Article snippet: WASHINGTON — President Trump refused on Tuesday to guarantee the job security of his embattled chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, defending Mr. Bannon as “not a racist” and “a friend” but repeating his jibe that he had been a Johnny-come-lately to the Trump campaign. The ouster of Mr. Bannon, a self-described leader of the alt-right movement, has become a rallying cry for supporters and opponents of the president, from Rupert Murdoch to Anthony Scaramucci. In a freewheeling exchange on Tuesday, Mr. Trump managed to defend and undercut his aide in the same phrase. “Look, I like Mr. Bannon, he’s a friend of mine,” Mr. Trump told reporters at Trump Tower in Manhattan. “But Mr. Bannon came on very late, you know that,” asserting that he was well on his way to the White House before the banker-turned-filmmaker-turned-right-wing-media entrepreneur joined his campaign. “We’ll see what happens with Mr. Bannon,” Mr. Trump said, consigning him to the same purgatory recently occupied by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, another loyalist who ran afoul of his boss. Mr. Bannon’s departure from the White House has been repeatedly predicted by news media and political observers in Washington. Many assumed that his exit would be hastened by last weekend’s violence in Charlottesville, Va., and the president’s widely condemned tepid response to it. But in some ways, Tuesday’s news conference served only to underscore Mr. Bannon’s lasting influence on Mr. Trump. The president’s defi... Link to the full article to read more