and full of lies, before lashing out at former chief strategist steve bannon, nicknaming him sloppy steve. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon? he called me a great man last night. >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. >> reporter: the book contains stunning new allegations about the president's firsthand involvement in crafting a misleading statement about the now infamous june 26th meeting between top trump staffers and russians. wolff writes that the meeting in trump tower was purely and simply about russian adoption. that's what was discussed, period, period. even though it was likely, if not certain, that the "times" had the incriminating e-mail chain. in fact, it was quite possible that jared and ivanka and the lawyers knew the "times" had this e-mail chain. the president ordered that no one should let on the more problematic discussion about hillary clinton. wolff goes on to write that the president's lawyers thought it was an explicit attempt to throw sand into the investigation's gears and one of the president's spokesman quit afterwards because he felt it

bannon as "sloppy steve." but the book is only benefitting, coming out today, earlier than planned. here's abc's cecelia vega. >> reporter: we asked president trump about his old friend steve bannon. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about mr. bannon? >> he called me a great man last night. he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> reporter: in the past 24 hours, the president's former chief strategist did indeed take to the air waves, lavishing praise on his old boss multiple times. >> the president of the united states is a great man. you know i support him day in and day out. >> reporter: but damage may already be done, "fire and fury" quoted bannon attacking the president and his children. he called donald trump jr. and jared kushner treasonous and unpatriotic. and he said of daughter ivanka trump, people finally realized she's dumb as a brick. and that she and her husband talked about her running for president one day. bannon scoffed at the prospect. from the white house, outrage. >> there are numerous mistakes, but i'm not going to waste my time or the country's time going page

betrayed? >> reporter: in the white house today we asked president trump about his old friend steve bannon. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon? >> thank you. thank you very much. he called me a great man last night. he changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. thank you. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> reporter: in the past 24 hours, the president's former chief strategist did indeed take to the airwaves, lavishing praise on his old boss multiple times. >> the president of the united states is a great man, you know i support him day in and day out. >> reporter: but the damage may already be done after that new white house book "fire and fury" quoted bannon attacking the president and his children. he called donald trump jr. and jared kushner "treasonous" and "unpatriotic" for the meeting in trump tower with a russian lawyer they thought had dirt on hillary clinton. he said of daughter ivanka trump people suddenly realized she's dumb as a brick. author michael wolff writes ivanka and her husband even

has steve bannon betrayed you, mr president? thank you very much.called me a great man last night, so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable witness and a fantasist. that, despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only 50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the environment secretary, michael gove, says subsidies to british farmers currently paid for by brussels will be guaranteed by the government until the 2022 general election, with a proposed transition period afterwards. farmers would then receive payments in exchange for taking steps to protect the environment such as planting woodland or boosting wildlife. our busines

today to say on camera what he did in his scathie ining respon the book yesterday. >> did steve bannon betray youny words about steve bannon? >> he called me a great man last night. he obviously chi lly changed hi pretty quick. thank you. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's a misnomer. >> but trump's legal team is now doing everything possible to try and squash this book sending a cease and desist letter to the publicer and author and the former chief strategist, steve bannon. wolff today in the "hollywood reporter" details headlines from his 200 interviews with trump and senior staff. over 18 months of conversations repeatedly, according to wolff, questioned not just the president's fitness for office but worried about his mental health. we should note. nbc news has not confirmed much of what appears in this book. just a short time ago, white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders slammed the book as complete fantasy. >> i'm not going to waste my time or the country's time going

steve bannon's prospects have dimmed as king maker in 2018. the 11th hour just getting started on a thursday night. >>> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? >> thank you. >> any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. >> thank you. >> thank you. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> the president speaking today about his one-time chief strategist steve bannon. the key source for a controversial new book which paints a damning portrait of the 45th president and his white house. a book donald trump is trying to stop. michael wolf's fire and fury, inside the trump white house is just hours away from publication and the president is threatening legal action against steve bannon as well as wolf f and his publisher. bannon is kwoequoted as making scathing comments about the president and his family. tonight's breaking news calls attention to another part of the book. the president's growing dissatisfaction with his attorney general jeff sess

. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? >> i don't know, he called me a great man last night. obviously he changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. >> thank you. >> i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> and white house press secretary sarah huckabee sanders took several jabs at bannon today when asked about his relationship to the president and whether he should be fired by breitbart news where he served as executive chairman. let's watch. >> should breitbart part ways with steve bannon after the comments in these books. >> i certainly think it's something they should look at and consider. >> for his part, steve bannon tried to lower the temperature this morning on his sirius radio show. he declined to say how many of the quotes in the book are accurate. let's listen. >> don't worry about us in the maga agenda, president trump. we're tight on this agenda. let's focus on the agenda. there's nobo let's not let the left wing media tear that up. >> ar

. >> did steve bannon betray you? any words?resident trump: he called me a great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick here and i don't talk to them. i don't talk to them. that's just a misnomer. >> let's try to make some sense out of this. our correspondent is on the story in washington here it beyond this being an obvious broken political bromance, why does this falling out, why does it matter? >> it matters because even though a lot of conservatives are now trying to distance themselves from steve bannon, siding with the president, steve end still -- steve bannon still represents the ideology of at least parts of trump's days. as long as he is head of breitbart, he can still do some harm with the things he knows, with the all awards that he still has. and donald trump has survived were scandals than this, but ultimately this will not help trump nor bannon. >> according to this new book, donald trump was shocked when he won and he didn't want to win. what does this mean, if trump once to maintain his ba

president unleashed on steve bannon last night a statement but was at it again today dismissing the man who was once his former chi adviser. >> thank you. >> steve bannon betrayou, mr. president. >> thank you very much. i don't know, he called me a great man last night, so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. thank you. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> reporter: three times he says he doesn't talk to steve bannon. this all comes on the heels of this new book coming out by michael wolff a journalist called fire and fury in which bannon reported calls a june 2016 meeting by donald trump with russians as treasonous. he's said to have said disparaging thing about trump family members jared kushner and ivanka trump. the press secretary saying the president is furious about all of this. now [inaudible] a cease a desist letter to steve bannon to stop him from saying "more things like this." now, we reached out to noted attorney and long time maryland states attorney glen ivy today. ivy stating the fact that this cease and desist letter comes from trump's pe

." >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? >> shock waves. >> i don't talk to him, that's just a misnomer. >> as new questions of fitness for office swirl -- >> what's the president's reaction to the growing suggestion that he's mentally unfit to serve as president? >> and trump threatens to sue. >> will presidents go to court to stop the publication of this book? >> new details on how the writer got all that dirt. >> they thought that this was going to be a positive book for the president. >> new concerns about more white house tell-alls. >> quite a story to tell. >> republicans choose sides as bannon loses his billionaire. >> this is our war. >>> and what's going to happen when robert mueller gets his hands on the book donald trump doesn't want anybody reading? >> russia is a ruse. >> "all in" starts now. breaking news tonight. the "new york times" is now reporting that donald trump instructed top white house -- the top white house lawyer to lobby attorney general jeff sessions not to recuse himself from the russia investiga

lies" -- before lashing out at his former chief strategist steve bannon -- nicknaming him "sloppy steve".reporter:"did steve bannon betray you trump: "he called me a great man last night so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick."the trump administration -- attempting to ádiscreditá the book -- which contains ástunningá new allegations about the president's first hand-involvement in crafting a ámisleadingá statement about the now-infamous june 2016 meeting between top trump staffers and russians. wolff writes that "the president insisted the meeting in trump tower was purely and simply about russian adoption policy. that's what was discussed. period. period. even though it was likely, if not certain, that the times had the incriminating email chain.in fact, it was quite possible that jared and ivanka and the lawyers áknewá the times had this email chain.the president ordered that no one should let on to the more problematic discussion about hillary clinton."wolff goes on to write that the president's lawyers thought the statement was "an explicit attempt to throw sand into the investigation's gears," and that one of the

. >> did steve bannon betray you. >> the people of iran are calling out for freedom. >> nbc news has, and welcome to "sunday today" on this first sunday of 2018. it's january 7th. i'm willie geist. i've got a lot to say this morning, but you do not want to listen to this voice for the next hour, i promise. i sound like peter brady in puber puberty. morgan radford answered an early morning call to the bullpen and came over here. morgan, this is wha

. >> did steve bannon betray you?n't know, he called me a great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. >> reporter: in washington the phrase fire and fury seems to sum up the mood pretty well. i'm david wright for "nightline" in washington. >> our thanks to david. we'll be right back. not all fish oil supplements provide the same omega-3 power. introducing megared advanced triple absorption it supports your heart, joints, brain, and eyes. and is absorbed by your body three times better. than three standard fish oil pills. megared advanced triple absorption. my hygi...a mouthwash.o try... so i tried crest. it does so much more than give me fresh breath. crest pro-health mouthwash provides all... ...of these benefits to help you get better dental check-ups. go pro with crest mouthwash. checkup? nailed it advil liqui-gels minis. our first concentrated pill that rushes powerful relief. a small size... that's fast, 'cause it's li

betrayed. >> reporter: in the white house today, we asked president trump about his old friend steve bannon. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon? >> he called me a great man last night. he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. >> do you talk to him? >> i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> reporter: in the past 24 hours, the president's former chief strategist did take to the air waves lavishing praise on his old boss multiple times. >> the president of the united states is a great man. i support him day in and day out. >> reporter: but the damage may already be done after the new white house book "fire and fury" quoted bannon attacking the president and his children. he called donald trump jr. and jared kushner treasonous and unpatriotic for the meeting in trump tower with the russian lawyer they thought had dirt on hillary clinton. and he said of daughter ivanka trump people suddenly realized she's dumb as a brick. author michael wolff writes, ivanka and her husband even talked about her possible running for pre

. >> did steve bannon betray you? any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. so he obviously changene pretty quick. >> reporter: bannon's quotes jump off the pages of "fire and fury." with unvarnished attacks on trump and his children. don jr. is treasonous. ivanka, dumb as a brick. comments that earned bannon a new nickname from trump. >> sloppy steve is now looking >> reporter: the book reports trump and his campaign were shocked by a win they never expected. and in the white house portrayed by wolff, president trump is woefully unfit for the job. one staffer said working with trump is like trying to figure out what a child wants. others inside the white house thought he was no more than semiliteral. calling him an idiot and a dope. >> according to your reporting, everyone around the president, senior advisers, family members, every single one of them questions his intelligence and fitness for office? >> let me put a marker in the sand here. 100% of the people around him. >> reporter: the book has drawn a full-throated de

has steve bannon betrayed you, mr president? thank you very much. know, he called me a great man last night, so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable witness and a fantasist. that, despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only 50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. later on newsday we'll be hearing from someone who worked closely with steve bannon and is still in touch. first, let's take a look at some of the day's other news. south korea says the united states has promised there will be no military drills during the winter olympics in south korea which start next month. but u.s defense secretary jim mattis says they will

has steve bannon betrayed you, mr president? thank you very much.a great man last night, so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable witness and a fantasist. that, despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only 50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. let's ta ke let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. an explosion in the afghan capital, kabul, has killed at least 15 people. the interior ministry says it was a suicide bomber, but the target was unclear. the so—called islamic state, has claimed it carried out the attack. the us state department has announced its suspending almost all security assistance t

has steve bannon betrayed you, mr president? thank you very much. changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable witness and a fantasist. that, despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only 50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. officials in south africa say the number of people killed when a train hit a truck has risen to 18. about two—hundred—and—seventy people were injured in the crash at a level crossing near the town of kroonstad, in free state province south—west of johannesburg. lebo diseko reports. shocked and the world at. passengers who had been on this train trying to make their way to safety as emergency services at a to bring a fire which en

you all very much. >> did steve bannon -- did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? words about steve bannon >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer thank you. >> that's the president responding to some questions about steve bannon and a meeting about immigration in which he largely says that any legislation pertains to daca will need to have a border wall and a cessation of the visa lottery and chain migration, which he says are bad for the u.s. economy there were some additional headlines we got on the wires regarding the strength of the markets today. i wonder perhaps the pool spray will play that back later on but those are the headlines we have for now. >> reporter: that's right, carl. sometimes you get a first cut and then a longer version played out after the fact you saw the president sort of downplaying the steve bannon criticism of the president there was the explosive political headline of yesterday,

steve bannon. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon. >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. he changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. thank you. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> the president's alawyer has sent a letter to the book's author and publisher demanding they cease and desist further publication and release of the book. >>> jeff sessions announced today he is rescinding a policy that paved the way for legalized marijuana here in california and other states. the move is going to leave it to u.s. attorneys in states where marijuana is legal to decide whether to aggressively enforce federal law. but it also adds to the confusion of whether it is okay to grow, buy and use marijuana in states where it is legal. the decision comes days after the sale of recreational marijuana became legal here in california. sessions compares marijuana to heroin and blames it for spikes in violence. lieutenant governor gavin newsome issued a statement. jeff sessions and the trump administ

has steve bannon betrayed you, mr president? thank you very much.great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. all right, thank you all very much. the white house is pushing back hard on the contents of this book, describing the author, michael wolff, as an unreliable witness and a fa ntasist. that despite him being given unprecedented access to the workings of the west wing and recording hours and hours of conversations. and even if only 50% of the book is accurate, it still paints a damning portrait of a white house that's dysfunctional and a president who's paranoid. no wonder donald trump is so angry. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. the environment secretary, michael gove, says subsidies to british farmers, currently paid for by brussels, will be guaranteed by the government until the 2022 general election, with a proposed transition period afterwards. farmers would then receive payments in exchange for taking steps to protect the environment such as planting woodland or boosting wildlife. our business editor, simonjack,

steve bannon any words about him. this is what he said. >> steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon. >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. thank you. i don't talk. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> the president clearly wanted to get that out there. he called me a great man last night but i don't talk to him. why hasn't steve bannon disputed any of these comments in this book? where is bannon in all this now. >> i think he actually said. i think it's accurate and that's why breitbart news was touting half of his big juicy quotes about treason on the website the other day. he was one of the chief sources. that goes back to my main point about having difficulty believing. all this book could be true, some of it could not be true. if it's someone like bannon who apparently fed wolff a lot of this information. it's known political agitator. someone who -- interferes in politics, knowingly lying. the that's what bannon does, so why should i believe half of what he says? i

. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all that much. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> what might the fallout of this book do to the growing republican divide? >> that's a great question, ana, one i'm not hearing enough people asking. steve bannon has been the head of the war on the republican party. honestly, i don't understand why his career wasn't over after the alabama senate race. here he managed to take one of the deep, reddest states in america and give it to the democrats. i think steve bannon almost single handedly is responsible for a shocking political failure. it's amazing to me that people took him seriously after that. it's quite amazing it's only very personal comments about the president and his family that have finally seen him fall from grace. it will be interesting to see what happens with the republicans. i was kind of curious, the sort of trump base, where were they

steve bannon. >> did steve bannon betray you? >> i don't know, he called me a great man last night, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. >> reporter: but the president's lawyers are sending a different message to bannon threatening to sue the former white house chief strategist over his comments in michael wolff's book fire and fury saying legal action is eminent. add that to the cease and desist letter to the editor. publications about mr. trump gives rise to among other claims deaf mission by libel. >> should the letter aimed at steve bannon and the publisher being interpreted as a threat from the united states government, from this administration to not publish this book? >> it's a -- it's not from the united states government, it's from the president's personal attorney, and i think it is very clear what it's purpose is and there's nothing to add beyond that. >> reporter: only hours after interprets were made quote saying donald trump jr. may have engaged in treasonous activities. >> the president is a great man. i sup

steve bannon in a new book. today, president trump responded publicly for the first time. >> reporter: president trump and his former chief strategist sbanl are facing off. >> did steve bannon betray you me a great man last night. he changed his tune pretty quick. >> abandon hasn't deny i had it. >> nothing will come between >>est bannon is known for calling the trump tower meeting between jared kushner, paul manafort, and a russian lawyer promising dirt on hillary clinton, triesonous and unpatriotic. >> i won't go page by page talking about a book that's complete fantasy and fufl tabloid g tabloid gossip. as for the president's relationship with bannon -- >> i don't talk to him. >> they've spent on a few times. she said there were no regularly scheduled calls or meetings. >> in the wake of the book, the president is banning all personal cell phone use in the west wing. it affects them as well. they said the move is being made for national security >>> attorney general jeff sessions today redescribeded an obama-era policy that essentially barred law enforcement officials from interfering with marijuana sales in states where pot is legal. it comes four days after the legal sale of mari

. >>> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know.e called me a great man last night. he obviously changed the tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. >> joining the discussion now, george f. will, pulitzer prize winning author for "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst. george, mitch mcconnell was trying to find a way to break the spell that steve bannon seemed to have break the spell steve bannon had over the president. as of tonight it seems like the spell is broken. >> and broken by steve bannon. steve bannon, who's sort of the -- in politics with the new york mets of 1962 were in baseball. that is, new parameters and ways of losing you've never seen before. he's been too busy racking up losses to have red mitch mcconnell's memoir. he should. the title of the memoir is a long game. in this case he knew he would wait them out and your enemies will end up destroying themselves. napoleon says when your enemy is destroying himself, do

business and focussing on his 2018 agenda, the explosive criticism from steve bannon still consumed the west wing. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know, he called me a great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. >> reporter: in the roosevelt room today, that was all president trump wanted to say about steve bannon, his former chief strategist. behind the scene, the feud raged on. the president's lawyers attempted blocking publication of fire and fury inside the trump white house, the new book featuring bannon's blistering criticism about the trump family and the russia investigation. today, the president insisted he's no longer in contact with bannon. a long time friend and advisor. he fired after eight months on the job. >> i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer, thank you. >> good afternoon -- >> reporter: at the white house briefing today, sarah sanders took it one step further. falsely attempting to diminish bannon's role. >> i'm not sure they were ever particularly close. i would certainly say the

. >> did steve bannon betray you. >> the people of iran are calling out for freedom. >> nbc news hasver made. >> the harassment ends now. >>> good morning, and welcome to "sunday today" on this first sunday of 2018. it's january 7th. i'm willie geist. i've got a lot to say this morning, but you do not want to listen to this voice for the next hour, i promise. i sound like peter brady in puber puberty. morgan radford answered an early morning call to the bullpen and came over here. morgan, this is what happens when you answer the phone on a su

. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president. >> i don't know, he called me a great man left night. he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> that was once again president trump talking or at least fielding questions from reporters in the white house about steve bannon talking at least on camera for the first time about him. noting that the former white house counsel or counsellor called the president a great man which i think steve bannon did. that was a very specific strategy in mind. the white house trned on bannon in public in a scathing way. few politicians, never mind presidents would do. here's how one veteran strategist talked about bannon's fate. >> the president ran over the tank and put it in reverse and backed over him. i have never seen anybody do anything as stupid as he d. i think it's the end of bannon. >> is it really? is it really the end of steve bannon? here's one potential factor to look at. the breitbart engine co

steve bannon slams that 2016 2016 trump tower meeting with russians as treasonous. last night and this morning, steve bannon seemed to backtrack on his criticism. here's president trump. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president ? >> he called me a great man last night, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you very much. i don't know, i don't know. >> harris: an important day to get word from the white house, that coming up in a moment but let's first go to white house correspondent kevin corke, joining us live from the briefing room which will be a hot spot about 45 minutes. >> bottom of the hour we are expecting sarah sanders to come out and address reporters. if you know anything about the white house, it probably won't happen at the bottom of the hour but it will happen nonetheless. very interesting, i think i should point this out, harris. the president's lawyers are pushing back very forcefully. a flurry of letters going from his lawyers offices today, not just to steve bannon but also in particular to the publisher of the book "fire and fury." the president saying listen, you can't keep putting out false information, it could lead to libel, false statements and other mischar

steve bannon. trump's team demanding a tell-all book pulled from publishing. we have the new twists. reporter: president trump and his former chief strategist steve bannon are facing off. >> did steve bannon betray youa scath bannon the president said -- >> called me a great man last night. so he changed his tune quick. >> bannon hasn't denied making explosive comments about the trump family. on siriusxm breitbart news radio he insisted to the listeners -- >> never will ever come between us and president trump and his agenda. don't worry about that. >> the white house says mr. trump was furious when he learned that bannon's critique made it in a forthcoming book. he is reportedly calling the trump campaign meeting between trump and russian lawyer promising dirt on hillary clinton "treasonous" and "unpatriotic." >> i'm not going to waste my time or the country's time going page by page talking about a book that is fantasy and full of the tabloid gossip. >> the president's lawyers threatening legal action against bannon and demand the publisher halt the release. as for the president's relationship with bannon -- >> i don't talk to him. >> white house sarah huckabee sanders said the president spoken to

. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quit. >> and with mr. trump, you might wonder how banished bannon really is? but you can't ignore the toxic atmosphere around this trump-bannon war, adding to the atmosphere facing republicans turning towards the midterms. folks, steve ban han been consumed by the monster he created. as conservative radio host charlie sykes points out, created an ecosystem that demanded loyalty. what happened to the bannonites now? to put it another way in a trump/bannon divorce, who gets the kids? who can handled kids? the gop is celebrating, but the monster created remains. bannon said it itself. there's a special place in hell for republicans not loyal to the president and that should still terrify the establishment even if bannon's gone. folks, this is the most unpopular president in modern history after year one. already dragged down republican candidates everywhere you look in 2017. some still survived but ba

steve bannon slams that 2016 2016 trump tower meeting with russians as treasonous. last night and this morning, steve bannon seemed to backtrack on his criticism. here's president trump. >> did steve bannon betray you he called me a great man last night, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you very much. i don't know, i don't know. >> harris: an important day to get word from the

. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? >> he called me a great man last night. hanged his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. thank you. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> jon: and with that they hustle the press out. room. that's the president there meeting in the white house with several republican senators. the topic of the day for the senators, at least, is what to do about the immigration situation. as you know we carried earlier in the hour our report on how the president would like to build the border wall that he has so long advocated. democrats would like to come up with some plan to keep the so-called dreamers in this country, the children who were brought here illegally by their parents. that's what the president is meeting with some of these republican senators about today but steve bannon very much the topic. >> melissa: that was very much the topic. if we could work in bipartisan way there is a deal to be done. implying there is some sort of deal between fixing the daca problem and he said also fi

here'sec>> repegte asked president trump about his old friend steve >> did steve bannon betray you, mry quick. thank you all very much. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. snomer. thank you. >> reporter: in the past 24 hours, the presidentmer chief strategist did indeed take to the air waves, lavishing praise on his old boss multiple times. >> the president of the united states is a great man. you know i support him day in and day out. >> reporter: but damage may already be done, "fire and fury" president an his children. he called don jr. and jared kushner treasonous and unpatriotic. and he said of daughter ivanka trump, people finally realized she's dumb running for e day. the white but i'm not going to waste my time or the country's time going page by page about a book thatmplete fantasy and full of tabloid gossip. >> reporter: and the president's team waged war, threatening to imminent. they also demanded the book's publisher halt publication. the threat didn't seem to matter much. the shock waves were already felt in washington, with early excerpts like this. wolff says behi

steve bannon had lost his job, then lost his mind, today he was asked about his former chief strategist as an as you can well imagine, his response was predictably terse. 's >> reporter: did steve bannon betray you? >> for the first time since the controversy erupts, president trump responded on camera to comments attributed to his former chief strategist steve bannon. >> i don't know. he called me a great man last night. he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. thank you. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's a misnomer. >> the president tsai are raised by the book "fire and fury" in which bannon and michael wolff make a number of claims, some of which were so objectionable that the president's lawyers sent a cease and desist lawyers to the publishers calling on them to halt its release, saying the book contained false and baseless statements and gave rise to defamation by libel. including a claim that the president used to brag that getting a friend's wife into bed made life worth living. bannon reportedly said the president's daughter ivanka was as dumb as a brick and claimed the president ate mcdonald's because he fears being po

. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? any words about steve bannon? >> i don't know. me a great man last night, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. thank you all very much. thank you. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. i don't talk to him. that's just a misnomer. thank you. >> josh, you're the bannon expert at this table. you wrote a book on bannon. is this insurgency over? where does he go from here? >> i don't know that it's over because there were, you know, a lot of people in the republican party that were a part of this. bannon was viewed as kind of being a leader. i think it's definitely weakened by the fact he has been so publicly excommunicated and humiliated by the president, to the degree that he has been, especially when you look at the issues coming down the pike in the next couple of weeks, daca, the issue of whether or not there will be fund for a border wall. those are issues that bannen and that wing of the party cares about and all of a sudden whether or not bannon wants to admit it, he's been thrown out. >> one republican str

steve bannon. mr. someone who lost his mine struck a different tone today. >> did steve bannon betray you, mr. president? >> thank you very much. i don't know, he called me a great man last night so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick. >> nbc news has not been able to verify much of what appears in the book. and steve bannon has neither confirmed nor denied quotes attributed to him. many of which disparage the president. his family and those close to him. >> still ahead, a homeowner turns the table on thieves trying to break into his cars in his neighborhood. what happened after he started shooting at them. >> plus, a report from ocean city where that famous board walk is now covered under almost a foot of snow. >> the temperatures set to plummet to the single digits. frostbite can come faster than you think. what you need to know to your husband wants to stay free from artificial ingredients. you want to stay free from artificial preservatives. and your debit card wants to stay on a diet. giant's nature's promise brand. great p