Steve Bannon backpedals, claims his "treason" remarks were made about Paul Manafort, not Trump Jr.

Steve Bannon. BBC/Reuters. 

Steve Bannon has apologized for his statements saying a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and other campaign staff with a Fusion GPS employed Russian Lawyer was "treasonous". BBC. Bannon tried to redirect the statement, saying that former campaign manager Paul Manafort was the target of his comments, not Trump Jr. The statement was made in a new book, Fire and Fury, which has been criticized for inaccuracy. 

Steve Bannon's statement can be found on Breitbart.

My Comment:

I figured this was coming. Steve Bannon must have realized that allowing himself to be quoted in that stupid Fire and Fury book was one of the biggest mistakes of his political career. He's a pariah now, hated not only by the Democrats but by the GOP establishment and Trump camps as well. This is his attempt to get back into the good graces with someone. Anyone. 

But I don't think it is going to work. This book took over the headlines for an entire weekend and exposed millions of people to lies and misstatements. And it came at a time when the news should all be focused on Hillary Clinton, the FBI and James Comey. They had a very bad week but you wouldn't know it right now and that is because of this book. 

I do have to say that it is possible that Bannon is telling the truth. Michael Wolff has come under extreme criticism for making stuff up in his book. He even admits to it taking liberties with the truth and inserting his own interpretations into his book. 

Fire and Fury Screencap. Michael Wolff.

So does the fact that Michael Wolff is unreliable at best mean that Bannon wasn't talking about Donald Trump Jr.? I kinda doubt it. For one it took him a very long time to come up with this explanation. Had he said he was taken out of context immediately I might give him more credence but if someone is lying about you would you wait five days to deny it? I don't think so. And it also seems like Bannon is trying to shift blame to someone even more unpopular than him, Paul Manafort, who has been indicted for financial crimes. 

And even if Bannon is telling the truth, he still did a bad thing, as far as those of us on the right are concerned. Even if he was talking about Manafort and not Trump Jr., he still brought the stupid Russia narrative back to the limelight. That issue should have died a long time ago, but he again brought it back. That's not the action of someone acting in the best interests of conservatism. I tend to agree that Manfort, being a lawyer, should have sensed that the whole thing was a trap and not allowed anyone to talk to the Russian lawyer. But that doesn't mean that Bannon should have aired that dirty laundry for the world to see. 

My guess is that Bannon did this to keep his job. His job at Breitbart isn't immune when he creates a firestorm like this. I am guessing that he really did think that this was for revenge and he didn't realize that everyone was going to turn on him. Now that everyone has, he has to try and make amends. I don't think it will work, but time will tell..