Stephen K. Bannon pegged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be a “total assassin” within days of President Trump entering office, an excerpt from a forthcoming book alleged Friday.
Mr. Bannon, Mr. Trump’s chief strategist at the time, reportedly made the remark during a White House reception held on Jan. 23, 2017, the first Monday of the president’s term.
Washington Post reporters Phil Rucker and Carol Leonnig wrote about Mr. Bannon’s comment in their new book, “A Very Stable Genius,” according to an excerpt released by Axios.
Mr. Trump reportedly began the reception by claiming that he had been elected president despite widespread voter fraud resulting in former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton receiving millions of illegal votes, according to the excerpt.
Mrs. Pelosi, California Democrat, reportedly interjected to correct the president, prompting Mr. Bannon to quietly voice concerns about the congresswoman to others in attendance.
“Well, Mr. President, that’s not true,” Mrs. Pelosi said at the reception, Axios reported. “There’s no evidence to support what you just said, and if we’re going to work together, we have to stipulate to a certain set of facts.”
“Watching Pelosi challenge Trump, Bannon whispered to colleagues, ’She’s going to get us. Total assassin. She’s an assassin,’” Axios quoted from the book.
Mr. Bannon, who previously served as the CEO of Mr. Trump’s election campaign, left the White House around seven months later in August 2017. He did not immediately return a message requesting comment.
Spokespeople for the House speaker declined to comment on Mr. Bannon when reached by The Washington Times.
Mr. Bannon, 66, correctly predicted in late 2018 that Democrats would vote to impeach Mr. Trump if given control over the House of Representatives.
More recently, Mr. Bannon compared the House speaker’s decision last year to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president to the “shot at Fort Sumter” that started the Civil War.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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