Bannon’s brutal fall should chill America
He’s in exile because he criticized the president
Steve Bannon — the loathed architect of President Trump’s alt-right hate machine, Breitbart lies, racism, misogyny and Twitter thug troll factory — is banished to political Siberia.
Bannon is a deplorable human being who has no business being in a position of power or having the ear of any lawmaker. But as deplorable as he may be, his destruction by Trump and the sycophantic army Bannon helped incubate should frighten every American. Why? Because it’s not why he was taken down and kicked to the curb.
The former top campaign strategist, former National Security Council member (appointed by Trump) and former Breitbart News chairman has been given the heave-ho by pretty much the entire Trump establishment. Yet just days ago, he was king and kingmaker, second only to Trump, and viewed by many as Trump’s Svengali.
At Breitbart, Bannon created an online haven — a fertile safe space — for white nationalists and anti-Semites. Then he mobilized them behind a reality show host/failed casino owner/conspiracy theorist buffoon who won the GOP nomination, largely because his clown show was ratings gold.
Bannon openly campaigned to tear down American institutions, the Republican Party and the government. His white nationalism was first ignored, then tolerated and even welcomed by some. When Trump brought him to the White House, his appointment was cheered by leaders of the Ku Klux Klan, the American Nazi Party and other white nationalist groups.
Backed by the power of enormous amounts of money from the uberwealthy Mercers, Bannon and Breitbart were being normalized. They worked to normalize Trump.
Bannon is now ruined because, in a few moments of uncharacteristic truth-telling to Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff, he shared the identical sentiments as his colleagues and most of his fellow citizens. He described the suspicions and assumptions that nearly all of Washington, the press corps, Congress and many Americans share: that Trump knew full well his relatives and staff were meeting in Trump Tower with the Russians to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Let that sink in for a moment. When Bannon promoted white nationalism, misogyny, an accused child molester, severe online bullying and conspiracy theories, he was a king to the rightwing media, Trump and most of the Republicans in Congress. But when he dared to tell the truth, when confirmation from an insider could help save the country from danger, Bannon was cut out like a member of Tony Soprano’s “family” who turned state’s evidence.
It’s one thing for Trump to cut ties to Bannon. But the wholesale embracing of Bannon’s political slaughter by conservative institutions for this, rather than for his past sins, is quite another.
Dropped by the Mercers and Breitbart, Bannon is now a man without a country, friends or home. That conveys an ominous message: Do not criticize this president or you will be destroyed.
It doesn’t matter who is the target, or that our disgust with Bannon is appropriate and well-earned. The swiftness and robot-like precision with which Trump’s allies dislodged their lips from Bannon’s MAGA derriere, so they could effectively reach for their shivs upon orders from Trump, is chilling.
Not one White House staffer has publicly questioned whether Bannon’s words rang true. Not one Republican senator has suggested publicly that perhaps we should pay heed to Bannon’s words to Wolff. No one at Breitbart, or the Mercers, or the Republican National Committee or even Bannon’s Gilligan to his Skipper, Corey Lewandowski, seems curious about what Bannon said — and if it’s true, what danger the country may be in. The only concern is to protect and cover for Trump at all costs.
Even so, Bannon and others who “know too much” can be dangerous to a president with a few too many secrets. Trump would be wise to heed this advice: Never put anyone in a position where they’ve got nothing left to lose.
Cheri Jacobus, a member of USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors, is a Republican consultant and commentator and president of Capitol Strategies PR.