Haaretz: Bannon aims to refurbish ‘kingmaker’ image with Jewish New York congressman

After the stinging defeat of his candidate Roy Moore in the Alabama Senate election, former Trump White House aide and Breitbart News head Steve Bannon worked to resurrect his image as a political kingmaker Monday by bragging about his “successful” support of Lee Zeldin, a Jewish pro-Trump Long Island congressman.

Bannon’s right-wing Breitbart website, which he once called a “platform for the alt-right” featured an “exclusive” report boasting that a fundraiser that Bannon held for Rep. Lee Zeldin “set a record for the congressman for this year,” though the article didn’t specify an amount.

The article claimed that House Speaker Paul Ryan had “abandoned” Zeldin by canceling a scheduled fundraiser for him. Bannon, the report claimed, then swooped in and said he would headline the fundraiser for Zeldin. “I felt it was my duty to do whatever I could to help Congressman Zeldin is an American Patriot,” Bannon told the site he leads.

The fundraising event, held last Thursday in Manhattan, was picketed by left-wing Jewish groups. About three dozen protestors chanted and waved signs reading “Zeldin is a bad Jew,” “As a Jew, I reject you” and “Shanda,” (Yiddish for scandal), according to report in Newsday.

The report said that the event cost attendees at least $500 per ticket and offered “sponsorships” for up to $5,400 (dishing out $2,700 will earn you the tile “Mensch.” According to Newsweek, Bannon and Zeldin have bonded over their shared position on Israel.