Vice President JD Vance said Elon Musk is making a “huge mistake” in going after Donald Trump and expressed hopes the billionaire will come back into the fold following the public feud that unfolded.
“I’m always going to be loyal to the president and I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold,” Vance said in an interview on the podcast “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” released on Saturday. “Maybe that’s not possible now because he’s gone so nuclear, but I hope it is.”
Musk helped elect Trump and Vance in 2024 and assumed a role heading the Department of Government Efficiency, a cost-cutting effort that has so far fallen well short of the Tesla Inc. chief’s initial promises.
Trump and Musk’s political alliance imploded on Thursday after Musk criticized the tax and spending policy bill backed by the president. The two men traded jabs that grew personal on social media, stunning watchers in Washington and on Wall Street.
While Vance posted on X in support of Trump, saying that the president he was “proud to stand beside him” and praising him as having “done more than anyone in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads,” the interview with Von marked his first direct comments on Musk since the spat erupted.
The president had encouraged Vance to speak diplomatically about Musk before his appearance on the podcast, according to a person familiar with the situation who shared details on condition of anonymity.
“The president doesn’t think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk, and I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine,” Vance said.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com