AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The inauguration of President-elect Trump highlights one of the divides in his coalition. Trump's guest list includes Elon Musk, who was a huge contributor to his campaign, and other tech billionaires who donated to the ceremonies. Our colleague, Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep, spoke to another Steve who's been speaking out against those billionaires. Hi, Steve Inskeep.
STEVE INSKEEP, BYLINE: Good morning, Ayesha Rascoe.
RASCOE: Yes. So the other Steve is Steve Bannon, who I'm familiar with, 'cause I covered the first Trump White House. He was a close adviser then for some of the administration.
INSKEEP: Yeah.
RASCOE: What's he doing now?
INSKEEP: He's supporting or pushing Trump from the outside. You will recall, Bannon cheered on Trump's effort to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He ultimately spent four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation of the January 6 attack on the Capitol. He's out now.
I went to see him in a D.C. townhouse, where he does many, many, many hours of live streaming right-wing programs. And I went to see him because he illustrates that divide you mentioned. He says he's populist for the working class, which is what a lot of Republicans say now. And in his telling, at least, the tech billionaires at the inauguration are oligarchs - used the same term that President Biden used in a farewell address the other day.
One of their differences is on immigration. Trump has promised to crack down on people who are here without legal status, but people in his coalition disagree over legal immigrants, including people with H-1B visas - these high-skilled workers, like computer engineers who are brought in by U.S. firms.
RASCOE: And Elon Musk favors those H-1B visas and says they bring in talent for America and, you know, help his companies.
INSKEEP: Yeah, yeah, which Bannon explicitly says he doesn't want. He's like, why would America want more talent? Use the people who are here. Just says it right out loud - he's pushing back on these same billionaires. Bannon contends they are attending the inauguration not 'cause they're in charge, but because they're trophies who surrendered. And he even speaks that way about Elon Musk, who contributed so hugely to Trump's win.
STEVE BANNON: I think Elon Musk has - with President Trump, I think he has very little power - has some influence but has very little power, and I can be specific. First off, these oligarchs are completely created by the Democratic Party and the lords of easy money. Remember, for the last four years, they had no problem at all with the oligarchs until they flipped and surrendered after we won.
Elon Musk came a little earlier, and he came earlier 'cause he saw the writing on the wall. The smart guy could see actually the true polling and saw where this is going, so he's the first man out. But Zuckerberg came and surrendered afterwards. Bezos came and surrendered afterwards. Marc Andreessen came and surrendered afterwards. Maybe Andreessen gave a little money in the run up. They saw the game was over. The Democratic Party used them all to suppress us.
RASCOE: So Bannon's using the term oligarchs. But he did go to Harvard Business School, worked at Goldman Sachs, produced Hollywood films. Does his own biography complicate this populist message?
INSKEEP: Oh, yeah, absolutely. Although, he draws on his working-class roots. There's some contradictions, but he does contend he wants a more equal society. And, in fact, Bannon contends he wants to raise taxes on the wealthy.
BANNON: That - proposed that in '17. The Wall Street Journal reported it. In an editorial, they said they got to get Bannon out of the White House. He's not a - he's a radical.
INSKEEP: He did propose higher taxes. Trump didn't do that then - is not proposing to raise taxes on the wealthy now. That's for sure. And this led me to a question.
What will you think and do a year or two from now if it turns out that the people you see as oligarchs end up getting the lower taxes they want and many other things that they want, and you don't get what you think you want?
BANNON: We are battle-hardened. This movement is battle-hardened because we were put up against the wall in 2021, OK?
INSKEEP: Do you think it's possible that that will happen, that Trump will end up siding with them, that Congress will end up siding with them?
BANNON: We will win because we're relentless. We don't quit.
INSKEEP: He says he's going to push Trump further to the right.
RASCOE: Well, there are a lot of people who think Trump can be influenced, flattered or persuaded.
INSKEEP: Yeah, well, that may be one of the reasons the billionaires are at the inauguration, but Bannon says he will be influencing Trump, too.
RASCOE: NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep. Steve, thank you so much.
INSKEEP: Oh, glad to do it.
RASCOE: And you can hear more of Steve's interview with Steve Bannon on Morning Edition tomorrow. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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