US President Donald Trump called the fight between Elon Musk and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent “over the top,” according to The Washington Post, citing former US presidential adviser Steve Bannon. The incident occurred on April 17.
“This is going too far,” Trump said when he heard about the fight.
Newsweek also provides details. According to Bannon, Bessent and Musk left the Oval Office in the White House, walked down the hallway, and exchanged insults. The Treasury Secretary reminded the businessman of his unfulfilled promise to cut US budget spending by $1 trillion, after which the verbal altercation escalated into a physical one.
Musk pushed Bessent in the chest with his shoulder, and Bessent hit him back, Bannon said. When they reached the office of the national security adviser, several people intervened to break up the fight, and Musk was escorted out of the West Wing.
The Treasury Secretary added that Trump “100% sided with Bessent after the conflict.”
The Axios portal wrote about the quarrel, citing two witnesses to the altercation and three sources familiar with the situation. Details of the fight were not provided at the time, but one source described the altercation as a WWE wrestling show.
Musk also recently had a conflict with Trump. The cause of the discord was personnel decisions at NASA and the president’s bill, which, among other things, extends tax breaks and raises the debt ceiling to $4 trillion.
Musk called the bill “disgusting” because, in his opinion, the initiative will increase the “already huge budget deficit” to $2.5 trillion and “burden American citizens with unbearable debt.”
In turn, the president called the billionaire crazy and threatened to deprive him of government contracts.
Vice President Jay Deacon Vance expressed hope for a reconciliation between Trump and Musk, attributing the dispute to the businessman’s emotional state.
“I hope that Elon will eventually return to the fold. Perhaps this is not possible now because he has become so reactive,” he said.
Musk left his job in the presidential administration at the end of May because his 130-day term as a “special public servant” had expired. He oversaw the work of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under the government. One of the goals set by the department was a sharp reduction in government spending, but the $1 trillion target was not achieved.
2,412 total views, 6 views today
