MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Populist strategist and Breitbart news criticize Trump's Afghanistan policy

Trump’s address was a first, big test of what Breitbart will do now that Stephen Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, has returned to run the site

Minutes after President Donald Trump concluded his Afghanistan policy speech Monday night, the conservative site Breitbart news took an aggressive, critical approach to the address and Trump’s new policy. A banner headline blasted the president’s decision to extend the U.S. military commitment in Afghanistan as a “flip-flop” that “reverses course.”

 Articles likened him to his predecessor, President Barack Obama — a known sore spot for Trump.

Monday’s address in front of service members in Fort Meyer, Virginia, was a first, big test of what Breitbart will do now that Stephen Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, has returned to run the site he left to join Trump’s White House bid.

The new, re-Bannoned Breitbart didn’t seem to hold back at all. “Trump’s ‘America First’ Base Unhappy with Flip-Flop Afghanistan Speech,” blared one headline.

The lead of the main story contained a series of subtle digs: “President Trump unveiled his plan for Afghanistan after seven months of deliberation Monday evening, announcing tweaks around the edges of the current strategy instead of a different approach,” read the lead sentence of Breitbart’s wrap on the speech.

And other articles seemed tuned to frustrate Trump and tweak rivals of Bannon.

One piece was headlined “His McMaster’s voice: Is Trump’s Afghanistan policy different from Obama?” It amounted to a two-fer: Ripping national security adviser H.R. McMaster — a former Bannon rival — and likening Trump’s decisions to those of Obama.

Another article drilled down on similarities between the two presidents’ approaches in Afghanistan, contending that Trump “specifically echoed his predecessor’s 2009 speech, after acknowledging that the war had gone on too long.”

The piece’s author, Breitbart White House correspondent Charlie Spiering noted in a tweet that both Trump and Obama also said their commitments would not amount to a “blank check.”

Breitbart editor Joel Pollack tweeted that “Trump’s -Afghanistan speech was Obama’s speech minus the deadline & details. Like the bit about Pakistan, not convinced we can deliver India.”

Even before Trump spoke, the site seemed primed to oppose Trump’s commitment to Afghanistan, pre-skewering the commander in chief. For much of Monday afternoon, Breitbart’s lead story was an interview with the founder of Blackwater, headlined “Erik Prince: Trump will ‘roll over and accept’ same failed strategy on Afghanistan.”

Other articles noted that a troop increase would “increase pressure on Pakistan,” and there was a positive story about Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s opposition to any troop increase.