In the interim, Bannon’s plans for a gladiatorial reboot have mushroomed.
Whether based in Italy or elsewhere, the next iteration will primarily exist online, Bannon said, adding that it would be launched by the inauguration of a second Trump presidency (potentially starting in January 2025). Describing the Academy as an intensive training camp that would “augment Trump’s war against the administrative state,” he assured POLITICO that there was “overwhelming” demand and that “hundreds” of undisclosed locations in the U.S. and abroad had demanded that kind of instruction in-person.
“It may be a wacky side project, but it helps gain visibility for these people,” Roberto D’Alimonte, a political scientist at Luiss-Guido Carli University in Rome, said. “It appeals to minorities, and minorities do have an effect. Look at the Trump phenomenon — we need to pay attention to these things.”
Owning the right
With the resurgence of Trump, flying high and dominating the Republican primary, Bannon has made progress elsewhere in restoring his influence beyond the terminally online MAGA right wing. Indeed, on the same day Harnwell was cleared of wrongdoing, Bannon was at the Hungarian embassy in Washington meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, with whom he talked about CPAC Hungary, a conservative conference, and his Academy plans, among other things, he said.
Bannon said he sees the increasing popularity in Europe of politicians like Orbán, whose government will control the Brussels agenda in the second half of 2024 at the helm of the EU Council, as an illustration of the extent to which Trumpist populism has already penetrated Europe at the expense of traditional conservatism.
Bannon said leaders like Trump and Orbán have proven attractive to young voters.