Trump-Musk Feud Is Painfully Awkward for the GOP

Rep. Tom Tiffany gave the impression to be puzzled.

“I haven’t got something to say,” the Wisconsin Republican instructed me as we descended the steps outdoors the Home chamber. “Let’s anticipate the subsequent tweet.”

I hoped for a bit extra, so I pressed on. “It’s what it’s,” he mentioned with a slight giggle.

It was the final vote of the day, and Home Republicans have been desperate to get out of there. Their counterparts within the Senate had managed to depart city for the week simply because the nasty — and for some, long-anticipated — feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump was getting underway.

What started as a disagreement over the “Huge Stunning Invoice” had taken a wierd flip. By this level, Musk had replied “sure” to a put up that included a reference to impeaching Trump, claimed duty for the president’s 2024 victory, declared that tariffs would trigger a recession, and mentioned that Trump is within the “Epstein information.” Trump had floated taking away Musk’s authorities contracts, mentioned that the billionaire “went CRAZY,” and insinuated that the tech titan suffered from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

As Tiffany faltered, a Democratic colleague pounced. “So Tom,” Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin interjected as he walked by, “Elon or Trump? Who’s gonna win?”

The Republican congressman’s tepid laughter grew right into a guffaw. All of us waited for the response. It by no means arrived. “I’ve acquired the press right here,” an exasperated Tiffany mentioned. “What would you like me to say, Mark?”

Many Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill discovered themselves in some model of Tiffany’s place, not sure what to say in regards to the vicious confrontation unfolding on-line.

“Is Mercury in retrograde?” requested Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado.

For months, Trump and Musk have appeared largely in lockstep. Republicans had turn out to be accustomed to disregarding and explaining away questions in regards to the former DOGE chief’s machinations within the govt department, as that they had with Trump for practically a decade.

Now, with the 2 males very publicly at odds, it was a time for selecting. However Republicans weren’t all that keen to decide on. And a minimum of one who did rapidly reconsidered.

“Sufficient Elon. Put the cellphone down and go outdoors and play,” Republican Rep. Greg Murphy of North Carolina wrote in a put up on X that was deleted minutes later.

Rep. Ryan Zinke, a Montana Republican who served as Secretary of the Inside throughout Trump’s first time period, initially supplied reward for Musk when requested in regards to the feud. “I respect, clearly, the President. I respect Elon Musk,” Zinke mentioned. “Very, very brilliant.”

When knowledgeable about Musk’s response to the put up referencing Trump’s impeachment, Zinke set free a pointy sigh. “Yeah, that is a bridge too far,” he mentioned. “, I am sorry that his tour of obligation ended that manner.”

“This can be a signal of the instances that you just see some of these items being completed in public,” Republican Rep. Scotty Perry of Pennsylvania mentioned. “Folks over the course of historical past who needed to save lots of the republic had totally different viewpoints about the best way to do it.”

A number of Republicans on Thursday used social media to subtly make their allegiance to Trump recognized, even with out explicitly criticizing the world’s richest man.

Certainly one of them was Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh of Arizona, who posted a photograph of himself with Trump on X because the drama with Musk unfolded.

Was it a veiled message? Hamadeh laughed and regarded down when requested about it. “President Trump’s my president,” he instructed me. “Folks voted for him. I supported him. President Trump is the explanation why we’re all right here.”

He later added that he “appreciated” Musk’s contributions.

For Democrats, it was a told-you-so second.

“None of it surprises me, to be trustworthy,” Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, the highest Democrat on the DOGE subcommittee, instructed me. “You promote your soul to the satan, otherwise you pay your manner into it, and that is what you get.”

The one Republican who gave the impression to be genuinely having fun with himself was Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who’s had his justifiable share of feuds with Trump and voted towards the “Huge Stunning Invoice” for largely the identical purpose that Musk determined to critique it.

“I inform my colleagues,” Massie mentioned, “if I get hit on Independence Avenue, and so they need to ship my eulogy, simply say he was having his finest day ever.”