Story highlights
Steve Bannon was the executive chairman of alt-right media organization Breitbart News
He was recently appointed to be Donald Trump's chief strategist
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean called President-elect Donald Trump’s chief strategist pick Steve Bannon “a Nazi.”
In an interview with Canada’s CTV News, Dean, who is running for Democratic National Committee chair, a spot left vacant by former Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, called Bannon anti-Semitic, in addition to being “anti-Black and … anti-women.”
“It’s a big word and I don’t usually use it unless somebody’s really anti-Semitic, really misogynistic, really anti-Black,” Dean continued, adding that Trump is “a complicated guy.”
Bannon, a former executive chair of alt-right Breitbart News, was appointed by the President-elect to serve as chief strategist, making him one of the most powerful people entering the White House with Trump come January. The position does not requite Senate approval.
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CNN has reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment and have not yet gotten a response.
Bannon, a controversial figure, defended himself from critics Monday in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, proclaiming that he is not a white nationalist, but rather an “economic nationalist” who has urged President-elect Trump to engage with minority communities while on the trail.