Former aide Steve Bannon apologises to Donald Trump and family over comments in bombshell book

DONALD Trump’s former top aide Steve Bannon has apologised to the US President’s family over derogatory comments he made in a sizzling new book about the Trump administration.

FORMER White House top strategist Steve Bannon appeared to try to bury the sword in his ongoing feud with Donald Trump that erupted over recent comments he made in an explosive new book about Trump’s White House, saying his support for the president is “unwavering.”

Mr Bannon also expressed “regret” for calling the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr, “unpatriotic” for meeting a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin at a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016, blistering remarks Michael Wolff included in the bombshell book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, reports the New York Post.

“Donald Trump, Jr. is both a patriot and a good man. He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around,” Mr Bannon said in a statement to Axios.

Donald Trump tweeted that he was a “stable” “genius” after a bombshell book about his presidency held America captivated. Picture: AFP/Saul Loeb

“My support is also unwavering for the president and his agenda as I have shown daily in my national radio broadcasts, on the pages of Breitbart News and in speeches and appearances from Tokyo and Hong Kong to Arizona and Alabama,” added Mr Bannon, who returned to the news site after leaving the White House last August.

Mr Trump blasted the book as “full of lies,” the author as a “total loser” and his former campaign chairman as “Sloppy Steve” when excerpts began to surface last week.

I’ve had to put up with the Fake News from the first day I announced that I would be running for President. Now I have to put up with a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author. Ronald Reagan had the same problem and handled it well. So will I!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018

“When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind,” Mr Trump said in a sizzling statement about Mr Bannon.

Mr Bannon tried to make amends overnight.

“I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president’s historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency,” he said in the statement to the news website.

Steve Bannon said his ire was directed at former campaign chair Paul Manafort. Picture: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

Steve Bannon apologised for comments he made about Donald Trump, Jr. Picture: AFP/Nicholas Kamm

In Fire and Fury Mr Bannon faulted Donald Jr., former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Mr Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner for taking the meeting with the Russians during the presidential campaign and not reporting it to the FBI.

“Even if you thought that this was not treasonous, or unpatriotic, or bad s*** , and I happen to think it’s all of that, you should have called the FBI immediately,” Mr Bannon was quoted in the book.

Steve Bannon is in the crosshairs of the Trump family. Picture: AFP/Getty Images/Joe Readle

In the statement overnight, Mr Bannon said his ire was directed at Mr Manafort.

“My comments were aimed at Paul Manafort, a seasoned campaign professional with experience and knowledge of how the Russians operate,” Mr Bannon said. “He should have known they are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends. To reiterate, those comments were not aimed at Don Jr.”

The book has caused a sensation in the US since it was released last week, with its publisher scrambling to get new copies printed.

Better days on Air Force One for Donald Trump and Steve Bannon. Picture: AFP/Nicholas Kamm

‘NOTHING BUT TRASH’

It comes Mr Trump’s chief policy adviser Stephen Miller, in a combative appearance on US network CNN, described the book as “nothing but a pile of trash through and through.”

He also criticised Mr Bannon, who is quoted at length by Mr Wolff, saying it was “tragic and unfortunate” that Mr Bannon “would make these grotesque comments so out of touch with reality and obviously so vindictive.”

To Mr Miller, “the portrayal of the president in the book is so contrary to reality, to the experience of those who work with him.”

Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018

Mr Miller’s interview on CNN’s State of the Union quickly grew heated, with Mr Miller criticising CNN’s coverage and moderator Jake Tapper pressing Mr Miller to answer his questions.

Mr Tapper abruptly ended the interview, saying: “I think I’ve wasted enough of my viewers’ time.”

Stephen Miller called a new book on the Trump administration, “nothing but a pile of trash”. Picture: AFP/Jim Watson

Soon after, Mr Trump tweeted: “Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunkey!”

Mr Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to defend his fitness for office, insisting he is “like, really smart” and, indeed, a “very stable genius.”

Michael Wolff’s explosive book about the Trump administration has caused a storm in the US. Picture: AP/Steve Helber

He pressed the case again overnight as he prepared to depart Camp David for the White House. “I’ve had to put up with the Fake News from the first day I announced that I would be running for President. Now I have to put up with a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author,” he tweeted.

Steve Bannon is under fire from the Trump family. Picture: AFP/Nicholas Kamm

Mr Wolff’s book draws a derogatory portrait of Mr Trump as an undisciplined man-child who didn’t actually want to win the White House and who spends his evenings eating cheeseburgers in bed, watching television and talking on the telephone to old friends.

— with the New York Post