You’ve probably heard that a man who has significant ties to the alt-right is now part of Donald Trump’s White House. What you may not know is the so-called alt-right is a movement associated with explicit racism and white supremacy. I’m assuming if more people knew this it would certainly be part of a larger conversation today. That said, in my ongoing efforts to keep you as informed as I can about what’s really going on with the formation of a new administration, I think it is important for you to understand more about who exactly has been tapped to stand at Trump’s side. We’ve mentioned Steven Bannon in this space before. He was the head of Breitbart News before being asked by Trump to become the CEO of the campaign. Breitbart is known for its alt-right views. Believers are known to reject mainstream conservatism for more radical right-wing views, such as white identity being under attack by multiculturalism. Now, Bannon has been asked by the President-elect to be a senior advisor in the White House. Furthermore, during a deposition Bannon’s ex-wife alleged that he doesn't like Jews.
Jonathan A. Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL - Anti-Defamation League, released a statement saying:
"It is a sad day when a man who presided over the premier website of the Alt Right, a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists - is slated to be a senior staff member in the People's House.”
Check out the article below by the folks from the Southern Poverty Law Center. They monitor hate groups and you’ll see how Bannon’s appointment is being celebrated by the far right.
https://www.splcenter.org/…/white-nationalists-rejoice-trum…
You may not find this surprising given the tenor of the presidential campaign, but the FBI has released a report on hate crimes in America, and the numbers are up. And that’s especially true for Anti-Muslim hate crimes, which is up 67%.
And here’s another number I find very disturbing. As of this morning, The Southern Poverty Law Center reports 315 incidents of hate directly related to the election. The SPLC characterizes it as election-related harassment and intimidation, but let there be no mistake, this is hate, plain and simple. So far, the majority of the incidents, which were gathered from news reports, social media and direct submissions to the SPLC, are targeted mostly at African Americans and immigrants. The number has not been verified yet by law enforcement.
Below is more from Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the SPLC, whom we spoke to for our documentary, “America Divided—The Rise of Trump Nation”. Much of this segment did not make the documentary but is certainly newsworthy today.