Topline
Trump ally Steve Bannon attacked Elon Musk and said he would “do anything” to keep the world’s richest person out of the White House in a new interview with an Italian newspaper, weeks after Bannon publicly derided Musk for his defense of a skilled visa program.
Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon speaks with attendees at Turning Point’s annual … [+]
Key Facts
Bannon said Musk “should go back to South Africa,” where he is from, asking, “why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on earth, White South Africans . . . making comments at all on what goes on in the United States?” according to a Washington Post translation of Musk’s interview with Corriere della Sera.
Bannon—a controversial figure whose influence over Trump has ebbed and flowed for years—said he would “do anything” to keep Musk out of the White House and is actively working on a strategy to limit his influence over Trump, telling the paper Musk’s ideas are “really about the implementation of techno-feudalism on a global scale.”
Bannon criticized Musk after the billionaire’s support for H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers sparked a feud between Trump’s far-right allies and tech leaders.
Key Background
The dispute over the visa program erupted in December when Trump hired venture capitalist Sriram Krishnan as a senior policy adviser for artificial intelligence. Krishnan has advocated for eliminating caps on green cards and skilled immigration programs. Bannon, calling the program “an economic and financial scam, said on his “War Room” podcast he and his MAGA allies are going to “rip [Musk’s] face off” if he continues to back the visa program. Bannon said at the time he has “full respect” for Musk, but challenged him to back up his claims that his companies depend on H1B visas by publishing data on “every engineer hired on H1B and prove Americans couldn’t fill those roles.” Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and venture capitalist David Sacks defended Krishnan and the H-1B program, and Musk attacked critics of the visas, telling them to “take a big step back and F—K YOURSELF in the face,” vowing to “go to war on this issue.” Trump, who hasn’t always been supportive of the H-1Bs, sided with Musk, telling the New York Post he has “many” workers on H-1B visas working on his properties and calling it “a great program.”
Contra
Bannon has expressed support for Musk’s involvement in European politics—often backing right-wing causes—and said his money and influence could help spread the movement abroad. “I support his participation because the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Bannon said in a recent interview with Bloomberg, adding: “Money and information are the twin tactical nukes of modern politics — and he can deploy both at unprecedented scale.”
Why Is Elon Musk Influential In Trump’s Orbit?
Musk, who is worth more than $416 billion, has become one of Trump’s closest confidants after spending more than $200 million to support Trump’s 2024 campaign. Trump appointed Musk and Ramaswamy to co-chair a newly created Department of Government Efficiency, and Musk is regularly pictured alongside Trump at Mar-A-Lago. Musk has increasingly weighed in on global politics in recent months, often in support of right-wing leaders, including those in the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada and Argentina. His outspokenness has raised concerns among European leaders that Musk is able to use his X platform to unfairly intervene in foreign politics.
What We Don’t Know
How much influence Bannon has in Trumpworld. Bannon served as a leader of Trump’s 2016 campaign and worked in the Trump White House early on, but left the administration within less than a year, with Trump later saying Bannon had “lost his mind.” He appeared to rebuild his relationship with Trump in the 2020 cycle, and was pardoned by Trump on charges of defrauding donors to a border wall-building charity. More recently, Bannon was imprisoned for contempt of Congress last year after he refused to comply with a subpoena in the House Jan. 6 probe.
Further Reading
Trump Weighs In On H-1B Visa Program Dividing MAGA World (Forbes)
What Are H-1B Visas? The Immigration Policy Dividing Elon Musk And Trump’s Allies Explained (Forbes)
Foreign Leaders—And The EU—Step Up Challenges To Musk As His Feuds With Global Politicians Heat Up (Forbes)
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