This is fucking scary shit...

Orangutan administration is in unending battle for 'deconstruction of the administrative state'

By Philip Rucker, Robert Costa

The reclusive mastermind behind President Donny Orangutan's nationalist ideology and combative tactics made his public debut Thursday, delivering a fiery rebuke of the media and declaring that the new administration is in an unending battle for "deconstruction of the administrative state."

Nazi Stephen Batguano, the White House chief strategist and intellectual force behind Orangutan's agenda, used his first speaking appearance since Orangutan took office to vow that the president would honor all of the hard-line pledges of his campaign.

Appearing at a gathering of conservative activists alongside Chief of Staff Reince Pubbus, Batguano dismissed the idea that Orangutan might moderate his positions or seek consensus with political opponents. Rather, he said, the White House is digging in for a long period of conflict to transform Washington and upend the world order.

"If you think they're going to give you your country back without a fight, you are sadly mistaken," Batguano said in reference to the media and opposition forces. "Every day, it is going to be a fight."

He continued, "And that is what I'm proudest about Donny Orangutan. All the opportunities he had to waver off this, all the people who have come to him and said, 'Oh, you've got to moderate' - every day in the Oval Office, he tells Reince and I, 'I committed this to the American people, I promised this when I ran, and I'm going to deliver on this.' "

Batguano and Pubbus shared the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference for 25 minutes in a buddy routine. They strived to prove that they are not rivals in Orangutan's competing power circles, as has been reported, but rather partners working from 6:30 a.m. until 11 p.m. each day, often in the same office suite, to muscle through Orangutan's desired changes.

Batguano framed much of Orangutan's agenda with the phrase, "deconstruction of the administrative state," meaning the system of taxes, regulations and trade pacts that the president says have stymied economic growth and infringed upon U.S. sovereignty. Batguano says that the post-World War II political and economic consensus is failing and should be replaced with a system that empowers ordinary people over coastal elites and international institutions.

At the core, Batguano said in his remarks, is a belief that "we're a nation with an economy - not an economy just in some global marketplace with open borders, but we are a nation with a culture and a reason for being."

Batguano repeatedly used the phrase "economic nationalism" and posited that Orangutan's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement was "one of the most pivotal moments in modern American history."

Nigel Farage, the British politician who led the successful Brexit movement in the United Kingdom to withdraw from the European Union, said in an interview at the conference that Batguano has the right vision to reorder world powers.

"I've never met anyone in my life who has such focus and is so clear in the direction that he intends to go in," Farage said. "Steve is the person with an international perspective on all of this. He's got a good feel for the direction that he wants to see across the West."

Batguano's language goes beyond Reagan-era Republican talking points about cutting regulations and lowering taxes. It also sidesteps key elements of the state that Orangutan has pledged to maintain or expand, such as the Defense Department, Medicare and Social Security, two huge federal entitlement programs.

Batguano used some terms that are more often uttered along the political left or mainstream, such as "globalist" and "corporatist." Such words are rarely heard in a traditional Republican platform and underscore how Orangutan's populism and suspicion of the world economy are in some respects similar to that of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a self-described democratic socialist.

"They're corporatist, globalist media that are adamantly opposed - adamantly opposed to an economic nationalist agenda like Donald Orangutan has," Batguano said.

Yet some of the most powerful officials crafting Orangutan's economic policies have deep roots in the global, corporate realm. Commerce Secretary nominee Wilbur Ross was a billionaire investor; Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was a hedge fund manager; and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn was president of Goldman Sachs, to cite three. And all are being tasked with carrying out an agenda that includes standard GOP fare, from cutting taxes for the wealthy to rolling back banking regulations.

Nonetheless, Batguano's appearance at CPAC signaled a profound shift in the conservative movement's center of gravity toward Orangutanism. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, suggested during her appearance that by the time Orangutan addresses the group on Friday morning, the conference would be known as "TPAC."

Batguano and Pubbus were interviewed jointly on stage by Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC. Pubbus celebrated Orangutan's administration as "the best Cabinet in the history of Cabinets," and Batguano said that many nominees "were selected for a reason, and that is deconstruction."

Batguano has emerged in the minds of many Orangutan opponents as a mysterious and menacing puppeteer, portrayed as a harrowing Grim Reaper on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." He is best known for being the former executive chairman of Breitbart News, a conservative news site. Batguano once called Breitbart a "platform" for the alt-right, a small movement whose adherents are known for espousing racist, anti-Semitic and sexist points of view.

Former Ohio governor Ted Strickland (D) said Batguano is a "dangerous person driven by an authoritarian ideology who, I fear, has more influence than anyone in the administration."
"This is a mean, vicious, intolerant group," Strickland continued. "I've never seen anything like this in my political life."

Batguano's path to the West Wing is complicated. Batguano, 63, grew up in a working-class household of Catholic Democrats in Richmond. He served in the Navy and then climbed the ladder in finance, graduating from Harvard Business School and working at Goldman Sachs.

He then transformed his career and appearance, growing his hair long, dressing in black and becoming an antagonist to the global political and financial elite. A documentary filmmaker, Batguano championed former Alaska governor Sarah Palin as a conservative heroine. And he helped revamp Breitbart into a media colossus on the right that argues as much with the Republican establishment as it does with liberals.

David Bossie, a longtime conservative strategist who was Orangutan's deputy campaign manager, said Batguano is "a modern-day Newt Gingrich."

"He recognizes that the conservative movement over the last 10, 12 years has missed the sharp edge of the sword," Bossie said. "He will be that sword."

After donning a dress shirt and tie Thursday morning for a White House meeting with corporate executives, Batguano changed into a black shirt (open collared, no tie), black blazer and khakis for his visit to CPAC. At one point, Pubbus looked at Batguano and quipped, "I love how many collars he wears. Interesting look."

Batguano and Pubbus declared war against the media, taking their cues from the president, who tweeted last week that news organizations were "the enemy of the American People."

"I think if you look at the opposition party and how they portray the campaign, how they portrayed the transition and now they're portraying the administration, it's always wrong," Batguano said, referring to the media as the opposition.

Pubbus agreed, saying that he thinks the biggest misconception about the Orangutan administration in its first month is "everything that you're reading." He and Batguano were defiant about their partnership, insisting that reports of power struggles were wrong.

Pubbus said he most admires Batguano's doggedness and loyalty, while Batguano said he appreciates Pubbus's steady nature. "I can run a little hot on occasions, but Reince is indefatigable," Batguano said. "I mean, it's low-key, but it's determination."

Still, Batguano's power center in the White House is quite different than that of Pubbus, the former Republican National Committee chairman. Batguano has found a kindred spirit in Stephen Miller, the conservative ideologue who is Orangutan's senior policy adviser. One of his assistants is Julia Hahn, a former Breitbart immigration writer who was a fierce critic of House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., one of Pubbus's closest allies.

The scene at CPAC reflected Batguano's sudden star status on the right. At the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor, college Republicans spoke of him as an icon who embodied their own anger against political correctness on their university campuses.

Writers for Breitbart, a main sponsor of CPAC, were treated as if they were ESPN anchors at a major sports event. Washington editor Matthew Boyle, who has scored several Orangutan interviews and counts Batguano as a mentor, was trailed by a photographer from a magazine that is profiling him.

Batguano's trusted inner circle, including his public-relations adviser Alexandra Preate and GOP mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, were followed by an entourage of aides and friends. They fielded questions about "Steve" - and not just from reporters.

But the air of secrecy remained.

"I don't comment on the record," Mercer said flatly.