User:Hal/Steve Bannon



Stephen Kevin Bannon is Andrew Breitbart's successor as chairman of Breitbart News. He served as U.S. Presidential candidate Donald Trump's 3rd campaign manager, after Corey Lewandowski and Paul Manafort. Following November 2016's popular election, President-elect Trump appointed him his chief strategist. If the American Alt-Right is a chariot, Bannon seems to be one of a select few with a powerful grip on the reins. Were he to drive it headfirst into a large dune or snowbank, one wonders whether many alt-righters would want to leave.

Economic Nationalism
Bannon claims to be an "economic nationalist". He appears to vehemently oppose globalism in favor of protectionist trade policies. He has thrown the parallel veins of economically motivated populism mined by both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders into stark relief, having recently announced his intentions to spearhead a sweeping infrastructure rejuvenation plan in pursuit of job growth. Interestingly, he makes no mention of national transportation or power infrastructure, citing only "ship yards" and "iron works" as potential targets. It remains to be seen whether his "trillion-dollar infrastructure plan" is truly that, or simply smoke and mirrors for "rebuild the military".

White Nationalism
Bannon has not publicly expressed explicit support for white nationalism. He is presumably aware, however, of the support he and Breitbart News garner from white nationalists. Given that he has never spoken out against these endorsements, we are left to conclude that Bannon either 1) sympathizes with white nationalism, or 2) is entirely willing to use it for personal gain or to forward his aims where expedient.