Steve Bannon, who has ascended in just months from relative obscurity to become one of President Trumps most influential advisors, has said that Islam is the most radical religion in the world and the U.S. is engaged in a civilizational struggle potentially leading to a major shooting war in the Middle East again.
Trump installed Bannon this week as a member of his National Security Council, taking the unusual step of installing a political adviser on the powerful White House body responsible for shaping security and foreign policy.
In dozens of hours of audio recordings reviewed by USA TODAY of his Breitbart News Daily radio show in 2015 and 2016, Bannon told his listeners that the United States and the Western world are engaged in a global existential war, and he entertained claims that a fifth column of Islamist sympathizers had infiltrated the U.S. government and news media. Those recordings, preserved online, offer an often unfiltered window into the thinking of Trumps interview-averse senior adviser.
The views mark a stark shift from foreign policy doctrine under the previous two administrations.
In the days after the Sept. 11 attacks, President George W. Bush was cautious in his public statements and gave a speech in which he said, Islam is peace. In a radio show last May, Bannon said those were the dumbest comments made by Bush during his presidency. On his radio show, Bannon repeatedly made sarcastic references to Islam as a religion of peace.
University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck said its unprecedented to have someone who doesnt just harbor those views but seems to have no compunction basing decisions on those views as a member of the National Security Council.
It seems like were headed for more of the jaw-dropping steps like the immigration order, he said.
