© Kevin Lamarque / ReutersSteve Bannon
As with many Trump aides before him, Bannon was fired but remained in a wide circle of former employees and friends consulted by the president. But unlike many others, the phase didn't last long, ending in a pitiable downfall.
Bannon's influence imploded with the January 2018 release of author Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. The former White House chief strategist had given Wolff broad access and was quoted calling Donald Trump Jr. "treasonous" for meeting a Russian hawking dirt on Hillary Clinton.
But now, coinciding with the two year anniversary of his White House exit, Bannon's exile from Trump's Washington seems to be ending.
Bannon, the 2016 Trump campaign's executive chairman, has appeared increasingly often on TV, including Fox News, to discuss world events. And on Aug. 2, he impressed Trump, who tweeted: "Nice to see that one of my best pupils is still a giant Trump fan. Steve joined me after I won the primaries, but I loved working with him!"
Trump was asked privately this month about Bannon following the tweet, and answered to the effect of, "I think Steve is great. He is fantastic on television," a person with direct knowledge of the conversation told the Washington Examiner.
Although some sources saw the tweet as ribbing Bannon by calling him a "pupil," most agreed that it was a sign of a softening relationship. Operatives close to the White House took note, interpreting the tweet as a signal that it's okay to work with Bannon again.
The tweet suggested Bannon was "out of Trump's personal dog house," a former White House official said. Another former official close to both Bannon and Trump agreed. A third said "his standing seems to be improving" by publicly aligning with the White House.
"Trump didn't love the book, and he blames Steve for the crazy book because that's what he was told: this was Steve's book. But that was a long time ago in the president's mind," a source familiar with Trump's thinking said. "There is no animosity. Zero. There are no hard feelings from the president."
Even before Trump's tweet, the thaw was emerging when one of Trump's closest cabinet secretaries, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, sought out Bannon's advice on possibly running for the Senate next year.
The conversation with Pompeo came shortly before Trump's tweet, according to a source who spoke with Bannon and a second source briefed by two people close to Pompeo — one of them uncomfortable with Bannon, who recently sought to forge ties with European nationalists.
Sources told the Washington Examiner that Bannon has also claimed to be in contact with White House economic adviser Peter Navarro, a hardliner on trade negotiations with China.
Navarro did not respond to questions about his contact with Bannon, who also holds strong opinions on China. Asked on the White House driveway Thursday whether he had been discussing developments in China with Bannon, Navarro looked over his shoulder and smiled slightly, but did not answer.
A former official urged caution reporting on Bannon's return to grace, noting Bannon's reputation for inflating perception of his influence. "Steve could be bluffing," he said about Bannon's accounts of recent private talks with administration officials.
Still, Trump's tweeted and private comments, and Pompeo's outreach, indicate a pivot, contrasting sharply with Trump's rage as he exiled "Sloppy Steve" from Washington in January 2018.
Bannon "cried when he got fired," Trump said at the time, humiliating his former campaign chairman, insisting Bannon "had very little to do" with the 2016 election.
In an excoriating statement, Trump wrote: "Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books."
Trump added a kick on Twitter: "Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad!" Days later, Bannon, a Goldman Sachs banker and entertainment industry executive before entering political journalism, lost his job at Breitbart.
There are reasons aside from time that could explain the thaw. Although Bannon defiantly said "I don't deny any of the content" in Wolff's book, he also told a French publication he used the word "treasonous" against Paul Manafort, his predecessor as Trump campaign chairman, not Donald Jr.
As is often the case with Bannon, the extent of his influence can be mysterious. Sources questioned, for example, whether Pompeo took a risk in making contact with Bannon, or if Trump had indicated approval beforehand.
Although he was in touch with Trump in the initial months after he left the White House, Bannon rarely described in detail the content of his calls with Trump, and some insiders question the depth of his sway over Trump at that time.
Sources didn't know if Bannon had spoken directly with Trump since release of Wolff's book, but many doubted it. Several, however, saw Trump's fight this week with former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci as a potential opening for the two men to find common ground. Scaramucci was fired after a vulgar interview in which he said Bannon was "trying to suck [his] own cock."
Bannon could not be reached for comment. The White House did not offer comment for this story.
Comment: More background on Bannon's political fortunes.