Steve Bannon pushed President-elect Donald Trump to seek retribution against his enemies when his second term begins next month.
With Republicans also set to control Congress, Washington will need to be dismantled, Bannon claimed during his remarks.
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“We have all three branches of government, and most importantly, we have the executive branch right now that we can deconstruct the administrative state with brilliant people, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy,” Bannon told the New York Young Republican Club’s 112th annual gala Sunday night, referring to the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency.
Bannon, Trump’s former White House chief strategist and host of the War Room podcast, said Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to lead the FBI, would bring sweeping changes to the Justice Department and the proverbial “deep state.”
“No mercy for them,” Bannon said. “No mercy. None.”
Later on during the speech, Bannon disavowed any “unity” outside of the GOP.
“Each and every one of you have changed (the) direction of this country by showing that populism is inclusive and showing that we want unity,” Bannon said. “Unity comes from victory. We are not going to have unity with radical Democrats.”
Trump has vacillated between taking a somewhat lenient approach to those who have criticized his campaign and pushing for some form of prosecution. He has also shown mixed messaging on key policy issues that have confused Democrats about how to approach his second administration.
Trump suggested that lawmakers who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot should be jailed while also saying that he would work with Democrats to keep “Dreamers,” people who were brought to the United States illegally as children by family, in the U.S.
Simultaneously, Trump is aiming to enact mass deportation of migrants once sworn into office and does not appear willing to restrict medication abortion access.
The president-elect also told NBC News’s Meet the Press that he would not take revenge on President Joe Biden by appointing a special prosecutor. “I’m not looking to go back into the past,” he said. “Retribution will be through success.”
“He’s got a kind heart and a big soul,” Bannon said, referencing Trump’s moderation. “But that’s not us, right? We want retribution, and we’re going to get retribution you have to. It’s not personal.”
However, Republican strategist Dennis Lennox pushed back on Bannon’s suggestions, claiming that Trump needs to focus on governing the nation.
“Steve Bannon is entitled to his opinion, and his position is understandable given what he went through, but it would be bad Trumpology to take his opinions as official pronouncements,” Lennox said. “The president has a mandate to govern. He shouldn’t get distracted by formers seeking to make themselves relevant in what promises to be a completely different administration.”
As Biden prepares to leave office, Bannon also slammed the president for pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, and the recent granting of clemency to nearly 1,500 people.
“In the White House right now, with the world on fire, they’re spending the time on blanket preemptive pardons,” he said. “Here’s the good news. We’ve got these rats cornered. If they give the pardons, the Democratic Party is finished.”
In an eyebrow-raising moment, Bannon suggested that the term-limited Trump could somehow run for a third term in 2028.
“Donald John Trump is going to raise his hand on the King James Bible and take the oath of office, his third victory and his second term,” Bannon said.
“And the viceroy Mike Davis tells me, since it doesn’t actually say consecutive, that, I don’t know, maybe we do it again in ’28?” he continued. “Are you guys down for that? Trump ’28?”
The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment only permits a president to serve two terms.
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“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” the amendment reads. “And no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.”
On the campaign trail, Trump said he would not run in 2028. “I don’t see that at all,” he told Sinclair Media Group.
