Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said Elon Musk responded to emotions on social media platform X, calling on President Trump to “pass rubicon” when he called on President Trump to impeach each.

Trump and Musk were locked in a very public battle this week after Musk spent days slamming the “big and beautiful bill”, a multi-trillion-dollar spending bill to unlock the presidential agenda currently in the Senate. In return, the president threatened to cut federal contracts with Musk, including SpaceX.

Bannon told Morning version After Musk's hatred with the president, Musk's "no way back". Right-wing populist podcasts were early Trump supporters. Bannon served as CEO of the 2016 Trump campaign, before becoming the president's chief strategist and senior adviser.

Bannon was jailed last year for refusing to testify in a congressional investigation into Trump. He also pleaded guilty to crimes in New York State. Bannon told NPR in January that he believed Trump would listen to the Marg populist movement, which helped him gain two presidents among billionaires supporting his inauguration, including Musk.

NPR contacted Musk for comment but has not received a response.

Bannon discusses the public dispute between Trump and Musk with NPR's Steve Inseke.

This interview has been edited in detail.

Steve Inskeep: Do you think it is a good thing that Trump has a very public breakup?

Steve Bannon: Good or not, this is reality. The President does everything he can to ensure Elon has all the opportunity, all the support, admiration, resources. (Trump) brought him and his son and some of his children to his family (for Christmas). Elon demanded an extension to stay, and the president denied that. I think this is the beginning of this friction. As I said before, it has been inevitable since December. So I just think the president needs to make it a national security issue now.

Inskeep: I think one thing you said I have never heard of it specifically before. Do you think Elon Musk asked for an extension of his time as a special government employee?

Bannon: Yes, I think this is Marc Caputo from Axios, who said Elon asked for an extension or some kind of workaround to limit his time. It was denied. The president said it was time to move on. And, remember the president sitting there saying, for example, where is the trillion dollars? You say you will encounter a trillion dollars of waste, fraud and abuse. Frankly, he did not show any fraud. So there is a lot of tension. Like an 11-year-old, Elon Musk is not very good.

Note: Axios Reported on June 3 Musk tried to continue his work as a "special government employee" beyond his statutory 130-day contract, but was denied. NPR has not confirmed this independently.

Inskeep: Will Trump really follow your advice to cancel his government contract, his company's government contract?

Bannon: Steve, look, I don't think it's an individual now. I think we have a national security issue here. We have one person The New York Times It has been said that there is a huge drug problem, but it has not been refuted. We have someone who has a deep financial and business relationship with the Communist Party of China. And we know he was asked to provide a private briefing on private secret information. He also participated in President Xi Jinping’s invitation in some way to attend the inauguration ceremony. You have someone with a question about legal status. You can't deport people from all over the world because at the invitation of the Biden regime, the third world countries came here, we have a white South Africa, which may be illegal here. It's just wrong.

Note: Musk has maintained U.S. nationality since 2002 According to Politifact. Washington Post Reported in October 2024 Musk worked illegally in the United States in the late 1990s; Musk denied that his work was unauthorized. The New York Times Report last month Last year, Musk used ketamine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms during the Trump campaign. NPR has not independently confirmed the NYT report.

Inskeep: Another Trump League billionaire, Bill Ackman, said publicly that they should make up for it all, which seems to be the drama at the moment. Elon seems to agree with this. Politico now reports that the president has arranged some kind of appeal. Is the whole process just a social media storm that it will brag?

Bannon: He crossed rubicon. It’s one thing to comment on what you spend on your bill. He did another thing. You can't sit there and try to destroy the bill first. You can't say killing the most important legislative event at the moment, namely the first semester. Second place, his creepy comparison with Epstein's archives goes beyond rubicon, who said should impeachment of the president, replaced by JD Vance. This is outrageous. It has crossed the line. He crossed rubicon and had no turning back.

Note: Trump is currently serving as president for the second and last term allowed by the Constitution. trump card Tell CNN Friday He won't talk to Musk for a while.

This digital story was edited by Treye Green. The broadcast version was edited by Reena Advani and produced by Barry Gordemer, Julie Depenbrock and Nia Dumas.