It’s no secret that Steve Bannon, once a top aide to Donald Trump, isn’t a fan of the president-elect’s newest buddy Elon Musk.

Last week, Bannon escalated his criticism by stating in an interview with an Italian newspaper that he plans to bring down the billionaire before Trump’s Inauguration day this month.

These comments were essentially a declaration of war against Elon Musk, the head of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, who has strategically positioned himself close to the incoming president. This marks another round in Bannon’s series of attacks against Musk.

In an interview with the Italian outlet Corriere della Sera that was translated by the conservative site Breitbart, Bannon boldly proclaimed, ‘I will have Elon Musk run out of here by Inauguration Day.’

He went on: ‘[Musk] will not have a blue pass to the White House, he will not have full access to the White House, he will be like any other person.’

It’s not clear whether Bannon has any pull or influence left in Trump’s mind or his circle.

‘He is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy,’ Bannon insisted. ‘I made it my personal thing to take this guy down.’

Trump ally Steve Bannon vows to ‘run out’ Elon Musk from Donald Trump’s circle before his Inauguration Day this month

‘Before, because he put money in, I was prepared to tolerate it; I’m not prepared to tolerate it anymore,’ he added.

Musk became a staunch and vocal Trump supporter after the first failed assassination attempt against Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in late June this summer.

Trump selected him to co-lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new group he created with the aim of cutting government waste and reducing the budget. It has an end date of July 4, 2026, meaning Musk and co-chair Vivek Ramamswamy have just a year to reach their goal.

Meanwhile, Bannon served as a chief strategist and senior counselor to Trump for just seven months at the start of his first term from January to August 2017.

He is still a hero in the pro-MAGA movement.

After refusing to comply with a subpoena by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 Attack, Bannon was held in contempt of Congress. He was indicted on two criminal charges by a federal grand jury and convicted in July 2022 on both counts. He was sentenced to a $6,500 fine and four months in prison, which he served in a Connecticut facility from July 1 until October 29, 2024.

It’s thought that Trump could pardon Bannon and wipe his slate clean from the charges.

The MAGA warrior tore into Musk’s idea for high-tech visas for foreigners and ridiculed the reform efforts proposed by the billionaire.

These so-called H-1B visas are at the heart of the public debate between Musk and Bannon.

‘This thing of the H-1B visas, it’s about the entire immigration system is gamed by the tech overlords, they use it to their advantage, the people are furious,’ Bannon said.

He noted that ’76 percent of engineers working in Silicon Valley are non-Americans.’

The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX boss has been by Trump’s side virtually at all times since his election win in November. Bannon clearly has a bone to pick with Musk and doesn’t want him close to the president-elect

‘No blacks or Hispanics have any of these jobs or any access to these jobs,’ Bannon added. ‘Peter Thiel, David Sachs, Elon Musk, are all white South Africans.’

‘He should go back to South Africa,’ he said of Musk. Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on earth, white South Africans, we have them making any comments at all on what goes on in the United States?’

‘We have been fighting this fight for ten years,’ he declared. ‘We are going to expose the entire corruption of the American system, of how money controls everything and hopefully we’ll inspire you in Italy to wake up,’ he told Corriere della Sera.

Bannon was recently seen at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, where Musk is reportedly renting a $2,000-per-night cottage where he has been holed up since the November election.