Donald Trump; Stephen Bannon (Credit: AP/Matt Rourke/Reuters/Carlo Allegri) On Monday, President Donald Trump got a rare chance to play a conciliatory role as he defended his former top strategist Steve Bannon’s “war” against Republican elected officials whom he sees as insufficiently deferential to the president. “Steve is very committed, he’s a friend of mine and he’s committed to getting things passed,” Trump told reporters at a briefing held in conjunction with a presidential cabinet meeting.