Republican Lee Zeldin Defends Joining Forces With Steve Bannon

By Dave Goldiner November 28, 2017

Lee Zeldin (R-Long Island) has defended his decision to hold a Manhattan fundraiser headlined by far-right flamethrower Steve Bannon.

Zeldin, a two-term incumbent who is considered a top target of Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections, confirmed reports that he has joined forces with Bannon, the former White House adviser who has declared war on the Republican establishment.

Long Island Congressman explains why he welcomes the support and fundraising of Steve Bannon ¯_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/8WqT6bRHCj

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)
I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Email(Required)

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 27, 2017

“He’s gotten a bad rap in a lot of respects,” Zeldin told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “I’ve heard him called a Nazi or a Nazi sympathizer.”

“There’s a lot about his background that people don’t know,” said Zeldin, who represents a moderate swing district that would appear to be unfriendly turf for Bannon’s scorched-earth populism. The Breitbart News boss has recently pushed hard for accused pedophile Roy Moore in his run for Senate from Alabama.

“He could do a better job of defending himself,” Zeldin said. “I agree with him in some respects and I might disagree with him in others.”

Zeldin, who is one of just two GOP Jewish members of Congress, pointed to Bannon’s strong support for Israel and his forecful opposition to the BDS movement as reasons to accept his active backing.

With President Trump’s popularity at a historic low, Bannon has said he plans to mount far right-wing challenges to a string of Republican lawmakers in 2018, amid signs Democrats could have a serious chance of retaking the House and Senate.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at goldiner@forward.com, or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO