Steve Bannon’s newly published comments about President Trump constitute a “stunning act of betrayal,” according to Roger Stone, the president’s former campaign adviser.
Mr. Stone laid into Mr. Bannon during an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday involving Michael Wolff’s explosive new book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” and particularly the controversial quotes attributed to the president’s former chief strategist.
“I wanted to give Steve Bannon the benefit of the doubt, particularly given the reputation of Michael Wolff for fabrication. But now that all the facts appear to be in, and the fact that these comments were made while Steve Bannon was working for the president in the White House, it is a stunning act of betrayal, and it’s also a complete misunderstanding of Donald Trump,” said Mr. Stone, a longtime political consultant and self-described “dirty trickster” who advised the president’s campaign through August 2015.
“Donald Trump is very much his own man. He is his own strategist, his own phrase-maker, he is his own speechwriter, sometimes he’s his own press secretary. He may be the greatest single salesman in American history, and the president’s agenda on which he was elected — I should say his platform — was determined long before Steve Bannon joined the campaign, and was determined by one man: Donald Trump,” Mr. Stone added.
Mr. Bannon joined the Trump campaign shortly before the 2016 election and served as the president’s chief strategist until Aug. 2017. More recently he made waves when previews from “Fire and Fury” began circulating prior to its publication Friday, including excerpts in which he eviscerated Mr. Trump and his family.
“Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency,” Mr. Trump responded to the excerpts this week. “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”
“Fire and Fury” was the number one title on Amazon’s best-seller list upon its release Friday, notwithstanding an unsuccessful effort by the president’s personal attorney to halt publication.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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