Days before the 2020 election, Steve Bannon said Trump is 'just gonna say he's a winner' – even if he loses, report based off leaked audio says

Azmi Haroun

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon (left), former President Donald Trump. Adrian Bretscher, Christopher Gregory/Getty Images

Steve Bannon said Trump would reject the election results if he lost, according to Mother Jones.

The publication published a leaked recording from an October meeting days before the election.

Bannon is set to face a criminal contempt trial for rejecting January 6 subpoenas on July 18.

In a leaked audio recording, former Trump aide Steve Bannon can be heard saying that Trump was planning to reject the results of the 2020 election, even if he lost, according to the recording obtained by Mother Jones.

In the audio clip, recorded during a meeting between Bannon and his associates on October 31, 2020, Bannon says that the former president is "just gonna say he's a winner."

"What Trump's gonna do, is just declare victory. Right? He's gonna declare victory. But that doesn't mean he's a winner," Bannon said in the clip, laughing. "He's just gonna say he's a winner."

Later in the audio Bannon says to expect "crazy shit" from Trump after the election and that, "at 10 or 11 o'clock Trump's gonna walk in the Oval, tweet out, 'I'm the winner. Game over. Suck on that.'"

The audio shared by Mother Jones is originally from a meeting between Bannon and supporters of Guo Wengui,a right-wing exiled Chinese businessman who Bannon has close ties with. The audio was recorded by an attendee of the meeting, who shared it with Mother Jones. Insider has not independently verified the audio.

Bannon's attorneys did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

During Tuesday's January 6 Committee hearing, further revelations were shared about Trump's rejection of the election results and involvement in rallying his supporters on January 6.

The committee shared a draft tweet from Trump's Twitter where he had planned to tell people to march to the Capitol after his speech where he encouraged Mike Pence and others to reject the certification of the election results.

"I will be making a Big Speech at 10AM on January 6th at the Ellipse (South of the White House). Please arrive early, massive crowds expected. March to the Capitol after. Stop the Steal!!" the draft tweet, which was not dated, said.

Bannon was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2021 on two counts of contempt of Congress, after refusing to engage with a subpoena from the January 6 committee.

A Trump-appointed judge ruled on Monday that Bannon's criminal trial should go ahead on July 18.

In an attempt to delay his criminal contempt trial, Bannon's legal team had claimed that Trump's executive privilege barred him from testifying about the events related to January 6 and the election, and that the "media blitz" around the January 6 hearings was unfair to his case.

Trump's legal team has disputed the executive privilege claim, after the former president sent Bannon a letter saying he'd waive the claim.

Last week, the Department of Justice argued that Bannon's trial should go ahead.