Trump lieutenants deny tensions
Oxon Hill, Md. — White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon appeared onstage together Thursday to jointly insist that everything is running smoothly in the nascent Trump administration — including their relationship, which has been the subject of much speculation.
Despite several weeks of often-rough headlines for the administration and rampant chatter about tensions between Bannon and Priebus, the two men sought to project unity during an appearance together here at the Conservative Political Action Conference, held at a cavernous hotel and conference center right outside Washington, D.C.
“In regard to us two, the biggest misconception is everything you’re reading,” Priebus said. “We share an office suite together, we’re basically together from 6:30 in the morning until about 11:00 at night.”
And during their 25-minute panel, they often found common ground in their open distaste for the media — though they differed over the extent of their mistrust of the press.
“Not only is it not going to get better, it’s going to get worse every day,” Bannon said of the media’s treatment of Trump. “They’re corporatist, globalist media. They’re adamantly opposed to the economic nationalist agenda President Trump has.”
The crowd cheered Bannon’s assessment.
“Every day is going to be a fight,” he said.
The pair had been asked by American Conservative Union Chairman Matt Schlapp what the press was missing about the Trump phenomenon, and whether in their view, there was hope for improvement.
Priebus — whose own RNC was privately pessimistic about Trump’s chances days before the election — said he believed the press coverage might get better.
“I think there’s hope it’s going to change,” Priebus said. “We sit here every day, the president pumps out all this work, executive orders … we’re hoping the media will catch up eventually.”
After hearing out Priebus, Bannon remarked, “the reason Reince and I are good partners is because we can disagree.”
Their joint appearance was a marquee event of the first day of CPAC, an annual event that attracts conservative activists and lawmakers from across the country.
Past events have had a strongly libertarian flavor, but this year — the first in more than eight years that a Republican has held the White House — is highly reflective of the new administration, and the gathering was flooded with White House officials.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos spoke before Bannon and Priebus took the stage, and Vice President Mike Pence spoke Thursday night. Trump is expected to address the event today, and Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign manager turned counselor to the president, kicked off the conference as its first major headliner.