Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid called on President-elect Trump to “rise to the dignity of the office” and rescind his appointment of Steve Bannon as chief White House strategist.
Bannon, Reid said, is a hero for white nationalist leaders who are celebrating his election, while minorities, including Hispanics, blacks and Muslims, are worried that they now live in a country that won’t hear their voices or protect their freedom.
“He should rescind his appointment of Bannon – Don’t do it – think about this,” Reid said on the Senate floor Tuesday afternoon. “… Take responsibility. Rise to the dignity of the office … instead of hiding behind your Twitter account, and show America that racial bigotry will have no place” here.
Bannon is the former CEO of Breitbart News, and a populist firebrand who shares Trump’s penchant for pushing the envelope. After the passing of Andrew Breitbart, Bannon helped build a populist nationalist movement that fueled the billionaire real estate mogul’s rise. Bannon also has targeted Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as a “globalist” pro-trade enemy and previously directed his reporters to try to topple him from power.
His appointment, announced Sunday, drew praise from the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other white nationalist groups and has drawn an avalanche of criticism from Democrats.
