Trump-Musk Fight Puts JD Vance in a Jam

Vice president can't afford to alienate either man
Posted Jun 6, 2025 12:09 PM CDT
Trump-Musk Fight Puts JD Vance in a Jam
Then President-elect Trump, from left, Elon Musk, and JD Vance attend a college football game between Army and Navy at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on Dec. 14.   (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

The feud between President Trump and Elon Musk has put a number of Republicans in a difficult spot, but an analysis at Politico finds that Vice President JD Vance "could be the biggest loser of the blowout." The reason isn't hard to suss out: Vance is an obvious 2028 candidate, but he needs Trump's support to inherit the base. At the same time, he might need Musk's money to actually win the election. Musk himself illustrated the matter for all candidates in general on Thursday when he pointed out that Trump has less than four years left in office, while "I will be around for 40+ years."

  • Vance: On Friday, the VP made a point to back his boss publicly without dissing Musk, reports ABC News. "President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads," he tweeted. "I'm proud to stand beside him."

  • Musk: He has long been a Vance supporter, notes ABC, and on Thursday he supported a social media post suggesting that Trump be impeached and replaced by Vance, notes the Hill.
  • Others: The Politico analysis highlights six other Republicans put in a jam by the Musk-Trump feud: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump aide Stephen Miller and wife Katie Miller (who now works for Musk), former DOGE partner Vivek Ramaswamy, crypto and AI policy chief David Sacks, and Sen. Thom Tillis. Read the full story.
(More President Trump stories.)

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