Steve Bannon on Monday downplayed concerns about former President Trump’s lawsuit, saying the “lawsuit” being attempted against him is actually helping the former president’s campaign.
Bannon, who was a senior adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, argued that Trump’s numerous court appearances are actually helpful because they give the former president unfettered media attention.
“One of the reasons President Trump is back and leading is because half of his campaign has been in these courts,” he said. He spoke on his show “War Room” Monday. “The world’s media has to cover him.”
Bannon criticized the media, calling them “vultures,” but said the more airtime Trump gets, the better for his campaign.
“The justice system is not working,” he said, suggesting that the criminal and civil lawsuits against Trump were a political attack. “This is a major part of Mr. Trump’s campaign.”
Trump appeared in a Manhattan courtroom Monday in connection with the civil business fraud case against him and his company. New York prosecutors alleged that Mr. Trump and his companies manipulated business records to inflate the value of assets. A judge ruled against Trump and imposed a $355 million fine, but Trump appealed.
“This is purely a case of voter intimidation and election interference. And that should not be allowed to happen,” President Trump told reporters gathered outside the courtroom.
A trial in the New York case in which President Trump is accused of illegally concealing hush money payments in 2016 has also been scheduled for April 15, a judge announced Monday.
The former president is neck-and-neck with President Biden in general election polls, and Biden has scored a small victory over Trump in recent weeks. According to Hill/Decision Desk’s average poll, Trump leads Biden by 0.9 percentage points.
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