Is Bannon in peril? Trump’s comments worry base
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has declared: “I am my own strategist.” That is seen as boding poorly for his actual strategist, Steve Bannon.
And many fear that Mr. Trump is publicly distancing himself.
In an interview with The New York Post, the president said “I like Steve” and called his adviser “a good guy” — but one who wasn’t really all that involved with his winning election campaign. He said his warring senior officials, including Mr. Bannon but also Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, must “straighten it out or I will.” In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, he called Mr. Bannon “a guy who works for me.”
The public, lukewarm support from the boss — seen as unusual — has Mr. Bannon’s friends and advisers worried he will soon be out of a job.
Aides say the president is growing irritated that Mr. Bannon’s allies are calling him the mastermind behind Mr. Trump’s victory and the torch bearer for the nationalist, conservative brand of populism that has defined his presidency. In private, Mr. Trump reportedly has has told one person that Mr. Bannon is “not a team player.”
“Many years,” Mr. Trump said of their relationship back in August, when he made Mr. Bannon his campaign chief. “I didn’t know him” at the time, Mr. Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday. Mr. Trump got it right the first time.
David Bossie, who was deputy campaign manager, said after Mr. Trump took office that he introduced them in 2011 at Trump Tower and they grew to know each well, as Mr. Trump appeared multiple times on Mr. Bannon’s Breitbart radio show.
Mr. Bannon is viewed as having recognized the danger and has kept a low profile in the White House. He has told friends and associates that he understands he needs to pick his battles.
Shedding Mr. Bannon is not expected to be simple staff shake-up. The former media executive has a following all his own. He is viewed by many as the ideological backbone in a White House run by a president who boasts of his flexibility.
Mr. Bannon has feuded with Mr. Trump’s son-in-lawturned-senior-adviser, Mr. Kushner, and with economic chief Gary Cohn. Mr. Cohn, the former No. 2 at Goldman Sachs, and fellow Goldman executive Dina Powell, one of Mr. Trump’s top national security advisers, have been gaining favor with the president. Last week, Mr. Trump removed Mr. Bannon from the National Security Council, while Mr. Powell appears to be ascendant.
Repentant Spicer
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer continued trying to repair any damage done to Mr. Trump and himself by a flubbed comparison he attempted the day before about Syria’s leader and Adolf Hitler.
Mr. Spicer said he is asking “for folks’ forgiveness” after initially contending that Bashar Assad’s aircraftdelivered gas attack on his own citizens was somehow worse than actions by Hitler, who “didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” (The leader of the Nazi regime did use of gas chambers to murder thousands of Jews in World War II, including German Jews.)
Mr. Spicer’s misstep drew calls for his firing from Democratic lawmakers and Jewish groups.
Hiring freeze lifted
The federal government hiring freeze implemented by Mr. Trump as one of his first acts in office was lifted Wednesday. But budget director Mick Mulvaney says many jobs will remain unfilled as the White House embarks on a government-wide effort to overhaul the executive branch and significantly reduce its workforce.
Mr. Mulvaney said agencies targeted with significant budget cuts in Mr. Trump’s first budget proposal, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, would be expected to make significant cuts to their workforces. Agencies Mr. Trump wants to spend more on, like the Department of Veterans Affairs, would be expected to see their payrolls rise.
Changing course
Mr. Trump and Mr. Mulvaney pushed back plans to overhaul the tax code, saying they wanted to prioritize
The Center for Biological Diversity, a nationally known environmental group, on Wednesday filed a legal challenge against the Trump administration over its proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall that would start in San Diego County.
Travel ban review Libel suits settled