For anyone wondering how a businessman-turned reality TV star ascended to the presidency of the United States, one journalist with years of experience covering U.S. politics says the answer is simple: Steve Bannon.

In his new book, ā€œDevilā€™s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency,ā€ author Joshua Green argues that the former leader of the ultra-conservative Breitbart News website and Trumpā€™s current Chief Strategist in the White House was key to securing the presidency for Trump.

Green told CTVā€™s Your Morning on Tuesday that, long before Trump declared his candidacy, Bannon effectively won the election for the real estate mogul by giving him the political ideas that inform his ā€œAmerica firstā€ platform and by creating a network of conservative groups aimed at tearing down his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.

ā€œBannon was the mastermind,ā€ Green said. ā€œHe was one of the people in his ear telling him to run hard against immigration, run hard against free trade, to try and return to a kind of American isolationism that we really havenā€™t seen since the 1930s or 1940s.ā€

According to Green, Trump didnā€™t have a political agenda until he met Bannon.

ā€œHeā€™s an opportunist. Heā€™s someone who wants to win but he doesnā€™t really care on what, or what venue or what policy,ā€ Green said. ā€œSteve Bannon is really the man in the White House with ideas.ā€

The book details how Bannon created the base for Trumpā€™s support, his key role in the election, how he influences the president in the current administration and what his future plans for the country may be.

with CTVā€™s Your Morning and Ā鶹“«Ć½ Channel