Mr. Trump speaks out about the news that his inner circle is rift

(Dan Tri) - US President Donald Trump commented on previous rumors that two close officials in his circle of power had a conflict.

Mr. Trump and two close associates in the circle of power, Mr. Musk and Mr. Rubio (Photo: Reuters).

President Trump insisted that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and close adviser Elon Musk have a "great relationship" after US media revealed the two may have argued heatedly during a tense midweek cabinet meeting.

According to the New York Times , the heated debate between the secretary of state and the tech billionaire revolved around the issue of staff cuts. The source said that Mr. Musk was said to have criticized Mr. Rubio, saying that he was "only good at appearing on TV" and not doing much.

Mr Rubio, a former Florida senator, is said to have been “furious” with Mr Musk for a long time, especially after the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) proposed drastic cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the organisation that manages billions of dollars in foreign aid.

During the meeting, when pressed by Mr. Musk about not yet laying off employees at the State Department, Mr. Rubio responded by mentioning the 1,500 employees who had voluntarily retired early and questioning whether they should be called back only to be laid off again to increase the cutback figure.

Mr Trump later defended Mr Rubio, praising him as a brilliant diplomat and highlighting his busy schedule, from running the State Department to participating in peace talks to appearing on television.

"Elon and Marco have a great relationship. Anything else is fake news," Trump wrote on the social network Truth Social, denying the New York Times' information.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump continued to deny the controversy: "Mr. Elon gets along very well with Mr. Marco, and they are both doing a very good job. There is no conflict."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also denied the report, insisting the meeting went smoothly:

"As President Trump said, this was a productive meeting to discuss cost-cutting and staffing measures across the federal government. Everyone is working together to help President Trump deliver on his promise to make government more efficient," she stressed.

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told The Times that Mr Rubio “viewed the meeting as an open and constructive discussion with a dynamic team, with a shared goal: Making America Great Again”.

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