“The bromance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk is over.
By: Alfredo García Almeida, journalist and international analyst reporting from Mérida, Yucatán
‘The bromance between Donald Trump and Elon Musk is over.’ This is how Dounia Sbai, a journalist for the ABC newspaper, describes 'the growing disappointment of the magnate with the U.S. president’s fiscal policies'.
The term 'bromance' refers to a close and affectionate friendship between two men without any romantic or sexual implications. It combines 'brother' and 'romance' to describe a deep friendship. Given their shared elite backgrounds, Trump and Musk formed an alliance.
'It was an expected farewell, a chapter ending that was meant to be smooth and painless after a tumultuous journey. Instead, however, it has turned into a bitter conclusion,' adds Sbai.
The 'big and beautiful law' — which includes billion-dollar tax exemptions and increased defence spending — was the final straw. Musk admitted feeling 'disappointed' with the measure, saying it would undermine the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he himself led. 'I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. That’s my personal opinion,” he commented in an interview with CBS.
The Congressional Budget Office predicts that the deficit will soar by $3.8 trillion by 2034.
Tensions had been rising between the two billionaires in recent weeks over Trump’s fiscal policies. Musk had gradually distanced himself from frontline politics and his controversial role at DOGE. The 71% drop in profits at Tesla, one of his flagship companies, was the first sign that he was on the wrong path, leading him to limit his role as a government advisor.
Sbai explains: ‘To understand the relationship between Trump and Musk, we must go back in time. The election campaign was their point of connection — they formed an enviable duo, understood each other and supported one another as unquestionable partners who wanted the best for a corrupt and declining country”. Musk donated over $260 million to help Trump reach the White House.
Shortly afterwards, the new president announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, which was tasked with reducing public spending and simplifying the executive branch’s bureaucratic machinery. During its first few weeks of operation, Musk fired thousands of workers and cut foreign aid programmes, among other measures.
His team of young software engineers quickly gained access to the Treasury’s payment system, confidential banking information and Social Security payments. They also shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), dismantling one of the world's most vital food and medicine programmes.
According to experts, this brief alliance between billionaires reflects the future of the United States.
