Rep. Tim Ryan lays down the gauntlet: Democrats can’t work with Trump if Bannon stays on

The controversy surrounding Donald Trump's recently announced chief strategist Steve Bannon isn't going away.

Appearing on CNN on Wednesday, Rep. Tim Ryan (D - OH) argued that having someone as divisive as Bannon in a key role within the Trump administration would immediately poison the well for a lot of Democrats and make them reluctant to believe the president is acting in good faith.

"I think it's going to be very, very hard to work with him," Ryan explained. "We just got through this campaign where Donald Trump treated women and minorities and people of certain religious persuasions like they were not real Americans, like they were somehow un-American... I can see a scenario where there's a lot of Democrats who aren't going to want to be in meetings, are not going to want to work with Trump if [Bannon] is in the room."

Ryan was pressed on whether this was too partisan of a tone to strike, and was asked how his stance is different from Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's declaration that his goal in 2008 was to make Barack Obama a one-term president.

Ryan, however, wasn't having any of it.

"It would be helpful if he didn't appoint somebody or give someone a very high position that was very sympathetic to white supremacist groups," Ryan said.

Check out the full clip below.