Former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon believes President Joe Biden should not only be impeached, but also arrested.
Speaking at the America Fest conference, Bannon said, “Impeaching Joe Biden’s too good for him.”
“Then we got to bring the criminal charges and send him to prison for treason and selling out this country,” he declared.
He also accused former Attorney General William Barr, FBI Director Christopher Wray, the CIA, and others of carrying out an “open coup.”
“All traitors must go to prison,” he said repeatedly.
Not that it should really need to be stated, but there was no “coup.” There was an election where then-President Donald Trump lost.
And there is no evidence widespread fraud tilted the results of the 2020 presidential election in Biden’s favor.
Watch the video below:
Steve Bannon says that impeaching Joe Biden is not enough and calls for him to be arrested for treason and for all other "traitors" to be imprisoned. pic.twitter.com/pnwwRvlLxb
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) December 20, 2022
It was not that long ago when conservatives would be up in arms talking about how treason could lead to the death penalty if anyone leveled the charge against Trump.
And yet today, a Google search of the words “Bannon,” “Biden,” and “treason” mostly yields results about Bannon’s conviction for defying a subpoena from Congress.
Perhaps his comments were overlooked because Bannon is seen as a fringe character who was sentenced to four months in prison.
But he has an audience for his show. And he had an audience at the event and people were heard cheering after his comments.
Treason is not a crime that should just be bandied about without any kind of evidence. It is not cute to baselessly accuse a sitting president of this crime.
Nor is it good to be whipping people up into believing their political opponents are “traitors” because a presidential election did not go the way they wanted it to.
You may believe Biden is a frail, old, weak president. However, that does not mean he is guilty of treason. And there has been nothing to suggest he has even come close to it.
Bannon’s rhetoric recklessly adds fuel to an already divisive political climate, and it just cheapens the serious charge of treason. And it is not the kind of language we need in our politics right now.