Many Democrats are applauding Steve Bannon’s ouster as White House adviser, but some also caution that much more needs to be done to end bigotry and incompetence within the administration, Roll Call notes.
Bannon Is A Poster Boy For The Alt-Right
Democratic members of the House were less than thrilled when President Donald Trump hired Bannon and heavily criticized him for doing so. They conclude that if the president wants repair the damage that’s been done, he’d better look inside himself.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), put it bluntly:
Bannon may be gone, but things won't change if Grand Wizard remains in Oval Office #Birther-in-Chief
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) August 18, 2017
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) noted that the biggest change needs to come from Trump:
It's the President that matters.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 18, 2017
Personnel changes are fascinating and dramatic but let's just remember how little of a difference it makes with this President.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 18, 2017
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) is also no Trump fan, having criticized him heavily at times. He had this to say:
Firing of Steve Bannon is more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It's like firing the first officer. But problem is still @POTUS. https://t.co/8TadrsrzWa
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 18, 2017
Other Democrats would like to see White House advisers Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller — who, like Bannon, is also a right-wing nationalist — get the boot. Especially rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), who also called for the removal of Confederate statues.
#Bannon today. Next up: the removal of Sebastian Gorka, Stephen Miller, and Confederate symbols! https://t.co/MDmNQzjZDB
— Adriano Espaillat (@RepEspaillat) August 18, 2017
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also expressed a few doubts as to whether Bannon’s ouster would really change things within the Trump administration, The Hill reports.
In a statement, she had this to say:
“Steve Bannon’s firing is welcome news, but it doesn’t disguise where President Trump himself stands on white supremacists and the bigoted beliefs they advance.”
“President Trump’s growing record of repulsive statements is matched by his repulsive policies. Personnel changes are worthless so long as President Trump continues to advance policies that disgrace our cherished American values.”
And Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders also weighed in with similar sentiments:
The problem was never just Steve Bannon. It was and always will be Donald Trump. https://t.co/cTBqwdwZUW
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) August 18, 2017
But there were also many Democrats who were just glad to see Bannon go. He was definitely disliked by scores of people on the left, and Democrats frequently shredded the former founding member of Breitbart News for promoting racist policies.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) lauded Bannon’s resignation and said Trump should not have hired him in the first place.
He never should have been in the White House to begin with and his departure is welcome news.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) August 18, 2017
Bannon’s departure comes just a few days after the deadly protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, and some Democrats welcome this news but some say the damage caused by Trump and his administration can’t be erased. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) said that while he was glad to see Bannon go, he noted his departure “cannot wash away the harm he and the president have done.”
Issuing a statement, Cicilline had this to say:
“It can’t reverse the Muslim ban. It can’t reverse the President’s inappropriate attacks on a Federal judge of Mexican heritage. And it can’t reverse the White House’s reluctance to denounce white supremacists.”
Trump’s namby-pamby remarks regarding the tragedy in Charleston curried disfavor among Democrats and Republicans alike because they were viewed as an attempt to placate white nationalists and other extremist, far-right groups.
Trump is all about racism and made this well-known when he started talking about building that border wall and characterizing Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and “drug-dealers.” His comments have encouraged the very worst people in society — the neo-Nazis and other members of the alt-right to crawl out from the rocks they live under, and the damage is very real.
We’re heading back to the unpleasant parts of the 1950s — and that’s a horrible setback for Blacks, women, LGBTQ people, the religious and the non-religious, all because a few people have a fascist view of a pearly white country. Where there is room only for themselves.
To slightly paraphrase Ronald Reagan, we’re mourning again in America.
In the video below, you can watch Chuck Todd discuss whether Bannon’s departure will prompt the Trump administration to make some positive changes.
Featured image via YouTube video
