Trump’s Feud With Musk Highlights His View of Government Power: It’s Personal NYT | Top Stories By: Peter Baker 9 June 2025 at 01:32 President Trump threatened to cut off Elon Musk’s federal contracts, showing that he looks at the government as his own means of penalizing those who cross him. © Haiyun Jiang for The New York TimesPresident Trump aboard Air Force One on Friday. His second term so far has been a 139-day quest for retribution.