President Donald Trump would not say Tuesday whether he has confidence in Steve Bannon, telling reporters "we'll see what happens" when asked how he feels about his White House chief strategist.
Trump was delivering prepared remarks on infrastructure at Trump Tower when the press started asking questions on various issues, including his response to violence in Charlottesville, Va. and his confidence in Bannon.
"I like Mr. Bannon," Trump said. "He's a friend of mine, but Mr. Bannon came on very late, you know that. I went through 17 senators, governors, and I won all the primaries."
Trump then reiterated that Bannon joined the campaign very late, but indicated he is not racist and is a "good man."
"He is not a racist, I can tell you that. He's a good person. He actually gets a very unfair press in that regard, but we'll see what happens with Mr. Bannon," Trump said. "But he's a good person, and I think the press treats him frankly unfairly in that regard."
There has been friction in the White House in recent weeks, as Trump told close associates that he believes Bannon is "behind damaging leaks about White House colleagues," according to Axios.