Steve Bannon has stepped down from his post as executive chairman of Breitbart News, the far-right website announced on Tuesday, January 9.
“I’m proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform,” the former White House chief strategist, 64, said in a statement on Breitbart’s site.
The company said it will work with Bannon “on a smooth and orderly transition.” CEO Larry Solov added, “Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he has helped us to accomplish.”
The New York Times reported that the executive was forced out by billionaire Breitbart investor Rebekah Mercer, who recently cut ties with him after he suggested he might run for president.
President Donald Trump criticized Bannon, who joined Breitbart in 2012, earlier this month after excerpts from journalist Michael Wolff’s tell-all book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House were published online. In the book, Bannon describes the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and Russian operatives as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.”
Trump, 71, responded in a statement to Us Weekly on January 3, saying, “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”
Bannon later apologized for the comments he made in the book, saying his support for the former Celebrity Apprentice host is “unwavering.”
