Trump on future relationship with Bannon: ‘We’ll see what happens’
President Trump on Thursday said he felt “betrayed” by former chief strategist Stephen Bannon’s comments in an explosive new book about the Trump administration, but didn’t indicate the relationship was beyond repair.
“Steve’s greatest asset is that he was able to convince a corrupt media that he was responsible for my win,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said when asked if his rift with Bannon was permanent, adding “I don’t know what the word permanent means.”
{mosads}Bannon is heavily quoted in Michael Wolff’s new book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” In it, Bannon calls a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and Russians “treasonous” and “unpatriotic,” and questions the president’s grasp of politics.
Trump issued a statement in response to the comments, saying when Bannon left his position in the White House in August, he “lost his mind.”
On Thursday, Trump continued his attacks on Bannon, saying he had “nothing to do with my win, or certainly very little.” The president added that he felt “betrayed” that Bannon participated in the book.
Bannon issued a statement last week further explaining his remarks and calling Trump Jr. a “patriot” and “a good man.” However, his efforts were rebuffed by Trump.
Bannon stepped down this week as head of Breitbart News amid criticism for his comments in the book. He is reportedly scheduled to testify before the House Intelligence Committee next week as part of its ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
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