"And what’s become clear from this is that no matter how much the establishment wants to clean Donald Trump up, get him on a TelePrompTer and get him on message, he has officially won the fight to let Trump be Trump," Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said. | Getty Clinton camp blasts Trump's hires

Hillary Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook unloaded on Breitbart News as a "so-called news site that peddles divisive, at times, racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories" after Donald Trump hired the outlet's executive chairman Stephen Bannon to help run his campaign on Wednesday.

"After several failed attempts to pivot into a more serious and presidential mode, Donald Trump has decided to double down on his most small, nasty and divisive instincts by turning his campaign over to someone who’s best known for running a so-called news site that peddles divisive, at times, racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories," Mook said during a conference call with reporters. "And what’s become clear from this is that no matter how much the establishment wants to clean Donald Trump up, get him on a TelePrompTer and get him on message, he has officially won the fight to let Trump be Trump. And he keeps telling us who he is. It’s time we believe him."


Mook went on to cite the Southern Poverty Law Center's assessment of Breitbart under Bannon's leadership, which he quoted as saying it "has undergone a noticeable shift toward embracing ideas on the extremist fringe of the conservative right. Racist ideas. Anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant ideas — all key tenets making up an emerging racist ideology known as the 'Alt-Right.'"

"The Breitbart organization has been known to defend white supremacists, like Trump who has refused to apologize to Gold Star father Khizr Khan. Bannon himself has said that he would keep ‘relentlessly going after Khan,'" Mook said, going on to remark that Breitbart has "compared the work of Planned Parenthood to the Holocaust" and has "repeatedly used anti-LGBT slurs in their coverage."

Another similarity, Mook remarked, is that Trump and Bannon have both "trafficked in deranged conspiracy theories" such as the true birthplace of President Barack Obama and claiming that the Obama administration was 'importing more hating Muslims.'"

“So it’s unfortunately not surprising to see this happen, coming from Trump after weeks of stories about his need to pivot … to a more serious campaign, it’s clear that his divisive, erratic and dangerous rhetoric simply represents who he really is," Mook said. "And he has decided to double down on his most divisive, hateful, erratic statements and behavior."

With Bannon on board, Mook said the Clinton campaign anticipated "more of what at the end of the day really scares voters about Donald Trump: the hateful rhetoric, erratic judgment and wild accusations and conspiracy theories and no plans whatsoever on how to create jobs or how to make a positive difference in people's lives."

Mook also levied criticism at new Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, promoted from her position as chief strategist.

"I think it's only going to get tougher for him to appeal to women voters going forward," Mook said, "and I don't think she's going to do anything to help that."