Oh shit, @NancyPelosi called Bannon a White Supremacist TWICE pic.twitter.com/a53ANqRaOo
— Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) February 2, 2017
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi finally said the words so many of us have been waiting for her to say, when at a press briefing Thursday morning she repeatedly referred to White House chief strategist and former Breitbart editor Steve Bannon as a "white supremacist."
It all went down at her weekly press briefing this morning, during which she said "What's making America less safe is to have a white supremacist named to the National Security Council as a permanent member, while the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the director of national intelligence are told, 'Don't call us we'll call you, you're no longer permanent members.’”
"It's a stunning thing," Pelosi said Thursday, "that a white supremacist, Bannon, would be a permanent member of the National Security Council."
This isn't the first time that Bannonwho's been praised by KKK leader David Duke as "basically creating the ideological aspects of where we're going," has gotten him tagged with that title, but is arguably the most most assertive commentary on his beliefs thus far. The announcement of Bannon's appointment as Trump's chief strategist was met with dismay by those with a functioning soul: For example, Senator Harry Reid spokesman Adam Jentleson said that the appointment "signals that White Supremacists will be represented at the highest levels in Trump’s White House, and that the decision makes it "easy to see why the KKK views Trump as their champion."
Over this past weekend, the president added Bannon to the National Security Council, a decision currently being fought by Democrats and other people who have watched movies about the apocalypse and thought that it didn't look very fun.
“[We] demand you immediately undo the politicization of America’s national security,” a Wednesday letter sent to to Trump from a group of House Democrats, including Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), as well as Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), read.
"It is completely dangerous and morally reprehensible.”
In addition to the letter, Rep. Stephanie Murphy’s (D-Fla.) introduced a bill Wednesday that, if passed, would "ensure that no person whose 'primary or predominant responsibility is political in nature' could be designated as a member of the Security Council or be allowed to regularly attend its meetings," The Hill reports, effectively banning Bannon from NSC access.
“Our men and women in uniform, our intelligence and homeland security professionals, and our citizens should feel secure in their knowledge that the critical decisions made by the NSC are free from political considerations," Murphy said in a speech from the House floor Wednesday.
"The American people deserve a national security policymaking process that inspires confidence, not cynicism.”
During Thursday's briefing, Bannon was not the only target of Pelosi's disdain. As reported by the Washington Examiner, Pelosi also described Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch as "far outside the mainstream of American judiciary thought." She also suggested that the president's timing of his announcement of Gorsuch's nomination was intended to distract from his controversial immigration ban.
"Every time something gets hot, he changes the subject," Pelosi said Thursday regarding the president's rapid-fire assault on civilization. "He's an illusionist."
Previously: Nancy Pelosi Calls Ben Carson 'Disturbingly Unqualified' For HUD Appointment