August 15, 2017

A Member of Trump’s Diversity Council Wants Steve Bannon Fired

And that’s just the first step.

White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.Michael Kappeler/ZUMA

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One member of President Donald Trump’s National Diversity Council has a message for the president: Fire Steve Bannon.

Javier Palomarez, the president and CEO of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said in a press release that condemning white supremacy “should have been a no-brainer” for Trump after a white nationalist rally turned violent in Charlottesville over the weekend. Instead, Palomarez said, Bannon, the White House’s chief strategist, and other members of the administration have used “winks and nods” to win votes from “the most evil elements of our society.” 

On Monday, after widespread criticism from both parties, Trump finally issued what many saw as a reluctant condemnation of white supremacist violence. Palomarez did not say he would resign from the diversity council. On Tuesday, Scott Paul of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a nonprofit group, became the fourth business leader to resign from Trump’s American Manufacturing Council in the immediate aftermath of the president’s tepid Charlottesville response.

Palomarez made clear that he believes the blame “ultimately resides” with the president. Firing Bannon, he said, is just the first step.

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In this month’s Summer Membership Drive, we’ve got to raise $200,000 to support more crucial investigations. This is a pivotal moment in our nation, with democracy on the line, and we can only do this work because readers like you step up. Every donation, of any amount, makes a difference here. We cannot do this work without you.

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