South African-born Musk, while nominally just the head of a new โDepartment of Government Efficiencyโ (DOGE), has taken on extraordinarily broad powers in identifying what he says are areas of waste and then moving quickly to cut jobs and spending.
Those moves by the worldโs wealthiest person have drawn jibes in the press, including a Time magazine cover showing Musk sitting behind the presidentโs iconic Resolute Desk, and a New Yorker cover showing both Trump and Musk, hands on a copy of the Bible, together taking the presidential oath of office.
Trump so far has been publicly supportive of Muskโs work, which the president says is vitally important at a time of soaring budget deficits.
In the Fox interview, Trump said he and Musk had discussed the media mockery.
โActually, Elon called me,โ Trump said. โHe said, โYou know, theyโre trying to drive us apart.โ I said, โAbsolutelyโ.โ
Trump added Americans understood what the media was allegedly up to.
โI used to think they were good at it,โ Trump said. โTheyโre actually bad at it, because if they were good at it, Iโd never be president.โ
โThe people are smart,โ he went on. โThey get it.โ
Amid all the criticism, Musk has continued to draw an intense media focus, including via an Oval Office appearance in which a casually dressed Musk brought his 4-year-old son and spoke at greater length than the president.
Democrats have seized on the at-times awkward dynamic, and opinion polls show negative views of the Tesla and SpaceX boss clearly outpacing positive ones.
But Trump, in the meantime, is enjoying some of his highest approval ratings ever.
โ Agence France-Presse