Gory details of Elon Musk's 'rugby tackle' of Scott Bessent spill out as White House leaks escalate
New details surrounding a White House brawl between Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have spilled out into the open - with one insider saying the Tesla CEO rammed his shoulder into Bessent's ribcage 'like a rugby player.'
The Daily Mail was the first to report on the heated confrontation between Bessent and Musk, who's since been iced out of Donald Trump 's inner circle after their public blow-up this week.
Former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon revealed that there was more to the mid-April tussle, insisting that both men ended up landing blows.
They lost their patience with one another following a tense meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump snubbed Musk and instead took Bessent's advice on whom to name as acting IRS Commissioner, Bannon said.
When Bessent and Musk exited the Oval Office, they began hurling insults at one another in the hallway. But it was Bessent who struck Musk where it hurts.
According to Bannon, Bessent dared to say that the billionaire's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was a failure, since Musk didn't root out the $1 trillion in wasteful and fraudulent federal spending he promised he would.
'Scott said, "You're a fraud. You're a total fraud,"' Bannon said.
That's when Musk body-checked Bessent, who hit the world's richest man right back, according to Bannon.
Bessent's comment about Musk failing to deliver DOGE cuts at the magnitude he promised got the Tesla CEO to strike Bessent, who hit back, according to Steve Bannon
Multiple people stepped in to break up the fight as the two men were getting close to the office of then-National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
Musk was then escorted out of the West Wing. Bannon previously told the Daily Mail that Trump sided with Bessent '100 percent.'
Still, Trump wasn't particularly happy that the fight took place, according to Bannon.
'President Trump heard about it and said, "This is too much,'' Bannon said.
Details about the Bessent-Musk clash only build upon speculation that Trump has long been drifting away from his former 'first buddy,' who donated $288 million to his 2024 campaign.
They also reinforce the fact that leakers inside the White House are laser-focused on Musk.
Sources close to the billionaire blew the whistle on his poor relationship with Susie Wiles, Trump's no-nonsense chief of staff.
He treated Wiles like a 'secretary,' a source told the Daily Mail in April, despite her proven track record of success leading Trump's winning 2024 campaign.
And in early March, there was wide-scale reporting on an Oval Office blowup between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
This was in the early days of the DOGE-inspired layoffs, and according to The New York Times, Musk berated Rubio for not firing anyone at the State Department.
Rubio reportedly asked whether the 1,500 State Department officials who took early retirement buyouts counted as layoffs. Then he 'sarcastically' questioned if Musk wanted him to rehire them so he could fire them again, The Times reported.
Most recently, Musk's alleged drug use was laid bare by insiders who spoke to The New York Times.
Musk was reportedly taking ketamine so frequently that it was affecting his bladder function.
The bombshell report also claimed he took ecstasy, psychedelic mushrooms and traveled with a daily pill box that contained about 20 different drugs, including Adderall.
While all these disagreements played out behind the scenes, things between Musk and Trump seemed copacetic.
In March, when Tesla stock was tanking and people began fire-bombing the electric vehicles all over the country, Trump brought Tesla to the South Lawn of the White House.
One of the harshest barbs in the Trump-Musk feud came when Musk accused the president of being in the Epstein files
As recently as May 30, Trump was praising Musk for his DOGE efforts during a press conference in the Oval Office, even presenting him a golden key to the White House.
The era of good feelings would only last a few days more.
On Tuesday afternoon, he posted on X about his unflinching hate for the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Trump's landmark budget and tax cut bill.
'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,' Musk wrote. 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.'
In response, Trump said he was 'very surprised' and 'very disappointed' about Musk's unabashed criticism.
On Thursday, Trump threatened to cut off federal loans and subsidies to Musk's companies, which have received some $38 billion in government money over the last two decades.
Trump doubled down on this idea Friday, telling reporters aboard Air Force One: ''I would certainly think about it, but it has to be fair.'
He also told reporters that he wished the billionaire 'well,' to which Musk replied in a post on X saying: 'Likewise.'
Musk then responded to the clip of Trump talking about canceling his grants, saying: 'Fair enough.'
Musk has sought to soften his tone, recently deleting his post on X saying that Trump was in the Epstein files.
On Saturday, Trump did a phone interview with NBC's Kristen Welker and said he had no desire to mend his relationship with Musk. He also said he didn't plan to speak with Musk anytime soon.
'I'm too busy doing other things,' Trump said. 'I have no intention of speaking to him.'
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