Less than six months after his breakup with Elon Musk, US President Donald Trump spoke fondly of the tech billionaire, DPA reported.
"I like Elon and I suspect I always will," Trump told the media during his visit to Asia.
Musk donated more than $250 million to Trump's election campaign last year. In the first months of Trump's term, he became a close confidant of the president and was tasked with rapidly reducing government spending.
But in early summer, a rift arose over a major budget bill pushed by Trump, and the two soon began attacking each other on social media. Musk later withdrew from his political role.
In July, Musk announced the creation of his own party, but nothing more was heard about it after that, DPA recalls. Musk later limited his political activity to expressing right-wing views on his online platform "Ex".
In September, Trump and Musk spoke during a ceremony in memory of the murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Trump later said that he had had a few contacts with Musk from time to time, describing them as "nothing special".
Trump said that the technology billionaire was going through a "bad moment".
"It was a stupid moment in his life. Very stupid," the US president emphasized. "I'm sure he would tell you the same".