White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that Breitbart News should consider firing Steve Bannon as its chairman as a war of words continues between the Trump administration and the former chief strategist.
President Donald Trump released a statement Wednesday saying Bannon had "lost his mind" and had an exaggerated sense of his own importance after excerpts of Michael Wolff's new book about the Trump White House revealed Bannon blasting members of the administration.
Among the explosive comments Bannon made, according to the book, was to trash Donald Trump Jr. for having a "treasonous" meeting with Russian officials at Trump Tower in 2016.
Bannon disparaged his own website, suggesting any information from the meeting that was useful could have been "dump[ed] … down to Breitbart or something like that, or maybe some other more legitimate publication."
"Should Breitbart part ways with Steve Bannon after the comments in this book?" a reporter asked Sanders.
"I certainly think it's something they should look at and consider," she said.
Sanders spent much of Thursday's briefing blasting Wolff's new book as full of "ridiculous" claims.
Trump's lawyer has also sent Bannon a "cease-and-desist" letter, accusing him of disclosing confidential information.
Bannon has been conciliatory since Trump's statement eviscerating him.
"The president of the United States is a great man. You know I support him day in and day out," Bannon said Wednesday night on SiriusXM radio, according to USA Today. "Nothing will ever come between us and President Trump and his agenda," he added Thursday morning on Breitbart radio. "We’re as tight on this agenda as we’ve ever been."