Summary

Chapter 4 further describes Bannon’s rise as he began his work as Chief Strategist in the White House. After serving briefly in the Navy, Bannon had started several businesses, including a film production house, in a bid to influence political discourse and events. He was never very successful in these efforts until shortly before the 2016 election. His news website, Breitbart, received funding and support from the Mercer family, wealthy and influential Republican donors. When they chose to support Trump in 2016, they convinced the candidate to hire Bannon as a campaign strategist, finally connecting Bannon to the major movement he sought. In this role, Bannon was one of the few in Trump’s circle who had coherent policy and ideological views. He wanted to act quickly to institute nationalist immigration and economic policies, while simultaneously undermining the federal bureaucratic structure. Bannon, however, lacked the...