Donald Trump and Steve Bannon’s fallout may have erupted in spectacular fashion this week, but it has been a year in the making.

The relationship between the US president and his campaign manager began to deteriorate almost from the moment they stepped foot in the White House.

Mr Bannon had met Mr Trump years before his presidential bid, when the pair shared the same instincts about America’s put-upon working class and how it was being ignored by Washington.

Mr Trump, who took to calling Mr Bannon “My Steve”, leaned heavily on his political advice and quickly ushered him into his inner circle when he ran for the presidency.

When his bid appeared in turmoil after the resignation of a second campaign chief in August 2016, Mr Trump turned to Mr Bannon to get him back on track.

It was the doubling down on the white nationalistic instincts of Mr Bannon, the chief executive of executive chairman of Breitbart News, the alt-Right website, that helped secure Mr Trump his remarkable victory.