Steve Bannon calls Elon Musk ‘parasitic illegal immigrant’ trying to play God in latest attack

Steve Bannon calls Elon Musk ‘parasitic illegal immigrant’ trying to play God in latest attack
Donald Trump’s former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon reignited his long-running feud with Elon Musk (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Steve Bannon is at it again. Donald Trump’s former White House chief strategist appears to have reignited his long-running feud with Elon Musk—the richest man on the planet and Trump's right-hand man.

In an interview with UnHerd published Tuesday, February 18, Bannon came out swinging and called Musk a “parasitic illegal immigrant” who is trying to play God.

Steve Bannon rips Elon Musk

Steve Bannon tore into Elon Musk, claiming the billionaire has zero respect for America’s values, traditions, or history. “Musk is a parasitic illegal immigrant. He wants to impose his freak experiments and play-act as God without any respect for the country’s history, values, or traditions,” he declared.

Bannon also appeared to be referencing reports that Musk may have overstayed his visa when he first arrived in the US to build his empire. Musk, for his part, has flatly denied those claims—but that didn’t stop Bannon from twisting the knife.

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 15: Former Trump Administration White House advisor Steve Bannon speaks to
Former Trump Administration White House advisor Steve Bannon speaks to the press on his way out of federal court on November 15, 2021, in Washington, DC (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) 

This isn’t the first time Bannon has gone scorched earth on Musk. Right before Trump’s inauguration last month, Bannon called Musk a “truly evil person” and made it clear he wanted him nowhere near the White House.

“I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day,” Bannon vowed before Trump took office.

Fast-forward to today and Musk isn’t just surviving—he’s thriving inside Trump’s inner circle. Musk has made himself essential to the president’s administration, acting as a kind of enforcer when it comes to Trump’s executive orders and his aggressive cost-cutting agenda.

This has turned Musk into a prime target for Democrats and Trump’s critics alike, taking some of the heat off Trump himself. But MAGA titan Bannon is also not impressed.

Is Elon Musk an 'armor-piercing shell' or just a showboater?

Steve Bannon acknowledged Elon Musk’s influence in the White House, calling him “an armor-piercing shell that’s delivering blunt force trauma against the administrative state.” But Bannon also slammed Musk’s performance saying it’s all just for show.

“It’s performative,” he complained, accusing Musk of neglecting the Pentagon despite his private companies raking in huge contracts. Trump has hinted that Musk might turn his attention to Pentagon spending at some point. But for now, Bannon isn’t having it.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 11: U.S. President Donald Trump is joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and his son, X Musk, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is to sign an executive order implementing the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE)
US President Donald Trump is joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and his son, X Musk, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

And then there’s the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). According to Bannon, it’s a total flop.

“Musk is the one with the power at the moment,” Bannon admitted, before trashing DOGE and calling it an overhyped mess with nothing to show for its efforts.

“DOGE is sitting there with the budget, but where the f**k are the DOGE cuts?” Bannon ranted to UnHerd.

He also ripped into the budget, claiming it was a bloated, bureaucratic nightmare. “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,” he fumed.

But his real frustration was the Pentagon’s untouched spending. “I notice there is a hesitancy to cross the Potomac and go to the Pentagon,” Bannon grumbled, demanding massive cuts. “I would like to see $100 billion taken off the $900 billion budget right now, which is really a trillion.”

ARLINGTON, VA - SEPTEMBER 26:  Aerial photo of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virgina on September 26, 2
Aerial photo of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia on September 26, 2003 (Andy Dunaway/USAF via Getty Images) 

Steve Bannon’s influence and Elon Musk's response

Despite his messy 2017 exit from the White House, Steve Bannon clawed his way back into Trump’s good graces in the final year of his first term. And now he’s not just an ally—he’s a powerful voice within MAGA world. His show War Room has a devoted following among Trump loyalists, the New York Times reported.

But even though Bannon has some respect for Musk’s cost-cutting crusade, he’s convinced that the billionaire is not a true believer in the MAGA movement.

Musk has responded to his attacks with a rather cold, cutting dismissal. Instead of engaging in a back-and-forth, he took to X (formerly Twitter) two weeks ago and declared: “Bannon is a great talker, but not a great doer. What did he get done this week? Nothing.”



 

During the interview, Bannon dropped another bombshell that he's exploring ways for Trump to run for a third term.

However, he admitted that he doesn't "have right now a tremendous amount of support on this legally."

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