President Donald Trump expressed his gratitude to newly ousted senior White House adviser Steve Bannon on social media Saturday, less than 24 hours after he was fired from the administration.
‘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,’ Trump wrote to his Twitter feed.
Trump’s chief political strategist departs just shy of seven months into the administration.
President Donald Trump sent his appreciation for Steve Bannonin a tweet less than 24 hours after being fired from the administration
Bannon has already returned to lead Brietbart News, a position he held before leaving last year to help the Trump campaign
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement on Friday: ‘White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve’s last day.’
‘We are grateful for his service and wish him the best,’ she said.
Bannon’s exit is the latest in a string of high-profile departures from the White House, which includes former chief of staff Reince Priebus and ex-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, among others.
The administration has also seen former National Security Director Michael Flynn depart in January, and Anthony Scaramucci, White House Communications Director, sacked in late July.
The Brietbart News editor did not leave in a whimper, however, telling The Weekly Standard shortly after his dismissal that he’s finally ‘free’ to ‘crush the opposition.’
‘I’ve got my hands back on my weapons,’ Bannon, 63, told the publication. ‘Someone said, “it’s Bannon the Barbarian.” I am definitely going to crush the opposition.’
US President Donald Trump disembarks from Air Force One upon arrival at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, New Jersey
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was fired from his position on July 28
Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, resigned on July 21 after serving the President less than six months
Media reports suggest that the ‘opposition’ consist of senior economic adviser Gary Cohn, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and National Security Adviser HR McMaster, officials Bannon views as moderating forces in the West Wing steering the President away from a nationalist agenda.
Utterances of Bannon’s imminent ouster swirled around Washington for weeks before Friday, with aides in the White House suggesting Bannon’s toxic rapport with McMaster and Cohn was leading to his imminent dismissal.
According to The New York Times, Bannon’s caustic disposition didn’t help either, who would frequently clash with other senior aides on issues over trade, the war in Afghanistan, taxes, immigration and the role of government.
The Times also reported that Trump had grown weary of Bannon over the past several months, believing that he was a source of leaking in the White House and angry that he was promoting his image in the media.
By Friday night, Bannon was back at an editorial board meeting at Brietbart News, assuming his prior position as head of the company before leaving last year to help Trump run his presidential campaign.
President Donald Trump speaks on the phone on January 28. Chief of Staff Reince Priebus (middle), Steve Bannon (second right), WH Press Secretary Sean Spicer (third right) and NSA Michael Flynn (sitting) have all either been fired or left the Trump administration.