A new book packed with behind-the-scenes details about the second Trump White House reveals that First Lady Melania Trump was not pleased when her husband invited one of the most recognizable names in the world to spend the night — and her objection was simply overruled.
“Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” published Tuesday by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, pulls back the curtain on the daily rhythms and tensions inside 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Among its more striking disclosures: then-DOGE head Elon Musk asked President Donald Trump for permission to sleep at the White House, Trump said yes, and First Lady Melania Trump objected. She was overruled, and Musk went on to spend several nights in the Lincoln Bedroom.
How the Sleepover Came About
In Musk’s own telling, the arrangement was fairly spontaneous. While the two men were aboard Air Force One, Trump asked Musk where he planned to stay. When Musk said he hadn’t decided, Trump extended an invitation and later gave him a tour of the historic Lincoln Bedroom. Musk, 54, recounted the story to reporters in May 2025, saying he had stayed at the White House “more than once.” He clarified that none of it was his idea. “I didn’t request it, to be sure,” he said.
Haberman and Swan report that Musk didn’t always stay in the Lincoln Bedroom. Sometimes he stayed with friends in the area, and at other times he told people he had used a sleeping bag to sleep on his Eisenhower Building office floor.
Ice Cream and Late-Night Calls
Musk described Trump as a gracious host who sometimes phoned him late at night with invitations to go get ice cream from the White House kitchen, according to the book. He recalled consuming an entire container of caramel Häagen-Dazs and quipped that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shouldn’t find out. “He’s actually a very good host,” Musk said.
According to the book, Trump has used super glue to make his own modifications to the Oval Office, and he and Melania maintain separate bedrooms. Some tension has arisen from their living situation, with the president quietly moving items the first lady had placed in shared spaces into the second-floor room he uses. The Musk overnight visits also became a point of contention between the couple.
Musk’s Turbulent Four Months at DOGE
The sleepovers occurred while Musk was arguably one of the most controversial unelected figures in Washington. As head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk oversaw sweeping workforce reductions and reallocated funds already approved by Congress. According to the book, he came across as “unhinged,” and his presence rankled officials beyond the first lady. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was critical of Musk, and senior cabinet members — State Secretary Marco Rubio, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy — confronted him in March 2025, angry that he had overstepped into their agencies.
One outside Trump adviser said moving fast and breaking things was acceptable, but doing so without agency buy-in was problematic. A second adviser questioned how many workers were terminated over a weekly reporting requirement before concluding the administration was ready to move on from that chapter.
Musk left DOGE at the end of May 2025. His four months in the role succeeded in closing certain agencies and reducing federal headcount, but his department’s broader efficiency goals fell short, and several of his signature policies were quietly abandoned after he departed.
From Feud to Fence-Mending
The relationship between Trump and Musk did not survive the departure intact. Musk publicly criticized Trump and attacked him over the Epstein files. It was a sharp departure from late-night ice cream runs and Lincoln Bedroom tours.
The two appear to have since reconciled. Musk shared a photo of himself dining with the president and first lady at Mar-a-Lago in early 2026. Their renewed closeness has drawn fresh attention to Musk’s financial interests: the initial public offering of his SpaceX company was expected to deliver significant gains to people in the Trump administration, and the IPO helped push Musk’s net worth into trillionaire territory — though SpaceX’s stock price has since retreated. Whether Musk has any future sleepovers planned remains an open question.
