Steve Bannon issued a blistering warning that fallout over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files could rip the Republican coalition apart and cost the GOP ‘up to 40 seats’ in the midterm elections.
Bannon, the architect of Donald Trump‘s 2016 victory, declared in fiery live broadcast on Friday that unless Trump takes swift action the political cost could be catastrophic.
‘If we lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement right now, we’re gonna lose 40 seats in ’26. We’re gonna lose the president,’ Bannon thundered to a packed audience.
‘They don’t even have to steal it, which they’re gonna try to do in ’28.’
The longtime political guru of the MAGA movement addressed conspiracy theories that Epstein was behind an elite cabal of child rapists.
‘It’s not about just a pedophile ring and all that. It’s about who governs us, right? And that’s why it’s not gonna go away,’ Bannon said.
‘They’ve disheartened the hardest core populist nation that’s always been who governs us.’
At the heart of the firestorm is the Justice Department’s abrupt decision to close the book on the Epstein investigation – denying the existence of the long-rumored ‘client list,’ reaffirming that Epstein died by suicide, and refusing to release further records.
The memo, jointly released by the DOJ and FBI, stated that further disclosures were neither appropriate nor warranted.
But what was intended as a final word has instead detonated a whole new round of conspiracy theories on the right.
Steve Bannon, second from left, the architect of Donald Trump ‘s 2016 victory and a longtime political guru of the MAGA movement, issued a warning on Friday that the Epstein fallout could rip the Republican coalition apart and cost the GOP ‘up to 40 seats’ in the next election
The Justice Department has closed the book on the Epstein investigation – denying the existence of the long-rumored ‘client list,’ reaffirming that Epstein died by suicide
Attorney General Pam Bondi, once a darling of the movement, had assured Fox News viewers that a list of Epstein’s clients was ‘on her desk’ but the DOJ now says no such document exists
Influential MAGA figures, already furious over Attorney General Pam Bondi’s failure to deliver the promised bombshells, erupted.
‘The DOJ says there’s no client list? Next they’ll say Epstein never even existed,’ raged InfoWars founder Alex Jones.
Bondi, once a darling of the movement, had assured Fox News viewers that a list of Epstein’s clients was ‘on her desk’ but the DOJ now says no such document ever existed.
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer, close to Trump himself, didn’t hold back.
‘President Trump should fire Bondi for lying to his base and creating a liability for his administration. She is an embarrassment and she doesn’t do anything to help Trump,’ Loomer wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Dan Bongino, Trump’s deputy FBI director and himself a key player in cultivating MAGA loyalty, reportedly considered resigning after a heated clash with Bondi at the White House.
Sources say Bongino was ‘furious’ over how the Epstein memo was handled and skipped work on Friday to contemplate his future.
In an attempt to rally the base and refocus their fury, Bannon called for the immediate appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Epstein’s clients and possible blackmail operations.
During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, when a reporter tried to question Bondi about the Epstein footage, Trump cut them off
US Attorney General Pam Bondi was also forced to explain a one-minute gap in the video of Jeffrey Epstein’s jail cell
The DOJ and FBI say no one else will be arrested and charged in connection to Epstein’s crimes. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell (right) is already serving a 20-year prison sentence
‘There’s only one solution,’ Bannon insisted. ‘You must appoint a special prosecutor immediately. DOJ and FBI, love those guys, but they can’t do it. No possibility. They’re too busy. Too conflicted.’
His call was echoed by conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, who demanded action in front of a roaring crowd.
But despite the fiery rhetoric, the administration appears to be circling the wagons.
President Trump leapt to Bondi’s defense in a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, scolding a reporter who dared raise the Epstein issue.
‘Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years. That is unbelievable.’
Behind closed doors, however, tensions are boiling. A private clash earlier in the week between Bondi and Bongino sparked by a NewsNation report suggesting DOJ obstruction nearly broke into the open.
FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy AG Todd Blanche, and even Bongino were all forced to issue public statements denying divisions within the administration.
The Epstein memo marked a stunning reversal from earlier promises.
In February, MAGA influencers were invited to the White House and handed binders labeled ‘The Epstein Files: Phase 1 – Declassified.’ But the files were mostly rehashed public documents.
Bondi promised that a ‘truckload’ of unreleased evidence was coming but that release never happened.
Instead, on Monday the DOJ said that court orders sealed most of the remaining materials, and much of it would never have been made public even if Epstein had stood trial.
The only disclosure accompanying the memo was a video intended to prove Epstein’s jailhouse suicide. Yet even that drew fire from skeptics due to a mysterious one-minute gap in the footage.
Complicating matters, tech mogul Elon Musk, once a close Trump confidant, is now hammering the president from the outside.
The memo from the FBI and DOJ announced that no one involved in the Epstein case will follow former right-hand woman Ghislaine Maxwell to prison, as no further charges will be filed
Dan Bongino, Trump’s deputy FBI director and himself a key player in cultivating MAGA loyalty, was ‘furious’ over how the Epstein memo was handled and skipped work on Friday to contemplate his future
Having announced plans to launch his own political party, Musk took to X to stoke Epstein suspicions.
‘How can people be expected to have faith in Trump if he won’t release the Epstein files?’ Musk asked.
Musk has hinted that Trump may have been named in redacted documents, further fueling speculation and deepening the fissure within the right.
The Epstein backlash comes amid a series of fractures inside Trump’s base.
MAGA hardliners are already fuming over Trump’s decision to resume arms shipments to Ukraine, his bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, and his recent comments urging restraint on immigration raids at farms.
Insiders fear the cumulative effect could be an erosion of support among the grassroots populists who powered Trump’s rise and who expect scorched-earth tactics, not compromise.
