President Trump’s former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has not been shy about his disdain for the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. Bannon has been especially critical as Musk, as the de facto head of DOGE, worked side-by-side with the POTUS from the beginning of his second administration.
Now after Musk, who left his government role last week lauded with praise from Trump, has launched a series of accusations on X this week against the President — bashing his “big beautiful bill”, saying Trump is “in the Epstein files” and suggesting impeachment — Bannon is raging against Musk on his podcast, The War Room.
Bannon slammed Musk: “To have the audacity to send these tweets and to say ‘I want him impeached,’ no, he’s only here for three and a half years and I think Elon Musk said, ‘I’m there for 40,’ well bro, I hope you know how to work in a prison cell for 40.”
Note: Bannon served four months in prison for defying a subpoena to testify in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
BANNON: The audacity to send these tweets out and say, “I want him impeached” and “He’s only here for 3.5 years. I’m here for 40.” Bro, I hope you know how to work in a prison cell for 40. Don’t think you’re going to go after Trump, the ppl around him, and understand what he’s… pic.twitter.com/CBuMyC6U6G
— Grace Chong, MBI (@gc22gc) June 5, 2025
Bannon warned Musk: “Don’t think you’re gonna just come after Trump and people around Trump and people who understand what Trump’s been through, and understand what he’s going through today. Think about your own life.”
MAGA feedback on Bannon’s rant against Musk are mixed. While some of Bannon’s fans are responding with comments including “Bannon has been right about Elon from day one. The Admiral ain’t no dummy. We’d be so lost without his guidance and education. He’s been brutally honest with us always.”
But most comments are critical of Bannon, including: “So now Bannon is FOR a weaponized justice system?”
Another wrote: “So because Elon is against OBBB, Bannon says he should now go to jail? Is Bannon a Democrat?” Another wrote “spoken by someone who went to jail for ‘the leader.’ Dude is a joke and has no standing. Thank god everyone looks at him as a joke.”
Fallout from the Trump-Musk battle continues to, like the big bill itself, divide MAGA loyalties. The amount both major players have at risk — not least financially — suggests a future where a mutually beneficial truce is reached.
But if a resolution is elusive, Bannon’s suggestion that Musk face imprisonment would be mark one of the most dramatic turns of fortune in history.