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The Latest: Trump praises Bannon being 'dumped' by Mercers

Posted January 05, 2018 6:00 am

The Associated Press

President Donald Trump speaks via a video monitor to journalists in the Brady press briefing at the White House in Washington during the daily press briefing with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump, his former aide Steve Bannon and the book that told of a chaotic White House (all times local):

10:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump is praising a major Republican donor family for distancing themselves from his former adviser Steve Bannon.

Trump tweeted Friday: "The Mercer Family recently dumped the leaker known as Sloppy Steve Bannon. Smart!"

Trump has lashed out at Bannon over a new book that quotes his former aide questioning the president's competence.

On Thursday Rebekah Mercer issued a statement distancing her family from Bannon. She is a billionaire GOP donor and co-owner of Breitbart, the populist website that Bannon helps run.

Michael Wolff's book, "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House," was released Friday. The publisher moved up the release by four days.

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8:30 a.m.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders is criticizing former White House adviser Steve Bannon, saying "we've seen a side that is frankly very, very disappointing."

Sanders spoke on "Fox and Friends" Friday amid the fallout from an explosive new book that extensively quotes Bannon making disparaging comments about Trump's family. Trump said earlier this week that Bannon had "lost his mind." The acrimony suggests a permanent split between the president and the strategist who helped him win the White House.

Sanders said that Bannon met on "multiple occasions" with Michael Wolff, author of "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House."

She said that Bannon "spent a lot more time with reporters than he ever did with the president."

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8:10 a.m.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders is continuing to slam an explosive new book about President Donald Trump's first year in office.

Sanders spoke Friday on "Fox and Friends" Friday about Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House." She said Wolff never interviewed the president, saying that he "repeatedly begged to see the president."

Sanders also called Wolf "a guy who made up a lot of stories to try and sell books."

Wolff said on the "Today Show" Friday that he "absolutely" spoke to the president. He said whether he "realized it was an interview or not, I don't know, but it was certainly not off the record." He also said he had spoken to Trump since the inauguration.

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7:50 a.m.

The author of an explosive new book about President Donald Trump's first year in office says the president's calls to halt publication are helping him sell more copies.

Michael Wolff says on NBC's "Today Show" Friday: "Where do I send a box of chocolates?"

Wolff's book "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" portrays Trump as an undisciplined man-child who didn't want to win the White House. Trump said on Twitter that it is full of "lies, misrepresentations and sources that don't exist."

Wolff said Friday he had spoken to Trump since the inauguration. He said he was "comfortable" with all the reporting in the book.

Trump's attorney has demanded a halt to publication of the book or excerpts. The publisher instead moved up the release date to Friday.

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3:30 a.m.

The acrimony surrounding former White House adviser Steve Bannon's very public break with President Donald Trump is escalating, suggesting a permanent split between the president and the pugilistic strategist who helped put him in the Oval Office.

The new fissure in an already fractious Republican Party cast doubt on Bannon's hopes to foment a movement centered on "Trumpism without Trump."

It already has cost him a key backer. Rebekah Mercer, the billionaire GOP donor and Breitbart co-owner, issued a statement Thursday distancing her family from Bannon.

White House officials described the president as furious at Bannon's criticisms, laid out in an explosive new book that quoted the former aide as questioning Trump's competence and describing a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign aides and a Russian lawyer as "treasonous" and "unpatriotic."

On Twitter Thursday night, Trump said the book was full of "lies, misrepresentations and sources that don't exist."

FILE - In this April 12, 2017, file photo, Michael Wolff of The Hollywood Reporter speaks at the Newseum in Washington. Wolff used to worry about the spotlight moving on. No longer. The author of an explosive book on President Donald Trumpâs administration is the target of a cease and desist letter from Trumpâs lawyers. And heâs the focus of a campaign by the presidentâs allies to cast doubt on the bookâs claim that Trump is a reluctant and troubled president. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2017, file pool photo, Steve Bannon, appointed chief strategist and senior counselor to then- President-elect Donald Trump, arrives for the presidential inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington. Trump returned fire with both barrels Jan. 3, 2018, against criticism leveled at him in a new book that says he never expected - or wanted - to win the White House, his victory left his wife in tears and a senior adviser thought his son's contact with a Russian lawyer during the campaign was "treasonous." (Saul Loeb, Pool via AP) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Nov. 9, 2017, file photo, Steve Bannon, speaks during an event in Manchester, N.H. President Donald Trump is blasting his former chief strategist ahead of the release of a new, unflattering book. Trump says in the statement that when Bannon was fired, âhe not only lost his job, he lost his mind. â A new book by writer Michael Wolff offers a series of explosive revelations, including that Trump never expected to win the 2016 race.(AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File) The Associated Press

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