Political News

Sean Spicer on Bannon's book quotes: 'What we didn't hear is a denial'

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday he is troubled that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has not denied the statements attributed to him in a recent book about the early days of President Donald Trump's tenure.

Posted Updated
media-S087784844-300
By
Eli Watkins (CNN)
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday he is troubled that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has not denied the statements attributed to him in a recent book about the early days of President Donald Trump's tenure.

"While he may continue to say he's a supporter of the President and his agenda, what we didn't hear is a denial," Spicer said in a conversation on HLN's "SE Cupp Unfiltered."

He continued, "And that is what, as a PR person, troubles me. I mean, the first thing that you do when you're attacked with a falsehood is not only deny it but go out and really make a case for it."

Published adapted excerpts of the book by Michael Wolff say Bannon called the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer purportedly offering damaging information about Hillary Clinton "treasonous," among other statements the book attributes to him as denigrating the President and Donald Trump Jr.

CNN has not independently verified all the details in Wolff's book.

In response to the statements, the White House has slammed the book, and Trump said in a statement that Bannon had "lost his mind."

Bannon reiterated his support for Trump in a Breitbart radio show Wednesday.

"The President of the United States is a great man," he said. "You know, I support him day in and day out."

Copyright 2024 by Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.