Steve Bannon’s position as President Trump’s chief strategist may be in jeopardy, according to Anthony Scaramucci.
Steve Bannon’s position as President Trump’s chief strategist may be in jeopardy, according to Anthony Scaramucci.
During an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday, the former White House communications director criticized Bannon and the conservative news outlet Breitbart, calling their influence “a snag on the president.”
And when George Stephanopoulos asked him about Bannon’s future with the administration, Scaramucci said, “Well, I think the president knows what he's going to do with Steve Bannon.”
Scaramucci continued, “...let's leave it up to the president. It's his decision. But I mean, at the end of the day, I think the president has a very good idea of who the leakers are inside the White House. The president has a very good idea of the people that are undermining his agenda that are serving their own interests.”
Multiple sources have indicated that Bannon may be losing favor with the president; on Saturday, Axios’ Jonathan Swan reported that “President Trump has told close associates that he believes Steve Bannon is behind damaging leaks about White House colleagues, putting the chief strategist's job in fresh jeopardy, sources close to the president tell me.”
Swan adds Trump’s view of Bannon as being self-promoting and Bannon’s reduced contact with the president due to the new chief of staff John Kelly have also played a role in the rift.
Meanwhile, Bannon has been increasingly scrutinized lately for his reported conflicts with national security adviser H.R. McMaster over differing positions on personnel matters and policy areas including Afghanistan and Iran.
Bannon, who used to run Breitbart, is suspected of being behind at least some of the recent media attacks against McMaster.
As such, a recent op-ed by the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board argues that Bannon is the one whose loyalty should be questioned, calling him a “White House survivor” but also blaming him for “much of the White House dysfunction.”
