Leavitt Downplays Musk and Bessent’s Physical Altercation
The press secretary was quick to pour cold water on rumors of a White House brawl, saying the president has already “moved on.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has downplayed reports of a physical bust-up between Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, claimed Musk barrelled into Bessent “like a rugby player” during an altercation in mid-April. Bessent had reportedly provoked Musk, then still chief of Trump’s cost-cutting DOGE drive, by calling the Tesla CEO a “total fraud” over his pledges to uncover and axe more than $1 trillion in government waste and fraud under the initiative.
“When this story originally broke, I said from the podium that there have definitely been healthy disagreements amongst the cabinet and Elon Musk,” Leavitt told Fox News Sunday.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says reports of a scrum between Elon Musk and Scott Bessent have been grossly overstated.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Leavitt conceded there had been times when Musk and the rest of Trump’s cabinet “got frustrated with one another” but said that the president’s team was nevertheless able to “have these robust disagreements and then still come together to do what’s right for the people they are serving.”
Network host Maria Bartiromo was unwilling to let the question go. “Did he actually get physical?” she pressed Leavitt. “Was there a fist fight that he body-checked the Treasury secretary?”
Musk reportedly barged Bessent in the chest "like a rugby player" after Bessent labelled him a "total fraud" over his DOGE performance.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
Leavitt again downplayed reports of the altercation between the two men and insisted the matter had since been resolved.
Reports of the spat have emerged as Musk comprehensively torches his relationship with President Donald Trump after departing the cost-cutting DOGE drive.
Kevin Dietsch/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
“I certainly wouldn’t describe it as a fist fight, Maria,” she said. “It was definitely a disagreement … But again, we’ve moved on from that. The president has moved on from it.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.