Steve Bannon wants Donald Trump to double down on his legal battles against the media, saying the president-elect should seek “retribution” and even incarcerate reporters for inaccurate coverage.
“He’s got a kind heart and big soul. But that’s not us, right? We want retribution,” Bannon said on Sunday, per The New York Times. “And we’re going to get retribution.”
Bannon made the comment — which drew a cheer from the crowd — while speaking at a gala hosted by the New York Young Republican Club.
The longtime Trump advisor’s comment came right after ABC News and George Stephanopoulos agreed to publicly apologize to Trump for repeatedly calling him a rapist; ABC News will be donating $15 million to a presidential foundation as part of its settlement.
Bannon’s gala speech also came a day before Trump filed a lawsuit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer, the Des Moines Register, and its parent company Gannett on Monday for “brazen election interference” and fraud. Selzer released a poll the weekend before Election Day showing Harris was beating Trump 47-44 in Iowa; Trump ended up winning the state by 13 points, and Selzer announced her retirement two weeks later. Earlier on Monday, during his first press conference since winning the election, Trump said the mainstream media needed to “straighten out.”
Bannon, according to The Guardian’s coverage of the gala, wants Trump to straighten the press out himself.
“I need investigations, trials and then incarceration. And I’m just talking about the media. Should the media be included in the vast criminal conspiracy against President Trump? Should Andrew Weissmann on MSNBC and Rachel Maddow and all of them?” Bannon said.
He added: “We want all your emails, all your text messages, everything you did. You colluded in a conspiracy with Merrick Garland, Nancy Pelosi, Lisa Monaco and Jack Smith.” Bannon was referring to the attorney general, former Democratic speaker of the house, and the deputy attorney general.
Even without Bannon’s prodding, Trump has a handful of media lawsuits already going. That includes one against CBS for how it edited its “60 Minutes” interview with Harris in October. The president-elect also has a pending lawsuit against Bob Woodward and another against the Pulitzer Board for rewarding the Washington Post for its reporting on him.
