Vice President calls tech mogul’s attack on Trump ‘totally insane’ and urges him to ‘chill out’ after explosive social media meltdown
Vice President JD Vance has broken his silence on the extraordinary public feud between President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, revealing he was stunned when shown Musk’s explosive Jeffrey Epstein accusation against Trump during a live podcast recording.
The Vice President’s first reaction to Elon Musk’s Trump-Epstein tweet was caught Thursday on Theo Von’s podcast. In dramatic footage from the “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” episode released Saturday, the Vice President was visibly shocked when the comedian showed him one of Musk’s most inflammatory posts.
“@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,” read the tweet from the Tesla CEO, which sent shockwaves through political circles.
“Ok, wow. I haven’t even seen this one,” Vance said, explaining he was on a plane amid Musk and Trump’s online exchanges.
The Vice President immediately defended his boss, stating firmly: “First of all, absolutely not. Donald Trump didn’t do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein. Whatever the Democrats and the media says about him, that’s totally BS.”
‘A Huge Mistake’
Speaking candidly to the popular podcaster, Vance didn’t mince words about Musk’s public attack on the President. I think it’s a huge mistake for him to go after the president like that,” the Vice President said in the interview, which was recorded Thursday as the bitter feud escalated on social media.
“I just think it’s a huge mistake for the world’s wealthiest man — I think one of the most transformational entrepreneurs ever — to be at war with the world’s most powerful man, who I think is doing more to save the country than anybody in my lifetime.”
The extraordinary falling out between the two former allies erupted after Musk called Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending bill a “disgusting abomination” and launched a barrage of more than two dozen posts attacking the legislation on his X platform.
‘Slow News Day’ Joke Goes Viral
Before the podcast appearance, Vance had attempted to defuse the tension with humor, posting a photo of himself with Von on X with the caption: “Slow news day, what are we even going to talk about?
Musk replied to Vance with a laughing emoji. The post has been viewed by over 46 million people, according to reports.
But the mood turned serious when discussion shifted to Musk’s endorsement of a social media post that said “Trump should be impeached” and that Vance “should replace him” in the White House.
“This stuff is just not helpful,” Vance said in response. “It’s totally insane. The president is doing a good job.”
Trump Hits Back Hard
The President didn’t hold back in his response to his former ally’s attacks. “Elon was ‘wearing thin.’ I asked him to leave. I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy electric cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!) and he just went CRAZY!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
The President even threatened Musk’s business empire, suggesting: “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts.
Such an obvious lie,” Musk responded on X. “So sad.”
‘An Emotional Guy’
Despite the heated rhetoric, Vance attempted to characterize Musk’s outburst as temporary. Look, it happens to everybody,” Vance said. I’ve flown off the handle way worse than Elon Musk did in the last 24 hours.
Vance chalked Musk’s online outbursts up to him “being new to politics” and frustrations that his “businesses are being attacked non-stop” since he joined the White House.
The Vice President revealed that “the president was getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon.” However, he insisted: “the president doesn’t think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk. And I actually think that if Elon chilled out a little bit everything would be fine.”
Hope for Reconciliation?
Despite describing Musk as having “gone so nuclear,” Vance expressed hope for eventual reconciliation. I hope that eventually Elon comes back into the fold. Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear,” he said.
The Vice President praised Musk’s past contributions, calling him “an incredible entrepreneur” and noting that Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which sought to cut government spending and laid off or pushed out thousands of workers, was “really good.
The social media exchange came just a week after Musk left his DOGE role in the Trump Administration. A Wall Street Journal report had suggested Trump was growing frustrated with Musk and doubted whether his ambitious cost-cutting goals could be achieved.
Standing by His President
Vance made his loyalty crystal clear in a late-night X post: “President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I’m proud to stand beside him.”
The Vice President’s appearance on Von’s wildly popular podcast – Trump’s own appearance last August garnered nearly 17 million YouTube views – comes at a critical moment for the Republican Party. The war of words between Trump and Musk has intensified GOP fissures at a critical legislative moment, with the fate of the Trump-backed “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” still uncertain as it wends its way through Congress.
Even Trump allies are urging peace. Senator Ted Cruz told Fox News: “They’re both extraordinary men, and they’ve both done extraordinary things for our country… They are both, I think, American heroes. They are both incredibly strong leaders. And listen, it’s obvious they are both pissed off right now.”
As Washington watches this unprecedented clash between the world’s most powerful politician and its wealthiest entrepreneur, all eyes are on whether these two titanic egos can find a path back from the brink – or if this marks a permanent fracture in the MAGA movement.
Image credit: Donald Trump and JD Vance at the 2024 NYC 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony by Matt Johnson, licensed under CC BY 2.0.
