Trump Says DOGE Is a ‘Monster’ That Might ‘Eat’ Elon Musk

President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his plans to have the Department of Government Efficiency look into his former right-hand man, Elon Musk, saying the Tesla CEO’s brainchild may just be the “monster” that “eats” its creator.

He made the comments just before departing Washington for a visit to a new south Florida immigration detention center, which Trump has nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

Upon landing in the Sunshine State, Trump reitered his apparent intention to have DOGE look into Musk, saying that he hopes the agency takes a look at its former leader’s voluminous government contracts.

“I think what is going to happen is DOGE is going to look at Musk, and if DOGE looks at Musk, we are going to save a fortune,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac outside Air Force One. “I don’t think he should be playing that game with me.”

Tensions between the former allies escalated again Monday night when Musk posted a series of posts on X saying he would focus his intentions on primary campaigns against Republicans who voted in support of a massive reconciliation bill championed by Trump.

The bill ultimately passed the Senate on Tuesday afternoon in a 51-50 vote, with the tie broken by Vice President JD Vance.

“Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame!,” Musk wrote Monday night. “And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth.”

Trump responded early Tuesday morning on Truth Social to Musk’s posts, saying, “Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.”

Musk was quick to begin criticizing Trump’s spending bill as soon as he left the White House in late May. Trump confirmed the pair’s falling out in a dramatic Oval Office blowup just days later.

“Elon and I had a great relationship,” Trump told reporters during a White House meeting with the chancellor of Germany. “I don’t know that we will anymore.”

I’m very disappointed in Elon,” the president added.

The two then exchanged days of social media attacks before Musk issued an apology at 3 a.m. in early June.

While in Florida on Tuesday, Trump made a visit to “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new immigration detention facility in the Everglades that has sparked outcry from immigration and environmental activists.

The trip also proved a positive step forward in Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ at-times rocky relationship. DeSantis used his emergency powers to seize the land and fast-track construction, prompting kudos from his onetime rival.

“Ron, I’d like to thank you personally,” Trump told the press at the conclusion of his visit. “You are my friend and you’ll always be my friend. We may have some skirmishes even in the future. I doubt it. But we’ll always come back because we just seem to have blood that seems to match pretty well.”

—
Amelia Benavides-Colón is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.