President Donald Trump reasserted his authority over his senior adviser Steve Bannon, noting that he was successful in the Republican primary before the former Breitbart News executive took over as campaign CEO.
“I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late,” Trump told the New York Post’s Michael Goodwin in an interview.
Trump argued that he was able to beat all of his Republican primary opponents without Bannon’s help.
“I had already beaten all the senators and all the governors, and I didn’t know Steve,” he said. “I’m my own strategist and it wasn’t like I was going to change strategies because I was facing crooked Hillary.”
Trump hired Bannon and Kellyanne Conway in August 2016, after suffering low polling numbers and a series of campaign setbacks.
When Goodwin asked Trump if he still supported Bannon, he replied, “Steve is a good guy, but I told them to straighten it out or I will.”