Trump’s Chief Strategist Steve Bannon Launches Blistering Attack On US Media
Stephen Bannon, the chief strategist of United States President Donald Trump, launched a blistering attack on the legacy media in the country. “The media should be embarrassed and humiliated and keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while,” Bannon was quoted as saying in an interview to The New York Times.
“I want you to quote this,” Bannon told the leading paper. “The media here is the opposition party. They don’t understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.”
Bannon also defended the White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s combative performance over the weekend in which he took on the media for what he described as "dishonest inauguration coverage." A section of the media came under criticism for their concerted attempt to underplay the massive turnout for Trump's inauguration.
Asked by The New York Times if the press secretary had tarred his reputation with his belligerent approach to the media, Bannon retorted:
Are you kidding me? ... We think that’s a badge of honor. ‘Questioning his integrity’ — are you kidding me? The media has zero integrity, zero intelligence, and no hard work.
“The mainstream media has not fired or terminated anyone associated with following our campaign,” Bannon, without making any reference to specific editors, said. “Look at the Twitter feeds of those people: They were outright activists of the Clinton campaign.”
He also did not miss the opportunity to attack The New York Times. “The paper of record for our beloved republic, The New York Times, should be absolutely ashamed and humiliated. ... They got it 100 percent wrong,” he said.
“That’s why you have no power,” Bannon added. “You were humiliated.”