Trump Calling People to Tell Them Privately That Elon Musk is ‘Big Time Drug Addict’: Report
(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
President Donald Trump has been privately telling allies that Elon Musk is a “big-time drug addict,” according to a lengthy report published Saturday by The Washington Post.
The newspaper spoke to 17 different sources on the heels of the two-day unraveling of a once-time strong alliance between Musk and the president.
On Friday night, The New York Times reported the two were close to a breakup more than a week ago after the Tesla CEO’s handpicked choice to lead NASA, Jared Isaacman, donated to Democrats. The discovery was said to have angered Trump.
On Saturday, WaPo reported that there was more chaos behind the scenes as Musk was unable to get along with members of Trump’s cabinet, and Trump believed he was using drugs. Trump reportedly made numerous private calls on the matter after the blowup.
Trump was reportedly rattled by Musk’s attacks on his “big, beautiful” budget bill, and shaken Thursday when the billionaire tech CEO echoed impeachment rhetoric about him on social media.
The president has reportedly spent recent days calling confidants and acquaintances to navigate the high-profile split. One person with knowledge of the calls told the Post that Trump had used the term “addict” while referring to Musk.
Trump was said to have made at least one call in which he called Musk “a big-time drug addict.”
The Post noted that while Trump typically responds to personal attacks through barbs on social media, he felt the rift with Musk required a different strategy.
Trump reportedly urged Vice President JD Vance and others not to escalate tensions with the head of SpaceX in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the relationship.
Privately, after Musk claimed Trump was the reason documents related to deceased sexual predator and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had not been released, Trump raised the possibility of investigating Musk’s government contracts.
The Post also reported on a physical altercation between Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that Steve Bannon claimed took place in April.
The two men apparently got into a screaming match outside the Oval Office over Musk’s claims he could unearth more than $1 trillion in government waste or fraud.
Bannon told the Post that Bessent called Musk “a total fraud,” which Musk responded to by ramming his shoulder into Bessent’s ribs “like a rugby player.”
Bessent hit back before aides separated them.
“President Trump heard about it and said, ‘This is too much,’” Bannon told the paper.
Musk, one of Trump’s top outside advisers, slowly alienated or clashed with other senior staffers.
By Friday, Trump was telling reporters and aides that he had no interest in speaking with Musk again and was considering selling his Tesla.
A person described as a source close to Musk and Trump said the relationship is likely fractured beyond repair.
“There’s hope that there’s going to be a reconciliation,” the person said. “But it’ll never be the same.”
Read the full report here from The Washington Post.
