Even as Elon Musk and President Donald Trump no longer appear to be on speaking terms, the Tesla CEO’s popularity among the Republican base is on the rise, according to polling.
Trump and Musk’s friendly relationship came to a dazzling end on Thursday as their disagreement over the Republicans’ spending package went into full bloom.
Musk called the bill, which significantly increases the deficit, a “disgusting abomination.” Trump said his former friend had gone “crazy” as Musk called for his impeachment and removal and claimed that the president is included in the “Epstein Files.” He later deleted that post.
While Musk isn’t set to take over as the top figure in the Republican Party, he could create chaos surrounding the GOP’s agenda and its plans for the 2026 midterms.
Seventy-six percent of Republicans see Musk favorably, according to the most recent poll by The Economist and YouGov. Meanwhile, just 18 percent view him unfavorably.
According to a poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College in late April, 77 percent of Republicans view Musk favorably.
Since the start of the second Trump administration, Musk’s popularity has been over 70 percent in most polls, Politico noted. The billionaire is more popular than House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, or almost anyone else in the GOP.
Among Republicans, both Trump and Vice President JD Vance are more popular than Musk, with 87% and 80% approval, respectively, according to the Economist/YouGov survey.
Musk’s polling strength with the Republican base may partly be rooted in the fact that GOP voters believed in the mission of the Department of Government Efficiency from the outset, with almost 90 percent backing the notion that the government needs to be downsized.
A recent Harvard-Harris poll found that about the same percentage of Republicans believe that DOGE has been effective at scaling back spending. Meanwhile, Democrats and independents are less likely to trust DOGE’s accomplishments and are much less likely to view Musk favorably. Fifteen percent of Democrats and 34 percent of independents have favorable views of the billionaire.
Musk may become a dangerous rival for the Republican Party, whose values align with the DOGE mission of cutting spending and reducing the deficit. Musk’s wealth and social media influence as the owner of X may pose a threat to Trump and his party.
This comes as Trump told NBC News on Saturday that he has “no intention” of speaking to Musk or attempting to repair the relationship.
“I’m too busy doing other things,” said Trump. “I have no intention of speaking to him.”
“I would assume so, yeah,” he said when asked if his relationship with Musk was over.
“I think it’s a very bad thing, because he’s very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President,” he added.
He also issued a threat, saying that Musk will face “very serious consequences” if he chooses to use his significant wealth to fund Democrats. Musk’s opposition to the spending bill could lead the billionaire to fund challengers to Republicans who voted in favor of it.
“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC News.