STEVE BANNON/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “President Donald Trump seems intent on an amicable public breakup with his former chief strategist Steve Bannon.
In a pair of tweets Saturday, the president lauded Mr. Bannon and wished him well upon his return to Breitbart News after a seven-month stint in the West Wing.
‘Steve Bannon will be a tough and smart new voice @BreitbartNews…maybe even better than before,’ Mr. Trump wrote. Turning to an old foe, mainstream news media, he added: ‘Fake News needs the competition!’…
Mr. Bannon by the end had run afoul of the president, who was unhappy about a new book called ‘Devil’s Bargain’ by Josh Green that credited Mr. Bannon for much success in the 2016 presidential race, White House officials said.
White House aides were also upset about an interview Mr. Bannon gave this week to the liberal publication American Prospect in which he said the White House’s pro-business advisers were ‘wetting themselves’ over Mr. Trump’s trade agenda.
Mr. Bannon, with his return to Breitbart News, commands a megaphone that is popular among the president’s conservative base…
Now on the outside, Mr. Bannon is free to publicly share his own assessment of the Trump White House. He didn’t wait long. After his departure was announced he gave an interview to the Weekly Standard and said the ‘Trump presidency that we fought for, and won, is over. We still have a huge movement, and we will make something of this Trump presidency. But that presidency is over. It’ll be something else.’ “
-Peter Nicholas, “Trump Praises Steve Bannon for His ‘Service’,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 19, 2017 05:51pm