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Ex-con MAGA darling Steve Bannon says he grew confident in President-elect Donald Trump’s electoral chances when the pol appeared to win over even the toughest crowd — Bannon’s fellow inmates.
“Number one, they think he’s gangster. Number two, they just admire him as a gladiator,” Bannon told UK’s The Times.
Bannon, 71, was thrown behind bars in July after being found guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress for spurning the since-defunct House Jan. 6 Committee’s subpoena for testimony and documents. He was released from prison in late October — just days before the Nov. 5 election.
Bannon said he spent his prison time delivering civics and other lessons to his fellow inmates, who were predominantly black and Hispanic men — and appeared to generally back Trump from behind bars.
At least some states, including New York, allow convicted felons to vote again — but only after they serve their time.
“I just taught capital markets and everything like that,” Bannon recounted of his stint behind bars, adding of the irony: “I’m here for insurrection, and I’m teaching civics.”
The Democratic-led House’s panel had sought information on Bannon’s machinations to overturn the 2020 election. But the former White House chief strategist contended that executive privilege precluded him from complying, despite him not actually being in the Trump administration during the time period in question.
Before reporting to prison, Bannon insisted, “I am proud” to serve time and claimed that he was a “political prisoner.”
Now that Trump has won the presidential election, Bannon, who has a reputation for his brass-knuckle approach to politics,said he believes that the Make America Great Again movement still has work to do in rooting out Republicans who resist the agenda.
“We are so close,” he told the outlet. “We just need to see this through.”
Bannon said he believes that the movement could continue ruling for years if Trump succeeds in getting his agenda through in his next term.
“If we deliver now, it’s upon us. They’ve given President Trump that. If he delivers on the economics of this … we’re going to govern for 50 years. It’s all there for us to lose,” Bannon surmised to the outlet.
“We have to institutionalize the populist nationalist revolution in this country, and you only do that by seizing the institutions, purging them, reforming them and remaking them in the image and likeness of the American people, the working men and women in this country.”
Bannon insists that he’s not a conservative or a Republican but rather a nativist who wants to put America first and keep the country out of foreign wars.
“The term Republican and Democrat is irrelevant,” Bannon contended. “They’re old categorizations that don’t matter. You’re either a populist nationalist or a global elitist.”
In a split from Republican politics, Bannon wants to ramp up taxes against the wealthy and billionaires.
“I keep telling the wealthy: ‘You’ve got to understand something: Unless this changes, you’re going to have a French Revolution in this country,’ ” Bannon argued.
“Every law, every action governments take should not just be for America first, but putting American citizens first. It should be within the framework of: how does this affect the common man or woman, particularly [in terms of] their economic benefit,” he added at another point in the interview with The Times.
Bannon was also dismissive of some of the culture-war politics that has engulfed the GOP recently, such as feuding over which bathrooms transgenders can use.
“I call it the shiny toys or the shiny ponies,” Bannon said dismissively of those skirmishes. “It’s a misdirection play.”
Bannon also believes that Europe is primed for a populist uprising similar to the MAGA movement. He told the British paper he believes that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage will eventually become the British prime minister.
“People have roles in life, right?” Bannon posited. “Somebody’s got to break the system so somebody else can come in and build it.”