Steve Bannon, a key ally and former adviser to President-elect Trump, criticized Senate Republican Leader Mitch for deciding to withdraw former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) from consideration after he was nominated to be Attorney General. . McConnell (Ky.).
“We’ve got to give the devil his fair share,” Bannon told The Dispatch’s Michael Warren, referring to McConnell. He also argued that the Republican Party must become “more aggressive” to ensure that key candidates are appointed and confirmed when Trump returns to the White House. january.
“I think we need to be more aggressive in our approach. I think (the transition) needs to be more aggressive,” he said in an interview published on Tuesday and highlighted by Mediaite.
“(Trump) has fielded controversial candidates, including several Democrats who are too controversial and too controversial to be accepted by the traditionally reclusive, standard-issue Republican establishment and the established order of the Republican Party that still swarms the Senate. You select it, and they’re not just going to sit there and say, ‘Oh, this is really cool,’” he added.
He went on to call establishment Republicans, including the Kentucky senator, “anti-populist, anti-economic nationalists.”
“And they’re going to show the donor class that actually reports to them that they can stop Trump, and they’re going to try to stop Trump in the United States Senate,” Bannon said.
A Republican strategist said the party needs to send a strong signal to those who step out of line that they could be challenged in the upcoming election.
“You need to develop your candidate right now and let them know on your show every day that if you don’t stand tall and support President Trump’s candidate, you will be prioritized,” Bannon said. Tuesday interview.
Gaetz has come under intense scrutiny by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the House Ethics Committee for his role in a wide-ranging sex trafficking investigation and investigations into allegations of sexual harassment and illegal drug use. The Florida Republican has denied any wrongdoing.
After the Ethics Committee met with Republican senators under pressure to release its report to the public, Gaetz announced that he had decided to withdraw his name, citing that he did not want to be a distraction to other candidates. After the news, Bannon called the move an “accident” by the incoming Trump administration.
“We had casualties today. One of the best warriors we’ve ever had, but in all his imperfections, he’s very imperfect. Donald Trump is imperfect, Stephen K. Bannon is very imperfect,” he said in his ‘War Room.’ ‘ he said in the podcast. .
“It’s a very, very, very imperfect tool. But even in their imperfections lies their power,” Bannon later added.
The president-elect later appointed former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi in his place.
Gaetz, who resigned from Congress after Trump’s election, was re-elected to his Florida seat earlier this month. But he said he would not return to parliament for the next session.
