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Tech magnate Elon Musk’s growing influence has stirred controversy among MAGA circles, with Steve Bannon now vowing to challenge Musk’s ties to the White House.
Bannon, the 71-year-old host of the War Room podcast, unleashed his frustrations in a recent interview with Italy’s Corriere della Sera, accusing Musk of leveraging his wealth for unchecked political influence. “I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day,” Bannon declared. “He will not have a blue pass to the White House, he will not have full access… he will be like any other person.”
Bannon was especially critical of Musk’s advocacy for H1-B visas, saying, “This thing of the H-1B visas… the entire immigration system is gamed by the tech overlords. The people are furious.”
He didn’t mince words about Musk’s South African roots, either, stating, “He should go back to South Africa. Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on earth, making comments about the United States?”
Musk’s Conservative Turn
Musk, now 53, has increasingly aligned himself with conservative causes. Although he initially supported GOP alternatives like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis during the primaries, Musk shifted his backing to Trump after a failed assassination attempt in July. Following Trump’s victory, Musk reportedly spent significant time at Mar-a-Lago, where he has been tapped to lead a newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative aimed at streamlining bureaucracy.
Immigration and Wealth Criticism
Bannon further criticized Musk’s business practices, arguing his primary goal is self-enrichment. “Musk will do anything to ensure that any of his companies are protected or he makes more money,” Bannon asserted. “His sole objective is to become a trillionaire.”
He also referenced a now-deleted X post where Musk seemed to agree with a claim that Americans are “too retarded” to perform jobs filled by foreign H1-B visa workers. Bannon called the post offensive to his movement and dismissed Musk’s influence, saying, “We blew him out of the water.”
Mixed Signals on Musk’s Role
Despite the criticism, Bannon has also previously acknowledged Musk’s contributions to the MAGA movement. He remarked to Bloomberg, “I support his participation because the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Musk just spent a quarter of a billion dollars to elect Trump.”
Bannon even hinted at Musk’s potential role in reshaping Europe, saying, “If he puts the same amount of money into Europe that he put behind Trump, he’ll flip every nation to a populist agenda.”
Still, the friction between Musk’s tech-driven globalist policies and Bannon’s hardline populist stance underscores the ideological rift within MAGA circles as the Trump presidency takes shape.
