--- description: Chief Strategist Steve Bannon called progressive magazine The American Prospect Tuesday and spoke on his rivals, China and Charlottesville. title: Steve Bannon Mocks Opponents: 'They're Wetting Themselves' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta135601c72043344/6988da0fbc6cfc22b43e2aaa/gettyimages-691277780.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Steve Bannon Mocks Opponents: 'They're Wetting Themselves' by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 17, 2017 12:35 PM CUT  Senior Counselor to the President Steve Bannon Senior Counselor to the President Steve BannonChip Somodevilla—Getty by [Lisa Marie Segarra](/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 17, 2017 12:35 PM CUT White House Chief Strategist [Steve Bannon](http://time.com/4904066/steve-bannon-north-korea-military-solution/ "undefined") called progressive magazine _The American Prospect_ Tuesday and spoke on his rivals, China and Charlottesville. “They’re wetting themselves,” Bannon [told _The American Prospect_ ](http://prospect.org/article/steve-bannon-unrepentant "undefined")of his opponents in the state, defense and treasury departments. He then gave details on how he would have some of those opponents ousted from their positions, according to the report. When asked about [Charlottesville](http://time.com/4904341/our-country-be-damned-late-night-hosts-keep-slamming-president-trump-over-charlottesville/ "undefined"), Bannon also called white nationalists “a collection of clowns” during the interview. “Ethno-nationalism—it’s losers. It’s a fringe element. I think the media plays it up too much, and we gotta help crush it, you know, uh, help crush it more,” Bannon told _The American Prospect._ He also added that he wants Democrats to focus on racism saying, “If the left is focused on race and identity, and we go with economic nationalism, we can crush the Democrats. Bannon also complimented co-founder and co-editor of _The American Prospect_ Robert Kuttner on his column dictating that China is profiting from the United States and [North Korea’s “nuclear brinkmanship.”](http://time.com/4904279/guam-north-korea-enveloping-fire/ "undefined") “You absolutely nailed it,” Bannon said. Bannon even extended an invitation to Kuttner to come to the White House after Labor Day, according to the magazine. Steve Bannon Mocks Opponents: 'They're Wetting Themselves' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4904380/steve-bannon-mocks-opponents-theyre-wetting-themselves/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4904380/steve-bannon-mocks-opponents-theyre-wetting-themselves/"},"headline":"Steve Bannon Mocks Opponents: 'They're Wetting Themselves'","datePublished":"2017-08-17T12:35:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:02:21.178Z","description":"He also called white nationalists 'losers' and 'clowns'","url":"https://time.com/4904380/steve-bannon-mocks-opponents-theyre-wetting-themselves/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta135601c72043344/6988da0fbc6cfc22b43e2aaa/gettyimages-691277780.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Marie Segarra","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta135601c72043344/6988da0fbc6cfc22b43e2aaa/gettyimages-691277780.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"steven bannon american prospect interview","caption":"President Donald Trump Makes Statement On Paris Climate Agreement","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4904380/steve-bannon-mocks-opponents-theyre-wetting-themselves/","name":"Steve Bannon Mocks Opponents: 'They're Wetting Themselves'"}}]}] ```