Steve Bannon, a key ally to former President Donald Trump, said Tuesday he feels empowered after being released from a four-month stint in federal prison for defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 committee.
Mr. Bannon said he is “far from broken” after Democrats locked him up in what he said was an attempt to knock his “War Room” TV show off the air.
Mr. Bannon said he is sharper than ever and in better shape than when he entered prison.
“So Nancy Pelosi, suck on that,” he said at a press conference.
He predicted an election victory for Mr. Trump.
He also said he learned a lot about the criminal justice system from men of color. “I have been empowered by my four months at Danbury Federal Prison,” Mr. Bannon said.
He dubbed Vice President Kamala Harris the “queen of incarcerations” and said the Democratic nominee is flailing with voters of color because they feel undercut by immigrant workers who are in the U.S. illegally.
“The minority community understands that,” Mr. Bannon said.
The press conference featured a mix of quirky and serious questions from the audience.
At one point, a man with a gruff voice was removed from the event because of his behavior during the question-and-answer period.
Mr. Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress in 2022, but his incarceration was delayed for two years during appeals.
U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, ordered him to report to prison in midsummer. Now, the former Trump White House adviser is a free man one week before Election Day.
Mr. Bannon, 70, served his stint at a low-security prison in Connecticut. He entered its gates days before President Biden dropped his reelection bid.
A lot has changed since then, with Ms. Harris locked in a tight race with Mr. Trump. Mr. Bannon said he’s “had a chat” with Mr. Trump since his release but did not go into detail.
Mr. Bannon is best known now for “War Room,” a political talk show that is streamed live on TV and circulated in a podcast.
A former investment banker, Mr. Bannon rose to prominence through his work at the Breitbart publication.
He served as a strategist in the White House in 2017 when he had a falling out with Mr. Trump. However, Mr. Bannon remains a loyal supporter and uses his platform to promote the former president.
“The 2020 election was stolen, I will never back off that,” he said at the press conference.
He said Democrats will try to discredit Mr. Trump’s election performance and a potential second term.
“The system is not only broken, the system is rigged against the working class of this nation,” Mr. Bannon said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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