During the show, Bannon effusively praised O’Handley’s idea. He said the possibility of Trump, the only former president to incite an insurrection, becoming speaker in 2023 means “we don’t have to wait until 2024 to have a presidential election. This nationalizes the midterm elections” and “gives a unifying message” for Trump’s base to rally around.
Bannon also correctly noted that Trump could be elected speaker without being a member of Congress, and he endorsed focusing on winning “the House of Representatives, [which is] what thwarted Donald J. Trump” in his last two years in office. O’Handley implored Trump to not “let them end your presidency by what they did to you, get revenge plus take back the country.” (Just over a month after this appearance, O’Handley was permanently banned from Twitter for “repeated violations of its civic integrity policy.”)
In February, Bannon floated the idea in remarks he gave to the Boston area West Roxbury Ward 20 Republican Committee. According to the Boston Herald, Bannon said Trump’s base will “totally get rid of” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in the midterms “and the first act of President Trump as speaker will be to impeach Joe Biden for his illegitimate activities of stealing the presidency.”
In April, right-wing publication the Washington Examiner ran a piece with the headline “Buzz: Trump for speaker and Pence unlikely to head Heritage.” The opinion piece cited former CNN commentator Ed Martin, who said, “I’m serious. We need the Trump voters. … With the possibility of having Donald Trump as speaker, conservative voter turnout would be through the roof nationwide.”
Trump’s June 4 remarks to his friend and conspiracy theorist Wayne Allyn Root calling the idea “very interesting” thrust the simmering rumor back into the spotlight. On June 5, Fox contributor Jason Chaffetz noted on Fox & Friends Weekend that “you don’t need to be a member of Congress to be elected the speaker of the House,” saying Trump becoming the speaker “would make for great TV.”
On the morning of June 7, Fox Business’ Stuart Varney asked Trump about a potential run in 2022, to which Trump said it was “highly unlikely” he would seek a seat in the House of Representatives.
Still, Bannon remains bullish on the idea. The same day as Trump’s comment to Varney, Bannon appeared on right-wing radio personality John Fredericks’ show and said, “Donald Trump will take over, at least on an interim basis, as speaker of the House to take the gavel from Nancy Pelosi and then to gavel in the impeachment panel to impeach Joe Biden.” He credited O’Handley for originating the idea and said, “I helped take it to the next level. He wanted him to run for Congress. You do not have to be a member of Congress to be speaker.”
