Steve Bannon Slams Elon Musk, Voils To Take Him Out
Steve Bannon, a former senior advisor to Donald Trump, has made another derogatory remark about Elon Musk, labeling him as “racist” and “truly evil.”
Bannon stated that he intends to ensure Musk is “kicked out” of the president-elect’s inner circle before the inauguration scheduled for next week.
Tensions within Trump’s MAGA circle escalated on January 12 after Bannon criticized Musk’s support for the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to issue temporary nonimmigrant visas to fill skilled gaps in sectors that require specialized knowledge.
Bannon, who served as Trump’s chief strategist during the first term before being dismissed in August 2017, characterized Musk as a “truly evil person” and claimed that reducing Musk’s influence on the incoming president has become a “personal” issue.
“I will ensure that Elon Musk is removed by the time he’s inaugurated. He won’t have a blue pass with full access to the White House; he’ll be treated like everyone else,” Bannon told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, with his comments translated into English.
“He’s a truly evil person. Stopping him has become personal for me. Previously, I was willing to tolerate his influence because he contributed so much money. Not anymore.”
Musk, who has been nicknamed “First Buddy” due to his frequent presence around Trump since the president-elect’s victory in November, is expected to lead the non-official, newly created Department of Government Efficiency alongside former vice-presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.
Musk reportedly contributed over $270 million of his own money to support Trump’s reelection campaign, with a significant portion being funneled through his super PAC, America PAC.
Bannon’s comments reflect the growing discontent among the anti-immigrant faction of Trump’s circle, especially as tech leaders like Musk and Ramaswamy have expressed support for the H-1B visas, which are primarily aimed at highly-skilled immigrants in fields like technology, healthcare, engineering, and finance.
Bannon contends that these visas ultimately take jobs away from American citizens.
“The issue is that techno-feudalists are exploiting these visas for their advantage, and people are rightfully angry,” Bannon added.
The long-time Trump loyalist argued that Musk, a South African native who previously held an H-1B visa himself, is acting in self-interest by supporting the program, as it allows him to hire skilled foreign workers for his companies.
Bannon also compared Musk to other South African tech billionaires, David Sacks and Peter Thiel, suggesting they should return to South Africa.
“Why do we have white South Africans, the most racist people in the world, commenting on everything that happens in the United States?” he questioned.
