Steve Bannon downplayed concerns about former President Trump’s legal cases Monday, saying the “lawfare” being waged against him is actually helping the former president’s campaign.
Bannon, Trump’s 2016 campaign executive and a senior adviser, argued that Trump’s multitude of court appearances actually help him, because they give the former president significant free media attention.
“One of the reasons President Trump is back and leading is because half of his campaign is these court appearances,” he said on his “War Room” podcast Monday. “All the world media has to cover him.”
Bannon denounced the media, dubbing them “vultures,” but said the more time Trump gets on the air, the better it is for his campaign.
“The lawfare is not working,” he said, implying that the criminal and civil cases against Trump are political attacks. “It’s a major part of Trump’s campaign.”
Trump was in court in Manhattan on Monday regarding a civil business fraud trial against him and his company. New York prosecutors alleged Trump and his company manipulated business records to inflate the value of his assets. A judge ruled against Trump and levied a $355 million preinterest fine against him, which he has appealed.
“This is a pure case of voter intimidation and election interference. And it shouldn’t be allowed to happen,” Trump told reporters gathered outside the courtroom.
A trial in the New York case alleging Trump illegally concealed hush money payments in 2016 was also set for April 15, a judge announced Monday.
The former president is neck and neck with President Biden in general election polls, with Biden making small gains against Trump in recent weeks. Trump leads Biden by 0.9 percent, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ average of polls.