Ex-convict and former White House chief strategist, Steve Bannon, anticipated President-elect Donald Trump ’s victory over Democratic opposition Kamala Harris in the November 5 elections. He said Trump managed to win over inmates as well, which happened to be the toughest crowd to impress, thus enhancing his chances of dominating the elections. The inmates apparently branded Trump as their warrior. The 71-year-old Republican-turned-podcaster said to UK’s The Times , “Number one, they think he’s gangster. Number two, they just admire him as a gladiator.”
Bannon, a MAGA ally, served four months in federal prison for spurning a subpoena by the now-defunctional House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. He was charged with two counts of contempt of Congress, as per PBS News .
However, the former investment banker was released just one week before the election results. Sent to prison for ‘insurrection,’ Bannon utilized his time by educating his fellow inmates with civics and capital marketing. “I just taught capital markets and everything like that,” he said. The majority of inmates belonged to African-American and Hispanic ethnicities with a mutual political affinity for the Trump administration. Hence, Trump had the convicted felons’ hearts, some of who are allowed to vote in states like New York following the conclusion of their prison sentence.
Steve Bannon: MAGA Must Seize The Institutions From The Established Order Of The Republican Party Working Against President Trump pic.twitter.com/JqhUz2XkPX
— Bannon’s WarRoom (@Bannons_WarRoom) November 13, 2024
Bannon has enjoyed much privilege under Trump’s presidency. He was among the four individuals accused of defrauding countless donors in the ‘We Build the Wall’ GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign, per USA Today . Then-president Trump unusually pardoned Bannon in 2021 as well while his trial was still due for federal fraud charges. “Prosecutors pursued Mr. Bannon with charges related to fraud stemming from his involvement in a political project,” former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at the time.
BREAKING: A federal judge ordered former Trump adviser Steve Bannon to report to prison on July 1 to begin a four-month prison sentence for defying subpoenas from the Jan. 6 Committee after a higher court rejected his appeal. pic.twitter.com/3CLvRbgFHX
— The Beat with Ari Melber (@TheBeatWithAri) June 6, 2024
Later, however, Bannon was convicted in 2022 and served time in federal prison; he was ‘proud’ to go to prison, brandishing himself as a ‘political prisoner.’ Following his release, Bannon has dedicated himself to the promotion of the Republican party’s Make America Great Again agenda. He also suggested that the party rule out Republicans who do not support the agenda of a populist nationalist country, per the New York Post .
Bannon told the outlet, “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.” He said that the Republicans shall get through with their agenda by seizing and reforming institutions for the benefit of the ‘working men and women’ of America. Bannon also dismissed the idea that he could be labeled as either a Republican or Democrat; instead, he said, “They’re old categorizations that don’t matter. You’re either a populist nationalist or a global elitist.”
