'Put their heads on pikes': Steve Bannon calls for beheading of Fauci and FBI director if Trump wins

The podcast’s Twitter account @WarRoomPandemic was suspended after the statements went live

Steve Bannon said a second term for Donald Trump should start by displaying the severed heads of Dr Anthony Fauci and FBI director Christopher Wray on the White House "as a warning".

Speaking on his podcast The War Room, Mr Bannon - the president's former campaign strategist and senior counsellor - said putting their heads on pikes would be more suitable than a simple firing.

"Second term kicks off with firing Wray, firing Fauci, no I actually want to go a step farther but the president is a kind-hearted man and a good man," Mr Bannon said.

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"I'd actually like to go back to the old times of Tudor England. I'd put their heads on pikes, right, I'd put them at the two corners of the White House as a warning to federal bureaucrats, you either get with the programme or you're gone."

The Twitter account of the podcast @WarRoomPandemic was suspended after the podcast went live on Thursday. The account of Kathy Griffin, who posted an effigy of Mr Trump’s severed head on to the platform on Wednesday, remains active.

Mr Bannon’s co-host Jack Maxey noted on the podcast that 250 years ago traitors used to be hanged, saying this week was the anniversary of the hanging of two Tories in Philadelphia who collaborated with the British during the American Revolution.  

Mr Bannon replied: “That’s how you won the revolution. No one wants to talk about it. The revolution wasn't some sort of garden party, right? It was a civil war.”

The comments have led to speculation online that Mr Bannon could have violated the conditions of his bail order after he was released on a $5 million bond, secured by $1.75 million in assets, on charges of fraud and money laundering. He has denied any wrongdoing.