Steve Bannon Says 'President Trump Is A Very Sophisticated Businessman,' Calls Scott Bessent 'Safe Pair Of Hands'

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon had high praise for both President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during his appearance at the Semafor World Economy Summit in April, calling Trump a "very sophisticated businessman" and describing Bessent as a "safe pair of hands." 

The comments come amid growing scrutiny over Elon Musk's attempts to overhaul the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency.

Praise For Bessent And Trump, Criticism For Musk

"Scott is a safe pair of hands that understands capital markets deeply," Bannon said. "He's done this for 30 years. He has a very strong sense of what markets need to hear. I may not like it, but he's telling me the truth—that's Scott Bessent."

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Bannon, who hosts “Bannon’s War Room” podcast and remains a MAGA movement influencer, backed Bessent during a high-profile clash with Musk over control of the Internal Revenue Service commissioner appointment. The power struggle ended with Bessent's preferred candidate replacing Musk's pick after only three days. "If [Commerce Secretary] Howard Lutnick had been, it'd have been an unmitigated disaster," Bannon said.

As for Trump, Bannon reiterated his confidence in the president's strategic instincts. "President Trump is a very sophisticated businessman," he said, countering critics who questioned Trump's embrace of economic populism and new tariff strategies.

Musk's Missteps Underscore Bannon's Point

Musk’s time in government seems to be over now, but it started with ambitious promises—cutting $2 trillion in spending and slashing bureaucracy—but ended in chaos and backlash. His attempts to move fast and break things clashed with Washington's entrenched norms and legal limits.

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Bannon believes Musk failed to grasp the scale and complexity of the federal government. "You have to go to the Pentagon," Bannon said at the summit, arguing that real waste and abuse can't be tackled without understanding defense spending. He questioned Musk's failure to produce transparent accounting for DOGE's claimed budget cuts. "None of this makes sense," he added. "We need to know exactly what he found as far as fraud goes."

Bannon's criticism of Musk didn't stop at budget cuts or federal dysfunction. In an interview with Business Insider in April, Bannon took aim at Musk's Neuralink project, calling it "satanism with a brain chip."

"Elon was always evil. He’s a techno-feudalist. We are on the side of the human being,” Bannon told Business Insider, accusing Musk of pushing a "techno-feudalist" agenda designed to hijack the future of humankind.

Bannon’s remarks reflect a deeper ideological and personal feud between the two men, both vying for influence in Trump's orbit. While Musk has tried to reshape government with disruptive tech-centric policies, Bannon has positioned himself as a defender of traditional, human-centered governance.

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