Billionaire Trump donor Rebekah Mercer spoke to President Trump on the telephone Thursday before announcing her family was cutting financial ties with Steve Bannon amid a public spat between the president and his former White House chief strategist.
Mercer and Trump discussed Bannon’s derogatory remarks about the president and his family, excerpted ahead of the release of Michael Wolff’s tell-all book taking a look at the first year in the Trump White House, a senior White House official told the Daily Beast.
Mercer also reiterated her commitment to Trump and his policy agenda, according to the source.
“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,” the Republican mega-donor told the Washington Post Thursday.
White House spokesman Raj Shah declined to confirm the conversation or its contents to the Daily Beast, but did not deny that it took place. Shah did not immediately respond to inquiries from the Washington Examiner.
Mercer did not reply to the Daily Beast’s requests for comment on Thursday. Bannon turned down the opportunity to give a statement.
Mercer’s withdrawal of funding is a blow to Bannon’s self-declared “war” on the Republican establishment, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Bannon is also reportedly facing a challenge to his leadership role within Breitbart News, a conservative website partly owned by Mercer.
