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| Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon. |
President Donald Trump has fired his chief strategist Steve Bannon, a person familiar with the decision told Reuters on Friday.
A source close to Bannon said he was not expected to resign on his own. โBannon is going to make them fire him,โ the source said. โHeโs not going to officially resign. Heโs still been doing the work. Heโs been working on projects.โ
The New York Times, however, cited a person close to Bannon as saying he had submitted his resignation on August 7 and that it was to be announced this week, but had been delayed by the fallout from a rally by white nationalists in Virginia over the weekend.
Bannon damaged his standing by giving an interview to the liberal American Prospect this week in which he was seen to be undercutting Trumpโs position on North Korea.
Bannon told associates he thought he was talking to an academic and thought he was off the record.
He has told friends he could go back to the right-wing Breitbart News outlet if he were to leave the White House.
