Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has said he could face prison time if Republicans fail to win control of the House and Senate in next year’s midterm elections and lose the 2028 presidential race.
“And I will tell you right now, as God is my witness,” Bannon told the crowd at a Conservative Partnership Institute event on Wednesday, “if we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison—myself included. They’re not gonna stop. They are getting more and more and more radical. And we have to counter that. And what do we have to counter it with? We have to counter it with more action, more intense action, more urgency. We’re burning daylight.”
Bannon served four months in prison in 2024 after defying a congressional subpoena from the January 6 Committee. Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to defrauding donors to his We Build the Wall nonprofit, avoiding more jail time. President Donald Trump previously pardoned Bannon for related federal charges.
Why It Matters
In March, Bannon made a similar remark on his War Room podcast, saying, “God forbid we don’t win in 2028, President Trump is going to prison just like Bolsonaro in Brazil.”
With Democrats seeing significant wins across the country on Tuesday, Bannon’s comments may signal heightened concern among conservatives about Republicans’ electoral prospects and the potential legal consequences for high-profile figures.
What To Know
Bannon has also said Democrats will seek to remove Trump from office if they win the midterms in 2026.
While Trump’s legal troubles have largely stalled since he won last year’s presidential election, they remain unresolved. His 2024 New York conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records resulted in an unconditional discharge, though he is appealing and seeking to move the case to federal court. Federal prosecutions over classified documents and election interference were dropped under the Department of Justice policy shielding sitting presidents, and Georgia’s election interference case is paused pending appeal. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
Bannon’s most recent remarks follow a string of Democratic victories this week, in a show of strength for the party ahead of 2026. In New York City, State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani become the first Muslim elected mayor in the city. He defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Trump-backed Democrat who ran as an independent, in a race driven by record turnout among young voters.
In Virginia, Representative Abigail Spanberger won the governor’s race with a commanding margin over Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, while in New Jersey, Representative Mikie Sherrill secured victory after focusing her gubernatorial campaign on affordability and public safety.
Out West, California voters approved Proposition 50, a redistricting initiative backed by Governor Gavin Newsom that could shift the balance of several Republican-held congressional districts—thereby neutralizing similar redistricting efforts in Texas.
The night’s Democratic gains were fueled in part by a resurgence of support among young and Hispanic voters, both of whom had drifted rightward in 2024 before swinging back decisively this year.
Amid those results, Bannon took to social media to warn of the danger ahead for the Republican Party. “The midterms start tonight, and the warning signs are flashing,” he wrote on X.
Recent polls have indicated that Democrats are ahead of Republicans for the 2026 midterms. For example, a YouGov survey conducted on November 5 among 5,066 adults showed that 41 percent believed Democrats were more likely to win majority control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year, while 30 percent said the same about the Republicans and 29 percent said they were not sure.
That would not be a surprise, seeing as the party holding the presidency almost always loses ground in midterm congressional elections.
Still, Bannon believes there is more his party could do to secure a victory next year, especially amid the ongoing government shutdown, now the longest one in U.S. history. The shutdown has left federal workers without pay and millions of people without vital government assistance, such Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
At the Conservative Partnership Institute event, Bannon urged Senate Republicans to follow Trump’s lead and scrap the 60-vote rule that has stalled efforts to end the government shutdown. The GOP currently lacks the seven Democratic votes needed to move its funding plan forward, with Democrats refusing to cooperate unless Republicans agree to extend premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year. So far, Republican leaders have refused to compromise.
“If we don’t do that now, we’re gonna lose this chance forever because you’re never gonna have another Trump, all right?” Bannon said on Wednesday. “You’re just not going to have him.”
Last month, in an interview with The Economist, Bannon said there was a plan to keep Trump in the White House for a third term. Under the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, presidents are limited to two elected terms.
Bannon said in the interview: “The country needs him to be president of the United States. We have to finish what we started. We need him for at least one more term.”
What Happens Next
The midterm elections are scheduled for November 2026, and a vote to end the government shutdown is scheduled for Friday.
