Former White House strategist Steve Bannon says he’s still got President Trump’s back after being fired Friday.
“If there’s any confusion out there, let me clear it up: I’m leaving the White House and going to war for Trump against his opponents — on Capitol Hill, in the media and in corporate America,” Bannon told journalist Joshua Green. Green was the author of the new book, Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency.
Just got off the phone w/ Bannon: “If there’s any confusion out there, let me clear it up: I’m leaving the White House and going to war” 1/2
— Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) August 18, 2017
“…for Trump against his opponents — on Capitol Hill, in the media, and in corporate America.” 2/2
— Joshua Green (@JoshuaGreen) August 18, 2017
White House chief of staff John Kelly and Bannon “mutually agreed” the latter would leave his position Friday, according to a statement from press secretary Sarah Sanders.
Bannon’s firing caps off a month of high-profile departures from the White House.
Former press secretary Sean Spicer was the first to leave after the hiring of communications director Anthony Scaramucci. Scaramucci was fired after a tumultuous 11 days.
Former chief of staff Reince Priebus left his position a week after Spicer’s exit.
Bannon was always a controversial figure in the West Wing, but calls for his firing grew louder after a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., turned deadly over the weekend.
