The White House has responded to claims of a physical altercation where former special advisor to Donald Trump Elon Musk is said to have “bodychecked” gay Treasury secretary Scott Bessent. 

Right-wing podcaster and former chief strategist for Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, lead claims about a physical dispute between Musk and Bessent, which was reported on by The Washington Post, following the pair meeting with Donald Trump in the Oval Office in mid-April. 

The meeting was to allow Musk and Bessent to set out their preferences for acting IRS commissioner, with Trump deciding to support Bessent’s choice.

The physical dispute is said to have unfolded between the two in the hallway.

Steve Bannon claims Scott Bessent called Elon Musk “a fraud” over claims that that he would uncover $1 trillion in wasteful and fraudulent government spending – which he hasn’t managed to do. 

He claimed that Musk rammed his shoulder into Bessent’s rib cage “like a rugby player”, forcing him to retaliate by hitting him back. The incident reportedly required intervention. “President Trump heard about it and said, ‘This is too much,’” Bannon said in an interview. 

However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who marked her White House debut in January by attacking “transgenderism” and “wokeness”, has responded to reports of the altercation, describing it as a “robust disagreement”. 

‘There have definitely been healthy disagreements’

Speaking to Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, Leavitt told host Maria Bartiromo: “I certainly wouldn’t describe it as a fist-fight, Maria,” 

She continued: “It was definitely a disagreement, although I was not there. I didn’t witness it with my own eyes.” 

She referenced her previous statement about disagreements between Musk and cabinet members: “When this story originally broke, I said from the podium that there have definitely been healthy disagreements amongst the cabinet and Elon Musk. 

“There were times in which they got frustrated with one another, but I think that really speaks to the heart of this Cabinet and the president’s team, that they can have these robust disagreements and then still come together to do what’s right for the people they are serving,” she concluded, “we have moved on from that”. 

Bessent is the first Senate-approved LGBTQ+ member in a Republican cabinet. Also, as the secretary of the treasury is fifth in the United States presidential line of succession, this makes Scott Bessent is the highest-ranking openly LGBTQ+ person in American history.

Trump previously praised Bessent as “one of the world’s foremost international investors and geopolitical and economic strategists”. 

The Scott Bessent “bodycheck” allegation follows the recent incendiary, and very public, social media dispute between Musk and Trump, who has said he has “no intention” of speaking to Musk in the aftermath.

Last month, Musk called it quits on his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) role with the Trump administration, a controversial position which saw foreign aid cut, thousands of federal jobs axed and boycotts of Musk’s businesses in response.

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