Vice President JD Vance called Elon Musk’s recent Twitter rant directed at President Donald Trump a “huge mistake” but blamed the billionaire for acting out of emotional frustration. In an interview released on Friday, Vance said he hoped Musk could somehow make amends with Trump despite their very public spat.
“Elon’s an emotional fellow. Perhaps he’s crossed the line now, but I hope he gets back in the fold,” Vance said. They came after Musk’s flurry of scathing tweets on X, slamming Trump’s signature tax legislation, calling for his impeachment, and launching unsubstantiated attacks on Trump’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump replied by calling Musk “CRAZY” and threatened to cancel federal contracts of Musk’s enterprises, such as Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink. In spite of the controversy, Vance attempted to play down the exchange, indicating Trump had exercised restraint in the wake of savage criticism.
Vance made the comments during a podcast interview with comedian Theo Von, taped Thursday in Nashville. The vice president brushed aside Musk’s Epstein-related claims, saying, “Donald Trump didn’t do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein,” and described such accusations as “totally insane.
He stood up for Trump’s divisive spending bill, which Musk vocally condemned as a “disgusting abomination,” claiming its sole purpose is to make 2017 tax cuts permanent. Though the bill is criticized for estimated insurance losses and adding $2.4 trillion in deficit, Vance insisted it was a “good bill,” though flawed.
Elsewhere during the interview, Vance complimented Musk’s previous government efficiency efforts and joked about election night parties and historical jokes he shared with Von.
Despite deleted tweets by Musk by Saturday, the episode shows tensions between two of the most powerful figures in politics and business, with Republicans calling on both to cool down.
