Joe Scarborough: Elon Musk’s Tariffs Rift With Trump Could Signal ‘Ultimate’ Break From White House

Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough suggested that Elon Musk’s public rift with President Donald Trump over the administration’s aggressive tariffs policy could signal the billionaire’s “ultimate separation” from MAGA and the White House.

The take follows a Washington Post report on Monday that Musk personally appealed to Trump to scale back sweeping new tariffs that could hammer his businesses. The effort failed.

The new tariffs — part of Trump’s escalating trade war — hit Chinese imports hard, raising the total tariff burden on Chinese goods to a staggering 54%. Though Tesla manufactures its U.S.-sold vehicles domestically, it still relies on parts sourced from China and other tariff-affected nations. Supply chain disruptions could severely impact production costs and timelines.

On Tuesday’s Morning Joe, Scarborough said the increasingly strained relationship between Musk and Trump may soon reach a tipping point:

I do think one of the lasting impacts of this may be the ultimate separation, at least from the White House of Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

Elon Musk is again, based on reporting, just enraged that the tariffs are causing the damage that they’re causing specifically on his economy. It’s, you know, saying it’s dealing nearly a death blow to Tesla and is enraged at the way, based on reporting and enraged at the way that this is being done in such a haphazard way and taking aim at [Trump’s Aide Peter] Navarro and [Commerce Secretary Harold] Lutnick. Navarro publicly, but Lutnick privately as well, based on my reporting.

It’s very interesting how quickly that has changed, where Elon Musk is letting people close to him know he’s very upset with the direction that this is going.

Over the weekend, Musk took to social media to slam Navarro and floated the idea of a U.S.-Europe free trade zone — a clear rebuke of Trump’s increasingly protectionist stance. Trump, meanwhile, has doubled down, threatening even more tariffs if China doesn’t meet his demands.

Watch above via MSNBC.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!