The White House frantically worked to move forward from this week’s blowup between President Donald Trump and his former first buddy Elon Musk. But the frenzied level at which the president insisted everything is all good suggested the opposite.
The president did what amounted to a weekday version of a “Full Ginsburg” Friday morning, when he spoke with reporters from across the major television networks and got his thoughts off his chest.
It’s hard to believe everything is fine when the president was going full-court press with those he has blasted as “fake” at one point or another.
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In one brief call, the president spoke to CNN’s Dana Bash.
“I’m not even thinking about Elon. He’s got a problem. The poor guy’s got a problem,” Trump said.
But the president’s media blitz did not stop there. When ABC News’ Jonathan Karl called shortly before 7 a.m., the president picked up the phone.
During that conversation, Trump called Musk the “man who has lost his mind.” He also said he was “not particularly” interested in talking with the world’s richest man right now, despite early reports of plans for a call between the two being in the works.
Then there was the call with CBS News Friday morning. The president told the network’s Robert Costa he was “totally” focused on domestic and foreign policy.
“That’s all I focus on,” Trump said. “I don’t focus on anything else.”
Also Friday morning, there was a call with Fox News, where the president told Bret Baier he was not interested in discussing Musk but got in that “Elon’s totally lost it.”
The president’s early chats with reporters did not just stop with television networks. He also spoke with one of his favorite papers, the New York Post.
During that brief phone call, the president reportedly played it cool and insisted “nothing catches me by surprise. Nothing,” when asked about the personal attacks on him from his one-time close ally.
He also had a brief chat with Politico, a favorite target of criticism of the Trump administration, on Thursday.
Of the breakup, Trump said “Oh, it’s okay” and claimed “it’s going very well, never done better.”
Perhaps the president really does want to just get past the not-so-beautiful breakup. He also spoke of his polling numbers, inflation, and gas prices on his Friday morning calls.
But it was unusual for the president to do such a widespread round robin, insisting Musk isn’t top of mind.
By Friday afternoon, Trump made another somewhat out-of-character move: He remained quiet. The president did not take questions as he departed the White House on Friday afternoon.
It was not the first time he made an exit without seeking out the press. But after fielding calls across the board hours before, it was notable that he chose not to fan the flames of the Musk relationship’s pyre.
