Bannon apologized Sunday, after initially planning to right before Trump bashed him in a statement last week. (JAMES KEIVOM/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Steve Bannon says he’s sorry.
The far-right strategist began his atonement for calling actions taken by President Trump’s oldest son “treasonous,” causing a rift with the commander-in-chief and his family.
“Donald Trump, Jr. is both a patriot and a good man,” Bannon said Sunday in a statement to Axios. “He has been relentless in his advocacy for his father and the agenda that has helped turn our country around.”
The Breitbart News bigwig walked back statements he made to author Michael Wolff in his explosive book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”
A highlight was bashing Donald Trump Jr.’s controversial June 2016 meeting at the family’s Fifth Ave. tower with a Russian lawyer as “unpatriotic.”
“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 continued.
Several White House and campaign officials subsequently dismissed Bannon’s influence — even those who previously worked close with him.
The former White House chief strategist planned to call the presidential scion “patriotic” last week, The Hill previously reported, after excerpts of the explosive tome were released Wednesday.
But his reversal was scrapped after the President issued a full-throated rebuke of his onetime confidant.
In his statement last Wednesday, Trump said Bannon “lost his mind” after he was nudged out of the White House last August.
Regardless, a source told The Hill, the President and Bannon would eventually reconcile.
Explosive statements in the book caused a rift between Trump and Bannon, formerly one of his most trusted advisers. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
“It’s a family fight, they always get back together,” a person close to Bannon told the newspaper. “Although this one could take some time.”
Meanwhile Bannon has stuck by the commander-in-chief, who he’s continued to support since being booted from the administration.
“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,” Bannon said Sunday in his statement to Axios.
The far-right political strategist hasn’t denied making the comments to Wolff. Instead, he blamed them on years as a Naval intelligence officer during the Cold War, during which he was stationed on a destroying hunting Soviet submarines.
Bannon continued that his comments were taken out of context — he was actually mad at then-campaign chief Paul Manafort.
He said Manafort, his predecessor leading the campaign, is “a seasoned campaign professional with experience and knowledge of how the Russians operate.”
“He should have known they are duplicitous, cunning and not our friends,” Bannon said. “To reiterate, those comments were not aimed at Don Jr.”
But Bannon allegedly told Wolff prosecutors investigating possible campaign collusion with Russia would “crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.”
Trump and top White House officials have questioned the credibility of Wolff’s book. The author has questioned Trump’s mental fitness after interviewing administration and campaign officials over the last year.
The President fired back on Saturday morning, arguing he’s always been “like, really smart” and considered a “stable genius.”
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