spending Bill Criticism

Above: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 1, 2025. Image copyright: Will Oliver/EPA/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin

Republican narrative

As much as the Trump coalition is grateful for Musk, he's exposing himself as politically illiterate. Despite all the hurdles put in place by establishment Washington, Trump's Big Beautiful Bill has the chance to implement one of the greatest immigration policies and tax cut policies in U.S. history. The Democrats will be the only winners if this infighting continues and the bill doesn't pass.

Conservative narrative

Musk is displaying a better understanding of Americans' needs than most Republicans in Congress. Not only would this bill inflate the national debt, but it wouldn't even include the social policies Trump promised, like kicking illegal immigrants off of socialized health care. This bill is a liberal monstrosity, proving that Republicans are no better than Democrats and should be voted out of office.

Democratic narrative

The GOP is in chaos over this tax bill, a fiscal disaster that neither Trump nor Musk can salvage. Trump's plan balloons the debt while gutting Medicaid and alienating voters, and Musk's critique ignores his own subsidy-driven empire. The party's disarray — evident in Senator Tillis' defection and Hawley's flip-flops — will haunt Republicans in the midterms, as this divisive bill exposes their fractured priorities.

Metaculus Prediction

There is a 5% chance that Elon Musk will hold a major political office in the United States before February 2033, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


Public Figures


The Controversies



Political split

LEFT

RIGHT

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