"I just think it's a huge mistake for the world's wealthiest man... to be at, at, at this war with the world's most powerful man who I think is doing more to save the country than anybody — I mean, I'm 40 years old — anybody in my lifetime."

"You think about it, it's a guy who not even a year ago, nearly took a bullet in the process of campaigning, went back on the horse the next day. And if you look — obviously I'm biased — but you look at what we've done on the border, you look at what we've done with trade — fighting back against a generation of theft of the American dream, which is what the president's trade policies are starting to do. I just think you've got to have some respect for him and say, look, yeah, we don't have to agree on every issue I'm talking about. If you're Elon Musk, you don't have to agree with this on every issue. But is this war actually in the interest of the country? I don't think so."

Said JD Vance, talking to Theo Von. Audio and transcript here, at Podscribe. YouTube here.

Vance continues: "So hopefully Elon... figures it out, comes back into the fold. I know the president, you know, for, for a couple days — I'll tell you just, you know, I don't want to reveal too many confidences. But you know, it was getting a little frustrated, feeling like some of the criticisms were unfair coming from Elon, but I think it's been very restrained, because the president doesn't think that he needs to be in a blood feud with Elon Musk. And I actually think if Elon chilled out a little bit, everything would be fine...."

Theo tries to cue up a question about Musk's prediction that Trump's tariffs will cause a recession, but he gets sidetracked into something about — of all things — spaghetti: "Yeah. So... I don't know Mr. Musk, I never met Mr. Musk. One time, he fed my buddy spaghetti at a party though, dude, that I, my buddy. They were, people were raging and shit."

Vance is good at holding his ground. He inserts: "Your buddy couldn't feed himself a spaghetti?"

Theo: "Well, my buddy said he offered my buddy some spaghetti and my buddy said, yeah, I'd like to have some and then it, but only if you feed it to him... but instead of getting him a plate of spaghetti, he made him something, put it in his mouth. Dude."

Vance then says, "Does your buddy know Frederick Douglass?" And that refers back to something Theo had said earlier in the conversation, which was "I heard Frederick Douglass was gay."

So that was Vance joking that the spaghetti story made Musk seem gay. Theo becomes nearly incoherent. He beats up on himself: "Fucking ruin this shit, dude. Fuck dude. Civics, man. Chill out."

Eventually, he composes himself and asks: "Do you think Elon Musk is for the people?"

Vance: "I mean, I think that he's making a mistake in going after the president. I think his heart is in the good place. In the right place, man. I do. Like, I, I, I think he got into this for the right reasons. I think he's frustrated. I think he's an emotional guy. Honestly. I'm a very emotional guy.... The president is... not...  quick to temper.... He's not one of these guys who flies off the handle.... He's stoic... But I, but I, I, I think I, so yeah, I think Elon means the best, but I think he's making a mistake...."

The door is clearly open for Elon, when he calms down, to return to the fold.