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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent downplayed his beef with billionaire tycoon Elon Musk as a stylistic polarity, describing himself as a nimble ninja-like operative while the Tesla and SpaceX founder “fancies himself more of a Viking” who moves fast and breaks things.
The two men had gotten into a fiery shouting month back in April, which MAGA podcaster Steve Bannon claimed resulted in Musk body checking Bessent — something which the Treasury secretary hasn’t yet confirmed.
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“We have had disagreements, but we both want to get to the same place,” Bessent said on The Post columnist Miranda Devine’s “Pod Force One” podcast. “We both want to eliminate the waste, fraud and abuse in government.”
“The Silicon Valley mode of operation is move quickly and break things. I always say here at Treasury we move deliberately and fix things,” he went on. “I think Elon’s probably fancies himself more of a Viking. I think I’m more of a ninja.”
In the public eye, Bessent had been defensive of the Musk-championed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cost-cutting initiative from the onslaught of public criticism it endured.
Behind-the-scenes, Bessent was said to have been skeptical of some of the bold claims Musk had been making and the men allegedly clashed over personnel.
In April, the two business gurus pitched different candidates to lead the Internal Revenue Service and President Trump ultimatley favored Bessent’s pick, according to the New York Times and Washington Post.
After that meeting, Bessent confronted Musk, Bannon told the Washington Post.
“Scott said, ‘You’re a fraud. You’re a total fraud,” Bannon claimed, noting that Musk got physical with Bessent “like a rugby player” and the pair had to be split up.
Bessent said the claims that he called Musk a fraud were “fake news” during a congressional hearing last week, in which Democrats needled him over the ordeal. However, he’s also been coy about whether he ever came to blows with the world’s richest man.
“Elon set the pace and DOGE is a movement,” Bessent told Devine, striking a conciliatory tone towards Musk. “He was vilified by the press, by the Tesla customers, and I think that probably put stress on him.”
“I think of DOGE as an ethos and to the extent that Elon has departed physically, I think that ethos is there and the momentum for what he’s done yield bigger and bigger savings over time.”
Musk formally ended his time as a special government employee last month and went berserk on Trump before later expressing some remorse.
Trump also publicly confirmed that there was an “argument” between Musk and Bessent, but didn’t say there was a physical altercation.
Following Trump’s 2024 election victory, Musk had backed then-Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to helm the Treasury Department over Bessent. Trump later made Lutnick the secretary of the Department of Commerce.
“Look, everybody’s very passionate about doing the best job for President Trump and the American people,” Bessent told Devine about the dynamic.
English (US)