Bannon loses financial backer
Book publication set for earlier date
Steve Bannon’s main financial backer is formally cutting ties with the former Trump adviser.
Billionaire conservative donor Rebekah Mercer said in a statement Thursday that she has not spoken to Mr. Bannon in months and she continues to support President Donald Trump.
“I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected,” Ms. Mercer said. “My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements.”
Ms. Mercer almost never speaks publicly, and her statement about her longtime ally represented an extraordinary rebuke. It comes in the wake of a new book by journalist Michael Wolff, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which includes incendiary comments by Mr. Bannon about the president he helped elect and about Mr. Trump’s family.
Also on Thursday, Mr. Trump mounted a legal attack on the book, which portrays him as a volatile and ill-equipped chief executive, but publisher Henry Holt rebuffed his demand to halt its release and defiantly moved up official publication from next week to Friday because of the interest.
White House officials said Mr. Trump is furious at Mr. Bannon, suggesting a permanent split between the two and casting doubt on Mr. Bannon’s hopes to foment a movement centered on “Trumpism without Trump.”
Ms. Mercer is arguably the most prominent former Bannon associate to disavow him in the wake of the book. She said she remains committed in her support for Breitbart News, where she holds a minority stake and where Mr. Bannon is chairman. Those familiar with the conservative news website said discussions have begun at the organization about potentially removing Mr. Bannon from the perch that propelled him to the forefront of national conservative politics.
A letter Thursday by Mr. Trump’s attorney, Charles Harder, demanded publisher Henry Holt and Co. “immediately cease and desist” publication of the book.” The legal notice said Mr. Trump’s lawyers were pursuing possible charges including libel. A day earlier, Mr. Harder accused Mr. Bannon of violating a nondisclosure agreement by participating in the creation of the book.
OnThursday, Mr. Trump noted that Mr. Bannon had praised him on a radio show Wednesday night. “He called me a ‘great man’ last night,” Mr. Trump told reporters. Mr. Bannon made the compliment on “Breitbart News Tonight.”
Mr. Trump had lashed out at Mr. Bannon on Wednesday, saying his former campaign chairman had “lost his mind.”