Posted on 01/07/2018 9:02:05 AM PST by Eddie01
Battered by the backlash from Michael Wolff's book, Steve Bannon is trying to make amends with the Trump family, providing a statement to Axios that expresses "regret" to President Trump and praises his son, Donald Trump Jr.
"Donald Trump, Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around."
"My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda — as I have shown daily in my national radio broadcasts, on the pages of Breitbart News and in speeches and appearances from Tokyo and Hong Kong to Arizona and Alabama."
"President Trump was the only candidate that could have taken on and defeated the Clinton apparatus. I am the only person to date to conduct a global effort to preach the message of Trump and Trumpism; and remain ready to stand in the breech for this president's efforts to make America great again."
"My comments about the meeting with Russian nationals came from my life experiences as a Naval officer stationed aboard a destroyer whose main mission was to hunt Soviet submarines to my time at the Pentagon during the Reagan years when our focus was the defeat of 'the evil empire' and to making films about Reagan's war against the Soviets and Hillary Clinton's involvement in selling uranium to them."
"My comments were aimed at Paul Manafort, a seasoned campaign professional with experience and knowledge of how the Russians operate. He should have known they are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends. To reiterate, those comments were not aimed at Don Jr."
"Everything I have to say about the ridiculous nature of the Russian 'collusion' investigation I said on my 60 Minutes interview. There was no collusion and the investigation is a witch hunt."
"I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president's historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency." The backstory ... In Wolff's book, Bannon is quoted as saying of Mueller's prosecutors: "They’re going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.'"
Be smart: While Bannon's statement may seem like a baby step, he's as stubborn as Trump when it comes to apologizing and admitting he has made a mistake. He views any concession as a sign of humiliating weakness.
What's next: Look for Don Jr. to accept the statement graciously. But Bannon has further to go with President Trump: Axios has learned that POTUS has said that he wants surrogates who appear for him on TV to "bury Steve."
Axios' Jonathan Swan reported last night: Trump has been working the phones over the past several days, telling allies they need to choose between him and Bannon. P.S. "Fake book" ... Trump tweets as he leaves Camp David: "I’ve had to put up with the Fake News from the first day I announced that I would be running for President. Now I have to put up with a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author."
"Ronald Reagan had the same problem and handled it well. So will I!"
I’m pretty sure all of Bannon’s actions recently, including this, are the direct result of him reacting to the views expressed here on Free Republic. /delusional
You see No Way Out? I was completely shocked at the end. Bannon could easily sucker me in the same way. Hope he didn’t.
Steve, the bell you rang will ring the rest of your days.
MEMO TO BANNON: Get yourself into counseling or alcohol substance abuse therapy quickly.
A sad state of affairs.
Understatement of the year.
Too late Sloppy Steve!
“Trump isn’t buying.”
Too soon to tell if Trump will buy it. Bannon’s “correction” just came out. Trump may very well NOT buy it, but it will be interesting to see if and how he responds.
The only fastermucks I could see is Bannon’s delay in denouncing the false quotes and Trump’s haste to publicly tar him.
Bannon has always denounced the Russian collusion cabal, nobody with a functioning brain could believe that he could have accused Trump Jr of treason and collusion with Russian, especially when the source of that smear is such a bloody liar as Wolff.
> The media got played!! <
Not really. Bannon’s original statements were widely reported. And the left used them to smear Trump further. We shouldn’t underestimate the damage that was done there. Such propaganda can be very effective.
So now Bannon apologizes/clarifies. Will this too be widely reported? Nope.
Time heals most wounds. If Bannon knuckles down and keeps a steady keel it will work out in time. But there’s no silver bullet. Bannon will have to regain trust, and that’s not easy.
Phew. He’s comparing meeting with some hag Ruskie lawyer and submarine activities??? He’s a nut!
As a screw up artist myself, I have to admit I have some empathy for the man. I hope this is a Romans 8:28 for all concerned.
Great weekend at Camp David. After big wins on tax cuts, ObamaCare mandate repeal, and conservative judges, the President and Republicans in Congress are united like never before and delivering on our promise of greater prosperity, better jobs, & higher wages for all Americans.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 7, 2018
No... this was not “the plan”. This was a Bannon royal mess up ... and he’s just beginning to realize how dearly he will pay for it.
He’s down to living on his Sienfeld royalties
Bannon is finished. He had such great talent. His Nationalism will live strong and on but he blew his feet clean off. There will be no redemption. WE now have the great Steven Miller who bitch slapped Jake Tapper to his quivering knees this morning. Check that out on You Tube. It is a knee slapping belly laugher of the highest magnitude exposing Tapper as a political hack. I dont know how he ever comes back on TV now.
Better late than never. Stop the infighting. The last thing we need is to have Trump and Bannon at each other’s throats.
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