In the days following the release of Michael Wolff’s explosive book Fire and Fury – Inside the Trump White House, former chief strategist Steve Bannon is trying to make amends to U.S. President Donald Trump and his family, Axios reports.
In excerpts of Wolff’s book that were published online earlier this week, Bannon was quoted as calling the meetings between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer with links to the Kremlin “treasonous.”
WATCH: Trump says Michael Wolff never interviewed him, blames ‘Sloppy’ Steve Bannon for book’s content
Axios published excerpts of a statement from Bannon apologizing to the president and to other members of his family for comments noted in Wolff’s book.
In the letter, Bannon apologizes to the president’s son Donald Trump Jr., says that Trump is the only candidate that could have defeated the “Clinton apparatus” and claims that comments made in the book were not aimed at Trump Jr., but rather at Paul Manafort.
“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.
“President Trump was the only candidate that could have taken on and defeated the Clinton apparatus. I am the only person to date to conduct a global effort to preach the message of Trump and Trumpism; and remain ready to stand in the breech for this president’s efforts to make America great again.
“My comments were aimed at Paul Manafort, 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. To reiterate, those comments were not aimed at Don Jr.”
Bannon is also quoted in the book as saying “They’re going to crack Don Jr. like an egg on national TV.”
It wasn’t long before the book created a public rift between Trump and Bannon, who’s long been one of the president’s most ardent supporters. On Wednesday, Trump shot back with an official statement from the White House claiming that the former chief strategist had little to do with his victorious campaign.
“When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind,” Trump said Wednesday.
In addition, Bannon’s statement reiterates his conviction that the federal investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials is a “witch hunt,” and also refers to the reporting around Trump Jr. in recent days “inaccurate.”
Lawyers for the U.S. president also sent a cease and desist letter to Bannon accusing him of violating a confidentiality agreement for the disparaging remarks that appear in the book about Trump and his family.