Glenn Beck has been in the political spotlight for years thanks to his conservative ideals and strong public opinions, but his tune has changed slightly in the wake of Donald Trump’s candidacy and victory during the 2016 presidential race. Beck is staunchly anti-Trump, and he has worked closely with the media and political figures from both parties in an effort to spread the truth about Trump and those he places around him.
Recently, Beck was discussing Trump’s win on his Monday night TV show. During the discussion, Beck focused primarily on the recent appointment of Steve Bannon as Trump’s chief strategist for the White House. Bannon was formerly the CEO of Breitbart News, a network of websites that operate as a ‘news source’, but in reality is nothing more than a propaganda machine for the alt-right movement.
While discussing Bannon and his new role as the senior advisor for Trump, Beck declared that America would be racist by allowing such a figure to have any power in the White House. In a certain sense of the word, he is entirely correct. Bannon himself has openly stated that the Breitbart News network is the platform for the alt-right movement, which is essentially a watered down labeling that applies to a new form of nationalist, neo-Nazi, white supremacist ideal. Breitbart News is famous for constantly publishing stories that are not only patently false, but that are aimed to create division and hatred between one group and another. They have even attacked Republican leaders for ‘lacking true conservative ideals’.
Bannon claims he no longer has a connection to Breitbart News or the stories they run, yet he was the voice behind the organization for the majority of its life. For him to cut ties entirely from the network would be nearly impossible, and the continuation of stories with the Bannon touch have led many to believe he still plays a major part in the network.
Beck went on to say that it was clear to anyone who listened to Bannon for any extended period of time that he has a dangerous agenda and a vision for America that is both unconstitutional and highly immoral. The violence that has erupted from Trump supporters in the wake of his victory is only exemplified by Bannon’s appointment since that sort of behavior is exactly what the former Breitbart CEO wants. The fact that Trump has yet to publicly denounce such violence, yet he is willing to appoint a white supremacist in favor of such violence, shows that his presidency is going to be filled with strange decisions that will only serve to divide the country further.
Beck fears that Bannon will essentially become a sort of Secretary of Information within the White House staff. While such a position doesn’t exist, he could easily continue to pump out his propaganda through the Breitbart News network, and Trump would happily accept free publicity from his advisor, even if it leads to more violence. It is very possible that Trump and Bannon are attempting to create some sort of state-sponsored TV or media system that would allow them to more directly control public narratives. Beck continued to say that he fears people simply haven’t woken up to the possibilities that are right beneath their noses, or that they simply don’t want to acknowledge the problem. The essence of those reactions is why Beck claimed the United States would be racist for allowing Bannon to enter a position of power in the White House.
Electing and supporting a racist individual, knowing that they are racist, is no better than actively being a racist yourself.