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The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter SubscribeHappy Friday! And even more importantly, Happy National Doughnut Day! ? There are several ways to get a free doughnut today, so keep scrolling. If you’re in the D.C. area, tomorrow is the WorldPride Parade.
In today’s Trump-Musk feud edition:
Musk signals truce Trump ‘not interested in talking’ President to sell his Tesla Top feud social media posts Late-night shows have a ball Plus: Strong May jobs report?TALK OF THE MORNING
The 'big, beautiful' breakup:
As you all know by now, President Trump and his pal Elon Musk had the messiest breakup over social media. This Associated Press lede described it best.
Now that they've had a minute to calm down, where do things stand today?
Musk offered a tiny peace signal to Trump in the form of a reply to a post on his social media platform X. He responded “true” to a post that said the two men “should make peace.”
But Trump doesn’t seem ready for that. There had been some reporting that Trump and Musk would speak today, but the president shut down those rumors in phone calls with multiple journalists this morning.
Trump told ABC News’s Jonathan Karl that he is “not particularly interested in talking to Elon Musk.” “You mean the man who has lost his mind?” he said.
The president also told CNN’s Dana Bash that he’s “not even thinking about Elon,” adding, “He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem.”
On Musk's sudden criticism about Trump's bill in Congress, the president told the New York Post on Friday that Musk "knew the bill as well as anybody."
Trump shrugged off the feud during his call with CBS News’s Robert Costa. Costa says Trump wanted to talk about the economy instead.
Trump’s morning media tour made one thing clear: The White House wants to turn the page on the nasty feud, The Hill’s Brett Samuels and Alex Gangitano report.
Remember: Exactly one week ago, Trump and Musk held a joint goodbye event in the Oval Office as Musk’s time in government came to an end. Trump presented Musk, the face of his administration’s cost-cutting effort, a gold key to the White House and the pair pledged to remain in touch.
Goodbye, White House Tesla: Trump is either planning to give away or sell the candy apple red electric vehicle he purchased, a senior White House official told NewsNation.
^ All I can think of is the Keith Urban song lyrics, “And take your cat and leave my sweater
'Cause we have nothing left to weather…” ?
How is Tesla stock doing?: Shares of the car company plummeted Thursday, wiping out $152 billion in market value. But they’ve rebounded a bit this morning.
?️ Follow today’s live blog
? How did we even get here?: It’s been less than a year since Trump and Musk became close friends. Musk campaigned with Trump shortly after his first assassination attempt and quickly became one of his closest confidants. Trump created a formal role for Musk within his second administration and Musk even had sleepovers in the White House.
But as Trump’s legislative agenda stumbled through Congress at a glacial pace, the cracks started to form. Musk detested the price tag of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — and cuts to the EV tax credit — and became louder about his opposition over the past week.
So, yes: What started as disagreements over budgetary policy ended with Musk and Trump verbally ripping each other to shreds on Thursday. Musk alleged that Trump is named in the infamous “Epstein files” while Trump threatened to cancel billions of dollars in government contracts with Musk’s companies.
It was a spectacular day to be on X:
The bromance breakup posts on X have been truly unmatched. Some made me actually laugh out loud. “This is the first day Elon finally made Twitter great again,” HuffPost’s Igor Bobic joked.
Here are a few of my favorites — and a few that have gotten the most attention:
@Annie_Wu_22: “if they fight it out, our country’s secretary of education can oversee the match.” Remember: Education Secretary Linda McMahon is a co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Plus, Trump wants her to dismantle the Education Department and “put herself out of a job.”
Bravo’s Andy Cohen: “LET ME HOST THE REUNION!”
National Review’s Dan McLaughlin: "Hi, I'm Marco Rubio, acting head of DOGE and acting CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X."
@ItsMattsLaw: “We’re like four or five tweets away from national secrets.”
@anothercohen: “This is Drake vs Kendrick for republicans.”
The Bulwark’s Sam Stein: “People may be wondering, are all White Houses this crazy? To which I reply: Obama wore a TAN SUIT!”
TV writer Noah Garfinkel: “One thing I’m proud of as an American is that even during our descent into fascism we have some fun days.”
➤ LATE-NIGHT SEGMENTS ON THE FEUD:
? Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’
? ABC’s ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’
? NBC’s ‘Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’
? CBS’s ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’
➤ OTHER REACTIONS THAT CAUGHT MY EYE:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told Spectrum 1 News: “Oh, man, the girls are fighting, aren’t they?” ? Watch the clip
? Today’s New York Post cover
Fox News’s Jesse Watters wants them to make up: He said he thinks Musk and Trump “are just blowing off steam” because they’re “like roommates.” “Maybe they can patch things up. I mean, Vance called Trump Hitler, and he was on the ticket,” Watters speculated. ? Watch the clip
Well played, Mr. Speaker: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held his chief of staff’s baby while walking by reporters, telling them he hadn’t spoken to Musk yet. ? Photo
From Ye, formerly known as Kanye West: “Broooos please noooooo ? We love you both so much,” the rapper posted.
From a former GOP aide: “You’re telling me Musk was in it to shape government policy to benefit his companies, not because he was a devoted conservative? Knock me over with a feather,” Brendan Buck posted.
Throwback — Ah, I forgot about this post: Axios’s Alex Thompson reminded us of a post from Musk last February. “I love @realDonaldTrump as much as a straight man can love another man.”
? OTHER NEWS
What the White House would prefer we discuss:
May’s jobs report is out. The U.S. added 139,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 percent.
For context: This is right in line with economists’ expectations. The estimate was roughly 125,000 jobs. With the economic uncertainty surrounding Trump’s trade war, this is a good sign for the economy.
Inside the jobs report: The health care and hospitality industries had the most employment growth. Employment in other sectors, like construction, manufacturing, etc., remained flat.
➤ HOW'S THE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL’ DOING IN THE SENATE RIGHT NOW?:
Not great, but thanks for asking. Read Alexander Bolton’s latest reporting on President Trump’s legislative agenda in The Hill today.
Permission to gut, your honor:
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court this morning for permission to gut the Education Department after a lower court judge blocked the efforts.
As The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld pointed out: This is the Trump administration’s 19th (!) emergency plea to the Supreme Court since taking office.
COMING UP
The House met this morning. The Senate is out. President Trump is in Washington, leaving for New Jersey this afternoon. (All times EST)
1:30 p.m. Trump signs executive orders.
2 p.m. Trump participates in a swearing-in ceremony for the secretary of the Navy.
3 p.m. Trump leaves for Bedminster, N.J., for the weekend.
9:30 p.m. Saturday: Trump attends UFC 316 Dvalishvili vs. O'Malley 2 at the Prudential Center.
Sunday morning: Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) will both appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
? Celebrate: Today is National Doughnut Day!! Dunkin’ and Krispy Kreme are giving away free doughnuts today! Here’s a list of doughnut deals across the country.
? The first trailer for the next Wicked movie!: The first official trailer of “Wicked: For Good” came out this week. The second half of the movie will be in theaters in November! ? Watch the trailer
? AND FINALLY…
To help you jumpstart your weekend with a laugh, watch what happens when this woman trains her dog.
? Miss yesterday's newsletter? Catch up with a 1-minute video. I love hearing from you — send feedback & tips to cmartel@thehill.com. Check out more newsletters here. See you next week!
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