(PresidentialWire.com)- Steve Bannon has built up a very large following in large part on the pretense that he is in tight with former President Donald Trump. But that pretense just took a big hit from a most surprising source – Donald Trump himself.
In an interview with Yahoo News’ Adam Shapiro on Monday, the former President dismissed the notion that Bannon has his ear, even pointing out that he hasn’t spoken with Steve Bannon “almost at all.”
Trump famously broke ties with Bannon back in 2018 after Michael Wolff’s tell-all book “Fire and Fury” came out. At the time, the President accused Steve Bannon of secretly leaking to Wolff details of the Trump White House.
The President pinned the nickname “Sloppy Steve” on the former White House advisor and played down Bannon’s role in the White House by claiming he was nothing but a “staffer.” Trump claimed Bannon “lost his mind” after getting fired from the White House, adding that Bannon cried and begged to get his job back.
In the interview, Shapiro brought up that 2018 kerfuffle, then pointed out that Bannon has since re-earned Trump’s trust. Shapiro asked the former President what Bannon did to get back into his good graces.
Trump told Shapiro that at the time, Bannon “didn’t get along with certain people in the administration,” adding that this kind of thing happens in every administration. But over the last three years, Trump went on, Bannon recognized what a “great job” his administration had done.
Then Shapiro asked if it was true that Steve Bannon was advising Trump in the last months of his administration. And Trump seemed downright surprised to hear that, asking “Excuse me?”
Shapiro asked again if Bannon was advising him “toward the end of your administration.”
“No, not at all,” Trump said. Then he explained that he hasn’t “spoken to Steve almost at all,” adding that he knows that Bannon has a very successful show.
Shapiro jumped in and pointed out that Steve Bannon had said that he did advise Trump toward the end of his administration, then asked if Bannon was lying when he said that.
Rather than come out and answer yes or no to whether Bannon was lying, Trump only said that they would only speak “very little,” adding that in the few times they spoke, “he was very supportive.”
