White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon — the former Breitbart News executive chairman who helped guide then-candidate Donald Trump’s flagging presidential campaign to a historic victory — is on his way out of the White House, with a source close to Bannon telling Axios: “Get ready for Bannon the barbarian.”
Axios first reported that Bannon, who was brought on to the campaign in August to replace Paul Manafort as campaign chairman, was expected to depart from the White House imminently.
Soon after, the Drudge Report issued a siren on the site’s front page, declaring: “Bannon Out at White House” adding that he was “moving on after an impressive run.”
Meanwhile, the New York Times also reported that President Trump had decided to remove Bannon, but Trump and senior White House officials were debating “when and how to dismiss” Bannon.
The Times reported that a person close to Bannon insisted that a departure was Bannon’s idea and that a resignation had been submitted on August 7 — but the protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, had delayed his departure.
The White House later partly confirmed the reports: “White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve’s last day. We are grateful for his service and wish him the best,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. No further details were immediately available.
Bannon was widely reported to have feuded with a number of the globalists White House officials within Trump’s administration, as he sought to get Trump to stick to the campaign promises that had helped carry him to his win in November.
The Times reported that Bannon had clashed with members of Trump’s family. Axios reported that Bannon was suspected of leaking about colleagues and that Trump “resents the publicity Bannon has been getting as mastermind of the campaign.”
However, while it was unclear what Bannon’s next move would be, a source close to Bannon told Axios: “Get ready for Bannon the barbarian.”
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY