Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign CEO Steve Bannon is pictured backstage during...
Stephen Bannon has been named Trump's chief strategist and senior counselor. Before he took over as chief executive of Trump's campaign in August, Bannon headed Breitbart News, a website and voice for the alt-right movement, a loose right-wing confederation that includes hardcore nationalists, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semites.
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Democrats, rights activists and minority groups were outraged by the appointment and said Trump, himself accused of racism and misogyny during the campaign, had just flung open the White House doors to hatemongers. Many urged him to reconsider.
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As a senior adviser to Trump, Bannon will be expected by far-right groups to champion their views and make sure that Trump keeps such campaign promises as building a wall on the southern U.S. border, cracking down on Muslims entering the country and restricting the influx of Syrian war refugees.
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While Bannon was at Breitbart, it had stories with headlines such as "Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy," "Political correctness protects Muslim rape culture" and "Hoist it high and proud: The Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage." The site's pro-Trump agenda featured speculative stories questioning Hillary Clinton's health and accusing her close aide Huma Abedin of being a Saudi spy.
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Bannon was charged with domestic violence and battery in 1996 after his then-wife, Mary Louise Piccard, said he grabbed her by the throat and arm during an argument. The case was dropped when she did not appear in court. In 2007 Piccard said in court documents Bannon did not like the school the girls attended because it had too many "whiny brat" Jewish students.
REUTERS/Carlo Allegri