Former White House strategist Steve Bannon has drawn widespread attention after warning that some Republicans could face prison time if they lose upcoming elections.
Bannon addressed a crowd of aspiring conservative staffers at the Conservative Partnership Academy’s 2025 Bellator Awards this week.
He pressed that between now and the midterm election next year, Republicans must seize control of government institutions.
Highlights
- Steve Bannon warned some Republicans, including himself, could face prison if they lose the 2026 midterms and 2028 election.
- Bannon urged Republicans to codify Trump's executive orders into law to maintain control and prevent political defeat.
- Bannon called for bypassing the Senate filibuster and aggressively targeting opponents like NYC mayoral winner Zohran Mamdani.
Former White House strategist warned Republicans could face prison time if they lose the elections
Image credits: David Dee Delgado/Getty Images
Bannon added that they should turn as many of President Donald Trump’s executive orders as possible into law to avoid political defeat in the years to come.
Ultimately, he said, this was all to keep MAGA loyalists from being sent to jail.
“I will tell you right now, as God as my witness,” Bannon started saying, “if we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison, myself included.”
“They're not going to stop. They’re getting more and more and more radical, and we have to counter that,” Bannon said, warning about the Democrats’ increasing popularity.
His speech took place soon after the Democrats had sweeping victories in local and mayoral elections across the country.
Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s mayoral race, Abigail Spanberger became Virginia’s first female governor, and Mikie Sherrill was elected governor of New Jersey.
Democrats also scored major wins nationwide, taking Georgia statewide seats for the first time since 2006, holding Pennsylvania courts, and gaining in Virginia, New Jersey, and Mississippi. They also flipped key local offices in cities like Orlando, Syracuse, Charlotte, and Georgetown.
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
“And what do we have to counter it with?” Bannon continued. “We have to counter it with more action, more intense action, more urgency. We're burning daylight... We have to codify what President Trump has done by executive order,” he said.
The former adviser is no stranger to legal consequences and jail time. Bannon recently served a four-month prison sentence for refusing to comply with a Congressional subpoena related to the January 6 investigation.
Bannon pressed on the need for Republicans to codify Trump's executive orders into law
Image credits: Curtis Means/Getty Images
“Look, we have to understand that if we don’t this to the maximum — the maximalist strategy — now, with a sense of urgency, and in doing this, seize the institutions… if we don’t do this now, we’re going to lose this chance forever, because you’re never going to have another Trump,” Banon pressed.
Online reactions mocking Bannon’s statement were swift. One user said on TikTok, “we’re never going to have another Trump? DO YOU PROMISE??”
Image credits: TikTok
“Don’t threaten me with a good time!” Another commented, joking about the prison threat, while a third said, “God willing.”
“So he just admitted they are committing crimes…,” one user pointed out on TikTok. Another asked, “So what are you doing that can send you prison?!!!!!!”
Image credits: X
"Yeah, because Bannon is in the Epstein files, right along with Trump," an X user said, talking about Bannon going to prison too.
“I love confessions on an open mic,” a TikTok user said.
Image credits: TikTok
Bannon also encouraged Republicans to bypass what he described as structural barriers in Washington, including the Senate filibuster, in order to expand Trump-era policies.
The filibuster rule allows a minority of senators to block most legislation unless 60 senators vote to end debate. The rule is often used to delay a vote on a measure by preventing debate on it from ending.
“Structural barriers........you mean the constitution?” a TikTok user asked.
In a corresponding interview with Politico, Bannon called for aggressive action against political opponents. He singled out Mamdani, suggesting that federal agencies should investigate his citizenship and consider deportation.
Bannon also called for Mamdani's citizenship to be investigated and deportation to be considered
Image credits: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
Mamdani is a naturalized U.S. citizen who arrived in the country as a child.
Christopher Webb, a left-leaning political writer, warned about Bannon last month, “He’s preparing his audience to see violence and institutional takeover as ‘necessary’. And he’s counting on Democrats and independents being too divided or too polite to call it what it is.”
Webb concluded: “This isn’t going to end well.”