Trump Officially Replaces Elon Musk With New Tech Bro Pals For Controversial White House Project

Donald Trump is making himself right at home during his second administration, so much so that he's destroying part of the White House and getting his friends to foot the bill. For much of 2025, Trump has brought up a desire to have a ballroom attached to the building that represents and houses the leadership of the United States, and he's finally giving it to himself. Even though Trump lied about what it would take to renovate the East Wing, bulldozers were still spotted dismantling the historic building on October 20, according to reports from CNN. While many taxpayers were left eyeballing the growing cost of the build-out, with Trump upping the total from $200 million to $300 million, he also brought out a laundry list of wealthy donors with ties to the tech industry who have lined up to pay for it — with one glaring exception.

According to The Hill, several major companies lined up to line Trump's pockets, many of whom are competitors of previous Trump ally Elon Musk. With the bromance between Musk and Trump finally over, it appears the president is on the rebound and playing the field. Among those who allocated funds for the new ballroom are Amazon, Apple, and Meta, run by Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, and Mark Zuckerberg, respectively. These three men have often run afoul of Musk, especially Bezos, whose Blue Origin company has ongoing drama with Musk's SpaceX. Trump welcoming the opponents of Musk could be a sign that he's moved on; however, it could also be a pointed way to get Musk's attention.

In the wake of the rise and fall of the relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the two men have vied for attention, possibly from each other. Though Musk claims his multi-million dollar donation helped win Trump the presidency, Trump has found it fairly easy to court other tech industry players into coughing up cash. In fact, Trump might have had a replacement for Musk waiting in the wings during their time together in the White House. Watching Trump rebound so quickly, and with so many other powerful men, is likely to ruffle Musk's feathers, which could see him acting out.

Possibly what accelerated the downfall of the friendship between Musk and Trump is that the two are incredibly similar creatures. They both love to air their grievances on social media, hog the spotlight, and possess tender egos. When it was clear that Trump and Musk still weren't seeing eye to eye after a brief reunion in September 2025, it was only a matter of time before Trump did something to prove that he doesn't need the Tesla CEO, or his cash, to get what he wants. Accepting donations from Musk's rivals is sure to get attention, which just might be what Trump wanted all along.