Donald Trump's longtime "fixer" predicts things will get ugly between the president and Elon Musk.
Michael Cohen, the president's former personal attorney who has since become an ardent critic, told MSNBC's "The Weekend: Primetime" on Sunday that Trump and his billionaire benefactor's "bromance" would soon come to an end, reported The Daily Beast.
“I’m going to say Trump will ultimately go after Elon’s money next, because it bothers him that he is the richest man in the world,” Cohen said. “Yes, he used him for his money. Now he’s going to go and he’s going to figure out how Elon, with his companies, took advantage of the United States of America.”
Musk formally exited his government role last week, and Cohen speculated that Trump would use the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that the billionaire led before his departure to target the electric vehicle tax credit and other government subsidies the Tesla CEO relied on to build his massive fortune.
“They’re going to turn around, use DOGE to go, ‘Right, government efficiency, fraud, waste, and abuse, how is it that he got $7,000 as a credit for every Tesla vehicle that was sold?'" Cohen said. "'That’s where his billions were made. Why should the United States pay for electric vehicles? Pay for your own car if that’s what you want.’"
"So they’re going to claw it back,” Cohen added.
Cohen then made a dark prediction about how bad things could unravel in their relationship.
ALSO READ: FBI silent as far-right podcaster demands Trump execution and Kash Patel torture
“He’s going to do to Elon Musk, my prediction, what Mohammed bin Salman did to the other members of the royal family,” Cohen said.
After his elevation to crown prince, bin Salman purged the royal family of rivals and threats through a mass arrest campaign in 2017. Cohen speculated that Trump could target his "first buddy" in a similar way.
“Donald doesn’t care about anyone or anything other than himself," Cohen said. "Look at what he did to me, for God’s sakes. Guy who was with him for a decade and a half, who literally would have taken a bullet for him ― but for him being the one pulling the trigger.”
Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to campaign finance violations, tax evasion, lying to Congress and other crimes related to his work for Trump during the 2016 campaign, and the former attorney served over a year in prison before being released to home confinement in 2020 due to COVID-19.