Steve Bannon Actually Tries to Argue That MLK Jr. Would be ‘Proud’ of What Trump Has Done for Blacks

https://www.facebook.com/ThisWeekABC/videos/vb.295479040495545/1812451218798312/?type=2&theater

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon thinks President Donald Trump has a lot to be proud of, so much so that even the late Martin Luther King, Jr. would applaud his efforts at “helping” Black and Latino Americans.

Bannon, former chairman of right-wing website Breitbart News, made the laughable claim during a Sunday episode of “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos, hosted by ABC’s John Karl.

“… Martin Luther King would be proud of what Donald Trump has done for [the] Black and Hispanic working-class,” he said, stopping short of detailing exactly what the president has done for these groups.

“I think there are a lot of civil rights leaders that would adamantly disagree with you on that,” Karl shot back.

Bannon’s preposterous claim was enough to draw a response from King’s daughter Bernice, who accused the former Trump aide of  “dangerously and erroneously co-opting my father’s name, words and works.”

” … Bannon’s assertion that my father would be proud of Donald Trump wholly ignores Daddy’s commitment to people of all races, nationalities, etc., being treated with dignity and respect,” she tweeted after Bannon made a similar claim to the BBC late last month.

In the same interview, Bannon also claimed that Trump has “never lied.”

“…I think he speaks in a particular vernacular that connects to people in this country,” he told Karl

Watch more in the video above.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top