On Thursday’s show, Buck invited Rich Lowry, editor of National Review and a Fox News and Politico syndicated columnist, into the Freedom Hut to discuss the “palace intrigue” storyline involving a rift between Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner, and how it might affect policy going forward.
First, the two discussed the closer-than-expected election won by Ron Estes, a Republican, against a Democratic challenger for a race in Kansas for the open seat left by Mike Pompeo, who was selected to head the Central Intelligence Agency.
“Is this much ado about nothing?” asked Buck.
“I wouldn’t say its Armageddon,” replied Lowry. “It would have been if Ron Estes had lost. He only won by about 7 or 8 points in a district Trump won by 20. It’s clear political headwinds are running against Republicans. We’ll know more after this Georgia special election that’s coming up. Another red seat, not quite as red as Kansas.”
Buck asked for a bit more about the Georgia race, which features a young Democratic contender, Jon Ossoff, against a field of Republican candidates to fill the seat vacated by current Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price.
“It’s the best job in the universe to be a Democratic fundraiser right now,” said Lowry. “People are just throwing money at them.”
“The Democrats are throwing long bombs into the endzone, and if they get a catch, great, if not, they are going after Republicans on their home turf,” observed Buck.
Lowry agreed. “They’re just looking for a sign that a wave could be coming” in 2018.
The two then turned to the Kushner/Bannon conflict. “Some people tell me this is huge for the direction of this White House,” observed Buck.
“I think it is pretty consequential, and more consequential than this kind of intrigue that you see in any White House. Trump is so unformed, and so susceptible to the last advice he’s heard from anyone. And if Jared and Ivanka and Gary Cohn really become totally ascendant, it will affect policy. We might’ve already seen that this week, with Trump backing off on labeling China a currency manipulator, backing off on his opposition to the Export-Import Bank. And if Bannon is exiled entirely, their influence would only grow.”
“Do you think that will really happen?” asked Buck.
“People who are more plugged in than I am wouldn’t be shocked if it happened this weekend,” Lowry replied.
Look at the things Trump has said about him over the last couple days…Trump telling the Wall Street Journal Bannon is ‘a guy who works for me.’ Can you imagine George W Bush saying that about Karl Rove? Bush called Rove ‘the architect.'”
“And if Bannon goes, what do you make of the direction of this White House?” asked Buck. “What does a Bannon-less White House mean?”
“I’d be worried if he goes,” Lowry replied. “I’m not a huge Bannon fan. I don’t like the protectionism, I don’t like the chaos. But he’s a populist/conservative, and he helps keep Trump grounded somewhere in that conservative populist spectrum. What I would worry is that Jared and Cohn…pull Trump back on immigration restrictionism, that they don’t want to have a fight on Planned Parenthood in a spending bill. If those things get softened and pulled back, that’s my worry.”