The Wall Street Journal reports:

President Trump is losing patience with Elon Musk after the billionaire attacked Republicans’ sprawling tax-and-spending bill. Musk is irked about Trump’s decision to withdraw the nomination of a key ally to lead the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The result is a fraying relationship between two of the world’s most powerful men.

A senior White House official said Trump wasn’t happy about Musk’s decision to lambaste his signature legislation, describing the president as confused as to why the Tesla chief executive decided to ratchet up his criticism after working so closely with the president for four months. The official said senior Trump advisers were caught off guard by Musk’s latest offensive.

The uneasy alliance between the two men was also strained by a recent move by the White House to nix Trump’s nominee to run NASA, Jared Isaacman, according to people familiar with the matter. Musk, a close ally of Isaacman, had advocated for him to get the job.

The decision infuriated Musk, who complained to associates over the weekend that he had donated hundreds of millions of dollars to help get Trump elected in last year’s campaign, only to see Isaacman’s nomination pulled, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. Musk’s frustration over the NASA episode made him more willing to aggressively criticize the tax bill, people close to him said. Musk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a series of social-media posts this week, the billionaire called the tax bill a “disgusting abomination,” and he threatened to try to oust GOP lawmakers for backing what he calls an “abhorrent” package of deficit-fueling spending.

On Wednesday afternoon, Musk launched another broadside against the legislation, demanding his over 200 million followers on X call senators and House lawmakers to “KILL the BILL.” Trump posted on Truth Social, without comment, an image of Musk’s departure message from last week. [Continue reading…]