After weeks of speculation about his future, Trump White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has broken free of his self-imposed exile, unloading a torrent of Scaramucci-esque comments to none other than Robert Kuttner - the editor of The American Prospect, a progressive publication (the cover lines on whose first two issues after Trump's election were "Resisting Trump" and "Containing Trump."

Kuttner sets the surprising scene...

Trump's embattled strategist phones me, unbidden, to opine on China, Korea, and his enemies in the administration...

Needless to say, I was a little stunned to get an email from Bannon's assistant midday Tuesday, just as all hell was breaking loose once again about Charlottesville, saying that Bannon wished to meet with me.

But unload Bannon did:

He began with China...

"We're at economic war with China," he added. "It's in all their literature. They're not shy about saying what they're doing. One of us is going to be a hegemon in 25 or 30 years and it's gonna be them if we go down this path."