Stephen Bannon claims to be economic nationalist and NOT white nationalist; his views on history of USA crises

Last updated on 21st Nov. 2016

The article, Ringside With Steve Bannon at Trump Tower as the President-Elect's Strategist Plots "An Entirely New Political Movement" (Exclusive), http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steve-bannon-trump-tower-interview-trumps-strategist-plots-new-political-movement-948747, dated Nov. 18th 2016 has some important words of Mr. Stephen Bannon, announced as a senior White House aide to Mr. Trump in his near-future presidential administration.

Mr. Stephen Bannon says in the interview, "I'm not a white nationalist, I'm a nationalist. I'm an economic nationalist". I think that makes Bannon's stand quite clear. He implies he is not a white supremacist. He holds an "America First" kind of nationalist view which I think is very much in line with Mr. Donald Trump's election campaign.

Bannon adds, "The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f***ed over." Ravi: I think that gives us his view on international trade, in a very crisp and unambiguous way.

Bannon adds that if they (the Trump administration and like minded people, I presume) deliver (better jobs and better material lives) then they will get 60% of the white vote and 40% of the black and Hispanic vote and govern for fifty years!

Bannon is of the view that Bill Clinton won his presidential elections as he appealed to people with high school education but without a college education (the working class American). Bannon says that Hillary Clinton failed to appeal to this section of people (working class) that Bill Clinton had carried, and so lost her presidential election.

Bannon takes on an economic messiah tone when he says that he is the guy pushing for a trillion-dollar infrastructure development plan, which will be as exciting as the 1930s and greater than the "Reagan revolution". He views it as an exciting "economic nationalist movement".

Bannon is viciously critical of USA mainstream media, naming New York Times, CNN and MSNBC, and says that the "media bubble" doesn't know what's going on in USA and keeps talking to its own people (as against the common people of the USA), and is "the ultimate symbol of what's wrong with this country". He also says that Hillary Clinton got her information from this (mainstream) media, which led her to be (over) confident, and gave the Trump team the opening (to defeat Hillary Clinton).

Bannon does not spare Fox News either and says that Fox News got it more wrong than others. He says that Rupert (Murdoch, owner (effectively) of Fox News) is a globalist who did not understand Trump and views Trump as a radical. Bannon predicts that Fox News will now go centrist with Megyn Kelly playing a vital role.

Bannon praises Trump as a great orator who "gets it intuitively" and communicates to people in a " very visceral way". He seems to say that that's why Trump got large crowds at his events (tens of thousands).

Here's an article about the above mentioned interview: 'That's power': Trump-whisperer and 'economic nationalist' Steve Bannon revels in liberals and the media calling him Darth Vader and Satan saying they 'have no f***ing idea what's going on', http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3951024/That-s-power-Trump-whisperer-economic-nationalist-Steve-Bannon-revels-liberals-media-calling-Darth-Vader-Satan-saying-no-f-ing-idea-s-going-on.html, dated Nov. 18th 2016.

Another related article, Donald Trump, Stephen Bannon and the Coming Crisis in American National Life, http://time.com/4575780/stephen-bannon-fourth-turning/, Nov. 18th 2016, by David Kaiser, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_E._Kaiser. From the wiki page, "David E. Kaiser (born June 7, 1947) is an American historian whose published works have covered a broad range of topics, from European warfare to American League baseball. He was a Professor in the Strategy and Policy Department of the United States Naval War College from 1990 until 2012 and has taught at Carnegie Mellon, Williams College, and Harvard University."

The article talks about two American amateur historians Neil Howe and William Strauss. The author of the article, Kaiser, writes that Bannon is familier with the work of Howe and Strauss and included some of its ideas in his (Bannon's) documentary movie, Generation Zero, which was about the (2007-08) financial crisis. Bannon interviewed Howe as well as Kaiser for this movie.

Kaiser talks about a theory of crisis in American history that Howe and Strauss have put forward. They talk of an 80-year cycle in American history where a great crisis destroys an old order and creates a new one. Kaiser writes that the first three such cycles Howe and Strauss identified are:
1) American Revolution and USA constitution (1774 - 1794)
2) American Civil War and few years afterwards (1860-1868)
3) Great Depression and second world war (1924 - 1945)

Strauss and Howe had predicted another crisis in the early part of this twenty-first century. Kaiser says that the prediction has come true as the USA is, in his view, in a serious political crisis, poor economic situation etc.

Kaiser writes that "the death of an old political, economic and social order creates an opportunity for any determined movement or leader to put a new vision in place. To use the most striking example, both the United States and Germany were in the midst of a terrible economic and political crisis in 1933. The United States turned to Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal; Germany turned to Adolf Hitler and National Socialism."

Kaiser writes that in their discussions, Bannon had pointed out that the last three crises Howe and Strauss had pointed out, all had great wars associated with them, with the scope of war increasing! Kaiser writes that Bannon thought that the current crisis could involve even a bigger war!!!! Kaiser did not agree with Bannon and told him so. Kaiser writes that Bannon pressed him to say that a war at least as big as the second world war could be expected from the crisis. But Kaiser refused to say so.

The article concludes with a warning from Kaiser, "Apocalyptic rhetoric and apocalyptic thinking flourish during crisis periods. This represents perhaps the biggest danger of the Trump presidency, and one that will bear watching from all concerned citizens in the months and years ahead."

Here's another article, How Bannon flattered and coaxed Trump on policies key to the alt-right, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-bannon-flattered-and-coaxed-trump-on-policies-key-to-the-alt-right/2016/11/15/53c66362-ab69-11e6-a31b-4b6397e625d0_story.html, dated Nov. 15th 2016

The above article refers to a radio show interview with Donald Trump in Nov. 2015, where Trump said that he would like to keep (in the USA) talented foreign students attending Ivy League schools in USA, and was critical of current USA immigration laws which make them return home. Trump asked Bannon whether Bannon agreed. Bannon hesitated and said, “When two-thirds or three-quarters of the CEOs in Silicon Valley are from South Asia or from Asia, I think ...” “A country is more than an economy. We’re a civic society.”
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Here's an article that challenges Steve Bannon's one trillion dollar investment in USA infrastructure statement: Steve Bannon’s plans for government won’t make Republicans or Democrats happy, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/21/steve-bannons-plans-for-government-spending-wont-make-republicans-or-democrats-happy/, dated Nov. 21st 2016

The article claims that Trump does not want to (directly) spend $1 trillion on infrastructure. He wants to give $187 billion in tax breaks to corporations who, in turn, he expects (or will convince them) to spend $1 trillion on infrastructure. The article claims that in such an arrangement there is no guarantee that infrastructure will be built in places that need it most but where it is not the most profitable. The author mentions Flint, Michigan whose water poisoning problems were international news some time back, as an example of the latter.

The article also refers to this article, http://www.rollcall.com/news/policy/schumer-says-obama-protect-dreamers-trump-wont, which has (near-future) Senate minority leader (Democrat), Charles Schumer, saying on this claimed $1 trillion infrastructure spending plan of Trump, "We’ll help ’em, but not to do a half-baked bill" .. "It has to have real expenditures. You can’t do it with just ... tax credits. It really needs expenditures".


Please note that I have a PUBLICLY NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about the USA presidential elections. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me having voted in these elections.

[I thank Mr. Stephen Bannon, hollywoodreporter.com, time.com, wikipedia and washingtonpost.com and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above small quotes/extracts from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]