Former White House adviser Steve Bannon called on President Donald Trump to investigate Elon Musk’s immigration status and deport the South African tech billionaire after a bitter fight between Trump and Musk played out on Thursday, June 5.
“They should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately,” Bannon, a MAGA insider, told The New York Times on Thursday.
Musk and Trump spent much of Thursday afternoon trading words after their dispute over Trump’s agenda-setting One Big Beautiful Bill Act escalated.
During an appearance on his “Bannon’s War Room” live webcast, Bannon attacked Musk, who until recently was the head of the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“Elon Musk is illegal, and he’s got to go,” Bannon said. “He’s illegal? Deport immediately.”
“You’re going to ship these other people home. Let’s start with the South Africans, OK?” he added, alluding to the Trump administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown.
Musk, one of the largest donors to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign at roughly $250 million, was born and grew up in South Africa before he emigrated to Canada and later moved to the U.S., where he became a citizen while growing his tech empire, which includes SpaceX, the social platform X, Tesla and other endeavors.
The Washington Post reported last year that Musk worked in the country illegally before gaining citizenship, prompting questions from Bannon and others about whether Musk’s citizenship is legal.
Bannon also noted Musk’s reported drug usage as potential ammo for prompting his deportation. The New York Times reported last week that Musk’s alleged use of ketamine and other substances on the campaign trail sparked concerns in Trump circles, but Musk denied the claims.
“The drug thing is going to be investigated,” Bannon said.
Trump and Musk’s relationship began to sour in recent days as Musk lashed out over the Trump-backed megabill currently under review in Congress. Musk called it a “disgusting abomination,” while Trump pushed back and defended the bill.
Bannon said he supports Trump’s latest suggestion that Musk’s massive government contracts should be pulled.
“It needs dramatic action. I would pull all the contracts immediately,” Bannon said.
He also blasted Musk’s attacks against Trump, which escalated Thursday to a series of accusatory posts on his X platform that attempted to link Trump to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and claim credit for Trump’s election win.
“President Trump empowered him more than anyone has ever been empowered in this government, had his back, promoted this guy, even when people like me said, ‘You’re making a mistake. This is a bad guy. He’s going to turn on you. He’s not with us. He’s also totally incompetent,’” Bannon said on War Room.
“Then as soon as President Trump comes out today, and President Trump saying it in the nicest way possible about the bill … the guy gets up and starts tweeting the most vicious stuff you can tweet.”