“We thought America was like a dead country. And it would have been a dead country if we didn't have the right result on November 5th.”
Trump Praises Musk: “Americans Owe Him a Great Debt of Gratitude” as He Steps Down from Special Role
Trump and Elon Musk Press Conference, latest news: Washington, D.C. – In a press conference held at the Oval Office, President Donald Trump formally bid farewell to tech billionaire Elon Musk, who stepped down from his role as a special U.S. government employee. Musk announced his departure on May 29, with reports indicating that there was no formal discussion between the SpaceX and Tesla CEO and President Trump prior to the announcement.
Following Musk’s decision, Trump took to Truth Social to announce a press conference alongside Musk at the White House, signaling his appreciation for Musk’s contributions during his tenure.
During the press conference, Trump expressed high praise for Musk, thanking him for bringing his "great talents into the service" of the United States and for playing a pivotal role in what he called "the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in a generation."
"He stepped forward to lend his very great talents in service to our nation, and we appreciate it," Trump said. "Elon has worked tirelessly, helping to lead the most sweeping and consequential government reform program in generations. And you know the kinds of things that he and his team have uncovered — they’ve found things that are pretty unbelievable."
Trump continued, noting the significant financial implications of Musk’s work:
"The numbers we’re talking about are substantial. We will remember Elon as we uncover them. Through the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon brought a colossal change to the old ways of doing business in Washington."
He praised Musk’s team, referring to them as “geniuses with an engineering mindset and unbelievable talent in computing.”
"I actually asked Elon once what their core strength was," Trump said. "He told me, 'The thing we’re really the best at is working with computers.'"
The former president also hinted that although Musk is stepping back, he won’t be completely gone:
“Many of the DOGE people, Elon, are staying behind too. So they are not leaving. Elon is really not leaving. He is going to be back and forth, I think I have a feeling. It’s his baby and I think he is going to be doing a lot of things. But Elon’s service to America has been without comparison in modern history. He is already running one of the most…” He praised Elon for his ‘innovative car companies, space company, and the largest free speech platform on the internet,’ and said, “Yet Elon, willingly with all of the success, he willingly accepted the outrageous abuse and slander and lies and attacks because he does love our country.”
He praised Elon Musk for his "innovative car companies, space company, and the largest free speech platform on the internet," adding, “Yet despite all of his success, Elon willingly accepted the outrageous abuse, slander, lies, and attacks—because he loves our country.”
He continued, “He comes from another country that is going through trials and tribulations, I would say, but he is all about the USA. Americans owe him a great debt of gratitude. So I just want to thank Elon for his time as a special government employee. Can you imagine? They call him an employee—but it's a special government employee—and for coming and helping us… we are making America great again.”
During the press conference at the Oval Office, he also reflected on the state of the country six months ago, saying, “We thought America was like a dead country. And it would have been a dead country if we didn't have the right result on November 5th.”
Calling Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia “incredible,” he said, “When I was in Saudi Arabia—and we were in three really great countries, predominantly those three—Qatar was great, the UAE was great, and Saudi Arabia was incredible. Such an incredible experience. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and I must tell you, the great leaders of the other two countries we just mentioned, all said the same thing: that the United States is the hottest country right now, anywhere in the world. And six months ago, we thought it was dead. It would have been a dead country if we didn’t have the right result on November 5th.”
He went on to say, “There would have been a horrible situation—what was going on with the borders, with transgender policies for everyone, men playing in women’s sports, and so much more. But they were saying the hottest country anywhere in the world… There is no country as hot as ours right now, and we’re doing really well, considering where we came from.”
Speaking about the wars currently happening around the world and contrasting them with his time in office in the first term, he said, “When we left, we had no wars, we had no problems. We defeated ISIS. We rebuilt our military. We had no inflation. And when I came back, there were wars all over the place. We had the embarrassment in Afghanistan, where we gave up billions and billions of dollars worth of military equipment—the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country, I believe that strongly. We have Russia with Ukraine. We had the attack on Israel—the horrible attack of October 7. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. But now, we are really healing a lot of that.”
He again thanked Elon Musk and noted that most of Musk’s employees are staying. He said, “Almost all of them are staying, and they are going to be with us. You’re going to see the results coming long into the future.”
Praising the tech billionaire once again, he added, “Elon gave an incredible service. There’s nobody like him. And he had to go through the slings and arrows, which is a shame because he is an incredible patriot. The good news is that 90% of the country knows that—and they appreciate it.”
In the end, he presented Elon with a gift—something he said he gives only to “very special people.”
“I have given it to a few, but it goes to very special people, and I thought I would give it to Elon as a presentation from our country. Thank you, Elon.”
The gift had the words "Good Luck" written on it.
Elon, during the conference, said, “This is not the end of Doge, but really the beginning. My time as a special government employee necessarily had to end—it was a limited term. It’s 134 days, I believe, which ends in a few days. The Doge team will only grow stronger over time. I could liken it to something like Buddhism—it’s a way of life. It’s permeating throughout the government, and I am confident that, over time, we will see a trillion dollars in savings.”
“The Doge team is doing an incredible job. They’re going to continue. I will be, and I will continue to be, visiting here and serving as a friend and advisor to the President. I look forward to being back in this amazing room,” Musk added.
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