Who are Reince Priebus and Stephen Bannon?
Now that the world is having to come to terms with the election of Donald Trump as the President-elect of the United States, there is intense interest in whom he is going to appoint to advise him and serve in his cabinet.
We have the first two names: Reince Priebus, 44 year old Chairman of the Republican National Committee, will be Chief of Staff and Stephen Bannon, 62 year old Executive Chairman of the website Beitbart News, will become Chief Strategist and Senior Counsellor.
Priebus is a Washington insider and mainstream Republican figure (not that this will reassure Democrats and liberals), but Bannon is an extreme figure seen as a leader of the so-called “alt-right” movement whose appointment has created a range of reactions from deep worry to outright terror. It is unclear how well these two – whom Trump calls “equal partners” – will work together in office. But these are names we will hear a lot and people we need to understand.
You can find profiles of the two men and selected quotes from them here.