‘Bannon the barbarian’ ousted from White House

“Winter is here.” “He’s a tiger being let out of his cage.” “He’s going nuclear.” “There will be consequences.” “It may turn out to be the beginning of the end for the Trump administration.”

Steve Bannon may just have one the most colourful White House CVs in recent history. He spent time in the navy, investment banking, Hollywood films and political documentaries, before eventually leading the controversial far-right website Breitbart. In 2016 he was hired as Donald Trump’s campaign boss. Since January, he has served as Trump’s chief strategist.

Now, his stint in politics is over. On Friday, one of the worst weeks of Trump’s presidency ended with Bannon’s abrupt departure from the White House.

Within hours he was back in charge of Breitbart, while “friends” and “sources” were speaking out about the drama to come. “Steve is now unchained. He’s going nuclear,” one told The Atlantic. “You have no idea.”

Bannon’s message was similarly strident. “I’m going to war for Trump,” he told Bloomberg, arguing that he would have more influence outside the White House than within it. Earlier, he had told The Weekly Standard: “The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over.” He blamed moderate Republicans for not backing Trump’s core agenda.

“I am definitely going to crush the opposition,” he added.

For Bannon, “the opposition” is not just Democrats and liberals; it is also most leaders of the Republican Party, whom he has repeatedly disparaged as “sell-outs” and “crony capitalists”.

He sees himself as a champion of Trump’s white working-class base, and a revolutionary who is ready to “destroy the state” and “bring everything crashing down.” His extreme positions have made him a hero of the alt-right and white nationalists, even if he has distanced himself from those movements.

Many have portrayed Bannon as a puppeteer-like figure. So what will happen now that he has gone?

Banning Bannon

Some say that this will change everything. The public is turning against the kind of nationalism that Bannon embodies, after it led to a woman’s death in Charlottesville last weekend. The end of the Bannon era also signals the growing influence of chief of staff John Kelly, who was hired to bring some order to Trump’s chaotic team. Do not be surprised to see a more moderate president from now on.

“Unlikely,” respond others. Trump did not fire Bannon over a political disagreement. His response to Charlottesville, in which he blamed “both sides” for the violence, was textbook Bannon. No, he was simply angry that Bannon was being portrayed as the power behind the throne. The pair will undoubtedly stay in touch, and their vision for America has not changed a bit.