Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon promised tech billionaire Elon Musk “run away” from the White House amid heated debate over H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers.
Bannon is in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Bannon’s former employer, Breitbart, published excerpts of the interview in English.
“I’m going to 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 any other person.”
“He’s a truly bad guy, a very bad guy,” Bannon continued. “I made it my personal business to take that guy down. I used to be willing to tolerate it, since he invested money; I’m not willing to tolerate it anymore.”
MUSK INFLAMES X DEFENDING H-1B VISAS WITH A PROPHANE QUOTE FROM THE MOVIE
Steve Bannon called Musk a “genuinely bad guy, a very bad guy” and vowed that Musk would “flee” the White House. (Reuters/Rebecca Cook, File)
Bannon’s feud with Musk appears to have been over immigration, specifically Musk’s support H-1B visas which allows US companies to hire foreign workers for specialized occupations and is predominantly used in the technology industry.
“This H-1B visa thing, it’s about the whole immigration system being gamed by the technocrats, they’re using it to their advantage, 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 key tool for hard-to-fill jobs. That has long been controversial for some conservatives, who say tech companies are abusing it to bring in cheap labor to replace American workers.
Musk defended the tech industry’s push to bring more foreign workers to the US (ALLISON ROBBERT/Pool via REUTERS/Filte Photo)
Born in South Africa, Musk once held an H-1B visa himself and he defended the pressure of the industry for bringing in foreign workers.
“There is a persistent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in the release. “It’s a fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.”
Online discussion on H-1B visas launched Musk for the label those in the Republican Party who oppose visas as “hateful, unrepentant racists” and stress 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 in the world, white South Africans, do we even have them commenting on what’s going on in the United States?” Bannon said.
“He’ll do anything to make sure any of his companies are protected or have a better job or make more money,” Bannon said of Musk. “His amassing wealth and then – through wealth – power: that’s what he’s focused on.”
Bannon was released from prison in October after serving a four-month sentence in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena related to a congressional investigation into the January 6, 2021 incident at the US Capitol.
While Musk’s influence on incoming Trump administration remains unclear, Trump appears to be siding with the tech billionaire on the H-1B visa issue.
“I’ve always liked visas, I’ve always been in favor of visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump said in an interview with New York Post last month. “I have a lot of H-1B visas on my properties. I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I’ve used it many times. It’s a great program.”
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Trump has criticized H-1B visas in the past, calling them “very bad” and “unfair” for American workers, and even unveiled an “Employ an American” policy that directed changes to the program to try to ensure visas go to the highest-paid or the most qualified candidates.
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
