Bannon gave Mike Allen an “exclusive” statement:
- “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.”
- “My supportis 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.”
- “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.”
There’s more at the link, but it’s all in the same “Trump can’t fail, he can only be failed” vein. (“The President’s massive genius is only eclipsed by his enormous penis.” kidding, but almost)
For someone who wants to burn the world down, he sure folded pretty quickly once the Mercers yanked his money.
(If you don’t want to give Axios a click, here’s the same “exclusive” in the Post.)
MattF
Someone‘s gotta pay that mortgage.
Applejinx
“in the breech”
Up whose ass backwards?
PaulWartenberg
you know, for a bunch of harcore neo-Nazi nihilistic anarchists who wanna go full Joker on the world and burn it all down, when you take away their money they turn into a bunch of whipped p-ssies right awful quick.
(apologies for using the P word. I hope people can accept it in the proper context)
PST
He didn’t deny the quotation. Nothing else makes any difference.
Mr Stagger Lee
Can somebody tell me how you get things back the way it used to be
Oh God give me the reason, I’m down on bended knees
I’ll never walk again until you come back to me I’m down on bended knees.
Boyz II Men
Quinerly
Sloppy Steve is now Supine Steve. (H/T J Rubes)
AnotherBruce
Man that is some sad groveling. But the word dignity has never had anything to do with Steve Bannon. Just another nazi loser.
RepubAnon
Bannon, like so many on the right-wingnut circuit, has no actual ethics, morals, scruples, or core beliefs. He simply provides the words he’s paid to produce. Threaten to cut funding, and he’ll change his speech accordingly.
Baud
Since I didn’t win either of the lotteries, I’d consider praising Trump for a substantial amount of Mercer cash.
Villago Delenda Est
Worthless toady. Utter slime. Bannon is not only a racist shit, he’s a racist suckup shit.
sdhays
It’s so weird to see multimillionaires like Bannon be so dependent on billionaires like the Mercers. What amount of money do you need to not have to answer to somebody?
Anyway, we’re back Don Jr.’s best defense: “I’m just, like, really, really stupid, and, like, Paul and Jared were like ‘So cool, Vlad’s going to help us!’ and I thought they knew what they were doing. Do you remember when I published proof of my desire to collaborate with Russia to prevent the FAILING NYT from publishing proof of my desire to collaborate with Russia? Yeah, see, I’m just so stupid. Did you know I’m the son of Donald Trump? The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, if you know what I’m saying.”
Villago Delenda Est
@PaulWartenberg: You can use the alternative, wussies. The other thing is actually pretty tough.
Jeffro
This is actually better than Bannon standing by what he said. You’ve got a great chance here, Media, to do many days’ worth of reporting on the Mercers. Show the American people who REALLY pulls the strings on the Right!
MJS
@PST: This. I hope someone besides maybe Joy Reid or Rachel Maddow points that out. Donnie Jr.’s actions remain treasonous.
Quinerly
@MattF: And buy the acid to destroy another bathtub.
Quinerly
@Baud: Is that a plea for Poco to sniff out some big money backers for your message??
sdhays
@Baud: I’ll bet they pay better than Soros. I’m STILL waiting on my check for attending the Women’s March LAST YEAR!
Maybe something along the lines of, “You really can’t tell the President* is incontinent just by looking at him. That’s pretty impressive considering he apparently won’t wear Depends.”
Rebekah, call me!
Sloane Ranger
@RepubAnon: Or he’s just another sad adolescent living in his parents basement who fantasises about leading a revolution but folds when his parents take away his allowance.
AnotherBruce
“Now we are haggling about the price.”
MattF
@Baud: You do realize that it would involve saying things that aren’t true, right?
mai naem mobile
@Quinerly: it should be On His Knees Slurpy Stevie.
Jamey
By the title, I figured this must be a DougJ post. Though I don’t remember him using Queen lyrics before
Baud
@Quinerly:
I read that as massage and thought, “yes.”
@sdhays:
“Gorillas really are noble beasts.”
Baud
@MattF: I said a “substantial” amount of money.
sdhays
@MattF: Not if you’re creative.
Seriously, Rebekah, call me.
Quinerly
@Baud: “Massage Envy.”?
PST
@MJS: On further reflection, I think the failure to mention Jared Kushner is important. Bannon defends Donnie, attacks Paul, and says nothing of Jared. If Donnie is in the clear because he knows nothing, and Paul is guilty because he knows so much, what about someone in the middle.
Schlemazel
We take you now, live, to the Bannon cesspit:
“Must . . . re . . . attach . . . to . . . Mecer . . . teat
Quinerly
@mai naem mobile: God, I hope there isn’t going to be makeup sex.
(Although makeup sex usually isn’t bad, but I digress)?
Amaranthine RBG
@sdhays:
Yeah, that is the thing I have never understood. I can understand why someone who is poor or struggling will do or say just about anything to survive. Not acceptable but understandable. But what is the motivation for someone like Bannon – worth something like 40-50 million?
The best day in my life was when I realized I had enough money to take care of my kids education and fund our retirement so I didn’t have to put up with bullshit from anybody on the face of the earth just get money. Why would anyone degrade themselves like this?
I just can’t wrap my head around it.
sdhays
@PST: I was under the impression that Jared and Bannon have hated each other for a long time (after all, Jared’s…background, shall we say… doesn’t make him popular among the white supremacist types), so I personally wouldn’t read more into it than that.
Quinerly
Would anybody be surprised if there is a suicide by someone, somewhere in this shitshow?
sdhays
@Quinerly: Can we choose who and when?
Llelldorin
That’s a quirk of Randians that I’ll never get used to: money is the sole determinant of worth. If you disagree with someone, and they’re richer than you, then they’re right and your’re wrong. No counterargument is permissible.
It doesn’t matter if the subject is, say, atmospheric chemistry, and you have a Ph.D. in the subject, and their sole qualification is that they watch Fox News a lot–if you knew so much, how come they have more money than you?
Jeffro
I guess someone reminded sloppy Steve that they’re all either going to rule together or hang together
Jeffro
@Llelldorin: exactly… they are all for the rights of individuals as long as it is rich individuals we’re talking about here
debbie
It’s not true contrition until he’s photographed dining on frogs legs with Trump himself.
sdhays
@debbie: Would Trump eat frogs legs?
debbie
@sdhays:
He would.
Quinerly
Howard Dean…”This is a sick psychodrama.”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@PST: If Donnie is in the clear because he knows nothing,
IANAL and I don’t know if this is a thing, but if anybody’s dumb enough to flip without knowing it, it’s Slabhead Donnie.
OTOH, I read the other day that his lawyer, Futerfas, is an experienced mob lawyer. Which still leaves the infinite possibilities of someone who is reputed to be the dumbest trump, so….
Yarrow
@PST:@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Mandalay
@Amaranthine RBG:
Because Bannon truly believes the bile he spews, and he cares about his ideas becoming government policy.
But as things stand he’s a dead man walking. If he grovels to Trump he has a chance of gaining redemption – Trump will forgive anyone if there is something in it for himself – but otherwise Bannon will just become an irrelevant sideshow:
Despite the fleeting humiliation of all the juicy quotes in Woolf’s book, it will end up helping Trump because it has destroyed Bannon.
chris
@Llelldorin:
That would explain a lot of the Putin worship. A Bloomberg piece that I can’t find said that Putin is “probably” the richest person in the world with estimates ranging from 100 to 300 billion dollars. He who dies with the most toys wins.
Suzanne
@Amaranthine RBG: I don’t understand people who live large for this exact reason. I just want to pay off my house and my student loans and live my little life on my terms. I don’t need a palace or a vacation home or a bunch of fancy cars. I could do that for a lot less than Steve Bannon has in the bank.
But I don’t have to suck Trump’s dick, so that is a win for me.
chris
A little more on Tapper and Miller since the last thread is moribund.
Westyny
Bannon’s apology aside (though I take pleasure in watching him grovel), Trump’s congnative is only going to get worse and it seems to be accelerating. “He who slips his anchor let’s the cat out out of the bag.” – Barnett Newman
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I think there’s a better-than-even chance that McCain would/will be right in there with his little sidekick, but I imagine, considering the source, that they will both see this and it will get under both their skins
interesting that she doesn’t bother to ‘at’ Graham. More than one audience of one out there these days.
Faithful Lurker
Does anyone know, for certain, that Bannon is worth that much money? How much debt does he owe and to whom. From what I’ve read lately, he talks a better game than he plays.
Yarrow
@chris: Thanks for posting this. I saw it yesterday and couldn’t remember where.
If people click through you’ll see that Molly Jong Fast asked why a Nazi (Miller) got to be on CNN. Jake Tapper then replied that Miller is Jewish so we shouldn’t throw around the term “Nazi” as it undermines it. And then all hell broke loose.
It’s instructive that Tapper thought it was just fine to bring Miller on his show and that he pushed back on people pointing out Miller’s chosen, not ethnic and cultural, background.
Yarrow
@Faithful Lurker: I was wondering the same thing. Why do we think Bannon is rich? He’s good at spending other people’s money but does he have his own?
KickBoxBanana
I am shocked, shocked that Bannon still like to fluffing tRumps massive penis. Who could have predicted.
m.j.
bystander
I like the “they took it out of context” excuse I’ve heard from both Sam Nunberg and Sloppy Steve. Isn’t it obvious that “she’s as dumb as a brick” and ” he was committing treason in his office” could take on a whole new meaning if only placed in the correct context?
Ben Cisco
The only thing missing is ol’ Pizza Face standing outside the WH holding up a boombox playing “In Your Eyes.”
B.B.A.
@Yarrow: Well, wanting to kill all the Jews is a core principle of Nazism. If Miller was really a Nazi, he’d have killed himself by now.
What I’m saying is, I wish Miller was really a Nazi.
KickBoxBanana
C*ck holster Bannon knows who still butters his bread.
sdhays
@Yarrow: He apparently gets royalties from Seinfeld reruns (oh, the irony), which is the only thing I can remember about his fortune, but that should have put him in the double-digit millions. He also doesn’t appear to live beyond his means, with his trademark “I passed out under a bridge” look, but looks can certainly be deceiving (or more accurate than one would expect). I haven’t read that he’s a major gambler or anything, but you’re right, he could have blown his fortune on opioids and a Hilter-shaped sex machine or something.
raven
@Yarrow:
PsiFighter37
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Sweet Lindsey is a fucking worthless hack. The fact that he explicitly stated Trump isn’t a kook – after saying exactly that in 2016 – shows how little self-dignity the man has.
As for McCain, he’s a fucking weasel, so this will probably have no impact on him. But if I was a betting man, I don’t think he is going to cast another vote in the Senate now that the corporate theft has been completed.
Mnemosyne
I knew Bannon would be forced to grovel. He’s a sometimes useful tool, but he’s just a tool.
As far as where the money goes, he’s an addict/alcoholic. He doesn’t remember where the money went, only that it vanished. And he has at least one ex-wife and set of kids that he’s court-ordered to support in a specific LA Brentwood lifestyle, which ain’t cheap.
bystander
@raven: Those numbers and disclosures about investments certainly seem reliable. I mean “between “9.5 million and $48 million” certainly shows a degree of precision that is the hallmark of credible financials.
bystander
@PsiFighter37:
I adhere to the theory (advanced by Adam?) that Putin’s principle of penetration at all levels which resulted in hacking the RNC as well as the DNC, yielded material we have never seen. What if Vlad and Trump have shown Lindsay the fruits of the hacking? Lindsay’s 180 makes a lot more sense if you factor in a couple of wetsuits and a slippery ballgag.
retiredeng
@sdhays: Not unless they’re McJambes.
Peale
Are the Mercer’s the only billionaires backrolling the race warriors at this point? I know they’ve got a lot of money and have never met a white goon who they couldn’t write a check to, but they can’t be the only ones?
Jeffro
@bystander: ew
trollhattan
@Mnemosyne:
Amazing how accurate the Mooch’s Bannon description turns out to be.
trollhattan
@Peale:
Not a chance, although they seem less embarrassed by the association than the others.
Ben Cisco
@raven: Hey Raven,
Sorry to hear that you’ve been under the weather and couldn’t go to the game. Had I been able to afford them right now, I’d have taken a run at that ticket. I think it’s going to be a hell of a game.
CarolDuhart2
@Amaranthine RBG: Because what Bannon wants to do requires megabux-to recruit and instigate. Traveling
Haven’t you noticed that the “deplorables” Bannon needs don’t seem to pony up much in either money of self-funded efforts? If Bannon needed so much as an extra slice of cheesecake he couldn’t get it from that crowd.
Mandalay
Bannon is getting double whammied on Breitbart right now by thousands of not-so-loyal posters. They hate him for making Trump look bad, and they despise him for apologizing.
The Republican establishment hates him with the heat of a thousand suns. The Mercers no longer want anything to do with him, and his future with Breitbart is in doubt. And his former base is siding with Trump.
Unless Bannon can offer Trump something tangible – like “I promise I will never compete with you politically, or criticize you, for the rest of my life!” – he’s completely finished.
Brachiator
@Amaranthine RBG:
Bannon wants to be powerful. He wants to be close to power. He wanted to be able to brag that he, Steve the Mighty, had singlehandedly changed the United States (with a little help from that little known guy, Trump).
That kind of arrogance, desire for fame and glory is worth a lot to someone as weak at his core as Bannon is. All these people around Trump, even the plutocrats, are an odd bunch of nuts.
And as another poster notes, Bannon’s net worth is between, what, $9 million and $48 million. I guess he could live comfortably for the rest of his days, but that would not scratch the itch of his ambition.
So many small men and women wanting to be big men and women.
It will be interesting to see if his grovelling will get him back into the inner circle.
It is also interesting to see that the wild dogs who are Trump supporters are now clearly fixated on their Dear Leader, and will tear apart anyone who tries to assert any independent right wing agenda.
Jeffro
@Mandalay: should have stuck to his guns/quotes
Yarrow
@raven: Thanks. That is super accurate–between $9.5 million and $48 million. What’s several tens of millions anyway? LOL.
@Mnemosyne: Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. We have no idea what his outgoing expenses are. Didn’t he rent the house where they used acid in the tub? Why rent if he’s so rich?
@bystander: Lindsey Graham said his emails were hacked, didn’t he? Then backtracked.
bystander
@Yarrow: Why, yes, I believe he did.
raven
@bystander: I report, you decide!
Yarrow
@raven: Sorry you’re not getting to go to the game, but given how you’ve said you’re feeling it’s probably the right call. And it paid for your trip to the Rose Bowl!
raven
@Ben Cisco: Yea, I ended up getting $3000 for two giving me about $2000 in profit. We way overextended with the Rose trip so this will certainly help in that regard. It was nice to be in a no lose position.
Suzanne
@Yarrow:
However, even on the low end, he should be doing just fine.
I will never understand these rich dudes who think that everything is JUST TERRIBLE!!!
Yarrow
@Suzanne: I’m skeptical of the numbers. I wonder if they’re inflated by his funding from the Mercers, which has now gone bye-bye.
Your point stands, though. These rich guys always want more More, MORE MONEY and think the country is TERRIBLE. Their lives are golden, they can do anything they want and yet they just aren’t happy unless they screw over people who aren’t as rich or as white as they are. It has to be some kind mental health issue. Normal people aren’t like that.
I mean, can you imagine Bannon being nice to a child or any animal? Can you imagine one of the Koch brothers helping someone who had fainted or even someone who had dropped something and had trouble picking it up off the floor? I can’t see any of those people performing even a simple act of kindness or generosity for someone they didn’t know.
trollhattan
@Suzanne:
90% of them look around at people richer than they are and decide they don’t have enough yet. It takes over, the quest for moar.
Omnes Omnibus
@Yarrow:
These estimates of net worth come from federal disclosure forms that are designed to eliminate/expose conflicts of interest. You can indicate that, for example, that you own between $10,000 and $50,000 of such and such a stock. It is meant to show what you own rather than how much.
laura
Hookers and blow aren’t free.
Priorities.
Ruckus
@sdhays:
About 4 posts ago Karen Potter stated the following:
while people have more money they have less compassion.
My question/answer:
I’m wondering if there might be a direct connection. What could it possibly be?
When you sell what little soul you have to the highest bidder, certain things go along with that.
1. You sold yourself, you are owned. Slavery is still alive but the slaves sell themselves.
2. You will have some money. You sold your humanity for that.
3. You will be unpleasant, you will be ugly, you will be unliked. Because you have no humanity.
4. It wasn’t worth any of it.
Yarrow
@Omnes Omnibus: Makes sense. Could be wrong on estimates, though. They’re all lying all the time.
Mnemosyne
@trollhattan:
This. When your boss has multi-billions of dollars, your $45 million a year is chump change, and you both know it. As far as both of you are concerned, you may as well be making minimum wage and — even more importantly — that’s how the even richer people treat you. Like you’re some minimum wage chump, not the equal you want them to treat you as. So you keep trying to accumulate more and more so you can be accepted by them as an equal, not the hanger-on that you both know you are.
Tim C.
Shorter Bannon: “My name is Reek!”
chris
@Ruckus: This has been on my desktop for a while.
bemused
@Suzanne:
That blows my mind too. It’s like no amount of money and power plus giving up your soul would ever be enough. It seems just as crazy obsessive behavior as with people who hoard cats or trash to me. Not a psychiatrist or analyst but sure would like to know how they would weigh in on this.
Ruckus
@Faithful Lurker:
People who worship money like to brag, even if not openly, about how much they have. (Of course there are magazines that do that bragging for them!) It’s how they count their worth, they actually count it. Real humans count their health, their family/friends, can they withstand a small financial jolt like the car needs tires – can they afford a replacement car, rich assholes just count. One of the things they count is how many humans do they control in some way. It may not be direct slavery, but they think of it the same way.
Doug R
@PaulWartenberg:
I believe the word you’re looking for is CUCK.
Brachiator
@Tim C.:
Yes! Excellent.
Ruckus
@bystander:
That’s gold Jerry!
bemused
@Ruckus:
I also think of Joy Reid twitter comment (re: GOP tax cut giveaway to filthy rich) that Republican source told her that GOPers don’t care what Americans or their voters want. They decided to cash out.
Brachiator
@laura:
Cocaine is God’s way of telling you you’re making too much money
— Robin Williams
retiredeng
@PsiFighter37: Trump has something on Graham. Must be juicy, because he seemed to snap all at once a while back. Wonder what it is.
Brachiator
@raven: BTW, I didn’t see the original thread in which you talked about your trip, but it sounds like you and your bride had a great time, and the football game was the cherry on top of that Rose Bowl sundae.
I hope that all your travel to and from the parade and game were seamless and pleasurable.
I know people who come out annually in their RVs, a tradition, and have a great time. It can be a challenge for first timers.
James E. Powell
@retiredeng:
Speculations are that it’s either a promise to make Graham Secretary of State, a threat to make him a former senator, or both.
Ruckus
@bemused:
Not all of the super rich are just plain stupid. They can see the political wind blowing and blowing hard against them. They may be ruthless and got rich that way but they understood that’s what they are. It’s worth it to them. But as I said above they can count…… boy have they learned to count. Well enough that they can count more than just money, they can count votes, they can count support for people giving them money and they can count how well their stealing money is going. The outlook on that last bit is not going well at all. And as more and more people wake up and smell the tax relief that the rich just got, that outlook is going to get a lot worse. They also know the value of what their money can buy and if you look around at all the bought republicans in politics these days, that value looks to be way, way over priced. The smart money knows when to get out of a deal as well as when to go all in. That’s how you tell who the rich are and who are the thieves. The thieves will keep going till they get caught, the rich will cut their losses.
danielx
“Confusion to our enemies” is becoming almost redundant.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
Robin knew of what he spoke.
It’s fun. Till the train crashes into you. If you are smart (or lucky) you run away from it as far and as fast as you can.
SteveinSC
@Yarrow: Well, there are some other possibilities than just some hacked “candid home videos” the Lady Lindsay took. Here in SC, trump’s approval is around 53 percent and Lindsay has been doing a bit of Redneck Fence-Fixing to avoid being “primaried”. He was very naughty, you know, saying some none too flattering things about drumpf. So the 180 may come from that.
On the other hand, sometimes you can you can build a little insurance if you know trump’s about to get a bit o’ bad news on indictments. Get out there and stir up some smoke you know will never go anywhere covering for trump. Then when, as Sen. Blumenthal has hinted, a new dose of shit spatters all over “emperor hiricheeto” you are in the clear with your primary challengers at no cost to you.
Good Politics.
Ruckus
@danielx:
In this case it’s almost “Confusion from our enemies.”
For all the power they’ve seized and all the money they’ve spent to get here, it’s like watching the three stooges meets boozo the clown meets soupy sales meets gallagher meets archie bunker and they all get bested by…….themselves.
laura
@Quinerly: And buy the acid to destroy another bathtub.
Well how else do you expect him to get rid of an inconvenient body?
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
I don’t have a link, but G saw an article where the Mercers looked around, saw that the time was ripe for an insurgent, anti-establishment candidate for president, and sponsored the one they knew would protect the interests of billionaires: Donald Trump. And, yes, this plan depended on American voters being stupid enough to think that Hillary Clinton was too beholden to billionaires and that Trump would stand up to his peers. Fucking morons on the “left” got played by the Mercers and their fake “anti-establishment” propaganda and still refuse to admit it.
Hungry Joe
In an article about a hedge-fund manager a few years ago, the guy claimed to be upset because he was worth only about $700 million, while friends of his were worth a billion, two billion, three. He said something like, “I keep asking myself what I’m doing wrong.” I thought it was kind of funny until it became clear that he meant it.
Hungry Joe
@Ruckus: Hey — leave Soupy Sales out of this. LOVED Soupy. I did a phone interview with him one time, and I was most unprofessional: For about 15 minutes he talked, and I laughed. Non-stop. I don’t think I asked him more than two or three questions — just laughed and tried to take notes and laughed some more.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Hungry Joe: OMG, I watched Soupy at lunch time when I was a kid.
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@PaulWartenberg: I think the word “cuck” is best choice for Bannon.
?BillinGlendaleCA
I finished Fire and Fury this morning; Bannon thinks he’s going to run for President in 2020 so he need a sugar daddy(or mommy), he doesn’t think Trump will run again or even more likely finish his first term, and Bannon HATES Jarvanka.
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Well, thanks for spoiling the ending for me!
j/k. I saw that line about him running in the first third of the book, which is as far as I’ve gotten. I have to say, so much of what’s in the book we already knew but the quotes liven it up and reveal just how outrageous it all is.
Ruckus
@Hungry Joe:
Dad and I used to watch Soupy but mom couldn’t stand him. She said he was too stupid. I once told her that was the entire point, be stupid. She didn’t get why that was funny. He was like Charlie Chaplin but he looked like he was enjoying himself, Charlie never did. Both same type of humor, both funny, but for different reasons.
I used him as an example of being stupid. The difference is that he knew he was acting, the people we are talking about are too stupid to know they are stupid.
Betsy
@Suzanne: Another reason we’re all winning compared to Louise Linton.
Barry
@Amaranthine RBG: “Yeah, that is the thing I have never understood. I can understand why someone who is poor or struggling will do or say just about anything to survive. Not acceptable but understandable. But what is the motivation for someone like Bannon – worth something like 40-50 million?”
He wants more. Running a political operation presumably
costs millions per year. His wealth would be consumed long before the 2020 elections.
In addition, he undoubtedly wants to profit. Get $XX million from the Mercers each year, and spend $YY, pocketing the difference.
He probably feels that he won’t be really rich until he hits $100 million.