Below is an archived edition of Ctrl Alt Right Delete, a weekly email newsletter. This edition was published on 1/07/2018. Members of Factual Democracy Project have access to past editions. Subscribe to Ctrl Alt Right Delete.Â
Hello and Happy New Year! I hope you were able to enjoy a holiday break of some kind and that it gave you the chance to recharge. I spent a week in Kentucky with my family and I loved checking in online only once or twice a day. Generally, I donât feel a need for social media breaks but as 2017 drew to a close, I was burned out. It felt really good to take a couple of full weeks and not think about Trump or the Frogs who love him
But Iâm back and 2018 has already been a roller coaster. Letâs do this.
Steve Bannonâs agenda is to break things. At his CPAC keynote last year, Bannon declared his his goal was no less than the âdeconstruction of the administrative state.â He planned to primary Republican electeds rather than attempt to hold the majority. Itâs helpful to remember his love of chaos when trying to parse Bannonâs actions, and his relationship with Trump.
Bannon was never a Trump loyalist. But Trump had the adoring crowds. Trump had no real policy positions, but his racist views and white nationalist campaign was the perfect vehicle for Bannonâs agenda. For a while they made a formidable team, uniting the mobs offline and on. But early on there were signs it couldnât last. Within four months of taking office, Trump — supposedly angered by Bannonâs profile — downplayed Bannonâs role in Trumpâs victory, telling reporters âIâm my own strategist.â Trump fired Bannon in August and Bannon declared the Trump presidency âover.â
Breitbart has changed their coverage of the White House since Bannonâs return. On the surface, theyâve continued their support for Trumpâs agenda but theyâve also taken a lot of potshots at the administration, particularly with Javanka (Bannonâs preferred nickname for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner). Breitbart also refers to Jared as âMr. Perfect,â and takes particular delight in his various failures. If you believe Fire and Fury Bannon spent most of his energy while at the White House fighting with Jared and Ivanka. Given how much of Breitbartâs coverage was tinged with Javanka insults, Fire and Furyâs version of events seems mostly believable.
Given all of this, Trump and Bannonâs new feud comes as no surprise. Iâm also not too surprised that Bannon took the first shot. Their tension was obvious during the Alabama Senate race, and when Doug Jones won the seat over Bannonâs preferred candidate, Roy Moore, Republicans in DC were more than happy to put the blame squarely on Steve Bannon.
But as first shots go, Bannon picked a doozy! Hereâs a quick refresher:
Donald Trumpâs former chief strategist Steve Bannon has described the Trump Tower meeting between the presidentâs son and a group of Russians during the 2016 election campaign as âtreasonousâ and âunpatrioticâ, according to an explosive new book seen by the Guardian.
Bannon, speaking to author Michael Wolff, warned that the investigation into alleged collusion with the Kremlin will focus on money laundering and predicted: âTheyâre going to crack Don Junior like an egg on national TV.â
Bannon didnât deny the quote (Apparently he tried but didnât move fast enough.) Breitbart even wrote a news article about the Guardian piece. It was fascinating to watch Trumpâs Army try and figure out what was going on and what the message was. The_Donald posted a sticky thread urging supporters not to believe anything from the media and to have faith in Steve Bannon.
Once President Trump made his feelings known, his army followed suit:
Iâve long thought that taking down Frog Squad influencers one by one was a solid strategy for damaging Trump. But these guys are so good at owning themselves perhaps we donât need to bother. Steve Bannon is done. Trump lives to fight another day, but with one less powerful voice organizing others on his behalf. Trumpâs ego wonât allow him to see that as a loss but it is.
Meanwhile âdrain the swampâ has become âprotect the incumbents.â In a press briefing at Camp David, with Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan standing right behind him, Trump promised to protect incumbents rather than risk another debacle like Alabamaâs Senate race. Steve Bannon is gone and I took Trumpâs remarks as assurance that his strategies are as well. It will be interesting to see how well that sits with the Frog Squad over the long term, especially if Trump’s rhetoric loses Bannon’s nationalist flair. My suspicion is that the American frogs are now a cult of Trump before any other ideology but Iâve been wrong before. Stay tuned.
Here are three important investigation-related happenings you might have missed:
What do you want to see more of from me in 2018? Reply to this email with your ideas and suggestions.There are some big changes afoot and Iâd love to get your feedback as I start to make them.
Thatâs all for now. Thank you always to the wonderful Nicole Belle for copy editing this newsletter every week. And thank you for reading.