Newly minted White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon has been attacked by an unfriendly press since he joined then-candidate Donald Trump’s
campaign team in mid-August — deemed a “right wing Rottweiler” by Vice
and a “rogue and provocateur” by Politico, among other things. The
descriptions now include “white supremacist,” “anti-Semite” and
“misogynist,” all hurled by multiple critics.
But like his new
boss, Mr. Bannon is a canny media guy with considerable inner mettle. He
is a radio host, an independent filmmaker and chairman of Breitbart
News; he knows the entertainment landscape and its diabolical dynamics.
Mr. Bannon has produced and directed some 20 feature-length films,
including “The Undefeated,” a 2011 documentary chronicling Sarah Palin’s political career that he placed into national distribution despite squawks and derision from press and punditry.
But
wait, there’s more. Mr. Bannon has policy prowess, holding a master’s
degree in national security studies from Georgetown University and an
additional master’s from Harvard Business School. As a Navy officer, he
served aboard USS Paul F. Foster as a surface warfare officer in the
Persian Gulf and was special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations
at the Pentagon.
“The biggest asset Stephen Bannon
brings to bear is that he’s actually in touch with the majority of
American people, and it scares both establishment Republican and
Democrats. It means he looks past the establishment in Washington, D.C.
and goes directly to voters. He has a connection with what average
Americans think.” Randy Evans, president of the Republican Lawyers Association, told CNN.
“The
Steve Bannon I know is a guy that is really on the same page with
almost everything that I agree with as far as advising President-elect
Trump. He was a force for good on the campaign. He’s very wise and
smart. I haven’t seen any of these things that people are crying out
about,” incoming White House chief-of-staff Reince Priebus told Fox News.
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