Steve Bannon goes after Mitch McConnell: 'I'm going to light him up'
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Bannon, who last week left his post as White House chief strategist, told the Economist in an interview two days after departing the Trump administration that he plans to go after the Republican leader.
"Mitch McConnell, I'm going to light him up," Bannon told the Economist.
McConnell has been caught up in an ongoing feud with President Donald Trump and is seen by far-right outlets like Breitbart as an impediment to Trump's populist agenda.
Trump has attacked McConnell repeatedly over the past few weeks on his handling of issues like the debt ceiling and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
While McConnell has remained relatively quiet on Trump's attacks, a recent New York Times report indicated that the majority leader has expressed private frustration over Trump's grasp on policy and Senate rules. The report also said McConnell has questioned whether Trump can salvage his presidency.
The two sides attempted to put out the fire with twin statements on Wednesday, but on Thursday the president once again attacked McConnell on Twitter.
Bannon's comments seem to confirm that pro-Trump media like Breitbart are unlikely to ease up on McConnell over the coming weeks as he attempts to address the debt ceiling, funding the government, and rolling out the GOP tax reform plan.
Bannon suggested he would have a bigger voice at Breitbart than he did in the administration.
"In the White House I had influence," he said during the interview. "At Breitbart, I had power."
In the interview, Bannon also said that Silicon Valley and Wall Street consist of "a bunch of globalists who have forgotten their fellow Americans" and said that Breitbart will "will never turn on" Trump. And Bannon said he wants to ruin China's plan known as "One Belt, One Road" to connect its infrastructure to the rest of Asia and Europe.
Read the full Economist interview here »
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