Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said in a new book that any racist element within the so-called "alt-right" movement will eventually dissipate, so much as he believes it even exists.

In Bannon: Always the Rebel, by former Washington Examiner editor Keith Koffler, Bannon said his news website Breitbart did welcome the online alt-right community, but he said he did not see it as a group motivated by racism. Instead, he thought that welcoming the group into the fold was more about harnessing the energy it brought to the culture wars.

The alt-right is a loosely defined political label emphasizing themes such as American populism, white nationalism, and immigration restriction.

In appealing to the group's self-identified members, Bannon said he did not see any overt racial issues at play.

"The alt-right, when it began ... at least as I saw it, was just young, kind of almost libertarians, that were radical, you know, almost like patriots," he said. "These guys were the guys that kind of came from the chat boards, etc.

"And I said, they're going to be an amazing innovative force."

Bannon, who chaired President Trump's campaign and left his White House role in August to return to lead Breitbart, said in the book that any racial element would disappear on its own.

"Al that crap gets burned out over time," he said.

Bannon published Sunday.