Latest news with #StephenBannon
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scott Bessent addresses explosive ‘WWE' clash with Elon Musk in West Wing - and if he gave him a black eye
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has addressed reports that he had an explosive argument with Elon Musk in the West Wing earlier this year — and responded to rumors that he gave a black eye to the world's richest man. Bessent clashed with Musk in April over choices for next acting leader of the Internal Revenue Service, according to The Atlantic and subsequent media reports. The pair reportedly traded jabs and fired off expletives near the Oval Office. One witness described the fight as 'two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing,' Axios reports. MAGA ally Stephen Bannon even told The Washington Post the pair exchanged blows. Musk rammed his shoulder into Bessent's rib cage 'like a rugby player,' and Bessent hit him back, Bannon recounted. Multiple people then intervened to break up the fight, the Post reported. Weeks later, Musk arrived at the White House with a black eye. Bessent, in a lengthy interview with Bloomberg published Monday, addressed what had happened with Musk but offered few details. He did, however, confirm he didn't give the SpaceX founder a black eye. 'I can 100 percent say I did not give him the black eye,' Bessent said. Musk told reporters he got the black eye from 'horsing around' with his five-year-old son, 'Lil X.' He offered the explanation at a May press conference that marked the end of his tenure as a special government employee leading the Department of Government Efficiency. 'I said go ahead and punch me in the face and he did,' the billionaire said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed reports that the altercation turned physical in June, explaining she wouldn't have described it as a 'fistfight.' 'It was definitely a moved on from it,' she said. The April incident began after Musk and Bessent made their respective cases to Trump about who should be the new acting IRS commissioner, the Post reported. Trump ultimately sided with Bessent's choice. After the discussion, Musk and Bessent walked into a hallway outside the Oval Office and started exchanging insults, according to the Post. Bessent then brought up that Musk, as the leader of DOGE, had not been successful in carrying out his promise to cut $1 trillion in government spending. 'Scott said, 'You're a fraud. You're a total fraud,'' Bannon told the Post. The fight then turned physical as the pair approached the national security office, and after witnesses intervened, Musk was shuffled out of the West Wing, according to the Post. 'President Trump heard about it and said, 'This is too much,'' Bannon added. Bessent, a 62-year-old from South Carolina, was confirmed as Trump's treasury secretary in January after working for years as a top hedge fund manager. Bessent's father was the founder of a real estate firm, and his prominent family can trace its roots back to 17th century French Huguenots, Bloomberg reports. The treasury secretary previously addressed the clash in June, telling the Pod Force One podcast that he and Musk share a similar goal despite their differences. 'We have had disagreements, but we both want to get to the same place,' Bessent said. 'We both want to eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse in government.' 'The Silicon Valley mode of operation is move quickly and break things. I always say here at Treasury we move deliberately and fix things,' he added. 'I think Elon probably fancies himself more of a Viking. I think I'm more of a ninja.'
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Scott Bessent addresses explosive ‘WWE' clash with Elon Musk in West Wing - and if he gave him a black eye
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has addressed reports that he had an explosive argument with Elon Musk in the West Wing earlier this year — and responded to rumors that he gave a black eye to the world's richest man. Bessent clashed with Musk at the end of April over the choices for next leader of the Internal Revenue Service, according to The Atlantic and subsequent media reports. The pair reportedly traded jabs and fired off expletives near the Oval Office. One witness described the fight as 'two billionaire, middle-aged men thinking it was WWE in the hall of the West Wing,' Axios reports. MAGA ally Stephen Bannon even told The Washington Post the pair exchanged blows. Musk rammed his shoulder into Bessent's ribcage 'like a rugby player,' and Bessent hit him back, Bannon recounted. Multiple people then intervened to break up the fight, the Post reported. Weeks later, Musk arrived at the White House with a black eye. Bessent, in a lengthy interview with Bloomberg published Monday, addressed what had happened with Musk but offered few details. He did, however, confirm he didn't give the SpaceX founder a black eye. 'I can 100 percent say I did not give him the black eye,' Bessent said. Musk has also , 'Lil X.' 'I said go ahead and punch me in the face and he did,' the billionaire said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to a question about the fight in June, explaining she wouldn't have described it as a 'fistfight.' 'It was definitely a moved on from it,' she said.
NZ Herald
23-06-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Some supporters downplayed the shift to maintain their loyalty to the US president
Stephen Bannon sounded uncertain as he absorbed United States President Donald Trump's strike on Iran and his national address explaining it. 'An interesting talk,' Bannon said warily on his 'War Room' podcast, adding that he was not quite sure that it was what 'a lot of Maga wanted to hear'.
New York Times
17-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Tucker-Trump Tiff, With Fox News Caught in the Crossfire
President Trump's growing support for the Israeli attack on Iran has created a divide among his usual allies in the right-wing media world — one that has not gone unnoticed by the White House. In interviews posted on Monday, Tucker Carlson and Stephen K. Bannon warned Mr. Trump against American military involvement in the Middle East, invoking the specter of the Iraq War. 'I am really afraid that my country is going to be further weakened by this,' Mr. Carlson said on Mr. Bannon's 'War Room' podcast. 'I think we are going to see the end of American empire.' The president dismissed those comments by needling Mr. Carlson about his ouster from Fox News. 'I don't know what Tucker Carlson is saying,' Mr. Trump said at the G7 summit in Canada on Monday. 'Let him go get a television network and say it so that people listen.' Later, on social media, he described Mr. Carlson as 'kooky.' Although Mr. Carlson lost his prime-time perch on Fox News in 2023, he has amassed a substantial following as an independent commentator with his podcast and YouTube program. In the interview with Mr. Bannon, he extended his criticisms of Mr. Trump to the cable network that fired him. 'The one theme that runs longitudinally through the history of Fox is the promotion of wars that don't help the United States,' Mr. Carlson said, though he hastened to add that he personally liked Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, who control the network, and remained friendly with them. Mr. Carlson was less kind to several of his former colleagues. He called Mark Levin, the conservative pundit and Trump loyalist, 'screechy,' and then delivered an unflattering impression of Mr. Levin's speaking style. 'It's like listening to your ex-wife scream about alimony payments,' Mr. Carlson said, marveling that Fox News had allowed Mr. Levin to host a weekend show. Mr. Carlson's critique of his former employer was centered on what he deemed its on-air support of American military intervention abroad. 'What they are doing is what they always do,' he said of Fox News, 'which is just turning up the propaganda hose, to full blast, and just trying to knock elderly Fox viewers off their feet and make them submit to more wars.' Fox News did not respond to Mr. Carlson's comments. The exchange between Mr. Carlson and Mr. Bannon reflected a broader divide in the Republican Party over America's involvement in the Iran conflict. Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative activist, described 'a major schism in the MAGA online community' over the issue. Mr. Carlson is in the isolationist camp; a more hawkish faction has long called for military engagement in Iran. In a post last Friday on X, Mr. Carlson had described Sean Hannity, Mr. Levin and Rupert Murdoch as 'warmongers.' Speaking with Mr. Bannon, Mr. Carlson said that when he worked with Mr. Hannity and Mr. Levin, they were always nice to him.
