After making controversial comments about President Donald Trump in an upcoming book about an inside look into the 2016 presidential election, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has found himself losing some of his most valuable supporters. The New York Times reports that Bannon’s remarks in the soon-to-be-published Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House have led to the family of wealthy businessman Robert Mercer, prominent supporters and his major financial source, cutting ties with him.
In a statement released on Thursday, Mercer’s daughter Rebekah Mercer said, “My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements. I have a minority interest in Breitbart News and I remain committed in my support for them.”
Steve Bannon just lost big financial backer Rebekah Mercer https://t.co/6utfpyJulB
— TIME (@TIME) January 4, 2018
The Mercers are known to have funded millions of dollars into businesses involved with Bannon’s political platform. They have a share invested in alt-right news site Breitbart, of which Bannon is chairman, and also have financial ties to other groups Bannon has been involved with. Since his comments in the book went public, Bannon’s ability to keep his chairman job has been questioned. The Mercer family has reportedly distanced themselves from him since the controversy surrounding him grew in the past few months.
President Trump has threatened legal action against the book and its author Michael Wolff, citing its use of false statements as reason for libel charges. Despite a message from Trump demanding a “cease and desist from any further publication,” publishing company Henry Holt and Co. moved up the book’s publication date to this Friday. Trump was likely angered by Bannon’s negative comments about the president and his family’s role in the government, saying in a statement, “Steve pretends to be at war with the media…yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was.”