President Trump took to social media Saturday night to defend the relationship between Marco Rubio and Elon Musk following reports the pair clashed during an explosive Cabinet meeting Thursday — calling rumors of tension “FAKE NEWS.”
“ELON AND MARCO HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP,” Trump, 78, wrote in a Truth Social post at about 6 p.m. Saturday.
“ANY STATEMENT OTHER THAN THAT IS FAKE NEWS!!!”
The New York Times claimed in an article Friday that Musk, while at closed-doors cabinet meeting, accused Rubio of refusing to slash his staff, following weeks of DOGE making a dizzying array of cuts to federal personnel and programs.
Rubio pushed back, explaining that 1,500 State Department employees had taken early retirement buyouts that should be considered layoffs, the paper claimed.
Trump reportedly sat back with his arms crossed and quietly watched the fevered exchange, eventually intervening after an “uncomfortable” amount of time, the outlet reported.
The commander in chief attempted to squelch rumblings of the fiery meeting on Friday, while simultaneously condemning an NBC News reporter for asking about Musk and Rubio.
“No clash. I was there – you’re just a troublemaker,” Trump said, after interrupting the reporter’s question about the reported squabble.
“And you’re not supposed to be asking that question, because we’re talking about the World Cup.”
The question came after Trump signed an executive order creating the White House Task Force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Oval Office.
“Elon gets along great with Marco, and they’re both doing a fantastic job. There is no clash,” Trump reinforced.
