The incoming chief of staff to President-elect Trump is not worried about working in the White House next year with Steve Bannon, the former leader of Breitbart, and said Monday he doesn’t think Trump appointed an anti-Semite to a top role.
Bannon, the former leader of the ultra-conservative website Breitbart, was named as a senior adviser to Trump, a role that appears to make him an equal to Reince Priebus, Trump’s chief of staff.
The Anti-Defamation League ripped Bannon on Sunday for Breitbart’s anti-Semitic, racist and anti-feminist stories, and his appointment was met with howls of anger by Democrats Sunday. But Priebus said he didn’t know what all the fuss was about.
“I don’t know where they’re coming from,” he said. “That’s not the Steve Bannon that I know. I have sat with him for months, I have not ever for one time experienced that and I think people are taking it way too far.”
He said much like Trump himself, Bannon should be given a chance to show what he can do in the White House before critics jump on him.
“This is a very, very smart person who’s serving as a senior adviser to the president,” Priebus said. “You need to give people time and give people an opportunity.”
The former leader of the Republican Party said the new president’s top three priorities will be getting up to speed on foreign affairs, dealing with immigration and Obamacare and possibly tax reform.
Priebus said Trump’s first 100 days will likely be a busy period because of Republican control of both chambers of Congress.
“We have an opportunity to do all these things because we have the House and the Senate, and we have a Congress eager to get work done,” he said.
