WASHINGTON, D.C. — The New York Times reported today that Steve Bannon, President Trump’s chief strategist is leaving the White House.
“White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Steve Bannon have mutually agreed today would be Steve’s last day,” the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said in a statement. “We are grateful for his service and wish him the best.”
Human rights advocacy groups praised the move citing Bannon as a white nationalist and questioning why he was ever hired in the first place.
“Steve Bannon has built a career peddling white nationalism and placing large targets on the backs of marginalized communities, including LGBTQ people,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD. “From Day One, President Donald Trump has surrounded himself with anti-black, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-women, and anti-LGBTQ activists aimed at strengthening institutional discrimination and erasing LGBTQ Americans from the fabric of this nation. Steve Bannon may have resigned, but the fact that he even held the position of White House Chief Strategist is chilling, completely unacceptable, and will not be forgotten.”
Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement, “Stephen Bannon’s departure is the right result, but not for the right reason. The president, who continues to sow hate and division, clearly did not fire Bannon because of his white supremacist views and ties to the so-called ‘alt-right.’ Someone like Bannon should have never worked in the White House to begin with.
“President Trump must address the deep wounds he has created by ridding his administration of Sebastian Gorka, Stephen Miller, and any other staffers who stoke bigotry, hate, and division. Unless and until the president calls out evil; disavows neo-Nazis, white nationalists, and white supremacists; fires these staffers; and abandons his administration’s anti-civil rights agenda, he will continue to have no moral credibility.”
