In 2015, Salvini donned a black t-shirt before addressing a crowd that included people waving Russian flags and flags with Celtic crosses that are a favorite sign of neo-Nazis; others were toting photographs of the fascist Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, according to the Daily Beast. Mussolini’s paramilitary supporters were known as the Blackshirts.
In 2016, Salvini traveled to the United States and attended a rally in Philadelphia for then-candidate Trump. The two men, who reportedly met for about 20 minutes after the rally, posed for a photo together that Salvini posted on Twitter.
Trump reportedly told Salvini, “Matteo, I hope you become prime minister of Italy soon.”
The New York Times, in a Feb. 24 article, noted that “Mr. Salvini has said on the campaign trail that fascism had done positive things for” Italy.
Bannon previously was chairman of the right-wing news site Breitbart, which continues to highlight stories about immigrants who commit crimes.
Bannon, who was forced out Trump’s senior counselor last August, fell completely out of Trump’s graces in January after the publication of the Michael Wolff book “Fire and Fury,” which included critical quotes from Bannon about Trump’s son Donald Jr. and daughter Ivanka, among other issues.
Trump blasted Bannon after the book’s release, saying, “He not only lost his job, he lost his mind,” and “has nothing to do with me or my presidency.”
Bannon resigned as Breitbart chairman on the heels of that flap.
The Guadian noted that Bannon has ties to the conservative American Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke, who met with Salvini last year at the Vatican.
