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[webfact]

After attacks by Trump, Bannon finds himself with few friends

By James Oliphant and Jeff Mason

 

FILE PHOTO: Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon speaks during a campaign event for Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Judge Roy Moore in Fairhope, Alabama, U.S., December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Following his brutal disavowal by President Donald Trump, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's dream of spearheading a new U.S. political movement appears in tatters while the Republican establishment he challenged is feeling more secure.

 

Trump turned on Bannon over his comments to the author of a book highly critical of the president and his family. The White House followed up on Thursday by suggesting that Bannon be ousted from his influential perch as chief executive of the hard-right news site Breitbart News.

 

Bannon appeared to have few close friends left among the more conservative factions of the Republican Party, which swiftly proclaimed their loyalty to Trump following the breakup.

 

"I don't know anyone in the conservative movement that's supporting Steve over Donald Trump right now in this,” Christopher Ruddy, a close Trump ally and chief executive of the conservative Newsmax site, told Reuters.

 

Mike Cernovich, a leading social-media voice of the so-called alt-right movement that Bannon helped energize on Trump’s behalf, had no doubt about which of the two men had more popular support. “The base will stay with Trump.”

 

Reader comments on Breitbart’s site seemed overwhelmingly supportive of the president compared with Bannon. The Wall Street Journal reported late on Thursday that the site’s board was considering letting him go.

 

Bannon's representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

 

Last year, media outlets as diverse as Time magazine and the comedy show "Saturday Night Live" portrayed Bannon, Trump’s election campaign strategist, as the power behind the president, an unshaven, shabbily dressed Svengali bending the Republican Party to his economic nationalist agenda.

 

But Bannon’s star had been tumbling long before this week’s flap over criticism Bannon leveled at Trump’s family in Michael Wolff’s new book on the White House.

 

In August, Bannon was fired amid a power struggle in the West Wing, forcing his return to Breitbart.

 

His reputation as a political mastermind then took a hit after Republicans lost a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama they had long held when the Bannon-backed Roy Moore, who was accused of improper conduct with teenage girls, fell to Democrat Doug Jones.

 

After leaving the White House, Bannon proclaimed his loyalty to Trump and vowed to wage an insurrection against the Republican establishment, especially Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whom he accused of stalling Trump’s policy agenda.

 

But last month, on the heels of Moore’s loss in Alabama, McConnell helped steer an overhaul of the U.S. tax code through Congress, earning praise from Trump and depriving Bannon of his argument that the Republican-controlled Congress had not produced results.

 

'GREATLY DIMINISHED'

 

Trump turned on Bannon on Wednesday, saying he had “lost his mind” when he lost his job as chief strategist. He said Bannon did not represent Trump's political base and had exaggerated his influence even when he was at the White House.

 

Following Trump’s attack, some of the candidates who had aligned themselves with Bannon's movement began stepping away, including Arizona U.S. Senate hopeful Kelli Ward and New York congressional candidate Michael Grimm, who called the attacks against Trump’s family “baseless.”

 

Bannon’s influence, Ruddy said, had always stemmed from the belief that he was close to Trump.

 

“He’s greatly diminished,” he said. “What Steve forgets is the base is all about Donald Trump. It’s not about Steve Bannon.”

 

Josh Holmes, a former top aide to McConnell, said Bannon had been on a "self-interested mission" to play kingmaker inside the Republican Party.

 

"I think that’s over. ... A leader without followers is just a guy taking a walk,” Holmes said.

 

A friend of Bannon, former Trump adviser Sam Nunberg, said he doubted Bannon’s relationship with Trump could be fully repaired. But he added that Bannon would retain some sway over Trump’s supporters, particularly on issues such as immigration.

 

“This is not the end of the world, particularly with this president,” Nunberg said.

 

Trump is known for casting associates out of the fold, but also for bringing them back, particularly if there are common political interests or common enemies.

 

The president did appear to be in a slightly forgiving mood on Thursday, noting that Bannon had praised him the night before on a radio show.

“I don’t know, he called me a great man last night," Trump told reporters, "so you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick.”

 

(Reporting by James Oliphant and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by John Whitesides; Written by James Oliphant; Editing by Kieran Murray and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-05

[Bluespunk]

4 minutes ago, webfact said:

After attacks by Trump, Bannon finds himself with few friends

Couldn’t happen to a nicer man...

[Bluespunk]

8 minutes ago, webfact said:

. The White House followed up on Thursday by suggesting that Bannon be ousted from his influential perch as chief executive of the hard-right news site Breitbart News.

Who exactly  in the white house suggested that?

 

i don’t like bannon, but that sounds like threatening behaviour and an abuse of position/power. 

Edited January 5, 2018 by Bluespunk

[Emster23]

A sane, reasonable and semi intelligent would have called up Steve and asked "What's this all about?". I assume Trump didn't do this with his "friend", choosing to launch one of his narcissist retaliatory tweets. Common for those types to go ballistic at the slightest criticism.

 And to consider this "attack" by Bannon to be some recent change of heart or whatever is a stretch. Author spent one year on this project, and then there is editing, proof reading, etc etc. If Steve said these things, it was probably at least a month ago.

Trump also neglected to offer counter argument to charge his son was treasonous and unpatriotic. The shoe fits.

[soalbundy]

I'm surprised he had any, both Trump and Bannon only had each other as a friend, both nasty individuals.

[Jingthing]

Comedy break --

 

 

[soalbundy]

AFTER atacks by Trump, a German would find that wording funny

[mamypoko]

hard to find friends after poop attacks crap

 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, mamypoko said:

hard to find friends after poop attacks crap

 

Yeah they're both just different flavors of truly horrible.

Decent Americans wouldn't be taking any side on this but it seems like good news that they're fighting each other, like when drug cartels attack each other, everyone wins!

[lordblackader]

6 hours ago, Bluespunk said:

Who exactly  in the white house suggested that?

 

i don’t like bannon, but that sounds like threatening behaviour and an abuse of position/power. 

Sarah Huckabee Sanders said something like "perhaps they should review his position" in response to a question. 

[dunroaming]

And so the circus goes on.  I find it staggering that this slagging match is being played out in all it's glorious colour.  I find it even more staggering that this imbecile is POTUS.  How much lower can Trump drag this presidency?

[Jingthing]

And so the circus goes on.  I find it staggering that this slagging match is being played out in all it's glorious colour.  I find it even more staggering that this imbecile is POTUS.  How much lower can Trump drag this presidency?

Always lower. The safest bet in the world.

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[The Theory]

[riclag]

9 hours ago, dunroaming said:

And so the circus goes on.  I find it staggering that this slagging match is being played out in all it's glorious colour.  I find it even more staggering that this imbecile is POTUS.  How much lower can Trump drag this presidency?

 Dunroaming ,Why do you call my President a imbecile?

Edited January 5, 2018 by riclag

[Andaman Al]

36 minutes ago, riclag said:

 Dunroaming ,Why do you call my President a imbecile?

Because it's important to hear the truth if you cannot see it.

[stevenl]

3 hours ago, riclag said:

 Dunroaming ,Why do you call my President a imbecile?

I would venture because that's what he is.

[geriatrickid]

17 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Yeah they're both just different flavors of truly horrible.

Decent Americans wouldn't be taking any side on this but it seems like good news that they're fighting each other, like when drug cartels attack each other, everyone wins!

Quite the opposite, There is always  collateral damage. In this case it's the office of the president and the US standing in the world. It's depressing and  wrong.

[jerojero]

Both are total morons and egotistical retards. And how stupid are the 68,000,000 Americans who voted for Trump? Very. Nuff said.

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[jerojero]

And so the circus goes on.  I find it staggering that this slagging match is being played out in all it's glorious colour.  I find it even more staggering that this imbecile is POTUS.  How much lower can Trump drag this presidency?

Oh, don't underestimate Trumps ability to go lower. He's capable of lowering the bar and his self respect far more. Except he's so self centered he thinks people actually respect his ways and words. How 68,000,000 thought he'd make a good President is the real mystery.

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[jerojero]

 Dunroaming ,Why do you call my President a imbecile?

Hmm.....because he is one? Yes, he is. Anybody with common sense can plainly see that. Billions the world over see it, why can't you?

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[Richard W]

17 minutes ago, jerojero said:

How 68,000,000 thought he'd make a good President is the real mystery.

Be fair.  Many of them probably just thought that Hilary Clinton would make a worse one.

[mrwebb8825]

And now Bannon is all but crawling on his hands and knees begging at the White House. Never attack a man's family. The only thing this book is going to do is solidify the GOP and then in the mid-terms (elections) many of those dem seats up for grabs will be going to the GOP making them even stronger.

Just hope whomever gets elected in the 2024 race for POTUS doesn't undo all the good that President Trump is and will have done by then.

[puck2]

On 8.1.2018 at 12:51 PM, mrwebb8825 said:

And now Bannon is all but crawling on his hands and knees begging at the White House. Never attack a man's family. The only thing this book is going to do is solidify the GOP and then in the mid-terms (elections) many of those dem seats up for grabs will be going to the GOP making them even stronger.

Just hope whomever gets elected in the 2024 race for POTUS doesn't undo all the good that President Trump is and will have done by then.

 

I guess you think about "p@ssy grabbing" and straying. You hit the nail on the head!

At least, Bannon didn't have this "good".

[thaibeachlovers]

Only happened a short time ago, but already forgotten. There's so much <deleted> going on at the moment, nothing stays current more than a few days now, it seems.

I'd actually forgotten about him till I noticed the headline.