Trump criticizes former chief strategist as 'insane'

"Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind,"IndependentCiting a statement from US President Donald Trump, criticizing the former White House chief strategist.

"Steve had very little to do with my historic victory, which was made possible by the forgotten men and women of this country... Steve does not represent me," he added. According to the US President, Steve Bannon is just trying to polish his name by "leaking false information to the media to make himself look more important."

The White House chief made the above comments after Steve Bannon, quoted in an article, accused Donald Trump Jr, the US President's son, of treason for meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016. Bannon said that in response to the meeting request from Russia, Donald Trump Jr should have immediately called the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) instead of attending the meeting.

Congressional investigators and special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is investigating allegations that Mr. Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to interfere in the US presidential election, are also particularly interested in this meeting.

Bannon was considered the chief architect of Mr. Trump's election campaign, helping him convey his populist message and promoting his nationalist ideas. Bannon was also the factor behind some of the Trump administration's prominent policies, such as the immigration ban. Bannon was fired in August last year.