(WASHINGTON) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday continued to stand by President Donald Trump during his public feud with Elon Musk, but is notably not criticizing the Tesla billionaire directly.
Vance first weighed in hours after the explosive exchange began on Thursday, offering only a brief post on X.
“President Trump has done more than anyone in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I am proud to stand beside him,” Vance wrote.
On Friday morning, Vance turned his attention to the news media while still staying silent on Musk’s accusations against the president.
“There are many lies the corporate media tells about President Trump. One of the most glaring is that he’s impulsive or short-tempered. Anyone who has seen him operate under pressure knows that’s ridiculous,” Vance wrote on X. Musk on Thursday had not made any claims about Trump being “impulsive” or “short-tempered.”
Musk lobbied for Vance to be Trump’s 2024 running mate. Back in late February, Musk had posted to X that Vance was the “Best VP ever and our future President.”
Tensions between Trump and Musk, largely stemming from Musk’s relentless criticism in recent days of Trump’s signature legislation, reached a fever pitch on Thursday.
Trump in the Oval Office offered his harshest words yet for his former close adviser, saying he was “disappointed” in Musk. Musk hit back in real time, going on a X rampage that included suggesting Trump would have lost the 2024 election without him and even claiming Trump was “in” the Epstein files regarding the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, charged in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors.
At one point, he agreed with one user calling for Trump to be impeached and replaced with Vance. Vance has not responded to that, either.
Trump hit back on his own conservative social media platform, claiming Musk had gone “CRAZY” and floated the possibility of ending Musk’s government contracts.
The president told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jon Karl on Friday morning that Musk “has lost his mind” and that he was “not particularly” interested in talking to him right now.
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