Steve Bannon is, to put it mildly, a divisive figure. His efforts helped get Donald Trump elected — as head of the alt-right Breitbart News, Bannon actively stoked the flames of divisionism, and the nasty, mean, fact-twisting that defined the 2016 election (and beyond). He was rewarded for his help — and connection to Trump’s “base” — with a job as Chief Strategist in the early Trump’s administration. Bannon left the position in August and returned to Breitbart. He remained a player in Trump’s increasingly tone-deaf approach to governance.
Bannon’s most recent political activities: He actively campaigned for Roy Moore, the vest-wearing, horse-riding, woman-hating, teen-loving Republican candidate in the Alabama special election. Perhaps because he was so closely aligned with the unpopular Trump and the creepy Bannon (not to mention that whole “accused child molester” thing), Moore lost the election to democrat Doug Jones. It should be noted that Alabama hasn’t sent a democrat to the Senate since 1992 (Richard Shelby, who defected to the GOP two years later), and that the state went for Trump in 2016 by a margin of 28 points. This election was truly a moment of reckoning for the GOP, particularly the Trump/Bannon brand of Republicanism. Also, the Republican Party’s already thin 52-48 Senate majority will now fall to 51-49, which means it’s going to be even harder for Mitch McConnell and his goon squad to pass their agenda.
Republicans are, of course, very, very mad. And they’re blaming Steve Bannon for ruining everything. The gloves are off ,and prominent members of the GOP are publicly unloading their frustrations about the unsettling political operative. They’re going after his toxic politics, his tactics, and even his appearance. This is basically the political version of Mean Girls.
GOP Rep. Pete King says Bannon needs to leave politics. "He looks like some disheveled drunk who wandered onto the national stage," King tells @ChrisCuomo
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) December 13, 2017
Knives are out: “Steve Bannon has achieved more for the Democratic Party in one month than half of the Democrats in the U.S. Senate in a lifetime." — GOP strategist @MattMackowiak
— Adrian Carrasquillo (@Carrasquillo) December 13, 2017
Josh Holmes once worked as chief of staff for Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell:
Before we get the results, I'd just like to thank Steve Bannon for showing us how to lose the reddest state in the union and Governor Ivey for the opportunity to make this national embarrassment a reality
— Josh Holmes (@HolmesJosh) December 13, 2017
Senate Leadership Fund CEO Steven Law: "This is a brutal reminder that candidate quality matters regardless of where you are running."
— Daniel Strauss (@DanielStrauss4) December 13, 2017
Dana Loesch, conservative talk radio host:
Cam we stop now with the “Bannon is a masterful strategist” nonsense? I’ve never seen such descriptions used more and deserved less.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 13, 2017
David French, senior fellow for the conservative National Review Institute
Stunning. Heckuva job Steve. https://t.co/l99fftMUaG
— David French (@DavidAFrench) December 13, 2017
Mee-yow.