The mainstream media has become giddy with the ongoing he-said, he-said battle between President Donald Trump and outgoing DOGE lead Elon Musk — and are now claiming the feud turned violent after staff at the White House witnessed Musk trying to fight a senior member of Trump’s cabinet.
Musk aggressively body-checked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in the White House after being called a fraud, according to new anonymous reports from inside the White House,
According to a Washington Post story, which quoted former White House official and close Trump ally Steven Bannon, things became physical and heated after both men pitched rival plans for the Internal Revenue Service to Trump in the Oval Office, with the president ultimately backing Bessent’s choice.
The pair left the meeting yelling insults at each other within earshot of the president’s office, Bannon told the outlet.
“Scott said, ‘You’re a fraud. You’re a total fraud,’” Bannon said, referencing the-then Department of Government Efficiency lead’s attempt to cut $1 trillion in federal spending.
The verbal spat turned allegedly physical when the world’s richest man rammed his shoulder into Bessent’s rib cage “like a rugby player,” prompting the treasury chief to fight back, the paper said Bannon claimed.
According to one report, Bessent allegedly gave Musk a black eye during the brawl.
Newsweek: U.S. Treasury Secretary Gave Elon Musk a Black Eye During White House Fight
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon claims that Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got into a physical altercation at the White House.
According to Bannon, the clash erupted over… pic.twitter.com/Hen4j6FMjC
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) June 7, 2025
Bannon told the Washington Post it took multiple people to break up the fight, before Musk was quickly removed from the West Wing.
“President Trump heard about it and said, ‘This is too much,’” said Bannon, who has long been critical of Musk and his involvement in Trump’s campaign and presidency.
The latest details on Musk’s dramatic White House exit emerged just days after the X owner went on a multi-day social media rampage against Trump over his support of the “big, beautiful” bill making its way through Congress.
The feud between Musk and Trump has unfolded on social media and escalated after Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last Thursday that he was “disappointed” in the ex-DOGE chief, noting, “I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Musk proceeded to lash out against Trump, accusing the Trump administration of withholding documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein because the president would be mentioned in them.
Trump charged that Musk has gone “crazy” and threatened to cancel the “Billions and Billions” of dollars in contracts and subsidies the entrepreneur receives from the federal government.