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Just hours after Elon Musk and Donald Trump were engaged in a vindictive social media spat, the late-night shows reveled in their spectacular meltdown.
A simmering feud between the two men over Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” exploded into a full-blown war of words on Thursday afternoon.
The back-and-forth quickly devolved into threats of terminating government subsidies for Musk’s companies and the tech billionaire calling for the president’s impeachment.
Meanwhile, late-night TV hosts sat back and enjoyed the show as “World War Douche” unfolded.
“For a few days now, there’s been a simmering tension between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the leader of the free world and the breeder of the free world,” the Daily Show’s Michael Kosta said in his opening monologue.
“But today, the conflict has escalated into a full-blown World War Douche.”
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Jimmy Fallon was left gobsmacked by the sheer speed and messy nature of the Trump-Musk break-up.
“I can’t believe their relationship fell apart this fast. I mean, a week ago they were all over each other like Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner at a Knicks game,” the Tonight Show host quipped.
“But Trump didn’t stop there. He also said that the easiest way for the country to save money would be to terminate all of Elon Musk’s government contracts… Meanwhile, Elon’s, like, ‘Come on, man, don’t do this. I have 100 kids to feed.’”
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Much of Thursday evening’s commentary revolved around when Musk decided to “drop the really big bomb,” claiming that Trump was on the client list of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. In January 2024, Trump posted on Truth Social that he “was never on Epstein’s Plane, or at his ‘stupid island.’”
The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert said that Musk was “a little late” on the Epstein claims.
“Trump’s gonna have to get one of those bumper stickers for his Tesla that says, ‘I bought this before Elon told everyone I was on Epstein’s plane,’” Colbert added.
Colbert teased that Trump, in fact, has never been more relatable as a “Tesla owner who hates Elon Musk.”
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Trump aides were blindsided when Musk shredded the president’s centerpiece legislation over X on Tuesday, a source told the Wall Street Journal.
The tech billionaire tweeted that Trump’s spending bill a “disgusting abomination.” He continued to dig in, without explicitly referring to Trump, posting on X that the president’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” will “drive America into debt slavery.”
Tensions reached a major turning point on Thursday in the Oval Office with Trump, sitting beside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stating he was “very disappointed with Elon” over his sharp critique of the president’s showpiece tax bill.
Musk fired back on X, stating: “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.”
