Back to offense not defense.
Via Charleston Post and Courier:
When former White House adviser Steve Bannon walked onstage Friday night to address a sold-out crowd at the Citadel Republican Society’s annual Patriot Dinner, he was welcomed like a rock-star.
Cadets whooped and hollered in their woolen dress uniforms. A man wearing a coat and tie pulled out a red towel, waving it high in the air. Even the three Republicans in the room who are hoping to be the next governor of South Carolina tripped over themselves to align their campaigns with Bannon and his populist message that propelled Donald Trump into the White House.
“The majority of the people in this room, in this state and in this country agree that the entrenched, establishment interests of both parties are the major reason why people are fed up with their government,” said Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant, one of the 2018 candidates for governor.
Mount Pleasant attorney Catherine Templeton, who is also running to be the state’s chief executive, called Bannon “a patriot, a fighter and a conservative who speaks for the rest of us.” She introduced him to the audience as her friend.
Even Gov. Henry McMaster, who showed up late and had to watch Bannon’s speech from the back of the room, scurried to the podium after Bannon’s remarks to remind the crowd he nominated Trump for president at the Republican National Convention.
Turning to look at Bannon, McMaster added, “Nobody did more to elect Donald Trump than Steve Bannon.”
But Bannon did not give any endorsement during his nearly 45-minute speech.
Instead, he played to the room: Mocking Hillary Clinton, taking digs at the media and defending Republican Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore.
“Until I see additional evidence on Judge Moore, I’m standing with him,” he said, in relation to a recent Washington Post story contending Moore had sexual contact with a teen-aged girl in the 1970s when he was 32.
Bannon relished in recounting the glory of Trump’s surprise victory. The audience of more than 250 people cheered as he retold the tale.
“So how did we do it? In 85 days, how did we do this? It’s called unity. It’s called a coalition,” the chairman of the right-leaning Breitbart News told a cheering crowd.