U.S. Presidential debate

[Jester]

The Alt-Right is really not being forced into supporting Breitbart and Trump by the lack of credible alternatives. That is a silly narrative. They are genuinely enthusiastic about both, and the sentiment has been well-reciprocated.

Do you have any evidence of Bannon, or Trump courting the alt-right?

About Bannon, I can't tell if you're joking, or if you really just haven't followed the progression of that particular wretched hive of scum and villainy. Stephen Bannon describes Breitbart.com as a "platform for the alt right." That's the website he created, in his own words. Unless you're digging deep into the Chans and /pol/, there is no deeper well of memetic troll-rightism than Breitbart. They even have a helpful guide for "establishment conservatives" trying to understand what these crazy kids are getting up to. David Duke is publically and vocally thrilled with Bannon's appointment.

Trump isn't much more complicated. The single most obvious link is: Stephen Bannon! If this was just some I-know-a-guy-who-knows-a-guy, maybe that would be a dubious link, but you don't hire a guy who runs the internet's premier alt-right mudslinging website to run your campaign, and then install him as chief of strategy in your administration, unless you are courting the alt-right - their style, their ideas, their people. Trump has made a crazy eclectic campaign out of weird (intentionally) contradictory elements, but the use of alt-right media, language and ideas has been pretty consistent. Unlike almost every other candidate since George Wallace, he has been weirdly vague and heel-dragging about speaking out against the far right. He has played on every aspect of xenophobia and identity politics on the right, emphasising over and over the threat of immigrants, of foreigners, of those who are not "like us."

And again, just in case the point gets lost: He appointed Stephen Bannon as his chief of strategy. Not just knows, not just associates with, not just refuses to denounce. Might as well make Ann Coulter secretary of state, or nominate Milo the Troll King for the supreme court, at this point.

-Jester