I’m going to write about Trump.
One of the best way of understanding the Trump phenomenon is to look at the events preceding his Presidency. And one of the people closest to him during this period was Steve Bannon.
As well as being a former Goldman Sachs banker and founding editor of Breitbart Media (alongside Andrew Breitbart, who I’ll write about separately), Bannon was also Trump’s campaign manager for the 2016 election and a key player in helping him secure the Presidency against Hilary Clinton.
As with anyone involved in US politics, it’s easy to find articles criticising Bannon or, indeed, finding him under criminal charges. However, I trust the American judicial system even less than I do our own. In my view it’s best to let the man do the talking, examine the available facts and make up your own mind.
This in-depth interview with PBS Frontline is probably the best introduction you’ll find to Bannon the man. It also gives a first-hand perspective on the events leading up to Trump’s 2016 victory, and the methods and motivations of the populist Tea Party and Alt Right movements that enabled it.
The seeds of the Tea Party were sewn in the 2008 financial crisis and the bail out of the banks and big corporations (the traditional Republican and Democrat party donors) by Bush (then Obama) and Nancy Pelosi. Trump tapped directly into the enormous wave of anti-establishment energy this created and, whether you like him or not, he is hugely popular with swathes of the American population and is a strong contender to take back the American Presidency later this year.
In the interview, embedded above, Bannon goes into considerable depth about:
The breakdown of social bonds within the United States over the past century due to globalisation and the US manufacturing base being moved to China to increase corporate profits at the expense of workers.
The death of social mobility and a properly functioning marketplace where working people are incentivised and have the ability to buy into the system and establish long-term prosperity.
The ‘elites’ being happy with managed decline in the West, to the detriment of everyday citizens. I.e. Global billionaires and career politicians don’t feel the impact of a collapsing health system. Just one example.
The emergence of what Bannon calls a Neo-feudal system with a permanently impoverished underclass reliant on the state, a global elite who own all the assets and the middle class who have to work and pay for everything. Sound familiar, Britain?
The millennial generation essentially being offered a worse deal historically than 19th Century Russian serfs.
The impact of illegal immigration, especially on lower wage workers as it provides an endless supply of cheap labour to increase corporate profits whilst disenfranchising Citizens and blocking social mobility.
The impact of legal immigration, especially the H1B Visa scheme which hands high-quality jobs in e.g the technology sector, to overseas workers from places like India and China. Effectively destroying the wealth creating potential of the middle class. This is also happening in the UK.
The origins of the ‘Steele Dossier’ which was paid for by Hilary Clinton’s campaign and used to initiate the ‘Russia-gate’ investigation and Trump’s first impeachment trial. He was found not guilty.
The administration’s focus on radical Islam and commitment to the destruction of the physical caliphate of ISIS.
It occurs to me today, in light of recent events, that Trump and Bannon are both proud Zionists. They have been committed backers of Israeli actions in Gaza and vocal in support of Netanyahu.
This has put a new spin on my understanding of them as individuals and the MAGA movement as a whole which I’ll explore in subsequent posts.
For now, I strongly recommend this interview as a solid grounding in the geo-political context to Trump’s first Presidency. Highly relevant in this Presidential election year.
For an alternative perspective on Bannon, please direct your attention to this interview of Naomi Klein by Novara Media’s Ash Sarkar. It’s worth noting that Klein’s husband has subsequently been revealed as being on the Big Pharma payroll. Which puts the entire interview in question and, as far as I’m aware, Novara Media have not yet issued a clarification to this piece.
PBS interview also available on YouTube.
More soon.
Rubin
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America's Great Divide - Steve Bannon - FRONTLINE PBS