'Not tough enough': Bannon trashes JD Vance's 2028 chances — and considers running himself

Vice President JD Vance is widely considered one of the most likely frontrunners for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination — but longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon is already so convinced he can't win, he's thinking about launching a presidential campaign himself.

The Daily Mail reported on Bannon's outreach to political advisers about a possible 2028 campaign on Thursday.

One source close to Bannon "told the Daily Mail that the former strategist has privately ridiculed the prospect of Vance at the top of the ticket," noted the report, with Bannon allegedly telling multiple people in his orbit, "Love him… but Vance is not tough enough to run in 2028."

Bannon, a far-right populist who has spoken repeatedly about his desire to destroy "the administrative state," had a key role in Trump's 2016 campaign and briefly served as a White House strategist, with some controversy, in Trump's first year in office.

Through his "War Room" show, Bannon has mostly cheered on Trump from the sidelines, but at times has broken with the administration.

In particular, Bannon distrusted tech billionaire Elon Musk for months before the two had their public falling out, and even called on Trump to deport him back to South Africa.

He was also one of the most prominent voices in the MAGA world raging against the Trump administration's intransigence on releasing the files from the Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case, which has become a mounting political disaster for Trump.