--- title: Steve Bannon: A Timeline of Highs and Lows with Donald Trump description: Former Breitbart News publisher Steve Bannon has had a rollercoaster ride in the Trump campaign and the Administration. Here's a timeline. canonical: https://time.com/4907060/steve-bannon-donald-trump-timeline/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-18T18:20:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T04:33:49.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Rise and Fall of Steve Bannon: A Timeline og:description: His highs and lows with Donald Trump. og:url: https://time.com/4907060/steve-bannon-donald-trump-timeline/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31d29c6e35036520/6988da570a4a22d07d9cf89c/steve-bannon-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4500 og:image:height: 2531 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP-STAFF og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Rise and Fall of Steve Bannon: A Timeline twitter:description: His highs and lows with Donald Trump. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31d29c6e35036520/6988da570a4a22d07d9cf89c/steve-bannon-trump.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Rise and Fall of Steve Bannon: A Timeline > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:33 AM UTCPublished: Aug 18, 2017 6:20 PM UTC  US President Donald Trump congratulates Steve Bannon during the swearing-in of senior staff in the White House on January 22, 2017. US President Donald Trump congratulates Steve Bannon during the swearing-in of senior staff in the White House on January 22, 2017.Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Updated: Dec 13, 2023 4:33 AM UTCPublished: Aug 18, 2017 6:20 PM UTC President Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon is leaving the White House. The former Breitbart News publisher has had a roller coaster ride in both the Trump campaign and the Administration, facing criticism from establishment Republicans and civil rights groups over his economic nationalism and ties to the alt-right. Here’s a timeline of Bannon’s highs and lows with Trump. **July 12, 2015:** Bannon calls Trump’s book, “Time to Get Tough,” a [“blockbuster policy manifesto”](http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/12/time-to-get-tough-trumps-blockbuster-policy-manifesto/) in a review on Breitbart. Trump tweets a link to the story. > [](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/621750026155487234) **July 21:** Trump tweets approvingly of a Breitbart story criticizing NBC News. “Thanks to Steve Bannon and real reporters,” he writes. > [](https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/623504689414471681) **Nov. 2:** Bannon [interviews](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-bannon-flattered-and-coaxed-trump-on-policies-key-to-the-alt-right/2016/11/15/53c66362-ab69-11e6-a31b-4b6397e625d0%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.df5302aa4c28) Trump for a Breitbart radio show. In the interview, Bannon says he is concerned that many CEOs in Silicon Valley are from Asia. “A country is more than an economy. We’re a civic society,” he says. **Dec. 1:** Bannon [interviews](https://soundcloud.com/breitbart/breitbart-news-daily-donald-trump-december-1-2015) Trump again for Breitbart News Daily. **Feb. 18, 2016:** Bannon [interviews](https://soundcloud.com/breitbart/breitbart-news-daily-donald-trump-february-18-2016) Trump for a third time. **May 11:** Bannon [holds a private screening](http://time.com/4328254/clinton-cash-movie-hillary-clinton-peter-schweizer-breitbart/) of “Clinton Cash,” a documentary he helped make aimed at persuading liberals that the Democratic presidential nominee has shady financial connections. **June 13:** Bannon [interviews](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/steve-bannon-fire-past-comments-islam/story?id=45193278) Trump for a fourth time. **Aug. 17:** Bannon is named [“chief executive”](http://time.com/4455686/who-is-stephen-bannon-trump/) of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, an unusual title for a national campaign. Paul Manafort remains as campaign manager, but two days later [resigns the post](http://time.com/4459066/paul-manafort-donald-trump-campaign/). **Aug. 25:** The New York _Post_ [reports](http://www.npr.org/2016/08/26/491440310/reports-new-trump-campaign-ceo-faced-domestic-violence-charge-in-1996) that Bannon was charged with domestic violence in 1996 but the charges were eventually dropped and Bannon pleaded not guilty. Democratic presidential nominee [criticizes the Bannon pick](http://fortune.com/2016/08/26/hillary-clinton-speech-alt-right/) in a speech on the alt-right. **Nov. 8:** Trump [wins the presidential election](http://time.com/4563685/donald-trump-wins/). **Nov. 13:** Trump names Bannon as chief strategist for his administration, simultaneously tapping Republican National Committee head Reince Priebus as chief of staff. Anti-discrimination groups [criticize the Bannon pick](http://time.com/4569588/donald-trump-stephen-bannon-breitbart-white-house/). **Nov. 15:** Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid criticizes Bannon in [a speech on the Senate floor](http://time.com/4572395/harry-reid-speech-donald-trump-stephen-bannon/). “By placing a champion of white supremacists a step away from the Oval Office, what message does Trump send to the young girl who woke up Wednesday afraid to be a woman of color in America?” he asks. **Nov. 18:** In [an interview with the _Hollywood Reporter_](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steve-bannon-trump-tower-interview-trumps-strategist-plots-new-political-movement-948747), Bannon says he doesn’t mind his public image. “Darkness is good,” he says. “Dick Cheney. Darth Vader. Satan. That’s power.” **Jan. 20, 2017:** Trump is [inaugurated](http://time.com/4641780/trump-inauguration-faith-religion-evangelical/) as the 45th president. “The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer,” he says in [an inaugural address](http://time.com/4640707/donald-trump-inauguration-speech-transcript/) that Bannon [reportedly helped write](https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-strikes-nationalistic-tone-in-inaugural-speech-1484957527?tesla=y&mod=e2tw). **Jan. 27:** Trump [signs an executive order](http://time.com/4652552/president-trump-is-suspending-a-refugee-program-and-banning-visas-from-7-countries/) barring travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. Huge protests spring up at U.S. airports. Reporter Joshua Green later [writes](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-02-28/does-stephen-miller-speak-for-trump-or-vice-versa) that Bannon arranged the timing on a Friday afternoon to spur the protests, which he thought would also galvanize Trump voters who supported the president’s move. **Jan. 28:** Trump [adds Bannon to the National Security Council’s principals committee](http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/29/512295108/with-national-security-council-shakeup-steve-bannon-gets-a-seat-at-the-table), the top interagency group on national security. The move is considered unusual because political strategists have not served on the committee previously. **Feb. 13:** Bannon makes the [cover of TIME Magazine](http://time.com/magazine/us/4657637/february-13th-2017-vol-189-no-5-u-s/) under he headline “The Great Manipulator.” Inside, the cover story asks [“Is Steve Bannon the Second Most Powerful Man in the World?”](http://time.com/4657665/steve-bannon-donald-trump/)  Photograph by Nadav Kander for TIME **Feb. 20:** Trump [picks](http://time.com/4676455/donald-trump-h-r-mcmaster-national-security-adviser/) Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security adviser. In the coming months, the two reportedly clash over the White House’s approach to foreign policy. **Feb. 23:** Bannon and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus [give a joint interview](http://time.com/4681094/reince-priebus-steve-bannon-cpac-interview-transcript/) at the Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C., as part of a series of odd couple press appearances designed to smooth over tensions in the White House. **Feb. 28:** Trump gives his [first address to a joint session of Congress](http://time.com/4686621/trump-congress-address-transcript/). Observers [note](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trump-prepares-to-address-a-divided-audience-the-republican-congress/2017/02/28/183138ce-fced-11e6-8ebe-6e0dbe4f2bca%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.1147a04a1ddd) that the speech reflects Bannon’s influence within the White House, but with a more moderate tone. **April 4:** Bannon is [removed from his role](http://time.com/4726905/steve-bannon-national-security-council-reshuffle/) on the NSC’s Principals Committee, a move that reflects the increasing stature of McMaster. **April 11:** In an [interview with the New York _Post_](http://nypost.com/2017/04/11/trump-wont-definitively-say-he-still-backs-bannon/), Trump downplays Bannon’s role with the campaign, arguing that he is his own chief strategist. “I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late,” he says. **April 12:** In [an interview with the _Wall Street Journal_](https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-threatens-to-withhold-payments-to-insurers-to-press-democrats-on-health-bill-1492029844), Trump refers to Bannon simply as “a guy who works for me.” **April 20:** Bannon is [named to the TIME 100](http://time.com/4745798/time-100-2017-full-list/), an annual list of the most influential people in the world. **May 2:** Rabbi Shmuley Boteach [posts a photo of himself](http://time.com/4764937/steve-bannon-whiteboard-revealed/) and Bannon on Twitter which includes Bannon’s famous whiteboard which includes a list of every Trump campaign promise, with a checkmark next to those that have been kept. > [](https://twitter.com/RabbiShmuley/status/859514352755453954) **June 1:** Trump [announces](http://time.com/4801134/paris-agreement-withdrawal-donald-trump-rose-garden/) plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, a move that Bannon [had internally lobbied for](http://www.newyorker.com/news/ryan-lizza/how-climate-change-saved-steve-bannons-job) and that Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, had opposed. **July 13:** The Center for Public Integrity reports that Bannon [failed to properly disclose](https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/07/13/20983/steve-bannon-misreports-2-million-debt-financial-disclosure) more than $2 million in mortgage debt on his White House financial disclosure forms. Bannon later amends the filing. **July 18:** PenguinRandomHouse publishes [“Devil’s Bargain”](http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/557633/devils-bargain-by-joshua-green/9780735225022/) by Green, an inside look at Bannon and Trump during the campaign. **July 26:** Reports surface that Bannon is [calling for a top marginal tax rate of 44%](http://time.com/money/4876263/steve-bannon-44-percent-tax-rich/) on the wealthiest Americans, a break with other Republicans and even with Trump’s own proposed tax plan. The idea goes nowhere. **July 27:** The Center for Public Integrity reveals that Bannon has a [“shadow press office,”](http://time.com/4876765/steve-bannon-shadow-press-office/) an outside public relations agent working for free, which ethics experts say is unprecedented and possibly illegal. **Aug. 15:** Asked about Bannon’s future in the White House [at a press conference](http://time.com/4902144/donald-trump-charlottesville-blame-both-sides-kkk-nazi/), Trump says “we’ll see what happens with Mr. Bannon,” adding that he is a “good man” and “not a racist” but again noting that he came on to the campaign late. **Aug. 16:** In [an interview with the progressive _American Prospect_](http://prospect.org/article/steve-bannon-unrepentant) magazine, Bannon calls white supremacists “a collection of clowns,” argues that an “economic war with China” has already begun and says [there is no military solution](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/17/us/politics/steve-bannon-nationalism-trump.html) to the North Korea problem. Bannon allies later say he [did not intend](http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/16/politics/steve-bannon-interview-white-supremacy/index.html) for the interview to be on the record. **Aug. 18:** The Drudge Report and the [New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/us/politics/steve-bannon-trump-white-house.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news) break the news that Trump has decided to have Bannon leave the White House. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4907060/steve-bannon-donald-trump-timeline/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4907060/steve-bannon-donald-trump-timeline/"},"headline":"The Rise and Fall of Steve Bannon: A Timeline","datePublished":"2017-08-18T18:20:22.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T04:33:49.000Z","description":"Former Breitbart News publisher Steve Bannon has had a rollercoaster ride in the Trump campaign and the Administration. 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