logo
Trump said he told the New York Times about Musk's alleged drug use, presidential biographer claims

Trump said he told the New York Times about Musk's alleged drug use, presidential biographer claims

Independenta day ago
President Donald Trump said he 'dropped a dime' on Elon Musk's alleged drug taking to the New York Times, according to biographer Michael Wolff.
As the feud between Trump and Musk reignited this week, Wolff claimed the president has been calling contacts to badmouth his former 'first buddy.'
'I was tracking some Trump phone calls on Monday night. And it's sort of worth explaining here that over a long period of time, I've gotten to know and cultivated a lot of people who Trump regularly speaks to,' Wolff told the Daily Beast Podcast host Joanna Coles during Thursday's episode.
Wolff, who did not speak to the president himself, claimed Trump made the comments on Monday after Musk threatened to form a new political party if the Big, Beautiful Bill passes.
'And he's like calling people to say, 'Do you think Elon is crazy? I think he's crazy,'' Wolff said. 'He was on about, you know…how many drugs [Musk] takes, you know…He takes drugs all the time. The New York Times wrote about it. They said he takes drugs,'' Wolff continued.
'And then [Trump] went on to say…you know, actually, we dropped a dime to The New York Times on Elon for taking…on Elon's drug taking.''
Wolff said that Trump is 'claiming credit' for the report.
White House communications director Steven Cheung dismissed the claims and fired back with one of his signature takedowns of the Trump biographer.
'Michael Wolff is a lying sack of s*** and has been proven to be a fraud,' Cheung said in a statement to The Independent. 'He routinely fabricates stories originating from his sick and warped imagination, only possible because he has a severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted his peanut-sized brain.'
Musk denies claims that he takes drugs and was high while in the White House. 'To be clear, I am NOT taking drugs! The New York Times was lying their a** off,' he said in a post on X at the time. 'I tried *prescription* ketamine a few years ago and said so on X, so this not even news. It helps for getting out of dark mental holes, but haven't taken it since then.'
Tensions between Musk and Trump have boiled over once again after the Tesla CEO launched fresh attacks on the president on his social media platform.
The president even said he would 'take a look' at deporting Musk after his renewed criticism of the tax and spending megabill.
​​His threats followed Musk's promise to bankroll primary challenges against Republican lawmakers who vote to pass legislation.
'Every member of Congress who campaigned on reducing government spending and then immediately voted for the biggest debt increase in history should hang their head in shame! And they will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth,' Musk wrote on X.
Trump also hinted he might also turn the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk spearheaded, on his former friend.
'We might have to put Doge on Elon,' he said. 'You know what Doge is? Doge is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Elon Musk finally unleashes on Trump's Big Beautiful Bill victory with brutal troll after eyebrow-raising silence
Elon Musk finally unleashes on Trump's Big Beautiful Bill victory with brutal troll after eyebrow-raising silence

Daily Mail​

time33 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Elon Musk finally unleashes on Trump's Big Beautiful Bill victory with brutal troll after eyebrow-raising silence

Elon Musk is musing about the best way to create his new America Party now that Congress has passed President Donald Trump 's 'Big, Beautiful Bill.' Musk has been one of the biggest opponents of Trump's signature $3.3 trillion spending and tax cut legislation filled with major campaign promises including expanding mass deportations and investing in American energy. The tech billionaire complained about its lack of subsidies for electronic vehicles (which would benefit his Tesla company) and the billions it adds to the deficit after his DOGE agency worked to reign in federal spending. After its passage in both the House and Senate this week, it heads to Trump's desk Friday to be signed into law. And the billionaire is now asking his 221.7 million followers on X if it is time to make good on his threats to create a new political party and oust the Republicans who supported Trump's signature bill. 'One way to execute on this would be to laser-focus on just 2 or 3 Senate seats and 8 to 10 House districts,' he wrote on X. 'Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people.' Republicans currently hold tiny majorities in both the House and Senate with just a handful of seats giving them the edge over Democrats. Musk and Trump got into a social media war during debate on the legislation, leading to Musk threatening to use his billions to start a third political party and Trump threatening to deport the naturalized American citizen. Musk was curiously silent in the hours following the congressional vote but, on July 4th, he decided to weigh in: 'Great day for some … fireworks,' he wrote, adding two fire emojis. He also praised Republican Senator Rand Paul and Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, both of Kentucky, for voting against the bill for the amount of money it added to the country's deficit. '100,' the world's richest man wrote using an emoji in support of them. Musk has threatened to primary any GOP lawmaker who voted in favor of Trump's signature legislation. Two Republican lawmakers who spoke to the Daily Mail brushed aside Musk's potential threats against GOP members who voted for the big beautiful bill. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus brushed off Musk's threats when asked if he thought any members of his conference were worried about any potential retaliation from Musk for their vote. 'No, Elon Musk is for the country. No retaliation' Norman stated. Asked again if he thought his fellow Republicans could get primaried with millions of dollars flowing from Musk, Norman added the following. 'Elon Musk is a true patriot. He identified where our tax money went. For you, young people, you ought to be grateful that we had him.' 'No one else had the bandwidth to do what he did,' Norman noted, referring to Musk's work as Trump's former lead of the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk directly called out a pair of House Republicans who are a part of the conservative 'Freedom Caucus,' for their votes to pass the preliminary House version of the bill back in May. 'How can you call yourself the Freedom Caucus if you vote for a Debt Slavery bill with the biggest debt ceiling increase in history? @RepAndyHarrisMD @chiproytx,' Musk wrote, addressing the two GOP lawmakers directly. Elon Musk took to social media to ask his followers how they feel about a third political party Another conservative Republican, Representative John McGuire (R-Va.) told the Daily Mail that he believes Musk is going to move on 'bigger and greater things.' 'I think yesterday, he said more nice things about President Trump,' McGuire added, referring to a recent positive post Musk's made on X, formerly Twitter. In that post, Musk praised Trump's peace making abilities. 'Credit where credit is due. Donald Trump has successfully resolved several serious conflicts around the world,' Musk wrote in a post made at around 1:30 AM Wednesday. McGuire is not stranger to competitive GOP primaries in red seats, as he himself came to Congress after he primaried former Rep. Bob Good, a fellow Republican from the right last year. At the time that Musk made his promises, it remained unclear how much sway Musk had over Congress or what effect his opinions might have had on the bill's passage. On Monday, he escalated his attacks, saying lawmakers who campaigned on cutting spending but supported the bill 'should hang their heads in shame.' 'And they will lose their primary next year if it's the last thing I do on this Earth,' Musk declared. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also called for a new political party, arguing the bill's massive spending showed 'we live in a one-party country — the PORKY PIG PARTY!' 'Time for a party that actually cares about the people,' he wrote. 'If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day,' Musk pledged in a post on X Monday evening. Musk, now worth over $400 billion, founded the AmericaPAC super PAC in 2024. AmericaPAC raised more than $260 million last year, much of it to back Republicans in swing districts. Over $88 million went to supporting Trump directly. The Senate version of Trump's bill, which also passed the House on Wednesday, is estimated to add between $3.3 billion and $4.5 billion to the national debt. 'The insane spending of this bill increases the debt ceiling by a record five trillion dollars,' Musk posted. While nearly all Republicans backed the budget, two conservative lawmakers from Kentucky — Rep. Thomas Massie and Senator Rand Paul — voted no. Massie was already criticized by the Trump White House for opposing the bill, and Musk defended him even before the final vote. It remains to be seen whether Musk's support for Massie was an exception, or a sign he's prepared to oppose Trump in future primaries.

CNN praises Trump's successes in stunning U-turn on his record: 'Much better than expected'
CNN praises Trump's successes in stunning U-turn on his record: 'Much better than expected'

Daily Mail​

time33 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

CNN praises Trump's successes in stunning U-turn on his record: 'Much better than expected'

CNN anchor Sara Sidner stunned viewers this week by highlighting Donald Trump 's recent wins. The host - who has called out the president in the past - laid out a list of Trump-era successes now taking center stage while interviewing a skeptical congressional democrat Thursday. 'Look, here are some things that have happened. Gas prices down. Economic indicators are decent. Brand new jobs report shows that it's much better than expected, and border crossings are down,' Sidner first told Florida Rep Debbie Wasserman-Schultz during the exchange on CNN News Central. 'And now, Trump's mega-spending bill looks like it's going to be passed by Republicans.' The bill - dubbed the Big Beautiful Bill - has since been passed. Sidner went on to pose a pointed question. 'How do you Democrats fight back against the wins that Trump can tout?' Wasserman-Schultz immediately bristled, firing back: 'Well, it depends how you define wins, Sara,' before launching into a heated tirade against Trump - even pointing out that his bill goes against past promises not to touch Medicaid or Medicare. A meltdown ensued, months after CNN CEO Mark Thompson reportedly demanded a drastic tone-down in anti-Trump rhetoric from staff amid tanking ratings. Sidner appeared to abide, as Wasserman-Schultz refused to acknowledge Trump's recent wins. 'I mean, the way I can summarize this - this big, ugly bill best is, Republicans caved, Trump lied, and people will die,' Wasserman-Schultz said. 'This bill does kick 17 million people off of their health care. 'That's people who are on Medicaid, who are extremely vulnerable, like veterans and the elderly, the disabled and children.' Forecasting people going hungry due to incoming cuts to nutrition assistance, the congresswoman declared: 'This is a bill that is going to cause tremendous pain.' She maintained the bill 'is incredibly unpopular with the public' due to it stripping away things she said 'ensure that [Americans] can remain healthy and safe. 'And that their families can be cared for, and that they can have a middle class lifestyle.' The final version of the bill is set to strip funding from the federal health insurance programs over the next 10 years - a prospect progressives have painted as a means to give tax cuts to billionaires. Wasserman-Schultz, 58, made that claim as well, telling Sidner: 'This bill is all in service to taking care of the wealthiest, most fortunate Americans. 'It explodes the deficit, and it raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion to give tax breaks to the wealthy.' The congresswoman then turned to the jobs report, which she refused to accept at face value. A stronger-than-expected 147,000 jobs was added to the US economy in June, Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday revealed - statistics Wasserman-Schultz argued were misleading. 'That jobs report you just mentioned, the overwhelming majority of those jobs are actually government jobs and education jobs that look to be more like substitute teachers,' Wasserman-Schultz said, despite an almost identical amount being added to industries like health care, leisure, and hospitality 'There are really not many jobs in that jobs report that they can point to that are in the private market. She concluded by branding the report 'hollow', not addressing Trump's successes along the Southern Border. Crossings there have dropped to levels not seen in decades, numbers released Thursday showed. On Capitol Hill, the House of Representatives passed the bill late Thursday by a vote of 218 to 214 - a vote Wasserman-Schultz said was purposely being done 'in the dead of night [so] people don't know what's going on.' Sidner then asked if Democrats had a strategic response for midterms next year. She said the party will continue to call attention to rural hospitals and nursing homes closing and approved tax cuts for a group she framed as 'the wealthiest, most fortunate Americans.' 'It's an abomination, and they will pay for it at the ballot box next year when Democrats take the majority back because people are going to rebel.' Sidner, 53, then changed the subject, pivoting to Trump's promised Alligator Alcatraz in Wasserman-Schultz's home state. 'It's an outrage, an abomination. It is going to upend and waste hundreds of billions of dollars that we've already spent on Everglades restoration. 'It should be abandoned immediately,' she said. Sidner ended the segment there, not offering any opinion on the matter. Unlike Sidner, who simply reported the news, Collins played a supercut on The Source Monday that honed in on the president's repeated promises to avoid such cuts. Last week, Collins and Trump had a testy back-and-forth during a press conference at a NATO summit in the Netherlands, where Trump ripped CNN as 'fake news CNN'. They also had a heated exchange aboard Air Force One last month, after Collins floated a series of questions about the conflict between Israel and Iran. Sidner, in May, stood up against Trump as well, during a fiery exchange with Congressman Pat Harrigan (R-NC) over the president's comments defending his tariffs. 'Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30,' Trump has said - leading Sidner to take issue. 'Congressman, would your constituents think it's funny to tell them to stop buying things and to stop buying dolls for their children while the economy is in a decline?' Sidner said after Harrigan laughed off one of her questions. She also pressed the congressman on April's more lackluster job report, which June's appeared to address. 'You think the economy is good even though the GDP has actually receded for the first time in many years?' she asked, months after calling out the conservative for his complaints about Democratic rhetoric amid the ongoing threats across Springfield, Ohio, following his 'eating the pets' claims. A few weeks before, last July, Sinder chided Trump for calling Kamala Harris 'real garbage.' Trump has been at odds with CNN since his first term, repeatedly slamming its coverage since.

Donald Trump says he wants to stage UFC fight on White House grounds
Donald Trump says he wants to stage UFC fight on White House grounds

The Guardian

time38 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Donald Trump says he wants to stage UFC fight on White House grounds

US president Donald Trump said Thursday that he's thinking of staging a UFC match on the White House grounds with upwards 20,000 spectators to celebrate 250 years of American independence. 'We have a lot of land there,' said Trump, a UFC enthusiast who has attended several of its mixed martial arts matches in recent months and is close friends with Dana White, the league's president. Trump announced his plan in Iowa during the kickoff for a year's worth of festivities to celebrate America's 250th birthday on 4 July 2026. The Republican president also announced a culminating festival on the National Mall in Washington, and a separate athletic competition featuring high school athletes from across the country. 'So every one of our national parks, battlefields and historic sites are going to have special events in honor of America 250. And I even think we're going to have a UFC fight,' Trump said. ″Think of this on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there,' he said, adding that it would be a 'full fight' with 20,000 to 25,000 people. A White House spokesperson said they had no details to share beyond the president's announcement, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Trump was 'dead serious' about those plans. Trump has recently enjoyed standing ovations and cage-side seats for several UFC fights, including an appearance immediately after his 2024 reelection and another just last month alongside White for two championship fights.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store