Fire and Fury: White House throws out Bannon’s apology

The White House has rejected an attempt by US President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, to take back incendiary remarks about the president and his family.

Bannon came under fire from Trump last week after accusing his son, Donald Jr., of “treason” for meeting a Russian lawyer during the heat of the 2016 US presidential election, which consequently fueled speculations about a high-profile probe into Trump’s ties with Russia.

The firebrand journalist, who lost many of his Republican endorsements over the damaging remarks, finally broke his silence on Sunday and expressed “regret” for his remarks.

However, the White House gave Bannon the cold shoulder, as Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said Monday that there was no chance Trump would take back his former ally.

“I don't believe there is any way back for Mr. Bannon at this point," Gidley told reporters onboard Air Force One. "I just don’t think there’s any way back."

He also reiterated Trump’s remarks about Bannon, saying the Republican head of state stood by his belief that the former top aide had “lost it” and was “only in it for himself.”

“When you go after somebody’s family in the manner in which he did — two of the president’s children are serving this nation, sacrificing in their service — it is repugnant, it is grotesque and I challenge anybody to go and talk about somebody’s family and see if that person doesn’t come back and comes back hard," said Gidley.

Bannon, who had pledged to stay on Trump’s side after being fired last April, found himself in hot water over the explosive book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which paints a chaotic and dysfunctional picture of Trump’s White House and raises questions about his fitness to serve.

PressTV-Steve Bannon reaffirms ‘unwavering’ support for Trump

Bannon has finally broken his silence on his recent blunder, which has infuriated Trump and the White House.

The book, written by Michael Wolff, features Bannon as a key source and quotes him as calling "treasonous" and"unpatriotic" a meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort  and a Russian lawyer inside Trump Tower  with hopes of getting damaging information about Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

Wolff, features Bannon as a key source and quotes him as calling "treasonous" and "unpatriotic" a meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort  and a Russian lawyer inside Trump Tower  with hopes of getting damaging information about Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.

In his statement on Sunday, Bannon tried to mend the damage by saying that his remarks were addressed to Manafort and not Donald Jr., whom he called “a patriot and a good man.”

Referring to Bannon as “Sloppy Steve,” Trump has on several occasions blamed the head of the far-right news outlet Breitbart News  for the book, which sold out on its first day of publication.

Trump has also blasted Bannon as the man behind the many leaks that have driven the White House into chaos.

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