After GOP candidate Roy Moore lost his Alabama Senate bid, it appears that he might be taking Steve Bannon down with him. Trump is reportedly furious with his ousted chief strategist for encouraging him to endorse Moore, and now feels humiliated in the wake of his loss. Likewise, many prominent Republicans want to distance the GOP from Bannon and his alt-right news outlet Brietbart, such as Rep. Peter King (R-NY) who did not mince words while appearing on CNN’s New Day on Wednesday morning.
In one particularly juicy exchange, King told host Chris Cuomo, “I would raise, not so much a political issue, almost as a moral issue. This guy does not belong on a national stage. He looks like some disheveled drunk who wandered onto the political stage.” Incredulously, Cuomo interrupted, “Did you just call Steve Bannon a disheveled drunk?” King clarified, “No, I was very precise, I said he looks like one.” Oh, okay then!
“Now you know,” Cuomo continued, barely stifling back a smirk, “Them’s fighting words, when it comes to Steve Bannon. Is that a fight you wanna take on?”
“I have no problem, you have to fight for what’s right,” King responded. “He was attacking the president’s daughter the other night, he took a shot at Ivanka Trump, mocking her expression ‘a special place in hell’,” he said, referring to Bannon’s remarks at a Roy Moore rally earlier this week.
“This person, Bannon, does not belong on the American political scene.” King finished his thought by adding that there’s nothing about Bannon that good Republicans or good Americans should identify with.
King also doubled down on his remarks on Twitter early Wednesday morning:
After Alabama disaster GOP must do right thing and DUMP Steve Bannon. His act is tired, inane and morally vacuous. If we are to Make America Great Again for all Americans, Bannon must go! And go NOW!!
— Pete King (@RepPeteKing) December 13, 2017
You can watch the entire segment below: