Trump rates Elon Musk’s intelligence in Arizona rally: ‘He has a little problem

Musk has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to help Republicans win races in the upcoming midterm elections
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President Donald Trump has rated tech billionaire Elon Musk’s intelligence, saying that his frenemy has “a little problem.”
The president bashed Hobbs, calling her “horrible” and a “dumb person.” He then contrasted Hobbs’ intelligence with that of Musk, who founded the electric car company Tesla, rocket manufacturer SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI.
“I know smart people. I deal from Elon [Musk] down to Katie [Hobbs],” Trump said.
Trump and Musk have had a tumultuous relationship. Musk stumped for Trump in the 2024 election and financially backed his campaign.
In May 2025, Musk left the White House after he publicly criticized Trump’s massive “big, beautiful” spending bill.
About $158 million of Musk’s money went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC backing GOP Senate candidates in the midterms, according to figures provided by the billionaire’s team.
Arizona is the latest stop on Trump’s campaign tour as he hopes to boost Republicans' chances in the midterms.
While the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms, GOP candidates are even struggling in red states like Texas and Ohio.
A whopping 65 percent of Americans disapproved of Trump’s job as president, while just 32 percent approved in a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. The administration has been dogged by an unpopular war in Iran, a high cost of living and an immigration crackdown that critics have called too aggressive.
Trump was in Bullead City Wednesday to stump for Biggs and congressional candidates Mark Lamb and Abe Hamadeh.
Dive deeper
- Musk has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to help Republicans win races in the upcoming midterm elections
- Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.
- President Donald Trump has rated tech billionaire Elon Musk’s intelligence, saying that his frenemy has “a little problem.”
- The president bashed Hobbs, calling her “horrible” and a “dumb person.” He then contrasted Hobbs’ intelligence with that of Musk, who founded the electric car company Tesla, rocket manufacturer SpaceX and artificial intelligence startup xAI
- “I know smart people. I deal from Elon [Musk] down to Katie [Hobbs],” Trump said.