Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has denied suggestions that he gave Elon Musk a black eye after the pair brawled in the corridors of the White House.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Bessent was coy about whether he and Musk came to blows during their heated argument in April, but added: “I can 100 percent say I did not give him the black eye.”
Bessent and Musk took part in a fiery and expletive-ridden exchange a matter of feet away from President Donald Trump as tensions between the pair boiled over.
Bessent was said to be furious at Musk for going behind his back to push for Trump to name Gary Shapley as acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, a unit of the Treasury Department. Bessent wanted Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender for the job, who went on to replace Shapley after a matter of days.
Bessent is reported to have yelled “F— you!” multiple times at Musk as the pair squared up to each other, with Musk responding that Bessent was a “total fraud.”
According to top Trump ally Steve Bannon, Musk then thrust his shoulder into Bessent’s rib cage “like a rugby player,” The Washington Post reported, with several people having to pull the pair apart.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the brawl between Musk and Bessent, saying at the time that “disagreements are a normal part of any healthy policy process, and ultimately, everyone knows they serve at the pleasure of President Trump.”
A few weeks later, Musk appeared in the Oval Office alongside Trump to mark his last official day heading up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sporting a black eye, which Bessent is insisting he cannot take credit for.
Musk addressed his injury when asked about it by reporters and claimed he got it while “horsing around” with his five-year-old son, X Æ A-12, which thankfully is often shortened to just Lil’ X.
“Well, I wasn’t anywhere near France,” Musk joked in reference to the apparent altercation in which French President Emmanuel Macron appeared to have been pushed in the face by his wife, Brigitte, as they prepared to get off a plane in Vietnam.
“I was just horsing around with Lil’ X. And I said, ‘Go ahead, punch me in the face.’ And he did,” Musk said. “Turns out, even a five-year-old punching you in the face actually [leaves a mark].”
The Treasury Department and representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from the Daily Beast.
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