Vice President JD Vance said it was a huge mistake for Elon Musk to be at war with President Trump amid their escalating feud and is hopeful that the billionaire Tesla founder “comes back into the fold.”
“Elon is entitled to his opinion,” Vance said during an interview with comedian Theo Von, which was released on Saturday.
“I’m not saying he has to agree with the bill or agree with everything that I’m saying. I just think it’s a huge mistake for the world’s wealthiest man — I think one of the most transformational entrepreneurs ever — to be at war with the world’s most powerful man, who I think is doing more to save the country than anybody in my lifetime.”
Vance’s appearance on Von’s popular podcast, “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,” was recorded on Thursday as Trump and Musk traded barbs on social media over the latter’s complaints about the Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“I just think you’ve got to have some respect for him and say, ‘yeah, we don’t have to agree on every issue.’ But is this war actually in the interest of the country? I don’t think so,” Vance said.
“Hopefully, Elon figures it out, comes back into the fold. I know the president was getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon. But I think it has been very restrained, because the president doesn’t think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk. And I actually think that if Elon chilled out a little bit everything would be fine.”
The SpaceX founder signaled support for impeaching Trump and replacing him with Vance in one of several jabs directed at the commander in chief.
“President vs Elon. Who wins? My money’s on Elon. Trump should be impeached and JD Vance should replace him,” right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong wrote on X.
To which Musk replied: “Yes.”
Vance appears to be fully in Trump’s corner amid the public spat between the two billionaires — and expressed his support of the president in an X post late Thursday night.
“President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. I’m proud to stand beside him,” the veep wrote.
In an earlier post, as the Trump-Musk drama was simmering down on social media, Vance had teased that he would be appearing on Von’s show.
Here is the latest on Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s feud
“Slow news day, what are we even going to talk about?” Vance wrote on X.
Musk shared the vice president’s post and reacted with a laughing emoji.
Von previously interviewed both Vance and Trump in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.
Trump’s August 2024 appearance on Von’s show racked up nearly 17 million views on YouTube.
The podcaster later attended Trump’s inauguration and made a surprise appearance at a US air base in Qatar, where the president spoke to service members and their families last month.
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