Donald Trump says Steve Bannon has ‘lost his mind’ after former aide attacks president’s son for ‘treasonous’ meeting
The Telegraph
Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary attack on Steve Bannon, one of his most influential former advisers, in a furious row over comments about his son’s meetings with Russian individuals during the election campaign.
Mr Trump said his former adviser had “lost his mind” after reports emerged that Mr Bannon had referred to his son Donald Junior as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic” in a new book.
Mr Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, was quoted saying Donald Trump Jr would be cracked open “like an egg” by FBI investigators as he mocked Donald Junior’s decision making.
In response the White House issued a lengthy statement by the president in which he attacked Mr Bannon as “only in it for himself” and accused him of “leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was”.
Mr Trump said: “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination by defeating seventeen candidates, often described as the most talented field ever assembled in the Republican party.
Donald Trump’s statement on Steve Bannon
Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination by defeating seventeen candidates, often described as the most talented field ever assembled in the Republican party.
Now that he is on his own, Steve is learning that winning isn’t as easy as I make it look. Steve had very little to do with our historic victory, which was delivered by the forgotten men and women of this country. Yet Steve had everything to do with the loss of a Senate seat in Alabama held for more than thirty years by Republicans. Steve doesn’t represent my base—he’s only in it for himself.
Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was. It is the only thing he does well. Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books.
We have many great Republican members of Congress and candidates who are very supportive of the Make America Great Again agenda. Like me, they love the United States of America and are helping to finally take our country back and build it up, rather than simply seeking to burn it all down.
“Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was.
The public row follows a deteriorating relationship between Mr Bannon, who led Mr Trump’s election campaign, and the president’s family members – said to be a factor in his White House departure.
Mr Bannon was quoted also claiming the investigation into Russian election meddling is focusing on alleged money laundering.
It undermines the US president’s attempt to portray the Russian investigation as a “witch hunt” being driven by political opponents.
The book, Fire and Fury, by American journalist Michael Wolff is based on hundreds of interviews, including with President Trump and key members of his inner circle.
As leaked reports of comments and encounters detailed in the book, due to be published next week, emerged throughout Wednesday, the White House sent out a series of official statements.
Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said: “This book is filled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who have no access or influence with the White House.
“Participating in a book that can only be described as trashy tabloid fiction exposes their sad desperate attempts at relevancy”.
“The book is clearly going to be sold in the bargain fiction section,” said her communications director Stephanie Grisham.
“Mrs Trump supported her husband’s decision to run for President and in fact, encouraged him to do so. She was confident he would win and was very happy when he did.”
Mr Wolff also claimed that Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka had made a pact with her husband and White House special adviser Jared Kushner that if the opportunity ever arose, she would be the one to run for president.
“The first woman president, Ivanka entertained, would not be Hillary Clinton; it would be Ivanka Trump,” Mr Wolff wrote in New York Magazine.
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House is due to be published next week.
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