Jeb Bush Wants 'Honey Badger' Steve Bannon To Leave Politics For Good

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush had some harsh words against the former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon after the latter divulged some alleged secrets about President Donald Trump and his family in a tell-all book by journalist Michael Wolff titled “Fire and Fury.”

In the tweet, Bush referenced a National Review article where Bannon was heavily criticized for extending his support toward former Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore and picking fights with lawmakers.

But why does Bush call Bannon a “honey badger”? The answer dates back to October 2015, when Bloomberg BusinessWeek writer Josh Green wrote a profile on Steve Bannon, where he revealed that the latter’s motto for Breitbart, being the online news outlet’s chairman, was “Honey badger don’t give a s---," CBS News reported.

The theory behind the motto is that honey badgers have thick skin, allowing them not to get rattled by petty things. This allows them to adopt a mean, ferocious and greedy temperament at all times, and attack every obstacle with shrewd fearlessness.

Also since honey badgers have that air of nonchalance about them, they are often seen preying on animals that are bigger in stature and more lethal than they are in real life — evidence being the several videos of honey badgers hunting, available on social media.

Bannon went as far as distributing silver flasks with the name “Breitbart” printed above the picture of a honey badger as party gifts.

Coming back to Bush’s tweet, he was one of the many republicans who distanced themselves from Trump’s former campaign CEO following the president’s condemnation of Bannon’s opinion about him and his family in the book. Following excerpts of the book hitting numerous media outlets, Trump said when Bannon was fired as the chief strategist of the White House in August 2017, "he not only lost his job, he lost his mind".

White House also disavowed the book, with press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying the book was "filled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who have no access or influence with the White House.”

There remained no doubt that the relationship between Trump and Bannon had soured when the president’s lawyer Charles Harder threatened Bannon by serving him a cease and desist letter. The letter warned Bannon to “cease and desist from any and all further disclosure of Confidential Information, disparagement of Mr. Trump, his family members, his or their companies, and/or the Company, and communication with the media, including but not limited to Mr. Wolff and any and all other journalists, reports, authors and bloggers.”

If Bannon was found in violation of the non-disclosure agreement signed between him and the president during his time with the latter’s campaign, Trump would be liable to seek “legal and equitable remedies, including monetary damages, to the maximum extent permitted by law.”

In October 2017, Bannon criticized the presidency of former President George W. Bush, who also happens to be Jeb’s cousin. “There has not been a more destructive presidency than George Bush’s,” Bannon said, speaking at a banquet convention for members of the California Republican Party, TIME reported.

“President Bush, to me, embarrassed himself,” Bannon said, referring to one of George’s speeches that he thought was directed at Trump. “It’s clear he didn’t understand anything he was talking about… He has no earthly idea whether he’s coming or going, just like it was when he was president of the United States.”