A nation must think before it acts.
Steve Bannon has left the building. Well, maybe. Being “fired” does not mean expulsion from the royal presidential court. Corey Lewandowski still maintains his links to the president. And so will Bannon.
These men appeal to the president’s baser instincts, which were very much on display in his impromptu outburst on Tuesday and which appear to be the only instincts he has. Lewandowski and now Bannon were (temporarily) expelled from Trump’s circle because the president cannot tolerate a subordinate’s contradicting him or, even worse, garnering more publicity in the media.
Bannon was guilty of both cardinal sins. He undermined the president’s bluster in responding to the North Korea crisis and in claiming that he controlled State Department appointments — displaying a degree of arrogance that the president invariably reserved for himself. Worse, however, was Brannon’s competing with Trump for dominance of the news cycle, thanks to his remarks to the American Prospect.