Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Elon vs. Trump: Billionaire fallout goes public
Ian Bremmer breaks down the clash in his latest Quick Take, calling it “super dysfunctional … but what isn’t around US politics?”
The fallout stems in part from a sweeping tax-and-spending bill Musk opposes, but deeper tensions are personal. Trump abruptly cut ties with Musk, removing key allies like NASA’s administrator, despite Musk's massive political donations and behind-the-scenes influence.
Musk, feeling betrayed, fired back, publicly suggesting Trump should be impeached. Ian warns the feud reflects deeper dysfunction in American politics, where influence is bought, loyalty is volatile, and institutions bend to personal power. Still, don’t rule out a truce.
As Ian notes, “They can clearly patch it up, and they should … because it is in both of their interests.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to the crowd during a commemoration ceremony held to mark the first anniversary of the death of former President Ebrahim Raisi and his entourage in Tehran, Iran, on May 20, 2025.
What We’re Watching: Iran rejects US nuclear offer, Musk-Trump divorce goes public, Mongolian PM resigns
Iranian leader pours cold water on nuclear deal
US President Donald Trump’s hopes of clinching a quick and easy nuclear deal with Iran appear to be dashed, after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the White House proposal – sent on Saturday – as “rude and arrogant.” The rejection comes days after a UN nuclear watchdog reported that Iran’s uranium is approaching weapons-grade levels. Even so, “Iran isn’t rejecting diplomacy and talks are likely to continue,” says Eurasia Group’s Iran expert Gregory Brew.
A Big Beautiful ‘Abomination’
“A disgusting abomination” – that’s how Tesla owner Elon Musk described the House Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” on Tuesday afternoon, as his divorce from Trump grows increasingly public. Following Musk’s comment, some of the very people who passed the House bill are also now expressing buyer’s remorse. It looks like the chainsaw-wielding Musk has instead turned to throwing wrenches…
Mongolian PM steps down
Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene has resigned following protests about alleged corruption. Mongolia is a sprawling, resource-rich former-Soviet satellite surrounded entirely by Russia and China. Unlike anyone else in the neighborhood, it has maintained a functioning multiparty democracy since the early 1990s, but this resignation marks a setback. A successor to Oyun-Erdene will be named within 30 days.Demonstrators rally against President Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk during a Hands Off! protest on the Washington Monument grounds in Washington, DC, on April 5, 2025.
Trump’s tariffs trigger aftershocks at home and abroad
US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have been met with anger, outrage, and disbelief in every corner of the world – including islands inhabited solely by penguins. At last count, at least 50 countries want to talk trade with Washington, while in the US, opposition to Trump’s presidency is getting organized. Here’s a look at this weekend’s reactions.
In America: Protests, pleas, and pride
From San Francisco to Tulsa to DC, protesters took to the streets on Saturday in over 1,400 demonstrations across all 50 states, demanding that Trump and his “billionaire friends” take their “Hands Off” programs like Medicare and Social Security. While the protests were not specifically aimed at the tariffs, many demonstrators denounced their impact on consumers and retirees, who feared for the future of their investments in the wake of tariff-induced market turmoil.
Meanwhile, top tech and finance leaders — including reps from Apple, Goldman Sachs, and Meta — reportedly plan to fly to Mar-a-Lago to urge Trump to reconsider his tariff plans. Their message: Tariffs are tanking investor confidence and threatening America’s innovation edge.
In the Midwest, it’s a different story. In Iowa, Ohio, and the Dakotas, many in Trump’s base are cheering. Farmers, small manufacturers, and assembly line workers, angry at the impact of offshoring, say the tariffs finally put America first. As a candy store manager in small-town Ohio told the BBC, “If tariffs bring companies and business back to hardworking American people like the ones who live here, then it’s worth it.”
Overseas: Calls for unity, calculated countermeasures
Abroad, in the words of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the consensus is that “the world as we knew it has gone.” The EU is promising a coordinated response in the coming days with retaliatory tariffs on a host of American goods, including diamonds, meat, cereals, wine, wood, clothing, chewing gum, dental floss, vacuum cleaners, and toilet paper. (In a curious twist, Trump adviser Elon Musk suggested on Saturday to a far-right Italian party that the US and Europe form a zero-tariff free trade zone, saying that this “has certainly been my advice to the president.” We’ll see whether Trump takes it.)
In Asia, responses have been mixed. Indonesia and Taiwan’s governments have opted not to retaliate, while Vietnam’s President To Lam has already been on the phone with Trump, proposing a deal to eliminate tariffs entirely between the two nations. In contrast, China is digging in its heels, placing export restrictions on rare earths in addition to reciprocal tariffs of 34% on US goods. Both measures were announced on Friday after two days of stock market meltdowns, which continued into Monday, as the Nikkei plunged 7.8%, while two other Asian indexes had record losses for a single day. Wall Street is also set for another week of turmoil after Dow Jones futures fell 1,500 points (over 3.5%) late Sunday.
Responding to the continued market downturn, Trump said Sunday night that “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
Elon Musk waves to the crowd as he exits the stage during a town hall on Sunday, March 30, 2025, at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay, Wis.
Is Elon Musk on his way out?
Donald Trump is reportedly telling people that he and Elon Musk have agreed that Musk’s work in the US government will soon be done. Politico’s story broke just as Musk seems to have discovered the electoral limits of his charm.
Musk, who has been leading a contentious push to cut spending with his Department of Government Efficiency, is becoming less popular, which is taking a toll on his electric automobile company, Tesla.
Musk’s money and organizational support helped get Trump elected, but the billionaire hit a political wall in Wisconsin on Tuesday when Democrats easily won a state supreme court contest that he had said was important “for the future of civilization.” Musk and allies spent $20 million and gave out two $1-million checks in a lottery-style giveaway to boost the Republican vote. The Tesla CEO even attended a rally in a cheesehead hat, but the Democrats still won, keeping their majority on the court.
The departure of Musk, whose wide-ranging cuts have been cheered by some Republicans but booed by others, could remove an irritant with voters who object to Musk’s layoffs and firings. But he and Trump are expected to remain political allies even after Musk leaves the government, in part because Trump will want his money and organizational help in the midterms.Trump & Elon's grand plan to liberate you EVEN MORE
Trump is worried that Liberation day was a flop. Elon Musk has some ideas for how to make it Great Again. #PUPPETREGIME
Watch more of GZERO's award-winning PUPPET REGIME series!
German police forcibly dispersed a pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Berlin expels protesters, French judge gets protection, US disaster aid slows to a trickle, Tesla slumps, Haiti’s anarchy continues, Adams finds his independence, Hungary to leave ICC
4: Berlin’s immigration authorities have ordered three EU citizens and one American to leave Germany by April 21 or face deportation following accusations that the four had committed antisemitic acts in support of terrorism. In a joint statement, the four accused Berlin authorities of trying to “silence pro-Palestinian voices.” Officials say the expulsion was connected to protests at Berlin’s Free University during which “a violent, masked group of individuals” caused “significant property damage.”
90: The head of a three-judge panel that barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in France’s 2027 presidential election this week has been placed under police protection following death threats and the online publication of her home address. A poll published Monday found that more than half of French respondents say Le Pen got a fair trial, while nearly 90% of her National Rally supporters say the court treated her more harshly than other politicians.
2 million: In 2023, Washington sent 225 US Agency for International Development workers and $185 million to Turkey and Syria for relief and recovery efforts following a devastating earthquake. President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk is currently finalizing plans to shut down the USAID, and the US State Department announced on Monday that a team of three people and a donation of $2 million to humanitarian organizations working in Myanmar are headed for the site of a 7.7-magnitude quake last Friday.
13: Tesla, the electric vehicle maker led by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that its global sales for the first three months of 2025 fell 13% from the same period last year. Musk’s controversial role in Donald Trump’s White House and his public advocacy for far-right parties and politicians in Europe likely contributed to the slump.
500: Haiti’s violent chaos continues. On Tuesday, gang members stormed the town of Mirebalais, 30 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, and freed about 500 prison inmates. The UN says that gang violence killed more than 5,600 people in Haiti last year.
3,750: New York City Mayor Eric Adams has confirmed that he will seek reelection as an independent rather than a Democrat. He must collect 3,750 signatures by May 27 to make it onto the November ballot. It’s been quite a week for Adams: A judge dismissed the criminal corruption case against the mayor on Wednesday, and his party switch was announced Thursday morning.
3: Hungary is set to become the third country to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, following the path of Burundi and the Philippines. Viktor Orban’s government announced the move on Thursday amid a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant from the ICC over alleged war crimes.
After voters elected her to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, liberal candidate Judge Susan Crawford celebrates with Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge Ann Walsh Bradley at her election night headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 1, 2025.
Republicans expand House majority, but Musk’s man suffers in Wisconsin
What was all the fuss for? Republican Randy Finecruised to a 14-point victory over Democrat Josh Weil in Tuesday’s special election for Florida’s 6th Congressional District, quashing the quixotic liberal dream of flipping a seat that US President Donald Trump won by 30 points in the 2024 presidential election. Combined with Jimmy Patronis’ Tuesday triumph in Florida’s 1st District, the GOP increased their House majority to 220-213 — heady days for US Speaker Mike Johnson.
The Fine print. Republicans will be relieved that Fine pulled through, but the margin of his victory may worry them. Fine’s supporters outspent pro-Weil groups on ads by a four-to-one ratio, amid concerns that the seat could be in play. Yet the Democrat still cut the victory margin in half, compared to where it was just five months ago. In the 1st District, Patronis also won by just 14 points — a paltry showing in an area that more closely resembles Alabama than parts of Florida.
Musk misfires. Despite plowing $25 million into the race, Elon Musk couldn’t help conservative candidate Brad Schimel over the line in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election yesterday, as liberal candidate Susan Crawford cruised to a 10-point victory. The result ensures that liberals maintain their 4-3 majority on the court with a suite of court hearings upcoming on abortion access, district maps, and collective bargaining.
“There is an unelected billionaire who should not and will not have a greater voice than the working people of Wisconsin,” former Vice President Kamala Harris said last night, a pointed remark against Musk.
The Tesla CEO wasn’t the only one who spent big on the race, as Crawford’s campaign committee raised $17 million as of March 17 and helped to make it the most expensive judicial election in US history. The greater concern for Musk isn’t the loss of cash — he has plenty left in the bank — but rather the political repercussions. Crawford and her supporters relentlessly attacked Trump’s right-hand man in their ads, and the bet paid off. Republicans’ private grumblings about the tech entrepreneur might just start to get louder.Democratic-backed Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford and Republican-backed Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel square off in their only debate until their April 1 election.
GZERO Explains: Trump and Musk face Wisconsin test
Elections are back in the United States — and so is the money. Six months after the 2024 US presidential vote, Wisconsinites will head to the polls Tuesday to decide whether liberal candidate Susan Crawford or her opponent, conservative Brad Schimel,will tip the ideological balance of the state Supreme Court. The liberals currently have a 4-3 advantage.
Why it matters. This is the first electoral test of President Donald Trump’s second term. Wisconsin is one of the few swing states in the country, so the results are a solid bellwether for how the country feels about Trump — who endorsed Schimel — and his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk.
Strong scent of Musk. Liberal and Democratic groups have tried to make this election about Musk, targeting the Tesla CEO in their ads as they seek to seize upon some voters’ anger at the current government. Meanwhile, Musk has spent over $20 million to support Schimel, even recycling voter engagement tactics he used during the 2024 campaign, like his million-dollar raffles — a judge sanctioned these lotteries on Saturday.
Do liberals have an edge? Polling has been relatively limited on this race — one has the race tied, another has Crawford edging ahead — but Democratic-aligned candidates tend to perform better in off-season elections these days. The liberal candidate won the last Wisconsin Supreme Court race in 2023 by 11 points. As for Brandon Scholz, a Wisconsin-based lobbyist who worked for GOP campaigns for over 40 years, he couldn’t pick a winner.
“You go find your favorite quarter in your draw, and flip it,” he said.