Steve Bannon has vowed to kick Elon Musk out of Trump’s orbit before Inauguration Day

In the latest from the Worst Person You Know Department Just Made a Great Point, Steve Bannon recently called Elon Musk a “really evil guy” with no real ideology other than accumulating and protecting his own wealth. Speaking to Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, Bannon said “Stopping him has become a personal issue for me,” and insisted he would have Musk kicked out of Trump’s inner circle by Inauguration Day.

Bannon is, to put it as magnanimously as possible, a racist, misogynistic, anti-democratic piece of shit who has failed at almost everything he’s done (except put Trump in office, which, frankly, is a pretty big one in the win column there). But he also has a pretty astute read on Musk — perhaps because no one can spot a charlatan like another charlatan — so let him cook for a minute.

C an interviewBannon claims that the only reason Musk is befriending Trump is to protect his piles of money. “He will do anything to make sure that one of his companies is protected or gets a better deal or he makes more money,” Bannon said. “His accumulation of wealth and then – through wealth – power: that’s what he’s focused on.” He claims Musk has no ideological position to speak of, only the “sole goal” of “becoming a trillionaire” and called him a supporter of “techno-feudalism on a global scale.” He also said he expected Musk to back down easily, saying, “He’s not going to fight. He has the maturity of a little boy.

Bannon and Musk indeed appear headed for a head-on collision as Trump’s second administration faces obstacles to its start date. Musk, who currently fills the top aide role that Bannon once held, is still building his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency,” according to a new a report from the New York Times. Although Musk likes to act like DOGE is already a real Twitter agency — gray-labeling it “government verified” and all — the group apparently exists mostly in Signal chats with Silicon Valley elites.

Musk is reportedly asking tech executives who have expressed interest in getting their sleazy hands on the government to work six months without pay, working 80 hours a week — essentially Musk’s ideal arrangement for anyone who is his employee. Those willing to do so (the “unpaid” part is a non-starter for most, according to the NYT) will be incorporated into an agency and tasked with making recommendations on how to improve operations and reduce costs.

We are yet to find out how real DOGE will be. Trump said he would continue to create the group, however it would be toothless– able to make recommendations, but little more. And the latest gossip in the Trump world is that the president-elect is sick of Musk hanging around so much. Appears on Kara Swisher’s podcastNew York Times reporter Maggie Haberman recently said, “Musk seems more willing to tease Trump than many other people have been and less concerned about what it might mean,” and described their partnership as a “strained relationship” with ” potential to become even more.”

If Bannon wants to push Musk out the window, it sure looks like Musk wants to get his head out of it. But it’s hard to predict exactly where Trump will let his loyalties fall. Bannon has already struck one blow in the MAGA civil war. During the H-1B Visa Argument when Musk and the techno-bros defend the tool to attract skilled immigrants, Bannon sits on the other side, arguing that “the entire immigration system has been gamed by the tech overlords.” (His real objection comes from his a racist belief that there are too many Asians in the technology industry and that undermines “civil society” but Bannon is good at reframing his positions to try to meet a moment.)

Musk won this battle with Trump on Musk’s side and said he was always in favor of encouraging talent to come to America. But the reality is that Musk’s usefulness to Trump may be coming to an end. He happily took his money as Musk threw his full weight behind Trump’s candidacy, but it’s unclear whether Musk can continue to prove more useful than annoying in the actual Oval Office. Bannon may be on the fringes now, but he has real cockroach-like ability to survive. The real shame is that one of them has to win. Either way, the rest of us lose.