Trump downplays Musk reconciliation after Charlie Kirk memorial sighting

GLENDALE, Ariz. — President Donald Trump on Sunday downplayed suggestions that he and Elon Musk have mended fences after the pair were photographed exchanging pleasantries at Charlie Kirk's memorial in Glendale. The moment comes as U.S. politics watchers scrutinize relations within the conservative coalition amid a period of public sparring between top tech figures and the White House.

Video clips circulated showing Trump spending more time speaking with UFC boss Dana White on his left while Musk looked on. Musk slipped into an empty seat next to Trump moments before, according to The New York Times.

"Well, Elon came over and said hello. And, no, it's nothing to do with that," the president replied. "I thought it was nice. You know, he came over, we had a little conversation. We had a very good relationship. But it was nice that he came."

Trump's remarks aboard Air Force One on Sunday framed the moment as friendly but not a sign of reconciliation, aides said. The encounter follows a long-running public rift that has defined recent chapters of U.S. political drama surrounding Musk's role in the Trump orbit.

Musk's public disputes with Trump stretch back to disagreements over Big Beautiful Bill, a package of policies the billionaire argued would balloon the national debt. The administration's retreat on electric-vehicle mandates also fed tension, given Musk's Tesla stake. Musk separately attacked Trump on social media, insinuating that he was tied to the Epstein files and insisting Trump would have lost the election without him. He has even threatened to form a new third party, while Trump has dismissed him as crazy. The two have remained at odds since.

Yet Musk's influence in national politics has not waned. He spent more than $290 million during Trump's 2024 campaign to help secure his reelection bid and was named a special advisor to the president in January, overseeing a department jokingly called the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Musk stepped down as head of DOGE in May.

From a U.S. politics perspective, the memory event underlined how public interactions between marquee figures outside traditional party lines can ripple into the electoral and policy arenas. Trump cited civility on Sunday while avoiding any suggestion of a thaw, and Musk's allies and detractors alike will watch closely how the relationship evolves in the weeks ahead.