How did one of the most powerful alliances in American politics blow up? The falling out between Donald Trump and Elon Musk has been playing out very publicly on social media, with back and forth insults and threats. Sarah Smith, Marianna Spring, Justin Webb and Anthony Zurcher unpack how the row intensified with Trump threatening to revoke Musk’s government contracts and Musk claiming without evidence that Trump appeared in the unreleased Epstein files. Musk also suggested that Trump should be impeached. But why does a row between the world’s richest person and one of the most powerful, the US president, matter to America and the rest of the world? And what impact could it have on the 2026 midterms?

HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Sarah Smith, North America Editor • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent • Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Senior Correspondent

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This episode was made by Purvee Pattni, Alix Pickles, Rufus Gray, Grace Reeve and Tom Gillett. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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Elon Musk says Donald Trump is "in the Epstein files”

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