Stephen Bannon has reportedly lost his ultra-wealthy benefactor Rebekah Mercer
After weeks of President Trump's family and close advisers telling him to cut ties with Stephen Bannon, the former White House chief strategist's own words may have finally been what Trump needed to hear to walk away.
Trump lashed out on Wednesday against harsh comments Bannon made about his family in the soon-to-be released book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. But he's not the only wealthy Republican ready to distance himself from Bannon, The Washington Post reports: Bannon, now the head of Breitbart News, has alienated his main financial backer, Rebekah Mercer. Bannon has been telling other major GOP donors that if he ever decides to run for president, Mercer would support him, a person familiar with the conversations told the Post. Mercer was already bothered by Bannon stumping for Roy Moore in the Alabama special Senate race and now does not plan on backing any of his future projects, the person said.
The Trump confidants who implored Trump to dump Bannon include his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, his lawyer Ty Cobb, outgoing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), and White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, the Post reports. Trump didn't appreciate people saying Bannon was a political "Svengali," one adviser told the Post, but he aslo did not want him as an enemy. After Trump learned what Bannon said in Fire and Fury, though, he raged "out of control," advisers and insiders told the Post. The Trump team was caught off guard by the excerpt's release on Wednesday, and a furious Trump spent his morning on the phone talking to friends and working with Hicks and Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on a statement blasting Bannon. For more on Bannon and Trump's wild Wednesday, visit The Washington Post.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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