European politicians gloat as Trump and Elon Musk’s bromance crashes and burns in very public feud

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WASHINGTON, DC: Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who until recently were thick as thieves, are now hurling bombs at each other. And it looks like European politicians are quietly munching popcorn while watching this implosion.

Polish foreign minister Radosław Sikorski couldn’t resist twisting the knife. Channeling some 'Schadenfreude' — a classic German sentiment of taking delight in another’s misfortune—Sikorski posted on X (formerly Twitter), “See, big man, politics is harder than you thought.”

It's worth noting that Musk had dismissed Sikorski as a “small man” back in March.

Then there's Thierry Breton, the EU’s former internal market commissioner. He didn’t say a word—just dropped a pair of emojis including curious eyeballs and popcorn, Politico reported.

How Elon Musk and Donald Trump went from allies to archenemies

The gloves officially came off on Thursday, June 5. Their once-friendly relationship turned into an online slugfest that started with Trump threatening to axe Musk’s government contracts. Musk, in turn, claimed that Trump never would’ve won the presidency without his help. 

The real scorcher came later in the day when Musk decided to drop what he dubbed “the really big bomb.” According to the tech mogul, Trump’s name appears in the Jeffrey Epstein files. “@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public,” Musk posted on X. “Have a nice day, DJT!”

For context, Epstein died by suicide in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trafficking charges.

The Trump administration previously vowed to release more of the Epstein files, and earlier this year, the Justice Department did issue a limited release. But conservatives slammed it for not going far enough.

Trump clapped back with his own post. “I don't mind Elon turning against me, but he should have done so months ago. This is one of the Greatest Bills ever presented to Congress," he wrote.

Meanwhile, Musk agreed with an X post suggesting that Trump should be impeached and replaced by Vice President JD Vance.

It all started with Musk’s harsh criticism of the Republican-led tax and budget bill. Dubbed the “big, beautiful bill” by Trump, it slashes taxes by trillions and is basically the heart of the President’s domestic agenda. Musk called it “outrageous” and “a disgusting abomination.”

The Congressional Budget Office projected the bill would hike deficits by $2.4 trillion over ten years. But Trump and his allies insist the math is bogus.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to brush off the drama. “This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted," she said, adding, “The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again.” 

Donald Trump says Elon Musk 'misses the place'

Later that day, while meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office, Donald Trump was asked about the Elon Musk mess.

“Elon and I had a great relationship,” he told reporters. “I don't know if we will anymore.”

According to Trump, Musk was “around for the whole process” of crafting the bill and “never had a problem” with it—until electric vehicle subsidies were dropped. That’s a big deal for Tesla. The new bill phases out Biden-era clean energy tax breaks, and that’s hitting Musk where it hurts.

Trump sounded genuinely let down. “I'm very disappointed in Elon. I've helped Elon a lot,” he said. “He worked hard” and did a “good job.”

“And I'll be honest, I think he misses the place,” the president added. “He's not the first. People leave my administration, and they love us. And then, at some point, they miss it so badly. And some of them embrace it, and some of them actually become hostile. I don't know what it is. It's sort of Trump derangement syndrome, I guess they call it," he quipped.

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