Steve Bannon’s bigotry has become a persistent problem
The Hill‘s Rebecca Savransky has found inflammatory words from Steve Bannon dating back to 2010:
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[I]n 2010 [Bannon] said he does not think Islam is a religion of peace … Bannon made the comment during an online radio interview with “Western Word Radio with Avi Davis,” where he criticized former President George W. Bush for describing Islam as a religion of peace.
“Islam is not a religion of peace. Islam is a religion of submission. Islam means submission,” Bannon said.
“I mean, the whole thing is just — he is the epitome, he’s a Republican version, not a conservative, he’s a Republican establishment, country club version of the Clintons. That’s all they are. It’s the baby boomer, narcissistic — he wants to feel loved.”
Republicans remain uneasy about Bannon – though they are not citing his extreme cultural and religious views that constitute a bigoted mindset, and are more focused on political attacks coming from Bannon’s white nationalist Breitbart web site:
Republicans on Capitol Hill are on edge over what they view as Stephen Bannon’s growing influence inside President Trump’s White House.
The White House counselor’s elevation to being a permanent member of the National Security Council has deepened the debate, as has the furor surrounding Trump’s controversial executive order on immigration.
“The president has the right to appoint him to be his adviser, but I think there is a lot of concern about his influence,” said one GOP lawmaker, who spoke on background to offer a candid view from Capitol Hill.
Bannon has reportedly formed an alliance with White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law. That would give him enormous power in the White House given Kushner’s perceived influence with Trump.On the refugee order, Bannon is seen as having worked closely with White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, a former aide to Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) known for his hard-line position on immigration.
Sessions, who is expected to be confirmed soon as Trump’s attorney general, is also seen as a Bannon ally. And Bannon has brought other people to the White House from Breitbart News, giving him more influence.
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Before joining Trump, he oversaw Breitbart News, which repeatedly published stories criticizing Ryan and other GOP lawmakers for a lack of conservative fortitude. Many lawmakers saw those attacks as unfair, and this history is weighed into their views of what is happening now at the White House.
But a former Obama staffer is more willing to call a bigot a bigot, citing Bannon’s creation of an internal White House think tank that is promoting his worldview:
President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, appears to be consolidating power within the White House — and his machinations are alarming former officials who have worked there.
The former Breitbart News chief and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner have set up an internal think tank called the Strategic Initiatives Group that’s reportedly behind a proposal to force overseas visitors to reveal their social media contacts before entering the U.S., reported The Daily Beast.
A former Obama staffer was even more explicit about how the new quasi-governmental agency — and its overseer, Bannon — could infect White House policy.
“To put it bluntly, this is truly crazy,” the former Obama staffer told the website. “Being a racist and misogynistic political advisor is one thing, but when that person controls domestic and national security policy, it’s time to break glass because of emergency. I shudder to think what is next, once Bannon’s operation is fully staffed up.”
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