The Virginia elections weren’t the only unprecedented event that shocked the political world this week: Steve Bannon is reportedly on a diet.
The Breitbart chairman and former Trump presidential adviser, who is not exactly known for his healthful glow, has embarked on a juice cleanse to shape up for a political fight after leaving the White House, Newsweek reports.
In the new book “Bannon: Always the Rebel,” Keith Koffler writes that two days after Bannon was removed from the White House by chief of staff John Kelly, he sat in his Washington, D.C. home sipping from “a mug containing a mysterious thick green concoction.”
“He had put himself on a severe new dietary regimen, determined to lose weight and get in shape for the battles to come,” the book says. “Bags of Doritos had already been banished to the trash. Somebody drifted into the room to serve him a small ceramic cup containing a vinegary solution which he reluctantly drowned, screwing up face as he did. This might not be so easy. But he was determined.”
Bannon even lost 12 pounds in his first week after leaving the Oval Office, thanks to posting four pages of dietary restrictions on his refrigerator (red meat, no; hummus, yes), Politico reported. Alas, expect no Bannon diet book to follow: He’s gained most of them back. “Bannon has complained to friends that he is hungry, but he has bragged about his energy,” the site says.
The book, out Nov. 13, is based on 10 hours of interviews with Bannon, who has described himself as Trump’s “wingman outside” and reportedly still has the president’s ear. Bannon has vowed to launch campaigns against every incumbent Republican member of the Senate except Ted Cruz.
“He sees himself at war still with the Republican establishment, giving fiery speeches and promising to choke off Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell from his donors,” says Politico, but adds: “It is unclear how much lasting power he will have on the national political stage.”
