Team Bannon 'Laying Low,' After Being 'Blindsided' by Trump [View all]

[DonViejo]

Steve Bannon and his team are treading lightly after President Trump publicly put his chief strategist on notice in an interview Tuesday night.

ASAWIN SUEBSAENG

04.12.17 11:00 AM ET

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According to Trump administration officials speaking on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, Team Bannon was “blindsided by” Trump’s words in the Post, one official close to Bannon said. “Of course we didn’t know [that] interview was coming,” the official continued.

Another official told The Daily Beast on Tuesday that Bannon and other America-First-style “nationalists” in Trump’s ranks are “still laying low for a bit more” as they figure out a way forward.

Bannon did not respond to a request for comment, but the White House communications office confirmed that the Post quoted Trump accurately, and that the president’s words spoke for themselves.

Bannon and his allies, both working in and outside of the West Wing, have been losing influence in Trump’s inner political circle, as reports of infighting between Bannon and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, spilled over into full public view. Last week, The Daily Beast reported, citing multiple senior Trump administration officials that “face-to-face” ideological clashing has been “nonstop” in recent weeks, and that Bannon had called Kushner a “globalist” and a “cuck.” One official said Bannon had complained about Team Kushner trying to “shiv him and push him out the door.” The comments came one day after it was announced that Bannon was removed from the National Security Council.

The news this week comes during heightened speculation of whether Bannon’s remaining days operating out of his White House “war room” are numbered. If Bannon were to leave—or get tossed from—the Trump White House, it would be a colossal loss for his anti-Republican-establishment wing of Trump’s senior team which stresses staunchly nationalist principles such as a hardline on immigration and trade. Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and Trump’s chief economic adviser Gary Cohn (who, as Axios reports, is nicknamed “Globalist Gary” by Team Bannon) represent a more moderate, conventional, and centrist-leaning faction.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/12/team-bannon-laying-low-after-being-blindsided-by-trump.html