Story highlights Bannon said in 2013 that McCarthy was right in his campaign against Communist infiltration.

Trump accused former President Obama of McCarthyism over the weekend.

(CNN) Donald Trump's chief White House strategist Steve Bannon said in 2013 that Sen. Joseph McCarthy was right in his 1950s campaign claiming widespread Communist infiltration into the United States government.

The Wisconsin senator's inquisitions of those he suspected of communist ties -- which eventually led to his censure by the United States Senate -- was a key moment in the Red Scare and led to the coining of the term "McCarthyism."

Over the weekend, President Trump accused former President Obama of McCarthyism, making the unsubstantiated allegation the president wiretapped his phones in Trump Tower during the campaign.

Bannon made his comments in July 2013 while interviewing conservative pundit Diane West about her book "American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation's Character."

"Today in modern pop culture, you know they call Ted Cruz the Joe McCarthy -- if you want to think of who devils are it's Ronald Reagan and those who name-names at the House Un-American Activities, the Hollywood Ten are heroes right?" Bannon said. "Alger Hiss is a hero, right? Richard Nixon's a villain? Joe McCarthy is a villain. Your book makes very plain that these guys were right. The place was infested with either traitors that were on the direct payroll of Soviet military intelligence or fellow-travelers who were kind of compliant in helping these guys get along. I mean, there's absolutely no question of it. How has pop culture so changed it that white is black and black is white?"

Read More