#TrumpVsMusk About 10 minutes after starting his bilateral meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump was finally asked about the "elephant in the room": Elon Musk and his harsh criticism this week of Trump's agenda bill.

"He hasn't said anything bad about me," Trump said. "I'd rather have him criticize me than the bill."

Trump certainly got what he wanted. By the end of the meeting, he and Musk quickly moved from a legislative disagreement to personal attacks. Musk responded in real-time to Trump's comments on his platform X, becoming increasingly personal. And Trump eventually hit back hard on his own platform, Truth Social.