On Wednesday, Donald Trump made a surprising decision when he removed Chief Strategist Steve Bannon from his spot on the National Security Counsel. Prior to the move, Bannon directed a threat at the administration, and the president called his bluff.
Bannon's move
When former Breitbart News CEO Steve Bannon was brought on board to the Donald Trump campaign last summer, the move quickly raised eyebrows. Bannon has a controversial reputation, with some of his harshest critics going as far as labeling him a "white nationalist." After the Trump pulled off the upset and became the new president, it didn't come as a total surprise when Bannon was brought into the White House to serve in the newly created role of chief strategist.
Since then, Bannon has been on of Trump's most trusted advisers, appearing to help steer the former host of "The Apprentice" in a hard-right direction. Bannon's influence can be seen in various aspects of the new administration, from the handling of ongoing Russian scandal, to the failed Republican attempt at health care reform. However, due to Bannon receiving a heavy amount of media coverage, Trump has allegedly not been happen with the former head of Breitbart hogging all the "limelight." Fox News reported on Wednesday that Trump's jealousy was a possible reason for Bannon being demoted from the National Security Counsel, which didn't go over well, as reported by The Hill on April 5.
Bannon threatened to quit if removed from National Security Council role: report https://t.co/wOUe067a8J pic.twitter.com/GM2VqBaEsq
— The Hill (@thehill) April 6, 2017
According to the original report in the New York Times, Steve Bannon "resisted the move" when he was told he wouldn't be on the National Security Counsel, and went as far as threatening to quit the administration.
The paper also doubles down on Fox News' earlier report that Donald Trump has not been happy with the attention Bannon has received from the media, while noting that the president was "unhappy with liberals calling his top adviser 'President Bannon.'"
Twitter reacts
In response to the news about Steve Bannon, social media users were quick to give their thoughts.
"Steve Bannon replaced on the National Security Council by Rick Perry, a man who thinks Arab Spring is a Saudi deodorant," actor John Fugelsang wrote on Twitter.
Steve Bannon replaced on the National Security Council by Rick Perry, a man who thinks Arab Spring is a Saudi deodorant.
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) April 5, 2017
Steve Bannon is off the NSC. Now pause to think about the extraordinary bad judgment required to put him there in the first place.
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) April 5, 2017
Steve Bannon should be removed from the White House. Our taxes should not be paying the salary of a White supremacist. #TaxReform
— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) April 5, 2017
"Steve Bannon is off the NSC.
Now pause to think about the extraordinary bad judgment required to put him there in the first place," author Anne Applebaum tweeted out. "Steve Bannon should be removed from the White House. Our taxes should not be paying the salary of a White supremacist," entrepreneur and film producer Michael Skolnik wrote on his Twitter account.
