Stephen Bannon

STEVE BANNON

Oy. Steve Bannon, as I'm sure everyone knows from either the news or SNL, was the White House Chief Strategist from January-August, 2017. Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Bannon attended Virginia Tech where he earned his Bachelor's in Urban Planning. He then received his master's in national security studies from Georgetown University and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Bannon served in the US Navy during the 70s and 80s and was then a special assistant to the Chief of Naval operations at the Pentagon. Bannon then turned to investment banking and worked at Goldman Sachs in the Mergers and Acquisitions Department, going so far as to become the Vice President of the company when he left.

He then started Bannon & Company with several colleagues, a small investment bank created to work with media. In the 1990s, Bannon became an executive producer for various film projects, one of which was a documentary about Ronald Reagan. While making the Reagan film, Bannon met Andrew Breitbart, and you know where this fairy tale leads. Together, they founded Breitbart News, a far-right news website that continues to be an endless projectile vomit stream of crap.

In the Know

Trump's appointment of Steve Bannon to Chief Strategist came as somewhat of a shock. It was met with opposition from both parties, but mostly from organizations like the Anti-Defamation League.

In the 1990s, Bannon worked on a project called Biosphere 2, an eccentric project to study the effects of climate change on future communities. Employees at Biosphere 2 were concerned Bannon did not understand the effects of climate change. Interestingly, Bannon's brother still works there.

2017 Headlines

Bannon's appointment to the National Security Council was met with further outrage, as this is a clearance level not usually granted to Strategists of Presidential administrations. This unprecedented move gave Bannon more power and influence over a President than ever before - that is until he was removed from the Counsel. Lieutenant General McMaster officially made the decision, arguing it was inappropriate to have a political advisor sit on a council that makes decisions regarding "war and peace." Several White House officials reported that Bannon threatened to quit when being told he would be removed, but the Bannon dismissed these claims as "total nonsense."

Bannon has also had an ongoing feud with Trump's son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner. Bannon and Stephen Miller advocate a strongly nationalist agenda, while Kushner has been known to push a more globalist-friendly agenda, along with economic advisor Gary Cohn.

Bannon also graced (for want of a better word) the cover of Time Magazine in February, calling him "the Great Manipulator." Time breaks down the timeline of their relationship here.

Fun Fact

Bannon's parents were union members and avid JFK supporters. Bannon also was brought in as a consultant to sell Rob Reiner's company, Castle Rock. He was then given a small piece of Seinfeld investments and still gets royalties every time the show airs. He has used this money to fund right-wing documentary projects. *Rob Reiner voice saying "Oy vey iz mir."