Trump Picks White Supremacist Leader Steve Bannon as Chief Strategist
Steve Bannon, former president of the incendiary Breitbart News and more recently chief executive of Trump’s campaign, is taking on a role as Donald Trump’s “chief strategist and senior counselor.”
Bannon’s new position was listed above the announcement of RNC chair Reince Priebus as Trump’s new chief of staff on a statement issued Sunday. It said Bannon and Priebus would be “equal partners.”
Under Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart espoused anti-Semitic and nationalist views. The site faced regular criticism — including from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton — for its close ties to the “alt right,” an online-based counterculture movement associated with white nationalism.
Under Bannon, Breitbart.com has long had an white supremacist history since he took charge, publishing articles like:
- A call to “hoist the Confederate flag]high and fly it with pride” two weeks after the Charleston massacre
- Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew
- Calling a Washington Post columnist a “Jewish… elitist,” working with all her contacts to try to control the global media narrative.
- After Jewish editor Ben Shapiro quit the site in protest of its Trump coverage, a piece was written sure to note he was an Orthodox Jew and featured an image of his face with a yellow pointed star.
(h/t NBC News)