Where have we heard this before? Steve who? Donald Trump is distancing himself from his former chief strategist Steve Bannon. After Bannon was indicted Thursday, the president said:
“He was involved in our campaign for a small part of the administration, very early on… I feel very badly. I haven’t been dealing with him for a long period of time.” “I haven’t dealt with him at all, over years now, literally years.”
In reality, Bannon worked with Trump for almost a year, starting with the campaign in August 2016, then joining the president in the White House until he left in August 2017.
There are also some signs that Trump wasn’t accurately portraying his current relationship with Bannon.
As for the “online fundraising scheme ‘We Build The Wall’” that is at the center of the indictment, Trump contradicted himself as to how much he knew about the scheme saying:
“I know nothing about the project… other than when I read about it, I didn’t like it.”
But for someone who knew nothing about the project, he knew enough to have a strong opinion about it:
“I said this is for government, this isn’t for private people and it sounded to me like showboating. And I think I let my opinion be very strongly known.”
“It was something that I very much felt was inappropriate to be doing.”
Trump also had this to say about the three others indicted today.
“I didn’t know any of the other people either…. I don’t think I ever met them.”
But there is evidence that Donald Trump Jr. not only knew at least one of the other men indicted but also endorsed the project.
The Trump organization is defending the president’s son, sending out this statement.
But according to Business Insider:
Trump Jr.’s connections to the group appear to extend beyond the July 2019 event he attended.
A Facebook page run by Kolfage spent $185,000 on dozens of ads. Some asked people for donations. In an ad posted in late December, Kolfage promised a “FREE Donald Trump Jr Autographed Book with donation to We Build The Wall Inc! DO NOT MISS OUT!”