Former White House adviser Stephen Bannon has stepped down from his post at Breitbart News after he was quoted disparaging President Donald Trump’s children in a new book about the administration, the right-wing news website confirmed Tuesday.
Bannon’s departure from Breitbart marks a stunning fall from power for one of Trump’s most influential and provocative counselors on both foreign and domestic policy. Loss of his media perch jeopardizes Bannon’s campaign to remake the Republican Party by fielding Trump-allied candidates to challenge incumbent lawmakers.
Bannon had served as Breitbart’s executive chairman since 2012. Trump’s improbable appointment of Bannon as chief executive officer of his campaign last year transformed the obscure pundit overnight into one of the most powerful figures in American politics.
Bannon, a former investment banker and Hollywood filmmaker, will work with Breitbart on a smooth and orderly transition, the site said.
“I’m proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform,” Bannon was quoted as saying on the website.
Breitbart CEO Larry Solov added: “Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions and what he has helped us to accomplish.”
Once a trusted adviser to the president, Bannon enraged Trump after he was prominently quoted in “Fire and Fury” making disparaging remarks about Trump’s children.
Author Michael Wolff wrote that Bannon called a 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer “treasonous” and called daughter Ivanka Trump “dumb as a brick.”
Trump responded with a written statement disavowing his onetime White House adviser.
“Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind,” Trump said.
The president also issued a nickname for Bannon, who often dressed in multiple, wrinkled layers: “Sloppy Steve.”
