Posted on 03/24/2017 1:41:29 PM PDT by drewh
Bannon Tells Trump: ‘Keep a Sh*t List’ of Republicans Who Opposed You
Trumpcare is in trouble and if it fails, Steve Bannon has pledged to remember who defied the White House.
If TrumpCare dies, the White House won’t forget who killed it — and plans on keeping a “sh*t list” of Republicans who stood in their way.
According to multiple Trump administration officials speaking to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity to talk freely, the president is angry that his first big legislative push is crumbling before his eyes—and his chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon is advising him to take names and keep a hit list of Republicans who worked for Trumpcare’s defeat.
“[Bannon] has told the president to keep a sh*t list on this,” one official told The Daily Beast. “He wants a running tally of [the Republicans] who want to sink this…Not sure if I’d call it an ‘enemies list,’ per se, but I wouldn’t want to be on it.”
One aide described it as a proposed “sh*t list” for Republicans not sufficiently loyal. Courses of action stemming from any related tally is yet to be determined, but the idea and message is that “we’ll remember you.”
Two senior Trump administration officials with direct knowledge of the process told The Daily Beast that Bannon and Trump have taken a “you’re either with us or against us” approach at this point, and that Bannon wants the tally of “against” versus “with us” mounted in his so-called West Wing “war room.”
“Burn the boats,” Bannon (in his typical, pugnacious style) advised Trump, according to one official involved. Burning one’s boats is a reference to when military commanders in hostile territories order his or her troops to destroy their own ships, so that they have to win or die trying.
Sources also said that others including Mick Mulvaney, Trump's director of the Office of Management and Budget and co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, endorsed the idea of the running list, and that Trump agreed with the idea.
Emails to the White House and Bannon seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Freedom Caucus members, of course, are no strangers to barely-veiled threats from Trumpworld, and have remained undeterred this week by earlier attempts. On Tuesday, when Trump made his high-profile visit to Capitol Hill to try to rally Republicans to get behind his and Ryan’s plan, Trump specifically called out Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, several times. According to those in the room, the president made it clear that he expected Meadows’ vote and support when push comes to shove. (As of Friday late morning, Meadows is saying he’s not budging yet.)
“Mark, I’m coming after you,” Trump said, only half-jokingly, on Tuesday.
Freedom Caucus aides said they were similarly unperturbed on Friday. One simply responded to The Daily Beast’s question regarding potentially getting on Trump and Bannon’s “sh*t list” with one word: “Meh.”
“From day 1 in this fight, conservatives have been far more focused on keeping their promises and doing what’s best for their constituents versus any hypothetical political challenges,” another conservative congressional aide said. “That remains unchanged.”
Republican House members jumping ship on the AHCA, both in the hardline-right and so-called “moderate” camps, are hardly alone in their buyer’s remorse. On Thursday night, The New York Times reported that Trump himself has told four people close to him that he regrets going along with Speaker Ryan’s plan.
Bannon, for his part, is hardly pleased with the bill as it stands. According to Trump administration officials, Bannon himself hates the current AHCA—“he thinks it’s a piece of shit…and he told me as such,” one source described bluntly. “But, I mean, he's not going against [the president].”
If Trumpcare/Ryancare goes down in flames, a great share of the blame will inevitably be shoveled onto Speaker Ryan and House GOP leadership—a Republican leadership that just two short years ago Bannon was calling out as “all cunts.”
Enemies list?
Sadly, this is Bannon’s authoritarian impulse coming to the fore.
I live in NY so I expect that we’ll have two weasels in the senate all the time.
But Arizona and Wisconsin, and wherever some of the other characters like mccain and ryan are from, they’re just as worthless.
Worse, because they’re supposed to be on our side
If you’re gonna vote RINO, then just vote dem and get the real thing
PURE FAKE NEWS
Who wouldn’t?
100% history fail right there.
And it was really easy for them to vote to repeal when they knew it would be vetoed anyway. It’s like standing over a pond with a fishing pole when you know there’s no fish just so you can say you went fishing.
yep. smells like fake news to me
I love Trump but on this issue I’m with the Freedom Caucus.
Frankly, I do not understand Trump doing anything less than “Repeal and Replace”.
Planned ? Unauthorized ?
freedom caucus is NOT the enemy here. only RINO’s in disguise...
“Bannon, for his part, is hardly pleased with the bill as it stands. According to Trump administration officials, Bannon himself hates the current AHCA—“he thinks it’s a piece of shit…and he told me as such,” one source described bluntly. “But, I mean, he’s not going against [the president].”
If Trumpcare/Ryancare goes down in flames, a great share of the blame will inevitably be shoveled onto Speaker Ryan and House GOP leadership—a Republican leadership that just two short years ago Bannon was calling out as “all cunts.”
Bannon wants Ryan OUT.
“Bannon, for his part, is hardly pleased with the bill as it stands. According to Trump administration officials, Bannon himself hates the current AHCA—“he thinks it’s a piece of shit…and he told me as such,” one source described bluntly. “But, I mean, he’s not going against [the president].”
If Trumpcare/Ryancare goes down in flames, a great share of the blame will inevitably be shoveled onto Speaker Ryan and House GOP leadership—a Republican leadership that just two short years ago Bannon was calling out as “all cunts.”
Bannon wants Ryan OUT.
False news clue #1
One aide...
False news clue #2
Two senior Trump administration officials with direct knowledge...
False news clue #3
Sources also said...
False news clue #4
...The New York Times reported that Trump himself has told four people close to him that he regrets going along with Speaker Ryan’s plan...Bannon himself hates the current AHCA...blame will inevitably be shoveled onto Speaker Ryan and House GOP leadership
Probably true, and rightly so
Hell I kept out of the discussion because everyone is saying everything, so everyone is pretty much making it up as they go along.
If so, he’s a good man.
I don’t like the talk of going after Republicans who opposed the bill though.
Potential candidates...if you have ever thought about running for office, 2018 may be your best opportunity ever! Where’s that list of ‘republicans’ who need to hit the road?
Bannon is an idiot and a traitor to all the ‘deplorables’ he has claimed to be with if he does that—on their very first legislation, pushing a horrible bill and then making enemies of the small band of true-patriot conservatives we have in COngress?
If that’s their approach, they’ve lost me.
not sure which would be worse..
this got accepted as anything but fake news or
the babies get tossed out with the bathwater again.
The GOP has so many holes in both its feet already
the fact it stands for anything is a miracle in itself.
why bother taking names when ya need to pay some personal visits to the elites that will likely lead the way to 40 more years in the desert, like clockwork , if past performance is any guarantee of future agendas.
Leadership that wallows along to get along is not what the country needs.
I appreciate Bannon’s sentiment, just advise caution in identifying friend v. foe.
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