
Donald Trump has reportedly forced out his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, for getting in the way of his ego. But as long as Trump remains in the presidency, hate has a home at the White House.

Capping the worst week of his terrible and unpopular presidency, Donald Trump is forcing out top strategist Steve Bannon. According to reports, Trump is not removing Bannon due to his extensive history promoting racism or xenophobia but because his ego clashed with Trump and often overshadowed him.

Reporting from earlier in the year indicated that Trump was very upset at the number people who said Bannon was in control, and referred to "President Bannon." A Time magazine cover also reflected the popular notion. Trump tweeted in response: "I call my own shots."

News of Bannon's removal came in the same week Trump embarrassed the nation by embracing white supremacists after a terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, killed a woman.


Bannon was brought on as chairman of Trump's presidential campaign after Paul Manafort was removed after newspaper reports of under the table business practices, among other things.

Before working for Trump, Bannon ran the white supremacist website, Breitbart, where he described it as a "platform for the alt-right," the anti-immigrant, sexist, racist political movement that has become the mainstream within the Republican Party.

At Breitbart, Bannon steered editorial coverage to emphasize and sensationalize racist material, including a vertical of the site labeled "black crime."

Instead of turning off Trump, this work reflected areas of shared interest between the then-candidate and the smear artist posing as a journalist. Like Bannon, Trump has used slurs like "rapist" to refer to immigrants, and has again and again expressed public sympathy for the ideology of Nazis and white supremacists. He even equated George Washington with the pro-slavery, treasonous Confederacy.

Bannon's departure does not change the fundamentally racist posture of the administration. As long as Donald Trump remains, racism and hate continue to reside in the Oval Office. Getting rid of Bannon simply rearranges the furniture, nothing more.