Many of us idea that the shut dating between Donald Trump and Elon Musk would finish badly, since they each have the hubris that comes from luck and tool. One is arguably probably the most robust flesh presser on this planet and the opposite the richest guy.
That stated, the general public weren’t ready for the speedy breakdown of their dating and the slanging fit that came about after Musk spectacularly fell out with america president. This was once magnified by means of the truth that each have their very own influential social media websites (X and Fact Social) and so the divorce was once very, very public.
Extra lately Musk has rowed again at the feedback he made about Trump after leaving his position as a “special government employee” of the management, and says he went “too far”. However Trump may have a protracted reminiscence for grievances, so it is still observed if the connection will also be patched up.
What do the American other people suppose? The chart beneath presentations the share of respondents with beneficial and adverse evaluations of Trump and Musk in the latest US Economist/YouGov ballot finished on June 9 after the row blew up.
It’s transparent that the the general public suppose that Trump received the competition, giving him a favourability hole (% beneficial minus % adverse) of minus 10% in comparison with Musk’s hole of minus 23%.
What American citizens call to mind Trump and Musk after their row:
Creator’s graph in response to Economist polling., CC BY-SA
The demographics of those favourability judgements are in particular attention-grabbing. After the row, round 49% of guys idea favourably of Trump, in comparison with 38% of ladies, proceeding a pattern that presentations extra male than feminine reinforce for the president. However the gender hole for Musk is even wider with 43% males and simplest 27% girls having a beneficial view of the billionaire, making the space 11% for Trump and 16% for Musk.
Every other attention-grabbing demographic is age. Some 35% of 18-to-29 12 months olds favour Trump (the bottom collection of any age crew), in comparison with 30% who favour Musk. The similar figures for the over 65s are 45% favouring Trump and 37% Musk. The age divide is huge, with younger American citizens disliking each greater than older American citizens, however it’s not as huge because the gender hole.
The revenue figures and attitudes to each are sudden. A complete of 38% of the ones with earning not up to US$50,000 (£36,700) a 12 months favour Trump, in comparison with 51% of the ones with earning between US$50,000 and US$100,000. The wonder is that simplest 42% of the ones with earning more than US$100,000 favour Trump, making prosperous American citizens nearer to the low-income crew than to the middle-income crew in attitudes to the president.
The similar figures for Musk are 32% beneficial in america$50,000 crew, 39% in america$50,000 to US$100,000 crew and 36% in america$100,000+ crew, which provides a equivalent image.
If we have a look at the vote casting document of the survey respondents within the presidential elections ultimate 12 months, 86% of Trump citizens nonetheless have a beneficial view of him, in comparison with simplest 5% of Harris citizens. Compared 67% of Republican citizens are beneficial to Musk, in comparison with 10% of Democrats. Similarly, 81% of Conservatives favour Trump in comparison with 67% who favour Musk.
Having a look on the total image Musk is the loser within the row so far as the American public are involved, and this will partially give an explanation for his obvious contrition.
The cost of Tesla stocks (US$) for the reason that presidential election:
Creator’s graph in response to information from Yahoo finance., CC BY
General regardless that, Trump has been step by step dropping reinforce on his activity approval for the reason that election and the polling presentations that 43% of respondents approve and 52% disapprove of his efficiency as president.
We don’t have similar figures for Musk, but when we take the inventory marketplace worth of Tesla stocks as a information to his approval rankings this has declined all of a sudden over the years because the chart presentations. On December 17 ultimate 12 months the cost was once US$480 (£353) in keeping with percentage, in comparison with US$332 in keeping with percentage on June 11 2025. This represents a fall of about 30%. The dramatic dip on the finish of the sequence is a hallmark of ways markets have reacted to the spat between them.
General, Musk has paid a heavy worth for changing into any such visual Trump supporter and therefore falling out with him. And, thus far, the general public seems to be on Trump’s facet.
