On Trump, Musk and Putin

 

Trump and Musk

Trump’s decision to pull an Elon Musk associate out of the running to lead NASA helped doom the Trump-Musk alliance. Read the inside story of the rupture. MAGA-friendly podcasters, including Joe Rogan, just want Trump and Musk to get along — but they have ultimately sided with the president. The Trump-Musk breakup is more than an interpersonal conflict: It’s a sign that Trump is struggling to hold his populist conservative coalition together, Nate Cohn writes.

On Trump and Putin

Thomas Crooks, the man who tried to kill Trump in Pennsylvania last year, was a nerdy engineering student on the dean’s list. As his mental health eroded, he stockpiled explosive materials. Read a Times examination of his path to the deadly shooting. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would reveal deep-state secrets linked to conspiracy theories. Justice Department and F.B.I. leaders are struggling to fulfill the promise. A university founded by George Soros had to leave Hungary after Viktor Orban targeted it. Academics at the school say Trump is using a similar playbook against Harvard. In public, Vladimir Putin says Russia’s friendship with China is unshakable. But a secret Russian intelligence document shows deep suspicion of Chinese espionage.

The Break-Up: Trump vs. Musk

Elon Musk and President Trump in the Oval Office last week. Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Today the U.S. political world was consumed today by a public fight between President Donald J. Trump and his former sidekick, billionaire Elon Musk. Musk invested about $290 million into the 2024 election, vowing to elect Trump in order to get rid of government investigations into his businesses he worried would “take [him] down.”

When Trump took office, Musk became a fixture in the White House, attending Cabinet meetings and heading the “Department of Government Efficiency.” That group set out to kill government programs by withholding congressionally approved funds at the same time that its staff sucked up information on Americans that could feed the training of artificial intelligence and killed the investigations into his businesses Musk had worried about.

In February, Musk posted on social media: “I love [Donald Trump] as much as a straight man can love another man.”

But Musk overstepped boundaries and overstayed his welcome even as his antics hurt sales of his signature car, the Tesla, inspiring Trump to do a car commercial for him on the White House grounds. Just a week ago, Musk officially left the White House on the same day that an article in the New York Times documented his heavy drug use on the campaign.

Then, on Tuesday, June 3, he took a public stand against the omnibus bill Trump desperately wants Congress to pass, posting on X: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.”

And with that, the falling out began.

This morning, Trump told reporters he was “disappointed” in Musk. Ron Filipkowski of Meidas followed the saga from there.

“Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House, and the Republicans would be 51–49 in the Senate,” Musk wrote. “Such ingratitude.”

Trump then suggested that “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn’t do it!”

Musk promptly said he would begin decommissioning SpaceX’s spacecraft, which supply the International Space Station.

The two men continued to go back and forth, with Musk saying that “Donald Trump is in the Epstein files,” a reference to the records compiled by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with whom Trump was friendly. Musk also said Trump's tariffs will cause a recession, and agreed with another poster who suggested that Trump should be impeached and replaced with Vice President J.D. Vance.

Trump responded to that attack far more weakly than one would have expected, simply turning back to the omnibus bill and insisting it “is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress.”

Musk’s behavior is erratic in its own right, but if there is anything but pique behind it, it appears he is threatening Trump by making a play to control the Republican Party. In response to a post by conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer suggesting that Republican lawmakers are unsure if they should side with Trump or Musk, Musk wrote: “Oh and some food for thought as they ponder that question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years.”

It’s quite a gamble, since Trump controls the government contracts on which Musk’s fortune was built and on which he still relies. Some MAGA loyalists appear to see the fight as a victory for Trump and are thrilled to see Musk’s star fall. MAGA influencer Steve Bannon told Tyler Pager of the New York Times that he has advised Trump to cancel all of Musk’s federal contracts and launch a formal investigation of his drug use and his immigration status.

Kylie Robison and Aarian Marshall of Wired noted that TrumpCoin lost more than $100 million in value during the fight. Tesla stock lost $152 billion of value from its market capitalization,

Chancellor says Berlin and Kyiv will jointly develop long-range weapons to strike Russia and Other International News.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday. PHOTO: SOEDER/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK/SHUTTERSTOCK

Key Points

Germany will increase financial and military aid to Ukraine, signaling Europe’s move to replace the U.S. as Kyiv’s key military supporter.

Germany and Ukraine will start a joint program to produce long-range weapons for use against Russian targets, a new form of military cooperation.

European leaders seek additional sanctions on Russia for refusing a cease-fire and worry Trump might abandon mediation efforts

Trump Clemency, Immigration, Tariff News & Israel

Trump has granted clemency in recent days to 26 people, including a former gang leader. Trump’s pardons or commutations included former lawmakers (ex-GOP Rep. Michael Grimm), reality-television stars (Todd and Julie Chrisley) and Larry Hoover, a onetime gang leader convicted of murder. And Trump said he was thinking about pardoning the men behind bars for conspiring to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over her Covid-19 policies.

Trump also commuted the six federal life sentences of Chicago gang leader Larry Hoover, 74, who was convicted of murder, extortion, money laundering, and drug related offenses, and from prison ran a notorious drug gang that had about 30,000 members across 31 states and brought in an estimated $100 million a year. Hoover still faces what’s left of a 200-year sentence in Illinois for murder.

ImmigrationFederal agents are showing up unannounced at schools, homes and migrant shelters to interview unaccompanied migrant children. Critics say the visits are a pretext to deport the children.

Tariffs

A panel of federal judges blocked some of Trump’s tariffs, ruling that he did not have the “unbounded authority” to tax imports from nearly every country in the world.
The ruling gave the administration up to 10 days to complete the process of halting the tariffs. The government immediately filed plans to appeal the decision.
Global markets jumped after the court’s decision, Reuters reports.

Israel

The U.N. denounced a new Israeli-backed operation to distribute aid in Gaza, a day after a chaotic start. The operation, which bypasses the U.N., is run by private U.S. contractors and secured by Israeli soldiers.

China
The Chinese government has sent thousands of Uyghurs to work in factories that supply brands like Tesla, McDonald’s and Samsung. Click the video below to see David Pierson, a Times reporter, explain the findings of an investigation.

Trump's Upcoming Week

Trump in the Middle East

Trump will tour the Gulf this week. He’s looking for business deals.

America’s dominance over A.I. chips will be a powerful source of leverage in those talks.

Saudi Arabia has promised to invest $600 million in the U.S. over Trump’s presidency. Trump wants $1 trillion. Economists say neither sum is realistic, Vivian Nereim writes.

More on the Trump Administration

Top buyers of a Trump family crypto coin could win a private dinner with the president and a White House tour. Some buyers said they hope for a chance to influence policy.

Dozens of white South Africans, granted refugee status by Trump, are on their way to the U.S. They claim to have been victims of discrimination.

Dartmouth is the only Ivy League university that has avoided Trump’s retribution. The school’s president has been careful.

Treasury Sec Bessent Hails ‘Productive’ U.S.-China Trade Talks

Treasury secretary cites progress and promises more details Monday; Beijing says the two sides agreed to start a formal negotiation process

By Brian Schwartz and Lingling Wei

Updated May 11, 2025 4:19 pm ET

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, left, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were in Geneva for trade talks with China. PHOTO: VALENTIN FLAURAUD/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Key Points

U.S. and China concluded high-level trade discussions in Geneva that U.S. officials said were ‘productive’.

Beijing said both sides will establish an ‘economic and trade consultation mechanism’ for recurring discussions.

Trump wants fairer trade with Beijing and to curb China’s role in fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.

GENEVA—Officials from the U.S. and China wrapped up their weekend, high-stakes trade talks, with Beijing saying the two sides agreed to start a formal negotiation process and Washington touting progress toward a deal.

The talks spanned at least eight hours Saturday and several hours Sunday, setting the stage for a potential thawing of trade relations between the world’s two largest economies. Since starting his second term, Trump has slapped 145% tariffs on Chinese goods while Beijing has hit back with 125% duties on American products. That has led bilateral trade to nearly dry up, heightening inflationary pressure in the U.S. and threatening to plunge China into a deep recession.

Trump Administration Updates: Judge Pauses Plans for Mass Layoffs

Updated May 10, 2025

Of all the lawsuits challenging President Trump’s vision to dramatically scale back the form and function of the federal government, the one now paused by a federal judge in California is poised to have the broadest effect yet.Credit...Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Where Things Stand

Mass layoffs: A federal judge in California called for a two-week pause in the Trump administration’s mass layoff plans, barring two dozen agencies from moving forward with the largest phase of the president’s downsizing efforts, which the judge said was illegal without Congress’s authorization. Read more ›


Immigration: A top aide to President Trump, Stephen Miller, told reporters that the administration was considering whether to suspend the right of migrants to challenge their detentions in court. “The Constitution is clear,” he said outside the White House, arguing that the right, known as a writ of habeas corpus, “could be suspended in time of invasion.” Read more ›


Safety board firings: Mr. Trump has moved to fire three Democratic members of the agency that monitors the safety of products like cribs, toys and electronics. The members of the agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, assert that their removals are illegal, and similar firings at independent agencies established by Congress are being fought in the courts. Read more ›


Trade war: Ahead of trade talks with China this weekend, Mr. Trump said he was open to lowering his tariffs on goods from China to 80 percent, from 145 percent. He also told reporters he would not be disappointed if a deal is not reached right away, arguing that not doing business is also a good deal for the United States. Read more ›

Of Trump Appointees Patel & Noem

Heather Cox Richardson

May 10

Federal Bureau of Investigation director Kash Patel, who did not have experience in law enforcement when he took the job, has drawn criticism from current and former officials in the FBI and the Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI, for reducing FBI briefings, traveling frequently on personal matters, and appearing repeatedly at pro sporting events.

Yesterday Patel showed up at a hearing for the Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee on the FBI’s spending plan for 2025, but he had not produced the plan, which by law was supposed to have been turned over more than a week ago. When Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) called the absence of the plan “absurd” and asked Patel when they could expect the plan, he answered he did not have a timeline.

Stacey Young, a former DOJ lawyer who co-founded Justice Connection, which supports current and former DOJ employees under pressure from the administration, told NBC’s Ken Dilanian: “There’s a growing sense among the ranks that there’s a leadership void. And that the highest echelons of the bureau are more concerned about currying favor with the president, retribution, and leaks than the actual work.”

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) took Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem even more fully to task. At a meeting of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security yesterday, Murphy told Noem: “[Y]our department is out of control. You are spending like you don’t have a budget,” he said. “You are on the verge of running out of money for the fiscal year…. You're on track to trigger the Anti-Deficiency Act. That means you are going to spend more money than you have been allocated by Congress. This is a rare occurrence, and it is wildly illegal. Your agency will be broke by July, over two months before the end of the fiscal year.”

The obsession with the border, he continued, “has left the country unprotected elsewhere…. To fund the border, you have illegally gutted spending for cybersecurity. As we speak, Russian and Chinese hackers are having a field day attacking our nation. You have withdrawn funds for disaster prevention. Storms are going to kill more people in this country because of your illegal withholding of these funds.”

Trump Proposes a100 percent tariff on movies made outside America.

Jenna Schoenefeld for The New York Times

By German Lopez

Hollywood recently got the Trump tariff treatment. On Sunday, the president announced a 100 percent tariff on movies made outside America. Filmmakers said the move would hurt U.S. filmmaking. Shares for Netflix and other entertainment companies fell. The next day, the White House said no tariff would take effect.

We’ve seen this before for other sectors of the economy. But why would President Trump think Hollywood could benefit from more protectionism? Today’s newsletter looks at the headwinds the industry faces.

Hollywood’s problems

When Trump talks tariffs, he typically speaks about manufacturing. He invokes American industries that have fallen from grace — steel, coal, cars — and the physical goods that they once made for the world. He complains that the United States imports more goods than it exports, leading to a trade deficit.

On set in Montana. Janie Osborne for The New York Times


Hollywood doesn’t fit that description. It remains the world’s dominant moviemaking industry. American film exports are three times as high as imports, according to the Motion Picture Association. Movies are also a service; the product is entertainment, not a physical good. And unlike with goods, the United States has a nearly $300 billion trade surplus with services.

Still, Hollywood has problems. For one, fewer movies are made in Los Angeles nowadays. Filming has moved to other states and, increasingly, overseas. Other countries offer cheaper labor and tax credits for filmmakers. This has erased jobs once held by Americans. “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!” Trump posted online.

Tariffs, however, are a messy solution to Hollywood’s problems.

A levy on a Chinese-made phone is simply applied to the value of that product. But what would a tariff on movies look like? Would it apply to the production costs? Box office earnings? Would it depend on how much of a movie is filmed and edited abroad? What about movies — think of “James Bond” or “Harry Potter” — that require overseas filming? Would the toll apply to TV shows? Filmmakers say that a 100 percent tariff will force them to halt production altogether.

Tariffs could also backfire. Other countries could put their own levies on U.S. movies. That could hurt global ticket sales. Most studio revenue is now international, Axios noted.

The industry says it prefers a carrot instead of a stick: America could lure back moviemakers with its own tax credits. This is the approach that California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, backed on Monday when he called on Trump to support a $7.5 billion federal tax break for films made in America.

But that would cost money at a time when Congress is already struggling to find ways to pay for tax cuts the president wants. So Trump once again invoked tariffs as his favored fix.

TRUMP'S CHAOTIC & HISTORIC FIRST 100 DAYS

 

April 30, 2025 In the Oval Office.  Eric Lee/The New York Times A furious start by Irineo Cabreros and Aatish Bhatia The first 100 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency have been a study of extremes, especially when compared with the start of presidential terms over the last century. Today, The Upshot — a section of The Times focused on data and policy — published eight charts comparing Trump’s performance with that of his predecessors. Here are a few of them: He issued more executive orders than any other modern president … Source: Federal Register | Data for Trump 2025 as of April 29. | By The New York Times On his first day in office, Trump signed a record 26 executive orders — and he didn’t stop there. The executive order has become something of a hallmark of his governing style, a way to express clear policy directives without the bureaucracy of regulation or the horse trading of legislation. Some orders direct federal agencies to develop policy in particular areas, like oil drilling, prescription drug prices or the water pressure delivered by shower heads. Some mostly express the president’s sentiment on an issue. Some function as warnings or punishments for political enemies. But many — in key areas like immigration and tariffs — effectively carry the force of law. Compare the president’s output with that of Congress, which has passed only a handful of laws since Trump’s inauguration. … and was sued in federal court more, too Source: PACER | Data for Trump 2025 as of April 29. | By The New York Times Trump’s executive actions have already led to an explosion of lawsuits. In other recent administrations, the suits have come later, in response to laws and regulations that take months and years to develop. But Trump is moving quickly to cut funding, fire federal workers, impose tariffs, reshape immigration policy and more. Although the Supreme Court has begun considering aspects of a few cases, most of this litigation is in preliminary stages. Markets plunged Source: LSEG | Shifts are relative to the value on the day the president was sworn in. Data for Trump 2025 is as of April 29. | By The New York Times During his first term, Trump often referred to the stock market as a barometer of success for his presidency. This time, he seems less focused on it. And some of his proclamations — on tariffs or his views on the Federal Reserve and interest rates — have led to wild swings in recent weeks. The S&P 500 has fallen by more than 7 percent since Trump’s inauguration, on track for the worst performance for stocks in this period of a presidency since Gerald Ford in 1974. Trump’s popularity fell, too Source: New York Times average of presidential approval polls | Data for Trump 2025 is as of April 29. | By The New York Times When Trump entered office, voters said they trusted him to handle the economy and immigration. But 100 days into his second term, his approval is underwater. Partly it’s because he turned those long-term strengths on the economy and immigration into weaknesses. Read about how Trump fared in our recent poll here. Our charts also look at revenue from tariffs and the fate of the dollar. See them here. More on Trump’s first 100 days Trump has done more in his first 100 days to change the trajectory of the country than any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, Peter Baker writes. Trump has altered foreign policy, gutted government agencies, undertaken a campaign of retribution and upended global trade. Read about the different ways he’s made his mark. Trump marked his 100th day with a rally in Michigan, where he celebrated his border crackdown and dismissed his falling poll numbers as rigged.

The ‘Never Surrender’ President Retreats

The White House tempered its position on key issues this week, as polling suggests voters are souring on Trump’s steering of the economy

By Molly Ball

April 25, 2025 9:00 pm ET

President Trump’s ebbing popularity might be pushing him to moderate some of his lofty goals. PHOTO: KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY IMAGES

This week, President Trump said he had “no intention” of seeking the ouster of the Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell—despite having called for his “termination” just a few days earlier. Hours later, he allowed that tariffs on China were “not going to be that high”—weeks after escalating them to 145%.

All in all, it was an unusual week for a president whose rallying cry has long been “never surrender.”


Those weren’t the only fronts on which the past week saw Trump backpedal. Having once pledged to broker peace in Ukraine immediately upon taking office, he now says the U.S. could walk away from the conflict entirely if the deal he’s put forward isn’t accepted. And having once boasted that DOGE would radically downsize the federal government, Elon Musk said this week he would step back from the effort, having reduced its top-line goal by 90%. “He was always going to ease out,” Trump told reporters Wednesday.

Taken together, the reversals were a startling pattern for a president who prides himself on never backing down, potentially denting his political brand as an unflinching fighter. As the 100-day mark of Trump’s tumultuous second term draws near, the climbdowns were a signal that his ebbing popularity may be forcing him to moderate some of his lofty goals.

White House officials disputed the idea that Trump had reversed himself. Any reduction in the China tariffs would only come as part of a deal and wouldn’t be a unilateral move, an official argued, while Trump’s pressure on Powell never took the form of an explicit vow to fire him. The threat to walk away from the Ukraine talks was clearly a negotiating tactic, the official said, while DOGE’s work has had a meaningful impact and will continue with or without Musk’s involvement.

“In his first 100 days, President Trump has delivered on hundreds of promises and already accomplished his two most important campaign goals—the border is secure and inflation is ending,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “The next 100 days will consist of trade deals, peace deals, and tax cuts. More American greatness is on the way.”

Many of Trump’s maximalist promises are better understood as trial balloons, and he has a skill for spinning reversals to his advantage, said Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence. But Short said he viewed the tariff climbdown as qualitatively different because it constituted Trump backtracking on one of his core beliefs in the face of adverse consequences. “He has a remarkable ability to pivot and present a new position as if it was always the old position. It’s one of his political talents,” Short said. “But he truly believes that we can bring a nostalgic manufacturing golden age back to America through tariffs, so that walkback is a little more stark.”

Trump insisted this week that negotiations are under way with China that could result in tariffs being reduced. But the Chinese government says that is not the case, and has taken to openly mocking Trump. Chinese state television has nicknamed him “10,000 Tariff Grandpa,” and the hashtag “Trump chickened out” was trending on the Weibo social media network Wednesday.

Meanwhile, with fighting continuing between Russia and Ukraine and Trump’s ultimatum to both parties meeting a chilly reception, the president pleaded with his Russian counterpart on social media, “Vladimir, STOP!”

And Musk, once an omnipresent force rampaging across government departments, told investors he planned to spend more time with his businesses as the effort he once claimed would slash $2 trillion now looks like it will barely achieve one-tenth of that aim. Tesla profits have plummeted by 71%, and Musk’s high-profile attempt to swing a Wisconsin supreme court election earlier this month appeared to backfire: the liberal candidate who cast Musk as the race’s central villain won by 10 points.
China denies Trump’s assertion that negotiations are under way with Beijing that could result in tariffs being reduced. PHOTO: ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

To be sure, no president can be expected to fulfill all his campaign promises, which are rightly seen as aspirational, and voters have long accepted that Trump’s outlandish bluster isn’t necessarily meant to be taken literally. Where detractors see flip-flopping, Trump’s supporters see flexibility. Trump has acknowledged that unpredictability is a tactic he uses to his advantage: In an interview with The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board last October, he said Chinese President Xi Jinping wouldn’t dare cross him, “because he respects me and he knows I’m f— crazy.”

And while Trump may have dialed back here and there, plenty of active confrontations remain as he seeks to reshape longstanding institutions through aggressive executive action. His administration faces numerous court battles as critics contend his actions threaten the separation of powers and due process guaranteed by the Constitution.

In his first term, there were numerous instances in which he made bold promises and then pivoted. Mexico never paid for the border wall that Trump only partially completed. The administration ended its practice of separating migrant children from their parents under public pressure in 2018. Trump publicly pledged to take action on gun control in the wake of mass shootings in 2019, then reversed himself after discussions with the National Rifle Association. He wound down his first-term China trade war with a 2020 deal touted as “historic,” but some analyses found that China never fulfilled its promised U.S. export purchases. Some observers expect the current trade war to end in similar fashion, with an agreement that amounts to little in practice but allows the president and his supporters to claim he’s won the standoff.

To critics, the walkbacks are evidence that Trump was never as resolute or as deft a dealmaker as he claimed. “He talks a big game, but he doesn’t have a coherent strategy, so he has to backtrack and then try to spin it into a win,” said Sarah Matthews, a former Trump White House aide who broke with Trump after Jan. 6, 2021. Matthews, who now views Trump as dangerous, said the dynamic was familiar from her days trying to portray his whims as masterfully intentional in his first term. “They’ll say this is the art of the deal, but how is it the art of the deal when he hasn’t actually negotiated anything?”
Demonstrators gathered on the National Mall and then marched to the White House last weekend, during a ‘Hands Off!’ day of action, a protest against the policies of the Trump administration and Elon Musk. PHOTO: PROBAL RASHID/ZUMA PRESS

Polls show Trump’s approval rating has steadily declined since the beginning of his term, slipping by about seven points in the polling average maintained by analyst Nate Silver. The public’s loss of confidence in his ability to manage the economy, long perceived as his greatest strength, is particularly striking: in a Fox News poll released this week, just 38% approved of his handling of economic matters, while 56% disapproved.

Democrats see a political opening in the president’s inconstancy. Research by the center-left think tank Third Way has found that swing voters are perturbed by what they see as Trump’s “chaos,” particularly when it comes to the economy and government services. “In our focus groups and polling, this comes up organically,” said Jim Kessler, the organization’s executive vice president for policy.

“The Trump chaos right now means higher prices, a struggling economy, dwindling retirements, and uncertainty about people’s economic well being,” he added. “For a long time, people could say, ‘You may not like him, but the economy is good.’ They’re now having doubts about the impact of his chaos on their daily lives.”

Write to Molly Ball at molly.ball@wsj.com