White House: Bannon And Trump Were Never ‘Particularly Close’

on January 3, 2018 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 03: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders conducts a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House January 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. Sanders took question... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 03: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders conducts a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House January 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. Sanders took questions from many reporters about President Donald Trump's statement about former White House Senior Advisor Steve Bannon, in which he said 'When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.' (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) MORE LESS
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Now that President Trump has effectively cut ties with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, the White House isn’t sure that the two “were ever particularly close.”

During the White House press briefing on Thursday, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders attempted to dial back on the nature of Bannon and President Trump’s past relationship.

“I’m not aware that they were ever particularly close,” she said. “They’ve spoken a few times since he left the White House, but it’s not like there were regularly scheduled calls and there were certainly no meetings between the two of them.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sanders told reporters that Bannon and Trump last spoke in early December, but on Thursday afternoon Trump told reporters “I don’t talk to him. That’s just a misnomer.”

The honeymoon between Bannon and Trump abruptly ended on Wednesday afternoon, when excerpts from a new book by journalist Michael Wolff were published, revealing critical remarks Bannon had made about Trump’s son and son-in-law and a meeting they had with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. Bannon reportedly said the meeting should be considered “treasonous.”

Trump released a scathing statement hours later, discrediting Bannon and claiming that he had “lost his mind.” Bannon later responded by calling Trump a “great man.”

On Thursday, Sanders also referenced a segment from the book that suggested that Bannon had been “sidelined by April.”

“Which I think goes further to indicate that he had very little credibility to give much information particularly at that point.”

Despite using the book to back up her claims about the President and Bannon not having a close relationship, she then reiterated the White House’s message that the Wolff book was “trash,” saying it was filled with “mistake after mistake after mistake.”

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Notable Replies

  1. Will someone release a list of those people who are considered to be ‘particularly close’ … just for the record.

  2. Does she emit any type of emotion when she’s spewing these stories? Do her eyebrows start twitching at least?

  3. Damn this woman is a liar…and she just doesn’t give a rip.

  4. Avatar for sooner sooner says:

    “I’m not aware that they were ever particularly close,” she said. “They’ve spoken a few times since he left the White House, but it’s not like there were regularly scheduled calls and there were certainly no meetings between the two of them.

    Well, at least Arkie LuLu has the first three words about right, she’s really not aware…never has been.

    Bannon probably never has been as close to tRump as Putin though, so there is that.

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