'We should brace ourselves': Experts warn Bannon's indictment will inflame Trump's dejected base

Trump adviser Steve Bannon's indictment on Friday was necessary to preserve the rule of law, according to former FBI special agent Clint Watts.

However, the downside is that Bannon will undoubtedly use the indictment to fire up former president Donald Trump's supporters, according to Watts, an MSNBC national security analyst.

"It had to be pushed to this level, and I'm thankful that it (was)," Watts told the network's Deadline: White House program on Friday afternoon. "What I would say, though, is while it seems dumb legally, in terms of politics, for Steve Bannon's orbit and the information environment, this is what they were hoping for in some ways, which is now they have a new war they can fight. It's always looking to poke a fight or provoke a fight and develop a new war in the social media space and the information space to rally a base that does not have much to cheer about."

Watts noted with former president Donald Trump banned from major social media platforms, the conversation around the country is "just not what it was one or two years ago."

"I don't care what you think the electoral outcome was, the enthusiasm has been dying," Watts said. "So this gives them one more thing, and this is Steve Bannon's war, and he's always said 'the war on the administrative state,' and he's trying to provoke that war, and I'm sure we're going to see a continuation of this, and it won't go quietly."

Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude, an MSNBC contributor, agreed that Bannon will be "imagined as a political martyr and that will then inflame these folks."

But Glaude added, "In some ways, our worry about inflaming the opposition has led to us being cautious, but it seems to me that this is a step necessary in order to protect our democracy, and if we didn't do it, we would in some ways seal our fate."

David Rohde, executive editor of the New Yorker magazine, said we are "entering a dangerous phase."

"The polarization in this country will deepen as this investigation continues," Rohde said. "There's no choice. This subpoena had to be issued, this subpoena had to be enforced, and Steve Bannon needs to be prosecuted for defying it. But we just should brace ourselves. It's inevitable that this will be seen as proof of some giant conspiracy by the courts, the media and the 'deep state' to silence Trump and his supporters."

Watch below.

Bannon's indictment gives Trump's base something 'to cheer about': Former FBI agentwww.youtube.com