Of all the jarring things I've witnessed on the National Mall, nothing will beat the image of the first thing I saw after I cleared security at the Army festival: a child, sitting at the controls of an M119A3 Howitzer, being instructed by a soldier on how to aim it, as his red-hatted parents took a photo with the Washington Monument in the background.
The primary stated reason for the Grand Military Parade is to celebrate the US Army's 250th birthday. The second stated reason is to use the event for recruiting purposes. Like other military branches, the Army has struggled to meet its enlistment quotas for over the past decade. And according to very defensive Army spokespeople trying to convince skeptics that the parade was not for Donald Trump's birthday, there had always been a festival planned on the National Mall that day, and it had been in the works for over two years, and the parade, tacked on just two months ago, was purely incidental. Assuming that their statement was true, I wasn't quite sure if they had anticipated so many people in blatant MAGA swag in attendance - or how eager they were to bring their children and hand them assault rifles.
There had been kid-frien …
Israel launched 200 warplanes on some of Iran's core nuclear and missile programs in what's been dubbed the "Rising Lion" operation. Iran quickly retaliated by sending 100 drones into Israel, which the Israel Defense Forces said were mostly intercepted.
Investigators have started combing the wreckage of Air India flight AI171 as they seek to determine what caused the Boeing Co. Dreamliner to crash shortly after takeoff Thursday afternoon, killing all but one of the 242 people aboard in the deadliest aviation accident in more than a decade.
On Friday morning, one of the two so-called black boxes, which contain critical evidence of a plane’s final minutes, was located, according to the Hindustan Times. The report didn’t specify which of the flight data or cockpit voice recorder was recovered.
The accident site is a scene of total devastation, with burnt debris and scattered aircraft parts still smoldering. The BJ Medical Hostel, where medical students were dining at the time of the accident, has been severely damaged, with four tower blocks half-burnt and blackened. Firefighters continue to spray water on the site, while police and officials work to clear the wreckage.
The focus yesterday was on rescue efforts, while the search for material evidence starts today, said a senior official from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of India, who asked not to be named discussing private matters.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi briefly visited the crash site on Friday morning.
Questions are growing over how and why the 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London, exploded into a huge fireball just minutes after takeoff. Video footage shared on social media showed a plume of smoke at the crash site. The miraculous survival of one passenger, Ramesh Vishwaskumar is also unexplained. Vishwaskumar, who was seated in the first row of economy class, may be able to offer valuable clues as to what caused the accident.
Officials on Thursday said that emergency responders had recovered more than 200 bodies, though they didn’t immediately say how many were passengers, crew or area residents. They said the toll could rise as emergency workers comb through the wreckage.
The flight to London’s Gatwick airport was carrying 12 crew and 230 passengers, most of whom were Indian and British nationals.
The 787 Dreamliner appeared to not achieve sufficient thrust as it lumbered down nearly the full length of an 11,000-foot runway, a distance that should have been more than enough to take off, said Bob Mann, head of aviation consultant RW Mann & Co.
That could stem from a misconfiguration of the plane prior to takeoff or erroneous weight data entered into the plane’s computer system that determines how much power is needed to get off the ground, he said. Mann cautioned that his views were unofficial and not corroborated by data or cockpit voice recorders, which have yet to be recovered from the site.
“If the weight is high compared to the actual number, you end up with a very aggressive takeoff,” Mann said. “If the weight is low compared to the actual, you end up with not enough commanded power.”
The pilots in command issued a mayday call immediately after takeoff to air traffic controllers, according to India’s civil aviation regulator. The aircraft was in the command of captain Sumeet Sabharwal and first officer Clive Kundar, who had 8,200 flying hours and 1,100 flying hours of experience, respectively, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.
According to air traffic control data, the jet departed from Ahmedabad at 1:39 p.m. local time using runway 23. After the initial mayday call, there was no response from the cockpit to subsequent calls made by controllers on the ground.
The accident extends a series of serious and fatal incidents in the civil aviation industry this year, including a midair collision in Washington early in 2025 between a military helicopter and an aircraft.
Thursday’s crash marks the first-ever complete loss of a 787, a plane Boeing introduced more than a decade ago with advanced lightweight composite materials that improve fuel efficiency. The 787 has become a crucial source of revenue for Boeing, with 1,148 of the jets in service globally.
Boeing chief executive officer Kelly Ortberg said in a statement Thursday that he has spoken to Air India chairman N. Chandrasekaran and that Boeing is ready to support the investigation. Ortberg and Boeing commercial aircraft head Stephanie Pope cancelled their plans to attend the upcoming Paris Air Show, according to a company memo seen by Bloomberg News.
Among the 242 people on board, 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were British citizens, one 1 was Canadian and seven Portuguese, according to Air India.
Based on the number of people on board, this is the worst commercial airline crash since Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, which was shot down over Ukraine, killing 298 people, according to Aviation Safety Network, which tracks fatal crashes. The last crash of this magnitude for Air India was Flight 182 in 1985. That Boeing 747 aircraft was destroyed by a bomb over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 329 people on board.
Boeing has been involved in several accidents in recent years, including two fatal crashes with Lion Air Flight 610 on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 on March 10, 2019. Early last year, a nearly-new 737 Max aircraft lost a door panel during flight. While there were no fatalities, the accident plunged the company into a deep crisis.
Under international rules for aviation crash investigations—known as “Annex 13”—a probe is led by air safety authorities in the country where the crash occurred, with assistance from other countries. Investigators typically issue a preliminary report within a few weeks. A final report, which includes safety recommendations, is then released a year to two later.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
© Punit Paranjpe—AFP via Getty Images
Japan’s top trade negotiator expects a trade deal with the U.S. to spare Tokyo from higher auto tariffs, even if US President Donald Trump decides to increase them against other nations.
“We are in bilateral negotiations with the U.S.,” Ryosei Akazawa said Friday as he left for Washington for his sixth round of trade talks with US counterparts. “Generally speaking, if we reach a deal it should secure special treatment for Japan, and exclude it from rules that apply to most countries.”
Akazawa made the remarks after being asked about Trump’s comments that indicated he’s considering raising tariffs on imported cars further to boost production in the U.S. Akazawa also said he was aware that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has signaled a possible extension of the July 9 deadline to return across-the-board tariffs to original rates, which would mean a bump to 24% from 10% for Japan.
Akazawa heads to the U.S. as the two nations eye a potential trade deal out of an expected summit in Canada between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The two are expected to meet on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders’ gathering starting Sunday.
A 25% tariff on cars and car parts threatens to push the Japanese economy into a technical recession with a hit to the nation’s most important exports, just as Ishiba prepares for a national election in July. The U.S. has also recently doubled a levy on steel and aluminum to 50%.
Akazawa said Japan will continue to seek a review of all U.S. tariffs and aim for a package of agreements.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
© Stefani Reynolds—Bloomberg via Getty Images
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called on the heads of the country’s largest conglomerates to help restore market trust while hearing out their concerns over the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs on global trade.
In his first meeting with the nation’s powerful business leaders since taking office, Lee faced a delicate balancing act, appealing to the economic clout of the chaebols and reassuring them on trade negotiations, while signaling his intent to follow through on campaign pledges to curb their outsized influence in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
“Our economy can no longer sustain growth through unfair competition, special privileges for, or exploitation of some actors like it did in the past,” Lee told executives at the gathering, including the chiefs of Samsung Group, SK Group, [hotlink]Hyundai Motor[/hotlink] Group, LG Group and Lotte Group. “There is still some distrust, and I want you to help alleviate it.”
Lee, who defeated his conservative rival to become South Korea’s new president last week, has made economic revitalization one of his top priorities. The country’s chaebols, sprawling family-controlled conglomerates, such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., have long been a key engine of growth for the economy, giving them broad sway over business and society.
The new president has pledged to rewrite the commercial code to weed out the rubber-stamping of corporate decisions by directors. The revised code aims to strengthen the duty of company boards to shareholders to improve corporate governance and tackle the so-called Korea discount that has been a long-standing grievance among global investors.
But ahead of his trip to Canada to attend the Group of Seven summit, Lee found many executives at the meeting expressing more immediate concern about the impact of trade protectionism.
“In particular, U.S. tariffs and the uncertainty surrounding the issue have created an unstable environment, making it extremely difficult for businesses to make any decisions or investment,” SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won said.
Chey cited the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry among the key risks facing businesses in South Korea, along with weak domestic demand, subdued investment sentiment and an aging population. SK’s semiconductor unit is the world’s leading AI memory chipmaker and a close partner of Nvidia Corp.
Samsung Electronics Co. Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee went further, comparing the current environment to the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.
South Korea remains a critical player in global supply chains, producing everything from smartphones and semiconductors to ships and EVs. That makes its economy heavily dependent on trade to power growth with exports equivalent in size to more than 40% of gross domestic product.
Hyundai Motor, one of the world’s biggest automakers, has pledged to invest $21 billion in the U.S, something Lee can flag to Trump should they meet in Canada. Even so, carmakers may face yet another hike in duties after Trump said Thursday he was considering raising auto tariffs even higher than the recently introduced 25% level to support the industry in the U.S.
With the deadline for imposing reciprocal tariffs approaching early next month, Trump is keen to show progress in reaching deals with key economies that have large trade surpluses with the U.S.
Talks between Washington and Seoul have been held back by the leadership vacuum and domestic political unrest before Lee’s election win.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
© SeongJoon Cho—Bloomberg via Getty Images
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order that directed President Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California after he deployed them there following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids.
The court said it would hold a hearing on the matter on Tuesday. The ruling came only hours after a federal judge’s order was to take effect at noon Friday.
Earlier Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded Trump’s statutory authority. The order applied only to the National Guard troops and not Marines who were also deployed to the LA protests. The judge said he would not rule on the Marines because they were not out on the streets yet.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had asked the judge for an emergency stop to troops helping carry out immigration raids, had praised the earlier ruling.
“Today was really about a test of democracy, and today we passed the test,” Newsom said in a news conference before the appeals court decision.
The White House had called Breyer’s order “unprecedented” and said it “puts our brave federal officials in danger.”
“The district court has no authority to usurp the President’s authority as Commander in Chief,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The President exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom’s lawless Los Angeles. The Trump Administration will immediately appeal this abuse of power and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
About 700 Marines have been undergoing civil disturbance training at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach in Orange County, California. Nicholas Green, an attorney for the state, told the court: “I have been told by the office of the governor that within the next 24 hours, 140 Marines will replace and relieve National Guard members in Los Angeles.”
Typically the authority to call up the National Guard lies with governors, but there are limited circumstances under which the president can deploy those troops. Trump federalized members of the California National Guard under an authority known as Title 10.
Title 10 allows the president to call the National Guard into federal service under certain limited circumstances, such as when the country “is invaded,” when “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government,” or when the president is unable “to execute the laws of the United States.”
Breyer said in his ruling that what is happening in Los Angeles does not meet the definition of a rebellion.
“The protests in Los Angeles fall far short of ‘rebellion,’” he wrote.
Newsom sued to block the Guard’s deployment against his wishes. California later filed an emergency motion asking the judge to block the Guard from assisting with immigration raids.
The governor argued that the troops were originally deployed to protect federal buildings and wanted the court to block the troops from helping protect immigration agents during the raids, saying that involving the Guard would only escalate tensions and promote civil unrest.
Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, commander of Task Force 51, which is overseeing the Guard troops and Marines sent to Los Angeles, said that as of Wednesday about 500 of the Guard troops had been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations. Photos of Guard soldiers providing security for the agents have already been circulated by immigration officials.
None of the Marines have been trained to go on immigration raids, and it is not yet clear if they eventually will, Sherman said.
In his broad ruling, the judge determined Trump had not properly called the Guard up in the first place.
The lawsuit argued that Title 10 also requires that the president go through governors when issuing orders to the National Guard.
Brett Shumate, an attorney for the federal government, said Trump complied with the statute by informing the general in charge of the troops of his decision and would have the authority to call in the Guard even if he had not.
In a brief filed ahead of the Thursday hearing, the Justice Department said Trump’s orders were not subject to judicial review.
“Courts did not interfere when President Eisenhower deployed the military to protect school desegregation. Courts did not interfere when President Nixon deployed the military to deliver the mail in the midst of a postal strike. And courts should not interfere here either,” the department said.
“Our position is this is not subject to judicial review,” Shumate told the judge.
Breyer, who at one point waved a copy of the Constitution, said he disagreed.
“We’re talking about the president exercising his authority, and the president is of course limited in that authority. That’s the difference between a constitutional government and King George,” he said.
The protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles intensified after Trump called up the Guard and have since spread to other cities, including Boston, Chicago and Seattle.
Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
© Damian Dovarganes—AP
President Donald Trump signed a resolution on Thursday that blocks California’s first-in-the-nation rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
The state quickly announced it was challenging the move in court, with California’s attorney general holding a news conference to discuss the lawsuit before Trump’s signing ceremony ended at the White House.
The resolution was approved by Congress last month and aims to quash the country’s most aggressive attempt to phase out gas-powered cars. Trump also signed measures to overturn state policies curbing tailpipe emissions in certain vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.
Trump called California’s regulations “crazy” at a White House ceremony where he signed the resolutions.
“It’s been a disaster for this country,” he said.
It comes as the Republican president is mired in a clash with California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, over Trump’s move to deploy troops to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. It’s the latest in an ongoing battle between the Trump administration and heavily Democratic California over issues including tariffs, the rights of LGBTQ+ youth and funding for electric vehicle chargers.
The state is already involved in more than two-dozen lawsuits challenging Trump administration actions, and the state’s Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the latest one at a news conference in California. Ten other states, all with Democratic attorneys general, joined the lawsuit filed Thursday.
“The federal government’s actions are not only unlawful; they’re irrational and wildly partisan,” Bonta said. “They come at the direct expense of the health and the well-being of our people.”
The three resolutions Trump signed will block California’s rule phasing out gas-powered cars and end the sale of new ones by 2035. They will also kill rules that phase out the sale of medium- and heavy-duty diesel vehicles and cut tailpipe emissions from trucks.
In his remarks at the White House, Trump expressed doubts about the performance and reliability of electric vehicles, though he had some notably positive comments about the company owned by Elon Musk, despite their fractured relationship.
“I like Tesla,” Trump said.
In remarks that often meandered away from the subject at hand, Trump used the East Room ceremony to also muse on windmills, which he claimed “are killing our country,” the prospect of getting electrocuted by an electric-powered boat if it sank and whether he’d risk a shark attack by jumping as the boat went down.
“I’ll take electrocution every single day,” the president said.
When it comes to cars, Trump said he likes combustion engines but for those that prefer otherwise, “If you want to buy electric, you can buy electric.”
“What this does is it gives us freedom,” said Bill Kent, the owner of Kent Kwik convenience stores. Kent, speaking at the White House, said that the California rules would have forced him to install “infrastructure that frankly, is extremely expensive and doesn’t give you any return.”
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major car makers, applauded Trump’s action.
“Everyone agreed these EV sales mandates were never achievable and wildly unrealistic,” John Bozzella, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
Newsom, who is considered a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, and California officials contend that what the federal government is doing is illegal and said the state plans to sue.
Newsom said Trump’s action was a continuation of his “all-out assault” on California.
“And this time he’s destroying our clean air and America’s global competitiveness in the process,” Newsom said in a statement. “We are suing to stop this latest illegal action by a President who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big polluters.”
The signings come as Trump has pledged to revive American auto manufacturing and boost oil and gas drilling.
The move follows other steps the Trump administration has taken to roll back rules that aim to protect air and water and reduce emissions that cause climate change.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed repealing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas.
Dan Becker with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the signing of the resolutions was “Trump’s latest betrayal of democracy.”
“Signing this bill is a flagrant abuse of the law to reward Big Oil and Big Auto corporations at the expense of everyday people’s health and their wallets,” Becker said in a statement.
California, which has some of the nation’s worst air pollution, has been able to seek waivers for decades from the EPA, allowing it to adopt stricter emissions standards than the federal government.
In his first term, Trump revoked California’s ability to enforce its standards, but Democratic President Joe Biden reinstated it in 2022. Trump has not yet sought to revoke it again.
Republicans have long criticized those waivers and earlier this year opted to use the Congressional Review Act, a law aimed at improving congressional oversight of actions by federal agencies, to try to block the rules.
That’s despite a finding from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog, that California’s standards cannot legally be blocked using the Congressional Review Act. The Senate parliamentarian agreed with that finding.
California, which makes up roughly 11% of the U.S. car market, has significant power to sway trends in the auto industry. About a dozen states signed on to adopt California’s rule phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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When children of wealthy families reach adulthood, they often benefit from the largesse of parents in the form of a trust fund. It’s another way they get a leg up on less affluent peers, who may receive nothing at all — or even be expected to support their families.
But what if all children — regardless of their family’s circumstances — could get a financial boost when they turn 18?
That’s the idea behind a House GOP proposal backed by President Donald Trump. It would create tax-deferred investment accounts — coined “Trump Accounts” — for babies born in the U.S. over the next four years, starting them each with $1,000. At age 18, they could withdraw the money to put toward a down payment for a home, education or to start a small business. If the money is used for other purposes, it’ll be taxed at a higher rate.
“This is a pro-family initiative that will help millions of Americans harness the strength of our economy to lift up the next generation,” Trump said at a White House event Monday for the proposal. “They’ll really be getting a big jump on life, especially if we get a little bit lucky with some of the numbers and the economy.”
While the investment would be symbolically meaningful, it’s a relatively small financial commitment to addressing child poverty in the wider $7 trillion federal budget. Assuming a 7% return, the $1,000 would grow to roughly $3,570 over 18 years.
It builds on the concept of “ baby bonds,” which two states — California and Connecticut — and the District of Columbia have introduced as a way to reduce gaps between wealthy people and poor people.
At at time when wealth inequality has soured some young people on capitalism, giving them a stake in Wall Street could be the antidote, said Utah Republican Rep. Blake Moore, who led the effort to get the initiative into a massive House spending bill.
“We know that America’s economic engine is working, but not everyone feels connected to its value and the ways it can benefit them,” Moore wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Examiner. “If we can demonstrate to our next generation the benefits of investing and financial health, we can put them on a path toward prosperity.”
The bill would require at least one parent to produce a Social Security number with work authorizations, meaning the U.S. citizen children born to some categories of immigrants would be excluded from the benefit. But unlike other baby bond programs, which generally target disadvantaged groups, this one would be available to families of all incomes.
Economist Darrick Hamilton of The New School, who first pitched the idea of baby bonds a quarter-century ago, said the GOP proposal would exacerbate rather than reduce wealth gaps. When he dreamed up baby bonds, he envisioned a program that would be universal but would give children from poor families a larger endowment than their wealthier peers, in an attempt to level the playing field. The money would be handled by the government, not by private firms on Wall Street.
“It is upside down,” Hamilton said. “It’s going to enhance inequality.”
Hamilton added that $1,000 — even with interest — would not be enough to make a significant difference for a child living in poverty.
A Silicon Valley investor who created the blueprint for the proposal, Brad Gerstner, said in an interview with CNBC last year that the accounts could help address the wealth gap and the loss of faith in capitalism that represent an existential crisis for the U.S.
“The rise and fall of nations occurs when you have a wealth gap that grows, when you have people who lose faith in the system,” Gerstner said. “We’re not agentless. We can do something.”
The proposal comes as Congressional Republicans and Trump face backlash for proposed cuts to programs that poor families with children rely on, including food assistance and Medicaid.
Even some who back the idea of baby bonds are skeptical, noting Trump wants to cut higher education grants and programs that aid young people on the cusp of adulthood — the same age group Trump Accounts are supposed to help. Pending federal legislation would slash Medicaid and food and housing assistance that many families with children rely on.
Young adults who grew up in poverty often struggle with covering basics like rent and transportation — expenses that Trump Accounts could not be tapped to cover, said Eve Valdez, an advocate for youth in foster care in southern California. Valdez, a former foster youth, said she was homeless when she turned 18.
Accounts for newborn children that cannot be accessed for 18 years mean little to families struggling to meet basic needs today, said Shimica Gaskins of End Child Poverty California.
“Having children have health care, having their families have access to SNAP and food are what we really need … the country focused on,” Gaskins said.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
© Win McNamee/Getty Images
The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on the two fugitive sons of incarcerated Mexican Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and announced a reward offer of up to $10 million each for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the men.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar who are believed to be currently located in Mexico.
Guzman’s other sons — Joaquin Guzman Lopez and Ovidio Guzman Lopez — are currently incarcerated in the United States. In May, federal prosecutors announced they would not seek the death penalty for Joaquin Guzman Lopez if he’s convicted of multiple charges in Chicago.
Sanctions were also imposed on a faction of the Sinaloa cartel known as the “Chapitos,” or little Chapos, which has been identified as a main exporter of fentanyl to the U.S. as well as a regional network of Chapitos associates and businesses based in Mazatlan, Mexico, that allegedly engage in drug trafficking, extortion and money laundering.
According to federal prosecutors, El Chapo smuggled mountains of cocaine and other drugs into the United States over 25 years. He was convicted in 2019 on multiple conspiracy counts and sentenced to life in a U.S. prison.
“At the Department of the Treasury, we are executing on President Trump’s mandate to completely eliminate drug cartels and take on violent leaders like ‘El Chapo’s’ children,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
The Sinaloa Cartel, through various incarnations, is Mexico’s oldest criminal group, dating to the 1970s. One of their most lucrative businesses in recent years has been the production of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, blamed for tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year in the U.S. The Trump administration in February labeled the Sinaloa cartel a foreign terrorist organizations.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
© AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
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Elon Musk is back to cheering President Donald Trump on — for now.
On Sunday night, amid protests in the Los Angeles area, Musk posted a screenshot of a Truth Social post from Trump denouncing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass.
The president and his allies have cast the ongoing demonstrations, which began in response to immigration raids, as an "insurrection." His administration ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members to the LA area over Newsom's objections.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 9, 2025
Earlier on Sunday night, Musk reposted a Truth Social post screenshot from Vice President JD Vance about the administration's response, adding two American flag emojis.
He also shared an image of a masked protester waving a Mexican flag on top of a damaged vehicle, writing: "This is not ok."
The posts come just days after the feud between Musk and Trump reached a fever pitch last week. At one point, Musk approvingly shared a post suggesting that Trump be impeached, while Trump floated revoking Musk's companies' government contracts.
The public fighting between the two men largely subsided over the weekend, and Musk deleted some of his posts, including one declaring that Trump was in the "Epstein files."
Trump has said that he has no plans to repair his relationship with Musk.
The feud began after Musk departed his role as the informal leader of the White House DOGE Office, with the tech titan criticizing Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" for adding trillions to the deficit over the next 10 years.
Joe Raedle via Getty Images
The public feud between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump has shown investors just how much control the US government has over Musk's companies, Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood says.
"I think the way this is evolving is Elon, Tesla, and investors are beginning to understand more and more just how much the government has control here," Wood said in a video posted to the company's YouTube channel on Friday.
Many of Musk's companies have key links to the government and have received billions of dollars in federal loans, contracts, tax credits, and subsidies over the years.
"Elon is involved in companies that are depending on the government," Wood said, pointing to Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink as examples.
SpaceX's COO, Gwynne Shotwell, said last year that the company has $22 billion worth of federal contracts. Neuralink, Musk's brain chip company, is subject to FDA regulation, and a less friendly regulatory environment could impact Tesla's robotaxi rollout plans. Tesla stock fell more than 14% on Thursday after Musk and Trump became locked in a series of increasingly bitter clashes.
The feud appeared to begin, at least publicly, on Tuesday, after Musk criticized Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill." He called it a "disgusting abomination" and said it would increase the national budget deficit.
Tensions rose fast between the once-close allies on Thursday. Trump threatened to cut Musk's government contracts and Musk said SpaceX would immediately begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft — which returned stranded NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore from the International Space Station in March.
Musk later retracted that threat, which Wood said was a sign he was "beginning to walk this back."
Wood said the rift with Trump could, in part, be Musk's attempt to further decouple himself from the Trump administration. Musk announced in April that he would be stepping back from his government work.
"One of the hypotheses out there is that what has happened was partly — not entirely — orchestrated," Wood said. "Clearly, there has been some brand damage to Tesla, which he readily admits, and I think he's trying to disengage from the government and being associated with one party or the other."
Moving forward, Wood said neither Trump nor Musk needed to get "bogged down" with a fight and that she believed both would eventually heed that reasoning.
She also appeared to be confident that Musk could make the situation work for him. She said Musk "works really well under pressure" and that "he creates a lot of that chaos and pressure himself."
Trump, however, signaled Saturday that he had no desire to fix his relationship with the SpaceX CEO anytime soon.
"I have no intention of speaking to him," Trump told NBC News.
"I think it's a very bad thing, because he's very disrespectful. You could not disrespect the office of the President," he added.
Vice President JD Vance struck a somewhat friendlier tone when asked about the possibility of reconciliation during a Thursday interview with podcaster Theo Von.
Vance said that while he thought it was a "huge mistake" for Musk to "go after the president," he hoped Musk "figures it out" and "comes back into the fold."
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