Media Matters’ Oliver Willis Explains The “Direct Connection” Between “Alt-Right” Movement And Trump Campaign

From the August 25 edition of CBC’s CBCNews:

Video file

MICHAEL SERAPIO (HOST): Now, we've just been listening to Hillary Clinton speak. You've been listening alongside. She's in Reno, Nevada, and she's essentially tying the Donald Trump campaign with this “alt-right” movement. How accurate is that? Does she have a point here?

OLIVER WILLIS: Well, Trump’s new CEO of his campaign is the former chairman of Breitbart News, so it’s not a casual connection. There is a direct connection between the “alt-right” movement and the Trump campaign. And also through the primary Trump himself has, as you pointed out, courted these elements. He’s given credentials to white power radio shows. You had a white power radio show that actually was broadcasting from the floor of the Republican convention, and they were given credentials by the Trump campaign. Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist you referenced, he also was given a VIP pass to the floor of the Republican convention. Trump’s advisers regularly appear, his informal adviser, regularly appears on Alex Jones’ radio show. So these connections are -- there is a pretty strong connection between the two of them.

[…]

WILLIS: For a long time, the conservative movement, conservative media, has sort of stoked this racial animosity, but they always were able to contain it. And, I think this is the first time in a long time -- probably since the original conservative revolution in the '60s -- where it has taken over the party, and they are unable to counter it or contain it.

Previously:

What Is The “Alt-Right”? A Guide To The White Nationalist Movement Now Leading Conservative Media

Hillary Clinton: Trump’s Hire Of Breitbart Chief “Represents A Landmark Achievement” For The Alt-Right Movement

CNN's Brian Stelter: The “Alt-Right” Audience Breitbart Caters To Comes Across As “Sexist, Racist, And Anti-Semitic”