Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk says the feud between Donald Trump and Elon Musk may not last long. Despite their public falling out this week, Kirk believes the two will eventually make amends. The reason, he says, is simple: they want the same things for the country.
The clash erupted Thursday after both men traded personal shots and financial threats. Musk denied supporting a bill Trump backed, while Trump accused him of turning on it for selfish reasons. Kirk appeared on “The Ingraham Angle” that night and weighed in on the fallout.
“I actually think they’re going to reconcile at some point, though, because, deep down, I would like to believe they both want the same thing,” Kirk said. “But we must be very clear, though, that what President Trump wants in this bill, because that really was the forcing function of this kind of this feud and this schism, is exactly what he ran on.”
He pointed to the bill’s contents as the real source of tension. According to Kirk, this wasn’t a bloated spending package—it was Trump sticking to his platform. “This was never an omnibus bill. This was not some sort of big, bloated bill. Instead, it is no tax on tips,” he explained. “The best border security we’ve ever seen, growing ICE agents… We’re going to finally be able to finance mass deportations. We’re going to see a bottom-up middle-class revolution, a blue-collar revolution that we saw under Trump one.”
Despite the tension, Kirk had high praise for both men. “It’s been hard to watch today and unfortunate in some regards,” he said. “And I love your take, which is both of these men deserve great credit for their contributions to help save civilization. Elon Musk bought Twitter… which liberated speech. And then, of course, President Trump built the most amazing political movement we’ve ever seen. He was shot, almost shot again. He was impeached twice. He was facing 700 years in federal prison, and he was so clear about not surrendering and not backing down and not giving up. I will say it’s a tough thing to watch this public feud.”
Trump has said Musk flipped on the bill after realizing it would eliminate the EV mandate—a move that could hurt Musk financially. Musk responded by denying Trump’s claim and said he never even saw the bill. He blasted Congress for rushing it through “in the dead of night.”
The two had worked closely after Trump won the 2024 election. Trump appointed Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a role meant to eliminate federal waste. Musk’s tenure ended in May, following months of criticism from Democrats. One of the biggest controversies came when Musk’s team tried to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development.