ANOTHER ONE BITES THE MUSK

How long will Elon Musk survive as Donald Trump’s “first buddy”? Only a few more days, if Steve Bannon gets his way. Their MAGA-insider showdown could have major implications for the next four years.

• “I will get Elon Musk kicked out by the time he’s inaugurated,” vowed Steve Bannon, the fire-breathing ultra-nativist, in a new interview with an Italian newspaper, referring to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in *checks calendar* seven days. “He won’t have a blue pass with full access to the White House. He’ll be like everyone else.” Bannon trashed Musk with seemingly every insult he could think of. “He is a truly evil guy, a very bad guy. I made it my personal thing to take this guy down,” Bannon said, blasting Musk as a man with “the maturity of a child” and adding, “he should go back to South Africa.”

• Bannon’s thunderous broadside comes as MAGA insiders jockey for power in the new Trump era — which means they’re also fighting over what Trump’s priorities will actually be. The new Bannon-Musk flare-up appears to be an extension of their recent fight over H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreign workers to come to the United States. Tech leaders love them, and Musk even held one. Bannon and other right-wing nativists despise them. On Bannon’s podcast last month, he slammed Musk: “Don’t come up and go to the pulpit in your first week here and start lecturing people about the way things are going to be. If you’re going to do that,” Bannon added, “we’re going to rip your face off.” Bannon also views China as an existential danger to the United States, while Musk — who does tons of business in the country — has been floated as a middleman for Washington and Beijing. Another factor: Bannon is probably jealous that Musk has replaced him as Trump’s bestie.

• Bannon, of course, knows a thing or two about getting kicked out of the White House — since that’s what happened to him in Trump’s first administration after just a few months . At the time, Trump blasted “sloppy Steve” as a man who’d “lost his mind.”

• If there’s one constant in Trumpworld, it’s that people come and go, often in a metaphorical ball of flames after being shunned by Trump. The longevity of Trump’s relationship with Musk, the centibillionaire conspiracy theorist who bankrolled his campaign efforts to the tune of a quarter-billion dollars, has become Washington’s favorite betting game: How long will Trump’s self-proclaimed “first buddy” be allowed to crash at Mar-a-Lago? It’s the subject of  many articles , including one that’s 40 percent sure they’ll still be “friends” at the end of 2025.

The imminent food fight reflects a big divide in MAGAworld. 

• Many Trump loyalists in the Bannon camp think that “the native-born are getting replaced by third-world invaders (in their language) as part of that globalist plot,” New Republic staff writer Greg Sargent said in a recent podcast. That view runs into a big problem for MAGA with Musk, who is basically worshipped by many people on the right. Those people believe he’s “going to come in and use his techno-genius to purge the government of wokeness and crush the liberal professional managerial class that’s supposedly the source of all our woes,” Sargent said. “So you have two genuine impulses inside MAGA colliding here.”

• It’s worth pointing out the obvious: Neither Bannon nor Musk have actual positions within the Trump administration. Both men could try to strongarm each other out of Trump’s sphere of influence, but they lack the direct authority to do so. Only Trump, who crowns a victor, has the final say. Given the massive egos involved here, it seems unlikely that the nutjobs would be able to make amends in the near future. Musk hasn’t responded to Bannon’s latest jibes yet, but there may be more than politeness behind that. After all, Bannon’s criminal fraud trial starts in February — as part of a New York state case that Trump can’t pardon away. So Musk may feel he can just wait Bannon out.

That makes this situation even more interesting to watch: Whoever survives will have a better chance at hanging around for a long time, with the special privilege of whispering their personal brand of toxic bullshit in Trump’s ear.

FIGHTING THE BLAZES

The Los Angeles wildfires, which have killed two dozen people as firefighters work tirelessly to try to contain the blazes, have provoked debate about online misinformation and disaster response — including a conversation about who exactly is fighting the fires.

More than 800 firefighters on the ground are incarcerated people, who volunteered as part of a century-old program allowing prisoners to enlist alongside traditional fire crews and possibly shave time off their sentences. It’s grueling work, and they often are working with bad gear, including hand-me-downs and goggles without functional seals, according to former incarcerated firefighters who spoke to Rolling Stone.

They make only between  $5.80 and $10.24 per day, and earn another dollar for every extra hour they work. Some activists are trying to change that.

“This pay has been the same since 1984,” Kim Kardashian wrote on her Instagram story, tagging Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). “It has never been raised with inflation. It’s never been raised when the fires got worse and many died.”

The pay is abysmal and the conditions are tough, though some inmates have detailed their positive experiences with the program. Either way, these firefighters are putting their lives at risk during what’s expected to be one of the most disastrous wildfires in American history, and they deserve fair work conditions, respect — and recognition for the important role they’re playing doing difficult work to help save lives.

NEWS NEWS NEWS

MAGA crony Mike Flynn called for a “reckoning” for people who came to oppose Donald Trump during his first administration, with a reference to the “Night of The Long Knives” — Adolf Hitler’s infamous purge in which secret police killed dozens and arrested hundreds. So I guess they’re just not even hiding it anymore! Nice!

Hamas is expected to release 33 hostages in the first stage of a Gaza cease-fire deal, Israeli officials told CNN. Negotiators say that a deal seems likely to happen, but Israel and Hamas have come close to striking deals before that have faltered. A final round of talks to finalize the deal is slated for Tuesday, a diplomat told CNN.

Elon Musk wants NASA to drop its Moon ambitions and aim straight for Mars, but both Democrats and Republicans think that’s a bad idea. “To bypass the moon would be a mistake,” said  Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), who chairs the House committee focused on space. ALT: If Elon Musk wants to head to Mars himself, that’s another story.

Childhood vaccination rates have been falling in recent years. In most states, the decline started early in the pandemic and has continued, though national averages are still high. Reminder: Fewer vaccinations can have dire consequences, including the possible return on polio. Let’s not get there.

The Supreme Court is set to hear a challenge next week to state laws banning pornography websites for young users, which now require age verification. Nineteen states have so far enacted bans. Supporters of the ban say that it’s a common sense way to protect minors from viewing potentially harmful content, while critics say the bans undermine free speech and privacy.

Crooked’s Jon Favreau spoke with Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on Offline about her historic tenure tackling monopolies and enacting policies that help everyday people, like the “click-to–cancel” subscriptions law. Even lifelong conservatives applauded some of her work, Khan said, because it’s good policy for the working class: “I think there’s a real hunger out there to see government fighting for people, even when it means taking on powerful corporate interests,” she said.

Country star Carrie Underwood is scheduled to perform at Trump’s inauguration. Please give us a few days to grieve this news. On a similar note, rap legend Snoop Dogg will perform at the inaugural “Crypto Ball” this week, which is mildly concerning for other reasons.

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