(WASHINGTON) — Former White House chief strategist and longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon said he thinks former President Trump will win this November’s election by a “landslide.”
“We have a 100% certainty we could beat [President Joe] Biden and beat him big and take the Senate and pick up seats in the House,” Bannon said in an interview Sunday with “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl.
Bannon, an architect of Trump’s 2016 campaign who later spent just seven months in the White House, told Karl he talks with Trump “frequently enough.”
Bannon is scheduled to report for a four-month prison sentence on Monday for defying Congress by avoiding a Jan. 6 committee subpoena to discuss his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. On Friday, the Supreme Court denied his request to remain out of prison while he continues to appeal his conviction.
Bannon has remained influential among hardcore Trump supporters through his four-hour-a-day show “War Room,” broadcast from the basement of his Washington, D.C., home.
The themes and rhetoric from Bannon’s “War Room” often echo in Trump’s campaign speeches — the most central of those being retribution. For his part, Trump has repeatedly vowed to go after his political opponents and, at times, even telling his supporters, “I am your retribution.”
Karl pressed Bannon on who may be the target of a second Trump administration, noting that some who served Trump and crossed him say they’re worried — such as former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who recently told CNN that he and others in the intelligence and law enforcement communities are having conversations about whether they may need to leave the country if Trump is elected to avoid being detained.
“He ought to be very worried,” Bannon said. “He’s definitely going to be investigated. So is [former FBI Director James] Comey. So is [former Defense Secretary Mark] Esper. I believe [former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark] Milley will.”
Bannon went on to claim former Attorney General Bill Barr would also be investigated, but he denied that such threats of investigation qualify as retribution.
“It’s not retribution at all. First off — ” he said.
“Those were his words, not my words, ‘I am your retribution,'” Karl pushed back, referring to Trump.
“His retribution is a very successful, more successful second term,” Bannon said. “What we’re saying is we want justice. We want to have full investigations, and then if criminal charges come up, then criminal charges come up.”
Despite Bannon’s confidence that Trump will win reelection, he dodged questions from Karl to call on Trump supporters to accept the results of the 2024 election regardless of the outcome.
“Will you appeal right now, message to all of Trump supporters to respect the results?” Karl asked.
“Are you going to pull this again?” Bannon replied.
“Win or lose and — to vow there will be no violence?” Karl pressed.
Bannon went on to ask Karl if he has ever “asked a Democrat this question.”
“I mean, I haven’t seen Democrats storm the Capitol to try to stop an election,” Karl responded.
Bannon said that until it is proven the election is “totally fair,” “all bets are off.”
With just two weeks from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, when Trump is expected to officially accept the Republican nomination for president, Bannon on Sunday laid out his vision for what Trump’s second term would look like, detailing “three verticals” that he said he envisions a second Trump administration addressing.
“First vertical is seal the border and the mass deportations,” Bannon said. “The second vertical is about the finances. So Trump’s going to have to deal with a budget of $2 trillion of deficits. He’s going to have to look at the — getting the tax cuts back. And the third is to stop these endless forever wars.”
Despite Bannon’s confidence that Trump and Republicans will be victorious come November, some of his previous election predictions have come up short.
In 2018, Bannon told Karl he expected Republicans would have “an astounding victory” and would “run the tables in the House.” But instead, Democrats picked up 40 seats.
In 2022, he predicted a “massive blowout” for Republicans. Instead, they lost many competitive races from the House to governorships nationwide.
Bannon admitted that his 2022 prediction “did not come out anywhere near what we thought,” but went on to defend his record.
“This is a populist, nationalist revolution,” Bannon said. “It’s a process, we’re not going to win every election.”
Karl also asked Bannon about Trump’s performance at the first presidential debate, largely seen as a victory after a weak performance by Biden.
“Are you worried the Democrats will replace Biden with somebody a little bit harder to beat?” Karl asked.
“I was not a fan of doing this debate at this time, because I said, you’re giving them a free option,” Bannon said. “President Trump should debate who the Democratic Party nominee is, not a guy named Joe Biden. If it’s Biden, do it, if it’s [Michigan Gov.] Gretchen Whitmer, do it. If it’s [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom, [former first lady] Michelle Obama, you pick it. The Democrats should pick it. That’s their choice.”
Bannon said he doesn’t believe Trump should agree to debate Biden again, but that by the time the second presidential debate comes around at the end of September, “he won’t be around.”
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