Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has vowed to push Elon Musk “out” of the White House, escalating tensions within the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.
In an interview with an Italian newspaper, Bannon expressed his personal mission to prevent Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, from gaining influence in Trump’s incoming administration, asserting that he should be treated “like any other person.”
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Bannon went on to describe Musk as “a truly evil guy” and declared he would no longer tolerate the billionaire’s involvement, despite previously accepting his financial support. The former strategist also criticized Musk’s defence of the H-1B visa program, which recruits highly-skilled foreign workers for Silicon Valley, questioning why “white South Africans” should have a say in U.S. affairs.
This feud comes amid rising tensions among Trump’s supporters, particularly over foreign workers in the tech industry. Last month, Trump’s appointment of Indian-American venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as an AI adviser sparked backlash from far-right MAGA followers, who saw it as an endorsement of the H-1B program.
Musk, who once held an H-1B visa before becoming a U.S. citizen, voiced strong opposition to the criticism, vowing to fight back. Trump, despite restricting H-1B visas in his first term, sided with Musk, calling the program a “great” initiative.
Bannon, who served as White House chief strategist during Trump’s first term, accused Musk of attempting to create a “techno-feudal” global system and criticized his “immaturity.”
“We’ve seen peak Elon, his intrusive nature, his lack of understanding of the true issues, and, quite frankly, his support of just himself, the sole objective is to become a trillionaire. That’s his objective,” he said.
“He will do anything related to make sure that any one of his companies is protected or has a better deal or he makes more money. His aggregation of wealth, and then – through wealth – power: that’s what he’s focused on. The American working people in this country are not going to tolerate it.”
Musk, a frequent commentator on current events via his social media platform X, has yet to publicly address Bannon’s comments.
As the world’s richest person with a net worth exceeding $400 billion, Musk has become one of Donald Trump’s most influential allies since endorsing the Republican candidate after his attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Trump has involved Musk in discussions with lawmakers and foreign leaders, and appointed him to co-lead the newly established Department of Government Efficiency, alongside biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
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