President Trump spoke briefly to reporters but refused to take questions before departing for Camp David on Friday, just two days after his administration went nuclear on former chief strategist Stephen Bannon over quotes that appear in a newly re
President Trump Donald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for ‘serious case of amnesia’ after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I don’t want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MORE spoke briefly to reporters but refused to take questions before departing for Camp David on Friday, just two days after his administration went nuclear on former chief strategist Stephen Bannon over quotes that appear in a newly released book about the administration.
In comments on the White House lawn to reporters just before boarding Marine One, Trump touted the recent success of the stock market while ignoring the controversy caused by his former adviser in the book, « Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, » published Friday.
« We have a lot of things to work on, a lot of things to accomplish. The stock market is up very, very big today, we’ve set new records and I think they’ll continue to be set, » Trump said. « The tax cuts are really kicking in far beyond what anyone thought, companies have come out today and announced that they’re going to make big payments to their employees. »
« The market is good, the jobs report was good and we think they’re going to get really good over the next couple of months, » Trump added. « So again, we’re going to Camp David, a lot of the great Republican senators, and we’re going to make America great again. Thank you. »
The president then walked off, turning and waving to reporters as they shouted questions about Bannon and the book, from author Michael Wolff, that has caused panic within the administration in recent days.
Among the bombshell quotes in the book is one from Bannon that refers to Donald Trump Jr. Donald (Don) John TrumpTrump files paperwork to transfer businesses MORE’s meeting with a Russian lawyer during the presidential race as « treasonous. »
The White House responded swiftly to the remarks from Bannon, dismissing them as lies and disavowing the former aide.
« Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books, » Trump said in a statement Wednesday.
