Trump strategist Bannon will leave White House role

WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, the blunt-spoken strategist who rose from Donald Trump’s conservative campaign to a top White House post, was pushed out by the president Friday, capping a turbulent seven months marked by the departure of much of Trump’s original senior staff.

The former leader of conservative Breitbart News, Bannon had pushed Trump to follow through on his campaign promises including his travel ban for some foreigners and his decision to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement. He returned to Breitbart News as executive chairman and chaired the Friday evening editorial meeting, the news site announced.

Bannon’s departure is significant since he was viewed by pundits as Trump’s connection to his base of mostcommitted voters and the protector of the disruptive, conservative agenda that pro- pelled the 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 Bannon’s departure broke. “It would feel like the twilight zone.”

Indeed, Bannon’s outsider conservatism served as a guiding force for Trump’s rise to office. He injected populism into the campaign and sharpened its attacks on Democrat Hillary Clinton, encouraging Trump’s instinct to fight and counter-punch at every turn. When the media released a 11-year-old tape in which Trump can be heard talking lewdly about women in an attempt to ruin his campaign, Bannon turned the tables by gathering a group of women who accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault and confronted the Democratic nominee at a general election debate.

Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Bannon and Chief of Staff John Kelly, only recently installed himself, had agreed that Friday would be Bannon’s last day.

“We are grateful for his service and wish him the best,” she said in the only statement from the White House.

One person close to Bannon said he had offered his resignation to Trump on Aug. 7. It was to go into effect a week later, the oneyear anniversary of when he officially joined 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 to discuss private conversations.

In recent remarks, the president has downplayed Bannon’s role in his campaign and passed up an opportunity to express confidence in him publicly.

“He’s a good person. He actually gets very unfair press in that regard,” Trump said earlier this week. “But we’ll see what happens with Mr. Bannon.”