Donald Trump fires chief strategist Steve Bannon, conservative returns to Breitbart
President Donald Trump has fired chief strategist Steve Bannon, removing the far-right architect of his 2016 election victory and a driving force behind his anti-globalisation and pro-nationalist agenda.
Key points:
- Mr Bannon gave an interview earlier this week that was seen to undercut the President
- Critics have long accused Mr Bannon of being anti-Semitic
- Democrats have welcomed Mr Bannon's departure
A favourite in the farther-right portions of the Republican Party, Mr Bannon pushed Mr Trump to follow through on some of his most contentious campaign promises, including a travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations and his decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders announced Mr Bannon's exit in a statement.
"White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve's last day," the statement said.
"We are grateful for his service and wish him the best."
He has already returned to Breitbart News, the far-right publication he led before joining Mr Trump's election campaign, and chaired an evening editorial meeting.
In his first public remarks after being fired, Mr Bannon said he still backed Mr Trump, but expressed doubt about the administration's future without him.
"I'm leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents, on Capitol Hill, in the media and in corporate America," he told Bloomberg News.
The 63-year-old former Navy officer, Goldman Sachs investment banker and Hollywood movie producer said his departure from the White House signalled a major shift for the Trump agenda.
"The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over," he told the conservative Weekly Standard.
"I just think his ability to get anything done — particularly the bigger things, like the wall, the bigger, broader things that we fought for, it's just gonna be that much harder."
Breitbart published an article lauding Mr Bannon's return to the publication.
"The populist-nationalist movement got a lot stronger today," editor-in-chief Alex Marlow said.
"Breitbart gained an executive chairman with his finger on the pulse of the Trump agenda."
Earlier, a senior Breitbart editor posted a dramatic one-word warning about Mr Bannon's firing.
Mr Bannon's exit follows a number of other high-profile departures from the seven-month-old administration — Mr Trump's national security adviser, his chief of staff, his press secretary and two communications directors — in addition to the FBI director he inherited from Barack Obama.
LoadingBannon seen as link to Trump's biggest supporters
His departure is especially significant because he is viewed by many as Mr Trump's connection to his base of most-committed voters and the protector of the disruptive, conservative agenda that propelled the celebrity businessman to the White House.
"It's a tough pill to swallow if Steve is gone because you have a Republican West Wing that's filled with generals and Democrats," said former campaign strategist Sam Nunberg, shortly before the news of Mr Bannon's departure broke.
"It would feel like the twilight zone."
A source familiar with White House decision, which had been under consideration for a while, said Mr Bannon had been given an opportunity to depart on his own terms.
"The President made up his mind on it over the past couple of weeks," the source said.
Mr Kelly had been evaluating Mr Bannon's role within the White House.
"They gave him an opportunity to step down knowing that he was going to be forced to," the source said.
One person close to Mr Bannon said he had offered his resignation to Mr Trump on August 7.
It was to go into effect a week later, the first anniversary of when he officially joined Mr Trump's presidential campaign, but the departure was delayed after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, said the person, who spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Bannon undermined Trump on North Korea
Mr Bannon had damaged his standing by giving an interview to the liberal American Prospect this week in which he was seen to be undercutting Mr Trump's position on North Korea.
He contradicted the President by saying there was no military solution to the threat posed by North Korea and its nuclear ambitions.
Just last week Mr Trump pledged to answer North Korean aggression with "fire and fury".
Mr Bannon also told the publication the US was losing the economic race against China, and talked about purging his rivals from the Defence and State departments.
Mr Bannon told associates he thought he was talking to an academic and thought he was off the record.
Bannon gave 'voice to white supremacists', critics say
Mr Bannon was a force behind some of Mr Trump's most contentious policies, including a travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority nations, and he had fought with more moderate factions inside a White House riven with rivalries and back-stabbing.
Critics have accused Mr Bannon of harbouring anti-Semitic and white nationalist sentiments. Democrats welcomed Mr Bannon's departure.
"There is one less white supremacist in the White House, but that doesn't change the man sitting behind the Resolute desk," Democratic National Committee spokesman Michael Tyler said in a statement, referring to Mr Trump's Oval Office desk.
"Donald Trump has spent decades fuelling hate in communities, including his recent attempts to divide our country and give a voice to white supremacists."
Mr Bannon had been in a precarious position before but Mr Trump opted to keep him, in part because his chief strategist played a major role in his 2016 election victory and was backed by many of the President's most loyal rank-and-file supporters.
The decision to fire Mr Bannon could undermine Mr Trump's support among far-right voters but might ease tensions within the White House and with party leaders.
Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress but have been unable to pass major legislative goals including a healthcare legislation overhaul because of fierce intra-party divisions.
Mr Trump fired Mr Bannon from the White House post one year and one day after he hired the firebrand to head his presidential campaign.
On Tuesday Mr Trump called Mr Bannon "a friend of mine" but downplayed his contribution to his election victory.
"Mr Bannon came on very late. You know that. I went through 17 senators, governors and I won all the primaries. Mr Bannon came on very much later than that," Mr Trump said.
"And I like him. He is a good man. He is not a racist. I can tell you that. He is a good person. He actually gets a very unfair press in that regard."
Barry Bennett, a former Trump campaign adviser, said Mr Bannon's departure was a sign of Mr Kelly's strength.
"What it means is there is a strong chief of staff and that's good," Mr Bennett said.
"It's not only good. It's needed."
A White House official said it was hoped Mr Bannon's departure would help ease some of the drama that has seized the Trump White House.
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