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Aug. 18, 2025 - Bannon's War Room
48:56
Episode 4713: Brace For Impact The Ukraine Summit; The Fight Continues In Texas
Participants
Main voices
b
ben harnwell
06:39
s
steve bannon
23:55
Appearances
b
brian harrison
04:45
d
dave brat
04:28
d
david ignatius
02:00
k
katty kay
01:19
m
marco rubio
01:20
m
mark brzezinski
01:26
Clips
j
jake tapper
00:19
j
joe scarborough
00:49
s
steve witkoff
00:44
| Copy link to current segment

Speaker Time Text
katty kay
Last night on Truth Social, Trump ramped up the pressure on Ukraine, writing that Zelensky can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants to, or he can continue to fight.
Trump also suggested that Ukraine should not retake the Russian-occupied territory of Crimea, nor should it join NATO.
Zelensky responded to that in a social media post of his own, writing in part, quote, peace must be lasting, not like it was years ago when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East, part of Donbass, and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack, or when Ukraine was given so-called security guarantees in 1994, but they didn't work.
unidentified
Now, several European and NATO leaders are expected to attend today's meeting in Washington, as we said.
They include the President of the European Commission, the Chancellor of Germany, the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and of Italy, the presidents of France and of Finland, and the NATO Secretary General Joseph.
I mean, this is, I've not seen in all the years that I have covered American politics, I have not seen a delegation like this from Europe, not even at the outbreak of the Iraq war, come to Washington, come to the White House to make Europe's case for peace and security.
david ignatius
One way to think about what's happening today and in the succeeding days is this war has been about whether Ukraine can become a Western country.
That's been the aspiration of the Ukrainian people, and it was intolerable to Putin and to Russia.
unidentified
And Russia really fought a war to prevent Ukraine from becoming European.
If the United States today, by offering security guarantees to whatever part of Ukraine emerges from the war intact, so that that country can be, as South Korea became, as West Germany became, a part of the West with our guarantees of security behind them, then that's an outcome that's going to make for a more prosperous Ukraine.
david ignatius
And in the long run, I can't imagine that the rest of Ukraine won't move as East Germany moved with West Germany.
unidentified
That's down the road.
david ignatius
But the key thing is whether the United States really will stand behind Ukraine's sovereignty against Putin.
unidentified
If that happens today, then I think there's some reason for optimism.
david ignatius
If it doesn't, it's a cave into Putin's power.
unidentified
Well, first of all, the Russians are already facing very severe consequences.
There's not a single sanction that's been lifted.
And not one.
I mean, they're facing all the same sanctions that have been in place today.
All the American support continues for Ukraine.
And ultimately, look, if we're not going to be able to reach an agreement here at any point, then there are going to be consequences.
marco rubio
Not only the consequences of the war continuing, but the consequences of all those sanctions continuing and potentially new sanctions on top of it as well.
unidentified
But what we're trying to do right now is end the war.
And in order to end the war, you've got to give every opportunity that exists.
You have to be open to any opportunity that exists to bring it about.
And here's the thing to remind everybody.
And when the president says this is not our war, but let's be frank, this is not our war.
marco rubio
The United States is not in a war.
Ukraine is in a war, and we've been supporting Ukraine.
unidentified
We happen to be in the role of the only country in the world, we're the only leader in the world, that can actually bring Putin to a table to even discuss these things.
Now, the president has traveled all the way to Alaska, all the way back, has dedicated months and months of work, him, our entire team on this matter, because we want to see an end to the war.
But if tomorrow the war continues, life in America will not be fundamentally altered.
So I think that what we have to understand is that this has been a priority for this president because he wants to promote peace.
marco rubio
He wants to promote the end of a war.
unidentified
And I think we should be happy that we have a president that's trying to promote peace and bring a war to an end.
How much do you think Ukraine will be willing to give up if in fact they get a rock-solid security guarantee where the European countries and Donald Trump say, we're going to be in Ukraine,
the U.S. is going to be supporting us, we're all going to be rebuilding your country, and we're going to tell Vladimir Putin in no uncertain terms that an attack against Ukraine is an attack against the United States and Great Britain and France and Germany and Italy and the EU.
At that point, when he gets that rock-solid assurance, if he gets that rock-solid assurance, at that point, do you think the land deal can be made?
So, Joe, he has to be able to sell this to the Ukrainian people.
And they have suffered in this war so much.
Just think about bombardment every night, every night, spending much of that night awake, which has been the case for much of this year for Ukrainians in Kiev and elsewhere.
david ignatius
He has to sell it to this war-weary people and say, we got something.
We're giving up this land.
unidentified
It's a dagger in our heart.
david ignatius
But what we got was security, our ability to be a free European country.
unidentified
So I think it depends in how this is phrased.
If the appearance at the end of today is of the Western countries, the United States and Europe, marching together with Ukraine, even as it makes this terrible concession of land, that may be something that Zelensky can take home.
And the Ukrainians would say it was worth the sacrifices we made.
So President Trump called this an extremely productive meeting and said many points were agreed to.
You were in the room.
jake tapper
Can you give us two specific points that were agreed to?
unidentified
We agreed, Jake.
First of all, thank you for having me and good morning.
steve witkoff
We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing.
We didn't think that we were anywhere close to agreeing to Article 5 protection from the United States, legislative enshrinement within the Russian Federation not to go after any other territory when the peace deal is codified, legislative enshrinement in the Russian Federation not to go after any other European countries and violate their sovereignty.
unidentified
So we agreed to, and there was plenty more.
mark brzezinski
American security guarantees are the holy grail in all this.
unidentified
And I say this having served as ambassador in Poland, which literally was in the crosshairs of Putin because it was delivering the weapons to the Ukrainians, the Ukrainians that were using to defend themselves against Russia.
And the security guarantee, the Article V commitment here in Poland worked.
mark brzezinski
Without that Article V guarantee, I can only imagine what Poland and the Baltic states and Romania would have faced.
So Article 5, the fact that Witkoff and Rubio, negotiator Witkoff and Secretary Rubio are talking about it, is truly the crux of a deal that the Ukrainians could buy into.
unidentified
And the security guarantee would have to keep the peace on both sides.
mark brzezinski
This has been a terribly bloody war with casualties massive on both sides.
unidentified
And years over the next few years, there will be feelings of retribution and passion for retribution on both sides.
The Russian-Ukraine conflict has historical dimensions that if President Trump can broker a ceasefire very soon would be worthy of celebration because it is so historically rooted and so recently bloody.
mark brzezinski
And to put something in place that stops that would be worthy of accolades.
unidentified
This is the primal scream of a dying regime.
Pray for our enemies because we're going to medieval on these people.
You're going to not get a free shot on all these networks lying about the people.
The people have had a belly full of it.
I know you don't like hearing that.
I know you're trying to do everything in the world to stop that, but you're not going to stop it.
steve bannon
It's going to happen.
unidentified
And where do people like that go to share the big lie?
MAGA Media.
I wish in my soul, I wish that any of these people had a conscience.
Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose?
If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.
War Room.
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.
It's Monday, 18 August, year of our Lord 2025.
We are set and getting ready for a historic day at the White House as Zelensky arrives for his, I think, his first meeting since the blow-up six months or so.
Plus the chaperones.
He's got chaperones.
But right there, you saw it in all its glory.
And of course, you heard it on War Room 1 on Friday morning, even before the planes landed in Alaska.
This will all come down to two things.
American security guarantees and American commitment, massive amount of money for redevelopment.
I am lost, and maybe Witkoff and Rubio will explain it today.
I'm just lost how a game, how us, how the United States offering an Article 5 commitment for a security guarantee to Ukraine is a win for the United States.
I mean, this war started because of the globalists at the EU, the European Union, and NATO forcing the hand of the Russians over years and years and years about Ukraine's joining the EU and joining NATO.
And with these two, what they're talking about, I mean, the reality of it, let's take away the rhetoric and the cot and the back and forth, is joining the EU because the economic integration of American capital under the Larry Finks of the world, who, by the way, took over the World Economic Forum, as we reported over the weekend.
Larry Fink's now in charge of the World Economic Forum, the party of Davos, officially.
Klaus Schwab is out and won't be charged with any crimes.
And then the Article 5, and they dare, David Ignatius dares to make an analogy to Germany and South Korea.
steve bannon
I think we have 25,000 combat troops in South Korea, and I think we have, I don't know, 30 to 35,000 still in Germany.
unidentified
That was after the most destructive war in mankind's history, of which we didn't want to have it happen again, so we stopped.
steve bannon
I mean, there's no analogy at all with Ukraine.
unidentified
The very first, David Ignatius, as Ben Harnwell, who will join me momentarily from Roma, I've also got Dave Brett here this morning.
We'll get Brian Glenn and Jack Pasovic from the White House later.
You know, he said, this is all about the point of this.
And by the way, my team, my crack team on the cold open and the guys in Denver, just extraordinary.
That explained it all to you.
steve bannon
You didn't need to watch any of the shows.
unidentified
You didn't need to do anything.
Just watch that seven or eight minutes right there.
You got it all, baby.
steve bannon
All the important stuff.
unidentified
Curated.
He said the whole purpose of this war was whether Ukraine becomes a Western country or not.
Well, that's fine.
And that's the Ukrainians' fight and the Europeans' fight and Germany's fight and Italy's fight and all these big talkers.
Maloney's got the gall to get on a plane and come over here where she hasn't even made a serious attempt at getting to even 2% on their defense spending.
And all those countries are still allowing mass migration, mass invasion, I might add, from Muslim countries and are collapsing.
And we have a British officer over the weekend give an interview where he says, What I've been saying for years: that if there's not, if the political class, and this includes Nigel Farage and the team over reform, don't confront the mass immigration from invasion of radical Islamists and this merger of Marxism, neo-Marxism, the hard left with radical Islamists.
steve bannon
There's going to be a civil war in England.
unidentified
His words, basically copying mind, I've been saying for years and years and years.
Those are the issues.
If the war is about it becoming a Western nation and a European nation, then fine.
If that's what a million Ukrainians gave up their lives for in their in their destruction of the country and wounded the casualties, that's fine.
That's for the guys in Brussels to figure out they should do the redevelopment and they should provide the Article 5.
They haven't even come close to defending themselves.
America pulled in to the Bloodlands on an Article 5.
That's a tripwire for a war.
And I don't know if we got the segment in there.
I don't know if I heard that about the vengeance factor of the Ukrainians.
As I said the other day, I said on Saturday, this is worse than Northern Ireland.
steve bannon
This is worse than the West Bank.
unidentified
There, you had, yes, you had horrible things happen to individuals and tough things happen and people killed and torn over many decades, actually, thousands of years, let's say.
Here, you've had outright brutality on both sides.
And particularly, the Russians, they play Smash Mount.
That's how their army rolls.
And there's a ton of Ukrainians, as human nature says they should, that want vengeance.
And now you're going to put the United States in the middle of this?
steve bannon
It's very simple.
unidentified
Tell the chaperones, it's your baby.
Tell Zelensky, hey, this is your issue, deal with it.
You guys initiated this.
You pushed the Russians, and the Russians punched back.
And hey, they're not guiltless.
The KGB that runs them are bad ombre's.
steve bannon
Very bad ombre inexorably.
unidentified
We can't get sucked in here.
steve bannon
They even talk about a commitment like in Germany and South Korea, which were still there 80 years later.
unidentified
Short break.
Back in the warm in a moment.
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Birch Gold, I think now more than ever, going to be a tad bit of turbulence.
steve bannon
Now more than ever, you ought to find out why gold's been a hedge in mankind's history, and particularly since the rise of fiat currencies.
unidentified
Learn it all.
Go to birchgold.com, the end of the dollar empire.
Modi just announced that Putin's been talking to Modi, and Modi's been talking to Lula, and Putin's been talking to Lula.
steve bannon
So, hey, there's a lot going on here on what we refer to as de-dollarization.
unidentified
They're cooking up a lot with the Chinese Communist Party.
So, go check it out.
Find out what the prime reserve currency is and why it's so important in your personal and your financial life.
Remember two things: the 10-year price of the 10-year treasury, which I think is below, what, four and a half today, down to 423 or something.
I'll get it in a second.
And the dollars of prime reserve currencies.
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steve bannon
Birchgold.com, promo code Bannon.
unidentified
And get to Philip Patrick and the team.
steve bannon
Talk to them about the benefits of owning physical gold in a time of turbulence.
unidentified
Ben Harnwell, it is incumbent upon the war room posse, given that you've changed the direction of history many times.
And right now, you're engaged in political combat on the redistricting to make sure that we continue the Trump revolution and the Trump movement because of demographic shifts in the United States and within states.
We're going to have a 10-30 report from Texas, and you see feckless, hapless leaders that are kind of the same type of feckless, hapless leaders England's had, which don't know how to act and act decisively.
But they'll talk a lot.
A lot of talk coming out of Texas.
A lot of talk, not a lot of action.
steve bannon
The only action is at the tip of the bayonet as you nudge them along, which we're going to have to do because now we want nine seats in Texas.
We don't want five.
unidentified
We want nine.
We ain't going to settle for seven.
We're not going to settle for five.
We want all nine.
Maximalist position today in the great state of Texas.
You want to play smash mouth with Newsom and the governor of California?
steve bannon
Let's do it.
Ben Harnwell.
unidentified
Now is in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.
steve bannon
We need to look at the situation in Ukraine through your beady eyes of exactly what's going on.
unidentified
Was I off base at all on exactly why the chaperones are coming over today?
Because they see the chance for a big win to get them off the hook of what they caused and what they're not prepared to go back to their people and say, hey, we got to step up here because the people are turf them out of office, sir.
Good morning, Steve.
No, of course you weren't off base.
ben harnwell
You were absolutely on point.
unidentified
And that's really, I think, what I'm going to be the theme of what I'm going to be saying today.
You started off in your intro paying tribute to the war room posse and the power of this audience.
And I'm going to do exactly the same right now on something specific because it was really the power of the war room audience that stopped the decrepit Biden regime from being able to get away with this security guarantees hoax.
ben harnwell
A year ago, we were the only show on air pushing this point day after day after day after the globalists tried their very subtle pivot from not talking about NATO membership and they started to talk about security guarantees.
unidentified
There was no press release.
There was no grand statement to say they're going to be changing their international position on this.
ben harnwell
They pushed it out subtly and slightly.
Fortunately, however, everybody involved in this show has more or less BD cynicalized, including everyone at the International Bureau.
unidentified
And we followed this rigorously.
ben harnwell
And I think we moved the needle on this.
And they gave up on that pitch.
unidentified
Until now, it's resurrected like Frankenstein or something from a B-list horror movie.
ben harnwell
Steve, forgive me for saying this, but security guarantees is the same shit sandwich a year ago as it is today.
unidentified
The war room audience, American taxpaying public, deserves a Chateau Brion steak.
That is why they elected Donald J. Trump.
That's what they want.
And they've gone into the diner, and then the plastic vinyl tablecloth has been taken away.
People are admiring the pressed iron starch tablecloth.
You don't go up to the bar, the waiter comes all dressed up and removes the silver dome dish.
And you're looking there and you're thinking, wait a minute, wait a minute, that's not my Chateau Brillon steak I ordered.
You just pick it up and think, yep, yep, it's the same shit sandwich that they tried to serve up a year ago.
The point here, Steve, about these security guarantees, which, by the way, are not the same as Article 5 assurances.
Article 5 of NATO commits you to absolutely nothing.
ben harnwell
All you are obliged to do is take whatever steps you deem necessary if a NATO ally is invaded.
unidentified
And you can say, we are monitoring the situation.
And that fulfills your NATO five obligations.
Security guarantees are far.
And this is a point only the war room has been making.
ben harnwell
Security guarantees are far more weighing on the U.S. administration and its taxpaying public because they bind you into doing something.
unidentified
They are guarantees.
ben harnwell
A better analogy of a security guarantee is what the UK provided for Poland in the Second World War.
unidentified
We said to the Germans, if you invade Poland, Germany and Britain will be at a state of war.
ben harnwell
Germany invaded Poland, and therefore on the next day we declared war against Germany.
That is a guarantee.
unidentified
That binds you into doing something.
steve bannon
Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on.
unidentified
Both World War I and World War II.
World War I was when the Germans came across the low countries.
They had security guarantees.
I think it was in Belgium.
steve bannon
That triggered it then.
unidentified
They had security guarantees with all these kings, you know, all in, you know, between Austria, Hungary, Empire, and the Russians.
steve bannon
You have these security guarantees.
unidentified
These are tripwires.
This is where things go from regional conflicts to world wars.
That's what happened in World War II in Poland.
steve bannon
The British woke up and they said, oh, my, you know, hey, we've got this guarantee in Poland.
The Germans went in, Hitler went in, and this thing went from a European war to a local expansion of Germany to a European war.
unidentified
And then it went from a European war to a global war when the Japanese attacked us.
And why did Germany then announce war against the United States?
Declared war on us.
We didn't declare war on them.
Guess wait for it.
A security guarantee.
A deal between the Germans and the Japanese.
And then all of a sudden, you had World War II.
Security guarantees.
And they're making the analogy now.
This is like Germany or like South Korea.
Well, I think South Korea, we still got 25,000 combat troops.
And Germany, I think, still have 30 or 35,000, right?
steve bannon
I mean, these are massive commitments of American troops.
unidentified
This is what they're going for are money on the redevelopment.
steve bannon
They're also going for much more long-term commitment on arms and refinancing that Zelensky mess of that government.
unidentified
But now they actually want our active engagement in securing this.
And they're not stepping up.
They're saying, yeah, you know, as unless you're saying, yeah, we get the Americans and then some other guys, the chaperones will come in and kick in what they will because you can't trust them.
steve bannon
The European elite are untrustworthy.
unidentified
They weren't with us in World War II.
They were not.
We have to understand history here.
steve bannon
The Russian peasants, the Russian people, the Russian serfs, okay, they're the ones that broke the Wehrmacht, right?
unidentified
With, I don't know, 25 or 30 million casualties.
Okay.
They broke them the old-fashioned way.
steve bannon
Those were our allies, the elites, except for the British, you Brits.
unidentified
And let's be blunt.
steve bannon
That was about saving the empire.
unidentified
Everything from what happened, you know, Asia all the way to North Africa.
So, no, this is, once you go down this path, and hopefully President Trump's presenting this as I've offered you guys this and you still can't get to a deal because Zelensky wants more.
steve bannon
They always want more.
unidentified
I think it's an insult to the President of the United States and the American people that the chaperones immediately after President Trump's done everything he possibly can do, has got the weight of the world on his shoulders.
steve bannon
He just wants to stop the killing, that the chaperones feel they're entitled to get on a plane and kind of come over here to have this, to have this, to have, you know, to chaperone Zelensky and to force a bigger and broader deal.
unidentified
Am I off on that?
Or the chaperones are here for a reason.
And the reason is not to help America or help the America First Movement, sir.
A thousand percent, Steve.
Look, I have never seen in my lifetime, I don't think it's ever happened before, that a guest of the White House, invited over, a head of state invited over, unilaterally decides for himself he's going to bring along all of his mates into a bilateral with POTUS.
Never seen that before.
ben harnwell
It is a massive slap in the face, a thousand percent.
unidentified
Look, I know we're heading to a break.
ben harnwell
Let me just make this point about the unreliability of your so-called European allies.
unidentified
That is a thousand percent on point.
ben harnwell
One example, who do you have going over today?
unidentified
In the gaggle of hacks and second raters, Phoney Maloney herself.
ben harnwell
If she really thought that Russia represented a threat to the interests of Western continental Europe, that she wouldn't be spending the equivalent of $16 billion on building a bridge between Sicily and the Italian peninsula.
She'd be putting that money into tanks, right?
unidentified
But she's not doing why.
Because she knows it's a hoax.
ben harnwell
It is a hoax.
unidentified
And by the way, what I would gently encourage the President Trump to focus on is precisely this point about the Europeans and their so-called 5% spending commitment.
This 16 billion bridge between Sicily and the Italian peninsula, they're going to mark that off.
They're saying this is now an element of national security for Italy.
They're going to count this off against their 5%.
That shows you, in that brief illustration, Steve, just the nature of the people that you are dealing with that are coming over to chaperone Zelensky.
Yeah.
Hang on one second.
The chaperones.
We're going to get off it.
Dave Brad is with us.
We're also going to go to Texas.
I want to thank Jim Rickards in the middle of the night on Saturday.
steve bannon
He was in Australia, so it was like two in the morning.
unidentified
I want to thank Jim.
steve bannon
He's coming back this week, going to join us.
unidentified
What a sharp brain that is.
So glad to have him as a contributor.
Go check it out right now.
Rickardswarroom.com.
We have a landing page for you to get access to strategic intelligence.
You can find out what it's about.
The short pitch is that it's for C-suite.
Chairman and CEOs throughout the world.
Read this.
steve bannon
It's inside baseball.
unidentified
Strategic intelligence is his newsletter.
You get access to it and it throws in a free book.
steve bannon
Money, GPT.
unidentified
I bet fiat currency and artificial intelligence.
steve bannon
Short break back in the world.
unidentified
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bass.
Okay, we're going to go to Texas in a moment, but I want to set the stage here for the war and posse because it's all about you.
You are one of the most powerful political instruments in the history of this country.
Always remember that.
It's the reason we do this show and we spend so much time to make sure you get the right information.
Because when the American people have the right information, in their righteous indignation, they will do the right thing, and then the country will do the right thing.
It's pretty, you know, it's pattern recognition of American history.
Ben, you told me it was a month or so ago, in the middle of all kinds of different things happening.
You said, hey, I want you to understand, because Ben, you're very selective about putting stuff up on Getter and you've got a huge following, but you're very particular about doing it.
And you said, hey, I'm telling you, man, the thing that gets people's blood boiling more than anything is this Ukraine situation.
And this is a time, you know, in the ebb and flow of what's happening, Ukraine wasn't on the top of mind at the time.
You're seeing it again, and this is why the American people and the Patriot movement understands exactly what's at stake.
Your thoughts, sir.
Steve, I remember that conversation.
And the reason I'm able to make those analyses is because since I've been on Geta for nearly four years now, I have read every single comment that's ever been posted to anything I've posted on there.
ben harnwell
So I have a good feeling of what the sentiment is.
unidentified
I remember that conversation with you.
It was, I think, at the time of when President Trump bombed Iran.
And I said, look, there's a difference here in MAGA with the America first movement.
With regards to Israel, I admit, I mean, look, I have the same view to Israel as I have to Ukraine, but I don't need to go into that in this point.
I recognize that there's a half of MAGA splits down the midline supporting Israel.
With regards to Ukraine, it is 100% against supporting Zelensky and his regime.
That is why I'm somewhat mystified that President Trump is investing himself and his credibility and his authority to this degree.
What I would like to see, Steve, and I'll hand back over to you on this point, is something that you first asked three years ago of decrepit President Magu.
When is he going to come to Congress and outline what America's interests are in Ukraine?
ben harnwell
That argument was never made.
unidentified
So before Steve Witcoff or anybody else in the administration starts calling the security guarantees, what was that expression he used?
A concession that they won in negotiation, can someone please explain to the American public what the American interests are that these security guarantees are supposed to defend and protect?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay, hang on for a second.
We're going to get to all that.
You're right.
We say that's a big win, a game-changing win.
That's got to be explained.
Please explain that.
We want to be supportive.
Remember, we're supportive of this.
But here's the situation is that these Europeans can't be trusted.
And the mainstream media is pushing you to do this.
All the corporate interests, all the arms manufacturers, big tech, they all want this.
you know why?
Their kids are not going to be, when you hear security guarantee, you know what you do?
You look at the table of your sons and daughters.
You look at those grandchildren.
steve bannon
That's a security guarantee.
unidentified
What's a security guarantee in Korea?
Combat troops.
What's the security guarantee in Germany?
Combat troops.
They want your blood and they want your treasure.
steve bannon
Yours.
unidentified
Are you at the table?
They want yours.
Somewhere else of the posse has made a huge difference, and it's a top priority, is this entire situation of getting the House of Representatives properly structured to reflect the demographic reality of the United States mid-decade after an atrocious census was done by the Commerce Department, which they admit and massive demographic changes after the pandemic.
And quite frankly, people looking for more freedom in red states, also within states.
Brian Harrison joins us now from Texas.
Here's what's got me more upset than anything.
Gavin Newsome plays Smashmouth.
This brother's putting forward a plan to quick march, I think, in less than 90 days, going to the biggest state we got, the seventh largest economy in the world, a 52-seat, 52 seats, people, in the House of Representatives in Congress, 52 seats, which I think we have nine right now, and the state breaks down probably 55, 45, right, on votes, 55, 45, or let's say something with a four handle in front of it.
They're going to take it down to four.
That is smashmouth.
And they've got to get, they've got so many hurdles they got to go, but they're rolling and they're up in your face about what they're going to do and how they're going to do it.
steve bannon
In Texas, it's all performance art by the leadership.
unidentified
If it was not for the grassroots, the grassroots leaders, the MAGA movement, Brian Harrison, and one or two others, this thing, first of all, they would have never come before the five.
Brian, please tell me today we're getting the big nine.
It's the Texas nine.
Is it not?
We're getting nine seats down there, sir.
Well, we look, we sure as hell need to get more than five.
I mean, you hit the nail on the head.
The Democrats all across the country, Pritzker in Illinois, Gavin Newsom in California.
Democrats coast to coast play hardball.
Texas Republicans aren't even playing beanbag.
And I mean, what's the point of election integrity if Republicans, once they get elected, just turn around and give the Democrats all their power?
And that's what's been happening in the great state of Texas for year after year after year.
brian harrison
Voters go to the ballot box, do their job, elect Republicans, and then these voters do the bidding of the liberal Democrats and act like they're helpless to stop it.
unidentified
The reality is they're complicit with the Democrats.
brian harrison
So to catch folks up on what's going on, I'm pulled over.
unidentified
Sorry, I can't be with you on video.
Pulled over on the side of I-35 driving to the Capitol for the special session number two.
Because for folks keeping track at home, the Texas Republican leadership allowed the Democrats, allowed the Democrats, assisted the Democrats, to completely derail 100% of the first special session.
We passed nothing.
No redistricting, no property taxes, nothing.
Okay, and no punishment for the Democrats.
brian harrison
So we're coming back now.
unidentified
First day of special session number two was last Friday.
brian harrison
Democrats did not show up.
unidentified
The expectation is the Democrats will come back today.
But here's the reality: Democrats are coming back on their terms.
Democrats are coming back on their timeline.
After the Democrats have had their success of spending two or three weeks galvanizing the country in opposition to our much-needed redistricting effort, they've raised money.
They've raised awareness.
They've got blue states now.
California going to redistrict their maps.
And what have we done in Texas?
I expect we're going to have some bad performance theater of some fake punishments will get meted out on these Democrats, punishments that, by the way, will have been negotiated with the Democrats that won't really hurt them.
Here's what we need to do: play hardball.
Gavin Newsome said, fight fire with fire.
I mean, move past the irony that he's probably the biggest arsonist in the country when it comes to redistricting.
Hit the Democrats where it hurts.
Don't redraw the map and just get five Republican seats.
We need at least seven, one for every week they were gone.
brian harrison
So at least seven.
unidentified
But the governor was even copying Steve the posse, your rhetoric, my rhetoric for the last week, saying, oh, well, we may be able to get nine or ten.
brian harrison
Well, then we need to do that.
unidentified
Anything, and here's the bad, we're off to a bad start here because the Texas House and the Texas Senate on Friday, day one of special session number two, they re-filed their maps, but they only still had just five Republican seats.
So, as far as I'm concerned, if we're passing a map and it's only got five seats on it, that's the equivalent of raising the white flag of surrender and saying to Gavin Newsome, okay, you and the Democrats are going to beat us again and we're just fine with it.
That's not what the Texas, that's not what the voters of Texas want.
They deserve better than this.
So, the Warren Posse, they're ready to call.
We got the number up there on the screen, and Grace and Mo will put it out in all the chats.
We need nine.
We need to go maximalist here.
Let's just put all the, look, for the uninitiated, the people that don't pay attention, the low information voters are great.
steve bannon
Your neighbors, they're fantastic.
unidentified
They're your friends, your neighbors.
But in politics, it takes a vanguard of fighters, and they got them too.
They got them too.
So, now it's between the two vanguards, okay?
So, let's just be blunt.
We want nine.
We want maximalist positions in every state in Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Texas, Florida.
If Abbott says he can get nine or ten, we want nine or ten and let the Democrats deal with it because Newsom is coming for 48 out of 52.
I want you to absorb.
You have not one Republican in all of New England, not one.
I think they have a 25-seat delegation, not one.
I think you aggregate up New England.
It's something high 30s, low 40s.
steve bannon
It ain't zero.
unidentified
It's zero right now.
steve bannon
And California, which is the seventh biggest or fifth biggest economy in the world, they're about to take total representation away from everybody.
unidentified
That's how they roll.
And I have no problem with that.
That's how they roll.
But we got to roll the same way.
steve bannon
We got to get nine, and we got to light a fire under Abbott.
unidentified
He is so weak and feckless and hapless that if you don't put that, you don't nudge him along with the tip of the bayonet in the back, he won't do anything.
He'll go on Fox and bluster, and then nothing happened.
steve bannon
Just like on the border, all this crap on the border that was happening.
unidentified
Abbott sat there, I'll send the National Guard, but all there's to be a concierge service.
Harrison, how do we do this, brother?
Yeah, no.
So, amen.
And listen, Steve, here's how, just to put a fine point on this: the difference between the Democrats and Democrat states and their leadership versus Republicans in the state of Texas.
Massachusetts, a Democrat state with a Democrat governor, they don't have even one single congressional map that goes to Republicans, and they're talking about doing even more redistricting when they've already gerrymandered every Republican seat out of the state.
But in Texas, let me make this super simple for everybody.
If you hadn't been following along for the past couple weeks, ignore the theater.
Let's cut through the BS and slice through the spin.
I'm going to make this as simple as I can.
If the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the Texas government want more than five Republican seats, if they want 7, 8, 9, we will have 789 seats.
If we do not get seven more Republican seats, eight more Republican seats, or nine more Republican seats, I'll tell you why.
And it's for one reason.
The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the state of Texas did not want it to happen.
Those three have enough power under the Constitution, our rules, and our statutes.
They're cowards.
They can get it done.
steve bannon
They're cowards.
They're cowards.
unidentified
One thing you say, and by the way, I understand this audience can't stand the sight of Gavin Newsome.
I got that.
But one thing you can't say about that brother is he's not a coward.
He's up in our grill, and he's got a very tough march to make this happen.
They got some structural hurdles.
He's all in, and he's telling Trump, I'm doing this to impeach you.
He's not shy about why he's doing it.
He's saying, I'm doing it to impeach you.
So all the masks are off everywhere.
If this doesn't happen, if we don't get nine in Texas is because of gutless cowards at the head of the Texas government.
And the grassroots has got a belly full of this now.
You did this on the invasion.
It took Trump winning again for the third time to make things right down there.
steve bannon
You had every opportunity to defend your own state border.
unidentified
You refused to do it time and time again, and now you're doing the same thing.
This audience is not going to accept performance art.
Brian, I know you got to bounce to get back on the road.
Where do folks get you in that Twitter feed that they all hate?
The most hated Twitter feed in the Capitol.
Do your civic service piss off a rhino today.
brian harrison
Go to my XSpeed at Brian E. Harrison and follow me there.
unidentified
At Brian E. Harrison, at Brian E. Harrison.
Blow up the phone lines of the Texas Capitol.
Tell them you're sick and tired of Democrats and Democrat states fighting harder for the future of our state and country than elected Republicans.
It's time the elected Republicans fight like the future is on the line.
You know why?
brian harrison
Because it is.
unidentified
Brian Harrison, you're a hero and a patriot.
steve bannon
Thank you, sir.
unidentified
Appreciate it.
We don't want performance.
If you just watch Fox, you watch them say, man, those guys in Texas, that senior leadership, they're tough.
They haven't taken a parking spot.
They're still going to pay these guys.
No fines, nothing.
It's got to stop.
Be as hard and tough as those Democrats or feel the wrath of the people.
steve bannon
Patriot Mobile, Glenn Story.
unidentified
The Patriot Mobile guys on their pack, just extraordinary, amazing, best phone service in the country.
Do this switch today called 972-PATRIOT.
Talk to an American citizen, probably in East Texas somewhere, at their call centers to make the switch today.
Do it.
Patriot Mobile.
Short break.
steve bannon
Let's take down the CCP.
unidentified
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.
Okay, our own Dave Brett.
Dave, thanks for sticking around.
You see what's happening?
steve bannon
And let's get that during this.
Let's also get that number up for the governor's office, Lieutenant Governor's office.
unidentified
We want Texas nine today.
When you call up and say, hey, the governor said he could get nine seats down there.
We want all nine full maximalists.
They say, well, these guys are maximalists.
You damn right we're maximalists.
steve bannon
The country's on the line right here.
unidentified
Don't take it from me.
Listen to them.
Harrison just said in Massachusetts, I think it's 10-0 or 12%.
There's not one Republican in a state that I think has 42 or 43% Republican voters.
And when you aggregate these things up, not one seat.
And she does a press conference that says it's not gerrymandered enough.
We're going to make sure they could never have a Republican.
All in New England, 25 to nothing.
Suck on that.
And look what they're going to do.
In a state with 52 seats, we've got nine right now, nothing.
They're going to take it down to four.
New York, the same way.
steve bannon
They're going to do it there.
unidentified
Pritzker, it's 17 seats.
They only three Republicans.
It's time to go full maximalist.
The hour is late.
Let's roll.
Let's keep that up.
We can split.
But I want to see Dave Brett's lovely visage.
Dave Brett, thank you for hanging out.
As an economist, you're both a philosopher and you're a hard numbers economist.
steve bannon
Let's put your hard numbers economist on on this war.
unidentified
The situation dumped.
And President Trump, just remember, it's not your war.
Every second he let these guys, the chaperones coming over is to make it the biggest global TV event of the year, which it may be because you've never had these kind of people show up.
It's to try to stick you with the tar baby of Ukraine.
Dave Brett, help me out here, brother.
Yeah, well, great show.
Harnwell on fire.
dave brat
Love all of it.
unidentified
The economics is pretty simple.
Xi Ji Peng in China is laughing his head off at us.
Every missile we shoot off is 15 million minimum out of our taxpayers' wallets and a waste in terms of our major geopolitical threat, which is China.
And so we got to focus back on that.
Number two, even Putin knows, and we don't trust Putin either, like Reagan said, but even Putin knows.
He's not, you know, he doesn't trust Xi.
He trusts Trump and us way more than them.
And so rapprochement is in the cards, I hope.
Which brings us up to point three.
Larry Fink, new head of the World Economic Forum over Klaus Schwab, who's recommending we clean up things after he uncleaned it.
So there's two things you got to focus on the economics here.
Who paid all the bills for this war?
I'm exaggerating slightly, but the answer is the United States of America and you, you, the base and the taxpayers in the United States.
Second, who paid an even greater price for this war?
All the war dead, all those boys bleeding over on the fields.
It's a million in Ukraine and a million dead and injured in Russia, both, right?
dave brat
And the latest stats seem to show losses in Russia are just a trickle, right?
unidentified
And the single digits are a bit higher deaths per day.
dave brat
They're still taking it to Ukraine, right?
unidentified
Ukraine's recruiting 60-year-olds.
No one wants to calculate the price of those dead boys into these calculations.
The Europeans are our chaperones are disgusting morally for not mentioning the loss of life.
And then at the end of the day, the World Economic Forum and all of our betters are going to go in and make a ton of money on the minerals and agriculture and et cetera in Ukraine.
It is morally repugnant.
Harnwell started alluding to this.
I'm going to get to why I think the war room is still scratching their heads on this thing.
Trump, President Trump, is the commander-in-chief.
He's the CEO.
He's the chief magistrate.
And so why is this not done?
Everybody wants to.
Why is it?
I want it to be done.
I make people's heads pop off, but I'm going to give you three reasons, right?
I'm going to go back to David Hume, who made the great moral distinction between what is and what ought to be.
What ought to be is the kingdom of God on earth.
dave brat
What is the case is grotesque.
unidentified
And I'm going to give you three reasons why our chaperones will not let Trump pull us off.
Number one reason is that the Euro Europeans and our globalists and our betters all know they caused this, right?
dave brat
We had a coup in 2014.
unidentified
They knocked out a democratically elected president of Ukraine.
Putin, all the while, way back then, said, after we already lied to him about 17 countries getting NATO status, this was the line in the sand.
And so now Putin's saying nothing different.
No, you're not going to do this.
It's not going to be a NATO country.
So number one, our European betters know they caused this.
Number two, they also know, and I got a few charts on this that'll solidify this point, but they're scared.
And so are our U.S. senators and the rhinos who were cheerleading and pumping up Zelensky before the last meeting when he not only slapped Trump in the face, he punched Trump in the face.
And so the base is going, what in the world is going on here?
Trump's the toughest guy we know of.
He's the best fighter, the best negotiator.
Why aren't we out of this mess?
And then the third, of course, is just the money, right?
It's just morally grotesque.
dave brat
Who's going to win?
unidentified
It's just like the 08 financial crisis, which lit the Tea Party and the grassroots on fire.
And you've covered every bit of that.
dave brat
But let me just give you a couple quick charts just to show you what's at stake here.
unidentified
Number one, the first chart just goes back to 2021.
Here's the firepower.
And the blue is Ukraine.
The red's Russia.
This is back when Politico and all of our lying mainstream media, all political views are my own, but it's just a fact.
Look at that chart.
There's Ukraine on the left.
There's Russia on the right.
And Politico saying they're winning.
Ukraine's winning.
dave brat
Now they've lost.
unidentified
There's not a credible strategic analyst I know of that'll say they're winning.
Second chart is even better.
Hold on, hang on.
Hold on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hang on.
steve bannon
Slow down.
unidentified
Slow down, Professor.
The kids in the back row, that would be me.
I was a back row guy.
Hang over a second.
I want to make sure we're going to hold through the breaking room and pick this up.
And we got Poso and Brian Glenner at the White House.
steve bannon
A historic day today.
unidentified
Obviously, the chaperones are coming.
steve bannon
I don't think there's ever been a group, even in World War II.
I don't think we've ever had a group of the power.
unidentified
You know, you got Germany, you got France, you got Italy, you got the United Kingdom.
You got all the ones that they think count over there coming.
steve bannon
So historic day, President Trump, he's got Zelensky.
unidentified
The weight of history is on him.
So we're going to explain it all to you exactly where we are.
Remember when Dave Bratt's talking about those charts, all of them said, remember how long you heard, oh, Ukraine's winning, the Russia's going to collapse, Russian economy is going to collapse.
There's going to be a revolution.
He's losing.
He can't recruit any more people.
It was all lies.
All lies.
100% lies.
We didn't buy this from the very beginning, from the night before, the evening before this fiasco started.
What, back in February or March of 22?
We told you exactly what was going to happen.
steve bannon
Ben Harnwell, Dave Bratt, Jack Pasovic, Stephen K. Bannon, and more of the war said this exact Mersheimer's right.
unidentified
These guys are going to fight down to the last Ukrainian.
Now they're getting close to the last Ukrainians.
They're taking 60-year-old folks.
They want American combat troops.
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