From Musk to Kimmel, a Look at Trump’s Biggest Feuds of 2025

It has been a busy year for President Donald Trump. During the first year of his second term in Office, he has implemented his hardline crackdown on immigration, tried to solve several wars, and battled with international trade partners on tariffs.

“The whole of Trump’s presidency is based on public feud. This is a media President whose character was created by the media,” says Dr. Mark Shanahan, associate professor of political engagement at the University of Surrey. “He has to win, and in order for him to win, somebody else has to lose. The spats he’s had across the media are a microcosm of that.”

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From Elon Musk to Jimmy Kimmel, here are some of Trump’s biggest feuds of 2025.

Jimmy Kimmel and late-night TV

In September, late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel mocked Trump for his response to a reporter’s question over Kirk’s assassination. When Trump’s response focused on construction of the White House ballroom rather than the conservative commentator’s death, Kimmel joked: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he called a friend… This is how a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.” The comedian then went on to say that the “MAGA gang” was trying to “score political points” following Kirk’s assassination.

The reaction was swift. Following his comments, ABC announced it would suspend Kimmel’s show indefinitely. “Great news for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is cancelled,” the President posted on Truth Social in response. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”

Trump also took aim at other talk show hosts. “Kimmel has zero talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy [Fallon] and Seth [Meyers], two total losers,” he said.

Experts warned that ABC’s decision came after pressure from the Trump Administration, with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr threatening regulatory action against the network just hours before its decision.

Trump continued to lash out at Kimmel following his show’s suspension, saying the comedian made “a total fool of himself” when hosting the 2024 Academy Awards.

Seth Meyers, who was also criticized by Trump, said his Administration was “pursuing a crackdown on free speech,” during NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers. Stephen Colbert also came out in support of Kimmel on his own show, The Late Show, describing the decision as “blatant censorship.”

Colbert saw his own show cancelled by CBS in July due to financial reasons, according to the network. But others, including Colbert himself, voiced concerns that it was instead done due to pressure from the Trump Administration.

Announcing that the show would end next year, Colbert called the decision a “big fat bribe” following CBS’ parent company Paramount’s $16 million settlement with the Trump Administration due to its editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.

Days later, Trump celebrated the decision too, saying: “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.” A week after ‘Live With Jimmy Kimmel Live! Was suspended, the show returned, with Kimmel himself thanking fellow talk-show hosts, tearing up in moments during the return.

Elon Musk

The relationship between Musk and the President began as an alliance, with the CEO of X and Tesla supporting Trump’s election campaign through 2024. Come January, Musk was appointed as the unofficial head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tasked with gutting several federal agencies including the Department of Education and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Musk eventually stood back from his government work at DOGE, and his relationship with Trump soon soured in dramatic fashion. The day before his departure was announced, Musk criticized the Republican spending package titled the “One Big, Beautiful Bill.” In an interview with CBS, the billionaire said he was “disappointed to see the massive spending bill,” adding that it underminded DOGE’s mission. Trump responded to Musk’s change in tune, saying that he, too, was “disappointed.”

After a series of barbed exchanges, Musk posted: “Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files,” in an X post that has since been deleted. The fued eventually calmed, with Musk saying on Jun. 11 that some of his comments went “too far.”

“There’s not a lot of generosity of spirit with Trump, so he’s never going to share the limelight with anybody else,” says Shanahan. “There will be another bust up at some point.”

Gavin Newsom

Christina Bellantoni, a professor of professional practice of journalism at the University of Southern California, points to Trump’s feud with California Gov. Gavin Newsom as one of the most revealing political clashes of the year—one in which Newsom has deliberately “poked the bear.”

As wildfires raged in southern California in January, Trump revived his old “Newscum” nickname, blaming the Democratic Governor. Newsom’s press office responded that “the Governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics.”

The feud escalated again over the summer, when protests erupted in Los Angeles over Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) raids that were taking place across the city. Trump responded to the demonstrations by deploying the National Guard to L.A., without the request or approval of the city’s leadership. Newsom called the move “purposefully inflammatory” and went on to fight the deployment in court, gaining a number of legal wins against the Trump Administration. The pair continued to then clash over redistricting efforts in California.

Throughout the year, Newsom has increasingly adopted Trump’s own political style, particularly online—a notable shift for a Democratic governor. He launched a “Patriot Shop” to rival Trump’s MAGA store and often seemingly mocks the all-caps style of Trump’s Truth Social posts.

Newsom maintains he’s following Trump’s example. “If you’ve got issues with what I’m putting out, you sure as hell should have concerns about what he’s putting out as President,” he said.

Shanahan says that Newsom’s tactic could prove useful for Democrats who are looking to overturn Republican positions in the midterms next year. “Newsom is equally very adept at playing the media and particularly the social media game, and that has got under Trump’s skin. He doesn’t like to be made fun of,” he says.

Marjorie Taylor Greene

It was just last year that Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene could be described as one of President Trump’s most ardent supporters, but 2025 has flipped that relationship on its head.

After previously backing Trump on topics from the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, to hardline immigration policy, a number of disagreements between the President and Greene saw the relationship disintegrate. The key battle line however, was Greene’s campaigning for the adminstration to release the entirety of ‘Epstein files’.

In response, the President announced he was withdrawing his endorsement for Greene, calling her a “ranting lunatic”. Greene then posted a screenshot of a text that she appears to have sent to the President, calling for him to push to release the files, saying “apparently this is what sent him over the edge.”

The fight quickly escalated, with Trump labeling Greene a “traitor” and a “disgrace” to the Republican party. A few days later, the Georgia Rep. announced her resignation from Congress ahead of primary elections in January 2026.

“Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States, whom I fought for,” read Greene’s resignation.

“Epstein is his [Trump’s] political kryptonite,” Shanahan explains. “He has done everything to deflect, to get away from Epstein, from whatever it is that may or may not be incriminating. It certainly worries him what is within those files.”

And Greene’s break with Trump may not remain an isolated case. Shanahan argues that, as the midterm elections approach, other Republicans could follow a similar path—using moments of public rupture to draw sharper distinctions between themselves and a President who has shown little tolerance for dissent within his own ranks.

BBC

Trump’s feud with the BBC escalated quickly in November after the Telegraph reported that a BBC Panorama documentary on the Jan. 6 Capitol riots included spliced footage of the President’s speeches, prompting concern that the output was misleading.

The programme, which aired in October 2024, spliced together two clips of Trump speaking to supporters in Washington D.C. ahead of what turned into the Capitol riots of 2021. An internal memo reportedly reviewed by the Telegraph showed concerns from an independent advisor over “systemic” bias in relation to the edit.

Amid mounting criticism, Tim Davie, then-director general of the BBC, and Deborah Turness, then-CEO of News, resigned from their positions. The BBC released a correction note regarding the edit and apologized to Trump over the “error of judgement.”

On Dec. 15, the President’s legal team filed a defamation lawsuit against the British broadcaster, suing it for $5 billion over the edit, which the court filing described as “a false, defamatory, deceptive, disparaging, inflammatory, and malicious depiction of President Trump.”

The lawsuit also accuses the BBC of attempting to “interfere in and influence” the 2024 presidential election. The BBC has stated its intention to defend itself against the legal action.

Jerome Powell

Despite Trump having originally appointed Jerome Powell as chairman of the Federal Reserve during his first term, the President has levied a number of insults at Powell and continues to call for his removal.

Trump’s feud with Powell reignited in April when the veteran banker warned of the impact of the President’s controversial tariffs, citing the uncertainty they had caused within the economic market.

Trump responded by calling for Powell’s “termination”and claiming that he should have lowered interest rates. Trump doubled down in the Oval Office, telling reporters: “If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me.” After White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett suggested that Trump was exploring the ability to fire Powell, the President then retreated, saying he had “no intention of firing” Powell but would like to see him be more “active.”

But Trump once again ramped up his criticism of Powell in June, urging the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates and calling Powell “one of the dumbest, and most destructive, people in Government.”

The following month, tensions between Trump and Powell took center stage when the two met to inspect the construction of the Federal Reserve’s renovation project.

Standing alongside one another, the President claimed to reporters that costs for the construction had increased to $3.1 billion, up from $2.7 billion. Powell shook his head as he publicly disagreed with the President, saying: “I’m not aware of that.” Not long after the dispute over numbers, Trump went after Powell again, calling for his resignation and labeling him a “stubborn moron” and a “disaster.”

Powell’s term as chair comes to an end in May 2026, although his term as a governor continues till 2028. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in October confirmed five names in the running to be the next Fed chairman. Trump has since confirmed that the number of candidates has been whittled down to three or four.

The Democratic Party

Trump has declared “federal takeovers” of many Democratic cities this year, deploying the National Guard to places such as Portland and Washington D.C. Several legal disputes have played out, with some cities fighting back against the Trump Administration’s actions.

Amid disputes over National Guard deployments, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history also took place, as Republican and Democrat lawmakers engaged in a bitter 43-day stalemate, largely focused on the fight to extend Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

By the time the government reopened on Nov. 13, millions of Americans had missed out on SNAP benefit payments and many federal workers had been furloughed without pay. However, the Democratic Party failed to obtain an extension of the healthcare subsidies at the center of the dispute, leading many to argue that the shutdown was a failed venture.

Throughout the shutdown, Trump clashed with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who fiercely rejected the Republican funding bill and argued that the shutdown shouldn’t end without the extension of the Obamacare subsidies.

“He thought he could break the Republicans, and the Republicans broke him,” said Trump ahead of signing the bill to end the shutdown.

On Dec. 18, Schumer criticized the lack of a solid plan for those reliant on Obamacare subsidies. “Fifteen million people will lose health insurance because Donald Trump let it happen,” he said.

Their war of words over healthcare subsidies and other items looks set to continue in 2026.

Rosie O’Donnell

Trump also reignited a feud that long predates his political career. In July, amid renewed threats by his Administration to roll back birthright citizenship, the President singled out fellow New Yorker Rosie O’Donnell.

The comedian, a longtime critic of Trump dating back to the mid-2000s, had announced earlier this year that she had moved to Ireland in January, ahead of Trump’s inauguration. She has since said she is seeking Irish citizenship through her grandparents.

“Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship,” said Trump on July 12.

O’Donnell responded by posting a picture of Trump alongside convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “Hey Donald–you’re rattled again? 18 years later and I still live rent-free in that collapsing brain of yours,” she said. “You want to revoke my citizenship? Go ahead and try.”