President Donald Trump was able to assemble the most diverse coalition of supporters in recent American political history last month. While that is an encouraging sign for supporters of his “Make America Great Again” agenda, it also represents a source of concern for many of the movement’s long-time adherents.
Steve Bannon, a former top Trump adviser, spoke out about X owner Elon Musk and some of the other notable Big Tech figures who have signaled their shifting allegiances in the wake of Election Day.
As The Hill reported:
“They’re recent converts,” Bannon said Tuesday on his “War Room” podcast, referring to Musk and the other new Trump supporters from the tech world.
“We love converts,” he added. “But the converts sit in the back and study for years and years and years to make sure you understand the faith and you understand the nuances of the faith and understand how you can internalize the faith.”
“Don’t come up and go to the pulpit in your first week here and start lecturing people about the way things are going to be,” Bannon continued. “If you’re going to do that, we’re going to rip your face off.”
There have been recent reports of a developing rift between Musk and Trump, particularly on the issue of immigration, but the two have continued to demonstrate a united front ahead of Inauguration Day.
As The Hill reported, others in Trump’s sphere of influence are also skeptical about Musk’s influence on the upcoming administration:
Laura Loomer, a close ally of President-elect Trump, railed against another Trump ally, Elon Musk, calling him a “Stage 5 clinger.”
Loomer joined former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon for his “War Room” podcast Monday and weighed in on the ongoing battle with Musk.
“I think that a lot of people have a hard time speaking truth to power, and a lot of people are afraid of taking on billionaires,” Loomer said. “He is the richest man in the world, and so he kind of orbits President Trump.”
“As I called him the other day, I said he’s a Stage 5 clinger,” she continued.
Musk, who has been appointed to co-lead Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), has become part of the president-elect’s close circle and entangled in political drama ahead of Inauguration Day.
Musk and fellow tech entrepreneur and DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy were criticized by some of Trump’s supporters after signaling their support for the H-1B work visa, a key immigration program designed to attract international talent.
Here’s some additional coverage of the evolving relationship between Musk and Trump:
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