Liz Harrington, Washington Free Beacon staff writer, said Steve Bannon was ousted from the White House Friday because he undermined U.S. foreign policy.
Harrington appeared on Fox Business to discuss the breaking news of Bannon leaving as White House chief strategist. She said his comments about North Korea were particularly damaging, and the arrival of Chief of Staff John Kelly did not bode well for him.
"The major thing that led to his ousting was not only John Kelly coming in and trying to rein in the White House, and have a tighter ship there, but it was also his comments on North Korea," Harrington said. "You cannot make comments that undermine the president's, and the entire defense apparatus' stance on North Korea — bringing fire and fury and then saying 'there is actually no military solution here.' That really undermined the foreign policy, and I think that's what ultimately led to the decision and him leaving."
Harrington further said she did not trust the rumors Trump fired Bannon because he was drawing attention away from the president.
"I think there's rumors like that all the time," Harrington said. "But clearly Bannon was someone that Trump could work well together, and got the campaign on track along with Kellyanne Conway."
Harrington was also asked about that state of the markets following Bannon's departure. She responded that the markets will do even better if Republicans in Congress pass legislation.
"I think there is still hope in the markets that when Congress comes back from August recess, that they can get their act together and follow through on tax reform because they think the much easier goal to get accomplished than health care," Harrington said.
"The Republicans, especially in the Senate, have been a complete disappointment in not following through on promises to voters," Harrington added. "Take Trump out of it. It has nothing to do with Trump. It has everything to do with what they promised for the last seven or eight years to repeal Obamacare, and they weren't able to do it."
"The markets are still optimistic in that tax reform hasn't failed yet," she said. "There's still a chance."
"Give it a few more minutes," guest Jessica Tarlov interjected.
"Yeah, I'm not too optimistic either," Harrington replied. "But I think there still is optimism there for the markets."