New book claims Steve Bannon thinks Trump had dementia

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• In a revelation by TV producer Ira Rosen, Steve Bannon thought that former President Donald Trump had dementia and tried to make an ouster plot against him.
• Bannon attempted to seek help from some GOP officials, and implore the 25th amendment.
• Trump gave Bannon a presidential pardon days before leaving the White House last month.

Steve Bannon said that he believed that former President Donald Trump had dementia and initiated an undercover plan to oust him in the White House.

The claim was based on a new published book by veteran TV producer Ira Rosen. The memoir, which was released last week, wrote that Bannon thought the ex-president “was suffering from early-stage dementia and that there was a real possibility he would be removed from office by the 25th Amendment.”

The 25th Amendment can be invoked in the event that the sitting president is incapable of performing his duties and responsibilities as the country’s commander-in-chief.

Speaking with podcast hosts Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman, Rosen said that Trump “turned on Bannon,” after becoming the cover of Time magazine in February 2017, shortly after the then-president’s inauguration.

The well-renowned producer said that “Bannon realized that Trump was repeating the same stories over and over again and Bannon kept saying this and he wanted to do something about it,” describing it as a “conspiracy.”

Rosen added that Bannon has also gone out to Robert Mercer’s (GOP prime investor) residence as he attempted to seek his participation in the plan.

“Now, the secret was that Bannon crazily thought that he could be president,” said Rosen.”He would have been very happy to see Trump disappear from the scenes, either through the 25th Amendment, resigning for whatever reason, and he would step in and fill the gulf and carry the mantle of the Trump followers. But he was delusional about it.”

In the book, Rosen also shared that Bannon sent him a text message that reads:  “You need to do the 25th Amendment piece… BTW brother I never steer u wrong.”

Bannon was a “big talker” and a busybody, the TV producer said. He mentioned that he had a “therapist” role with Bannon such that they would loiter in the chief of staff’s office, drink diet cokes and tell him stories.

Bannon’s White House career ended shortly after power struggle reports surfaced against Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner and other top White House aides. The former president also reportedly grew tired of Bannon for being a credit-grabber.

Responding to Rosen’s claims in his ‘War Room’ podcast, Bannon labeled him as a reporter who is “trying to be grifter and… complete, total fantasy.”

Trump and Bannon have recently rekindled their relationship after the former president gave him a pardon days before leaving the White House. Bannon was previously charged with defrauding pro-Trump supporters in connection with the border wall in Mexico. 

As he plugged his new memoir titled “Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes,” with a Yahoo News’ podcast Skullduggery, Rosen shared the expose.

Source: Business Insider