President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s war of words has left Washington analyzing how quickly their once close relationship deteriorated and the implications.
But social media users around the world took out their popcorn, flocked to their devices, and chimed in as the feud played out on social media.
From Musk and Trump’s supporters cheering each of them on, with others telling them to cool things off, to memes from other internet users relishing in the back and forth, platforms like X, Truth Social, and BlueSky have allowed the public to watch it all unfold and weigh in in real time.
“They see this as a catfight,” Jennifer Grygiel, an associate professor of communications at Syracuse University, told ABC News. “The one reason people are tuning in is because we are watching mutual destruction.”
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Grygiel noted that while some of the social media engagement might be all fun and games, it does speak to a larger issue about the public’s dissatisfaction with the current state of politics and civic engagement. More important, the professor pointed out, it does distract from the bigger political issues and debates going on.
As soon as Musk’s and Trump’s posts dropped Thursday afternoon, social media users started to post themselves.
“This is like Drake and Kendrick Lamar but they’re both Drake,” Anna Hughes, a Canadian Ocean conservation researcher in a viral BlueSky post.
One famous support of both Trump and Musk urged them to stop.
“Broooos please noooooo 🫂 We love you both so much,” rapper Ye posted on X.
Others started making memes, some of which used AI-generated images, of Trump and Musk fighting or appearing as a couple breaking up.
“LET ME HOST THE REUNION!” late night talk show host Andy Cohen posted on X.
On the serious side, Republicans on the Hill, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance, put out statements on X defending the president and the spending bill.
“There are many lies the corporate media tells about President Trump. One of the most glaring is that he’s impulsive or short-tempered. Anyone who has seen him operate under pressure knows that’s ridiculous,” Vance posted.
Conservative commentator Jack Posobiec claimed in an X post that the pair’s back-and-forth was blown out of proportion.
“Some of y’all cant handle 2 high agency males going at it and it really shows,” he said.
Some Democrats took to social media to gloat.
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“Siri, play ‘Bad Blood,'” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer posted on BlueSky Thursday evening, referencing the Taylor Swift song about a relationship on the rocks.
The online peanut gallery wasn’t limited to American spectators.
Dmitri Medvedev, the former Russian president and Russian prime minister, took to X early Friday morning with a georpolitical dose of sarcasm.
“We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment. Don’t fight, guys,” he said.
Grygiel said Trump and Musk knew they would stir up their political bases and the general public by taking their quarrels to their respective social media platforms, likening it to how media tycoons owners used the magazines and newspaper they owned at the turn of the 20th century.
“It’s almost like all of these social media platforms are sports teams, with their own personalities,” they said. “If anything both men obviously know the importance of tweaking public opinion.”
Grant Reeher, professor of political science at Syracuse University, told ABC News that Musk and Trump’s use of social media has encouraged this political engagement for years.
“I think it’s very emblematic of the whole process of a lot of big changes in political communication and campaigning rhetoric.
Grygiel, however, said the posts and comments by some social media users show the public’s increased distrust and frustration with their elected leaders.
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“The jokes speak to a lack of disengagement and how we feel like this is ridiculous,” they said.
Grygiel, however, warned the engagement over the spat is overall detrimental to the general public as other pressing issues, including Trump’s budget cuts, which set off the feud in the first place.
Connecticut Democrat Sen. Chris Murphy echoed this sentiment in a blunt BlueSky post Thursday.
“When 15 million Americans lose their health care and plunge into personal crisis, none of them are going to give a s— about a made-for-clicks Twitter fight between two billionaires arguing,” he said.
