Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon is escorted into the courtroom for his arraignment in Manhattan State Supreme Court after surrendering to authorities, September 8, 2022, in New York.
Donald Trump’s mentor Steve Bannon turned himself in yesterday. He is being charged with a sleazy swindle in which he ripped off supporters of Trump’s wall, who thought they were donating private funds to extend the border barrier. In fact, according to prosecutors, upwards of $300,000 went into Bannon’s own pocket.
Trump pardoned his old pal for this scam, but under New York law separate charges may be brought without exposing the defendant to double jeopardy, and presidential pardons do not cover state prosecutions.
All of this put me in mind of my own Bannon adventure back in August 2017, when Bannon phoned me out of the blue to discuss China policy, which led to an interview that got Bannon fired from the White House and produced my proverbial 15 minutes of fame (actually about three days).
I was on vacation at the time in Lenox, Massachusetts. I got an email from Bannon’s office saying that Bannon had read a column of mine on China and wanted to invite me to the White House to talk. I responded that I was on vacation but I’d be happy to speak with Bannon by phone.
A few minutes later, the phone rang. I hit record. Bannon never bothered to put the conversation off the record.
Bannon, whom I’d never met, spoke as if we were longtime soulmates. In the course of a half-hour interview, he managed to say several insulting things about his boss. He also candidly discussed his efforts to use race and racism to bait Democrats into leading with identity politics.
I asked an intern to transcribe the interview. The last words on the transcription are me saying, “Holy F**k!”
We ran my story the next day: “Steve Bannon, Unrepentant.” It was front-page news. The day after that, Trump fired Bannon.
But that’s not the best part. After he left the White House, Bannon went back into wild-man freelance mode. He seemed to be having a great time. So I phoned him and said, “I think I did you a favor.”
Bannon agreed. He invited me to come see him at his townhouse, and I did. He soon went back to advising Trump informally. Amazingly, Bannon forgave me and Trump forgave Bannon—because we might be useful again.
Reflecting on Bannon and Trump, I draw two conclusions. First, they are drawn to each other as fellow opportunists and low-level grifters. Trump is raising money for himself off of his legal troubles; Bannon scammed supporters of Trump’s wall.
Second, Bannon and Trump are the ultimate cynics. I think of the famous observation of Lord Palmerston to the House of Commons, which historians simplify as “No permanent friends, no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.” Or as W.C. Fields put it, “Never give a sucker an even break.”
Now, Bannon may precede Trump to the slammer. Maybe they can share a cell and discuss old times.
