'Hey, Let's Gang Up on Steve Bannon'

The media thinks they are destroying Steve Bannon, but they are actually making him stronger.

One of the reasons Donald Trump will soon become President of the United States is that the media hated him so much — and the public didn’t buy their bill of goods.

Back in the summer of 2015, after making controversial comments about Mexicans illegally entering the country, Trump became the target of the major media.

Back then we heard the same claims about Trump that we are hearing today about Steve Bannon: he’s a racist, a bigot, and even a white supremacist somehow aligned with the KKK.

Bizarre stuff to believe for anyone that actually knows Trump or Bannon.

But one need just to tune into MSNBC and CNN to hear the unrelenting stream of propaganda aimed at Bannon.

Sometimes I think there is a policy at those networks that every hour they must call Bannon, or his former online media outlet Breitbart, racists or Nazis.

Recently, I was on CNN with Don Lemon. After spending a whole segment attacking Bannon without any proof, Lemon was surprised when I came on and called him and CNN on the unfair, unsubstantiated attacks.

Recently, The New York Times published a profile of Bannon. It was generally fair, but still had this recurring refrain of false claims.

For example, this line: "Breitbart.com’s scorn for Muslims, immigrants and black activists drew a fervent following on the alt-right, an extremist fringe of message boards and online magazines popular with white supremacists . . . "

Or here is another: "Mr. Bannon encouraged clickbait incitement on Breitbart.com, and links to Breitbart articles are often spread on Twitter and Facebook alongside Nazi rhetoric and racial slurs."

Really? I have been reading Breitbart and never thought it was appealing to white supremacists or attracted Nazi sympathizers.

I know Steve Bannon and I know people who have known him for a long time. No one has ever said or suggested he was racist, a bigot, or had Nazi sympathies. No one.

Sure Bannon is strongly conservative, brashly opinionated, and a fervent patriot. He is a believer in national sovereignty.

To their credit, Bannon and Breitbart have been out-front on the issue of U.S. border security. Polls show most Americans, like myself, are outraged that in an era we sometimes have to disrobe at airports to go through security checks, practically anyone, including potential terrorists, can simply walk across the U.S.-Mexican border.

I don’t agree with all of Steve Bannon’s positions.

For example, I believe strongly in immigration, legal that is. America is great because of it.

But I do want a sane immigration policy, one that is based on "best and brightest" principles like those used in Canada, Australia, and Britain.

Still, my disagreements with Bannon on this matter don’t make him a bigot, racist, white supremacist, Nazi, or even an anti-Semite, another unfair allegation made against him.

For the moment, Bannon is the victim of a media gang up. But the public sees through it and these things have a strange way of backfiring on the media establishment.

If you don’t believe me, just ask President Trump.

Christopher Ruddy is CEO and editor of Newsmax Media Inc. Read more Christopher Ruddy Insider articles — Click Here Now.