Sure, subverting the government of a superpower sounds fun, and Steve Bannon has definitely been enjoying it. He lets the man-child in the next room rant, and occasionally slides something in front of him for an unpresidented scrawl. That Donald, he’ll sign anything. But the whole shadow-presidenting gig can get a little boring, what with Congress providing all the push-back of damp tissue. Really, what’s a fun-loving fascist going to do for an encore?
Just as Mr. Bannon has connected with far-right parties threatening to topple governments throughout Western Europe, he has also made common cause with elements in the Roman Catholic Church who oppose the direction Francis is taking them. Many share Mr. Bannon’s suspicion of Pope Francis as a dangerously misguided, and probably socialist, pontiff.
Others think Francis’“socialist” concerns about the poor are far from misguided and actually kind of Christian. But now that he’s got an Oval Office for his ante room, Bannon is ready to take on bigger games. He’s ready to lean on His Holiness.
In a newly turbulent world, Francis is suddenly a lonelier figure. Where once Francis had a powerful ally in the White House in Barack Obama, now there is Mr. Trump and Mr. Bannon, this new president’s ideological guru.
And there are conservative Catholic groups ready to hitch their dreams of rolling back the last three centuries onto Bannon’s Pepe-painted wagon.