Steve Bannon, the president’s chief strategist and former Breitbart News chairman, is upset with the alt-right website over a story that says White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus is close to losing his job.
The story cites multiple sources close to the president claiming that Mr Priebus could be removed from his position over the forced resignation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Since the piece was published, Mr Bannon has gone on record with multiple news outlets including The Hill, CNN, The Daily Beast, and The Atlantic, to call the story absurd and deny its legitimacy. To further illustrate his contempt, he told the media that he berated Breitbart journalist Matt Boyle over the phone when he was alerted to the story.
"Not upset—livid," he told CNN, adding that he hasn't had contact with the website since leaving last August. "The story is totally untrue. Reince is doing a great job. I couldn't ask any more from a partner."
“Reince is doing an amazing job,” he later told The Hill. “We are executing on President Trump’s agenda in record time. That’s because Reince is getting the job done.”
The piece also stokes recent reports of infighting within the White House and claims that there are "a lot of people on the nationalist right out to get Priebus.”
Interestingly enough, Mr Bannon once described Mr Boyle as “one of the few reporters in Washington who isn’t afraid to ruffle the feathers of the establishment and relentlessly tell the stories grassroots conservatives care about."
