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In case you haven’t heard, president-elect Donald Trump has appointed Steve Bannon as Senior White House Strategist. But who is this man who seems to have come out of nowhere? Well for starters, he’s the executive chairman of Breitbart News.
Breitbart News is an alt-right media outlet that engages in conspiracy theories and sensationalist headlines. A few noteworthy headlines include:
“There’s No Hiring Bias Against Women, They Just Suck at Interviews”
“Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy”
“Gay Rights Have Made Us Dumber, It’s Time to Get Back in the Closet”
“Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew”
Not surprisingly, Bannon’s ex-wife, Mary Louise Piccard, accused him of being anti-Semitic. She claims that Bannon wouldn’t let their twin daughters attend the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles because there were too many “Jews.”
“The biggest problem he had with Archer is the number of Jews that attend,” Piccard stated. “He said that he doesn’t like the way they raise their kids to be ‘whiny brats’ and that he didn’t want the girls going to school with Jews.”
Previous to these anti-Semitism allegations, Piccard claimed that Bannon physically abused her. Back in 1996, Bannon was brought up on charges of misdemeanor domestic violence, battery, and dissuading a witness. The charges ended up getting dismissed because Piccard didn’t show up to court.
But police reports reveal that this wasn’t the only time that the couple had a physical altercation. According to the statement she gave to police in 1996, she and Bannon had three or four arguments before that had become physical.
Domestic abuse allegations aside, it’s important to know that Bannon previously worked at Goldman Sachs, one of the largest investment banking companies in the world. Appointing Bannon as Senior White House Strategist was an interesting decision, considering how Trump vowed to go after big banks.
Overall, appointing a man like Steve Bannon to a high political office certainly doesn’t ease the tension surrounding Trump’s alleged racism, sexism, and homophobia. The next four years are going to be nerve-racking to say the least.
