Steve Bannon has turned on Trump
It took less than six months but Breitbart mastermind and former chief strategist Steve Bannon has turned on President Donald J. Trump (R-New York). Bannon used the words “treasonous” and “unpatriotic” to describe the Trump campaign’s relationship with Russia in an interview for a book.
“Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad shit and I happen to think it’s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately,” Bannon said of a meeting between the president’s son; Donald Jr., and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya a Trump Tower in June 2016.
Bannon used an interview with author Michael Wolff as an opportunity to unload on the Donald and his family, The Guardian reported. He also alleged that Trump is guilty of money laundering and that special counsel Robert Mueller will nail both Donald and his children for it.
“This is all about money laundering,” Bannon said of the special investigation. He also charged that Jared Kushner; Ivanka’s husband, will go down as well. Interestingly enough, Bannon did say where the money was coming from or going. Note: the bulk of the Kushner family’s real estate business is with China, not Russia.
Bannon’s theory is that Mueller will try to get Donald Jr. or Kushner or another Trump associate to turn on the president. This will be done by threatening them with prison time and offering a plea bargain.
“They’re going to roll those two guys up and say play me or trade me,” Bannon said of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and Kushner.
Steve Bannon is now a Russia Gater?
One has to wonder if Bannon is trying to join the Russia Gate crowd to get into the good graces of the media elite. Expect this to heat up, and to present problems for both men.
The big question here is will Bannon’s followers stick with him if he turns on their idol Trump. Expect to see Trump and his surrogates launch ugly attacks on Bannon soon; they will start in The National Enquirer and expand from there. Whether that will transform Bannon from leftwing boogeyman to progressive folk hero remains to be seen.
Also, expect other Trump associates like Omarosa to turn on him with tell-all books and media interviews. The Donald will return the fire and his White House will become more of a national embarrassment.
Trump Wants to Help Bannon Sell Books
Bizarrely enough Trump wants to help promote these books. His lawyers announced plans to file a lawsuit to keep Wolff’s book; Fire and Fury, off the shelves. That, of course, will increase its sales.
We can only imagine that Omarosa and Bannon are out negotiating their own book deals. With a foe like Trump, their tomes will sell like hotcakes and they will rake in the money.
Two other questions are raised here, can Bannon be an effective political operative without Trump, and can Trump survive politically without Bannon?Only time and the electorate can answer those questions.
