Former White House adviser Steve Bannon depicted former President George W. Bush as bumbling and inept, faulting him for presiding over a “destructive” presidency during his time in the White House. Mr. Bannon’s scathing remarks on Friday night amounted to a retort to a Bush speech in New York earlier this week, in which the 43rd President denounced bigotry in Trump-era American politics and warned that the rise of “nativism,” isolationism and conspiracy theories have clouded the nation’s true identity.
But Mr. Bannon, speaking to a capacity crowd at a California Republican Party convention, said Mr. Bush had embarrassed himself and didn’t know what he was talking about.
Mr. Bannon said Mr. Bush had no idea whether “he is coming or going, just like it was when he was president.” “There has not been a more destructive presidency than George Bush’s,” Mr. Bannon added, as boos could be heard in the crowd at the mention of Bush’s name.
Attacks status quo
The remarks came during a speech thick with attacks on the Washington status quo , echoing his call for an “open revolt” against establishment Republicans. He called the “permanent political class” one of the great dangers faced by the U.S
Mr. Bannon also took aim at the Silicon Valley and its “lords of technology”, predicting that tech leaders and progressives in the State would try to secede from the union in 10 to 15 years.
He called the threat to break up the nation a “living problem”. “You’ve got everything you need to win,” he told them.
