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It wasn't long ago when Donald Trump boasted that he'd "dumped" Steve Bannon "like a dog." As recently as last summer, Trump pretended not to know Bannon, his former campaign chair and White House strategist, especially well at all.
But as Trump's term nears its end, the two have apparently reconciled. Bloomberg News reported yesterday:
President Donald Trump has repeatedly spoken by phone in recent weeks with once-estranged White House adviser Steve Bannon, who's facing federal criminal charges, for counsel on his campaign to overturn his re-election defeat, according to people familiar with the matter. One person familiar with the matter said the president has sought out allies who would tell him what he wants to hear as he promulgated false claims that the election was stolen from him.
The New York Times' Maggie Haberman added yesterday that she can confirm that Trump and Bannon have been in frequent communication lately.
For Trump, who's running short on friends, it stands to reason that he'd enjoy connecting with some one who's willing to tell him what he wants to hear.
But perhaps more important is Bannon's interest in reconnecting with his old boss.
As regular readers may recall, Bannon was indicted over the summer as part of an alleged border-wall-fundraising scheme, in which prosecutors accused him and his associates of having "orchestrated a scheme to defraud hundreds of thousands of donors." Soon after, Bannon pleaded not guilty and was released on a $5 million bond.
In the fall, after Bannon called for the beheadings of two federal officials, his criminal defense lawyers announced that they were withdrawing from the case.
Maybe Bannon is once again in frequent communication with Trump because they're political and ideological allies. Or maybe Bannon is looking for a pardon before his former boss exits the White House?