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| Rightwing media divided after Steve Bannon's White House departure | Rightwing media divided after Steve Bannon's White House departure |
| (5 months later) | |
| Breitbart, which the former Trump strategist once headed, says he left voluntarily while New York Post and Fox News offer harsh appraisals | |
| Adam Gabbatt | |
| Fri 18 Aug 2017 20.06 BST | |
| Last modified on Tue 5 Sep 2017 20.09 BST | |
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| Steve Bannon’s tenure in the White House will probably best be remembered for the warring factions he managed to create. And just like his divisive presence in the Trump administration, the former chief strategist’s departure managed to cleave the rightwing media in two on Friday. | Steve Bannon’s tenure in the White House will probably best be remembered for the warring factions he managed to create. And just like his divisive presence in the Trump administration, the former chief strategist’s departure managed to cleave the rightwing media in two on Friday. |
| Of rightwing news sites, Breitbart was, unsurprisingly, the most supportive. The site responded to the news with a dramatic flashing orange headline: “Report: Bannon out of the White House”. | Of rightwing news sites, Breitbart was, unsurprisingly, the most supportive. The site responded to the news with a dramatic flashing orange headline: “Report: Bannon out of the White House”. |
| Trump fired Sally Yates, the acting attorney general, after she refused to enforce the Muslim-focused immigration ban. | Trump fired Sally Yates, the acting attorney general, after she refused to enforce the Muslim-focused immigration ban. |
| Trump fired national security adviser Michael Flynn after he apparently misled vice president Mike Pence over conversations he’d had with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. | Trump fired national security adviser Michael Flynn after he apparently misled vice president Mike Pence over conversations he’d had with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. |
| Trump fired Preet Bharara, US attorney for New York’s Southern District, who had refused to comply with an order to resign. | Trump fired Preet Bharara, US attorney for New York’s Southern District, who had refused to comply with an order to resign. |
| Katie Walsh, deputy chief of staff and a Reince Priebus ally, quit. She later said she decided to make the move after the initial failure of a Trump-backed health care bill in the House. | Katie Walsh, deputy chief of staff and a Reince Priebus ally, quit. She later said she decided to make the move after the initial failure of a Trump-backed health care bill in the House. |
| Most notoriously, Trump fired FBI director James Comey. Initially, Trump cited Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as the reason behind his decision. Later, Trump admitted “this Russia thing with Trump and Russia” (ie the investigation into collusion to swing the election between the president’s camp and Moscow) had been on his mind. | Most notoriously, Trump fired FBI director James Comey. Initially, Trump cited Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as the reason behind his decision. Later, Trump admitted “this Russia thing with Trump and Russia” (ie the investigation into collusion to swing the election between the president’s camp and Moscow) had been on his mind. |
| Walter Shaub Jr., office of government ethics director, resigned over concerns that Trump’s conflicts of interest put the US at risk of being seen as a “kleptocracy”. | Walter Shaub Jr., office of government ethics director, resigned over concerns that Trump’s conflicts of interest put the US at risk of being seen as a “kleptocracy”. |
| White House press secretary Sean Spicer resigned after Anthony Scaramucci was brought in as communications director. | White House press secretary Sean Spicer resigned after Anthony Scaramucci was brought in as communications director. |
| Trump forced out Reince Priebus as the White House chief of staff and replaced him with homeland security secretary, Gen John Kelly. | Trump forced out Reince Priebus as the White House chief of staff and replaced him with homeland security secretary, Gen John Kelly. |
| White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was fired after just ten days, reportedly at the request of new White House chief of staff John Kelly and after a foul-mouthed tirade to a New Yorker journalist. | White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci was fired after just ten days, reportedly at the request of new White House chief of staff John Kelly and after a foul-mouthed tirade to a New Yorker journalist. |
| Steve Bannon, White House chief strategist, was removed from his position, leaving a major void in the administration. | Steve Bannon, White House chief strategist, was removed from his position, leaving a major void in the administration. |
| Breitbart – which Bannon used to run – led with the line that Bannon was responsible for his own fate – despite reports elsewhere suggesting Trump had decided to fire him. “Submitted resignation August 7,” Breitbart claimed, in capital letters. | Breitbart – which Bannon used to run – led with the line that Bannon was responsible for his own fate – despite reports elsewhere suggesting Trump had decided to fire him. “Submitted resignation August 7,” Breitbart claimed, in capital letters. |
| Breitbart then quoted three paragraphs of a New York Times story on Bannon’s ousting. Breitbart frequently aggregates content from more mainstream media outlets, and allows commenters to discuss the news. | Breitbart then quoted three paragraphs of a New York Times story on Bannon’s ousting. Breitbart frequently aggregates content from more mainstream media outlets, and allows commenters to discuss the news. |
| An hour after Breitbart published the story, it had garnered more than 10,000 comments. The most-liked provided an insight into where Breitbart readers’ loyalties lie. “Trump throwing Bannon under the bus to please establishment hacks? WTF!” wrote Rubicon. | An hour after Breitbart published the story, it had garnered more than 10,000 comments. The most-liked provided an insight into where Breitbart readers’ loyalties lie. “Trump throwing Bannon under the bus to please establishment hacks? WTF!” wrote Rubicon. |
| InfoWars, the rightwing site run by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, was charitable. Bannon was “a major force in challenging the establishment and leftist mainstream media, and helped the president deliver on many of his campaign promises”, according to the site. | InfoWars, the rightwing site run by the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, was charitable. Bannon was “a major force in challenging the establishment and leftist mainstream media, and helped the president deliver on many of his campaign promises”, according to the site. |
| But some prominent rightwing media figures rejoiced at the news. Roger Stone tweeted a link to his own Daily Caller article on Bannon’s departure, adding simply: “Victory!”. He also noted that the “overall sartorial quality of the White House staff just improved dramatically”. Bannon is not renowned for his personal style. | But some prominent rightwing media figures rejoiced at the news. Roger Stone tweeted a link to his own Daily Caller article on Bannon’s departure, adding simply: “Victory!”. He also noted that the “overall sartorial quality of the White House staff just improved dramatically”. Bannon is not renowned for his personal style. |
| And on the less extreme rightwing sites, Bannon was not fondly remembered. The New York Post, which has generally been supportive of Donald Trump, described Bannon as a “white nationalist bomb thrower” and “the voice of the alt-right”. | And on the less extreme rightwing sites, Bannon was not fondly remembered. The New York Post, which has generally been supportive of Donald Trump, described Bannon as a “white nationalist bomb thrower” and “the voice of the alt-right”. |
| “Bannon had been on the outs with Trump before for grandstanding and stealing the spotlight, but the president suspected he was one of the main leakers in the administration, trashing his colleagues in news reports,” the Post wrote. | “Bannon had been on the outs with Trump before for grandstanding and stealing the spotlight, but the president suspected he was one of the main leakers in the administration, trashing his colleagues in news reports,” the Post wrote. |
| Fox News – a favourite of Trump’s – also used Bannon’s culling as an opportunity to twist the knife. Fox described Bannon as “a hardcore populist who often sparred with his West Wing colleagues”, adding that he had “become increasingly isolated in the White House”. | Fox News – a favourite of Trump’s – also used Bannon’s culling as an opportunity to twist the knife. Fox described Bannon as “a hardcore populist who often sparred with his West Wing colleagues”, adding that he had “become increasingly isolated in the White House”. |
| The early conflict between the far-right and the less-far-right news sites also rolled over on to Twitter. Gabriel Sherman, a correspondent at Vanity Fair, said a source had told him Bannon would return to Breitbart and that the news site was “ramping up for war against Trump”. | The early conflict between the far-right and the less-far-right news sites also rolled over on to Twitter. Gabriel Sherman, a correspondent at Vanity Fair, said a source had told him Bannon would return to Breitbart and that the news site was “ramping up for war against Trump”. |
| A tweet from Breitbart editor Joel Pollack was similarly portentous. “#War,” it said. | A tweet from Breitbart editor Joel Pollack was similarly portentous. “#War,” it said. |
| Steve Bannon | |
| Trump administration | |
| US politics | |
| US press and publishing | |
| Breitbart | |
| news | |
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