It was the ambition that did him in.
He was put on a special project where he got to work closely with the CEO. Unfortunately, he used that opportunity to obtain dirt on other executives that might stand in his way later on. Once he went back to his regular role, he began using that information improperly and began building his own little empire with a circle of cronies he thought he could trust. Eventually one or more of those he trusted became whistleblowers and his scheming was exposed. Thus, a promising career was destroyed virtually overnight. The CEO brought him into his office and told him he had to go as he could no longer be trusted.
I happened to be in the building when he got escorted out and he was blubbering like a baby.
All this because his head got too big and he overvalued his importance in the operation. He also thought he was smarter than everybody else. He felt he was able to outmaneuver people that had been around the block and saw that movie play out before.
Maybe that's what happened with Bannon here. Did he actually think he was a plausible candidate for president in 2020? Was he trying to undermine Trump so that he could take control of the movement for himself? If he truly said those things to a left-wing hack like Wolff, thinking that would help his prospects long term, then he's not as smart as he thought he was. The blowback was massive on this one.
Don't see how Bannon recovers. Unless, as others speculate, this is some kind of elaborate "Trump-Bannon" sting that has not fully played out yet. I'm not in that camp. I think Bannon just tried to take out the king. You never go after the king unless you are certain you will kill him.
The fascinating similarity in your account to something the president said is his report that Steve, when he was fired,
“cried”.
Trump had evidently caught Bannon lodged inside the traitor-flavor cookie jar, before Wolf’s book was even compiled.
BanOn probably thought this missive would be the end of Trump.
Your story, of the fired up and comer, sounds very similar to Sloppy Steve (SS).