In 2016 Donald Trump became president. Many in the Republican Party were happy with the result, but not least Steve Bannon. Bannon, a provocative reporter, nationalist, filmmaker and strategist, was Trump’s presidential campaign manager. With Trump’s victory, he has finally found a figurehead who can make his unique worldview real and tangible. He helped build a movement aimed at changing the country.
The line and philosophy behind Make America Great Again, as well as the Trump administration’s immigration policies, all fit Bannon’s worldview: America is at war with terrorists on an epic scale. Two years and a few months before becoming a part of the White House and the Trump administration, Bannon spoke at a Vatican conference and described himself as part of a “civilized struggle between the West, faith and the forces of democracy.” of a soldier. Islam and terrorism. ”
His experiences in the Middle East shaped this worldview. After college, he joined the Navy and saw firsthand the effects of violent religious extremism. In 1980, Bannon helped Operation Eagle Claw free Americans trapped at the U.S. embassy during the Iran hostage crisis. When the mission failed miserably, it marked a turning point in domestic politics that would affect him for the rest of his life.
In 2001, Bannon retired from the army, graduated from Harvard Business School, and became a powerful broker and producer in Hollywood. When 9/11 happened, everything he feared happened. Everything he saw in the Middle East, all the terror and terrorist attacks he witnessed while in the Navy, was suddenly visible in American cities and on American shores. He now has a new mission: “to fundamentally change Washington.”
He initially thought former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would be the perfect populist president who would lift his spirits and be good for the country. However, she chose not to run in 2012. That same year, he became CEO of the notorious Breitbart News, a news and opinion site widely viewed by liberals and traditional conservatives as misogynistic, xenophobic and racist. Under Bannon, he transformed it into a more far-right and nationalist site that pushed his agenda by telling stories about the inner workings of the White House. In 2014, he met one of his avid readers, soul mates and the perfect “vehicle for his prospects” – Donald Trump.
Steve Bannon’s transition from Trump’s friend, advisor and campaign manager has truly succeeded in putting Donald Trump in the White House. He then became the president’s chief strategist—a new position created just for him. He helped draft policies and executive orders restricting travel and immigration to the United States by (mainly) members of the Islamic State. He is also a controversial member of the National Security Council. Many even see him as a real power in the White House, prompting Trump to publicly downplay his influence.
Still, he remained in the President’s ear and stood up in White House crises, crushing one White House crisis after another. This “strategy of struggle” suits his ongoing “war” and keeps his populist president-elect in power.
Directed by: Michael Kirk
