Former White House strategist and executive chairman of Breitbart News, Stephen K. Bannon, sat down with the New York Times and spoke with reporter Jeremy W. Peters in an interview on Wednesday.
Below are excerpts from the discussion and analysis from Mr. Peters:
BANNON: This will be looked at as a revolt of working-class people of both parties. O.K. At a time that really rejected the permanent political class that is inextricably linked, both Republican and Democrat in Washington, D.C., and try to take back — try to take back their government and — and had it — have it more responsive to themselves. Is that a couple — is that a couple sentences?
PETERS: I think it’s more than a couple, but it’ll do. So taking it back to the permanent political class, I think the chief offender in your mind is Mitch McConnell. So tell us what you have against Mitch McConnell.
BANNON: I think — I don’t know if he’s the chief offender, but he’s — he’s the — he. It’s both individuals and institutions. Washington’s an institutional city. Remember, we’ve had quite a — a — quite a run. This — this — this movement not only stopped the Dreamers bill in the summer of 2013, a year later, for the first time in the history of the Republic, we removed in a primary the majority leader in — in Cantor. Right? And then later the following year, Donald Trump came down the escalator riding the same — the same — he was No. 7 at the top of the escalator. He’s No. 7. By the — when he came down the escalator after the speech, I think that evening or the next morning — he was No. 1 in the polls. O.K.?
Mr. Bannon is often characterized as far-right. But he has always seen himself as a player in a broader political movement that, at its core, is neither right nor left, but populist.
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