6 People In Trump's Inner Circle Who Once Hated Him

Donald Trump's era of politics will be studied by historians and possibly even Netflix writers for decades to come. The businessman-turned-politician isn't intriguing just because of his polarizing stance on key issues but also thanks to his inner circle. Many of the president-elect's closest allies were people who once made it clear that they thought he was a horrible pick for the highest office in the land. And yet, for several hotly debated reasons, they changed their minds and jumped aboard the Trump train. When asked, many of his foes-turned-friends claimed they were wrong to ever vilify him and have now seen the light. Critics, however, aren't so sure. 

To be fair, the reasons given by some of Trump's former haters aren't exactly convincing. Senator Lindsey Graham, for example, used to be one of the divisive politician's most vocal haters. When the former "Apprentice" host proposed a Muslim ban in 2015, Graham responded by decrying him as a "race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot," (via CNN). The senator also called the businessman a "jackass" after he insulted the late John McCain's military service and kickstarted the longstanding Trump-McCain family feud (for context, Graham and McCain were close, so think bestie levels of outrage).

However, all of this changed once he won the 2016 election and Graham slowly morphed from a Trump hater into one of his biggest cheerleaders. When CNN reporter Kate Bolduan asked what had made him change his opinion, the senator's response screamed political opportunism. "President Trump has been good to me in the sense that he's allowed me in his world," he said at the time (via Raw Story). Bolduan then reminded him about Trump's attacks on his friend, but Graham was quick to flip the script, arguing, "You don't really care about McCain and me. [...] You're trying to use me to get to Trump. I'm not playing that game." A solid dodge, but hardly an inspiring defense.

Donald Trump nominated Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence. She was previously a congresswoman and served in the U.S. military before that. But if her name only popped up on your pro-Trump radar more recently, it's likely because she went from being a Democratic Trump-hater to a prominent supporter in a matter of years. Back in 2017, while serving in Congress, Gabbard slammed the then-president for being impulsive and accused him of breeding war over his attacks on Syria. She doubled down over the next few years, labeling Trump "unfit to be our commander-in-chief" and claiming he was sending American soldiers to war for profit in 2019 (via X, formerly known as Twitter). 

Gabbard didn't hold back when Trump was impeached that very same year and even dragged his supporters in a statement, asserting, "The president's defenders insist that he has done nothing wrong. They agree with the absurd proclamation that his conduct was 'perfect,'" (via UCSB). The turning point came in 2022 following the congresswoman's dramatic exit from the Democratic Party, when she branded it an "elitist cabal of warmongers," (via ABC News). Slowly but surely, Gabbard began aligning herself more with GOP values, the first of which was, naturally, supporting Trump. 

In 2024, she endorsed him for the presidency and sung his praises, which just so happened to contradict many of the things she'd said against the controversial politician initially. According to Gabbard, Trump "didn't start any new wars" and in fact "took action to de-escalate and prevent wars," per the New York Post. Following her heartfelt speech, there were rumors that Trump was considering Gabbard as his VP pick. However, he eventually nominated her to head national intelligence instead.

Unlike several others on this list, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have had an on-and-off relationship for years. After he was elected in 2016, the Tesla CEO seemed to be fully onboard, joining Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum and the Manufacturing Jobs Initiative. But the honeymoon didn't last long. By January 2017, the divisive leader had announced his plans for a Muslim ban, which was a major red flag for Musk. He took to X to publicly criticize Trump, writing in a since-deleted tweet, "The Muslim immigration ban is not right," (via CNBC). The billionaire shared multiple others where he suggested there were more effective ways to handle the issue (all since deleted too). 

Their clash became more serious in June when Trump spectacularly opted to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, angering Musk enough for him to resign from the advisory councils entirely. The Space X CEO turned to X again to announce, "[I] Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," (via The Verge). And yes, this post was also eventually deleted too. 

Fast forward to 2024, and it seemed like Musk had decided to let bygones be bygones if it meant profiting off Trump's rise. He enthusiastically returned to the politician's orbit, this time offering not just influence but also his sizeable wallet and social media empire to support Trump's re-election campaign. Musk's efforts paid off — following his win, he was tapped to lead the newly proposed Department of Government Efficiency.

From detractors to fierce rivals and then partners, Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have truly done a complete 180. In 2020, the pair definitely didn't see eye to eye, with RFK Jr. boldly claiming that Trump "discredited the American experiment with self-governance" (via YouTube) — a fancy way of saying he was a threat to democracy. This hostility became a full-blown rivalry when both men vied for the presidency in 2024, with RFK Jr. frequently airing out his scathing criticisms of the divisive politician. In fact, he even called Trump a "terrible president" (via YouTube), the most wasteful leader in U.S. history, and claimed that he had a "weakness for swamp creatures" (via X). 

Likewise, the short-lived presidential candidate also accused Trump of trampling all over the Constitution, repeatedly making false claims, and being a bully with disastrous environmental policies. However, by July, when it became clear that RFK Jr.'s campaign was going nowhere, several prominent Republicans — including Donald Trump Jr. and Tucker Carlson — convinced him that he had a better future in the Republican Party if he dropped out and endorsed Trump instead. It took a few months, but RFK Jr. eventually caved. 

During his endorsement speech, the politician praised Trump as the candidate who would fight back against totalitarianism — a stark contrast to his earlier claim that he was a threat to democracy and a bully. He went on to applaud MAGA's plans to restore America's optimistic outlook for the future. When Trump eventually won the election, he rewarded RFK Jr. by nominating him to be his Secretary in the Department of Health and Human Services. However, many political analysts believe that RFK Jr.'s praise of Trump shows that he shares his weak backbone.

Senator Ted Cruz is known for having a close relationship with Donald Trump. He's backed the president-elect through some of his most controversial moments, including supporting the false claims that Trump beat Joe Biden in the 2020 election. However, before this bromance, they had a bitter rivalry. In 2016, Cruz had his eyes on the presidential ticket just as Trump did, and what ensued between them was a petty and very personal battle. Among other things, the outspoken senator called him "a pathological liar" and a person who couldn't "be trusted with common sense," (via BBC). Both men even got into a very fifth-grade argument about whose partner was better looking.

However, after Trump beat him in the primaries, Cruz seemed to realize that the only way to stay in the party was to align with the nominee. He then announced on Facebook that he would be voting for Trump over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. This was the beginning of Cruz's gradual transformation into a MAGA soldier. In return, Trump endorsed him during his re-election campaign and amusingly referred to him as "beautiful Ted," a far cry from the previous nickname "Lyin' Ted," (via YouTube).

Unfortunately for Cruz, this allegiance seems to have trapped him in a position where he can no longer openly criticize anything related to the divisive politician. During the Capitol riot, Cruz had to conceal himself in a supply closet to stay safe, so it wasn't that shocking when he referred to the shocking events of that day as a "despicable act of terrorism," (via X). However, it didn't take long for him to be pressured into walking back his words by Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene. The next day, Cruz publicly apologized on Fox News for his harsh words.

Before becoming Donald Trump's 2024 running mate, JD Vance was a bestselling author and a vocal critic of the president-elect with a well-documented history of anti-Trump statements. In 2016, he told interviewer Charlie Rose that he would not support the politician since he "never liked him." That same year, Vance publicly called his future running mate a moron on X. Vance even shared one particularly impassioned reason for his dislike: "Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this, I find him reprehensible," adding, "God wants better of us," (via Local News 8).

When the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape was leaked, he strongly condemned Trump once again, writing, "Fellow Christians, everyone is watching us when we apologize for this man. Lord help us." However, by 2021, the "Hillbilly Elegy" author spotted an opportunity to enter the political arena as a GOP senator and ran with it. His past remarks, however, weren't forgotten. An anonymous tipster revealed Vance's old posts, forcing him to scramble for damage control. That same week, the senator-hopeful visited Fox News to issue a public apology: "Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016. And I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016."

Despite this, even in 2024, there were plenty of signs that Trump was still bitter about JD Vance's past, but he chose him as his running mate regardless. After accepting the nomination, the Ohio senator downplayed his sudden change of values to New York Magazine, reasoning simply, "I had one beef six years ago and I have a different view today." Though this excuse sounded more like playground drama than political reasoning, Vance ultimately got away with it.