Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Steve Bannon predicts Trump victory in new article written from jail

Vice President Kamala Harris “has peaked,” according to an op-ed Bannon penned from a federal prison in Connecticut

Justin Rohrlich
Friday 27 September 2024 11:18
(AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.

Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.

Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election

Head shot of Andrew Feinberg

Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

As Steve Bannon finishes up the last several weeks of a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress, the right-wing strategist, podcaster, and former Trump confidant — who chose jail over testifying before the January 6 committee — is exhorting the MAGA faithful to show the Republican presidential candidate that they “have his back” in the final run-up to the election.

“Victory is at hand,” Bannon wrote in an op-ed from FCI Danbury, the federal prison in Connecticut where he currently resides.

Published Thursday in The National Pulse, a hard-right digital magazine founded by former Breitbart editor Raheem Kassam, Bannon’s piece claims voters are “decisively rejecting” Democratic nominee and sitting vice president Kamala Harris, deriding her campaign’s optimistic worldview as a “phony ‘politics of joy’” message. Harris, according to Bannon, “has peaked.” Instead, he writes, “The momentum is now on our side, and this is the time to capitalize on it.”

Trump confidant Steve Bannon is trying to rally the MAGA faithful from behind bars
Trump confidant Steve Bannon is trying to rally the MAGA faithful from behind bars (Getty Images)

“If the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement focuses all of its efforts on a massive get-out-the-vote and ballot-chasing effort in the crucial days and weeks until November 5th, we will win and win big,” Bannon’s op-ed goes on. “The stakes have never been higher; this is the opportunity to take back control. We are not just fighting for a win; we are fighting for the future of America. A victory of this magnitude means sweeping control of the House, Senate, and the Presidency. With this trifecta, we can destroy the policies that have harmed Americans and put the country back on track.”

Harris currently has a 2.9-point lead over Trump in the latest average of national polls and is ahead overall in the swing states. She’s also leading among young people, though one in six have still not committed to voting at all in November.

Bannon suggests that no voter truly remains “undecided,” but that some people have not yet decided whether or not they will cast a ballot in November. Convincing these individuals to vote for Trump is crucial, Bannon maintains, prescribing “relentless effort and personal contact” as the method by which “they will break our way.”

Bannon is now finishing up the final few weeks of his prison term
Bannon is now finishing up the final few weeks of his prison term (screengrab/Twitter/@ReOpenChris)

“President Trump risks his life daily to save our country,” Bannon’s missive concludes. “Every day, he faces tremendous opposition and challenges, but he continues to fight for the American people. Through your work, show him that you have his back. Let’s demonstrate our commitment to this cause by putting everything we have into these final weeks.”

Trump himself has marked the election homestretch by promoting, over the past month, a set of digital trading cards portraying him as a superhero, a line of silver coins bearing his likeness, and, just this week, a collection of watches ranging in price from $499 to a $100,000 “Trump Victory Tourbillion.”

In April, he announced the launch of Trump-branded Bibles, costing $60 each, with a post to his flagging Twitter clone, Truth Social, writing, “Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again. As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless The USA Bible.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in