Breitbart snags WSJ veteran to lead new finance section

Veteran financial journalist John Carney is leaving The Wall Street Journal for Breitbart News.

Carney will head a new finance section for Breitbart, a populist-right online publication that’s particularly popular among President-elect Donald Trump supporters. The finance section will launch soon after the presidential inauguration on January 20.

“Breitbart was way ahead of the curve on politics and the rise of Trump,” Carney told Bloomberg News. “I think there’s an opportunity to do that for business, finance and economic news.”

Prior to the Journal, Carney was a senior editor at CNBC.

{mosads}In his Breitbart role, Carney will be responsible for a stable of contributors including CNBC veteran Larry Kudlow.

Breitbart served as a staunch advocate for Trump throughought the campaign, with stories almost always positive toward the Republican billionaire and derisive against any and all opponents in the primary and general election seasons.

Breitbart has also been accused of providing a platform for the “alt-right” political movement, which critics say is a cover for white nationalists.

Breitbart’s former executive chairman, Stephen Bannon, was tapped as Trump’s campaign CEO in August. He now serves as Trump’s chief White House strategist and has taken a leave from the publication.

The addition of Carney comes as Breitbart’s web traffic exploded in 2016. According to Alexa, a web traffic data and analytics company, Breitbart attracted more visitors than FoxNews.com, huffingtonpost.com or washingtonpost.com last year.

“We’re going to built a site that believes in the possibility of economic populism and the economics of making America great again,” Carney said.

This report was updated at 8:45 a.m.