‘His Knuckles Turn White’: Ted Cruz Says Trump Raged as Elon Named Him in Epstein Files

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has revealed explosive details of a private Oval Office meeting where President Donald Trump erupted in fury after an aide handed him a printout of Elon Musk’s social media post claiming Trump’s name appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files. The school choice meeting, Cruz said, “went off the rails” as Trump unleashed a tirade of “technicolor” profanity.

WASHINGTON – A dramatic new account from inside the Oval Office has sent shockwaves through Washington, with Sen. Ted Cruz describing the moment President Trump learned that Elon Musk had publicly named him in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The Texas Republican shared the story during an interview published Wednesday on the PBD Podcast, hosted by Patrick Bet-David . Cruz said he was meeting with Trump to advocate for school choice when the president was handed a printout of Musk’s post — and the conversation immediately derailed .

“And in the middle of it, that is when Elon Musk tweeted that Trump was on the Epstein list,” Cruz recounted. “And so Trump, now, he’s not on his phone anymore nearly as much, so what happens when something gets tweeted is they print it out, [aide] Natalie [Harp] comes in, prints it on a piece of paper, and hands it to him” .

“And he literally reads that tweet and I’m sitting in the Oval and his knuckles turn white,” Cruz said .

Cruz told the host he had no idea what the paper contained until Trump showed it to the room. “I don’t know what it is yet,” Cruz said. “It happens that second. Like, that second they hand it to him” .

“And he was so pissed. I joked I learned some curse words I didn’t even know,” Cruz added .

The Feud That Triggered the Explosion

The Oval Office eruption took place against the backdrop of a spectacular collapse in relations between Trump and Musk, who had been one of the president’s most prominent supporters during the 2024 election .

Musk’s post came on June 5, 2025 — less than an hour after Trump threatened to cancel federal contracts and subsidies for Musk’s companies, according to CNN . Musk wrote on X: “Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!” .

Musk deleted the post within two days and later said it “went too far,” ABC News reported .

When the Meeting ‘Went Off the Rails’

Cruz said the episode effectively ended their policy discussion. “And I will say our school choice meeting went off the rails that, like, we were done talking about school choice, and Trump had some technicolor views to say about Elon,” Cruz recounted .

The senator described the moment as “a hand grenade thrown in the middle of everything” . “That’s a moment I will never forget,” he said .

Cruz, who describes himself as a friend of both men, expressed relief that the relationship has since improved. “It was not good for America to have the two of them battling,” he said .

The Broader Epstein Files Controversy

The incident Cruz described is part of a larger, ongoing battle over the release of the Epstein files. Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, had already privately told Trump in May 2025 that his name appeared multiple times in the files, according to the Wall Street Journal . The two officials said they did not plan to release more documents, and Trump said he would defer to that decision .

However, Congress intervened. The House voted 427-1 in November 2025 to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, forcing the release of the records. The Senate followed, and Trump eventually signed the bill into law .

The Department of Justice missed the December 19 deadline, and a legal battle has ensued. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with independent journalist Katie Phang in June 2026, finding the department had violated the law . Blanche appealed rather than comply, and Sullivan warned the department in August that it was risking contempt proceedings .

A Leak or a Strategic Revelation?

Cruz’s decision to go public with the Oval Office story has sparked immediate debate. Some have questioned why the senator would share such a revealing anecdote about a sitting president.

Others have suggested the account provides crucial context about the administration’s resistance to full transparency on the Epstein matter. The Justice Department and the FBI put their no-further-disclosure position in writing in July 2025, according to Newsweek .

What We Know

• The source: Sen. Ted Cruz recounted the episode on the PBD Podcast on September 2, 2026 .