(Think Progress) -- Things, as they say, fall apart. The center (or what passes for it in the Trump era) isn’t holding — not if Steve Bannon has anything to do with it.
The day Bannon left the White House, he declared war. In the battle for Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ)’s seat, Bannon was finally able to declare victory on Tuesday. Last Wednesday, the former White House chief strategist backed Flake’s primary opponent, Kelli Ward. Flake was already considered one of the most endangered incumbents, and on Tuesday afternoon, he gave up the gun.
“There may not be a place for a Republican like me in the current Republican climate or the current Republican Party,” Flake told The Arizona Republic ahead of his official announcement, which came just minutes after a Senate GOP lunch with President Trump, where Flake reportedly did not inform the president of his retirement plans.
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