Republicans declined to criticize Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Steve Bannon as the chief strategist to his impending administration, despite the latter’s record of promoting white supremacy. But Republicans said it was time to unify behind Trump and sidestepped questions on his promotion of antisemitic, anti-Muslim and misogynist content while overseeing the “alt-right” website Breitbart News. Trump’s move to elevate Bannon, who served as the CEO to his presidential campaign, sparked immediate backlash on Monday. Republicans such as Graham and Rubio cited Barack Obama as an example of how the American people should rally behind Trump. But Graham, among the leading defense hawks in Congress, warned he would not entertain Trump’s desire to forge a relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Source: The Guardian November 16, 2016 02:26 UTC