A weekend of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia caused by white nationalists is leading to pressure on President Donald Trump to fire the man in his White House who is most closely linked to the movement.
Last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center called chief strategist Steve Bannon “the main driver behind Breitbart becoming a white ethno-nationalist propaganda mill.”
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) last year blasted Trump’s decision to bring Bannon into the White House:
“Mr. Bannon is adored by white supremacists, white nationalists, anti-Semites, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. It’s not hard to see why. If the President-elect is serious about rejecting bigotry, hatred, and violence from his supporters, he must rescind Stephen Bannon’s appointment. This man shouldn’t be allowed to visit the White House ― let alone run it.”
Likewise, a spokesman for then-Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada) said Bannon’s presence in the administration “signals that white supremacists will be represented at the highest levels in Trump’s White House.”
Now, critics want Trump to axe him, with #FireBannon trending on Twitter for much of Sunday evening: