Steve Bannon, a longtime Trump ally, has pledged to do so Tech billionaire Elon Musk The White House 'runs out' amid intense debate over H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers.
Bannon made the comments about Musk, who was appointed by President-elect Trump to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Breitbart, Bannon's former employer, published excerpts of the interview in English.
“I will get Elon Musk out of here by Inauguration Day,” said Bannon, a former Trump White House adviser. “He won't have full access to the White House. He'll be like everyone else.”
“He's a really evil man, a very bad man,” Bannon continued. “I made it my personal business to take this guy down. Before, because he invested money, I was willing to put up with it, and I'm not willing to put up with it anymore.”
Musk flames X with raunchy movie quote in defense of the H-1B visa
Steve Bannon called Musk “a really evil man, a very bad man” and vowed to remove Musk from the White House. (Reuters/Rebecca Cook, archive)
Bannon's disagreement with Musk appears to be over immigration, specifically Musk's support for H-1B visas Which allows US companies to hire foreign workers in specialized professions and is overwhelmingly used by the technology industry.
“This thing about H-1B visas, this whole immigration system is being manipulated by the technology masters, using it to their advantage, and people are angry,” Bannon said.
Software engineers Others in the tech industry have used H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers, and say they are a crucial tool for hard-to-fill jobs. This has long been controversial for some conservatives, who say technology companies are abusing it to bring in cheap labor to replace American workers.
Musk defended the technology industry's efforts to bring more foreign workers to the United States (Alison Robert/Pool via Reuters/File photo)
Musk was born in South Africa and once held an H-1B visa He advocated pushing the industry To recruit foreign workers.
“There is a constant shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It's the primary limiting factor in Silicon Valley.”
Led online debate about H-1B visas Musk for naming Those in the Republican Party who oppose the visas call them “hateful and unrepentant racists” and stress the need for a “meritocratic society.”
Trump says he has not changed his mind on H-1B visas as debate rages within the MAGA coalition
Bannon said Musk “should return” to South Africa.
“Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on the face of the earth, white South Africans, making any comments at all about what's going on in the United States?” he asked. Bannon said.
“He will do anything to make sure any of his companies are protected or have a better deal or make more money,” Bannon said of Musk. “The accumulation of his wealth, and then – through wealth – power: that is what he focuses 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 the congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021 incident at the U.S. Capitol.
While the effect of musk on expatriates Trump administration It's still not clear that Trump appears to be siding with the tech billionaire on the issue of H-1B visas.
“I've always loved visas, and I've always been in favor of visas. That's why we have them,” Trump said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. New York Post last month. “I have several H-1B visas on my property. I've been a believer in H-1B visas. I've used them several times. It's a great program.”
Trump has in the past criticized H-1B visas, calling them “very bad” and “unfair” to American workers, and even unveiled a “Hire Americans” policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure visas are granted to US workers. The highest paid or most skilled applicants.
Adam Shaw of Fox News Digital and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
