Former Rep. Matt Gaetz dropped a political grenade in his latest sit down with Tucker Carlson, and it has not gotten nearly enough attention. According to Gaetz, one of the most influential figures of the populist right is quietly heading toward a presidential run in 2028. That figure is Steve Bannon.
Gaetz made the prediction bluntly during his appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show, saying Bannon is going to run for president on what he described as a straight up Elizabeth Warren style wealth tax agenda. Yes, you read that correctly. A populist, soak the rich, take the money from the ultra wealthy pitch coming from a man most people associate with nationalist conservatism, not left wing economics.
Gaetz explained that Bannon’s argument would be simple. Take the money from people who have way too much of it, naming billionaire investor Bill Ackman as an example, and redistribute it to regular Americans. Carlson immediately pushed back with a reality check, pointing out that wealthy people tend to flee countries that try this, leaving the upper middle class to absorb the punishment. That group, as Carlson noted, is the backbone of any stable society.
BREAKING: Matt Gaetz tells Tucker Carlson that Steve Bannon will run for President of the United States on a “Elizabeth Warren wealth tax economic agenda”
“Take the money from those people who have way too much of it, the Bill Ackman’s of the world, and I wanna give it to you.” pic.twitter.com/IhhS4IGwQD
— VISH BURRA 🏴☠️ (@VishBurra) December 23, 2025
Gaetz did not exactly disagree. He framed Trump’s rise as a reaction to decades of economic imbalance and warned against turning politics into a race to the bottom with gimmicks like free houses and free health care. Still, the fact that he believes Bannon will embrace a Warren style economic message is telling. It suggests a real ideological tug of war brewing inside the populist movement.
What makes this more interesting is that Bannon himself has not floated a 2028 run at all. In fact, according to reporting from The Hill, Bannon has been openly talking about something far more controversial, President Trump serving a third term. That alone tells you where Bannon’s focus is right now, building a populist machine that outlives individual election cycles.
Bannon has always been more interested in movements than titles. He talks openly about reshaping institutions, embedding MAGA into culture, media, and local power structures. The idea is not a king, it is momentum. A system that keeps going even when the original figurehead steps aside.
That is why Gaetz’s prediction matters. A Bannon presidential run would not look like a normal campaign. It would be ideological, confrontational, and economically disruptive. It would also collide head on with the current GOP consensus, especially on taxes and markets.
Whether Bannon actually runs or not is almost secondary. The bigger story is that people close to power believe the populist right is heading toward a serious internal fight over economics, not culture. MAGA has already won the cultural argument inside the GOP. The next battle is over money, power, and who really pays the bill.
If Gaetz is even half right, 2028 is going to be less about party labels and more about what kind of populism Republicans actually want. And that debate is just getting started.
Leave a Comment