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While some of the president’s closest advisers were disgusted with his comments this week on Charlottesville, chief strategist Steve Bannon was thrilled, according to friends and associates who spoke to him afterward.

“Steve was proud of how [Trump] stood up to the braying mob of reporters,” one person who spoke to Bannon told the Axios newsletter. Another said that the press conference, in which the president blamed both sides for the weekend violence in Virginia, was a “defining moment,” when Trump ditched so-called “globalists” in order to line up with “his people.”

Bannon was also said to applaud the dissolution of two corporate advisory councils, which Trump disbanded as chief executives abandoned after the Charlottesville remarks. According to Axios, Bannon dismissed the company leaders as the “Davos” crowd – a reference to the Swiss resort town where global elites gather for conferences.

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Still, Bannon remains on the outs within the administration – with constant rumors spreading that he could be ousted from the administration. Asked about Bannon’s status within the White House, Trump was equivocal at the infamous Tuesday presser, telling reporters “We’ll see.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

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