The only thing likely protecting Steve Bannon’s job is the fact that everyone in Washington expects he’s about to lose it. Administration officials inside the West Wing are already acting as if Bannon is halfway out the door. On Meet the Press Sunday, National security adviser H.R. McMaster refused to say he was willing to work with the president’s chief strategist. Aides told Politico recently they expect new chief of staff John Kelly to “push Bannon out in the coming weeks.”
And as Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush report in the New York Times, some of Trump’s most trusted outside advisers are urging him to dump Bannon as well, including recently ousted communications director Anthony Scaramucci, longtime political guru Roger Stone, and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
“At a recent dinner at the White House with Mr. [Jared] Kushner and Mr. Kelly, before Mr. Trump decamped for a working vacation at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J., the president listened while one of the guests, Mr. Murdoch, a founder of Fox News, said Mr. Bannon had to go,” the Times reports. “Mr. Trump offered little pushback, according to a person familiar with the conversation, and vented his frustrations about Mr. Bannon. Mr. Murdoch is close to Mr. Kushner, who has been in open warfare with Mr. Bannon since the spring.”
Bannon has been considering leaving the White House for some time as his stock has fallen with President Trump. It’s not clear how much work Bannon has since the folding of his attempted in-house think tank known as the Strategic Initiatives Group, which never really got off the ground and was swallowed up by the Office of American Innovation run by rival Jared Kushner. Sources say Bannon has taken to spending much of his time in the West Wing on his smartphone. The departure of his inter-office ally, Reince Priebus, has made him lonelier still.
But despite a slimmer portfolio, his proximity to the president means Bannon still plays a role in trying to influence policy, including most recently the internal White House debate over Afghanistan. Bannon also has Trump’s ear on other aspects of his presidency. “Despite being marginalized, Mr. Bannon consulted with the president repeatedly over the weekend as Mr. Trump struggled to respond to the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Va,” the Times reports. “In general, Mr. Bannon has cautioned the president not to criticize far-right activists too severely for fear of antagonizing a small but energetic part of his base.”
Trump may determine he wants to keep Bannon around despite (or because of) the pressure to let him go. Bannon could leave the White House of his own volition. Whatever the outcome, this could be the end of Trump’s Steve Bannon era—which began exactly a year ago, when the Breitbart chief joined the campaign.
Mark It Down—“I am seriously considering a pardon for Sheriff Arpaio.” — President Trump to Fox News, August 13, 2017.
Speaking in Colombia Monday, Vice President Mike Pence again condemned Venezuela’s oppressive regime of Nicolas Maduro but expressed confidence that a peaceable solution could be reached.
“As President Trump said just a few days ago, ‘We have many options for Venezuela,’” Pence said at a joint press conference with Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos. “But the president also remains confident that, working with all of our allies across Latin America, we can achieve a peaceable solution to the crisis facing the Venezuelan people.”
During his speech, Pence walked a line between discussing the need of the Venezuelan people and emphasizing how a failed Venezuelan state would hurt U.S. interests.
“Failed states know no borders,” Pence said. “A failed state in Venezuela will drive more illegal drug trafficking, with its murderous criminal consequences, radiating outward. A failed state in Venezuela will drive more illegal migration, compromising our borders, damaging our economies. And, ultimately, a failed state in Venezuela will endanger the wellbeing of all who call this hemisphere home.”
Pence’s remarks come days after President Donald Trump said he would not “rule out” a military option against Nicolas Maduro’s increasingly dictatorial regime. Reuters reported that Maduro held an anti-imperialist rally Monday in response to Trump’s remarks.
After leaving Colombia Monday, Pence traveled to Argentina. His Latin American tour this week also includes trips to Chile and Panama before he returns to Washington.
Trump Tweet of the Day
Made additional remarks on Charlottesville and realize once again that the #Fake News Media will never be satisfied…truly bad people!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 14, 2017
Muller Watch—The latest on Russian meddling in last year’s presidential election comes from the Washington Post, which reports a junior campaign aide tried multiple times over several months to get top Trump advisers to agree to a meeting with “the Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump.” The efforts by George Papadopoulos were apparently rebuffed by campaign higher-ups.
“Campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis wrote that he thought NATO allies should be consulted before any plans were made,” the Post reports, citing emails the Trump campaign turned over to the congressional investigations into Russian interference. “Another Trump adviser, retired Navy Rear Adm. Charles Kubic, cited legal concerns, including a possible violation of U.S. sanctions against Russia and of the Logan Act, which prohibits U.S. citizens from unauthorized negotiation with foreign governments.”
Campaign chairman Paul Manafort, the Post says, was one of those who rejected a proposal for Trump himself to meet with Russian officials. “We need someone to communicate that DT is not doing these trips,” Manafort emailed an aide in May 2016 after Papadopoulos sent Manafort a request.
The special counsel investigation headed by Robert Mueller has recently intensified its probe into Manafort’s business dealings. A veteran campaign and political consultant, Manafort has had clients with ties to Vladimir Putin’s government in Moscow.
Culture Article of the Day—“What Happened to the Negative Music Review?” by Neil Shah in the Wall Street Journal.
Anthony Scaramucci is making the most of his 15 minutes of fame, appearing both on high-brow Sunday-morning political talk shows and late-night comedy TV. He’s also trying to reach the kids today on the internet.
My colleague Jenna Lifhits reports on Scaramucci’s recent live interview on Periscope in which Scaramucci embraces his choice of sunglasses. Jenna had previously reported the Mooch’s favored pair are actually marketed to women.
“I wear women’s sunglasses because one, I didn’t realize they were women’s sunglasses,” Scaramucci said. “Two, I think they look pretty good with the shape of my face.”
The Mooch added, defiantly: “And by the way, I own it, and so I’m going to continue to wear women’s sunglasses.”
Song of the Day—“The Ocean” by Led Zeppelin.
