CBS News anchor Charlie Rose's interview with Stephen Bannon, Breitbart News chairman and former White House chief strategist, aired on Sunday night's 60 Minutes, and Bannon was only slightly coy when Rose asked him about President Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey. Bannon said he wouldn't disclose private conversations he had with Trump, but when Rose said somebody had quoted Bannon as calling Comey's firing "the biggest mistake in political history," Bannon said only that such a pronouncement "probably would be too bombastic even for me, but maybe modern political history." Rose asked him if, as reported, Trump's son in law and senior adviser Jared Kushner was in favor of firing Comey, and Bannon demurred.
Without Comey's sacking, there would be no investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Bannon agreed, and he said he opposed the idea of firing Mueller, too.
Elsewhere in the interview, Bannon told Rose why he thinks Trump is smarter than Hillary Clinton, and in the clip below, how Trump's sexually toxic Access Hollywood tape was a "litmus test" for Bannon — and how New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) failure to pass that test cost him a Cabinet position. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Book reviews: ‘We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution’ and ‘Will There Ever Be Another You’Feature The many attempts to amend the U.S. Constitution and Patricia Lockwood’s struggle with long Covid
-
Philadelphia’s Calder GardensFeature A permanent new museum
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denialSpeed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feudSpeed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protestersSpeed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoffSpeed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
