| | | | | Steve Bannon is gone! Long live Steve Bannon! | | | President Donald Trump dumped chief strategist Steve Bannon on Friday, ending weeks of speculation that just such a dismissal was in the works. The simple conclusion: Bannon's nationalistic populism will be excised from the White House, a move sure to be cheered by the Republican political establishment.
Simple -- and wrong.
Bannon is gone, yes. But Trump mainlined Bannon-ism a long time ago.
Consider: - Trump's suspicion of globalism -- as evidenced by his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate accords -- is a hallmark of Bannonism.
- Trump's hard line on immigration -- legal and illegal? A belief long voiced by Bannon and his fellow nationalists.
- Trump's hatred for the media? That distrust for the mainstream media was the driving force behind Andrew Breitbart's decision to start a conservative news site with his name on it years ago. Here's what Bannon said about the press earlier this year: "It's going to get worse every day for the media. If you think (the press) are giving you your country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken." He's also called the press "the enemy" and "the opposition party."
- Trump's "both sides" defense of Charlottesville? Bannon has long insisted that the left is just as violent -- if not more so -- than the right. And he's also shown a willingness to push the rhetorical boundaries on race. Following the controversy over Trump's "both sides" remarks on Tuesday, Bannon told The New York Times: "Just give me more. Tear down more statues. Say the revolution is coming. I can't get enough of it."
If there is a connective tissue to the beliefs Trump has espoused in the White House, it's a disdain for and rejection of political correctness. While that comports with Trump's natural instincts -- he has always viewed himself as being on the outside looking in, mocked by elites who won't accept him -- the full flowering of Trump's nationalist-tinged populism can be traced directly back to Bannon.
Trump had the seeds. Bannon watered them and made sure they got enough sun. The full bloom Trump you've seen over the last week is possible because of what Bannon did over the past several years -- inside and outside of Trump's inner circle.
Bannon may be gone from the White House. But his influence won't be disappearing any time soon.
-- Chris | | Steve Bannon's exit comes just seven months after Trump took office and three weeks after retired Gen. John Kelly took over as chief of staff. Above is a CNN chart looking at the staff turnover in the Trump administration, including recent exists from Anthony Scaramucci, Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer.
Looks like the New York Post is going to need to update its "Survivor"-themed Trump administration cover. | | | Meghan McCain gave an update on Twitter about her dad Sen. John McCain's health on Friday. He has finished round one of radiation and chemo. "Fight goes on, here's to small wins," she wrote. | | Saba and CNN's Brenna Williams took a trip to several DC monuments -- including the Thomas Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial -- on Friday morning to ask tourists whether they agree with President Donald Trump's comment that the removal of monuments lionizing the Confederacy would be "changing history."
Here's a sample of some of the responses: - "I don't like the (Confederate) monuments being in public places that people go by every day and sort of revere. I think if we take down the monuments we should never white wash history, I think they should go in museums or certain places so we can see them in the context of what these people did." -Matthew Brown, from New York City
- "Highlighting them (Confederate soldiers) as more special than other people, that's a little difficult for me to understand."-Ivan Shaw, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- "I think they (Confederate monuments) should be moved but I think also ... there should be dialogue." -R.B. Blackshear Jr., from Woodbridge, Virginia
Check out the video on Instagram here. | | | Since Bannon's out ... and we (maybe more Saba than Chris) love the '90s: "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC. | | | Photo credit: Facebook/Screengrab | | | Sandy and Richard Riccardi, a husband-and-wife musical parody duo, created an alt-right resistance parody to the tune of "Beauty School Drop Out," a popular song from the musical "Grease." The video, called "Tiki Torch Nazis," already has about 1.9 million views on Facebook. One line in the song: "Tiki Torch Nazis hanging around with David Duke. Tiki Torch Nazis, your presence makes me want to puke." | | The Midwest will soon feel the Bern (again).
CNN's Eric Bradner writes:
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to hit the road on a three-city Midwestern tour designed to show that his progressive policies have universal appeal.
Sanders will be in Indianapolis on Monday for an event with union leader (and Trump Twitter target) Chuck Jones. Then he'll head to Portsmouth, Ohio -- in a county Trump won by 37 points and which has been ravaged by the opioid crisis -- and then Detroit, for an event with Rep. John Conyers. What do Sanders and Conyers have in common? Single-payer "Medicare for all" health care, of course. Conyers sponsored the major House Democratic proposal. Sanders is soon expected to introduce his own version in the Senate.
If all goes according to plan, the trip could help Sanders show that "Medicare for all" sells in the Rust Belt -- and it could also be a flattering contrast, one populist against another, as President Donald Trump heads West.
Check out more in Eric's #2020 Vision Memo. | | | CNN's Liz Stark notes that on this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment (which gave women the right to vote) was ratified. | | | Here's a pic Saba took of a sloth she met in Costa Rica in 2011. | | | Per The Wall Street Journal, zoos are "clambering to give the people what they want: more sloths." AKA those weird cute mammals that barely move. Many people, including Saba, love them. This article explores the obsession. Here's a great paragraph from the story: Some sloth admirers say there's more to it: People have a yearning for a less frenetic lifestyle, free of smartphones and pressures to be more productive. "Sloths are the antithesis of the modern condition where you succeed by doing more," said Jon Leland, a senior director for the fundraising site Kickstarter. "Sloths have succeeded by doing less." | |  | | H/T Brenna | | | There you are! Now, spend your weekend spreading the word about The Point. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | Get the Nightcap, a comprehensive summary of the most important political news, delivered to your inbox daily. | | | | | |
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