‘How Can You Say That?’ Steve Bannon Floored To Hear Chris Cuomo Call Out Trump As Not a ‘Real Populist’
Steve Bannon was shocked to hear Chris Cuomo call out President Donald Trump as a phony “populist” with a political brand manufactured by Bannon and others.
Bannon, a former advisor to Trump, joined Cuomo for The Chris Cuomo Project on Thursday, and while much of the talk was the two men finding common ground, Bannon and Cuomo clashed on the legitimacy of Trump’s image as a “populist” politician.
After Bannon called out former President Joe Biden as a “phony” small-town Pennsylvania politician, Cuomo said he doesn’t buy into Trump’s own image as a champion for the working class.
“I mean, the idea that he’s a real populist, I just don’t buy it,” the NewsNation host said.
“How can you say that?” Bannon asked. “Chris, why does he have this movement that actually—”
“Because of you,” Cuomo said, cutting in. “That’s why. You guys made him your horse.”
“No, get out of here,” Bannon responded.
The War Room host praised Trump for having a “visceral connection to working-class people.”
“This guy used to not even shake hands, Steve,” Cuomo said, doubting Trump’s “connection” to working-class voters. “You and I both remember that. He would not shake people’s hands because he thought they were dirty. I’m just saying, he ain’t Mario Cuomo, okay?”
When Bannon declared that Trump is just a “guy from Queens,” Cuomo again pushed back.
“He’s from Jamaica Estates, and then Fred [Trump] moved them out onto the island. He’s not a guy from Queens, I’ve never even met anyone who sounds like him, by the way, I didn’t even know where his accent comes from,” he said.
“New York. Chris, are you going to sit there and deny President Trump going around the country and these rallies?” Bannon asked.
“It was one of the most misunderstood things that the media suffered from in 2015,” Cuomo said
He argued Trump is a longtime “TV celebrity” who knows how to sell a message, another point the media and his opponents underestimated him on.
“I’m not saying he doesn’t know how to sell the message,” he said. “I’m saying that. I think he’s a brilliant salesman of the message, I think it’s his particular genius. I’m just saying it’s not organic. And should that matter? No, the policies matter. All that matters are the policies.”
Watch above via The Chris Cuomo Project.
