White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon told the German ambassador to Washington, Peter Wittig, that he viewed the EU as flawed and preferred bilateral ties with European countries, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The alleged comments came days before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Brussels and declared solidarity with the EU, seeking to reassure leaders that President Donald Trump viewed the transatlantic partnership as fundamental to his foreign policy.
âWith regard to the European Union, my message very simply was that the United States is committed to continuing its partnership with the European Union,â Pence had said.
Citing people familiar with the meeting, Reuters reported that ahead of Pence’s visit to Brussels, Bannon told Wittig he viewed the EU as a flawed construct and echoed Euroskeptic comments he made at a Vatican conference in 2014 when he was at the helm of right-wing news site Breitbart.
The German government and Wittig declined to comment on the Reuters report. A White House official confirmed the meeting had taken place but said Reuters’ account of it was inaccurate.