What the Bannon factor tells us about Trump

Politics & Elections
1

For a few moments there I actually thought I saw a silver lining in this fiasco of an election, a hopeful sign that Trump isn’t really as crazy as we’d thought. Namely the fact that Trump had backed off from appointing Steve Bannon, the white supremacist who runs the alt-right fake news site Breitbart.com, as his chief of staff. He appointed instead the perfectly normal Republican Reince Priebus.

A bit of further investigation very quickly quenched that little flicker of optimism, such as it was, and revealed a rather disturbing glimpse of what the future may hold.

Firstly it seems that picking Priebus instead of Bannon wasn’t Trump’s idea but his kids’, and it was just a calculated tactical move to forge an alliance with Paul Ryan’s Congressional Republicans. Secondly it seems that Bannon will not only be very much around, he is being installed as a sort of co-chief of staff with the title of “chief strategist and senior counselor”, and with perhaps even more power. Furthermore, inasmuch as Bannon and Priebus hate each other, the article I cite below suggests that in a fairly short time only one of them will be left standing. Which would put a virulently hateful neo-nazi white nationalist in total charge of the White House as well as being chief advisor to Trump, lurking just steps from the Oval Office as a sort of Cheney-like shadow president.

This CBC story provides a brief overview of Bannon and is also available as a podcast of the original radio broadcast:
Bannon took over as the CEO of Trump’s campaign in August. His website has been accused of peddling conspiracy theories and outright hate with headlines like, “Would you rather your child had feminism or cancer?” and “How Muslim migrants devastate a community.” [And also: “Suck it Up Buttercups: Dangerous Faggot Tour Returns to Colleges in September” and “Hoist It High and Proud: the Confederate Flag Proclaims a Glorious Heritage”.]

… they are very masterful at trolling [their] audience with headlines to try to bait them into continuing to be on their front lines.

As I said in another thread, this is the sort of thing that may permanently change the face and culture of the US, and may awaken the very worst aspects of white nationalism and hatred of all that is “other”, with the resurgence of ordinary social conservatism and economic catastrophe merely a dull roar in the background compared to the new culture of nativism and hate.

2

Well, his title carries a lot of dignity, but without any actual authority, except to tell Il Douche what he already believes. So, there’s that.

3

He’ll have every bit of authority Trump gives him.

4

Where do you get the info that it was the Trumplings and not Trump that put Priebus in the chief of staff seat?

5

Not to defend anything but “The Dangerous Faggot Tour” is the actual name of openly gay Milo Yiannopoulos’ speaking tour.

6

Because Trump makes the final approval one way or another.

7

I am asking where the info comes from that it was Trump’s kids, and not Trump himself, that came up with the idea to put Priebus in instead of Bannon.

8

I think the white supremist stuff is pure distraction. Yes, it conveniently aligns with his known prejudices, that’s why it’s so handy. And it’s hot button. Lots and lots of media attention.

My feeling is that they need to watch like a hawk what’s going on with his kids. I predicted he’d install his kids and was promptly corrected that they couldn’t be in his cabinet. Yeah, I don’t think that will matter. I think y’all just elected them, and he has little to no real interest in governing.

I think Trump has stumbled upon the idea that, in fact, there are not that many, precluded conflict of interest rules that specifically, detail what a president can’t do. It’ll be the Castanza defence, and it will work too! “I didn’t know it wasn’t allowed!”

He’s creating the perfect storm of deniability by being ignorant on all things government, mixed in with a cast of known deplorable characters, and who’s really responsible for which infractions is going to get pretty murky, in my opinion.

Now toss in the shadow activities of his children doing his dodgy deals at barely arms length and with the clear collusion of the Oval Office. Are there rules or laws to stop him? Will they stand up to application or challenge? In the end, he appears to know the formula for saying,“I didn’t know.”, to get out from under pretty much anything.

I read he might make his ex wife an ambassador. What’s to stop him? I think he’s onto something. The rules specifically governing what the Presudent can do were constructed long ago, and I think everyone is about to discover what he already knows, there’s a whole lot of room for a guy like him to play with.

9

What’s wrong with that? The cushy ambassadorships have often gone to less than qualified people as rewards for loyalty or donation. The ambassador to Luxembourg can’t do much damage. The hotspot positions have always gone to career diplomats. Unless he is going to name her as the ambassador to Iraq or Russia who cares?

ETA: I’m not going to get all panicky about what he might do. There is some stupid wild speculation going on. Sure maybe he’ll annex the Sudetenland but I doubt it.

10

I’m pretty certain his only interest is profit and that world affairs don’t really interest him, he’ll let his kids actually govern, I bet.

Then boast about it later!

11

All Bannon’s appointment tells me is that Trump is more interested in hyperbole than truth, but for anyone who hasn’t picked up on that in the last eight years, Bannon will be too subtle a hint.

12

Well, according to one analyst, not having formal management responsibilities is actually a plus if one is going to be a shadowy Machiavellian type. There has always been the question of who is really going to run the country if Trump mostly concentrates on being adulated and has no patience for policy or knowing anything. It’s generally been assumed that the veep would do it. It now seems that, at least on domestic policy, it may be the ambitious, energetic, and fiercely partisan alt-right lunatic Bannon that runs with it.

Incidentally, I forgot when posting the OP that Bannon is also a raving anti-Semite … the total package makes Haldeman and Ehrichman seem like saints:
Bannon’s ex-wife, Mary Louise Piccard, alleges he choked her and forbade their twin daughters from attending an L.A. school because “he doesn’t like the way they raise their kids to be ‘whiny brats’ and that he didn’t want the girls going to school with Jews.”

Three hate watch groups — the Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Council on American-Islamic Relations — issued a statement condemning Bannon’s appointment.

Mr. Bannon’s appointment on Sunday set off a fierce response on Twitter and in Washington. The Anti-Defamation League issued a scathing statement calling him “hostile to core American values.”

“It is a sad day when a man who presided over the premier website of the ‘alt-right’ — a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists — is slated to be a senior staff member in the ‘people’s house,’” the statement said.

Adam Jentleson, a spokesman for Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said, “It is easy to see why the K.K.K. views Trump as their champion when Trump appoints one of the foremost peddlers of white supremacist themes and rhetoric as his top aide.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/14/us/politics/reince-priebus-chief-of-staff-donald-trump.html

What I said was that it was the kids’ idea; obviously Trump made the final decision. I don’t remember where I saw it and I may be misremembering the details because this article suggests that it was not the sons, but the daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushnir who made the suggestion, though it also confirms that of course the sons also have lots of influence:
… Mr. Priebus is said to be viewed favorably by two people especially close to Mr. Trump: his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Mr. Priebus is personally close to both Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, the vice president-elect, and he could serve as a helpful bridge to crucial elements of the Republican Party.

Corey Lewandowski, Mr. Trump’s first campaign manager, has also been mentioned for chief of staff, despite having been fired by the campaign in June. But Mr. Trump’s children, who feuded publicly with him during the campaign, may resist.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/us/politics/transition-briefing-passing-the-presidency-to-donald-trump.html

13

I’m guessing a lot of you, like me, had never actually seen Blightbart page. If you’re curious, go ahead, but stay away from the comments section. Not good for your mental health.

14

On the contrary, the position of Wormtongue is extremely powerful.

15

Look, man, I made a commitment to stay sane and sober, and I don’t want to have to choose.

16

Here’s what I hope (emphasize hope) happens: Bannon is Trump’s Karl Rove, his “turd blossom” tasked with making him look good. So every morning Trump will start off by asking him for his approval numbers, and then hold him personally accountable as they slip. The venom will, of course, spread through the office, until everybody adopts Trump’s preferred nickname.

“What’s up, Shit for Brains?”
“Hi, Ivanka”
“Get out of my way, Shit for Brains”
“Sorry, Donny.”
“Shit for Brains, get in here!”
“Coming, Mr. President.”

17

Isn’t that also the Hillary defense?

18

I can vouch for this. Many of the more useless and clueless ambassadors that I knew were appointees posted to cushy postings. One exception was Shirley Temple Black, who was a Republican who was appointed by Ford as ambassador to Ghana and later to Prague (where I met her) by Bush I. She was very competent, and I’m sure that others did fine jobs. In low-priority posts, you mainly need to know how to converse and smile a lot. The ones that were less-that-hoped-for were waited out until their term was done, and damage was minimized by good staffers, of whom the Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) was a career diplomat and usually key.

19

The Email Server That Ended Western Civilization.

And here we’ve spent millennia worrying it might be something, you know, important.

20

Is it a scandal yet? Lol.