By now, you’ve probably heard the name Steve Bannon floating around. If not, here’s a primer.
As the former executive chairman of the self-described “Trump loudspeaker” site Breitbart.com, Bannon has promoted racist, sexist, transphobic and anti-Semitic writings. That seems like a long list, so we’ll summarize it for you: Bannon is, in every sense of the word, deplorable. He’s also about to become the chief strategist and senior counselor to the President of the United States once President-elect Donald Trump officially takes office.
While these characteristics sound like the standard set of accusations people on the left levy against conservatives they dislike, Bannon has invited these labels more readily than most other public figures.
The defenses for Bannon — most of which have come through Breitbart itself — insist that though he has published content reflecting these prejudices, he himself doesn’t hold them. Maybe his defenders are right, but he clearly thinks these views are worth hearing because he distributed and paid for them. That may be his support of “free expression” in action. Or it could be a sign that he finds those perspectives valid. We would like to say, flatly, they are not. And the Republicans who claim to support Trump for reasons unrelated to his hateful rhetoric should loudly say so. After all, that rhetoric was principally presented by Bannon.
That’s not surprising when you look at a sample of Bannon’s Breitbart legacy. An article aimed at women headlined “Birth Control Makes You Unattractive and Crazy” includes valuable insights, such as, “Your birth control injection will add on pounds that will prevent the injection you really want — of man meat. This, in turn, will lead to depression and excessive ice-cream consumption, which adds on more pounds.” Another, focused on HIV rates among trans people, calls these individuals “trannies,” refers to the “hipness of transsexualism” and describes Caitlyn Jenner’s coming-out as capitalizing on a trend.
We’d like to just say, outright, that “trannies” is a slur, “transsexual” is a precarious term and typically only applies to trans people who have opted to undergo gender reassignment surgery, and that people are born trans. They’re not following a trend.
In addition, the site contains a section labeled “Black Crime” that includes leagues of stories that single out crimes black people have committed, passing along the stereotype that black people are criminals. The site also regularly disparages the Black Lives Matter movement, calling it “ridiculous” and a “farce.”
But that’s not where Bannon’s prejudice stops. In 2007, his ex-wife also accused him of anti-Semitism, claiming that he didn’t want their daughter to attend a Los Angeles school because too many Jewish children also attended, according to court documents from the time.
Trump’s selection of Bannon as his chief advisor means that the man behind these hollow, tasteless articles and sickening points of view will be the one directing the messages and policy agenda coming from inside the White House. That’s concerning, considering Breitbart’s late founder, Andrew Breitbart, favorably compared Bannon to Leni Riefenstahl — Nazi Germany’s top propaganda filmmaker.
Perhaps you voted for Trump based on a distrust of Hillary Clinton or a sincere desire to see the federal government shrink. You voted for reasons beyond hatred of outsiders and people different than you. But now, it’s time to stand up and denounce the first actions of this incoming administration.
Bannon represents nothing beyond the very rhetoric that’s given unbigoted conservatives a bad name, as evidenced by the fact that white nationalists like David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, are thrilled about this appointment. Even the Chairman of the American Nazi Party, Rocky J. Suhayda, said the hiring demonstrated Trump’s commitment to campaign promises, making Breitbart’s Riefenstahl comparison a bit too apt.
Decent conservative voters should meet liberal critics halfway. They should acknowledge that the Trump administration has committed to a tone fundamentally based on hostile and prejudiced rhetoric and prove your party is better than this. The political climate may improve, and Bannon may not sow seeds of hatred even more widely than he already has. But there’s no reason to think that — and since Bannon himself has said that fear fuels action, there’s actually evidence against it.
The Trump administration is starting off on the wrong foot. Anyone truly above prejudice should be able to see that. And anyone who cares has a duty to speak up.