Washington (People's Daily) -- It was announced earlier today that Executive Chairman of Breitbart News Network, Stephen K. Bannon, has officially stepped down from the conservative media platform where he first started working in 2012.

The announcement went viral after the company posted an official statement on its website that Bannon and Breitbart were parting ways.

“I’m proud of what the Breitbart team has accomplished in so short a period of time in building out a world-class news platform,” said a statement from Bannon.

Breitbart CEO Larry Solov said, “Steve is a valued part of our legacy, and we will always be grateful for his contributions, and what he has helped us to accomplish.”

A controversial figure famous for his conservative, populist and nationalist ideas, Bannon has routinely made headline news since working as US President Donald Trump’s campaign manager in 2016.

Netizen reaction has ranged from the sympathetic to the celebratory as Bannon has many supporters and even more critics.

Bannon was a founding member of Breitbart News, an online news platform famous for espousing ultra-conservative ideas. In 2012, he was appointed CEO. He later returned to the company after Trump fired him as White Hourse chief strategist in August 2017.

It is widely contended that Bannon left Breitbart because of his controversial remarks in Michael Wolff’s new book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.

In the book, Bannon calls Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer in 2016 “treasonous.”

In response, President Trump said in a statement, “Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”

Bannon later apologized to Trump Jr. But that wasn’t enough for the White House administration.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the owners of the Breitbart News were debating Bannon’s fate shortly after the release of Wolff’s book.

In an interview with the Washington Post, financial investor Rebekah Mercer said she kept her distance from Bannon.

Given the recent turn of events, Bannon’s departure from Breitbart comes as no surprise.