Bannon Sparks Outrage — Is Uninvited From New Yorker Event

It was a fast moving story that changed several times during the day. It was a story filled with controversy and conflict — which is not surprising given that the subject of the story was Steve Bannon.

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About a month ago Bannon created some chaos in the Republican Universe as he claimed that big GOP donors Charles and David Koch were “con artists.”

Just a few weeks before that it was reported that Bannon was in Europe setting up a right-wing group for the purpose of undermining the European Union.’

So here is what transpired yesterday:

First

It was announced Monday that the Trump ally would be headlining the New Yorker festival called the New Yorker‘s BIG THINK IDEAS SUMMIT. It was planned that he would be interviewed by the New Yorker‘s editor in chief, David Remnick, who is a highly-respected journalist.

Second

The New Yorker immediately began facing fierce backlash for the inclusion of Bannon at its annual festival. Many of its readers went on social media platforms to express their disgust and outrage.

As one reader put it:

“I’m not sure how this is meaningfully different from inviting David Duke.”

Third

Several of the festival’s famous guest speakers began announcing they were dropping out of the event in protest, including Judd Apatow, Jim Carrey, John Mulaney, and Jack Antonoff.

Apatow wrote:

“If Steve Bannon is at the New Yorker festival I am out.  I will not take part in an event that normalizes hate. I hope the @NewYorker will do the right thing and cancel the Steve Bannon event.   Maybe they should read their own reporting about his ideology.”

John Mulaney wrote:

“I’m out. I genuinely support public intellectual debate, and have paid to see people speak with whom I strongly disagree. But this isn’t James Baldwin vs William F Buckley. This is PT Barnum level horseshit. And it was announced on a weekend just before tix went on sale.”

And finally, perhaps Jim Carrey said it best when he wrote:

“Bannon? And me? On the same program? Could never happen.”

Fourth

Editor in chief Remnick sent a note to the New Yorker employee group announcing that Steve Bannon would NOT be appearing at this year’s New Yorker Festival.

“A statement from David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker, explaining his decision to no longer include Steve Bannon in the 2018 New Yorker Festival.”

Fifth

Predictably, on Tuesday morning, in a statement to CNBC, Bannon slammed Remnick for changing his mind about having Bannon appear. The former Trump adviser said that Remnick was “gutless.”

“In what I would call a defining moment, David Remnick showed he was gutless when confronted by the howling online mob.”

David Remnick’s reputation has been tarnished by being associated with a white nationalist such as Steve Bannon. Unfortunately, it took not only outcries from readers but also big-name celebrities backing out to make him change his mind. Bannon should never have been invited in the first place. Remnick has now learned the lesson that being linked in any way with either Steve Bannon or Donald Trump will bring nothing but trouble.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.