White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is the latest top
aide of President Donald Trump to leave his post.
Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed that Friday
was his last day.
His exit follows a review of his position by White House
Chief of Staff John Kelly.
Mr Bannon, a right-wing nationalist and former head of
Breitbart.com, helped shape the "America First" message of Mr Trump's
election campaign.
But critics had accused the 63-year-old of harbouring
anti-Semitic and white supremacist views.
Mr Bannon is known to have competed for influence in the
West Wing against more moderate factions, including members of the Trump
family.
Steve Bannon may be out as a senior White House adviser, but
Bannonism - if that's what it can properly be called - is still firmly
entrenched in the White House.
Donald Trump has repeatedly boasted that the success of his presidential
campaign should properly be attributed to him, not Mr Bannon. And, in the end,
Mr Bannon's desire to take credit for that win may have been what did him in.
It certainly wasn't because of any sharp ideological divides
between the president and the former head of Breitbart News.
Border security, aggressive trade protectionism, immigration
reform and a certain kind of cultural nostalgia - all were themes that Mr Trump
ran on from the start, which Mr Bannon only sharpened and focused. They're also
issues Mr Trump has pushed in recent weeks, even as Mr Bannon has been
increasingly marginalised.
Mr Bannon's firing will be seen as a win for Chief of Staff
John Kelly, whose attempts to instill discipline in the White House will get a
boost without the free-wheeling Mr Bannon roaming the hallways.
Trump was Trump before Mr Bannon came on the scene, however.
And as the rollercoaster ride that was politics this week indicates, the
president isn't changing anytime soon.
Mr Trump fuelled speculation when asked last week about Mr
Bannon's future as he replied: "We'll see."
Mr Bannon's interview this week with the American Prospect,
a liberal magazine, reportedly infuriated the president.
The White House aide was quoted as dismissing the idea of a
military solution in North Korea, undercutting Mr Trump.
I thought Mr almighty Bannon was gonna control things until Trump was done with The White House.
This life... nothing is set in stone.
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