House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday accused White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon of being a “white supremacist,” and criticized Trump for making Bannon a permanent member of the National Security Council.
“It’s a stunning thing, that a white supremacist, Bannon, would be a permanent member of the National Security Council,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters at her weekly news conference.
Pelosi twice called Bannon a white supremacist during the news conference.
She also suggested Trump moved his Supreme Court announcement earlier this week to detract from a much-criticized roll out of a temporary immigration ban imposed by Trump against seven countries. Trump was widely praised in the media and by political pundits for the high court announcement.
“Every time something gets hot, he changes the subject,” Pelosi said. “He’s an illusionist.”
Bannon is the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, which has been accused of providing a platform for the “alt-right,” which some have associated with white supremacy. Bannon, who ran Trump’s presidential campaign, has denied harboring any racist or anti-Semitic views.
Pelosi also condemned Trump’s choice of federal appellate judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court accusing Gorsuch of being “far outside the mainstream of American judiciary thought.”
