American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp conducts and interview with friends and White House coworkers Steve Bannon and Reince Priebus at CPAC 2017. At one point Schlapp quipped: "You guys have been so sort of kumbaya here it's kind of time for a little bit of a group hug."
"Steve is very consistent and very loyal to the agenda and is a presence that I think is very important to have in the White House and I consider him a very dear friend," Priebus said about Bannon, following rumors that they were "rivals."
"Reince is indefatigable," Bannon said about Priebus. "I mean, it's low key, but it's determination. The thing I respect most and the only way this thing works is Reince is always kind of steady, he's got Katie and some other people around him, it's very steady. But his job is, by far, one of the toughest jobs I've ever seen in my life...Reince has been unwavering since the very first moment I met him."
STEPHEN K BANNON: One thing I'd like to leave you guys today with is that, we want you to have our back. But more importantly: We know -- by the way, President Trump -- we never doubted that for a second, but also and more importantly, hold us accountable. Hold us accountable to what we promised, hold us accountable for delivering on what we promised.
MATT SCHLAPP, ACU: Let me just ask as we -- as we close this out. It's time for -- you know you guys have been so sort of kumbaya here it's kind of time for a little bit of a group hug.
(LAUGHTER)
Let me ask you -- OK, I'm sorry I'm going to do the Barbara Walter's thing for those of you who remember Barbara Walters.
Let me ask you, what do you -- you've worked really closely with Steve.
REINCE PRIEBUS: Right.
SCHLAPP: You say your offices -- I know what two offices they are, they are really close to each other. What do you like the most about him?
(LAUGHTER)
Hold on, let him think.
PRIEBUS: I love how many collars he wears, interesting look.
(LAUGHTER)
One thing -- we're different, but where we're very similar is that I think that he is very dogged in making sure that every day the promises that President Trump has made are the promises that we're working on every day, number one.
Number two, he's incredibly loyal. And number three, which I think is a really important quality as we were working together to see to it that President Trump's vision is enacted is that, he's extremely consistent.
That, as you can imagine, there are many things hitting the president's ear and desk every day. Different things that come to the president that want to move him off of his agenda and Steve is very consistent and very loyal to the agenda and is a presence that I think is very important to have in the White House and I consider him...
(APPLAUSE)
... but -- and secondly -- and a very dear friend -- a very dear friend and someone that we -- that I work with every second of the day in -- and actually we cherish -- I cherish his friendship.
BANNON: Yeah, you know, I can run a little hot on occasions.
(LAUGHTER)
And -- and Reince is indefatigable I mean, it's low key, but it's determination. The thing I respect most and the only way this thing works is Reince is always kind of steady, he's got Katie and some other people around him, it's very steady.
But his job is, by far, one of the toughest jobs I've ever seen in my life. To make it run every day and to make the trains and you only see the surface. What's going on underneath it, planning what's three weeks down the road to the -- to the degree that we're planning it, of all these E.O.s and legislation and -- you know, whether it's the tax reform bill, Reince is indefatigable in saying, we've got to drive this forward, we've got to drive this forward.
And I think it's one of the reasons we have such a -- and by the way this started back in August when we had this campaign where we were outgunned, out manned, you know, outspent. And it was because President Trump had a message, he had this charisma and he had people like here at CPAC and we just put our heads down and that when we -- and Reince has been unwavering since the very first moment I met him.
