--- title: "Top Trump Ally Says Elon Musk Is a “Parasitic Illegal Immigrant”" description: "Former Trump White House staffer Steve Bannon blasted Elon Musk's power grab in a recent interview, highlighting tensions on the right." date: "2025-02-18" modified: "2025-02-18" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bannon-musk-parasitic-illegal-alien" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "politics" - "steve bannon" - "the digest" --- # Top Trump Ally Says Elon Musk Is a “Parasitic Illegal Immigrant” ![Former Trump White House staffer Steve Bannon blasted Elon Musk's power grab in a recent interview, highlighting tensions on the right.]() *\Image: Michael M. Santiago / Chip Somodevilla / Pool via Getty / Futurism\* Long before Elon Musk became Donald Trump's buddy-in-chief, the real estate mogul had another right-hand man: Steve Bannon. Bannon was a right-wing media crank, [alleged white supremacist](), and self-described "[economic nationalist]()." He served as Trump's [chief strategist]() from Trump's first inauguration until August 2017, when Trump let him go just a semester later. Now the former Trump staffer is back in as a Trump-allied media figure — where he's been taking some fiery shots at Musk's unelected role. **"**Musk is a parasitic illegal immigrant," a wound-up Bannon [told *UnHerd*](), a [right-wing British publication](). "He wants to impose his freak experiments and play-act as God without any respect for the country’s history, values, or traditions." It's true that Musk's immigration status during his early in the United States [was dubious](), with his [brother recalling]() that "we were illegal immigrants." But like many people fortunate enough to be able to access sound legal aid, he was able to fix his status and eventually [gained US citizenship]() in 2002. If you imagined that gave him sympathy for others in a similar bind, you'd be wrong; just today, he was [mocking the mass deportation]() of undocumented immigrants. Nevertheless, the tiff does illustrate a tension in Trump's current orbit. Bannon's media venture, "The War Room," is a [widely popular]() conservative talk show in which Bannon and his guests spout national populism talking points — so while both are allied with Trump, Bannon represents a decidedly different brand of MAGA compared to Musk's techno-libertarianism. The former Trump staffer [frequently blasts]() the president's new Silicon Valley buddies Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, whom he refers to as billionaire elites, using the same type of populist rhetoric [Trump invoked]() when running for his first term. He's not wrong — the two tech billionares had a [combined net worth]() of nearly $666 billion at the time of Trump's second inauguration (though not nearly as wealthy, Bannon doesn't exactly represent the little guy either — he's worth an estimated $20 million.) Comments like these aren't new for Bannon, who in early January [called Musk]() a "truly evil guy, a very bad guy," vowing it was his "personal thing to take this guy down." It's an interesting invective coming from Bannon, whose role as "chief strategist" has some parallels to [Musk's role]() as "senior advisor to the president." At [one time called]() the "second most powerful man in the world," Bannon's gig was tailor-made for him by Trump, just as Musk's was made up by [executive order](). Bannon's tenure as Trump's lapdog was also [derided by the media](), and his meddling in agencies like the [National Security Agency]() were likewise [mired in secrecy]() as he took defacto control of national security policy. We don't know how long Musk's unelected term will last, but we might have a good blueprint — Bannon's tenure [ended in disgrace]() eight months in, and the fallout resulted in numerous investigations as well as a [four-month prison stint](), which may weigh in the sentencing of his [most recent guilty plea]() for conspiracy and money laundering. If Musk's critics have one thing to hope for, it's that the mogul will follow the path blazed by Bannon — which ultimately leads to the [courtroom](). **More on infighting:** [*Sam Altman Says He Feels Sorry for Elon Musk and His Bottomless Insecurity*]() ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()