‘Drop to Your Knees and Beg’: Donald Trump Launches Another Volley at Elon Musk as the Two Engage in All-Out War of the Words
It's the rumble in the social media octagon we didn't know we needed: the ultimate showdown between Elon Musk and
Ellie Mason
It's the rumble in the social media octagon we didn't know we needed: the ultimate showdown between Elon Musk and Donald Trump.
On one side you have a billionaire playboy tech mogul who loves to cause chaos and disrupt the stock market for fun on a Tuesday. On the other, you have an old-school business entrepreneur who happened to also be President of the United States for four years – and facing potential criminal charges for inciting an insurrection. Business as usual in the United States.
It's the unlikeliest of battles, but Musk and Trump are currently duking it out over social media for what it seems could be leadership of the GOP. This week, the cold war between the two went from private rumblings and occasional comments to a back-and-forth of ridiculous proportions. Here's what brought us to this bizarre battle of the titans.
How it Started
I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022
Dems should also call off the attack – don’t make it so that Trump’s only way to survive is to regain the Presidency.
If you listen to Donald Trump, there's been tension between himself and Elon Musk for years. And Musk is certainly pulling no punches about his thoughts on Trump's continued presence in the GOP.
But outwardly, the two were at least frigid if not warm to one another in public in the past.
This week, it all came tumbling out – and there's no mistaking that there may be some strategy behind it all.
Last weekend, Trump ranted to a crowd in Anchorage, Alaska about a variety of topics – but he strayed into shark-infested waters when he turned on the Tesla founder and called him out for backing out of his plans to buy Twitter for $44B.
MarketWatch reports, "During a rally in Anchorage, Alaska, on Saturday, Trump had called out Musk for withdrawing his bid to buy Twitter, … among other reasons. '(Musk) said the other day, ‘I’ve never voted for a Republican.’ I said I didn’t know that; he told me he voted for me,' Trump said. 'He’s another bullshit artist, but he is not going to be buying it (Twitter).'”
Breitbart shared a video of Trump's comments, and Musk took to the replies to share his thoughts. "I don’t hate the man, but it’s time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.
Dems should also call off the attack – don’t make it so that Trump’s only way to survive is to regain the Presidency."
How it’s Going
Oh the irony lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2022
Trump can't let that sit of course, so he logged into Truth Social late last night to launch another volley at Musk.
Trump wrote on Truth, "When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he’d be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, 'drop to your knees and beg,' and he would have done it…"
Trump added, "…Now Elon should focus on getting himself out of the Twitter mess because he could owe $44 billion for something that’s perhaps worthless. Also, lots of competition for electric cars!"
The former President concluded his attack with, "P.S., Why was Elon allowed to break the $15 million stock purchase barrier on Twitter without any reporting? That is a very serious breach! Have fun Elon and @jack, go to it!"
Musk has not responded directly to the latest hammering, but around the same time that Trump posted those three volleys, Musk wrote on Twitter simply, "Oh the irony lol".
Musk has recently stoked the former President's ire by saying that it's an easy pick for him between Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis; he's picking the latter.
But there may be some strategy involved in this apparently sudden all-out social media brawl. Both men are facing increased scrutiny and legal woes – and the fight is a more pleasant distraction than other headlines they've both been making.