Stabbing 71-year-old President Donald Trump in the back, the scruffy 64-year-old former chief strategist Steve Bannon self-destructed. Now radioactive in conservative circles, even Breitbart News, the stepchild of the mighty Drudge Report, doesn’t want him. When billionaire Breitbart donor Rebekah Mercer wants nothing to do with Bannon, his conservative career is caput. Bannon ratted Trump out to tabloid journalist Michael Wolff in his instant bestsller, “Fire and Fury,” the inside dirt on the Trump White House. With the anti-Trump media in a feeding frenzy, Wolff’s book was the perfect storm of salacious gossip, just what the Trump-hating press wanted. Wolff’s now a hero on CNN, MSNBC and all major networks claiming to have the real dirt on Trump, telling the New York Post yesterday that Trump “is worse than everybody thought,” hinting he left out even more dirt.
Trump’s PR team, led by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Senior Adviser Stephen Miller, calls the book “garbage” and “pure fiction.” Whatever Trump’s surrogates say at this point makes zero difference as Wolff parades himself on all the TV and radio talks shows. Getting so much dirt from Bannon, there’s no one in Trump’s inner circles more disloyal, more treacherous. When you consider Bannon had everything going for him before Wolff’s book hit the airwaves Dec. 5, it’s inexplicable why the mastermind of Trump’s working-class, blue-collar victory would have ratted him out. Wolff paraded around the West Wing for months dredging up dirt on Trump, his associates and family, until they figured out they’d been had by a carnival barking huckster, only concerned about selling books and aid his Democratic patrons than anything else.
Bannon earned millions as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs before taking his cash to Hollywood, producing some 18 films, working with Oscar winner Sean Penn and other Tinsel Town luminaries. His 2004 documentary “In the Face of Evil” about Ronald Reagan got him connected in GOP circles, including right-wing conspiracy author Peter Schweizer, online editor Matt Drudge and his understudy, Andrew Breitbart. Rising to the top of GOP political circles shows Bannon’s persuasive talents, demonstrating his own interests in mass movements and charisma. When Trump threw his hat in the ring June 18, 2016, Breitbart recognized Trump’s charisma, only needing the kind of polish that a con man like Bannon could offer. It’s not that Bannon wasn’t clever or skillful in reading the politics of the 2016 race. Trump’s big mistake was that Bannon was not trustworthy.
Bannon’s lack of a [political track record worked to his advantage, a virtual unknown in behind-the-scenes’ politics. Appointed chief-executive of Trump’s campaign Aug. 17, 2016, Bannon was a cheap hire, unable to command the big bucks of other more seasoned political consultants. Trump, the ever-price-conscious builder, liked the idea of running a shoestring campaign, fitting with his neophyte image, but, more importantly, competing with other deep-pocketed GOP candidates. Even when Trump won the GOP nomination May 28, 2016, sending Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) and Gov. John Kasich (R-Ohio) packing, he welcomed the chance to run his campaign on a lean budget. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham, Clinton paid all the high-priced consultants, outspending trump by nearly ten to one. Trump loved watching his GOP rivals and Hillary waste tons of money.
Once Trump fired Bannon Aug. 19, Bannon went postal, unable to contain his envy over Trump’s inner circle, especially Senior Adviser son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka. Always an outsider, once Bannon was fired he had only revenge on his mind, singing like a canary to Wolff. Wolff had a field day with an angry ex-employee, looking to do anything to lash out at Trump. Telling Wolff that the June 9, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr. and Valerie Veselnitskya was “treasonous,” Bannon manipulated Wolff, giving him everything he wanted—and more. “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind,” Trump tweeted, referring to Bannon as “Sloppy Steve.” Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said Bannon’s behavior was unforgivable. “I don’t believe there is any way back for Mr. Bannon at this point,” said Gidley.
After stabbing Trump in the back, Bannon tried a feeble mea culpa, backtracking on some of the hateful things told to Wolff in “Fire and Fury.” “My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda—as I have shown daily,” said Bannon, making zero sense after leaking countless tidbits to the anti-Trump press since the inauguration. Once former Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus was replaced as Chief of Staff by Gen. John Kelly July 30, it took him only two weeks to finger Bannon as the source of White House leaks. Singing like a canary to Wolff, Bannon retaliated against Trump for getting canned. Bannon’s sell-out was so egregious, so inexcusable he’ll only make the rounds on CNN and other Trump-hating networks. “I support President Trump and the platform on which he was elected,” said GOP donor Rebekah Mercer, wanting no part of Bannon.
