Steve Bannon slammed what he called “the Republican establishment,” particularly leading members of former President George W. Bush’s administration, as “idiots” who failed the U.S. when it comes to national security.
“I hold these people in contempt, total and complete contempt,” Bannon told Charlie Rose in an interview airing Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” “And you know why? They’re idiots, and they’ve gotten us in this situation, and they question a good man like Donald Trump.”
The former chief strategist in Trump’s White House called out prominent Republicans who have critiqued Trump policies by name, including former national security officials James Clapper and Brent Snowcroft, former Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, former VP Dick Cheney and Bush himself.
“By the way, the Obama crowd, almost the same. Clinton crowd, almost the same,” he added. “It’s three administrations.”
Bannon praised Trump for showing restraint in confronting his critics from the Republican establishment who suggested the former real estate mogul would be “irresponsible” on foreign policy and security issues. “In going after the establishment, just like in national security, he’s done it in a prudent method,” he said.
Bannon then disparaged the Bush team’s own record. “The geniuses in the Bush administration that let China in the W.T.O. and genius in the Bush administration told us, ‘Hey, they’re going to be a liberal democracy. They’re going to be free-market capitalism, okay?’ The same geniuses that got us into Iraq, that’s the geniuses of the Bush administration,” he said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Bannon insisted that it was his decision to leave the White House last month, returning to his position overseeing the far-right website Breitbart News nearly one year to the day that he joined Trump’s presidential campaign.
“I’m not cut out to be a staffer,” he told Rose. “There are certain things you can’t do. I cannot take the fight to who we have to take the fight to when I’m an adviser to the president as a federal government employee. You can’t do it.”
Bannon also defended POTUS’ ongoing use of Twitter. “This is another just standard in judgment that you rain upon him in the effort to destroy Donald Trump,” he said. “He knows he’s speaking directly to the people who put him in office when he uses Twitter. And it sometimes is not in the custom and tradition of what the opposition party deems is appropriate. You’re — you’re absolutely correct, it’s not. And he’s not going to stop.”
He added that critics hoping that new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly might be able to restrain the president’s use of social media will be disappointed.
“General Kelly I have the most tremendous respect for and has put in very tight processes,” Bannon said. “He’s not going to be able to control it either because it’s Donald Trump. It’s Donald Trump talking directly to the American people.
“You’re going to get some good there. And every now and again you’re going to get some less good, OK?” he noted. “But you’re just going to have to live with it.”
Watch a clip of the “60 Minute” interview below.
All 19 Movies and Shows Steve Bannon Wrote, Directed or Produced (Photos)
Before he had the ear of the president, former White House Chief Political Strategist Steve Bannon tried his hand at Hollywood. As a producer, he was behind several small movies, but he really hit his movie-making stride writing and directing conservative documentaries aimed at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's a complete list of every Hollywood project in which Bannon's had a hand.
“The Indian Runner” (1991) — Executive Producer Bannon’s first movie as an executive producer was, somewhat ironically, written and directed by famous Trump critic Sean Penn. “The Indian Runner” starred Viggo Mortensen and David Morse as brothers on the opposite sides of the law. Here’s the trailer.
MGM
"Seinfeld" (1992) — Investor Bannon's investment banking company bought a minor stake in Castle Rock Entertainment, the producer behind the show, in 1992. That gave Bannon's company an undisclosed chunk of the syndication royalties for the show. By 2013, "Seinfeld" reruns had earned $3.1 billion. Even if Bannon only had a 1% cut of the royalties, "Seinfeld" would have netted him $31 million.
NBC
"Titus" (1999) — Co-Executive Producer Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange star in this modern-styled adaptation of the Shakespeare “Titus Andronicus.” That story packs an interesting mix of 1950s aesthetics and ancient Roman subject matter. Bannon served as co-executive producer on the project, the production of which was his obsession for almost a decade. Watch the trailer here.
Fox
“Reagan: In the Face of Evil” (2004) — Co-Producer Bannon wrote and directed this documentary, based on the book “Reagan’s War” by Peter Schweizer. It’s heavily conservative and positive about the former Republican president, focusing on his Cold War battle with the Soviet Union. It also holds a fairly abysmal 11 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration” (2006) — Executive Producer Bannon’s got a lot of interest in illegal immigration. “Border War” expands its look on illegal immigrants coming from Mexico, trying to include everything from human smuggling and crime to protests and immigration laws. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Tradition Never Graduates: A Season Inside Notre Dame Football” (2007) — Executive Producer For the first time since he was producing Shakespeare, Bannon’s filmography takes a break from conservative-leaning movies to talk about how great Notre Dame football is.
Vimeo
“The Chaos Experiment” (2009) — Executive Producer Obviously the best way to improve a “Saw”-style serial killer thriller is with a heavy handed anti-global warming message. Val Kilmer is a deranged global warming scientist who no one will believe. So he locks six people in a steam room to simulate what global warming will eventually do to the world. Watch the trailer here.
YouTube
“Generation Zero” (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer More than one critic called Bannon's documentary “Generation Zero” a “horror movie” about the US economy. Bannon explains the economic crash of 2008 by blaming the national deficit and bank bailouts, as well as the 1960s and the Baby Boomer generation. But really, this is about the rise of the Tea Party. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Battle for America” (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer Bannon tried to get out the conservative vote for the 2010 midterm elections by painting it as a war against the Obama Administration in this documentary. It's kind of hilarious listening to some of the conservative comments about the radical Obama presidency in the face of Trump's first seven weeks in office. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Fire from the Heartland" (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer Focusing on women in American conservatism, "Fire from the Heartland" paints the picture of a powerful American cultural movement that draws strength from women's issues. The movie posits that angry "Mama Grizzly" conservative women are the unforeseen side-effect of feminism in America. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Sarah Palin: The Undefeated" (2010) "The Undefeated" chronicles Sarah Palin's rise in battling the Republican establishment and the liberal media. Bannon's doc explores her life and history as a politician, painting her as a warrior who went up against special interests and corruption as she rose from Alaska to the national stage. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“The Hope & the Change” (2012) — Writer, Director, Producer Democrats are disillusioned because of Barack Obama, Bannon works to show in this documentary. Interviewing something like 40 Democrats and Independents, the movie finds people who never got the Hope and Change they were promised. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“District of Corruption” (2012) — Writer, Director, Producer Before he was part of the Trump Administration and the constant allegations of corruption it weathers, Bannon made this doc hammering the Obama Administration with claims of corruption. Bannon wrote and directed this one, working with conservative watch dog group Judicial Watch. Check out the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Occupy Unmasked” (2012) — Writer, Director Bannon's documentaries have shown the Tea Party in a positive light, and in "Occupy Unmasked," he goes after a liberal movement. The movie portrays Occupy as radical, uncontrollable, and dangerous. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Sweetwater” (2013) — Executive Producer Taking a break from making documentaries, Bannon produced "Sweetwater." The Western is all about revenge and murdering bad dudes, and has a pretty notable cast, including heavy hitters like January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Ed Harris and Stephen Root. Watch the trailer here.
“Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power” (2014) — Executive Producer "Rickover" tells the story of controversial US Navy Admiral Hyman Rickover, who pushed for the first nuclear-powered submarine. After that, Rickover became an entrepreneur and nuclear pioneer, building the first commercial nuclear power plant. The documentary, produced by Bannon, appeared on PBS, of all places.
PBS
“Clinton Cash” (2016) — Writer, Executive Producer Ahead of the 2016 election, Bannon wrote a documentary adaptation of the book "Clinton Cash" by Peter Schweizer. The movie focuses on Clinton Foundation corruption and suggests foreign money influences Hillary Clinton in government. Another ironic one, as allegations of ethics breaches and using the presidency for personal enrichment continue to follow the Trump family. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Torchbearer” (2016) — Writer, Director, Executive Producer "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson goes around the world to talk about Christianity and the Bible in this Bannon-directed doc. The Duck Commander uses the Bible to add context to historical sites, pushing the idea of a culture war to get Christians out to the 2016 polls. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Trump @War" (2018) -- Writer, Director
After his ouster from the White House, Bannon directed and co-wrote a documentary ahead of the 2018 midterm elections that portrays Trump supporters as under siege. He also admitted to Axios that he hoped the film would get back into POTUS' good graces: "How jacked do we think Trump will be when he sees this?"
Victory Film Group
1 of 20
Bannon produced Hollywood movies in the 1990s, but most of his efforts have gone to making polemic, conservative documentaries
Before he had the ear of the president, former White House Chief Political Strategist Steve Bannon tried his hand at Hollywood. As a producer, he was behind several small movies, but he really hit his movie-making stride writing and directing conservative documentaries aimed at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's a complete list of every Hollywood project in which Bannon's had a hand.
MGM
