Steve Bannon Defends Trump’s Inauguration Guests as ‘Supplicants,’ Not Oligarchs
(AP/File)
ABC News host Jonathan Karl pressed MAGA influencer Steve Bannon on Sunday about President-elect Donald Trump’s apparent embrace of billionaires, despite his campaign promise to prioritize “the forgotten men and women.”
During an interview on ABC’s This Week, Karl pointed out Trump’s recent meetings with tech giants like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, questioning how it aligned with Trump’s populist rhetoric.
“So what do you make of the fact that sitting there with him—you’re gonna see the three richest Americans ever?” Karl asked, referencing Musk, Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, who are expected to have prime seats at Trump’s upcoming inauguration.
“That doesn’t seem like the forgotten men and women that Trump talked about last time,” Karl continued. “Are you surprised to see that?” Bannon defended Trump’s actions, asserting that the presence of these tech moguls at the inauguration signaled a shift in power dynamics.
“I am not [surprised],” Bannon said. “They’re there as supplicants. They’re not there as the oligarchs.” Bannon explained that the invitation to Zuckerberg set off a chain reaction among other billionaires.
“As soon as Zuckerberg said, ‘I’ve been invited, I’m going,’ the floodgates opened up, and they were all there knocking, trying to be supplicants,” Bannon claimed. “So I look at this, and I think most people in our movement look at this as President Trump broke the oligarchs.”
Bannon’s comments highlight a recurring theme in Trump’s political narrative: portraying himself as a disruptor who wields power over elite institutions. While Trump’s collaboration with billionaires may seem at odds with his populist messaging, Bannon framed it as evidence of their submission to Trump’s influence.
As Trump prepares to take office, the tension between his populist promises and his relationships with the wealthiest Americans remains a subject of debate, with critics and supporters interpreting the symbolism of these high-profile alliances in starkly different ways.
