Former President Donald Trump's outspoken ally Steve Bannon frightened a former federal prosecutor who said he hid a "chilling" authoritarian threat in his campaign rhetoric.
Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance appeared on MSNBC Sunday to discuss Bannon's promise, made at the Turning Point Action event in Detroit on Saturday, that MAGA Republicans will be "coming after" those pursuing criminal charges against Trump.
"It's chilling to hear," Vance told MSNBC anchor Alex Witt. "This is payback for Donald Trump being held accountable."
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Vance slammed Bannon — who faces prison next month after being found guilty of defying the Jan. 6 committee's congressional subpoena — for his apparent self-contradiction.
"For somebody who is saying it's not about revenge or vengeance, he seems to contradict himself pretty quickly," Vance said.
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Vance, who described Bannon as a "master" of linguistic subterfuge, said it required careful consideration from listeners to understand how alarming his comments were.
"[Bannon] tries to couch what they are doing...in constitutional terms like 'accountability,'" Vance said. "That forces all of us to be very discerning listeners and to really do more than I think we've done at any point in time."
Vance argued Trump's return to the White House would prove dire and pointed to the former president's Project 2025 policy agenda as proof.
"This is republican policymakers setting goals that are consistent of those with the second Trump administration," Vance said. "Many of them set us on the path towards authoritarianism if they don't actually knock at the door and take us through it."
