Trump, asked about deporting Elon Musk, says have to take a look
Donald Trump said he would “take a look” at the possibility of deporting Elon Musk after the billionaire, once a close ally, stepped up his criticism of the president’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill—legislation central to Trump’s agenda.
While leaving the White House on Tuesday en route to an immigration detention center in Florida, Trump was asked whether Musk—originally from South Africa and now a naturalized U.S. citizen—could face expulsion in retaliation for his attacks on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act currently under debate in the Senate.
“I don’t know,” Trump said. “We’ll have to take a look.”
He also alluded to potentially reactivating the now-defunct Department of Government Efficiency, or “Doge,” a quasi-governmental task force that Musk once headed.
“We might have to put Doge on Elon,” Trump quipped. “You know what Doge is? Doge is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.”
Musk had served as an unpaid special government employee during the early months of Trump’s second term, overseeing what was described as a cost-cutting initiative that quickly morphed into a roaming ideological enforcement unit. At one point, Doge dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development in a matter of days, with Musk referring to the process as sending it through a “wood chipper.” The agency was left in disarray, and Musk left government in May after the White House rejected his request to extend his unpaid post.
Since returning to private life, Musk has emerged as a prominent critic of the partisan spending bill, which Trump has promoted as a way to push his immigration crackdown and other GOP priorities while bypassing the usual budget process that would require bipartisan cooperation. On X, the social platform he owns, Musk has amplified opponents of the bill and threatened to support primary challengers against lawmakers who back it, citing concerns over its impact on the national debt.
Trump, however, claims Musk’s outrage stems from the bill’s efforts to end federal subsidies for electric vehicles—an industry from which Musk has heavily benefited. In a recent Truth Social post, Trump asserted that Musk receives “more subsidy than any human being in history,” adding that without federal support, “he would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.” He reiterated that sentiment in his remarks Tuesday.
“He’s upset that he’s losing his EV mandate… he’s very upset about things,” Trump said. “But you know, he could lose a lot more than that. I should tell you, right? Elon can lose a lot more than that.”
Musk has yet to respond directly to the threats, though he acknowledged a video clip of Trump’s comments in a reply on X, hinting that a response might still come.
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