Allies say Stephen K. Bannon, one of the right’s most influential voices, has been tracking the race from prison and is ready to push Trump supporters to the polls.
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Update: Mr. Bannon was released from federal prison early Tuesday morning.
When Stephen K. Bannon reported to federal prison almost four months ago, he left his podcast in the hands of lesser-known pundits and a void in the right-wing messaging machine behind Donald J. Trump.
Soon, Mr. Bannon will be jumping back into the fray.
Mr. Bannon, 70, a podcast host, political strategist and Trump confidant, is set to be released from a federal prison in Connecticut on Tuesday. His newfound liberty drops one of the country’s most influential conservative agitators into the final stretch of a campaign already full of inflammatory rhetoric, anxiety, suspicion and talk of retribution.
Mr. Bannon was convicted on contempt charges after he refused to comply with a congressional subpoena seeking information about the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and he reported to prison on July 1. In the run-up, he claimed, echoing Mr. Trump, that the Justice Department had been weaponized against him.
In his absence, his daily podcast, “War Room,” has slumped. A rotating cast of guest hosts, including Dave Brat, a former representative of Virginia, and Kash Patel, a former Trump administration official, have failed to draw as many listeners as Mr. Bannon could.
On Oct. 1, for example, “War Room” rated 52nd among political podcasts, according to the analytics firm Podcharts, behind shows hosted by Al Franken, the former senator from Minnesota, and the Lincoln Project. Before Mr. Bannon’s imprisonment, Podcharts routinely ranked the show among the country’s top 10 political podcasts.
Mr. Bannon’s return tosses a variable into a tight race. Mr. Trump’s supporters hope Mr. Bannon can make a difference in the final week, building enthusiasm among the party’s base, persuading low-frequency voters to vote and, potentially, helping prepare for the election’s aftermath.
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