What Is Steve Bannon’s Next Move?

BuzzFeed says he's preparing for war.

September 12, 2017 11:37 am
Steve Bannon
Former Chief Strategist to the President Steve Bannon helps with last minute preparations before President Donald Trump announces his decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement at the White House June 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Since Steve Bannon left the White House, he has been trying to prove that he is capable of more than just stirring up headlines. Every step he takes is ultimately to increase the pressure on Republicans to turn the GOP into “the party of Trump,” BuzzFeed writes.

In a new piece by BuzzFeed, the news organization looks at what Bannon has done to dispel his reputation as being nothing more than a troublemaker and master manipulator. He has openly declared war on the GOP establishment, and has a multi-prong approach to those battles. He is back running the conservative news site, Breitbart, building alliances with House conservatives to put pressure on Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and is threatening GOP incumbents he sees as anti-Trump by jumping into Senate primaries, writes BuzzFeed. 

Bannon may soon have the funds he needs, BuzzFeed reports. He could use the pro-Trump outside group Great America PAC and its affiliated nonprofit, Great America Alliance, against McConnell and other Republican senators who Bannon sees as anti-Trump. The group has recently spoken to conservative donors who originally backed Trump and Bannon.

However, another prong of his plan is a little less clear. He has yet to find a candidate who is willing to take on Ryan, because that battle would be hard to win. BuzzFeed says that according to a source, Bannon does not want his first big fight to be a failure. Bannon and Breitbart’s past attempts to affect GOP primaries have not been successful, but a source close to the administration says that Bannon is now a different person, one who really “means business.”

However, Bannon does have a clear plan to increase his media footprint, maybe entering into the TV realm. His three hours of airtime on SiriusXM will double to six hours. A source also told BuzzFeed that Bannon is working on a book.

So can Bannon win this war he started? That is yet to been seen, but even his friends agree BuzzFeed writes, changing the Republican party won’t just happen overnight.

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