Author Michael Wolff claimed Monday that President Donald Trump is growing increasingly paranoid following a political rift with tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has positioned Vice President JD Vance as a major rival to Trump’s authority.
Wolff, known for chronicling Trump’s presidency in his book Fire and Fury, said during a Daily Beast podcast that Musk's move shook Trump, intensifying his mistrust of Vance.
Last week, Musk, who recently exited the Trump administration, publicly called for Trump’s removal from office and endorsed Vance as his replacement.
In his comments on the podcast Monday, Wolff went on to say that Trump has never been able to fully trust Vance, who he views as an unconventional Republican with most of his backing coming from Silicon Valley circles.
Trump's decision to select Vance as his vice president, Wolff noted, was influenced by Musk — who allegedly tied his substantial financial support to Vance’s nomination.
In a post on the social platform X following Musk's attacks against Trump last week, Vance said: “I’m the vice president to President Trump. My loyalties are always going to be with the president.
“I think it’s a huge mistake for (Musk) to go after the president like that," he added.
But Wolff said it’s unclear whether Vance’s statement that he stands with the president will be enough to earn Trump’s trust following this fallout.
Last week, the previously friendly relationship between Trump and Musk took a sharp turn, evolving into a widely publicized clash following Musk's departure from the government. Tensions escalated when the Tesla CEO slammed Trump’s flagship legislative effort, the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," calling it a “disgusting abomination” on his social media site, X.
In response, Trump voiced his frustration and warned that he might cancel federal contracts with Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, both of which benefit significantly from government funding.
Tensions rose further on Thursday when Musk, in a now-deleted post on X, claimed that Trump’s name appears in government documents connected to convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein. He suggested this could be the reason why some of the documents have yet to be released to the public.