Bannon burns out as feud boils over
The nasty feud between President Trump and onetime trusted adviser Steve Bannon is a no-win battle for the alt-right strategist whose influence in the 2018 midterm elections suddenly seems “more bark than bite,” political analysts told the Herald.
“If Trump versus Bannon were a prizefight, the ref would have to stop it in the first round,” University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato said. “Trump is president; Bannon derived most of his power and influence from his association with Trump. Now that association is incinerated.”
Bannon’s stunning fall from the White House to the doghouse came as excerpts from a new book by journalist Michael Wolff, “Fire and Fury,” claimed the Breitbart chairman called the 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and Russian operatives “treasonous” and “unpatriotic” and referred to Ivanka Trump as “dumb as a brick.”
Trump has responded in customary fashion — with a combination of tweets, legal action and namecalling. His lawyer slapped Bannon with a cease-anddesist order for allegedly violating a confidentiality agreement.
On Twitter, Trump has dubbed Bannon “Sloppy Steve” and labeled him a “leaker.”
“Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency,” Trump said in a statement. “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.”
Trump also slammed the book as being full of “lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist.”
Bannon is facing further fallout. Rebekah Mercer, a billionaire GOP donor and part owner of the Breitbart News Network, also issued a statement distancing herself from Bannon.
Execs at Breitbart were debating whether to oust Bannon as chairman Thursday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“The voters elected Trump and not Bannon,” Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said. “If Bannon thinks the base of the Republican party is going to side with him, he’s the one with the screw loose.”
The Republican establishment is likely letting out a collective sigh of relief, because they had been bracing for Bannon to try to influence key Senate races in Arizona, Tennessee and Florida, O’Connell added.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell seemed to revel in Bannon’s suffering yesterday.
“I’d like to associate myself with what the president had to say about Steve Bannon yesterday,” McConnell said.
Sabato said he still believes Bannon could have an impact on the 2018 midterms, but doubts he’ll try to lead a revolt against Trump.
“Bannon’s main threat comes in GOP primaries this year, where his backing of challengers to incumbents might bump a few off or soften the incumbents up for Democrats in the fall,” he said. “Even there, I’ll bet Bannon has more bark than bite.”
But experts don’t believe the Trump-Bannon tiff will last forever. After all, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney lambasted then-candidate Trump as a “phony” and a “fraud” in a blistering speech during the campaign, only to be considered for Secretary of State.
POLITICO reported yesterday that Trump recently had a 10-minute phone conversation with Romney, who may soon be running for a Utah Senate seat after U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch announced his plans to retire.