President Donald Trump and former ally Steve Bannon may be on a collision course following a recent spat.
Steve Bannon has been slapped with a cease and desist letter by President Donald Trump’s lawyers. Bannon is also being threatened with lawsuits over defamation. The President is also trying to quash the release of the tell-all book where Bannon and others supposedly offer up juicy insider details and opinions. Trump’s lawyers are now claiming that legal action is “imminent” but given America’s strong free speech laws, they’ll be facing a tough uphill battle.
It didn’t take long for President Trump to fire back after Bannon accused several high-ranking Trump insiders of participating in a “treasonous” meeting with a Russian lawyer. Trump said that Bannon had “lost his mind” after being pushed out of the White House.
“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.” -Donald Trump
Bannon was once among President Donald Trump’s closest allies. Now, the former White House chief strategist has reportedly slammed a Trump Tower meeting between a Russian lawyer and senior Trump officials as “treasonous.”
While Bannon has criticized President Trump and his administration from time to time, the most recent accusations are far more bombastic than usual.
“Even if you thought that this [the meeting] was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad s***, and I happen to think it’s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately.”
The meeting occurred in 2016 with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and campaign chairman Paul Manafort sitting down with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Allegedly, the trio was seeking assistance from Russia and specifically was hoping to dig up dirt on Hillary Clinton.
“They’re going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.” – Steve Bannon
Bannon’s comments were made in the upcoming book Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff. A copy of the book has been leaked to the Guardian, which has been releasing excerpts. In the book, Bannon specifically stated:
“The three senior guys in the campaign thought it was a good idea to meet with a foreign government inside Trump Tower in the conference room on the 25th floor—with no lawyers. They didn’t have any lawyers. Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad s***, and I happen to think it’s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately.”
Bannon also went on to allege that the ongoing investigation into potential election interference by Russia will focus on money laundering. Bannon stated that “they’re going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.”
Could Bannon Become Trump’s Worst Enemy?
When Steve Bannon left the White House, he promised to go to war for President Trump. Now, many are wondering if the Breitbart chief is going to go to war with the president. Already, the two have come to blows over several issues, such as the Republican Senate Race in Alabama.
Bannon backed Roy Moore, a former State Supreme Court judge and popular alt-right figure. Trump backed Luther Strange. Bannon won the first round with Moore ultimately defeating Strange. However, explosive sexual misconduct allegations derailed Moore’s campaign and ultimately the Alabama Senate seat went to a Democrat.
Many Republicans are blaming Bannon for the loss. Without Bannon’s support, Moore would have struggled to defeat the Republican establishment candidate. Many Republicans are also worried that Bannon will stir up more trouble in the critical 2018 congressional election races.
If relations continue to sour, President Trump may find himself having to go to war with Steve Bannon. Given how important Bannon and Breitbart were for the president’s election campaign, such a battle could be very costly. With the election season nearly here, any in-fights could cost the Republican party seats.
