Stephen Bannon calls Nikki Haley's timing exquisitely 'horrific'

President Trump doesn't see a problem with the timing of Nikki Haley's resignation as U.N. ambassador, but his own former strategist thinks he couldn't be more wrong.

Stephen Bannon told Bloomberg on Wednesday that the timing of Haley's announcement was "exquisite from a bad point of view." Considering the ambassador isn't actually leaving until the end of the year, Bannon argued the departure could have easily been announced after the crucial midterm elections. "The timing could not have been worse," Bannon added, going further by calling it "suspect" and "horrific." Trump and Haley told reporters about her coming departure on Tuesday, with Haley saying she needed a break.

Bannon also told Bloomberg the Haley news distracted from the successful confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh just days earlier, another reason it could have waited.

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Trump himself was asked today if he's concerned about the timing, but he said he isn't. After all, there was really "no good time" to do it, he argued, per Talking Points Memo. "Frankly, it's almost four weeks, so it's not that bad," Trump said, adding that the resignation was "very elegantly done."

A number of Republicans other than Bannon have also questioned why Haley's resignation was announced now, with Trump-critic Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.) calling it "unusual" and saying, "something doesn't smell right."