Trump hints he might try to get Bannon to back off, as he seeks to project unity with McConnell
By Sean Sullivan October 16 at 3:33 PM
President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sought to project unity Monday amid heightening tensions between the president and Senate Republicans that threaten to complicate the GOP’s fall legislative agenda and midterm election strategy.
At a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden after a working lunch, Trump and McConnell tried to dismiss media reports of a troubled relationship and to demonstrate that they are on the same page when it comes to the effort to rewrite the nation’s tax laws. But the lengthy public appearance veered into many other topics as well, as Trump eagerly fielded a volley of questions on Puerto Rico, NFL anthem protests, Hillary Clinton and special prosecutor Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian election meddling.
One uncomfortable element of the dynamic between McConnell and Trump continued to loom over the two men, even after their news conference ended: the actions of Stephen K. Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist.
Bannon is waging an effort to unseat Republican senators loyal to the majority leader in the midterms by backing insurgent primary challengers. Trump said Monday that he has a “very good relationship” with Bannon. At the same time, he hinted he might try to persuade him not to take on certain GOP senators.
“Some of the people that he may be looking at — I’m going to see if we can talk him out of that, because frankly they’re great people,” said Trump. He did not specify whom he had in mind.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/trump-hints-he-might-try-to-get-bannon-to-back-off-as-he-seeks-to-project-unity-with-mcconnell/2017/10/16/ffe96cb0-b285-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
