Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to President Donald Trump, has escalated his attacks on Elon Musk, calling the billionaire a “parasitic illegal immigrant” and accusing him of using his influence to push an agenda that disregards American traditions.
The latest remarks underscore growing tensions between two key Trump loyalists. Bannon, the media executive who once served as Trump’s chief strategist during his first White House term, has portrayed Musk as a dangerous force within the current administration.
Why It Matters
Bannon, a key architect of Trump’s first-term agenda, has increasingly positioned himself as a vocal critic of Musk’s expanding role in the administration. He has accused Musk, the world’s richest person, of being “a racist,” “an agent of Chinese influence” and an existential threat to the MAGA movement.
Since throwing his support behind Trump in June 2024, Musk has become a key power player in the administration—not just as its top campaign donor but as a frequent presence in the Oval Office. With Trump back in the White House, Musk has been meeting with foreign leaders and overseeing the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been tasked with aggressively cutting federal bureaucracy.
Newsweek reached out to Musk via email for comment.
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What To Know
Bannon’s latest criticisms of Musk aired during an interview with UnHerd’s James Billot and were later amplified on his War Room podcast, reflecting a broader divide among Trump loyalists as the president navigates his second term.
“Musk is the one with power at the moment,” Bannon said in the UnHerd interview. “The Democrats are nowhere to be seen.” He said Musk is playing “God” and forcing radical changes without respecting the country’s values or traditions.
Bannon also criticized Musk for failing to deliver on his promises to cut government waste. He blasted DOGE’s budget handling, calling it “performative” and questioning why it had yet to propose major spending cuts beyond symbolic eliminations of government diversity programs.
“DOGE is sitting there with the budget, but where the f*** are the DOGE cuts?” Bannon said. “We are 30 days away from approving a budget for the entire year with $2 trillion already baked in, and not one penny of anything that DOGE found. It’s ludicrous.”
Musk’s DOGE team has taken aim at federal agencies and programs unpopular with conservatives, including USAID, the Department of Education and DEI programs, but has so far avoided the Pentagon, which Bannon noted has failed its seventh audit. He dismisses DOGE’s efforts as “performative.”
“There’s hesitancy to take on the Pentagon,” Bannon says. “I want $100 billion cut from its $900 billion budget—really a trillion.”
Beyond government policy, Bannon also took direct aim at Musk’s background, accusing him of being an outsider manipulating America’s political system for his own benefit.
“Musk is a parasitic illegal immigrant. He wants to impose his freak experiments and playact as God without any respect for the country’s history, values, or traditions,” Bannon told UnHerd.
An Old Feud
This is not the first time the 78-year-old strategist has attacked Musk’s past. Bannon has gone as far as to call Musk a “racist,” grouping him with other South African-born tech moguls, Peter Thiel and David Sacks, whom he accused of influencing U.S. politics without any real allegiance to the country.
“Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Elon Musk—they’re all white South Africans…go back to South Africa. Why do we have the most racist people on Earth, white South Africans, making any comments at all on what goes on in the U.S.?” Bannon said in January.
Musk, for his part, has largely ignored Bannon’s attacks, only offering a brief response on X: “Bannon is a great talker, but not a great doer. What did he get done this week? Nothing.”
Still, while Bannon questions Musk’s influence in the White House, he maintains that Trump is ultimately in charge. When pressed on why he isn’t calling for Musk’s removal, he pointed to Trump’s continued confidence in the Tesla CEO and billionaire.
“President Trump says Musk doesn’t do anything that he’s not on top of. I take him at his word,” Bannon said.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump, responding to questions about Musk’s role in the White House: “Elon Musk can’t do anything without White House approval. If there’s a problem, he won’t be anywhere near it.”
Elon Musk on X (formerly Twitter) in response to Bannon’s criticisms:
“Bannon is a great talker, but not a great doer. What did he get done this week? Nothing.”
Right-wing influencer Laura Loomer, after clashing with Musk over H-1B visas: “As a loyal supporter of President Trump, I support him enough to sound the alarm on what’s becoming a liability.”
Steve Bannon, speaking to UnHerd: “It’s pretty evident the President’s using him as an armor-piercing shell that’s delivering blunt force trauma against the administrative state.”
What Happens Next
Beyond Bannon, other high-profile conservatives, including media personalities Charlie Kirk and Laura Loomer, have also begun speaking out against Musk and his policy positions.
However, Musk’s role as head of DOGE is expected to continue, with the billionaire set to target the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week as part of the Trump administration’s federal cost-cutting plans.
