Prominent figures associated with Trump’s nationalist base, which generally supported Steve Bannon during his tenure as White House Chief Strategist, appeared to express mixed reactions to his dismissal on social media.
GotNews founder Chuck Johnson, who had collaborated with Bannon on the Trump campaign last year, appeared not to be too disappointed, based on a post he made on Facebook in response to the news. “Steve Bannon was always about Steve Bannon. He did little to bring in others and over promised and under delivered,” Johnson said.
Political strategist and InfoWars pundit Roger Stone, usually a bitter rival of Johnson’s, concurred. “Victory!”, he proclaimed on Twitter, linking to a damning hit piece he had published the day before.
However, most in Trump’s base were critical of the move. Rep. Steve King (R-IA), an immigration opponent who had strongly urged the President to retain Bannon, summed up the general attitude towards the news, telling a reporter: “With Steve Bannon gone, what’s left of the conservative core in the West Wing?”
Political commentator Ann Coulter was furious, firing off a lengthy series of tweets condemning the decision as a sign of “weakness”.
“If Donald Trump didn’t like the media giving Steve Bannon all credit, instead of firing him, he should’ve hired 10 more like him,” she said.
“At least Wall Street will get its tax cuts now! Also, more pointless wars!!!” she continued.
Joel Pollak, editor-in-chief of Breitbart News, Bannon’s former media outlet, declared “#WAR” on Twitter, lending credence to a report by Axios that we could see a “Bannon the barbarian” use his newfound freedom to mount an offensive against globalists within the administration.
