Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., is adding his voice to those who are calling on President Trump to remove chief strategist Steve Bannon from his administration.
“I think it is important for the president to fire Steve Bannon,” King told WABC on Thursday. “His time in the White House should be over.”
In a wide-ranging interview published by the liberal American Prospect on Wednesday, Bannon argued Republicans can use identity and race-based politics to win against Democrats.
“The Democrats,” he said, “the longer they talk about identity politics, I got ’em. I want them to talk about racism every day. If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats.”
King called on Trump to get rid of Bannon over those remarks as well as his thoughts concerning military action in North Korea.
“That, to me, is exploiting the racial issue that can’t be allowed,” King added. “Also, the fact that he is undercutting the president, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, and the head of the National Security Council on North Korea.”
Bannon’s future in the White House has remained in doubt ever since Trump declined to give a definitive answer regarding his future during an impromptu Tuesday press conference.
“We’ll see what happens with Mr. Bannon, but he’s a good person, and I think the press treats him frankly very unfairly,” Trump told reporters at Trump Tower in New York City.
Bannon reportedly called the American Prospect journalist to discuss how China was profiting from the U.S.-North Korea nuclear brinkmanship. But, according to reports, was unaware the conversation would be turned into an interview.
