JTA - President Donald Trump’s top strategist Steve Bannon, and his son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner, met in an attempt to smooth tensions that have roiled the administration.
The men met on Friday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, after being ordered to by White House chief of staff Reince Priebus at the request of the president, according to reports.
The meeting was confirmed to the political news website Politico by two unnamed White House officials.
News of tensions between Bannon and Kushner, who reportedly were close during the campaign, follow Trump’s order last week removing Bannon from the National Security Council.
Kushner, according to the reports, believes Bannon went too far in pushing for the Muslim travelers’ bans and in playing hardball with Congress in an attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act. Both initiatives failed.
Bannon, according to the reports, in turn resents Kushner for bringing into the White House figures associated with Democrats.
A Daily Beast report on Thursday said Bannon called Kushner a “cuck” and “globalist,” terms familiar to “alt-right” conspiracy theorists. “Cuck,” a play on “cuckold,” is the alt-right term for conservatives who allowed themselves to be played by liberals and the establishment. “Globalist” refers to theories of a conspiracy of elites to maintain control of the global economy.
It is not known if the meeting between the two men was successful.
Reuters reported, citing an unnamed White House official, that Priebus’ message to Bannon and Kushner was to “stop with the palace intrigue” and focus on the president’s agenda.
Both aides left having agreed that it was time to “bury the hatchet and move forward,” the official said, according to Reuters.
Rumors have surfaced about an upcoming White House shake-up that could see Bannon and Priebus leaving their positions.