Steve Bannon expected to be fired by Trump, White House officials say
White House officials expect Donald Trump to fire Chief Strategist Steve Bannon after an internal review conducted by chief of staff John Kelly.
Mr Bannon has long been rumoured to be on the chopping block in the White House, but he has so far eluded termination. But, recent media coverage of Mr Bannon, including a conversation he had with the American Prospect, have reportedly caught the attention of both Mr Kelly and Donald Trump.
In that interview, Mr Bannon seemed to undercut Mr Trump's threats of "fire and fury" against North Korea if Kim Jong Un continued to threaten the United States, and instead said that there was "no military solution, forget it."
White House officials reportedly are no longer asking "if" Mr Bannon will be fired or asked to resign, and instead are considering "when" that scenario will play out, according to Axios. Mr Bannon is suspected of leaking information to the press about his West Wing colleagues, and has garnered a fair amount of publicity for having been the "mastermind" of Mr Trump's presidential campaign. The President reportedly resents that publicity.
"His departure may seem turbulent in the media, but inside it will be very smooth. He has no projects or responsibilities to hand off," one official told Axios.
Mr Bannon, though, has persisted publicly in spite of rumours that he might be axed. He has given on the record interviews with major media outlets recently, and just this week publicly defended Mr Trump's statements on the racist attack in Charlottesville that left one woman dead after a suspected white supremacist drove his car through a crowd of counter protesters.
But, it remains uncertain that Mr Bannon will actually be fired. He frequently gives mixed signals about what personnel decisions he might make, and has been both supportive and critical of Mr Bannon.
Mr Bannon may also find a saving grace in his relationship with the billionaire Mercer family, which is reportedly a factor in Mr Trump's decision making process on the issue.
