After his ouster from President Trump’s staff, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon is reportedly gearing up to “go to war” against several key targets, specifically his former White House colleagues, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Following his seven-month stint on Donald Trump’s administration, Bannon, 63, will return to his position as executive chairman of the far-right website Breitbart News. From there, he is expected to wage war against those with whom he has had not only ideological struggles, but personal conflicts.
According to Vanity Fair , on the morning that he was ousted from the Trump White House, Steve Bannon was asked why he sounded unfazed about the whole thing. His answer indicated that he was already setting up his revenge .
“Because we’re going to war.”
The outlet reports that the anti-globalist Bannon is targeting several West Wing figures, specifically Ivanka and Jared, both of whom he considers “globalists.” The former chief strategist is also said to be going after the “hawks”: National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategy Dina Powell.
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow told Vanity Fair ‘s Gabriel Sherman that Bannon intends on “beat[ing] their ideas into submission.”
“Steve has a lot of things up his sleeve.”
Indeed, shortly after he was removed from his post at the White House, Bannon was already rallying the troops. The former Trump staffer reportedly called into a Breitbart editorial meeting and announced that the website’s staff will be taking on the causes he championed in the White House.
Bannon on Trump White House: No administration in history has ever been so divided https://t.co/W0lCg6C7bU pic.twitter.com/jALb19qwe3
— The Hill (@thehill) August 20, 2017
Already, Breitbart is taking aim at Bannon’s enemies. On Sunday, the website published a lead story claiming that Ivanka Trump was the main instigator of Bannon’s ouster. The report, which said that Bannon’s “far-right views” clashed with Ivanka’s Jewish faith, was based on a Daily Mail article . Another Breitbart headline read “Six Times President Trump Upset Jared Kushner And Ivanka Trump… And The Media Found Out.”
Various sources have long reported on the animosity between Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner. The discord reportedly stemmed from Bannon’s doubts about Kushner’s political instincts, as well as differences in personal beliefs. According to Vanity Fair , a friend of Bannon’s said that he once called Kushner “a dope.” Sources also said that Steve wanted Trump to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, but that Jared opposed the suggestion — and won. Bannon’s allies also suspect that Kushner was behind the numerous anti-Bannon headlines that popped up in the weeks before his ouster.
Steve Bannon: “The Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over.” https://t.co/1jdHyvHyJG pic.twitter.com/bHSdWs2Uq9
— Slate (@Slate) August 20, 2017
On Saturday, Bannon spoke to The Washington Post about the turmoil in the Trump White House .
“No administration in history has been so divided among itself about the direction about where it should go.”
President Trump commented on Steve Bannon’s exit on Twitter on Saturday. Trump thanked his former chief strategist and praised his work on the presidential campaign, but said nothing about Bannon’s seven months in the White House.
I want to thank Steve Bannon for his service. He came to the campaign during my run against Crooked Hillary Clinton – it was great! Thanks S
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 19, 2017
[Featured Image by Andrew Harrer/Getty Images]
