Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon is lashing out about the president having a close relationship with Elon Musk. This seems ironic, though, as Bannon had his own rapport with Trump as well during the latter’s first term in the Oval Office.
Bannon wound up spending four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation of the January 6 attack on the Capitol — and yet still feels inclined to call out Musk.
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In an interview with NPR earlier this month, the president’s former ally shared this thoughts on tech billionaires working with the Trump administration. Bannon referred to the arrangement as an oligarchy.
He also believes Musk’s presence at the inauguration — along with Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — signaled a palpable change in how our government will run.
“The [billionaires are] not there because they support Trump. They’re there because the Trump movement and President Trump broke them,” Bannon told the outlet.
He also stated those same moguls who gave millions to the inauguration are not buying influence, but instead are being used as trophies by Trump. Bannon has also clashed with Musk over H-1B visas. Musk believes that high-skilled immigrant workers should receive them and encouraged Trump to follow suit.
Musk posted on X last month that he would “go to war” on the issue. Bannon replied by saying Musk, a South African-born naturalized US citizen, should “go back” to his place of birth.
Bannon also called Musk “a truly evil guy” in an interview with Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera.”
“I made it my personal thing to take this guy down,” he added. “Before, because he put money in, I was prepared to tolerate it...I’m not prepared to tolerate it anymore.”
Bannon also referred to white South Africans as “the most racist people on earth” who should not be concerned about what goes on in this country.
“[Musk] 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,” he said in that same newspaper interview.
“His aggregation of wealth, and then – through wealth – power: that’s what he’s focused on.”
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