By Molly Claire Goddard
2:48am PDT, May 21, 2025
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Did
Donald Trump break up with
Elon Musk?
Despite being a central figure during the first months of the current president's second administration and making headlines for slashing the country's budget in his special role at the
Department of Government Efficiency, insiders in Washington, D.C., claim the tech mogul's lack of favorability with voters has made the Trump team and Republicans alike distance themselves from him.
Keep reading to learn how the Tesla founder allegedly fell out of favor with Trump…MORE:
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Mere weeks ago, Donald Trump and Elon Musk were mentioning each other in several social media posts per week. However, the Republican leader has not brought up the billionaire on his Truth Social account since the beginning of April. In the same manner, Musk hasn't named the commander-in-chief in his recent updates either.
According to an insider, Musk's lack of favorability with voters may be the cause of the distance between the once close friends: "He's finished, done, gone. He polls terribly. People hate him," a source told
Politico. "He'd go to
Wisconsin thinking he can buy people's votes, wear the cheese hat, act like a 9-year-old. It doesn't work. It's offensive to people."
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Despite the supposed change in the dynamic between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the X owner's special government job was always
limited to just 130 days.
"It's just been a very intense 100 days, where at times I was here full time. So at the beginning, I was here in D.C. seven days a week for some of the weeks in the beginning, or close to seven days a week," Musk explained in an
interview earlier this month. "And now we're getting more of a rhythm and so the amount of time that is necessary for me to spend here is much less."
When White House Press Secretary
Karoline Leavitt was questioned about Musk's dwindling appearances and eventual exit during a recent media gathering, she said, "The mission of DOGE — to cut waste, fraud and abuse — will surely continue. DOGE employees who onboarded at their respective agencies will continue to work with President Trump's cabinet to make our government more efficient."
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Even notable people on the right have admitted the end of Elon Musk's role is coming at the right time. While Republican Senator
Jim Justice of West Virginia called the mogul a "patriot," he also noted Musk may have been a bit outlandish with his job — which included cutting thousands of
federal jobs.
"We got too close to the fence. We mowed too far," the politician told
Politico. "We just adjust. That's the process that's going on."
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With Elon Musk out of the fold, Democrats must decentralize him from their narrative to win back power in the
midterm elections from Donald Trump and the right wing.
"Republicans are failing at lowering costs because they are too busy pushing tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy. Elon is and forever will be, an instantly recognizable manifestation of the fact that House Republicans don't work for the American people, they work for the billionaires," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson
Viet Shelton explained to
Politico.
Democratic Representative
Lori Trahan of Massachusetts emphasized, "As long as he's there using a chainsaw to all the programs that people back home rely on and need to make ends meet, of course we're going to make him a central character. At some point, he will become a liability for the president, and they will sever ties. And we will adjust as we head into the midterms."
