Trump in surprising Elon Musk move just six months after Tesla founder’s new party pledge | World | News
Donald Trump appears to have extended an olive branch to Elon Musk, as the tech billionaire praised the US President’s decision to strike Venezuela. The US President took to social media platform Truth Social on January 3, just hours after delivering a press conference focused on the overnight strike on Venezuela.
On Truth Social, Mr Trump shared two X messages from tech billionaire Mr Musk. In the first one, Mr Musk reposted a message from the White House, reading: “God bless the United States military.” The world’s richest man simply added: “Yes”. In the second message of Mr Musk reposted by Mr Trump, the Tesla founder and CEO shared another message in which he was quoted as saying: “I am a citizen of the United States and have only that passport. No matter what happens, I will fight for and die in America.”
Seemingly showing renewed support for the message, Mr Musk commented: “Yes.”
Mr Musk had originally written that message in September 2023, and also read: “The United States Congress has not declared war on Russia. If anyone is treasonous, it is those who call me such. Please tell them that very clearly.”
It was written in response to criticism over his decision not to give the Ukraine military access to his Starlink communications network over Russia-occupied Sevastopol one year prior, as Kyiv allegedly wanted to hit Russian ships in the area. Starlink terminals connected to SpaceX satellites in orbit have been crucial for maintaining internet connectivity in Ukraine as Russian attacks have disrupted civilian infrastructure. Mr Musk said in 2023 he hadn’t granted Ukraine its request to extend over Crimea not to make SpaceX “complicit in a major act of war”.
Mr Trump’s decision to share these two recent messages by Mr Musk come as the US launched a strike on Venezuelan capital city Caracas in the early hours of January 3. The operation, which comes after months of increasing pressure and allegations from the US on President Nicolas Maduro, which the socialist leader denies, also saw the Venezuelan leader and his wife being captured by the American military and taken to New York.
Mr Musk appeared to approve the military operation, as he also wrote on X while sharing a snap published by Mr Trump and purpotedly showing Mr Maduro blindfolded and on his way to New York: “Congratulations, President Trump! This is a win for the world and a clear message to evil dictators everywhere.”
The message of support for Mr Trump comes just six months after a public feud between the pair. While Mr Trump and Mr Musk forged an alliance as the US President returned to the White House in 2025, they seemingly fell out in the summer over Mr Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”.
At the height of their tensions in July, Mr Musk pledged to donate money to a new “American Party”. He said at the time: “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”
However, US Vice President JD Vance persuaded Mr Musk to set aside plans for a new party, the Wall Street Journal reported in August.
A first sign the relationship between Mr Musk and the Republican leader may be thawing appeared on Thursday. Mr Musk, who donated more than $290million to elect Mr Trump and other Republican candidates in 2024, suggested on X he would once again support Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections to prevent a victory of the “radical left”.
A few days prior, the Washington Post published a report alleging Mr Vance had been trying for months to patch up the relationship between the tech tycoon and the US President.
Mr Musk’s X messages in support of the Venezuela strike and Mr Trump’s decision to share them on Truth didn’t go unnoticed, with one commentator, Eric Daugherty, writing on X, “the boys are back”.
The message was reposted by Mr Musk.
