Sen. Coons calls Trump’s Bannon hire “deeply disturbing“

Delaware’s junior U.S. Senator Chris Coons criticizes President-elect Trump’s pick of Steve Bannnon as his chief strategist, calling him “deeply disturbing.”

Coons didn’t hold back during the presidential campaign, calling Trump “a thin-skinned reality TV star” and “a Cheeto-faced short-fingered vulgarian.” Now, Coons is out with a statement critical of Trump’s decision to hire Steve Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor.

“In his election night victory speech, President-elect Trump pledged to be a president for all Americans. His choice of Steve Bannon as his chief strategist is deeply disturbing and fundamentally inconsistent with that pledge,” Coons said in a statement. Bannon is the executive chairman of Breitbart News, a conservative website with connections to the alt-right wing of the Republican party.

“At Breitbart, Mr. Bannon created an outlet built upon stoking racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism,” Coons said. “These are not the values that have made America great.”

Coons said he will defend the values of inclusion and diversity. “The President-elect must make it clear that the toxic blend of hate and bigotry that Mr. Bannon has made a living propagating has no place in a Trump administration.”