NPR

FACT CHECK: Were The 1800s Steve Bannon's Kind Of America?

"America was build on her citizens," the former White House strategist told CBS. NPR's Steve Inskeep assesses how Bannon's claims about economic nationalism and border control align with history.
Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist, is seen in the State Dining Room of the White House in February. In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday, Bannon said, "Economic nationalism is what this country was built on." / Win McNamee / Getty Images

"You couldn't be more dead wrong. America was built on her citizens. ... Look at the 19th century. What built America's called the American system, from Hamilton to Polk to Henry Clay to Lincoln to the Roosevelts. [It was] a system of protection of our manufacturing, financial system that lends to manufacturers, OK, and the control of our borders. Economic nationalism is what this country was built on. The American system." – Steve Bannon

President Trump's former strategic adviser offered this riff about American history on CBS's He was responding tointerviewer Charlie Rose, "people have been able to come

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