In explicit terms, Steve Bannon acknowledged that Donald Trump was the âperfect foilâ for feminists and women in the #MeToo era, according to Bob Woodwardâs forthcoming book about the Trump White House.
“Trump is the perfect foil,â Bannon, his former campaign chief executive and White House chief strategist, said, according to Woodward. âHe’s the bad father, the terrible first husband, the boyfriend that fucked you over and wasted all those years, and [you] gave up your youth for, and then dumped you. And the terrible boss that grabbed you by the pussy all the time and demeaned you.â
Bannon was apparently alluding to Trumpâs comments in the 2005 âAccess Hollywoodâ outtake that surfaced weeks before the 2016 election, forcing many Republicans to disavow their nominee.
âYou know,â Trump said, âIâm automatically attracted to beautiful â I just start kissing them. Itâs like a magnet. Just kiss. I donât even wait. And when youâre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab âem by the pussy. You can do anything.â
The American Ledger obtained a copy of Woodwardâs book âFear: Trump in the White House,â which is set to be published Tuesday.
Woodward, whose reporting for The Washington Post helped break the Watergate scandal that forced the only presidential resignation in U.S. history, wrote that Trumpâs campaign leaders believed the audioâs release meant certain defeat. They werenât sure Mike Pence would remain his running mate.
âEverybody’s pulling their endorsements. I don’t even know if Pence is going to be on this thing,â then-Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told Bannon, according to the book. Bannon replied: âAre you fucking kidding me? Itâs a tape, dude.â
Bannon was pushed out of the White House in August 2017 and later infuriated Trump when he said it was âtreasonousâ for Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner to be meeting with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton during the campaign.
But when Trump first brought Bannon onto his campaign, he raved about him.
âI have known Steve and Kellyanne [Conway] both for many years,â Trump said in a press release. âThey are extremely capable, highly qualified people who love to win and know how to win. I believe weâre adding some of the best talents in politics, with the experience and expertise needed to defeat Hillary Clinton in November.â
After Bannon left the White House, Trump said he would be a âtough and smart new voiceâ on his return to Breitbart, the nationalist website he ran before going to work for Trump.
According to Woodwardâs book, Bannon viewed Trump as an archetype of the 1950s American male: He was angry, showed little warmth and spent little time with his young son.
Early in Trumpâs presidency, he was at Mar-a-Lago on a Saturday, watching cable news and fuming, ignoring his wife, Melania, and his son Barron, who was then 11. Bannon urged him to âcut it offâ and âjust enjoy yourself.â
âGo play some slap and tickle with Melania,â Bannon told Trump, according to Woodward.
The book also detailed Melaniaâs refusal to sit by Trump during an interview as he explained away the âAccess Hollywoodâ comments.
âNot doing that. No way. No, no, no,â she said.
She would later appear alone on CNN and say her husbandâs language was how âboysâ and âteenage boysâ talk. Her husband was 59 at the time.
View American Bridge 21st Centuryâs trailer about the bookâs release.