Trump adviser Steve Bannon dubs white nationalists ‘clowns’
The chief White House strategist Steve Bannon has attacked white nationalists as “clowns” as the fallout from violent protests in Charlottesville continues.
Mr Bannon once headed the far-right Breitbart News, seen as both a major channel for nationalism and key in helping Donald Trump win election.
But he told The American Prospect: “Ethno-nationalism – it’s losers”.
Questions surround Mr Bannon’s future, with President Trump refusing to say if he had confidence in him.
Mr Trump has reportedly been urged to fire Mr Bannon, who in his role has enjoyed direct access to the president and whose influence has been seen in decisions like the US withdrawing from the Paris climate accord.
At a news conference this week Mr Trump would only say “we’ll see” when it came to Mr Bannon’s future.
Mr Trump is under fire for his response to the clashes between far-right and counter protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which he blamed “both sides” for the violence.
The rally, attended by neo-Nazis and white supremacists, was in protest of the removal of a statue of Robert E Lee, a general who fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the US Civil War.
A memorial was held on Wednesday for Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old woman killed when a suspected far-right sympathiser drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters.
In his interview with the US magazine, Mr Bannon was asked if there was a connection between the economic nationalism that he supports and the white nationalism seen in Charlottesville.
“Ethno-nationalism – it’s losers,” he said. “It’s a fringe element. I think the media plays it up too much, and we gotta help crush it, you know, uh, help crush it more.”
“These guys are a collection of clowns,” he added.
Mr Bannon has distanced himself from “ethno-nationalism” before, telling the New York Times his interest in nationalism stems from wanting to curb the negative effects of globalisation.
———————————————————————————————-
Watch your favorite programs, documentaries, informative packages and latest NEWS(English and Urdu).
Watch Humsub tv Live Streaming here: Humsub.tv
Read English Latest Articles and News here: Humsub
Read Urdu Latest News and Articles here: Urdu News
———————————————————————————————-