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'Trump' replaced with 'Steve Bannon' in web browser extension as president fumes over reports his adviser is 'calling the shots'

Donald Trump refuses to say whether he still has confidence in Steve Bannon

A new Google Chrome extension replaces the word "Trump" with "Steve Bannon" as part of an effort to highlight the influence that the White House chief strategist has on the president. 

American Bridge, a Democrat-aligned super PAC, produced the internet browser extension to show the "power" Donald Trump has ceded to his controversial right hand man

“It also comes with a warning: Anyone who thought the news about the Donald Trump administration was terrifying should exercise extreme caution when reading about the reckless and bigoted policies ordered by President Bannon,” American Bridge Vice President Shripal Shah told Business Insider.

Steve Bannon profile

Mr Trump has become increasingly frustrated over reports suggesting Mr Bannon is the power behind the throne, with the New York Times bearing the brunt of many of his attacks. 

On Sunday, Mr Trump tweeted: "The failing @nytimes writes total fiction concerning me. They have gotten it wrong for two years, and now are making up stories & sources!"

He continued the attack on Monday, saying : "The failing @nytimes was forced to apologise to its subscribers for the poor reporting it did on my election win. Now they are worse!"

Hours earlier, he said: "I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!"

That early morning tweet came shortly after Joe Scarborough, whose MSNBC morning show the president is known to watch, suggested “maybe Bannon’s calling all the shots”.

The former head of the right-wing Breitbart News website, Mr Bannon's profile has been rising steadily since he became involved in Mr Trump's presidential campaign in August.

He recently appeared on the cover of Time magazine, catching the eye of Mr Trump, "who takes pride in his own cover appearances and inquired about Bannon’s Time debut with aides," the Washington Post reported.

TIME’s new cover: How Steve Bannon became the second most powerful man in the world https://t.co/EJpO6Qqg9Kpic.twitter.com/BdpY4Hw9Xb

— TIME (@TIME) February 2, 2017

Last week, the New York Times ran an editorial headlined "President Bannon", which suggested Bannon "is positioning himself … as the de facto president”.

The Times also reported that Bannon is “the president’s dominant adviser, despite Mr Trump’s anger that he was not fully briefed on details of the executive order he signed giving his chief strategist a seat on the National Security Council”.

Saturday Night Live, meanwhile, mocked the apparent power of Mr Bannon, portraying the advisor as the grim reaper standing at the side of Mr Trump in the Oval Office.