Donald Trump All But Admits Elon Musk Is The The Toxic Ex He Can Never Let Go

Donald Trump and Elon Musk went from BFFs to bitter enemies in less than a year, with the tech billionaire proudly standing by Trump's side before, during, and after his second inauguration, before the two men endured a very public falling out in the summer of 2025. But it seems like the president just can't quit Musk, and even after all their ups and downs, there might still be room for the SpaceX founder in Trump's life. While speaking with reporters onboard Air Force One as he was making his way to Japan, the divisive politician was asked directly about his former BFF and, more specifically, whether there might be a return of DOGE, aka the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk ran for six months, firing a lot of people while arguably not doing much for efficiency. 

Although Trump didn't say anything about welcoming Musk back into the federal government, he did acknowledge, "[Elon's] a nice guy. He's a very capable guy," (via YouTube). Then he hinted at the Musk breakup, which we know must have hurt Trump's feelings. "He had a bad spell," the president explained. "He had a bad period; he had a bad moment. It was a stupid moment in his life." Finally, Trump finished discussing the topic by confirming simply, "I like Elon, and I suspect I'll always like him." The former real estate mogul has had a lot of feuds and made many enemies over the years, and he's notoriously good at holding grudges. So for Trump to show positivity towards someone that he so publicly had issues with is surprising. Maybe there is hope for these two after all. 

Netizens had some thoughts about Donald Trump seemingly leaning back towards the possibility of rekindling his bromance with Elon Musk. Unsurprisingly, not many believe that it's out of a generosity of spirit on the president's part, with plenty feeling that he had an ulterior motive. One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, translated his message as: "I like Elon's money and I suspect I'll always like Elon's money." The tech billionaire spent over $290 million backing Republican candidates, including Trump, in the 2024 elections. Another critic had a different theory as to what Trump was really thinking when it came to Musk, reasoning, "We have a dirt on each other so we're friends forever." 

Musk hasn't commented yet, at the time of writing. As far as the "bad spell" that Trump referred to, in June and July 2025, the SpaceX founder posted a number of anti-Trump messages on X, some of which he later apologized for and even took down. Of the few that are still live, there's a post where Musk bragged that Trump and the Republicans only won the election because of his support. Likewise, his post about wanting to form a new political party called the "America Party" is still live (though there haven't been many recent updates on that). Musk and Trump were spotted chatting at Charlie Kirk's memorial, and with the president essentially confirming that he still likes his former BFF, we could see the two of them reuniting someday. Though, considering the considerable size of their egos, our guess is that any rekindled relationship would end up just like it did the first time.