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Donald Trump has launched a blistering attack on Elon Musk, accusing his billionaire backer of being “hostile” to his administration as a row between two of the world’s most powerful men erupted into an all-out, public feud.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, the US president said he was “very disappointed” in Musk for criticising his signature tax bill, and suggested he was attacking the administration’s policies in order to safeguard his business interests.
“He’s not the first . . . people leave my administration and some of them actually become hostile,” Trump said. “They leave, and they wake up in the morning, and the glamour’s gone, the whole world is different, and they become hostile.”
He added: “I’m very disappointed in Elon. I helped Elon a lot.”
The comments came after Musk, who had hitherto refrained from attacking Trump directly, lashed out at the president on his social media site X, suggesting he was abandoning principles he once advocated.
This is a developing story
