In an interview on “60 Minutes” this Sunday, Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist in the White House, referred to President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey as one of the biggest mistakes in modern Political History. Bannon believes that President Trump created more problems for himself than he solved when he fired the former director, and the consequences of that choice are still felt today. These are the first words from Bannon himself on the matter; all we had before were rumors and hearsay.
Cause and effect
James Comey was fired on May 9th, 2017, and since then the problems for Trump’s administration have only increased.
Comey had been heading an FBI investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to the Russian government when he was suddenly, and without notice, sacked by the President. The move shocked the world, and speculation abounded as to the President’s reasons for the sudden termination. Trump’s detractors called the move suspicious, saying that it added more fuel to the fire of the idea that the Trump campaign was tied to Russia in some way.
In his remarks on “60 Minutes”, Steve Bannon suggests that the move was a colossal mistake, and if Comey had not been fired, then a special counsel on the investigation would not have been necessary. Robert Mueller, former FBI director, was appointed to head the special counsel leading the Russian investigation after Comey’s dismissal, and since then news reports have suggested he is incredibly thorough in his search for evidence, prompting the President to suggest numerous times that he might have Mueller fired as well.
Attacking the Republican party
With Bannon calling the move a huge mistake, it is clear that the chief strategist was likely not involved with Comey’s dismissal, meaning the move was either suggested by another one of Trump’s advisors or that the President came to the decision on his own. There are rumors that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, is the one who convinced the President to dismiss James Comey, but those rumors are as of yet unsubstantiated.
Kushner was a rival to Bannon in his time at the White House, as reported by many sources.
Bannon also used his time on “60 Minutes” to accuse the Republican Party of trying to block and sabotage President Trump’s agenda, and of trying to “nullify” the 2016 election. On issues such as NAFTA, immigration, and the proposed border wall, Congress is far less supportive of the President’s agenda than Bannon would like.
