Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump excoriated his former chief strategist Steve Bannon in a statement Wednesday, claiming that Bannon "lost his mind" after being pushed out from the White House.
The White House released the 266-word statement from the President slamming Bannon after excerpts from a new book quoted Bannon as calling the meeting with a Russian lawyer the President's eldest son attended in the summer 2016 at Trump Tower alongside Jared Kushner and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort "treasonous."
"Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. Steve was a staffer who worked for me after I had already won the nomination by defeating 17 candidates, often described as the most talented field ever assembled in the Republican party," Trump said in the statement.
Trump unloads on former top aide Bannon - CNNPolitics