Donald Trump’s original political guru Steve Bannon revealed that Elon Musk’s attempts to gain access to secret briefings on war plans ultimately resulted in the end of his White House bromance. 

Bannon – whose influence during Trump’s first term compares to ‘First Buddy’ Musk in the second – has labeled the Tesla billionaire as an elitist outsider and interloper in a political movement he helped shape from the ground up. 

In an explosive story about Musk’s White House fallout, Bannon says that the alliance ended the moment Trump was prevented from showing Elon Musk the Pentagon‘s plans for a hypothetical war with China.

‘You could feel it. Everything changed. The fever had been broken,’ Bannon told The Atlantic. 

In late March, the president initially disputed claims by the ‘fake news’ that Musk was being allowed a glimpse at plans for a hypothetical battle ahead of his visit to the Pentagon.

The head of the Department of Government Efficiency even suggested he was going to hunt down the ‘leakers’ who suggested he was getting a look at top secret plans. 

However, Trump held a press conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth where he was asked why Musk wouldn’t just be shown such information. 

‘Certainly, you wouldn’t show it to a businessman who is helping us so much, paying a big price for helping us cut costs… but Elon has businesses in China and he would be susceptible to that.’

Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon (pictured) revealed that Elon Musk's attempts to gain access to briefings on a future war with China was the beginning of the end of his bromance with the president

Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon (pictured) revealed that Elon Musk’s attempts to gain access to briefings on a future war with China was the beginning of the end of his bromance with the president

In a new feature story about Musk's (pictured) fallout with the White House, Bannon says that the moment potential conflicts of interest prevented Trump from showing Elon Musk the Pentagon 's plans for a hypothetical war with China , the unlikely alliance ended

In a new feature story about Musk’s (pictured) fallout with the White House, Bannon says that the moment potential conflicts of interest prevented Trump from showing Elon Musk the Pentagon ‘s plans for a hypothetical war with China , the unlikely alliance ended

Trump ultimately said that Musk’s visit was about finding potential ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ at the Pentagon.

He also suggested he wants as few people as possible to see plans for a war he doesn’t want to ever happen. 

‘I don’t want to show it to anybody, you’re talking about a potential war with China. I deal with these people all the time. I don’t want anybody seeing potential war with China.’ 

Hegseth suggested that the story only existed to ‘undermine the relationship we have with Elon Musk.’ 

Both Trump and Hegseth referred to Musk as a ‘patriot’ and someone making great sacrifices for the country.  

Access to the closely guarded military plan would have marked an sharp expansion of Musk’s role as a Trump adviser who has spearheaded efforts to cut U.S. government spending.

It would also fuel questions about conflicts of interest for Musk, who as the head of both Tesla and SpaceX has business interests in China and with the Pentagon.

Now, Bannon may be taking a victory lap against someone he has hated being in Trump’s inner circle from the beginning.

In late March, the president initially disputed claims by the 'fake news' that Musk was being allowed a glimpse at plans for a hypothetical battle ahead of the 'First Buddy' being invited to the Pentagon

In late March, the president initially disputed claims by the ‘fake news’ that Musk was being allowed a glimpse at plans for a hypothetical battle ahead of the ‘First Buddy’ being invited to the Pentagon

Access to the closely guarded military plan would have marked an sharp expansion of Musk's role as a Trump adviser who has spearheaded efforts to cut U.S. government spending. It would also fuel questions about conflicts of interest for Musk, who as the head of both Tesla and SpaceX has business interests in China and with the Pentagon

Access to the closely guarded military plan would have marked an sharp expansion of Musk’s role as a Trump adviser who has spearheaded efforts to cut U.S. government spending. It would also fuel questions about conflicts of interest for Musk, who as the head of both Tesla and SpaceX has business interests in China and with the Pentagon 

Known for his ruthlessly populist vision, Bannon’s blistering attacks have branded Musk everything from a ‘parasitic illegal immigrant’ to a ‘truly evil person,’ drawing clear battle lines inside the MAGA camp.

But despite the growing animosity, Trump has made clear he wants to keep both men close.

According to two sources familiar with private conversations in March, Trump urged Bannon as recently as February to cool his attacks on Musk and even pushed for a face-to-face sit-down between the two – a meeting that still has not happened.

The tug-of-war reflects a deeper ideological struggle within MAGA.

Behind the scenes, Musk grew irritated by Bannon’s relentless attacks, though he has engaged only sporadically. 

Last month, in a rare jab, Musk fired back on X: ‘Bannon is a great talker, but not a great doer. What did he get done this week? Nothing.’

Bannon, meanwhile, is relentless, and according to his inner circle, he sees the fight less about personal insults but who gets to chart the course for MAGA after Trump.

‘He’s looking into the future, and he’s saying, “Oh no, there’s an atheistic, amoral, C.C.P.-aligned, unaccountable foreigner that’s going to be the head of the MAGA movement at some point,”‘ said Raheem Kassam, editor-in-chief of The National Pulse and a close Bannon ally. ‘And I think he’s right to express the concerns in the way he’s doing it.’

President Donald Trump is scrambling to broker peace between two of his most influential and volatile allies, Steve Bannon, left, and Elon Musk, center. Pictured here together in 2017

President Donald Trump is scrambling to broker peace between two of his most influential and volatile allies, Steve Bannon, left, and Elon Musk, center. Pictured here together in 2017

Behind the scenes, Elon Musk has grown irritated by Bannon's relentless attacks, though he has engaged only sporadically

Behind the scenes, Elon Musk has grown irritated by Bannon’s relentless attacks, though he has engaged only sporadically

Bannon served as chief strategist during Trump’s first term before the pair split acrimoniously in 2017, but he was also devoted to the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

While Trump tries to hold the warring camps together, the schism runs deep.

The tension between Musk and Bannon came to a head in February when both took the stage at CPAC, receiving thunderous applause from the same conservative audience.

In a rare moment of deference, Bannon called Musk ‘Superman’ onstage, but quickly pivoted to remind the crowd of the bigger picture: 

‘They’re gonna remember two things, Donald Trump and MAGA, OK?’ Bannon thundered, making clear that neither he nor Musk was bigger than the movement.

Bannon left no doubt in a New York Times interview that the chasm between him and Musk is ‘probably insurmountable.’ 

‘He’s still not a populist nationalist, he’s a globalist,’ Bannon said.

Bannon has blasted Musk over immigration, particularly his support for H-1B visas.

‘Billionaires like Musk will abandon MAGA the second it stops serving their interests,’ Bannon has warned repeatedly.

Earlier this week, Musk broke news during the Qatar Economic Forum that he was moving away from politics and political spending.

‘In terms of political spending, I’m going to do a lot less in the future,’ he said at the Qatar Economic Forum.

‘I think I’ve done enough,’ he added, sparking laughter in the audience.

A person familiar with Musk’s activities did not rule out the billionaire getting financially engaged in the congressional midterms, but suggested he was dialing it back.

‘Hard to say if he will do the same sort of thing like putting everything on pause to do rallies,’ the source said.

President Trump has noticeably turned his attention away from Musk, sending him fewer messages of support on his social media account in recent weeks. 

Trump did not mention Musk in any of his Truth Social posts in April or May, according to a Politico analysis of his posts. That’s a steep decline from when he first took office and was constantly posting about DOGE and Musk’s accomplishments. 

Musk’s posts on X also appear to be veering away from politics and more toward his projects.

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk