White House: Breitbart ‘Should Look At’ Firing Steve Bannon

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon speaks during a rally for U.S. Senate hopeful Roy Moore, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017, in Fairhope Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that Breitbart News “should look at” getting rid of its executive chairman, Steve Bannon, following explosive comments from him published in a forthcoming book.

According to Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” Bannon said that a campaign meeting attended by Donald Trump Jr. and others with Kremlin-linked Russians was “treasonous.” President Donald Trump and his administration responded quickly to quotes from the book, even issuing a cease and desist letter to Wolff’s publisher.

“You were eager to call on ESPN to fire one of its sportscasters for criticizing President Trump,” one reporter asked Sanders at a press briefing Thursday, referring to Sanders’ comments about ESPN’s Jemele Hill, who had called Trump a bigot.

“It wasn’t just criticizing, it was a little bit different than that,” Sanders interjected, referring to Hill.

“Should Breitbart part ways with Steve Bannon after the comments in this book?” the reporter asked.

“I certainly think that it’s something they should look at and consider,” Sanders replied.

Breitbart is owned by the Mercer family — Robert Mercer and his daughter, Rebekah, are big time Republican donors and Trump insiders — Andrew Breitbart’s widow, Susie Breitbart, and Breitbart CEO Larry Solov, according to reporting from a hearing of the standing committee of the Senate Daily Press Gallery last year.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that in recent weeks Bannon has “alienated his main financial backer, Rebekah Mercer, after he told several other major conservative donors that he would be able to count on the Mercers’ financial support should he run for president, a person familiar with the conversations said.”

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