During an interview with CBS’ Charlie Rose this week, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon claimed that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) lost a role in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet following Christie’s perceived lack of support for then-candidate Trump after the release of lewd comments Trump made about women.
In a clip that aired Friday morning on CBS, Bannon revealed how some of Trump’s allies reacted to the October release of Trump’s “Access Hollywood” tape. Bannon revealed that Reince Priebus, then the chair of the Republican National Committee, told Trump that he would likely lose the presidential race after the tape was publicized. Bannon said that he told Trump at the time that he had a “100 percent probability of winning.”
The ousted chief strategist told Rose that the weekend following the release of that tape was a “litmus test” for those surrounding Trump, and that the President’s allies should back him no matter what.
“You can criticize him behind, but when you side with him, you have to side with him. And that’s what Billy Bush weekend showed me. Billy Bush Saturday showed me who really had Donald Trump’s back to play to his better angels,” Bannon said on CBS.
Asked if he “took names” that weekend, Bannon said he did, and revealed that Christie “was not looked at for a Cabinet position” because of his reaction to the tape.
“I told him, ‘The plane leaves at 11 o’clock in the morning. If you’re on the plane, you’re on the team.’ Didn’t make the plane,” Bannon recalled from a conversation he had with Christie.
It’s not completely clear what Bannon was referring to during the CBS interview. After the “Hollywood Access” tape was released, Christie said Trump’s comments on the tape were “unacceptable” and that he was “disturbed and disappointed by it and embarrassed for him and his family.”
The New Jersey governor did not pull his support for Trump at that time, but he did have a much lower profile as a campaign surrogate following that weekend.
The tape dropped just before a debate, and Christie reportedly visited Trump Tower in New York to help Trump prepare. However, he was not seen at the debate, which is perhaps the trip to which Bannon was referring.
A senior political campaign strategist for Christie’s presidential campaign disputed Bannon’s version of the events in a statement to the International Journal Review.
This post has been updated.
So ex-President Bannon is now a gossip queen?
And that didn’t strike you as potentially a dangerous trait in a president, Mr. Bannon? Amplify a false reality?
Oh, that’s right, you’re a primary creater/pusher of fake news to sell a false political narrative.
PS Is it just me - or is anyone else having problems going from the articles to the comments?
PS#2 - o/t - item that shows how a younger, female Representative in the House can effectively back up noxious Don Young http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/house-republican-causes-stir-claiming-female-lawmaker-doesn’t-know-a-damn-thing/ar-AAru7EU?li=BBnbcA1
This is bullshit posturing on Bannon’s part, trying to play the tough guy with a rewrite of history.
It was widely reported that Christie was shut out of any Cabinet positions, and removed from the transition team because of Jared’s family’s issues with Christie convicting his father.
Which of course immediately pokes holes in Bannon’s fake posturing. If Christie was out because Bannon said so due to the Access Hollywood tape…why was Christie in a high profile position on the transition team in the first place?
So REMEMBER folks…if you suck up to Donnie, right wrong or indifferent, you will get your way! Until of course, some like John Kelly who is ACTUALLY draining the swamp comes along. THEN you need to find a willing network to let the swamp perpetuate it’s dying gurgles (OK, I’m reaching for metaphors here, but you get my point!)
I’m having a hard time understanding why we should care about the Bannon’s rumored reasons that Christie didn’t get a cabinet post nine months ago. Seriously, why is this even being mentioned? This doesn’t even rise to the level of relevant gossip, and it happened nine months ago!