Steve Bannon is coming to Queens Village for GOP gala
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Steve Bannon. Photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons
By Rachel Vick and David Brand
Ex-White House aide Steve Bannon is coming to Queens Village later this month, headlining a roster of conservative pundits at a local Republican club’s annual gala.
Bannon, a former advisor to President Donald Trump hailed by neo-nazis and klansmen, will deliver the keynote address at a $125-per-plate dinner hosted by the Queens Village Republican Club on March 22. The event, held at the catering hall Antun’s, will also feature Katie Hopkins, a British far-right pundit billed as a “Celebrated International Freedom Fighter Defending Western Civilization,” on the event flyer.
Hopkins is frequently criticized for her hateful, particularly xenophobic, comments. She recently published a column highlighting the supposed benefits of the coronavirus outbreak, a list that includes ensuring that “borders are beautiful again” because international flights remain grounded and cities are quarantined.
The Queens Village Republican Club’s 145th Anniversary “Lincoln Dinner” will also honor former State Sen. Marty Golden with a “Lifetime Achievement Award;” bioethicist Dawn Eskew with a “Sanctity of Life Award;” and Bayside restaurateur Mike Amvros as “Businessman of the Year.” Rightwing radio host Rich Valdés will emcee the gala.
Before joining Trump’s White House team, Bannon served as editor of Breitbart, a conservative news outlet described by neo-nazi Richard Spencer as a a “‘gateway’ to alt-right ideas and writers” in a 2016 interview with The Daily Beast. He is widely regarded as a white nationalist, by anti-hate organizations, including the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The controversial headliners are a departure from past QVRC dinners, which featured more moderate voices, including then-mayor Mike Bloomberg and George Marlin, former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
QVRC President Philip Orenstein said the dinner was a “celebration to encourage people, to inspire the Republican Party and inspire fellow patriots so we can grow and organize, and energize the troops.”
Orenstein downplayed the criticism of Bannon and Hopkins, who will pose for photos with attendees for an extra $50.
“Anyone can hold whatever opinion they want of people,” Orenstein said. “People in the limelight are going to be a target, I know Katie Hopkins has been targeted because she takes a strong stance — people have a right to their opinions “
Assemblymember Clyde Vanel, whose district office is located across the street from Antun’s, said he welcomes perspectives across the political spectrum, even if he disagrees with them.
“In this country I am a defender of the First Amendment and I’ll fight for the ideas that I believe in and I’ll fight for things I don’t agree with,” Vanel said. “I love to have diverse opinions right in my neighborhood.”
Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg, who leads the congregation at the Malkhut synagogue and co-chairs the Jews for Racial and Economic Justice Rabbinical Council, said it was “painful” that many of her Queens neighbors would embrace Bannon as a keynote speaker
“As a rabbi, as a Jew, I know that there are plenty of Jews in Queens who find this to be a despicable choice for a keynote speaker in our community,” Goldenberg said. “By welcoming him they’re supporting white supremacy and bigotry. Steve Bannon has been working for years to elevate forces of White Nationalism and bigotry and racism against immigrants to
“He proudly foments hatred against Muslims, and people of color and Jews,” she continued. “His platform has been empowering white supremacists who have been committing violence.”
