Trump begs ‘drug addict’ donor for peace after their explosive feud… amid GOP money panic

Donald Trump has spent months mending his relationship with Elon Musk, one of the Republican Party's biggest donors, as part of an effort to bolster GOP funds ahead of what is expected to be a difficult midterm election season. The reconciliation reached a symbolic peak in May when Musk joined Trump aboard Air Force One for a summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing, where he pledged to spend at least $100 million supporting Republicans in November. The rapprochement follows a bitter public falling-out in June last year, when Musk accused Trump of suppressing the Jeffrey Epstein files and Trump retaliated by threatening Musk's government contracts and calling him a "big time drug addict".

Aides including Susie Wiles and JD Vance began working to repair the rift almost immediately, reasoning there was little to lose given how public the insults had already become. Vance is credited with keeping communication channels open, persuading Musk to abandon plans for a third party, while Donald Trump Jr and Katie Miller also helped maintain ties. The reunion benefits both men, as Democrats have threatened investigations into Trump's business dealings and Musk's government-reliant firms should they retake Congress; recent polling shows Republicans could lose the Senate, with rising inflation and petrol prices, partly linked to the fallout from Trump's conflict with Iran, weighing heavily on the party's prospects.