Harry Reid, GOP strategists slam Trump's top aide pick

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 14 November 2016

Donald Trump's choice to name Stephen Bannon, his campaign's chief executive officer and the man described as turning a right-wing website into a "white ethno-nationalist propaganda mill," as his top aide in the White House has Democrats and Republicans alike speaking out.

A spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the pick "signals that white supremacists will be represented at the highest levels in Trump's White House. It is easy to see why the KKK views Trump as their champion, when Trump appoints one of the foremost peddlers of white supremacist themes and rhetoric as his top aide."

While under his tutelage, the Breitbart website published such headlines as "Bill Kristol, Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew," and, two weeks after the mass murder at a black church in South Carolina, "Hoist it high and proud: the confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage." Bannon was also accused by his ex-wife of domestic violence, and telling her he didn't want to send their daughters to "school with Jews" because he "doesn't like Jews."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox