American Rasputin
Steve Bannon is still scheming, Jennifer Senior wrote in the July/august issue. And he’s still a threat to democracy.
Many thanks to Jennifer Senior for her illuminating piece on Steve Bannon and his obsessions. Or maybe no thanks, given that what she portrays is a callous (or worse) personality that advocates for tearing down all institutions no matter what good they do, with no thought given to replacing or rebuilding them.
Christopher E. Klots
Towson, Md.
I share Atlantic articles with an 89-year-old friend in assisted living. After reading the Jennifer Senior article on Bannon, she remarked, “Why would such a respected publication waste ink on another angry white man and insurrectionist who is a buffoon?” My sentiments exactly!
Robert Pelrine
Arnold, Md.
Jennifer Senior’s loathing of Steve Bannon comes through loud and clear. It’s a pity that her analysis of his appeal falls short. Why are Bannon’s ideas so apparently influential that they translate into a surge of Republican and even Trumpian support? The Hillary Clinton answer, that these supporters are all “deplorables”—idiots and puppets being manipulated by a master—doesn’t wash, as it didn’t for Clinton in 2016. A sensible and humble starting position would be that the priorities and policies of the liberal establishment don’t resonate with large swaths of ordinary Americans, who therefore don’t trust politicians who are mouthpieces of that establishment. Rather than rail against the malign influence of Bannon and his ilk, would-be future leaders of America should ask themselves how they lost the hearts and minds of so many of those they expect to put them in power. Is there any Democrat, or moderate Republican, who has the courage to do that?
Chris Morey Marsaskala, Malta
I just finished rereading Jennifer Senior’s terrifying and excellent article on Steve Bannon. She writes with razor-blade precision, cutting into Bannon’s personality such that the pain of what he is doing to our nation is somewhat delayed by the fascination with his weird charisma. She made a man out of the monster, but also let the reader know why he is, in fact, a monster.
Barbara St. Hilaire
Asheville, N.C.
One detail in particular struck me: Bannon was radicalized by his father’s suffering during the economic meltdown of 2008. I believe this was an important turning point for him. The tragedy is that neoliberal economics is the handmaiden to Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. Neoliberal capitalism destroys more than it builds, producing moments of crisis that it solves by handing the bill over to the 99 percent. Name a more infamous duo than economic desolation and authoritarianism. Bannon understands full well that every disaster for which neoliberalism goes unpunished encourages rage, isolation, malignant fantasy, and the percolation of conspiracy theories.
Eric Baylis East Lansing, Mich.