White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon isn’t having a great time right now. Following concerns over his supposedly cut ties to Breitbart and his recent removal from the National Security Council, the former campaign executive turned top official in Donald Trump’s administration finds himself in an ongoing turf war with Senior Advisor (and son-in-law) Jared Kushner. What’s more, the president seems to think all the media attention Bannon’s been getting has proven detrimental — mainly because he wasn’t getting any of that attention instead. Hence why, according to a new report, Trump’s chief strategist almost quit.
Per Politico, Bannon almost resigned from his position due to he and his allies’ constant squabbles with Kushner and his camp:
Five people, including a senior administration official and several sources close to the president, tell POLITICO that Bannon, one of Trump’s closest advisers, has clashed with the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who’s taken on an increasingly prominent portfolio in the West Wing. Bannon has complained that Kushner and his allies are trying to undermine his populist approach, the sources said.
NSC demotion notwithstanding, Bannon remains high up on Trump’s White House roster, and Politico’s sources claim the former Breitbart executive’s proponents have GOP mega-donor and Trump supporter Rebekah Mercer to thank for that. “Rebekah Mercer prevailed upon him to stay,” said one source. Another Republican operative who corresponds frequently with the wealthy GOP supporter added, “Bekah tried to convince him that this is a long-term play.”
The White House countered these claims when asked for comment, saying Bannon never tried to resign and that Politico’s story was “total nonsense.” Lacking official confirmation from the Trump administration, however, doesn’t resolve the fact that Mercer’s influence on the chief strategist — let alone the current president and the GOP at large — is rather significant.
According to a recent profile in The New Yorker, the “reclusive hedge-fund manager” Robert Mercer and his family’s foundation — overseen by his “ardently conservative daughter” Rebekah — have funneled millions into the Republican party, Breitbart and various related political and media organizations. Bannon served as the family’s “de-facto political adviser” as early as 2012, and has long since maintained a professional relationship with them and their foundation.
(Via Politico and The New Yorker)