White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles referred to President Donald Trump's fallout with billionaire Elon Musk as "very troublesome," but claimed it was a "little hiccup" for his second administration during the latest episode of Pod Force One released on Wednesday (July 9).

“The president was very, very kind to him, and Elon had so much to offer us,” Wiles said. “He knew things we didn’t know. He knew people and technologies that we didn’t know. It was a great thing when it was a great thing, and had a very, I think, a very troublesome ending.”

“I don’t understand it. I don’t know,” she later said when asked by host Miranda Devine why the two fell out. “I enjoyed working with Elon. I think he’s a fascinating person and sees the world differently. And I think that’s probably what the president saw, too. [He’s] just a little bit different than the average Joe, but certainly [it] came to not a good ending.”

Trump called Musk's teasing of a new political party "ridiculous" while speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One on Sunday (July 6).

“I think it’s ridiculous to start a third party. We have a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it’s always been a two-party system, and I think starting a third party just adds to confusion. It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it, but I think it’s ridiculous," Trump said before leaving Morristown, New Jersey, to return to Washington, D.C., having later shared a lengthy post with further comments on his Truth Social account.

Musk teased the launch of an "American Party" on his X account after asking his followers if they were in favor of the concept.

Michael Berry