Steve Bannon is mulling over a run for president in 2028 because he does not think that vice president JD Vance is “tough enough” according to a new report.
The former White House advisor, right-wing podcaster, conspiracy theorist and convicted felon, now fancies a shot at the top job, sources close to the matter told The Daily Mail.
It comes after Donald Trump tipped his deputy as a likely successor following the conclusion of his second and final term in office. “Well, I think most likely. In all fairness, he’s the vice president,” Trump told reporters Tuesday.
But sources close to Bannon told Mail the 71-year-old War Room host has bad-mouthed Vance in private, claiming credit for helping nail down his MAGA identity during the Ohio Senate primaries previously.
One source claimed Bannon had also “pushed and propped” Vance up for the role of VP and, in essence, “created his image.”
“Love him… but Vance is not tough enough to run in 2028,” is the message that Bannon is sharing with his close inner circle, according to the outlet.
Bannon’s plan to launch and run his own campaign is still in the most hypothetical and contemplative stages.
“I don’t think like a politician… All I do is back President Trump and try to move the populist agenda and the America First agenda,” Bannon said during an interview with Politico in March, adding then that the idea of him running was “too absurd.”
But he did not completely rule out the possibility of a run for the presidency.
In line with Trump’s remarks this week, attendees at a CPAC conference in February chose Vance as the top contender to succeed the president with 61 percent of the vote. Bannon was second with 12 percent.
That is of course, if Trump doesn’t run for a third term as he has joked about several times previously. “I’d like to run,” he said when asked about the possibility on CNBC’s Squawk Box Tuesday. “I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had.”
