The bad parent video sexsaga that has been the Donald Trump campaign took another twist on Wednesday.
Steven Bannon, chairman of Breitbart News, has been appointed CEO of the Trump campaign, a move that comes in the wake of reports that Trump had been unhappy with his current advisers.
Bannon is a well-known figure in conservative circles, particularly for his willingness to take on both Democrats and establishment Republicans -- a style that is also evident at Breitbart. The website's coverage has broadly embraced Trump's style of populism, and Trump has reportedly been listening to advice from Bannon for quite a while.
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Breitbarthad already established itself as the most pro-Trump news operation during an election season that had created deep divisions within the Republican party and the conservative media. Now, the relationship between the media website and the campaign is undeniable at a time when other right-leaning news outlets are turning on Trump.
Trump's campaign has been marked by tumult. In June, Trump fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, a move seen as a capitulation by the candidate that he would need to listen to the advisers in his campaign that were trying to soften his edge to take on Hillary Clinton. Trump has done no such thing, which has reportedly frustrated his team.
The introduction of Bannon appeared to put to rest any question of if he would eventually change.
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The rise of Breitbart
Bannon's role now cements what had already been a cozy relationship between Breitbartand Trump's campaign. It also represents a strange turn for a website founded out of a desire to take on power politics by a person who tended to decry the media for being too close to the government it covered.
Breitbart News was started in 2007 by Andrew Breitbart, a well-known conservative media personality. The site has grown rapidly in recent years as a go-to resource for news and opinions that tend to appeal to the most conservative of Republicans. Breitbartdrew around 150 million pageviews in July 2016, according to SimilarWeb.
Andrew Breitbart, who passed away in March 2012, grew to become one of the most influential figures in the early days of online media, having previously worked for the Drudge Reportand the Huffington Post before founding Breitbart. He was known for a fiery brand of conservatism that was not afraid to go after Republicans. That perspective that drove the early days of Breitbartright around the same time that the Tea Party began to rise.
Below, radio host Larry O'Connor, a former Breitbarteditor, noted Andrew Breitbart's distaste for collusion between politics and media.
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As Trump's popularity grew, the website came to be seen as something of a proxy for his campaign, allegations that have even come from some of its now-former employees. As Trump's popularity grew, the website's content often dovetailed with Trump's messages on immigration and the economy.
The depths of the website's loyalty to the candidate shone through in what might have been the most bizarre controversy of an undeniably strange election.
During an event in March, Trump's then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski was alleged to have grabbed then-Breitbartreporter Michelle Fields. Lewandowski denied having done so, and the website's coverage mostly backed him. Video later emerged showing Lewandwoski had grabbed fields.
The episode was enough to send numerous employees headed for the exits, including Fields. Former editor-at-large Ben Shapiro had been one of the most vocal critics of Breitbartin the wake of the fiasco.
After the news broke on Wednesday, Shapiro pointed to the appointment of Bannon as proof of the website's dedication to Trump.
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Us vs them
Breitbartis firmly in Trump's corner, but they don't have much company.
Conservative-leaning media, much like the Republican party, has hemmed and hawed around supporting Trump -- with some even endorsing Clinton.
The strongest stance came from the Houston Chronicle, which hadn't endorsed a Democrat in 44 years. The paper backed Clinton, arguing that Trump is a "danger to the Republic."
Trump has also had a contentious relationship with Fox News, following on his battle with host Megyn Kelly. The channel has been mostly aligned with Trump more recently, with Sean Hannity emerging as one of Trump's loudest backers. The channel's former CEO Roger Ailes, who resigned following a sexual harassment lawsuit, is also allegedly advising Trump.
Conservative mainstay Drudge Report, which had seemed to be backing Trump, appeared to recently poke fun at the eccentric business man in saying that Clinton's hairstyle had begun to resemble his.
As for conservative pundits and personalities, most haven't gone as far as endorsing Clinton -- but that hasn't stopped them from teeing off on Trump. Some of Trump's most vocal conservative critics have come from the right-leaning media, including Erick Erickson and S.E. Cupp. Even Rush Limbaugh has told Trump to stop complaining about the media.
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