Trump ally Steve Bannon pledges to 'take... down' Elon Musk
Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon has pledged to have tech billionaire Elon Musk "run out" of the White House amid fiery debate over H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers.
Bannon made the remarks about Musk, who President-elect Trump has tapped to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Bannon’s former employer, Breitbart, published excerpts of the interview in English.
"I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day," said Bannon, a former Trump White House adviser. "He will not have full access to the White House. He will be like any other person."
"He is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy," Bannon continued. "I made it my personal thing to take this guy down. Before, because he put money in, I was prepared to tolerate it; I’m not prepared to tolerate it anymore."
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Bannon’s spat with Musk appeared to be over immigration, specifically Musk’s support of H-1B visas that allow U.S. companies to hire foreign workers for specialty occupations and is overwhelmingly used by the tech industry.
"This thing of the H-1B visas, it's about the entire immigration system is gamed by the tech overlords, they use it to their advantage, the people are furious," Bannon said.
Software engineers and others in the tech industry have used H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers and say they are a critical tool for hard-to-fill positions. It has long been controversial for some conservatives, who say it is abused by tech companies to bring in cheap labor to replace American workers.
Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's push to bring in foreign workers.
"There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. "It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley."
Online debate over H-1B visas led Musk to label those in the Republican Party opposed to the visas as "hateful, unrepentant racists," and emphasize the need for "a meritocratic society."
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Bannon said Musk "should go back" to South Africa.
"Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on earth, White South Africans, we have them making any comments at all on what goes on in the United States?" Bannon said.
"He will do anything to make sure that any one of his companies is protected or has a better deal or he makes more money," Bannon said of Musk. "His aggregation of wealth, and then — through wealth — power: that's what he's focused on."
Bannon was released from prison in October after completing a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena related to a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, incident at the U.S. Capitol.
While Musk’s influence on the incoming Trump administration remains unclear, Trump has appeared to side with the tech billionaire on the matter of H-1B visas.
"I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them," Trump said in an interview with the New York Post last month. "I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program."
Trump has in the past criticized the H-1B visas, calling them "very bad" and "unfair" for U.S. workers, and even unveiled a "Hire American" policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure the visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants.
Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.