5 Things to Know About Steve Bannon
1. Up until August, Bannon ran the alt-right news site Breitbart, which has become a favorite publication among white nationalists and other groups that promote bigotry.
Bannon has not shied away from these groups and has further encouraged them to follow his site, publishing race-baiting, sexist, and otherwise offensive articles to attract them. Some of his articles, for example, include:
- Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy
- Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?
- Gay rights have made us dumber, it’s time to get back in the closet
- Bill Kristol: Republican spoiler, renegade Jew
- Hoist [the Confederate flag] high and fly it with pride
2. Bannon really hates feminism.
Breitbart hosted dozens of articles about feminism during his tenure, painting women’s rights advocates as whiny and attention-seeking. In an interview, he said that the left is mad about conservative women such as Sarah Palin because they are “women that would lead this country [who] would be pro-family, they would have husbands, they would love their children. They wouldn’t be a bunch of d*kes that came from the Seven Sisters schools up in New England.” The Seven Sisters schools responded by condemning his language and bigotry.
3. Bannon is the subject of multiple lawsuits alleging sex discrimination.
There are multiple lawsuits accusing Bannon of pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment. He also has been previously charged with domestic violence, although the case was dropped when his ex-wife did not appear to testify. She states that he threatened her to prevent her from testifying. Earlier in the campaign, when one of Breitbart’s reporters, Michelle Fields, was roughly grabbed by Trump’s then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, Bannon actively cast doubt on her story. This caused both Fields and another Breitbart staffer to resign, calling both Bannon and Trump bullies.
4. Bannon is endorsed by the white nationalist movement and other neo-Nazi groups.
Although he has described himself as an “economic nationalist”, Bannon has used anti-Semitic language and racially-charged imagery to court white nationalist groups. Both the American Nazi Party and the KKK have released statements praising the appointment of Bannon as Trump’s top advisor. These groups believe that Bannon will move Trump in the direction they want and hold him to the promises of his campaign, which they view as beneficial to the white nationalist movement.
5. Bannon has articulated extreme views on voting rights.
The New York Times reported that he even suggested that voting rights be limited to those who own property. When it was noted that such a rule would “exclude a lot of African-Americans,” he reportedly responded “Maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”
