Tapper cuts off Trump adviser interview: I've wasted enough of my viewers' time
How Bannon
turned on Trump … and where the nationalist right goes next
The
ex-White House strategist who turned his fire and fury on the president is now
out at Breitbart too. Those in the know, though, say he isn’t finished yet
After
Bannon: the new faces of the hard right
David Smith
and Ben Jacobs in Washington
Sat 13 Jan
2018 15.43 GMT First published on Sat 13 Jan 2018 14.01 GMT
A snow
shower had left Washington speckled in white. Steve Bannon, known for his
shabby dress code, entered the five-star Hay-Adams hotel, a short walk from the
White House, and delivered a speech to what one observer later dismissively
called “swamp denizens”.
Despite a
recent falling out that made headlines around the world, the former White House
chief strategist repeatedly praised Donald Trump and spoke of “the everyman” in
America who believes “the world is stacked against them”. He received a warm
response and engaged in a back-and-forth with questioners. He did not act like
a man on political death row.
But soon on
that frigid Tuesday afternoon, it would be announced that Bannon was on his way
out of Breitbart News, which he once called the platform for the so-called
alt-right, a group including neo-Nazis, white supremacists and antisemites that
espouses tougher immigration laws and trade deals. It was the final blow after
a head-spinning week. He had been excommunicated by the president, the White
House, his billionaire patron and now his own company.
“The guy
loves history,” the website Axios noted. “Well, this political suicide is
historic. Bannon still thinks of himself as a revolutionary. That
self-perception won’t change. It’s just that now he has no vehicle, no staff,
no platform, and no major donors funding his ambitions.”
A giant of
the populist base that helped propel Trump to victory has been toppled, raising
questions about the movement he left behind. Is the alt-right leaderless and
destined for irrelevance? Is it a “movement” at all? Has the establishment all
but won the Republican civil war?
By the
week’s end, one thing was certain. Trump, meeting senators to discuss
immigration, reportedly asked in reference to Haiti, El Salvador and African
countries: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come
here?” It confirmed every suspicion and every fear about where his instincts
lie. Bannon may be gone but the biggest nativist of all is still in the Oval
Office.
‘Mr Bannon
has shot himself in the foot’
It was a
year ago that Trump succeeded Barack Obama as president. His inaugural address
went down in the first draft of history for two phrases: “America First” and
“American carnage”. Both were reportedly the work of Bannon and Stephen Miller,
who is still White House senior policy adviser.
Having led
the Trump campaign in its final months, and kept faith in the candidate when
others were ready desert him, Bannon seemed an all-powerful consigliere. Soon
he was adorning magazine covers and there were whispers of “President Bannon”.
He had, it transpired, flown too close to the sun; he was ousted from the
National Security Council and marginalised. By August, having lost a power
struggle with Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, he was out.
Far from humbled, Bannon returned to Breitbart
as executive chairman and became more politically active. He declared war on
the Republican establishment and made stump speeches on behalf of Christian
fundamentalist Roy Moore. The plan backfired when Moore, facing allegations of
sexual misconduct with girls and women, lost one of the safest Republican seats
in the country.
Then came
Michael Wolff’s book, Fire and Fury, which quoted Bannon at length lambasting
Trump and his family – he called Donald Trump Jr’s decision to meet Russians
during the election campaign “treasonous”. Bannon claimed he had been referring
to then campaign manager Paul Manafort, but Trump issued a lengthy statement
saying Bannon had “lost his mind”, told the Wall Street Journal he felt
“betrayed” and applied the now familiar kiss of death, a nickname: “Sloppy
Steve.”
The
Republican mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, who owns a stake in Breitbart, issued a
rare statement, distancing herself from Bannon. Then it was announced that he
was stepping down from Breitbart and losing his radio show SiriusXM. The
Guardian understands Bannon was given an ultimatum by the company’s board. He
could either be active in politics, endorsing candidates and stumping the
country in his trademark Barbour jacket, or he could stick to running the
website. Bannon took the first option.
It was
Trump who was and who is now the face of the movement for the forgotten people
of America
Benjamin
Marchi, Trump supporter, Maryland
For Trump
supporters, the ugly break-up left a dilemma: Bannon or Trump? Benjamin Marchi,
a healthcare service franchise owner from St Michael’s, Maryland, said: “It’s a
question I’ve been wrestling with.
“But it
seems Mr Bannon’s personal ego got in the way. Mr Bannon has shot himself in
the foot. He placed personal gain above personal loyalty and he’s left the
White House in shame.”
Marchi, 39,
did not think Bannon’s departure would create a leadership vacuum. “He was to a
degree the face of some of the movement. But no one knew what he was before he
came on the scene. Everyone knows Trump. It was Trump who was and who is now
the face of the movement for the forgotten people of America.”
In the
choice between Trump and Bannon is only one winner, and it was not the former
naval officer, investment banker and film producer fond of quoting Thucydides.
Roger
Stone, a political operative and longtime Trump adviser, said: “The movement is
built around Trump; it’s not built around Bannon. This is an inside-the-beltway
story. People don’t vote because of a political operative they’ve never heard
of. Trump will have a greater impact on the fate of the movement than Bannon.
As long as he keeps faith, the movement will continue to thrive.”
Stone, who
worked on Richard Nixon’s 1972 campaign, criticised Bannon for failing to
recruit kindred spirits to the White House when he had the chance, leaving
Trump surrounded by Democrats such as Kushner and national economic adviser
Gary Cohn.
Stone said:
“It was always about him; it was always about Steve. Stephen Miller is the last
actual Trump supporter left standing. It would be hard to point to anyone on
the White House staff who actually voted for Trump. If his agenda doesn’t get
implemented successfully, it will be because of the people he appointed.”
Miller, 32,
has emerged as the keeper of the nationalist flame. He is a hardliner on
immigration and a key architect of the controversial travel ban. Like Trump and
Bannon, he also revels in verbal combat. Last Sunday he clashed with CNN host
Jake Tapper and abruptly ended the interview, saying: “I think I’ve wasted
enough of my viewers’ time.”
According
to CNN, Miller then refused to leave and had to be escorted out by security.
Soon after, Trump tweeted: “Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in
his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred
and unfairness of this CNN flunky!”
Trump’s
faith in Miller should come as no surprise. The president has a long history of
words and actions consistent with white nationalism.
In Trump
1970s he discriminated against offering housing for African Americans. In 2015
he launched his election campaign by calling Mexicans “rapists” and promising
to build a border wall. His first presidential pardon was of Sheriff Joe
Arpaio, who had targeted Latino people. He referred to white supremacists who
marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, as “very fine people”, and criticised
black NFL players who “take the knee” in protest at racial injustice. He backed
Moore, who mused that America was great during the time of slavery. He now has
no African Americans on his senior staff.
Breitbart
is now a platform without any obvious political relevance
Kurt
Bardella, former Breitbart spokesman
Then came
Thursday’s tirade about “shithole” countries, which provoked a worldwide
outcry. But many on the right turned a blind eye or even endorsed the comments,
providing a glimpse of the stark polarisation in America and some potential
heirs to Bannon’s crown. Fox News host Tucker Carlson told viewers Trump’s
point was “something that almost every single person in America actually agrees
with”. Ann Coulter tweeted: “He’s trying to win me back.”
As for the
post-Bannon Breitbart, it made its allegiance clear. After all, Breitbart is
still run by Bannon protégés. Matt Boyle, its Washington editor, has long been
close to Bannon and is shaping its political coverage. Alex Marlow, a longtime
stalwart of the website, is still its top editor and former Nigel Farage aide
Raheem Kassam is still its London editor. One source close to Bannon said:
“Nothing is changing in terms of the coverage and what it does is allow him to
focus on the actual issues.”
Even so,
the site faces a struggle to remain relevant. Kurt Bardella, a political
commentator and former Breitbart spokesman, said: “What made Breitbart a
must-read was the idea that by reading it you’re getting insight into the
president. That’s gone now and there’s no one at Breitbart that will have
proximity to the president in the way Bannon did. They are a platform without
any obvious political relevance or proximity to the president.”
‘Two stars in the same orbit’
Bannon’s
next move will be watched intensely. He is still living in the so-called
“Breitbart embassy”, a Capitol Hill townhouse long used as the unofficial
headquarters of the site. In the divorce, he is getting the real estate. His
departure has freed him from having to work with Breitbart’s owners: Larry
Solov, its chief executive, and Mercer. A source close to Bannon said: “If you
look at his career, every six or seven years, he does the same thing. He’s very
aggressive and likes to do things his own way.”
Some
suspect that there will eventually be rapprochement with Trump. Michael Steele,
former chairman of the Republican National Committee, said: “You saw two stars
that came into the same orbit and fed off each other. Now you’re seeing the
separation. I don’t buy that separation completely.
“Those two
still need each other. Trump has the base; Bannon has the messaging. I suspect
by the summer you’ll see stories that they’re talking to each other; I wouldn’t
be entirely surprised if they’re in contact now.”
The
Republicans are borderline toast. It’s borderline over. We’re on the verge of
witnessing a massive reversal
Michael
Steele, former RNC chair
Bannon will
be free to launch a nonprofit organisation as well as push his economic
nationalist ideas. It remains to be seen whether, without the Mercer millions,
he is able to press ahead with plans to support a slate of “America first”
challengers to Republican incumbents . A Quinnipiac poll this week showed
Democrats with a 17-point advantage. Sensing which way the wind is blowing,
more than 30 Republicans in the House and Senate have announced that they will
leave Congress.
Steele,
expressing frustration at the party’s failure to expand its ideas and
diversity, said: “The Republicans are borderline toast. It’s borderline over.
We’re on the verge of witnessing a massive reversal for the Republican brand,
the Republican party.”
Steele, who
is African American, questioned whether Trump and Bannon’s followers should be
classified as a “movement”.
“A lot of
it was misogyny, racism,” he said. “There is at its core something a lot of
people don’t want to touch, a sign that there are, I have to say, a growing
number of white Americans who are afraid of and do not want to see the browning
of America.
“They have
a a picture-perfect, 1950s view of mother wearing an apron as dad in a hat goes
off to work. It looks a lot more like them that it does me, but America is
starting to look at lot more like me than it is them. But what gets forgotten
is the ideal that they have, what Ronald Reagan called the shining city on the
hill, is just as important to me as it is to them. That’s what they
fundamentally miss.”
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