With the Trump administration operating at a frantic pace, it is easy getting distracted. So we set aside time to look at someone many consider to now be the most powerful man in the country second to the president.
At 63, Steve Bannon’s broader message found a loudspeaker in the celebrity of Donald Trump and struck an important chord amongst working-class Americans: that they’ve been exploited by financial elites.
Bannon is a former naval officer, he worked for Goldman Sachs, produced documentaries, and then came to head alt-right media outlet, Breibart News. While his anti-elite/anti-Washington establishment rhetoric resonates — just as it did with Bernie Sanders supporters — experts say it’s Bannon’s portrayal that we are in a religious war where it’s the Christian west vs. everyone else.
A master of provocation, Bannon was CEO of Trump’s campaign despite Breibart being a haven for white supremacists. Headlines there ranged from racist to sexist. Bannon is even praised by the KKK and white nationalist movement. And days after the inauguration, he took over the National Security Council. Previous presidents tried to separate their political advisors from matters of national security.
Bannon is following through on campaign promises, encouraging trump to take an intentionally provocative move on immigration. He shows no fear of going to war, saying in March the U.S. will likely go to war with China in 5 to 10 years. One Chinese official responded: it’s becoming a reality. Bannon even goes after American citizens for being Asian.
Filmmaker Michael Moore called Trump’s victory when many thought it impossible. Moore now says we are witnessing a coup, but with how hated Washington has become he says that a good part of America doesn’t mind.
–ARTHUR CH’IEN