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May 6, 2021 - Bannon's War Room
48:12
Episode 926 – The Spirit of Saratoga … (w/ Elise Stefanik, Boris Epshteyn)Episode 926 – The Spirit of Saratoga … (w/ Elise Stefanik, Boris Epshteyn)
Participants
Main voices
b
boris epshteyn
05:16
s
steve bannon
21:31
Appearances
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a
anthony fauci
00:07
e
elise stefanik
00:14
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Speaker Time Text
unidentified
Well, the virus has now killed more than a hundred people in China and new cases have been confirmed around the world.
You don't want to frighten the American public.
France and South Korea have also got evacuation plans.
But you need to prepare for and assume.
Broadly warning Americans to avoid all non-essential travel to China.
That this is going to be a real serious problem.
France, Australia, Canada, the US, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, the list goes on.
Health officials are investigating more than a hundred possible cases in the US.
Germany, a man has contracted the virus.
The epidemic is a demon and we cannot let this demon hide.
Japan, where a bus driver contracted the virus.
Coronavirus has killed more than 100 people there and infected more than 4,500.
anthony fauci
We have to prepare for the worst, always, because if you don't and the worst happens, War Room.
unidentified
Pandemic.
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.
Is this independent leadership?
Elise Stefanik, after Trump disparaged women, our veterans, the disabled.
I will support Donald Trump.
After Trump refused to release his tax returns and knowing Trump shipped jobs to China.
I will be supporting our nominee who is Donald Trump.
And even after dozens of Republican and military leaders warned against a Trump presidency.
But I'm supporting Mr. Trump.
Elise Stefanik, serving Trump, Washington, and her donors.
Mike Derrick will serve the North Country.
I'm Mike Derrick and I approve this message.
He's a war hero because he was captured.
Knock the crap out of him, would you?
I don't know what I said!
For months, Republicans stood by Donald Trump.
Including Elise Stefanik.
I will be supporting our nominee who is Donald Trump.
Even after he was caught on tape.
I'm supporting my party's nominee.
After leading military leaders and Republicans abandoned him.
I cannot vote for Donald Trump.
When Mr. Trump attacks women and demeans the women in our nation and in our society, that is a point where I just have to part company.
He lacks the temperament, the judgment, the knowledge, and the self-restraint to be our next president.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell calling Trump a national disgrace and an international pariah.
And Elise Stefanik?
I'm supporting Mr. Trump.
Elise Stefanik, the only Republican woman from the Northeast to still support Trump.
What happened to Elise Stefanik?
She was supposed to be different.
Better than the rest.
Small-town roots.
Big-time education.
Worked with President Bush.
Was committed to compassionate conservatism.
A different kind of Republican.
Youngest woman elected to Congress.
Such a bright future.
Now, she's just another sad Trump apologist.
When Trump demeans and attacks women, she goes along, smiling.
When Trump encourages racists, she is silent.
What happened?
Did she need Trump's approval that bad?
Did she want to be one of the gang?
It's sad.
Now, the U.S.
Capitol is attacked.
steve bannon
Her own office.
unidentified
And she still supports Trump.
If Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert went to Harvard, they'd be Elise Stefanik.
What a waste.
steve bannon
Courage is the most important of all the virtues, as Churchill tells us, because it is upon courage that all the other virtues rest.
Live from the nation's capital, you're in the War Room.
It is Thursday, the 6th of May, the year of our Lord 2021.
Live on the John Friedrich Radio Network nationwide, I want to thank our news station in Atlanta, AM 1690, WMLB, also live streaming service, Real America's Voice, also Dish, Channel 219, Comcast on cable, Channel 113, Roku, Pluto, all the platforms.
And of course, live-streamed in Mandarin, subtitled and then by vocally later in the day, and blown through the firewall.
Okay, we've got a lot to get through today and we're very honored to have as our guest from New York's 21st Congressional District, Elise Stefanik.
Congressman Stefanik, thank you very much for joining us today.
unidentified
Thank you.
Yes, I can hear you.
Can you hear me?
steve bannon
Yeah, I hear you perfectly.
Look, I want to make sure we go through.
We pride ourselves here in the War Room, and particularly with the power of the show as our audience of activists and people that believe in human agency and America First, MAGA, and we go throughout the world.
It's the reason we got 51 million, nearly 51 million downloads on the podcast.
And I want to go through and make sure people understand the signal, not the noise.
And I want to start with three basic inflection points.
The 2016 race, the impeachment, the first impeachment, and then November 3rd in this getting to the bottom of what happened there and how you've stood in the breach.
I want to go back in time.
Can you tell us about your district in about 2014?
This was a district, I believe, that Obama carried twice Then you flipped it, but then you had a big, huge victory for President Trump in 2016.
Can you walk us through that?
unidentified
That's correct, Steve.
So my district is really a district of how President Trump has grown the Republican Party.
My district voted for President Obama twice, and I flipped it in 2014 from a Democrat to a Republican.
In the 2016 elections, As you saw, there were nasty, nasty democratically funded ads smearing me, smearing President Trump, and really identifying me as the only Republican elected woman in the Northeast who voted for President Trump in 2016.
We won by double digits in the district, and it's only become more and more supportive of President Trump over time.
It really is hardworking class people.
I represent farmers, manufacturers, and hardworking families who want someone that stands up for them, and President Trump spoke to those people.
And I'm proud to represent those people every day.
But it's really a microcosm of the growing Republican Party and the growing share of the electorate that helped President Trump win in 2016.
And we need to maintain those voters going into 2022 to fire Nancy Pelosi.
steve bannon
Look, I couldn't agree more.
The 2016 campaign, when I stepped in as the CEO, I would tell then the candidate Trump and others around it, this is about the managed decline of our country.
And working class people understand that.
And they will do anything, put their shoulder to the wheel and back a candidate that will return America to her greatness.
I want to go back to that time.
You had every opportunity And people have to understand this in the audience.
You had every opportunity to run like so much of the Republican establishment did at the time.
What was it that you saw that made you stand in the breach and grind through 16 and deliver that huge victory?
unidentified
I will never forget campaigning in 2016.
Despite the media's obsessive Trump derangement syndrome, I really paid attention to the voters and the people in my district.
And it was really stunning to see the amount of Trump signs popping up, the number of people attending Republican rallies, people that had never come to political rallies before turning out to vote.
I also distinctly remember doing many manufacturing tours and small business tours.
And having people, workers, whether they are young or older, coming out and talking about their support of President Trump, the energy was just palpable.
Anyone on the ground or who was knocking on doors, talking to voters, understood that it was going to be a historic election.
The media didn't get it.
The establishment didn't get it.
I was proud to be a part of it, and I was proud to be on that ticket.
And to win by a huge, huge margin, as well as President Trump's huge double-digit victory in my district.
steve bannon
When you talk to people that time, because on Billy Bush weekend, when everybody else ran, you stood tall.
You were absolutely, they came after you as hard as anybody in this country.
And people have to remember, go back in time, we did not have the time and we didn't have the resources.
To go in and to really help someone in a state like New York, right?
Particularly somebody who had already won and was grinding through this.
So you had literally virtually almost no support from us because we had to focus on, you know, Ohio and Michigan and Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
I want to go back through though just to make sure people understand this.
The key going forward is working-class Democrats.
When you go around and talk to people, And their attraction, not just to President Trump, because they've got this idea, this cult of personality, but to what President Trump stands for.
What do you hear consistently of the policies that he has?
What is it that people gravitate to what they want to do with this country?
What is that?
Leave aside the personality, because the mainstream media is trying to say, oh, this is all a cult of personality.
These people are all, they're all zombies.
What are working class Democrats telling you and your district?
unidentified
They want someone who stands up for them.
They feel that the corporate interest and the establishment interest have forgotten the working people, the backbone of our economy.
I'm talking about the small businesses, the trades unions, the manufacturers, people that maybe had traditionally been Democrats but have felt far left behind as the Democratic Party has lurched to the left, but they've also had felt left behind by the Republican establishment.
President Trump spoke to them, his focus on better trade deals.
That impacted my district, passing USMCA, which was a huge victory.
I represent a region that's right on the border of Canada.
Making sure that our producers, our manufacturers, our agricultural businesses have a better shot to grow and export our products and create jobs right here in America, that resonated.
Also, the President's support for the Constitution.
If you think back to the history of my district, it's really the cradle of our nation.
I represent the battles of Saratoga.
I represent Fort Ticonderoga.
Key battles of the Revolutionary War, standing up for our constitutional liberties, were fought in my district.
And the president has been our strongest supporter of any president when it comes to standing up for the Constitution.
That's what I hear from working class voters.
Who maybe previously voted for Democrats, but are strong supporters, voted for President Trump, and are becoming more Republican over time.
You know, Steve, we're the only part of New York State that's doubling registration, two to one, from Republicans to Democrats.
We are growing the party, and we are building off the Make America Great movement.
steve bannon
In the spirit of Saratoga and Ticonderoga and the Constitution, you actually stepped up, and the second time you stood in the breach was during the impeachment, really to face down Adam Schiff.
Walk us through, you were the tip of the spear and really I think the thing that broke the logjam.
As many great people, you know, the Mark Meadows and the Rudy Giulianis and so much of the great team, Alan Dershowitz, your stepping in here, Jim Jordan, your stepping in was a defining moment again.
Walk us through that.
unidentified
I focused on the facts, and the facts were there was no constitutional basis for impeachment.
I also focused on really unveiling the smears coming from Adam Schiff and the falsehoods and the false leaks.
If you look at my questions, I really focused on the testimony of the witnesses.
We remember they were done in a basement, closed door, not allowing the American people to see.
I basically read those transcripts for the first time in front of the American people and pointed out that not a single witness who testified had any proof of any impeachable offense.
That made the Democrats and the left mad across the country and the entire democratic ecosystem from Hollywood, Rosie O'Donnell to Chelsea Handler to the entire democratic party, pigeonholed me and attacked and smeared me, dumping in millions to oppose me.
I stood strong, but most importantly, I supported the president, but I stood up for the constitution and the unconstitutional nature of that impeachment, but also I stood up for the American people.
The American people determine who won the election in 2016, and they voted for President Trump, and we had four years of Democrats peddling the Russia hoax, looking for any false excuse to pursue impeachment.
steve bannon
I want to turn now to the run-up to 2020 before we get to your standing up for making sure we had a fair election and a real count of the votes.
We've only got about a minute and a half here, but the Club for Growth has been particularly, I think, all over you.
In 2020, I think it was, I know you did it earlier in 2018, but you've particularly He's gone out and tried to not just recruit, but stand up for women coming into the Republican Party and representing MAGA and running in these races.
We've got about a minute, a minute and a half.
Can you walk us through what that is and how the Club for Growth and others have attacked you?
unidentified
Well, I've been proud and I know the president was very proud that 2020 was the year of the Republican woman.
That was something he talked about in the press conference and it shows how he has grown the Republican Party.
Those women ran on the ticket with President Trump and they were proud to flip those districts.
I've been attacked for that.
I think that's a strength of the Republican Party and it's building on what President Trump has grown with the historic support from African-American voters, Hispanic voters, as well as Asian-American voters.
And many of these women are Freedom Caucus, very conservative women.
Most of them are very conservative women who are going to be really important voices, whether it's from California to Texas, to Iowa, to Michigan.
So I'm very excited about those rising stars.
steve bannon
Congressman Stefani Cano, we're gonna take a short commercial break.
We're going to return to New York's 21st District.
Congressman Elise Stefanik is going to get into a little policy, talk about the Chinese Communist Party.
All next in The War Room.
unidentified
War Room.
Pandemic.
With Stephen K. Bannon.
The epidemic is a demon, and we cannot let this demon hide.
War Room.
Pandemic.
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.
steve bannon
Okay, welcome back.
We're talking about signal today, not noise, as we normally do.
I want to bring in Congressman Elise Stefanik.
I want to talk about November 3rd.
Obviously in the run-up to November 3rd, 2020, you were out there shoulder-to-the-wheel for the MAGA movement, for Trump, recruiting these candidates, making sure they won.
On November 3rd, we got big breaking news, by the way, out of Arizona.
I want to make sure the audience understands.
We're going to get into all that later.
DOJ sent a letter putting people on notice.
Katie Hobbs sent a letter.
We got a little bit into that last night.
A lot more in-depth coverage of that later of the forensic audit of 2.1 million votes and a re-canvassing as the Department of Justice has highlighted.
We'll get into all that.
Congressman Stefanik, representing Saratoga, Ticonderoga, the great battles of the revolution, your defense of the Constitution, and particularly in Trump's first impeachment, you were one of the congressmen that voted to review some of these states.
Walk us through your logic.
Once again, from 16 and from your first impeachment, the left goes absolutely crazy about this.
Walk us through Your logic of why you did this and why you decided some of the states had to be reviewed?
unidentified
Well, if you look, there was unprecedented unconstitutional overreach.
You had a number of states where there were unelected judges and bureaucrats who were rewriting election law in real time.
Constitutionally, any changes to election law within states have to go through the state legislatures.
In states like Pennsylvania, that did not happen.
You also had numerous instances of lack of chain of custody when it came to ballots.
You also had a counting process, a pause, and then another counting process.
There were also examples of representatives from the campaign who were not allowed to view the counting process.
We need to make sure these are fixed moving into the future, which is why when you talk to any voter across this country, certainly at any Republican event, they are focused on election security and election integrity.
It is important to stand up for these constitutional issues.
And these are questions that are going to have to be answered before we head into the 2022 midterms, that the American people have faith in our election system.
What was also unprecedented is this was during a pandemic.
So it was a historic number of ballots that were cast through the mail-in and absentee process.
In many cases, there was no signature verification process.
As well as in my district, I heard directly from voters who did not receive their mail-in ballot when they applied for one.
And I also heard from voters who received the wrong mail-in ballots.
So we need to fix this moving forward.
It's why I'm a part of the Election Integrity Caucus.
That was started by Claudia Tenney and some of our colleagues in the House.
And it's also why I support important election security policy proposals like voter ID, as well as that chain of custody and signature verification requirements.
steve bannon
We pride ourselves here on the War Room, and it's one of the reasons I think the Posse is getting so big and so engaged across the country, but we pride ourselves in either talking about state legislatures and what they're doing about November 3rd and going forward, or court cases, so that there are actual formal arenas that these things can be adjudicated and the laws of evidence can come up.
In Arizona, the state Senate has an audit going 2.1 million In Maricopa County, a forensic hand audit, also re-canvassing, also they're doing, we're not machine guys as people know, but they've actually copied certain aspects of the machines and they're doing that analysis.
The Justice Department sent this letter last night.
It's explosive.
Also Katie Hobbs now, the Secretary of State, has sent her letter yesterday.
What is your thoughts of what's going on since the Senate I fully support the audit in Arizona.
We want transparency and answers for the American people.
What are the Democrats so afraid of?
to the bottom of it. What are your thoughts about what's going on in Arizona?
unidentified
I fully support the audit in Arizona. We want transparency and answers for the American people. What are the Democrats so afraid of? The voters in Arizona and the state senate in Arizona pursued this audit.
I fully support it.
Transparency is a good thing.
We need to fix these election security issues going into the future.
And it's not just Arizona.
You don't have to look further than just next door to my district.
In a neighboring district, there was a congressional race that took months to determine the outcome.
And when it was put under a microscope, there were major, major issues.
Ballots that were mislabeled.
The judge was beside himself about many of the mistakes that were made in the absentee ballot process.
So having a closer look and a magnifying glass is incredibly important.
So I fully support the audit.
I think it's shameful that Democrats are not allowing this audit.
Again, what are they so afraid of?
The American people deserve transparency and answers, and we want to be able to fix and strengthen our election security and election integrity going into future elections.
That should be something, whether you're Republican, Democrat, or Independent, everyone should agree with having faith in our election system.
steve bannon
Congressman Stefanik, you are a Harvard University graduate from Harvard College, not one of the trade schools.
You were honored to be, I think it was in the Institute of Politics, I think you were on the board.
Because of some of the stands you've taken, were you removed from that board and why were you removed from that?
unidentified
Yes, I've experienced cancel culture at Harvard.
I am proud to be the first member of my immediate family to graduate from college.
I was one of the few conservative voices at Harvard as an undergraduate, and I've been involved in the Bipartisan Institute of Politics.
I was the only Trump voter on that board.
And after January 6th, I was very publicly removed.
This was a petition signed by far left students as well as far left professors.
And it was a part of cancel culture.
and it's one of my major concerns when it comes to our higher ed institutions is how it's shifting towards monoculture and canceling any critical thinking, any conservative outlook.
So now the board of the Institute of Politics is 100% made up of Joe Biden voters.
That is not bipartisan, but I was proud to stand up for my district and stand up for intellectual diversity and diversity of thought, which is what we need on college campuses and what we need in our K-12 school system rather than this political correctness and this purging of conservatives.
steve bannon
John.
Senator Josh Hawley was with us yesterday talking about his book, The Tyranny of Big Tech.
He was also, I think, at Stanford and Yale, both.
I think the Faculty Senate moved against him to have him, like, removed as, like, one of the top graduates or honored graduates.
He talked about, by the way, for the posse, huge yesterday, you guys poured into this book, the sales were enormous, and it's tremendous.
Support Regnery, support Senator Josh Hawley.
Correct me if I'm wrong, Congressman, did your That's correct.
They took it down.
This never happens to liberals, Steve.
your comms director twitter account down today or suspended because they were tweeting out about coming on the show?
unidentified
That's correct they took it down. This never happens to liberals, Steve. This only happens to conservatives. So my communications director was suspended for Twitter.
They said it was a mistake, but again, it only happens to conservatives.
This is part of the reason why we need to break up big tech.
This is part of the reason why we need to repeal Section 230.
This needs to be a top priority for Republicans moving forward.
And we saw this in the elections, and this is another issue if you look back to the 2020 election.
The fact that big tech colluded to not allow any of the journalism and reporting that was accurate when it came to Hunter Biden's ties to the Chinese Communist Party, there was a total media blackout.
That is un-American and unconstitutional.
We need to make sure that we, again, repeal Section 230, but also that we are breaking up big tech because We see that it's cancelling conservative voices, and it's why I'm on outlets like Parler and Rumble to get our message out.
The good news is that the President and conservatives are able to speak directly to the American people, and I know that voters in my district and across America are very well aware of the President's public statements that he puts out every single day, despite Big Tech trying to cancel him.
steve bannon
The question, we headed to Josh Hawley and to you, coming up through the ranks and looks like a more traditional conservative, more traditional Republican, and now being more populist.
Someone like you, Josh Hawley said it yesterday in the key of his book, and he goes back to the revolutionary generation and how this was in our DNA from the very beginning about being anti-aristocratic and anti-concentration of power.
He talks about the breakup of big tech.
It's one thing about 230.
It's another thing when Republicans sit there, who have always kind of supported, with deregulation and with tax cuts, corporatists.
Not entrepreneurs, but corporatists.
So when Congressman Elise Stefanik says, we've got to break up big tech, what does that mean?
unidentified
That means, I mean, these companies have too much power.
They're able to silence individuals, silence voices across America.
We need to have a serious conversation as conservatives that we appreciate the diversity of ideas.
We appreciate people's ability to share their viewpoints.
And this is a country that was founded on freedom of speech.
To have some of the biggest companies and most powerful companies In this country, choose to suppress voices.
That is un-American.
And we need to make sure that all Americans are able to speak out.
And we're headed more towards a more, you know, authoritarian direction where there's only one acceptable viewpoint that's allowed on these digital platforms.
That's concerning to me.
And that ties into, I think, this important discussion on an international level, Steve, when it comes to the importance of countering Countries like China who try to suppress viewpoints, and I think it's a very slippery slope.
steve bannon
Okay, we're going to return in a minute.
We've got about 30 seconds here.
Just real quickly, you chose armed services and Intel.
There's a big discussion about America versus part of MAGA.
I want to get into that after the break.
You've been nice enough to give us a few minutes on the other side.
But why did you choose two of the biggest heavy lifting committees?
Why did you choose armed services and Intel?
unidentified
Well, I represent Fort Drum, which is home of the 10th Mountain Division, the most deployed unit in the U.S.
Army.
It was where President Trump signed the historic National Defense Authorization Act, the largest pay raise for our troops, and really where we started the process of rebuilding the military, a huge victory and result that House Republicans work with President Trump on.
I believe it is important that those soldiers and military families have a voice in Congress.
But I also joined the Armed Services Committee because I believe one of the most important issues we face in the 21st century is countering China and making sure that we have the military superiority when it comes to cyber artificial intelligence to be the world leader.
steve bannon
We'll be right back.
We'll be going to be back and get into all that America First and the CCP next in the War Room.
unidentified
War Room.
Pandemic.
With Stephen K. Banham.
The epidemic is a demon and we cannot let this demon hide.
War Room.
Pandemic.
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.
steve bannon
Okay, we pride ourselves here on Signal Not Noise.
As you know, for the past couple of months, we've been talking about, you know, the unrestricted warfare of the Chinese Communist Party, information and cyber, economic, and we don't want to slide to a kinetic war.
And that looks more and more probable or possible because of Taiwan and the situation with advanced chip design.
The Economist today, yes, you got it, the most dangerous place on earth.
And they're talking about Taiwan.
This audience knows all about it.
We've been talking about it for months.
I want to now return to Congressman Elise Stefanik.
Congressman Stefanik, America First is a central part of the MAGA movement where we prioritize what is really important from what's not.
You've been at the forefront with Josh Hawley and others of trying to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for what happened in the Wuhan lab.
I want you to walk through.
What's your thoughts there?
What's your thoughts about the Chinese Communist Party, WHO, Fauci, the entire situation?
Walk us through the CCP COVID-19 virus.
unidentified
So we still do not have an answer as to the origin of the COVID-19 virus.
And the, not just the American people, but the entire globe, every nation deserves an answer from China.
I introduced a resolution that Senator Hawley carried in the Senate of holding China accountable and making China pay. I think it's also important to hold the WHO accountable. If you look at some of the early messaging, they were sharing Chinese Communist Party propaganda. And here we have the WHO considering reelecting the same chairman who has propagated that propaganda. So I think it's important that we counter China, but ultimately we have to
get to the bottom of the COVID-19 origin.
And I think what's really important to note is that a year ago at this point...
Senator Tom Cotton asked the important question about the Wuhan lab and whether this was created in a lab.
And as we learn more and more, that looks more and more likely, but we need to get that answer.
This is just one of many issues when it comes to countering China, whether it's their military expansion, whether it's their Whether it's their infiltration of our higher education institutions in the United States or whether it's their goal to become economically superior to the West when you consider what they're doing in terms of trying to make investments in key technologies.
We need to beat them in the United States.
We need to make sure that we are the global leader on all of these issues.
steve bannon
We only got a few minutes left, so I want to turn to your vision.
But look, when you try to hold the CCP accountable, and particularly the key phrase, make them pay for what they've done to their own people, to Lao Bai Jing, and to the world, right?
You're unaligned with the donor class of the Republican Party.
So walk through your vision.
How do you tie the blue-collar folks in your district, and particularly the Democrats, right?
They're the key to victory.
And to tie that with a strong, you and Holly and Cotton and others, take the torch right to the enemy, which is the Chinese Communist Party, not China and not the Chinese people.
What is your vision for all of it then, if the donors clearly are not enthusiastic about supporting that?
And you can see that for the Club for Growth and these other donor-financed organizations that are out to take you down.
unidentified
I don't really care about the donor's viewpoint on this issue.
I care about the impact on the American workers.
And no one was hurt more from the COVID pandemic, in addition to the hundreds of thousands who have lost their lives.
But the people who are out of work, these are working class individuals who don't have the luxury of teleworking from their computer, who show up every day and go to work.
That is my district.
And it's very important to make sure that they have a fair shot and they have the support and that we hold China accountable.
elise stefanik
That is why that's tied to the overall working class and how they were negatively impacted by these shutdowns, not only from Fauci's vision, but in states like New York, where there were massive shutdowns that were led by Democratic governors.
steve bannon
Last question.
We have a potential for a sweeping Tea Party type victory like in 2010 and 2022.
What's your vision of how that comes about?
This job that you're potentially up for would be one about messaging.
How do you exert leadership in the messaging of that and what is your vision for this?
unidentified
My vision is to run with support from the president and his coalition of voters, which was the highest number of votes ever won by a Republican nominee in 2020.
We've expanded the party.
I talked about the historic support from Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, as well as African Americans.
We are going to run as an alternative to the Biden agenda, which is about raising taxes, which is about eliminating American energy independence, which is about crushing the American worker.
We need to stand up for the American working class to make sure that they have economic opportunity to grow and succeed.
Joe Biden is also weak when it comes to countering China.
And the American people care deeply about a vision to make sure that we are being tough on China and countering China.
This is also about being one team.
And I'm committed to being a voice and being a clear, sending a clear message that we are one team.
And that means working with the President and working with all of our excellent Republican members of Congress.
steve bannon
Congresswoman Stefanik, how do people get more access to you?
What's your social media, websites, all that?
unidentified
My social media is Elise Stefanik.
I haven't been banned yet from Twitter, but I'm sure that's coming soon.
And my website is EliseForCongress.com.
I really appreciate the support of my voters in my district, but also the American people, particularly during impeachment.
And I will always stand up for you and stand up for the U.S.
Constitution.
And I'm proud to stand up for President Trump.
steve bannon
Congressman Stefanik, thank you for joining us in the War Room today.
unidentified
Thank you, Steve.
steve bannon
Now, can we begin?
I want to bring in Boris Epstein.
One thing I want to say is people, these inflection points are important.
And that's what people are made of.
People don't understand that on Billy Bush weekend, the entire Trump candidacy hung in the balance.
On that, and it's never really been appropriately or totally reported, but on that Saturday, right, that Saturday was a firestorm.
And you can tell, right, people that stood with President Trump from that weekend and the intense, intense pressure.
Stefanik, remember, and Stefanik in New York, we did not have the resources and we did not have the ability to go into those districts.
None of that was foreordained to win.
None of it.
in the north and northeast. We had to focus in Pennsylvania, we had to focus in Ohio, we had to focus in Michigan, Wisconsin. None of that was foreordained to win. None of it. And that was an inflection point, a major inflection It could have all gone awry.
President Trump had come back, I think, when I stepped in in mid-August.
I don't know, it was 8, 10, 12, depending on what poll you were looking at.
New York Times had buried him that weekend on the, I think, 13th of August.
But we had come back.
We were actually, I think, tied or two points up, and then marginarily, I think, two points up on the morning, I think it was September 29th, of Hofstra University, the first debate.
He had closed the gap that much because he started talking about once again.
Make America Great Again and America First.
Particularly about our sovereignty, the southern border, immigration, particularly China, and bringing back manufacturing jobs.
Stefanik, that district is central to the message in the Rio Grande Valley.
Working class Hispanics in South Texas.
This is where we're going to have a sweeping victory.
They talk about, oh, you know, the Big Ten and they got to bring the Big Ten, the donors.
No, what they want you to do is compromise on the Chinese Communist Party.
They want you to compromise and bring manufacturing jobs back.
The message that is resonating is not.
That's why the mainstream media, they're holding up Liz Cheney right now as some sort of, you know, you know, paragon of virtue.
For this.
It's all a misdirection play.
But you have to remember those three things.
In 16, at the impeachment, the first impeachment, and then on the 20th, those congressmen that stood up and said we've got to review this, and then the ones have backed, particularly going into Arizona.
And there's massive news at Arizona.
They've shown their hand.
You think the Rudy thing's random?
unidentified
Right?
steve bannon
The Justice Department, Southern District of New York, going to pop Rudy?
Remember, there's no Arizona, if not for Rudy Giuliani.
Don't ever forget that.
Rudy Giuliani going around and particularly making that presentation in front of that committee at the Hyatt Regency, I think it was, in November right after Gettysburg, the first stop was Arizona.
That 14 hours, that started the process that led to the Senate out there decreeing that they wanted to review all this, particularly Maricopa County.
And yesterday he had Katie Hobbs, you know, drop the letter in the afternoon and then the Justice Department last night.
The Biden administration, as I say, showed two cards, okay?
And that letter is a tough letter.
That letter, I think, I'm not a lawyer, but I've talked to a lot of people overnight, a lot of experts in this.
They're strongly messaging to back people off.
And this is going to be another moment of testing.
A time of testing.
Do I have Boris?
Is Boris ready?
Let's bring in Boris Epstein.
Boris, I've got a lot about Arizona we've got to ask you.
You've been central to this.
Rudy Giuliani told us yesterday you were absolutely central to Arizona.
Got a lot to go through with that, and so much breaking news out of there, but you were with us, you were the head of surrogates at 16, and you were on the 20 campaign.
I want to talk to you about Stefanik.
Particularly, look, she's hit with, oh, you know, you've got Heritage, you've got her at 50, the CPAC's got her at 75, this, that, and the other thing.
What are your thoughts?
unidentified
Steve, great to be with you.
boris epshteyn
Well, call me M. Night Shyamalan because I think I just saw the future.
You know, watching that interview, and you know, we all have busy lives, but I made sure to tune in for the whole 40 minutes you just did with Congressman Elise Stefanik.
That is the future of the Republican Party, talking about are the American worker, talking about backing off China, standing up for President Trump and the MAGA movement.
This is the American Republican Party for the next 10, 20, 30 years.
And personally, I feel a little bad.
Congresswoman Stefanik is two years younger than I am, and look what she's accomplishing.
And, you know, with all due respect, the best I can do is go on a war room almost every day, which is great, and I'm very proud of it.
But, you know, the congresswoman is somebody who is a beacon in the American political movement, and for us, for the MAGA movement, She's so important to have as one of our leaders because this is not, you know, what the Democrats want to paint the MAGA movement as, right?
This is a woman from New York who went to Harvard, who does policy chops, who knows what is going on around the world, who knows what's happening with China, who knows the danger of Iran.
This is somebody who is educated, smart, and a champion of the MAGA movement. That is why the UNA party, the Club for Growth, the Heritage, that's why they're so scared of her.
unidentified
It's very simple, right? Real quick, one last...
boris epshteyn
I don't care about these scores.
I care about who was with us in 2016 when the tape came out, who was with us in 2020, and who was with the president throughout these sham impeachments.
And you know what?
If somebody shows me Liz Cheney's score, I couldn't give two you-know-whats about her score.
Liz Cheney stabbed the MAGA movement in the back and the front, and Elise Stefanik is a champion of the MAGA movement.
steve bannon
What have we said from the beginning?
Until we get to the bottom of Wuhan Lab, until we get to the bottom of November 3rd, we can't go forward.
We can't go forward.
Biden's Justice Department understands that.
That's why they dropped this letter.
We're going to get to more of that.
But, for the MAGA movement, also look at the journey of Josh Hawley, and look at the journey of Elise Stefanik.
This is what's important.
You're now getting the highest quality Ivy League educated people who start off in the heart of the establishment that because of the reality of where America is and how you have to turn America around with working-class people and supporting working-class people.
Now you have Hawley's, the fire-breathing senator in the Senate, a fire-breathing populist, and Stefanik.
You've got to look at the journey.
We've got a long way to go here.
It's a fourth turning.
We've got a long, long journey ahead of us, and a tough one.
We want tough people.
Short break.
Boris next.
unidentified
War Room.
Pandemic.
With Stephen K. Bannon.
The epidemic is a demon, and we cannot let this demon hide.
War Room.
Pandemic.
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.
steve bannon
Okay, we've got huge breaking news out of Arizona we're going to get to in a second.
I just want to make sure everybody understands the respect she has for this audience.
And I understand in the live chat, not everyone is saluting and we don't, everyone should not salute.
That's the power of the MAGA movement.
That's the power of this populist movement.
It's got a lot of different thoughts, ideas, strong personalities.
You're using your human agency.
We love it.
And we want, obviously, this will continue and it's one of the reasons this show is so powerful.
Is because the engagement of this audience and remember you got to watch what they do not what they say.
So 100% we're going to continue to follow this.
I think there's going to be a big vote next week on the future of Liz Cheney who is apparently attacked the president non-stop and the president.
I think after a lot of thought and understanding those three big moments in 16, particularly during the heat of the campaign, in the first impeachment, and of course the review, the votes to review everything on January 6th, and then supporting the audit and other aspects, and remember, The audit in Arizona is going to lead to Georgia.
It's going to lead to Michigan.
You've got DiPerno up there.
You've got the folks in New Hampshire.
So, so much going on.
Plus, there's a lot of activity in South Carolina.
Not about this, per se, but about the future of the South Carolina Republican Party in Georgia.
All of it.
We're going to try to get to all of it and cover it today.
It's a world on fire.
OK, Boris, talk to us about Arizona.
This is the roll-up of Rudy Giuliani.
Forget the fire thing's a joke.
That's pathetic.
That's just what they use.
That's the excuse they use to go there.
What they want to do is take Rudy off the playing field.
Everybody says, oh Rudy does it.
Hey, you're not on the floor at that convention center in Arizona unless Rudy Giuliani pulls this thing together.
When so many of the people around the president, let's be brutally frank, ran for the hills.
Ran for the hills.
Rudy Giuliani put that together.
If it had not been that roadshow with those presentations in Pennsylvania, in Arizona, in Georgia, we would not be here today.
Remember, it takes building blocks.
And people think you can just wave a magic wand and it happens.
unidentified
No, no, no, no.
steve bannon
That's not the way things work.
It was pulling that together.
That's Rudy Giuliani.
That's why they want to take him off the playing field.
They don't want Rudy to have any voice, particularly as we go forward in this.
They want him totally wrapped up in this in this joke of a case and to have the audacity to go back to the Russia and Ukraine.
It's such a clown show and embarrassing, particularly given the exposure of Hunter Biden and the entire Biden family and how they're compromised by cash money from the CCP.
But Boris, I got to talk to his Justice Department.
I'm actually stunned by this.
And I will tell people this is a major victory.
They are so nervous and read that letter and read what that letter implies.
They are so freaked out about the progress that's being made in Arizona.
And they're particularly freaked out about this re-canvassing.
Okay, because people are going to get the receipts.
They are so freaked out that not just as Katie Hobbs come up with you got to answer in 48 hours, but the Justice Department Biden's Justice Department now feels it has to defend Joe Biden's illegitimacy.
Okay, his Justice Department.
Are you kidding me?
And look at what the subtext of that letter is.
So Boris, and I appreciate you can hang over through the next one.
I know you're jammed today.
But I gotta get to, you were there from the beginning.
Both Hobbs and now the DOJ.
Walk us through what they're doing and how they're predicating.
I think they're teeing it up to go to federal court.
And also, if you look at it, look, I'm not a lawyer, but I've talked to a lot of smart guys overnight, men and women overnight.
I think they're implying criminal charges.
to the people in Arizona.
That's how freaked out they are.
But Boris, take it.
boris epshteyn
Steve, thanks so much.
That was my initial take.
As soon as I heard about the letter, which was before it went public, as soon as I heard about the letter, my initial response was, well, this has got to be the DOJ trying to come in, trying to come in and go to federal court, at least set a predicate to then go to federal court and lay out their objections.
To be honest, in a way, I've been expecting a federal court move from the Democrats, which obviously that includes the Biden White House, ever since they were trounced in county court there by Judge Martin, by Judge Daniel Martin in Arizona.
So ever since they read the Riot Act, which was now, you know, last week, I expected some move to federal court.
To be honest, just as you said, you know, the screeching letter from Dominion, the complete freakout from, you know, who's supposed to be the evil genius, Mark Elias, to this shows just how worried, how nervous the Democrats are.
And now Joe Biden is sending in his DOJ.
Now, let's give credit where credit is due.
Joe Biden likely doesn't know what day it is.
Yes, he went and got some tacos, burritos, enchiladas, whatever it may be.
Doesn't really know what's going on.
So whoever's running the White House, you know, Politico's doing stories about President Ron Klain, so Klain or whoever it is, are sending in their own DOJ to try and stomp out this audit.
I mean, if that is not authoritarian tactics, I'm not sure what is.
This reminds you of, you know, the days when the FBI under Hoover was used for political purposes.
This is where we're living now.
You've got Rudy Giuliani, who gets I'm woken up at 6am and rushed into on a on one single for a charge that's only been far before the Trump far before folks in the Trump orbit started being prosecuted for far only been used like you know what three four times now they're using it as as a predicate for a search warrant at 6am for information and for devices
that have been around and had that have been used in discussions.
You gotta remember, there was cooperation between Mayor Giuliani, his attorneys, and the DOJ.
There was no predicate for a warrant.
He wasn't destroying his devices or running away anywhere.
Rudy Giuliani, he ain't going anywhere.
So, what you're seeing here is the politicization of the DOJ in terms of going after people who, obviously, the Bidens are worried about, and they've got a lot to worry With Rudy Giuliani, as they learned, again, when he tried to give the Hunter Biden laptop, the laptop from hell, to the FBI.
And you see this strong arm action in terms of the audit.
unidentified
Remember, we are a federalist country.
boris epshteyn
States have power.
States have more power than the federal government under the Constitution.
That's the point of the Tenth Amendment, that unless rights are reserved to the federal government, they're automatically reserved to the states.
So, the point is, That for the federal government to come in here and claim, oh, there's some major misgiving or some major wrongdoing is obvious.
It is a strong-arm tactic.
It's an intimidation tactic.
And you know what?
It's not going to work because we're not going to back down.
steve bannon
Hang on.
Please stay over through the break.
I know you're hurried, but we've got to get to more in Arizona.
Short commercial break.
Return with Boris in a moment.
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