This week saw the eruption of Trump’s most acrimonious feud to date as he turned on former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, the odious once-and-current mind behind alt-right website Breitbart News.
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The falling out occurred after excerpts from journalist Michael Wolff’s new book Fire and Fury leaked. In it, Bannon said Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with Russians in Trump Tower to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton was “treasonous.” He also claimed there was “zero chance” Don Jr. didn’t bring the Russians upstairs to meet candidate Donald Trump, who was in the building at the time but claimed ignorance of the meeting.
The allegations, if true, could topple Trump’s entire presidency. They quickly spread like wildfire, dominating the news coverage for the week and put the White House on the defensive once again.
Trump didn’t take well to the accusations, and released a scathing statement in which he said Bannon “lost his mind.”
Trump totally torches Bannon: “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.” Full statement: pic.twitter.com/ElhChPiOx8
— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) January 3, 2018
Trump Jr. also rushed to his own and his father’s defense, by unleashing a string of angry and sarcastic tweets on Bannon. He started by blaming Bannon for the Democratic Senate victory in Alabama over the accused pedophile Roy Moore:
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Thanks Steve. Keep up the great work. https://t.co/J9O8CUfJAD
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 3, 2018
He then took another shot Bannon by pointing out that he was losing his audience at Breitbart News, the source of all of Bannon’s (possibly waning) power.
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Wow, Just looked at the comments section on Breitbart. Wow. When Bannon has lost Breitbart, he’s left with . . . umm, nothing.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 3, 2018
He then returned to the previous topic by getting another dig in about the Roy Moore loss.
It would be amazing if there would have been a nice simple path to keeping this seat with a nice 30 point margin… #thankssteve https://t.co/uB7DXMZjiH
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 3, 2018
Not yet done, he circled back to Breitbart, saying that Andrew Breitbart, the namesake of the publication and a fearful, small-minded rightwinger in his own right, would have been ashamed of the website’s current state.
Andrew Breitbart would be ashamed of the division and lies Steve Bannon is spreading!
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 3, 2018
The next day, Presiden Trump took another shot at his former ally, coining a new nickname for him “Sloppy Steve.”
I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist. Look at this guy’s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018
Now, Trump has fired off his most brutal attack yet, claiming that Bannon cried when he was fired and begged for his job. He added that Bannon has been “dumped by a dog by almost everyone,” a reference to Bannon’s financial backers, the Mercers, pulling their support of the Breitbart boss.
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It’s an utterly brutal attack and demonstrates once again that Trump is willing to throw any of his former friends, allies, or associates under the bus if it means saving his own skin.
Trump also took specific aim at Michael Wolff by calling him a “total loser” and including a photo with selected excerpts attacking the veracity of the journalist’s book.
The president tweeted:
Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad! https://t.co/mEeUhk5ZV9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018
Clearly, the Wolff book has wormed itself deep beneath Trump’s skin. The fact that he is so furious at Bannon only lends credence to the idea that Bannon really said all of the damning things Wolff claims. The book has quickly become a number one bestseller and immediately sold out in many stores. Trump is obsessed with it and the obvious rage behind this latest tweet shows how quickly he is unraveling.
