President Trump said Thursday that his former chief strategy Steve Bannon had “changed his tune pretty quick” after the two men began feuding a day earlier.
“He called me a ’great man’ last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.
He also said he had completely broken off communication with Mr. Bannon.
“I don’t talk to him. That’s just a misnomer,” said the president.
Mr. Bannon gave the compliment and voiced his continued support Wednesday night while hosting the Breitbart News Tonight radio show on SiriusXM.
Mr. Trump slammed his former adviser Wednesday saying he had “lost his mind.”
The feud was sparked by the release of experts from Michael Wolff’s new book in which Mr. Bannon is quoted criticizing the Trump White House and saying Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with Russians during the transition was “treasonous.”
The president fired Mr. Bannon in August, but the Brietbart News executive has continued to play a self-assigned leading role in marshaling the grass-roots populist movement that Mr. Trump inspired.
Mr. Trump’s takedown of Mr. Bannon in an official White House statement Wednesday appeared to sever the relationship and jeopardize Mr. Bannon’s standing with the Trump base.
In the statement, Mr. Trump accused Mr. Bannon of not represent the Trump base but being “only in it for himself,” and he called Mr. Bannon a secret ally of news media that opposes the administration.
“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,” said the president.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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