Josh Hafner

USA TODAY

Squirm-worthy moments abounded Wednesday for three top Trump staffers. Steve Bannon got sandbagged by his boss in the New York Post, Sean Spicer apologized (again) for Hitler comments and Kellyanne Conway defended herself against accusations that she is, in fact, "the darkness."

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said U.S.-Russia relations look dim after a two-hour talk with Vladimir Putin. "The world's two foremost nuclear owners cannot have this kind of relationship," he said.

Gulp.

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Is Trump backing away from Bannon? Plus: Ben Carson stuck in an elevator!

Donald Trump distanced himself from his chief strategist Wednesday in the New York Post as rumors swirled that Steve Bannon, the Pied Piper of Trump's populist base, may get ousted. In an interview, Trump downplayed Bannon's role in helping him win the presidency last November while suggesting his job as strategist was never necessary.

“I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late,” Trump said.

“I had already beaten all the senators and all the governors, and I didn’t know Steve. I’m my own strategist and it wasn’t like I was going to change strategies because I was facing crooked Hillary.”

Trump's public comments came amid reports of infighting between Bannon and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.

“Steve is a good guy, but I told them to straighten it out or I will," Trump said. Whatever that means.

Sean Spicer found himself again apologizing for comparing Adolf Hitler favorably to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday, saying that he "let the president down."

And columnist Michael Wolff put it to Kellyanne Conway Wednesday, saying in an interview that the Washington Post's new tagline — "Democracy dies in darkness" — was penned with her in mind.

"Because I'm gonna tell you, when they say, 'Democracy dies in darkness,' you're the darkness," Wolff said.

"I'm not the darkness," Conway said, claiming that "because someone says something doesn't make it true." #AlternativeFacts.

And here, presented without comment, is Ben Carson stuck in an elevator on Wednesday:

From Russia without love, but with some 'very frank' discussions on Syria

"There is a low level of trust between our two countries."

That's what Rex Tillerson said after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tillerson spoke alongside his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, who called Wednesday's talks in the Kremlin "very frank."

The doubtlessly awkward meeting came hours after the White House said Russia helped Syria cover up its illegal use of chemical weapons last week.

On Wednesday, officials of both countries played up ways to improve relations. Lavrov said Russia would restore a "deconfliction" hotline it dropped last week after the U.S. attacked an airfield in Syria, Russia's ally.

In an interview aired Wednesday before the meeting on Russia's Mir TV, Putin said "the level of trust at the working level, especially at the military level, has not become better but most likely has degraded" between the two nations.

China: We'll help the U.S. disarm North Korea

In other nuclear news: Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing is willing to work with Washington to peacefully end North Korea's nuclear weapons program. The report came Wednesday via Chinese state media. Trump tweeted Wednesday that the two leaders had a "good call."

Trump had goaded China about the matter via Twitter on Tuesday, while North Korea warned it would defend itself against any "reckless acts of aggression." The U.S. deployed an aircraft carrier strike group toward Korean waters last week.

Trump calls NATO 'no longer obsolete.'

Trump met with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, coming away slightly more bullish on the military alliance than he was during his presidential campaign.

"I said it was obsolete. It is no longer obsolete," Trump said in a press conference.

Well, then. That settles that.

Elsewhere in politics today: