Following the biggest political news of the day, namely Donald Trump's official announcement that RNC chairman, Reince Priebus, will serve as his chief of staff while Stephen Bannon will serve as chief strategist and senior counselor, the political and pundit response - as manifsted by statements on Twitter - splintered.
On one hand, pundits and politicians praised establishment figure Priebus - for obvious reasons as he is seen as a symbolic figure in how Trump approaches the so-called "swamp"; on the other hand political outsider Steve Bannon - the head of Breitbart News and the person directly responsible for getting Trump elected as CEO of his presidential campaign, was furiously criticized.Fellow Wisconsinites Paul Ryan and Scott Walker praised the choice for chief of staff, while former Ted Cruz staffer Amanda Carpenter said Priebus would "make the trains run" in the White House.
I'm very proud and excited for my friend @Reince. Congrats!
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan)
Reince will be an outstanding Chief of Staff! Congrats to our fellow cheesehead! ????
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker)
Let's be real. Reince is going to make the trains run while Trump and Bannon brainstorm new conspiracy theories
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter)
Congrats to @realDonaldTrump for outstanding choice of @Reince to be Chief of Staff. This shows me he is serious about governing. (1/2)
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC)
Congrats to Reince Priebus for being named Chief of Staff for Pres-elect Trump! Look forward to working with you to #MakeAmericaGreat #TCOT
— Rep. Jeff Duncan (@RepJeffDuncan)
Not everyone was enthused: Louisiana Senate candidate and ex-KKK leader David Duke seemed less enthusiastic about the pick of Priebus, who is aligned with GOP leadership.
I thought we were draining the swamp? Here we go again......#BREAKING https://t.co/l2DLzbMxLA
— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke)
* * *
However, the reaction by prominent members of the establishment to Steve Bannon's elevated role was critical and swift, and none was more vocal in their disgust than a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a vocal critic of Trump, who said the hire "signals that White Supremacists will be represented at the highest levels" of the new administration.
Others - such as Intelligence committee ranking Democrat Adam Schiff and many others - joined Reid in accusing Bannon of being "anti-Semitic" and "misogynistic."
Selection of Steve Bannon for senior WH role unsurprising but alarming. His alt-right, anti-Semitic & misogynistic views don't belong in WH
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff)
Oh, hell! White supremacist, anti gay, anti Semite, vindictive, scary-ass dude named Senior Strategist. After vomiting, be afraid, America. https://t.co/cZvP3vccjS
— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro)
Just to be clear news media, the next president named a racist, anti-semite as the co-equal of the chief of staff. #NotNormal
— John Weaver (@JWGOP)
So y'all aren't worried about Bannon having access to State secrets? Just think of him as a racist homebrewed server, should get you angry.
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers)
Bannon with top WH position should surprise no one.
Unrealistic to expect Pres Trump is suddenly different person from candidate Trump.
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer)
Let's hope that @Reince has influence to check bigotry of Bannon, more so than during campaign phase. Our liberty is riding on it.
— Mindy Finn (@mindyfinn)
Even the anti-defamation leage joined in:
We at @ADL_National oppose the appt of Steve Bannon to sr role at @WhiteHouse bc he & his alt-right are so hostile to core American values pic.twitter.com/qCVEPKoa7q
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL)
Bannon has been widely criticized by the left for articles Brietbart ran while he was in charge. Democrats worked hard during the campaign to link Trump to the so-called “alt-right” movement, which we assume is a bad thing, and associate him with racist and anti-Semitic groups.
They highlighted some of Breitbart's controversial headlines, including one about Never Trump Republican and Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol: “Republican spoiler, renegade Jew.
* * *
And now, moments ago, the NYT which may or may not be losing subscribers as a result of its coverage of the presidential election, has decided to turn its focus to Bannon's Breitbart website, saying "there is talk of Breitbart bureaus opening in Paris, Berlin and Cairo, spots where the populist right is on the rise. A bigger newsroom is coming in Washington, the better to cover a president-elect whose candidacy it embraced.
Mainstream news outlets are soul-searching in the wake of being shocked by Donald J. Trump’s election last week. But the team at Breitbart News, the right-wing opinion and news website that some critics have denounced as a hate site, is elated — and eager to expand on a victory that it views as a profound validation of its cause.
Stephen K. Bannon, left, and Larry Solov flank a picture of Andrew Breitbart.
Mr. Bannon is to be chief White House strategist and senior counselor
Judging the amount of hatred spewed at Bannon by virtually every member of establishment media and politics, he must have done something right.
