Donald Trump and Steve Bannon Clash Over 'Trump Jr.'s Meeting with Russians'

Steve Bannon, former senior advisor to Donald Trump, described the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 election campaign as 'treasonous' and 'unpatriotic.' In response, Donald Trump stated that Bannon has 'lost his mind.' According to a report by AFP on Wednesday citing The Guardian, Bannon made harsh remarks against Donald Trump Jr. in a book titled 'Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House' by Michael Wolff. He stated, 'Donald Trump Jr. will be crushed on national television like an egg.' Bannon, who left the White House in August, is quoted as saying that Robert Mueller's investigation, which is looking into Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election, will focus on money laundering. Bannon joined Trump's campaign two months after the meeting between Trump campaign officials and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016. This meeting, held at Trump Tower in New York City, included Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and Paul Manafort, then campaign manager. After the Russian lawyer promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, Trump Jr. accepted the meeting. In another part of his comments in the book, Bannon said, 'Three senior officials of the Trump campaign thought it was appropriate to meet with agents of a foreign government in Trump Tower without a lawyer present. No lawyer was with them. Even if they thought it was not treasonous or unpatriotic, which I believe it is, they should have immediately informed the FBI.' The main focus of Mueller's investigation, who is a former FBI director, is the potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government activities to assist Trump's election victory. Donald Trump has repeatedly denied such allegations. Last week, Trump told The New York Times that he expects Mueller's investigation to be 'fair.' Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman, and one of Trump's close associates, has been accused of money laundering, which is unrelated to the presidential election. Michael Flynn, former national security advisor, has also pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. According to The Guardian, Bannon's comments, especially regarding Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, are very hostile. Jared Kushner is a real estate investor and the husband of Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump's daughter. Trump stated, 'Steve was an employee, and when I defeated 17 candidates for the presidential nomination, he was working for me... He had the least role in our historic victory, which was achieved by the forgotten men and women of this country.' Bannon commented on the direction of Mueller's investigation, saying, 'You can tell where the investigation is going. The whole thing is about money laundering.' He added, 'Their attack path to Donald Trump goes through his son, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort. This is as clear as day. The investigation is about Deutsche Bank's accounts, all related to Jared Kushner's scandals. They will uncover the whole story.' Since leaving the White House in August 2017, Bannon has taken positions that are often in complete opposition to the Trump administration. However, his remarks this time provoked a strong reaction from Donald Trump. According to Reuters, Trump said that when Bannon was 'fired, he not only lost his job, but he lost his mind.' He also emphasized that Bannon had no significant role in his victory over Hillary Clinton last year. Trump stated, 'Steve was an employee, and when I defeated 17 candidates for the presidential nomination, he was working for me... He had the least role in our historic victory, which was achieved by the forgotten men and women of this country.' He added, 'Steve pretends to be at war with the media and calls them the opposition party, but while he was in the White House, he leaked false information to the media to make himself seem more important than he is. That was the only thing he did well. Steve rarely had one-on-one meetings with me but pretends to have had significant influence to deceive people who know nothing about the situation, the same ones he has helped write fake books.'