President Donald Trump is scrambling to broker peace between two of his most influential and volatile allies: Elon Musk and Steve Bannon.
The power struggle behind the scenes may also carry added weight because at the heart of this escalating feud lies a deeper question as to who will control the soul of the MAGA movement.
Last week reports swirled of a heated clash inside the White House, where Trump’s own cabinet members reportedly pushed back on Musk’s growing influence over federal departments, with Bannon wasting no time in adding fuel to the fire.
On his podcast War Room, a must-watch for MAGA loyalists and Trump himself, Bannon didn’t hold back.
‘I don’t want to say an anchor or lodestone,’ Bannon sneered on Friday, referring to Musk’s controversial role in Trumpworld. ‘It’s not that yet, but it’s trending – that is starting to affect everybody.’
Bannon has long cast Musk as an elitist outsider and somewhat of an interloper in a movement that he helped shape from its earliest days.
Known for his ruthlessly populist vision, Bannon’s blistering attacks have branded Musk everything from a ‘parasitic illegal immigrant’ to a ‘truly evil person,’ drawing clear battle lines inside the MAGA camp.
But despite the growing animosity, Trump has made clear he wants to keep both men close.
President Donald Trump is scrambling to broker peace between two of his most influential and volatile allies, Steve Bannon, left, and Elon Musk, center. Pictured here together in 2017
Steve Bannon has long cast Elon Musk as an outsider and somewhat of an an interloper in a movement that he helped shape from its earliest days
Behind the scenes, Elon Musk has grown irritated by Bannon’s relentless attacks, though he has engaged only sporadically
According to two sources familiar with private conversations, Trump urged Bannon as recently as February to cool his attacks on Musk and even pushed for a face-to-face sit-down between the two – a meeting that still has not happened.
The tug-of-war reflects a deeper ideological struggle within MAGA.
Behind the scenes, Musk has grown irritated by Bannon’s relentless attacks, though he has engaged only sporadically.
Last month, in a rare jab, Musk fired back on X: ‘Bannon is a great talker, but not a great doer. What did he get done this week? Nothing.’
Bannon, meanwhile, is relentless, and according to his inner circle, he sees the fight less about personal insults but who gets to chart the course for MAGA after Trump.
‘He’s looking into the future, and he’s saying, “Oh no, there’s an atheistic, amoral, C.C.P.-aligned, unaccountable foreigner that’s going to be the head of the MAGA movement at some point,”‘ said Raheem Kassam, editor-in-chief of The National Pulse and a close Bannon ally. ‘And I think he’s right to express the concerns in the way he’s doing it.’
Bannon served as chief strategist during Trump’s first term before the pair split acrimoniously in 2017, but he was also devoted to the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
While Trump tries to hold the warring camps together, the schism runs deep.
Despite Musk’s role as a powerful benefactor, his ideological commitment to MAGA remains suspect to many
Bannon served as chief strategist during Trump’s first term before the pair split acrimoniously in 2017, but he was also d evoted to the lie that the 2020 election was stolen
Insiders say Trump is deeply aware that the feud threatens to fracture the very MAGA base he helped curate to facilitate his return to power and if the divide can’t be mended it could reshape or even break — the MAGA movement in the years to come
Bannon has blasted Musk over immigration, particularly his support for H-1B visas.
‘Billionaires like Musk will abandon MAGA the second it stops serving their interests,’ Bannon has warned repeatedly.
But Musk has been essential to amplifying the MAGA message through his takeover of X, which has now become the unfiltered megaphone of the conservative movement.
‘Musk is the volume button,’ said Republican strategist Barry Bennett to the New York Times. Bennett worked with Bannon on Trump’s first campaign.
‘You can say things now on Twitter and you can reach millions and millions of people where 10 years ago you would reach tens of thousands. He has made that available to us. They are very grateful to him for allowing that to happen.’
‘Bannon has been a dyed-in-the-wool conservative for his entire life, and he believes very strongly in these core values. He is always naturally suspicious of people who pop up and don’t have the pedigree that he has,’ Bennett said.
A former critic of Trump, Musk had previously blasted tariffs, coal obsession, and immigration hardliners during Trump’s first term
Musk has remaiend by the president’s side since his election win in November 2024
It wasn’t until recently that Musk, who once supported Ron DeSantis, came fully into Trump’s orbit, declaring online that he loves Trump ‘as much as a straight man can love another man’
Despite Musk’s role as a powerful benefactor, his ideological commitment to MAGA principles remains suspect to many.
A former critic of Trump, Musk blasted tariffs, coal obsession, and immigration hardliners during Trump’s first term.
It wasn’t until recently that Musk – who once supported Florida governor Ron DeSantis – came fully into Trump’s orbit, declaring online that he loves Trump ‘as much as a straight man can love another man.’
The tension between Musk and Bannon came to a head last month when both took the stage at CPAC, receiving thunderous applause from the same conservative audience.
In a rare moment of deference, Bannon called Musk ‘Superman’ onstage, but quickly pivoted to remind the crowd of the bigger picture:
‘They’re gonna remember two things, Donald Trump and MAGA, OK?’ Bannon thundered, making clear that neither he nor Musk was bigger than the movement.
Bannon left no doubt in a New York Times interview that the chasm between him and Musk is ‘probably insurmountable.’
‘He’s still not a populist nationalist, he’s a globalist,’ Bannon said.
Bannon served as chief strategist during Trump’s first term before the pair split acrimoniously in 2017, but he was also devoted to the lie that the 2020 election was stolen
Bannon’s allies have openly floated his name as a 2028 presidential contender, emboldened by his surprising second-place finish in a 2025 CPAC straw poll
Trump’s White House has remained tight-lipped, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt simply saying, ‘We do not comment on private conversations that may or may not have occurred.
‘President Trump is thrilled with DOGE’s historic work under Elon Musk, and he will continue to cut the waste, fraud, and abuse in our federal government on behalf of the American people.’
Insiders say Trump is deeply aware that the feud threatens to fracture the very base he helped curate to facilitate his return to power and if the divide can’t be mended it could reshape or even break — the MAGA movement in the years to come.
Bannon’s allies even openly float his name as a 2028 presidential contender, emboldened by his surprising second-place finish in the CPAC straw poll — a result that signals his enduring grip on MAGA’s most hardline elements.
For now, Trump is caught between two titans of the right, each with his own vision for the movement. Bannon, the battle-scarred populist warrior, or Musk, the billionaire outsider.