Steve Bannon weighs in on Britain’s burka debate following Boris Johnson’s ‘letterbox’ gaffe
Johnson, a former mayor of London, is one of Britain’s best-known politicians and is often cited as a potential candidate for prime minister
Republican strategist Steve Bannon weighed into British politics Sunday in a wide-ranging interview in which he defended former foreign secretary Boris Johnson’s comments about Muslim face veils and praised a controversial British far-right leader.
The former aide to President Donald Trump said Johnson had “nothing to apologise for” and should not “bow at the altar of political correctness” after he was criticised for saying women who wear burkas look like “letterboxes” and “bank robbers.”
Johnson made the comments in a newspaper column that argued against banning full-face veils, as Denmark has done.
“Excuse me, didn’t he actually support the wearing of the veil?” Bannon told The Sunday Times. “His entire argument revolves around not wanting to ban the burka, but arguing that he agrees that it’s an oppressive garment and that there is no scriptural basis for it in the Koran, which is true. I think the substance got lost because of his throwaway line.”
Johnson has been criticised by Muslim groups and politicians, including Prime Minister Theresa May, who urged Johnson to apologise. Johnson’s representatives have said he won’t apologise.
“The hysterical mainstream media can never separate the ‘signal from the noise’– fortunately, the populists can,” Bannon said.