a fed-up and frustrated President Trump turned to his two top aides and told them he had had enough of their incessant knife-fights in the media.
“Work this out,” Mr. Trump said, according to two people briefed on the exchange. The admonition was aimed at Stephen K. Bannon, the tempestuous chief strategist, and Reince Priebus
.. He has a high tolerance for chaos, and a unique gift for creating it — and, despite his famous “You’re fired!” tagline from the show “The Apprentice,” an aversion to dismissing people.
.. now finds himself in the undesirable position of being caught between the president and his family. That is a position that others have not survived, most notably Corey Lewandowski, the first of the president’s three campaign managers.
.. One option being discussed is moving Mr. Bannon to a different role.
.. Mr. Bannon has told confidants that he believes Mr. Kushner’s contact with Russians, and his expected testimony before Congress on the subject, will become a major distraction for the White House.
.. Kushner allies have also raised the issue with the president of the increasingly unflattering coverage that Mr. Kushner is receiving from Breitbart News, the right-wing website that Mr. Bannon used to run.
.. Mr. Kushner’s efforts to pull his father-in-law more to the center on issues like immigration would poison him with the conservative base — a hopeless position to be in because Mr. Bannon believes so few Democrats would ever consider supporting Mr. Trump.
.. Mr. Trump does not like any staff member gaining too much attention, including those who are related to him. He had three campaign shake-ups in the 2016 cycle, and he tends to make changes based on instinct.
.. “I think they have particular tension right now because the health bill failed,” he added.