August 17, 2017

"Bannon is an incredibly savvy political operator who talks to reporters all the time, and did these interviews for some reason."

"Yes, Bannon, who is a top adviser to the president who harps on leaking, is constantly gabbing with journalists. He gave two interviews over the course of roughly 48 hours. His job was on the line, then he found himself aligned with the president over protests in the south. He used the Prospect to dump on Gary Cohn, the president’s economic adviser, with whom he has clashed, and to get his views heard on China. Whatever his motivation was, he felt like he should dial up some reporters and get his take out there."

From "THE BANNON intvw intrigue: what was he doing?" (Politico).

51 comments:

Now I Know! said...

Has there ever been a more crazy and dysfunctional president? We all knew it was going to be unconventional: but be honest, did you think that after just six months it would be this out of control weird?

buwaya said...

It was all out of control weird for the last 20+ years.
You all are just now understanding it, because the various forms of media framing have changed.

Anyway, you lot have a "Game of Thrones" situation, because the old stable system of democratic governance and checks and balances has broken down with the rise of your state apparatus as an independent and unaccountable power.

We are not hearing the derails and substance of the power struggle, we can only guess, filtering and correlating nuggets of information leaking through the corrupt mass media.

Now I Know! said...

Why is Trump commuting hari Kari over monuments that celebrate traitors to this country who fought to rip it a part inorder to keep slavery going? Is that a sane way to define your presidency?

Trump is a madman. But you have always known that, but you supported him and defended him anyways.

Ralph L said...

I live in the South. The south is somewhere else.

Unnamed sources said Bannon gave interviews to reporters.

roesch/voltaire said...

I think Bannon was cleverly trying to distance himself from himself and fellow clowns so he can stay focused on dismantling the administration agency and putting into place more hawkish people.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Now I Know! said...
did you think that after just six months it would be this out of control weird?


Team KAOS hasn't really changed that much over the course of the campaign, the lead-up to the inauguration and now the presidency. This is apparently how Trump runs things and likes things.

I am a bit surprised by the complete lack of coherency on policy goals. They seem incapable of formulating a set of policies that would advance the Trump agenda, presumably because there is no Trump agenda, or at least no agenda that survives a 24 hour news cycle.

Ralph L said...

Jackson's widow was my first cousin, 3 times removed. It's (almost) my heritage.

Brookzene said...

You all are just now understanding it, because the various forms of media framing have changed.

Oh that's what this is...one of the various forms of media framing.

Thought we had a dumpster fire here for a second.

Ralph L said...

At least no one has shot himself in Fort Marcy Park.

You've forgotten the incredible shrinking president.

Oso Negro said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Ann Althouse said...

"Now I know" seems to be a new commenter. There is no available profile. The first comment is a strong effort at redirecting the conversation from the post topic and to crank up the emotionalism: "crazy and dysfunctional president... out of control weird..."

Then, this person comes back with a second comment, again with the emotionalism: "hari Kari... madman..."

I don't appreciate this kind of talk. Who are the people who are trying to crank everyone up? Profile not available.

Balfegor said...

I am surprised by the extent to which Bannon has been content to kind of sit in the background, actually. There's a lot of media speculation and drama around Bannon, but he's been a lot less visible than I had expected.

Re: Now I Know:

Why is Trump commuting hari Kari over monuments that celebrate traitors to this country who fought to rip it a part inorder to keep slavery going? Is that a sane way to define your presidency?

Trump is a risk taker. I thought it was bizarre and self-defeating to pick a public fight with the father of a dead soldier (Khizr Khan) right after his nominating convention, but he thought there were points to be scored, and he took the opportunity. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he loses, but he takes risks that ordinary politicians (or people) wouldn't take. Here, I'd speculate he saw the opportunity to point out that the Left has been incubating a bunch of masked stormtroopers who go around bashing people in the head and smashing storefronts in during "peaceful" protests. Apparently, some big media companies are grudgingly acknowledging that there were two mobs of violent thugs convening in Charlottesville, one on the "Right" and one on the Left, so . . . maybe he's succeeded in moving the frame? Mmm. Not a risk I would have taken, but I guess he's the President because he saw possibilities where politicians feared to tread.

That said, while it's certainly the case that the media would try and pin the murders on him no matter what he said or did (the NYT literally just made up facts in order to blame Palin for the Giffords shooting, after a Leftist maniac tried to assassinate the House Republican leadership), I think he really could have helped himself by sending out a few intemperate tweets saying Neo-Nazis are dumbasses and we beat them in 1945.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Ann Althouse said...
The first comment is a strong effort at redirecting the conversation from the post topic and to crank up the emotionalism:


The majority consensus in the country appears to be that Trump is a 'crazy and dysfunctional' president. Not sure how stating the majoritarian view is cranking up 'emotionalism'.

buwaya said...

Yes, the media framing has changed. Bush, Obama and Clinton flip flopped from one policy to another on a great number of critical issues, yet the media presented these with a degree of favor (even for Bush). Internal admin conflicts were minimized or discounted - for instance the very public disaffection of Colin Powell.

The conflict of interest between state and people was much less apparent, as the media did not go to the lengths it does to defend the state.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Colin Powell did disagree at times but he was also unusually disciplined, as are the other military people in Trump's entourage.

Darrell said...

The majority consensus in the country appears to be that Trump is a 'crazy and dysfunctional' president.

Nah. The majority of voices in your head, maybe. . .

Ralph L said...

he takes risks that ordinary politicians (or people) wouldn't take
I believe Bannon did much the same with Breitbart. Not a conventional path to media power.

Now I Know! said...

Ann Althouse, you must have read the Oso Negro threatening violence against me? But you harshly criticize my post? Honest question, is strong criticism of Donald Trump tolerated on your blog?

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Oso Negro said...
Now I Know - I wish I could give you a sound beating. Not fatal, with permanent injuries, but exceedingly painful. Unfortunately, I am on a bus in Easern Europe


attending a reenactment of Kristallnacht.

buwaya said...

Colin Powell and co. were insiders from the bureaucracy. His approach was not merely military discipline, but an expression of shared interest.

And he did, often, bitterly disparage the rest of the admin "off the record", which if this were to happen today would be played up to an extreme.

Brookzene said...

Oso Negro said...
Now I Know - I wish I could give you a sound beating. Not fatal, with permanent injuries, but exceedingly painful. Unfortunately, I am on a bus in Easern Europe


There was violence on both sides.

Mary Beth said...

Why is Trump commuting hari Kari over monuments that celebrate traitors to this country who fought to rip it a part inorder to keep slavery going?

Read about Robert E. Lee. You sound ignorant here.

Now I Know! said...

LOL Brookzene!

Ann Althouse is completely silent when her right wing commenters (who make up the the large majority of those who respond here) threaten violence against the few liberals who dare to try to present counter arguments. But she calls out me for criticizing Trump. Does she ever criticize her right wing commenters when they write horrendous things about President Obama? Of course not.

Oso Negro said...

@Now I Know - I did not threaten you with violence. I told you how your pos t makes me feel. Had you been around any length of time (it is worse to think you have) you would know that I loathe Trump. But I loathe you for your post. When people start showing up at your march wearing masks and carrying baseball bats, that is when you are in trouble

buwaya said...

But you didn't present an argument.

Darrell said...

Now I Know is Once Written, Twice Shit On The Sidewalk--or one of Althouse's regular Lefty commenters. Perhaps they name every voice in their heads.

Oso Negro said...

@a Reasonable Man. There are many horrible things to re-enact Inn Eastern Europe. But Kristallnacht is for Central Europe.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Oso Negro said...
But Kristallnacht is for Central Europe.


You could have been in transit. :)

Oso Negro said...

@ARM. Heh. Yes, I could have been. I find myself damn near anywhere, it seems.

Ann Althouse said...

I like the way it's presumed that I've read a comment that went up at the same time -- to the minute -- as my comment.

No, it wasn't.

I'm seeing it now, and I'm also, now, seeing this commenter insult me, make false assumptions about me, and demand that I answer questions without using this blog to discover the answers. Complete disrespect for me.

I consider Now I know to be an instant troll.

I'll take out the threatening post.

Ann Althouse said...

I am owed an apology.

daskol said...

I saw an insightful comment somewhere, I think on instapundit by Austin Bay, that Bannon's "off the record" comments on NKorea would have been perfectly aligned with the admin's if he'd added one word: there is no "good" military option, instead of there is no "military option." Good point, and easily clarified. Bannon's comments look savvy both in terms of self-preservation, and advancing the interests of the admin. Formidable guy.

Now I Know! said...

Ann, you are right--the threatening post against me went up before your post. I will apologize. But you do hold conservative commentators to different standards than liberal ones. Consider all of the odious attacks by your right wing readers on President Obama that you never call out. But you harshly criticize my analysis of Trump. Your different standards is worth noting.

Now I Know! said...

Ann--you owe me an apology.

Darrell said...

Ann--you owe me an apology.

How about a kick in the ass on your way out the door, instead?

Now I Know! said...

(Great. More threats of violence.)

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Now I Know! said...
Great. More threats of violence.


Don't let this unfortunate beginning put you off the blog. There are also good people here, admittedly mainly me, but you take what you can get.

daskol said...

"analysis"

Sebastian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sebastian said...

"Who are the people who are trying to crank everyone up?" Who could they be? What are they up to? Why can't we all get along?

Anyway, apart from you, a few cynical conservatives, and some Trumpists, just about everyone is "trying to crank everyone up." It's what's happening. There's a culture war going on. It didn't start on election day, but the left has been cranking up the cranking up for months now (not telling you anything new, I know).

Minor data point: NPR, introducing a news item yesterday, referred casually to Trump's "bizarre" interview. In their case, of course, they have to keep up with their cranked-up audience. Thank God C'ville came along when the Russia collusion was running out of steam.

Birkel said...

In an alternate universe in which unicorns exist, all conservatives should punch all Leftists all at once, everywhere, simultaneously.

Can anybody understand that the above sentence does not represent a threat?

Roy Lofquist said...

Anybody remember the Russian thing in Georgia? The one on the the Black Sea, not the home of the Braves. During that dust up the web was invaded by Russian trolls. You could tell that English was not their native tongue because they blew it on the idioms - "bombed" by artillery, not "shelled" as we say. Over at Wretchard's place, The Belmont Club, the regulars took to addressing them as Comrade. Quite amusing, and effective.

Any suggestions for something similar for the paid lefty lizards who show up here?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Now I Know! said...
(Great. More threats of violence.)

8/17/17, 11:09 AM

Comes in here swinging, gets called out and then whines when somebody uses the very common idiom "kick in the ass." Oooooh! Scary!

Go put on your pussy hat and run to your space safe and blubber, gamma.

Or maybe you can go dig up the body of a Confederate soldier and put the skeleton on trial.

Jael (Gone Windwalking) said...

Reporters must be extremely important if Bannon wants to talk to them.

Jael (Gone Windwalking) said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jael (Gone Windwalking) said...

“ ... but he takes risks that ordinary politicians (or people) wouldn't take ... speculate ... point out that the Left has been incubating a bunch of masked stormtroopers who go around bashing people in the head and smashing storefronts in during ‘peaceful’ protests ...”

But he didn’t risk saying it that clearly (I would have respected him if he had risked saying that) - as he should have risked, if he really risked, just as he risked saying in rehearsed calculation that she had blood coming out of her “whatever” (the risk was in saying what he calculated in advance to say), or in the less risky, but risky still, premeditated labeling of Hillary as the “devil” in a locked audience televised reduced-to-binary duel, and, in an election that he admitted he was surprised to win (small risk, maybe micro - so does that qualify as risk, really?).

The larger risk he took with his impromptu departure from his temporary doggy-leash of the teleprompter was the risk of obscuring his infrastructure program, but maybe that was a wise risk? - depending on how patchwork his infrastructure will turn out to be? - or if it turns out to be anything at all? - after Koch supported Republicans and wild card Republicans, maybe pork loving Dems, all prodigally enter that infrastructure pig pen, to pork-roll Trump and his risks. in his new swamp called infrastructure?

Freder Frederson said...

I think on instapundit by Austin Bay, that Bannon's "off the record" comments on NKorea would have been perfectly aligned with the admin's if he'd added one word: there is no "good" military option, instead of there is no "military option."

What a stupid observation. You could just as easily say his comment would have been perfectly aligned if he didn't modify "military option" with "no". Or if he had just kept his mouth shut.

As for why he did the interview at all, my guess is he was drunk. He looks like he has a serious drinking problem.

Freder Frederson said...

Any suggestions for something similar for the paid lefty lizards who show up here?

Any suggestions for how I can get paid for posting here?

Jael (Gone Windwalking) said...

“... Any suggestions for how I can get paid for posting here?...”

... if the intrinsic joy is not reward enough, other payoffs won’t do, and the fewer responses you draw (sorry I’m messing with ya), the greater the intrinsic reward ... leave good enough alone ...

Billy Hill said...

The trolls have been out in force on every conservative or semi-conservative blog that allows comments. Wonder what's up with that?