All Episodes Plain Text
April 16, 2026 - Bannon's War Room
48:57
Episode 5303: Victory For MAGA Against Live Nation And Ticketmaster Monopoly

Stephen K. Bannon and Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Scarmetti analyze a Manhattan jury's four-day verdict finding Live Nation and Ticketmaster guilty of an illegal monopoly, driving up fees through mafia-like tactics. While state attorneys general push for a breakup remedy following the Trump administration's federal settlement, Bann contrasts this corporate accountability with the DOJ's attempt to vacate January 6th convictions like Todd Blanch's. The episode also covers White House Budget Director Russ Vogt's testimony on a $1.5 trillion defense increase that would cut social safety nets, alongside an ad for Kobe Blumenthal's Chapter platform. Ultimately, Bann frames these events as populist revolts against corporate power signaling a shift toward ultra-nationalism. [Automatically generated summary]

Transcriber: CohereLabs/cohere-transcribe-03-2026, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
Participants
Main
j
jonathan skrmetti
05:36
s
steve bannon
r 27:00
Appearances
b
brendan boyle
rep/d 02:20
b
brian stelter
cnn 01:07
c
cobi blumenfeld-gantz
03:02
j
james sample
01:16
k
katy tur
msnow 01:11
k
ken dilanian
msnow 00:48
l
lisa rubin
00:43
m
maureen bannon
01:21
Clips
b
boris sanchez
cnn 00:13
j
jake tapper
cnn 00:09
r
russ vought
00:04
|

Speaker Time Text
Federal Antitrust Monopoly Trial 00:14:41
boris sanchez
Jurors in a federal antitrust trial just found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as a monopoly, driving up fees for fans.
CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter joins us now over the phone with details.
So, Brian, what did the jury determine?
brian stelter
Today, on the fourth day of deliberation, this Manhattan jury delivers a verdict that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been trying to avoid for years.
This has been going on for a long time.
But this jury today, it says the music industry giant did operate as a monopoly in its dominance of the live events and ticketing industry.
You know, this was a very complex trial, but the bottom line is that Live Nation was found to be stifling competition and driving up fees for fans.
CNN's Caris Canal is at the courthouse right now.
She says the jury is being dismissed.
And the next step is a remedies trial, along with a review of the federal government settlement.
And that's one of the most important subplots here.
The federal government originally teamed up with lots of state attorneys general to bring this blockbuster case.
But then Live Nation did a lot of lobbying, lobbying the Trump administration hard.
And the Justice Department reached a settlement deal.
So they struck a deal, but the state AGs continued to fight in court.
That's why this trial went on.
That's why this jury delivered this verdict today.
So it shows a divide in America between the federal government and the state level attorneys general.
And that's a divide we're probably going to continue to see as the Trump administration appears to be more lenient on big business.
But the state level attorneys general, they are still bringing these cases.
steve bannon
This is the primal scream of a dying regime.
Pray for our enemies, because we're going to medieval on these people.
You're just not got 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 try to do everything in the world to stop that, but you're not going to stop it.
It's going to happen.
jake tapper
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.
steve bannon
Ask yourself.
What is my task and what is my purpose?
If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.
unidentified
War Room.
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.
steve bannon
It's Wednesday, 15 April in the year of our Lord, 2026.
It's the Ides of April.
It's tax day.
We're going to get into that.
Things over at the Justice Department, Scott Besson at the White House.
Lots to break down today, but we've got to start with this blockbuster case that we've been tracking very closely, as you know, really over the past couple of years, particularly when the federal government took it on first.
Jonathan Scarmetti, the Attorney General of Tennessee and one of the leading voices in this.
So, Attorney General, Scarmette, can you just break down the fact we had this as a federal case at first with the federal government taking charge of it?
You guys were somehow involved, but the Trump administration, folks over there, settled with Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
A lot of people didn't think that protected the consumer enough.
A number of these heroic attorney generals stepped into the breach.
Just walk us through how did we get to this position?
Then what was presented by trial?
That you guys presented, and what did the jury come back?
I think they were out for what five or six days.
What did the jury come back today and say, and why is it important?
unidentified
Sure.
jonathan skrmetti
So, you know, this is a monopoly that's been going on for decades.
This is one of the worst monopolies in America.
And it was the Biden administration actually that started it with a bipartisan group of state AGs.
You know, on these cases, usually DOJ takes the lead, the states help, we provide some lawyers, we provide some moral support, but usually it's a DOJ case.
And that's what this started as, and it continued into the Trump administration.
Where we were helping, but DOJ was carrying most of the weight.
And then we got to trial.
We had some state folks on the trial team.
DOJ was leading at the trial.
And then DOJ settled the case a week into the trial.
And we were confronted with having to try to pick up the pieces.
We'd done a little bit of work in case things went awry.
And so we were able to just go ahead and keep doing the trial.
It was a bipartisan coalition of states.
And the jury came back.
They deliberated for four days.
They said Ticketmaster and Live Nation do have an illegal monopoly.
They're violating federal and state antitrust laws.
And now we're going to go to the judge for the remedies phase, a breakup is on the table.
We're going to see if we can break up these companies and protect American consumers.
unidentified
Let me go back.
steve bannon
What was it about the settlement that the Trump administration, Trump's DOJ at the time presented that you and a number of, and like you said, it is bipartisan, said, I don't know if that gets us there.
We want to continue on.
And people should know these trials are prepared in such detail to just jump in the middle of a major antitrust lawsuit is not something state AGs do every day.
So, what was it about the settlement that you folks just said, I don't know, we'll take a shot.
We may not be as prepared as the federal government, but we'll jump in here and we'll continue with the trial?
jonathan skrmetti
It didn't solve the problem.
That's the bottom line.
They've had a consent decree for 16 years and they violated it over and over and over again.
That's why they ended up in trial.
And the settlement made a few little changes at the margins.
It did a few things to help consumers.
But our view of it was if we enter this agreement, it's just kicking the can down the road.
We're going to be back in court against these guys because they've shown that they won't abide by conditions that restrict their monopoly.
And this was just kind of nibbling at the edges.
And we thought, we got to take a shot at actually putting this thing to bed.
Otherwise, they're just going to keep bleeding consumers every time they want to go to an event.
And not just consumers, but the folks who put on the shows.
steve bannon
Talk to us what do you think you presented at trial that got the jury?
They're now putting up online some of the jury answer cards.
But as you guys ran this, what did you think were your most powerful points to a jury of essentially average American citizens?
jonathan skrmetti
So, the number one piece of evidence here was internal communications between two executives at the company about how stupid consumers were and how much they were ripping them off.
And, you know, the CEO testified.
He held up all right, but there was a lot of damaging evidence there.
There were people from venues talking about the, you know, mafia like tactics that Ticketmaster and Live Nation would use to bully them to keep them from going with any competitors.
But it was, I think, really just the naked revelation of how much contempt.
People within the company had for their customers, that surely had to be a big part of the jury's decision.
steve bannon
You know, people have argued, people that are monopolists or like the concentration of power, that said that the issues that you deal with in these cases are so complicated about the economies of scale and what American companies have to do to compete on a global basis that, quite frankly, is just too much.
It's too technical.
There's too much information.
You have to have too much kind of business experience, capital markets experience, global experience to understand this.
And you can't possibly.
Put it to a jury of just average American citizens because there'll be some emotional decision that'll make.
Your thoughts on that are one of the arguments we're hearing from the corporatists of why these should not be allowed to go to juries.
jonathan skrmetti
You have to have guardrails on the law so it's not just a popularity contest.
But at the heart of every one of these cases, there's a story to tell about the concentration of power and big companies taking advantage of their customers.
Competition is a beautiful thing, competition is the heart of capitalism.
And if you don't have competition, you don't get the benefits of capitalism, and people suffer.
People pay more, people get lower quality, and folks aren't stupid.
There's a lot of math that's involved sometimes in proving up these cases, but sometimes it's just a matter of saying the company could do whatever it wanted to you because you didn't have any options because they constrain those options.
I think that's what happened here.
It's been a long time since a jury took a civil antitrust case.
Pretty unusual.
But here there was a story to tell.
The jury clearly understood it.
And it showed in a very clear way a company that viewed its customers as folks to be exploited and not folks to be served.
steve bannon
In fact, I think that was one of the big things.
People thought the government would never really take this to trial.
You mentioned something, Attorney General, at the beginning of this or in the middle of it when you said breakup.
You now go to what's called, I guess, the penalties phase.
Now you go back in front of the judge and the jury and you make another argument about what the penalty should be here.
Are we actually talking?
Because we're a huge advocate in the war room of breaking up Ticketmaster and Live Nation.
In fact, they should be breaking up the venues too into different categories.
Just walk us through the process.
What is next?
jonathan skrmetti
Yeah, so next we do go in front of the judge again.
There will be a whole other round of discovery.
There will be more briefing.
There will be arguments about what will fix this monopoly now that the jury said it is an illegal monopoly.
And, you know, a breakup, I think, is the only way that we actually solve this.
I think anything short of that, and they're going to keep using the leverage from one side to make the other side break their way.
And we'll just be right back here in a few years.
It's been 45 years.
Since an antitrust case resulted in a company breaking up, it's been a long time.
This is a very rare remedy.
But in this case, given these facts, given the history here, I think it's warranted and we're going to push for it.
I don't see anything short of that that's going to actually solve this problem.
steve bannon
I mean, that's pretty stunning right now when attorney generals, particularly from conservative states, are saying, hey, this thing is too much concentration of power.
You guys have been warned.
People have tried to work with you.
You've had a consent decree.
You've broken it all the time.
And if we have to, We're actually going to use state power to break it up.
That's going to send a shock to Wall Street, corporate America, and capital markets, is it not?
jonathan skrmetti
You know, it might, but America was built around opposition to the concentration of power.
And our liberty depends on not being under the thumb of people who don't have to worry about being held accountable.
And that applies to government, but it also applies in the corporate world.
You know, competition is what made us great, competition is what keeps us great.
And we need to make sure that we continue to enforce market opportunities in every industry.
Ticketing is not the be all end all.
There are more important industries out there, but this was a bad monopoly.
This is a chance to fix it.
And it's a chance to set an example and let companies know that if they think they can just keep getting away with it over and over and over again, there's going to be a big price to pay at the end of the day.
steve bannon
Attorney General, before we go, you know, Nashville is, I would argue, the second most and quickly becoming maybe the most important.
Entertainment center of the country.
As you go around the state, and you're not there for a popularity contest, what do you like, what do you don't like?
But what do you hear from citizens in Tennessee about this case?
Are they paying attention?
Is this something that, and particularly in Nashville, is this something that's top drawer as far as their thinking goes?
jonathan skrmetti
A lot of people are paying attention.
A lot of people have been really enthusiastic about it when they're talking to me.
But the most striking thing about this is how scared people have been to testify.
Getting witnesses in this case was harder than I've ever seen it.
Because everybody was terrified if they got on the wrong side of the monopoly, they wouldn't have a job, they wouldn't be able to make money.
So, you know, the biggest indicator to me was how people would say privately that they loved what we're doing, but nobody wanted to go on the record about it.
unidentified
Wow.
steve bannon
Attorney General, thank you so much.
How can people follow this?
Because I will tell you, there's intense interest in this case.
I think it's also about other issues on the concentration of power, but particularly this one.
And I will tell you, there are many people that never thought this day would come.
And particularly when the federal government decided to cut a deal that I believe a lot of people thought was way too easy on the company, people never thought this day would come.
So, congratulations from everybody.
And it took real courage, tenacity, and grit.
And particularly, you guys a little bit rolled the dice.
Taking the case up when it's already in trial.
If you ever know trial lawyers in these types of litigation, it's like almost unbelievable.
It's almost like a movie script.
So, where do people go to find out more about you, more about the case, social media, all of it, sir?
jonathan skrmetti
Yeah, we'll get stuff up on our Twitter feed or our X feed at AG Tennessee.
We'll make sure we get plenty up about this case.
I'm very happy to talk about it.
I'm so proud of our team on this.
And you're right, this never happens.
I've never heard of a trial team switching in the middle of a trial.
unidentified
Never.
steve bannon
This is a movie script.
unidentified
It really is.
steve bannon
It was, and when the jury was out for so long, I said, man, something's really up here.
So just incredible what you guys did.
And we will work with you guys to get the full story out because it's quite heroic.
And I think what people elect people to do is to look out for the common good, look out for what's the best interest of the country.
And I think here it's just fantastic.
Attorney General, thank you so much for joining us, sir.
jonathan skrmetti
Thanks, Steve.
steve bannon
The good guys won.
The risk, if you talk to these power law firms and this, when a trial of this complexity starts and you're kind of the backup, you know, you're like, you've been doing some of the analytical work and trying to get people to testify, but your lead lawyers just say, no, we're settling the case and we're going to walk.
It's unprecedented what happened here.
It's also, I think, an indication of American citizens, folks just like you, when they get into They get into the jury room after hearing it, just like I think in New Mexico with Meta and Los Angeles with Meta.
Unprecedented Jury Victory 00:03:15
steve bannon
Ought to be a big warning to corporate America, Wall Street, and capital markets.
The little guy's got to say so here.
And sometimes you're not going to like to say so.
Short commercial break, back in the warm in a moment.
unidentified
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bann.
steve bannon
Okay, the great Lena Kahn.
unidentified
Let me read you.
steve bannon
She put up on Twitter.
For years, Ticketmaster Live Nation has abused its power against musicians, fans, and venues, dominating the live music industry while worsening it for everyone else.
This jury verdict holding the company violated state and federal antitrust laws is a key first step towards ending Live Nation's monopolistic control and securing real relief for those at harm.
Congratulations to the state attorney.
General who kept litigating the case after the Trump DOJ settled cheaply and bailed.
This has much bigger implications than just the live music business.
There is way too much concentration of power, really started during the Obama administration and then Biden turbocharged it.
We are neo Brandeisians.
We don't believe in the concentration of private and state power that gets you into a system of government like the Chinese Communist Party has.
And right now, whether it is big agriculture, big pharma, the lords of easy money on Wall Street, whether it's the big tech guys, the oligarchs, there's way too much concentration of power, and we have to go.
After it and go after it hard.
And the state attorneys general, for the risk they took to step in after the trial had started and the government settled, and you turn to these guys that have kind of been your backup, your hoplites, and say, because you just assumed they're going to go along with the settlement too, and these guys put their heads together and say, no, we're not going to do it.
unidentified
We're going to go.
steve bannon
To step into a middle of a trial like that is unheard of.
This is a Hollywood script.
And for the jurors to sit there, average citizens just like yourself, To listen to the complexity of this because it's quite complex, and then to take four days and render a verdict that is, no, this is an illegal monopoly.
And now they go to the phase of breaking it up, and it must be broken up.
And there are so many other companies that need to be broken up in this country.
That gets you back to true capitalism, that gets you back to entrepreneurial capitalism.
The scale of globalism, globalization, you see it play out in the concentration of wealth and power, and it is destroying our country.
And so this was one against the swamp.
And just absolutely amazing.
We're going to cover this.
We're going to have a lot more of the AGs on.
I want to thank Tennessee.
Scarmetti just did a fantastic job.
The entire team there in Tennessee.
We're going to have more of the folks on here and obviously focus on the penalty phase, which must be break up the company.
Break up the company.
Long time coming.
Mo, we've got a.
What's happening since I've gotten back to the Imperial Capital, I've really been overwhelmed with people talking about grassroots energy out in the hinterland because inside the Imperial Capital, They're sitting there going, wow, what's going on?
Grassroots Warroom Rally 00:03:55
steve bannon
What's going on is victory after victory.
If people are inspired and they use their agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia, it has been nothing short of heroic.
$80 million spent against them on this power grab.
The Spanburger totally lied to people about this.
And it's a gross miscarriage of justice here and really takes away representative government.
And being said, the Commonwealth.
Of which I'm a native of, is the cradle of the revolution.
It is outrageous in our 250th year to be doing this.
It's just an insult.
And that's why people have kind of, they're riding to the sound of the guns.
And what they're doing is fantastic.
This Sunday from 4 o'clock to 7, you never know, it may stay a little later, may start a little earlier.
We're having in Hanover, Virginia, a thank you, but also a strategy session.
Early voting will end on Saturday.
We're going to have this gathering.
It's not going to be a rally.
You're not going to just be up there in speeches.
You're not going to be passive.
You're going to be active, active, active, active.
I'm going to have a get together and lots of people are going to attend.
We'll announce those later.
But right now, I want you to sign up for a ticket.
Come and enjoy camaraderie.
Just come and hang out.
Maybe you'll learn a thing or two about where things are going.
It'll also get people ready for Tuesday.
And they're going to be tremendous grassroots leaders throughout the state that have made this happen.
Mo Bannon.
And Mo Bannon will be there as master of ceremonies.
She's putting this on.
So, Mo, where do people go?
The ticket request so far is really overwhelming.
But we'd love that.
And we'll expand.
It's going to be free food, free drink, all of it.
All you have to do is bring yourself and bring your family.
So it's been really overwhelming.
So where do people go, Moe, to get all the details and to sign up?
maureen bannon
You can go to warroomvarally.eventbrite.com.
That's all one word.
Warroomvarally is all one word.eventbrite.com to RSVP for your ticket, for your family members' tickets.
We highly encourage everyone.
In the state of Virginia, that can make it out that day to attend.
Like you said, it is this Sunday, April 19th, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
There will be a lot of grassroots people there.
Myself, you, a few other key people that have been on the show recently will be there speaking.
And once again, early voting ends in Virginia on Saturday, but this is a rally, but more of motivation, grassroots to get out Tuesday if you haven't already.
Early voted and also a way ahead for November.
steve bannon
For Tuesday, Election Day, and then for November, it's a gathering.
It's going to be interactive.
You're going to have lots of fun and maybe even participate.
We're going to do some cold calls and some open mic and all that.
Mo, one more time, where do people go?
maureen bannon
They go to warroomvarally.eventbrite.com.
Warroomvarally.eventbrite.com.
And this is a thank you for the grassroots for all your effort, door knocking.
Phone banking, sitting at the polls.
You know, there are people that have been on the show that are sitting at the polling locations for days on end, making sure that people are aware of what is going on in the state of Virginia.
steve bannon
And we're going to get some big names there too.
So you'll meet and greet and be able to handshake and take photos, selfies.
Okay, Mo, thank you so much.
Appreciate you.
We'll see you on tomorrow morning's show.
unidentified
Thank you.
steve bannon
I want to thank Natalie and Joe Allen for stepping in today, the entire team.
I had some very important meetings, which you'll hear more about later, I'm sure.
Let's go and play.
Judges Seek to Vacate Convictions 00:07:02
steve bannon
I want to get this Todd Blanch.
They're all over Todd because he's saying the President of the United States definitely has a say so and what goes over it.
Now, it runs a little long for the break.
I'll jump in here at the end, but let's go ahead and see.
MSNBC is in total meltdown about this.
A total meltdown about Todd Blanch making these comments about the President of the United States and his Article 2 powers.
Let's go ahead and see it.
ken dilanian
They're essentially asking to wipe away these convictions so that it.
It's almost as if it never happened.
And they're not explaining to the public why they want to do this, what was wrong with these prosecutions, because these people were convicted by juries after mountains of evidence that they conspired to try to stop the certification of the votes that day.
And the Justice Department didn't do this lightly.
There were high level meetings about whether to bring this serious charge of seditious conspiracy.
It went all the way up to the Attorney General.
And they did it sparingly, only in these particular cases.
We're talking about the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.
And the leaders of those organizations weren't even on scene in January 6th, but there was a lot of evidence.
Showing that they were communicating and conspiring.
And Donald Trump, as you said, did not actually pardon those people, which suggested that even he didn't want to go quite that far.
But now they want to wipe these convictions away.
It's really amazing.
james sample
And I think what they perceive is the ability to erase January 6th.
We've seen this on the White House website.
It describes it as a day of patriotism.
We are erasing history.
The same administration that kills Renee Good and Alex Preddy and is willing to pursue Liam Ramos by any means necessary is.
Actually, seeking to vacate charges, convictions.
We're talking about an eight week trial and a four month trial before juries here.
We're seeking to erase those and we're talking about domestic terrorism.
katy tur
What these men did and what they were convicted of.
james sample
They coordinated, they directed, they planned, they executed everything that happened on January 6th.
They are the ringleaders of what transpired on January 6th.
The worst offenders.
On one of the worst days.
katy tur
And if January 6th was successful, what was the end of it?
What was the goal?
Was it to.
lisa rubin
The goal was to interrupt the transfer of power.
And in fact, some of the people who are convicted, who the department now says it no longer wants to pursue their convictions, are people who, even after January 6th, were prepared to and took steps to continue to interfere with that transfer of power.
I want to read to you, Katie, because you were asking what were they accused of?
What were they convicted of?
On the day that Stuart Rhodes and four other members of the Oath. Keepers went to trial.
The opening statement delivered by prosecutors included the following sentence They concocted a plan for an armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy.
That was our Department of Justice in 2022 at a trial.
And yet, this Department of Justice, as James said, is trying to erase it.
katy tur
If you are doing this now ahead of the midterms, is the message, am I being too cynical by asking, is the message, do it again?
It's okay.
If we lose, go out there and do it again.
It's okay.
We won't come after you.
james sample
It's a very similar message to anyone who does anything within a radius of me will receive a pardon if they need one.
That is rolling out the red carpet.
Think about Todd Blanch saying, We're at war with judges.
Tom Holman saying, I don't care what judges think.
And now the Department of Justice saying, in essence, We don't care what juries think.
If you take away judges and juries, Katie, there isn't a whole lot to hold people accountable in terms of a judicial branch at all.
katy tur
So, what happens if the 26 elections?
steve bannon
You see what the battle lines and how the battle lines are drawn here.
Hold it right there because I may play this after the break.
They get back to Watergate.
They get back to the separation between President Trump's Article II powers, which Mike Davis has come on here.
And of course, in the years in the wilderness, Project 2025 and Center for Renewing America, everyone went through this time and again.
President Trump is commander in chief of the armed forces.
He's chief executive of the government.
He can fire anybody he wants.
The appropriations bill is a floor, not a ceiling.
Russ' vote was getting lit up today.
Hopefully, we're going to get some of the questions that Russ had over at the House.
But he's also the chief magistrate and chief law enforcement officer of the US government.
Suck on that.
They hate that.
They want it hived off with these radicals in the Department of Justice, these radical judges, these juries that are now in sanctuary cities that you can't even take a trial, go to trial because of jury nullification.
They prep these people on jury nullification.
The most corrupt part of our entire system is the legal system.
And Todd Blanch and the team over at DOJ is stepping into the breach of this and saying, no, we're going to clean this mess up.
This is a major fight.
And you can see the battle lines being drawn already in the mainstream media.
unidentified
Short break.
War Room.
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bann.
steve bannon
I'm going to go back to the DOJ in a moment.
We also got Russ over at OMB.
We got Scott at Treasury, all three today.
And I want to get to all three, but particularly this thing at DOJ.
Boesberg got reversed by the Supreme Court, I think, yesterday.
But Julie Kelly's got a great piece up on her Substack saying, hey, it looks great, but maybe it's not perfect.
Boesberg's got a lot more up his sleeve.
It's these radical judges, particularly at the front lines of the judicial system, these federal judges.
So we still, as you know, we've been on this problem with you since the very first days of the Trump administration when they took him to court after the very first executive orders.
So, more on this.
And this is where the left really has a strategic advantage over us because even the conservative law firms.
Won't send people over to DOJ, won't send people to Maine Justice, or particularly for the U.S. attorneys.
Because of the blue slip situation, we still only have 14 or 15.
I think there's 92 U.S. attorneys.
Well, only 14 or 15 are Trump appointees because of this blue slip.
So if you don't get your team in there, how can you actually execute your plan, particularly at the all important Justice Department?
There's so much going on there right now on this fight against the deep state and a lot more to come.
I'm going to track down Solomon tonight, try to get John on tomorrow morning.
A lot going on.
Also, we're going to be in South Carolina.
Bombshell.
You saw Paul Dans we had him on the show the other day.
He's basically put his campaign on hold and endorsed Mark Lynch.
Lady Lindsay is below 50%.
That's shocking for an incumbent that's going for his fourth term.
Anyway, more on South Carolina and particularly how the war is playing into this vote.
Medicare Cuts and Defense Spending 00:15:14
steve bannon
Kobe Blumenthal, Blumenthal Gans joins us, the CEO of Chapter.
Sir, I've gotten your proposition is very simple.
The complexity of the Medicare system because it was.
Kind of complex how it got passed and how it's been added.
It's been so tough to get things added.
It's kind of like a Frankenstein monster now.
On top of that, you have the insurance companies.
There's $100 billion worth of fees, and they want to make sure most of those are collected by them.
So they have this whole kind of ecosystem of people who are supposed to be consultants, but they turn out they're consultants, but they're paid by the insurance company.
So into this kind of witch's brew, you stepped as a data guy, not a healthcare guy, and said, hey, I think.
More perfect information or make this a more efficient market.
Why don't we work on that?
And hence, we have chapter.
The feedback I've gotten from the Warren Posse is pretty overwhelming.
People love how you offer it, your customer service people.
And I think in talking to individual people, they're saving a lot of money.
Can you walk us through how you thought this through, why it has an impact?
Those $100 billion of fees, are they really up for grabs?
And how can you help?
The War Room posse, because so far the folks that have contacted us have been incredibly pleased with your service and your people.
Sir.
cobi blumenfeld-gantz
Thanks for having me.
At a high level, the entire Medicare industry has been set up to prioritize the insurance carriers rather than the consumers or the posse.
And I saw my parents going through this process.
And as you said, I don't come from a healthcare or an insurance background.
I just thought it was kind of wild and crazy that all of these Medicare advisors, these agents, are agents of the insurance carrier, not fiduciaries to the consumer.
And so A chapter we have built an unbiased Medicare platform that helps people very easily walk through all their options, understand exactly how they can save a lot of money and get the care they need.
So, for the posse, they can just call 845 War Room and we will assess whether they have the right Medicare coverage.
And if they don't, we will help them enroll in the right Medicare plan.
It's no cost, it's totally free to the posse.
We are able to do that because we do earn revenue from these companies.
But no one on our team knows what companies pay us, and we still enroll people in plans even when we don't earn any revenue.
And so it's a really important part of our model that makes us unique.
And because we have so much data on all these plans, we're able to drive those savings of $1200 to $1,300 a year per person.
And when you multiply that by the 70 million Americans on Medicare, that's $100 billion of savings that Americans are missing out on that's going back to the insurance carrier today.
steve bannon
What about the constant?
Thing that people come to me.
What about if I'm already in a program and I know that program is not optimal?
I made some mistakes.
I didn't understand it.
What happens if you're already in a program?
Can you still help people that are in that situation?
cobi blumenfeld-gantz
Yes.
In most cases, we can help.
So it's definitely worth giving us a call at 845 War Room.
You'll connect with one of our Medicare advisors.
They're all full time licensed individuals who will make sure that you are in the right plan.
And if there's a way to optimize or get you more savings or get you on a better plan, we'll help you walk through that process very simply.
steve bannon
Kobe, also, I just on the compensation structure, when you deal with some of these other consultants, they're incentivized by the insurance companies.
Your team, when somebody calls an 845 war room and talks to somebody, they're not incentivized to put me in a plan that costs more because they get a higher commission, correct?
cobi blumenfeld-gantz
That's right.
All of our Medicare advisors do not earn commission.
They earn the same amount of money whether they enroll someone in a plan that makes chapter zero dollars or that makes chapter some dollars or that makes chapter more dollars.
It does not matter.
And they don't even know.
Which plans earn chapter more or less.
And so, in that way, we've blinded it from them.
So, their only goal is to make sure that consumers have the best plan for their needs.
steve bannon
How much blowback are you getting from the industry, sir?
cobi blumenfeld-gantz
I'm definitely not the most liked person in the Medicare industry.
I think a lot of the legacy Medicare industry thinks that, and frankly, they're threatened by us for, I think, reasonable reasons.
And we're kind of upending the model.
Shining a light on a lot of the bad business practices that have been going on for a long time.
When I started the company, everyone in the Medicare industry told me I was crazy and that it wasn't this bad and that this isn't actually happening, but it is.
And in fact, now there's a DOJ investigation into a bunch of the legacy Medicare brokerages for these exact malicious practices of trying to push certain plans just because they get paid more by the insurance carrier.
unidentified
Wow.
steve bannon
Kobe, one more time where do people go and how should they interact and connect with your customer service team?
cobi blumenfeld-gantz
Give us a call at 845 War Room.
That's 845 War Room.
You'll connect with one of our Medicare advisors.
We'll walk you through your options.
It's totally free, no obligation.
Our only goal is to make sure you have the right health care and health insurance that, frankly, you've earned and you've paid into your entire career.
So we'd love to talk to you.
steve bannon
Thank you, sir.
Appreciate you.
Appreciate starting the company, getting tremendous feedback from people.
So keep on.
cobi blumenfeld-gantz
Thanks.
Appreciate it.
steve bannon
Well, I'm going to turn to Russ.
Russ Vogue got.
Hammer today.
Of course, he hammers back.
You know, Russ is a perfect gentleman.
We're going to play some clips on that.
And then I'll come back to the Todd Blanch and what's happening over DOJ because you've got DOJ, you've got Treasury, you've got OMB.
Some of these are hitting on all cylinders.
I want to make sure you're totally up to speed.
Let's go ahead and play our own contributor, Russ Vogt.
katy tur
After months of prodding, White House Budget Director Russ Vogt finally came to testify on Capitol Hill today.
The main focus was the White House's record breaking proposal for $1.5 trillion.
In increased defense spending and the billions of dollars in non defense spending that will be slashed by the administration.
brendan boyle
$442 billion increase in defense?
That's what you're asking for, about a 42% increase, is that right?
russ vought
Correct.
For many paradigm shifting investments that we need this year.
brendan boyle
A 42% increase on what was already a record high for defense.
And look, I serve as part of our U.S. delegation to the NATO parliament.
I am no pacifist.
I believe in a strong national defense.
I believe the United States, I believe the world is at its best when the United States is the strongest military.
unidentified
The idea.
brendan boyle
That we're going to pay for a 42% increase in this military, in this Department of Defense, and at the same time cut Medicaid, Medicare, not pay for childcare, all of these things that the American people need.
The idea that we're really going to pursue a massive $400 billion increase in our defense budget while at the same time taking away healthcare from 15 million Americans, I think that is both wrong and immoral.
katy tur
How do you increase?
Defense spending in this new world, and we're learning how to wage it differently while also maintaining the social safety net.
brendan boyle
Well, the White House answers that by simply refusing to retain the social safety net.
This is a war of choice that they have pursued.
Russ Vogt, who finally, after 15 months of ducking our committee, appeared and testified today, he refused to actually put a specific figure on what their ask will be for the Iran war.
But we do know that they have requested a whopping 42% increase in the defense budget, all told for Iran as well as everything else.
At the same time, they passed the tax bill last summer that eliminates health care for more than 15 million Americans and cuts nutrition assistance, eliminates it, in fact, for millions more.
So that's a reflection, like any budget, it's a reflection of the priorities of the one who is making the budget.
We know the priorities of this administration are for war and not for the basic needs of the American people.
katy tur
So he was talking about how the government accountability office, he says it's very partisan and typically wrong.
It's typically the exact opposite, the numbers of whatever GAO. sites.
Was it, given that he disputed the foundational facts that he was asked about, was it worth having him today?
brendan boyle
I do think it's worth having him there, even though he lied repeatedly, made absurd claims.
When I presented to him the fact that millions of Americans are going to lose their health care or that $4 trillion is going to be added to the debt because of their actions, he disputed all of those figures, even though some of them were for right of center, From right of center organizations, some of them are for left of center organizations.
CBO has verified everything that I've said.
His response to all of this is that that's woke nonsense, essentially.
They're all wrong.
steve bannon
So, Russ, I think what we'll do is have a highlight reel on that tomorrow.
I understand that there was a house, he's still going to do the Senate.
But Russ dug in hard.
You remember for years coming on the show from CRA.
And Russ was deputy OMB in the first term and then fleeted up to office and to run it to be the director.
So he's done this gig before, I think for two almost two and a half years before taking it on now.
You could not get an individual.
That knows the budgeting process better and knows what he's doing.
And they came after him today.
One of the central items they're attacking him on, and maybe we'll break it down a little bit more tomorrow so people can understand it, but there's in the plan, and when you say cutting.
Medicare and some of these social welfare programs, the Trump administration, Stephen Miller and Russ Vogt, are going through with a fine tooth comb because they are not going to allow one penny to go to illegal aliens or people that are not qualified to be in these programs.
These programs are expensive enough and people want them to keep going and to be vibrant, to be robust.
What you can't have is people that are not eligible, particularly illegal alien evaders.
And so there was a, we saw it at the beginning of that cut right there.
A quite intense back and forth over that aspect.
And we're going to see if hopefully the administration sticks by his guns here.
Now, there's going to do a lot of horse trading on this, obviously.
One thing they did not say today, didn't commit to, which I thought was interesting, they didn't commit to the two, I don't think the 200 billion or what they said originally was going to be 200 billion.
I think it's going to be far less because I don't think they're going to be there that long.
Of this Iran war is not included in the 1.5 trillion.
But anyway, they're going to have to be offset.
With social media or social program cuts.
So, we're going to see how that plays.
An intense battle coming up.
What they're, I think, going to do is what they always do is just fall back to some omnibus and try to jam it.
So, more on that.
The first opening salvo of Ross' vote.
One thing I will tell you there will be deficits.
And with deficits is going to be an impact on the dollar.
Birchgold.com, promo code War Room, the end of the dollar empire.
Make sure you get it today.
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unidentified
War Room.
Here's your host, Stephen K. Bann.
steve bannon
You know, there's some tweets out.
I don't know if they were trying to be tongue in cheek, given Scott is a brawler.
Although he went to Yale and worked on Wall Street, that he and Hassett got into it, I guess, over the White House.
I don't think, I think that might be not totally accurate.
Anyway, overnight, we're going to figure that all out.
Like I said, I was at a meeting, so I couldn't track some of these things out.
I do want to thank Joe Allen, and I want to thank Natalie.
Also, Joe, one of the biggest, okay, so some of these huge fights behind the scenes are now just surfacing.
The clean FISA.
Now, you would never think in a million years we'd be sitting here in power with the House and the Senate and the White House.
Particularly given the abuses of the FISA program against President Trump and his colleagues, myself included.
You wouldn't think that we'd be in the situation of saying the phrase clean FISA with Jim Jordan, who I think has been one of the biggest guys to fight this over years.
Remember all the times going on Hannity and coming on this show?
I mean, I think he's been a real warrior about it.
Many people have been a real warrior about it.
One of the best is the great Andy Biggs.
Andy's now running for governor of California.
What happened, or excuse me, governor of Arizona?
They, they, they, Called, I think, 18 of the Republicans who are very hesitant and people that are very focused on civil liberties and have fought this forever.
And many of these people didn't hated the Patriot Act.
And they met, I think they even met with the president and still couldn't get the bill out of rules and to the floor with Andy and I think Anna, Kalina Lunard being two of the leaders.
So, we will get more on that overnight.
This whole reason why the administration is trying to push a clean FISA because we know the Lindsey Grahams of the world and that crowd, what they want, right?
But it's what the MAGA movement has wanted.
So we'll get some more details on that.
Also, behind the scenes, believe it or not, I'm hearing rumblings.
And this, I think it's about not reading the room.
The MAGA base and the populist movement and grassroots movement have been adamant that.
They don't trust the oligarchs and they don't trust artificial intelligence.
One of the reasons is, as we've presented information now for what, almost six years with Joe Allen and others, is that they just don't think these guys are being straight with them.
These accelerationists.
And they understand the issues with the Chinese Communist Party, but they see that as an issue that can be handled without becoming a just let the AI companies run as they want to run.
Now, there is my understanding.
Once again, because we defeated them across so many different times, they're actually working with Speaker Johnson and I think intend to include it in potentially reconciliation.
I just want to give Speaker Johnson and the people working on this a heads up.
That's not going to work.
Rise of Ultra Nationalism 00:04:03
steve bannon
You're going to go down to another epic defeat.
And to try to tie it to must pass legislation or things that have to have, and maybe even the Save America Act, which they may try to jam it in, is not going to work.
As important as the Save America Act is, It would not be, and I say this as somebody that's not just gone to prison for it but fought for this for years and years and years.
And we were the leading platform on election integrity.
I'm just giving people a heads up if you try to make it a bar, a choice, or somebody has to make that choice, I think you're not going to be not going to like the outcome because they're going to see they're taken hostage.
I'd like to see the Senate get back to trying to pass the Save America Act.
Remember, it's the biggest thing in the world, most important thing.
Mike Lee was out there every night, we covered it, we live streamed it.
We turned over the six o'clock show to do it.
We had Clita and Jenny Beth Martin, so many people on here talking about it.
And it just kind of, they went on two weeks vacation, Easter break, and it just kind of, you know, fizzled.
Every now and again they pick it, but their heart's not in it.
They're not fighting for it.
I think something's amiss.
So we're going to have much more than that.
For pattern recognition, what this jury, so what happened in this case of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, for 45 years, no jury in this country has ever come back and said somebody's an illegal monopoly and has to be broken up.
That is unheard of in modern America.
You couple that with what happened in New Mexico, a very complicated trial with Meta about this putting children at risk.
And they come back within an hour, the jury, and that's how long it takes to pass up the jury cards and take a first vote.
They come back in an hour, rule against the company.
Zuckerberg's in shock.
If you look about, by the way, do we ever get Mike Lindell?
We never got him.
You always got to track down Mike Lindell because he's working, he's on the factory floor.
If you look at what happened in LA, the same thing.
There is a true populist revolt going on in the country.
So, where people have access to be able to make decisions and have some power, They're going to use that power.
And you see the pattern recognition.
This, what is scaled up and treats people so awfully and doesn't really care about it, it's not going to work.
It's not going to work.
You've seen on the other side, Mangini, what they want to do is they want to go full French Revolution on you right away, shoot a guy in the back.
Or Mandami, who's now, you know, a $30 million food store is opening in New York City because they're complete Marxist jihadists.
But there is another way.
And you're seeing this in Texas.
You're seeing it in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
You're seeing it in Georgia and many other places that we're going to profile people.
But populism is now, people are trying to enforce it from the precinct strategy everywhere.
People are trying to garner more and more power, as they should power for the little guy.
Now, I will tell you, I can see another trend because we're a populist nationalist movement.
A lot of nationalism in the first term, and there's been in the second term, but people would argue, well, hey, America First has kind of been diluted.
We're wandering all over the world, becoming the world's policeman again.
Just stand by, because I think you're going to see not just an increase in nationalism in our movement.
I do believe if you look and see what's happening with younger people and where the trend is, and where the corporations, particularly in these visa programs, and what's happening in immigration, You're going to go down to alter.
You're going to, it's going to go from nationalism to ultra nationalism.
I can see it's clear, as clear as a sky blue Arizona day.
Immigration Trends and Visa Programs 00:00:44
steve bannon
Okay, Ben Harnwell is next.
You do not want to miss this.
Ben is on fire.
I'll be back at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning.
And although I have a speaking engagement in the afternoon, I will be back here for the afternoon show also, the five and six o'clock hour.
I want everybody to, uh, Make sure that you've gotten End of the Dow Empire from Birch Gold, or just take your phone out and text Bannon at 989898.
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