White House defends having Bannon at national security meetings

[riversedge]

Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2017/01/29/








AFP/Getty Images

Steve Bannon.




AP January 29, 2017

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Sunday said the addition of President Donald Trump’s chief strategist, Steve Bannon, to regular meetings of the country’s top national security officials was essential to the commander in chief’s decision-making process.

Trump took steps Saturday to begin restructuring the White House National Security Council, adding the senior adviser to the principals committee, which includes the secretaries of state and defense. At the same time, Trump said his director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would attend ‘‘where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed.’’

Bannon served in the Navy before attending Harvard Business School, working at Goldman Sachs, starting his own media-focused boutique investment banking firm and later heading the ultraconservative outlet Breitbart News.

‘‘He is a former naval officer. He’s got a tremendous understanding of the world and the geopolitical landscape that we have now,’’ White House press secretary Sean Spicer told ABC’s ‘‘This Week.’’.................

Read more: Link to source

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Tweets

Markos Moulitsas ?@markos 14m14 minutes ago

Markos Moulitsas Retweeted The Boston Globe

IOW, Trump is Brannon's puppet. Can't function without his Nazi master pulling his strings.

Markos Moulitsas added,
The Boston Globe @BostonGlobe
The White House says having Steve Bannon at national security meetings is essential to Trump's decision-making. http://bos.gl/tKfzsb6
16 replies 111 retweets 101 likes



Brooklyn Spoke ?@BrooklynSpoke 18h18 hours ago

Dems: Wanna get Bannon out? Go on the Sunday shows & say, "We all know who has the real power in the White House and it isn't Donald Trump."

[CincyDem]

1. Of course Bannon needs to be there. Can't have a real security meeting without the boss. n/t

[Kber]

2. Hope this doesn't sound shallow, but that is one ugly son of a gun.

[calimary]

17. Ugly outside AND inside.

He's a wife beater, too.

Looking at the photo in the OP again, are those gin blossoms on his nose?

[obamanut2012]

20. yes

[NastyRiffraff]

23. They're not roses

Yeah, classic sign of a drunk.

[jmowreader]

26. Looks that way

You've got to wonder why the White House makeup artist (who has shades besides orange) lets him go out looking like that.

[politicat]

32. Excepts from his divorce file -- controlling, abusive, indifferent, general bastard

https://theopporeport.com/2016/

I feel for his daughters -- glad they had a good mother.

Shitstains like him are why so many states just garnish child and spousal support. These are the wastes of molecules who tarnish the reputation of deadbeat dads everywhere.

[Cirque du So-What]

3. I am hardly a GQ model

but Bannon is one decrepit-looking reprobate for sure. One look at those soulless eyes tells of a willingness to sell out our nation and its values for...well, does it really matter to a nihilist like him?

[gademocrat7]

4. Traitors.

[Botany]

5. The man should be nowhere around NSC meetings

Are there anti-Semitic people involved in the alt-right? Absolutely. Stephen Bannon
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/stephen_bannon.html

Are there racist people involved in the alt-right? Absolutely. Stephen Bannon

Fear is a good thing. Fear is going to lead you to take action. Stephen Bannon

[R Merm]

6. Bannon is isolating tRump from anyone who may disagree with what they are doing.

[atreides1]

8. True

And Flynn is retaliating against the DNI and the Joint Chiefs Chairman, because neither office came to his rescue when President Obama fired him from the DIA!

[atreides1]

7. So he was in the Navy!!

Bannon was in the navy for 7 years...late 70's to early 80's! At best he might have reached the rank of Lt Commander, and it does not appear that he ever had his own command!

[LeftInTX]

14. My dadn't make Major - USAF until 14 years

His promotions were fairly fast track too.

[haele]

25. 7 years is the minimum for an officer.

Part of that time is a minimum 2 years of specialist training and/or knife and fork/politics of leadership school.
If he only mentions being on one ship, I doubt he made it to the point of having fitness reports that would have enabled him to get to Lt. Commander (O-4) - he would have been facing up or out by then.

Haele

[politicat]

33. ... which means he's vastly undereducated by military brass standards.

An O4 has the equivalent of multiple masters. O5 is basically a first doctorate.

He probably topped at O3, since in those years, promotions were slow as molasses in January. (That was my early childhood; I was born when my father was an O4, and he didn't hit O5 until I was in kindergarten. It was all grind, grind, grind because the services were contracting.)

[LeftInTX]

37. His highest rank was Lieutenant

[tenorly]

9. Just like Dubya, who always insisted Rove listen in on eveything.

After all, what's a president without his brain?

[HassleCat]

10. Oh, he was a naval officer? I guess it's OK then.

As long as he wasn't one of those left wing naval officers.

[MBS]

11. More appropriate than the Director of National Intelligence and Chair of the Joint Chiefs?

I don't think so.
Here's Susan Rice, who also notes that the CIA is missing completely from the "new" NSC.
We're in serious trouble.
http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/316764-susan-rice-trumps-nsc-order-stone-cold-crazy#.WI49Kdv7Gcg.facebook

[malchickiwick]

12. Why does this post include a "Before" picture from an ad for drug rehab??

[LeftInTX]

16. He reminds me of Chumley from Pawn Stars

[obamanut2012]

21. omg he does -- cannot unsee it now

[DeminPennswoods]

13. What's that pin on his lapel?

nt

[Blue_Adept]

41. I know tensions are high but there's no reason to be such an utter asshole

Seriously. Stop shooting those that are on your side that may not be able to google easily or at the moment.

Either help or shut the fuck up.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

42. You didn't help the poster at all. I did. I provided a very specific search string that works.

In the same time it takes to compose a post the poster could just google it AND have the answer. The poster did not say that they had tried a search and failed, which would have tempered the response. There is a saying "God (or the universe) helps those who help themselves" and there is good wisdom there.

If they have access to posting to DU they have access to typing in a search string into google.

Further, I did help. I provided a very specific search string to use, an effective one, one proven to work.

You haven't done anything except call names and swear. The strongest word I used in my post was "lazy".

Time for you to reread the posts and take your own advice.

[wildeyed]

15. Bannon must go.

He is an admitted Leninist who wants to destabilize governments. He should not be near the Prez and as faraway as a human can get from NSA.

BTW, my elderly, Fox News-watching, Republican FIL who has mild Alzheimer's just said told me he though that Trump was making a mess of things with no encouragement on my part. He also forgot that I am a wildeyed liberal because he referred to Trump as 'your friend in the White House'

I dunno. If they lost my FIL, they could be in trouble.

[keithbvadu2]

18. Bannon/Cheney - the power behind the weaklings

[tanyev]

19. Toddler Trump can't be trusted at important meetings all by himself.

I guess they realized having Jared or Ivanka there would never fly.

[turbinetree]

22. Hey (Nutmeg) Spicer,........................

your logic is about as asinine as your entire illegitimate president and your traitorous team.




I still gotta ask, where is Melania's green card?

[jmowreader]

27. Melania was naturalized before Trump got the idea to run for dictator

She needs no green card.

[turbinetree]

43. Apparently she broke the law and really should not be here

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/11/melania-trump-immigration-associated-press-visa-illegal

[captain queeg]

24. can't we agree to do something to save America?

I was just over at my ex's and her boyfriend is a dyed-in-the wool Trumpacrit. Sits around all day watching Fox news (no job of course). He was making excuses for Trump re-doing the Security Council. Lets face it, none of the Trumpsters will ever admit they were wrong about their lord and savior Donald Trump. For the good of the country we need to give them an out; something like Obama poisoned him, so now he is slowly going insane. The second part is true, who cares about the first part in the grand scheme of things...

[Initech]

28. Steve Bannon should be in prison and allowed nowhere near national security.

He's a traitor of the highest caliber.

[Blue Idaho]

29. So the guy that's never been vetted by anyone about anything

Suddenly finds himself on the NSC? What could possibly go wrong?

[dalton99a]

31. Of course, Bannon is using Trump

[kskiska]

34. Looks like someone who emerged from behind a dumpster

after a three-day drunk.

[GallopingGhost]

35. He reminds me of Vader

after Luke pulled his mask off, which is fitting since Darth is apparently one of his heroes.

[LeftInTX]

38. He looks like Chumley from Pawn Stars

[Kennah]

36. He's Hermann Goring (n/t)

[Girl powers]

39. Bannon

Let's call Bannon "Trump's Rasputin". G.P.

[oberliner]

40. President Bannon must be stopped

He is the worst of an awful bunch. And he is clearly in charge, since Trump is a buffoon and easily manipulated.