Young Republicans Gather, Ready to Make America Vengeful Again

Late Sunday night, in a banquet hall inside the grand old Merchants’ Exchange building on Wall Street, the Republican operative Stephen K. Bannon was putting on one of his over-the-top, apocalyptic performances.

It was the annual gala hosted by the New York Young Republican Club — prom for pro-Trump provocateurs — and Mr. Bannon, 71, was the keynote speaker. Standing onstage, beneath soaring Corinthian columns and a vaulted ceiling, he looked out upon a sea of baby-faced acolytes in black tie and outlined the way forward for them and for the Trump restoration.

Donald J. Trump “is a leader of all the people,” Mr. Bannon said. “He’s got a kind heart and big soul. But that’s not us, right? We want retribution. And we’re going to get retribution.” The Young Republicans cheered.

Mr. Bannon added: “I don’t know, maybe we do it again in ’28. Are you guys down for that? Trump ’28? Come on, man!” And they all roared some more.

Asked later if he thought Mr. Bannon was being serious about Mr. Trump making an unconstitutional run for a third term in 2028, the club’s 30-year-old leader, Gavin Wax, waved it off. “I think that was more of a light-handed remark to make fun and be a little jovial, but let’s focus on these four years and making the best of it,” he said.

That’s often how it goes with this crowd of Trump true believers. Like the man himself, they say outrageous things, and nobody knows how seriously to take them. They often don’t even seem to know how seriously to take themselves.