Donald Trump says Steve Bannon has 'lost his mind' after former aide attacks president's son for 'treasonous' meeting
The US president said Mr Bannon, who ran Mr Trump’s election campaign and advised him in office, “has nothing to do with me or my presidency”.
Mr Trump claimed his former chief strategist had “lost his mind” and “rarely” met him one-on-one before leaving the White House last August.
The president also accused Mr Bannon of leaking “false information” to “make himself seem far more important than he was”.
Donald Trump speaking on the phone with Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, alongside former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, right, and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, from the Oval Office of the White House on January 28, 2017 CREDIT: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The comments, issued through a rare statement in the president's name, complete a remarkable break down in trust between the two men most credited with Mr Trump’s presidential win.
It came after details of an explosive new book on Mr Trump emerged on Wednesday, with Mr Bannon quoted as delivering a series of criticisms about White House figures.
Mr Bannon said a meeting Mr Trump’s son Donald Jr had with Russian figures in Trump Tower was “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”, according to a copy seen by the Guardian.
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Donald Trump Jr CREDIT: AP
The meeting, which took place before the election, is seen as key to the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the campaign.
He is also quoted as saying Mr Trump repeatedly tried to meet Vladimir Putin but that the Russian president “couldn’t give a sh** about him”, according to an extract in New York Magazine
The comments, issued through a rare statement in the president's name, complete a remarkable break down in trust between the two men most credited with Mr Trump’s presidential win.
It came after details of an explosive new book on Mr Trump emerged on Wednesday, with Mr Bannon quoted as delivering a series of criticisms about White House figures.
Mr Bannon said a meeting Mr Trump’s son Donald Jr had with Russian figures in Trump Tower was “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”, according to a copy seen by the Guardian.
The meeting, which took place before the election, is seen as key to the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the campaign.
He is also quoted as saying Mr Trump repeatedly tried to meet Vladimir Putin but that the Russian president “couldn’t give a sh** about him”, according to an extract in New York Magazine
