Stephen Bannon Apologizes

Stephen Bannon expressed regret Sunday for the explosive statements he made about Donald Trump Jr. that were quoted in the just-released book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. Reversing a comment he made in Michael Wolff's book that Trump Jr.'s 2016 meeting with Russians was "treasonous," Bannon begins his statement, first made to Axios, by calling the president's oldest son "both a patriot and a good man," the Washington Post reports. Bannon goes on to say that the quote was the result of "inaccurate reporting" and that he wasn't actually speaking about Trump Jr. at all, but rather former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, a "seasoned campaign professional" who should have known that the Russians are "duplicitous, cunning and not our friends."

Bannon's comments have resulted in very public falling-out between the former senior White House aide and the man he helped get elected to the White House. After news of the comments broke last week, President Trump began calling Bannon "Sloppy Steve" on Twitter, and saying the Breitbart head had been "dumped like a dog by almost everyone." Bannon's apology comes just hours after his former protégé and current White House senior adviser Stephen Miller called Bannon's comments "grotesque," "out of touch," and "obviously so vindictive" on CNN. (More Steve Bannon stories.)