Steve Bannon is not afraid to give interviews to the political opposition; that much is certain. On Sunday – one day before Bannon was due to begin a four-month prison sentence for contempt of Congress – Bannon appeared on ABC News with the network’s Jonathan Karl. The exchange was, let’s say, lively.
First, Bannon ventured a prediction regarding this fall’s elections:
Former White House chief strategist and longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon said he believes former President Trump will win this November’s election in a “landslide.”
“We are 100% sure that we can win. [President Joe] Biden, beat him by a landslide, take the Senate and win seats in the House of Representatives,” Bannon said Sunday in an interview with “This Week” co-host Jonathan Karl.
Bannon, who helped shape Trump’s 2016 campaign and later spent only seven months in the White House, told Karl he speaks to Trump “often enough.”
Regard:
Given the current Survey averagesBannon may well be right, although the status of the House and Senate after the election is much more uncertain. But the real crux of this interview came when Karl Bannon asked about a second Trump term, retaliation, and acceptance of the election results. This discussion went beyond temperament and became downright controversial. Of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Bannon said:
“He should be very concerned,” Bannon said. “He will definitely be investigated. The same goes for [former FBI Director James] Comey. This is also [former Defense Secretary Mark] Esper. I think [former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark] Milley will do it.”
Bannon further claimed that former Attorney General Bill Barr was also under investigation, but denied that such threats of investigation amounted to retaliation.
“This is not retaliation at all. First of all -” he said.
“Those were his words, not my words: ‘I am your vengeance,'” Karl replied, referring to Trump.
“His retaliation is a very successful, even more successful second term,” Bannon said. “We say we want justice. We want a full investigation, and if there are criminal charges, then they will be criminal charges.”
Trump himself has declared that he is looking for success, not revengeand although Karl questioned some of Bannon’s more colorful metaphors – such as “heads on pikes” – Bannon stuck to his claim that there would be no vengeance, only justice.
See also: Trump is down, but not finished yet – “My revenge will be success”
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Bannon criticizes J6 committee and Justice Department before prison sentence: “Political prisoner of Nancy Pelosi and Merrick Garland”
The knives, of course, came into play during the discussion about accepting the results of this fall’s elections, with the inevitable hand-wringing from Karl over January 6th.
Although Bannon is convinced that Trump will win re-election, he dodged Karl’s questions and urged Trump supporters to accept the result of the 2024 election regardless of the outcome.
“Are you going to appeal now and send a message to all Trump supporters to respect the result?” asked Karl.
“Are you going to do that again?” Bannon replied.
“Win or lose and swear there will be no violence?” Karl urged.
Bannon further asked Karl if he had “ever asked a Democrat that question.”
“I mean, I didn’t see Democrats storming the Capitol to try to stop an election,” Karl replied.
Bannon said that until it is proven that the election was “absolutely fair,” “anything is possible.”
That is indeed an fascinating statement. While the J6 action cannot be called a “storming of the Capitol to prevent an election” – it was at most hooliganism, not an insurrection – no member of Congress was threatened and the election was certified; Bannon’s statement that “all bets are off” will be understood by the left to mean that he would support violence if the election does not go in Trump’s favor.
But he makes an excellent point when he notes that the time-honored media, of which Jonathan Karl certainly belongs, do not ask Democrats these kinds of questions, despite the fact that real insurrections always seem to be carried out by the left – I remind readers of the CHAZ incident in Seattlein which a gang of left-wing protesters and rioters took over part of the city and drove out the civil authorities. This can only be described as an actual (albeit confined) uprising.
Trump’s possible vice president, Congressman Byron Daniels, was a representative of the right-wing who asked X why different standards seem to apply to Bannon and, for example, Merrick Garland.
If Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro are the standard for Justice Department prosecutions, why is AG Garland an exception?
Garland came to the conclusion that his opinion mattered more than that of the elected representatives of the American people.
He believes he is above the law.
This is a SERIOUS PROBLEM.
Congress must act. pic.twitter.com/4Uxy8eWYYL— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) 26 June 2024
The interview is worth watching for the entire 12 minutes. Steve Bannon gives a college-level course on how not to take bullshit from a biased media guy. His choice of metaphors is unfortunate in places, as he gives the left more rhetorical clubs to beat the Trump campaign with when he uses metaphors like “heads on stakes,” but he has refuted many of Jonathan Karl’s unsubstantiated claims.
Steve Bannon will begin serving his four-month prison sentence on Monday. It will be fascinating to see what he does afterward, as his scheduled release date is just days before the November election.
