Episode 4440: Empty Vatican; Meetings And Death In Moscow

Summary

Episode Summary: Bannon’s War Room
Episode 4440: Empty Vatican; Meetings And Death In Moscow
Release Date: April 25, 2025

In Episode 4440 of Bannon’s War Room, host Stephen K. Bannon delves into a multitude of pressing issues, ranging from President Donald Trump's unwavering support for veterans to the somber events surrounding the Vatican and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The episode offers a comprehensive analysis of current geopolitical dynamics, internal church reforms, and the interplay between media narratives and political strategies.

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1. President Trump’s Support for Veterans

Timestamp: [00:02] - [06:51]

The episode opens with Stephen K. Bannon expressing frustration towards the declining regime and the misleading narratives propagated by mainstream media. He emphasizes the significance of President Trump’s commitment to saving the country and his dedication to veterans.

Notable Discussion Points:

• Executive Orders for Veterans: Bannon discusses a recent Oval Office session where President Trump signed groundbreaking executive orders aimed at reforming education, trade, commerce, and international relations. These actions reflect Trump's efforts to "Trump-proof" government agencies and international financial systems.

• Veterans’ Emotional Moments: Ben Harnwell recounts the moving scene in the Oval Office, highlighting Trump's genuine interaction with wounded veterans. He notes, “President Trump... giving them the president coin,” illustrating the deep bond between the President and military personnel ([05:30]).

• Media Indifference: Both hosts critique the mainstream media's lack of interest in veterans' welfare and Trump's significant policy changes, focusing instead on "gotcha" moments that undermine the administration's efforts.

Notable Quote:

"He's not a phony politician coming in for a photo op. The real Trump is in front of real men that fought for him."
— Ben Harnwell, [06:51]

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2. The Vatican and the Death of Pope Francis

Timestamp: [12:55] - [47:56]

The conversation shifts to the Vatican, where Ben Harnwell provides insightful commentary on the subdued public response to Pope Francis’s death compared to the legacy of Pope John Paul II.

Notable Discussion Points:

• Lack of Public Mourning: Harnwell observes that only about 50,000 people paid their respects to Pope Francis in the first 24 hours, a stark contrast to the half a million who honored Pope John Paul II ([17:43]). This disparity is interpreted as a sign of diminishing reverence for the current papacy.

• Future of the Catholic Church: Harnwell critiques the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church, advocating for greater laity involvement in selecting church leaders. He argues, “It is absurd that a church of 1.1 billion notional Catholics still has this incredibly medieval way of picking its earthly leader” ([22:55]).

• Potential Reforms: The discussion touches on the potential paths for the next conclave, questioning whether the Church will continue its current secular trajectory or adopt a more moderate, inclusive approach.

Notable Quote:

"The laity should actually be in charge of electing the Pope. That actually used to be the position of the Catholic Church."
— Ben Harnwell, [26:29]

Notable Insight: Harnwell draws parallels between the Protestantization of the Catholic Church during the Second Vatican Council and current movements advocating for lay participation, suggesting a return to the Church’s original, more inclusive practices.

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3. Geopolitical Tensions: Russia-Ukraine War

Timestamp: [38:21] - [49:47]

The episode delves into the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, highlighting recent developments that signify deeper geopolitical strife.

Notable Discussion Points:

• Assassination in Moscow: A senior Russian military commander was killed in a car bombing in Moscow, marking the latest in a series of targeted attacks since the war began over three years ago. Ben Harnwell and Tim Kennedy analyze the implications of this event on the broader conflict ([37:55]).

• President Trump's Role: The hosts discuss President Trump's engagement in negotiations, his frustration with Ukrainian President Zelensky's reluctance to agree to economic deals, and the strategic maneuvers being employed to stabilize fragile regions ([40:05]).

• Political Dynamics in Ukraine: The strained relationships between Ukrainian leaders, including Mayor Vitaly Klitschko and Ambassador Valeri Zaluzhny, are examined. Kennedy suggests that Klitschko's recent statements indicate a political shift towards seeking temporary peace solutions ([43:09]).

Notable Quote:

"We're in a dangerous time in history."
— Ben Harnwell, [12:36]

Notable Insight: Kennedy posits that the internal resist movements within the Ukrainian government, coupled with external pressures from proxies and economic sanctions, indicate a complex web of challenges that could reshape the future of the region.

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4. Internal Church Reforms and Laity Empowerment

Timestamp: [22:55] - [47:56]

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the need for internal reforms within the Catholic Church, emphasizing the empowerment of the laity.

Notable Discussion Points:

• Critique of Hierarchical Structures: Harnwell criticizes the Church’s reluctance to adapt its leadership selection process, which he believes undermines the engagement and faith of its followers.

• Call for Laity Involvement: Advocating for the laity to have a more substantial role, Harnwell suggests that democratising the selection of bishops and the Pope could rejuvenate the Church’s relevance and adherence among modern Catholics.

• Resistance from Church Leadership: He acknowledges the resistance from entrenched church hierarchies that aim to preserve their power and privileges, contrasting this with grassroots movements seen in political spheres like the Republican Party.

Notable Quote:

"The laity is now that has the fame rather than the sort of hireling shepherd that was supposed to keep in their marble palaces and their privileges."
— Ben Harnwell, [26:29]

Notable Insight: Harnwell draws a parallel between the laity-led transformations in political parties and the potential for similar changes within the Church, suggesting that increased lay involvement could lead to more authentic and spiritually fulfilling leadership.

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5. Promotional Segments and Closing Remarks

Timestamp: [06:51] - [54:21]

Throughout the episode, Bannon intersperses discussions with promotional segments highlighting various products and services, including My Patriot Supply and Warpath Coffee. These promotions are seamlessly integrated into the conversation, reflecting the show's blend of content and commercial interests.

Notable Promotional Highlights:

• My Patriot Supply: Emphasizes the importance of preparation and survival essentials, offering exclusive deals to listeners.

• Warpath Coffee: Introduces Warpath Coffee as a high-quality, customer-approved product, urging listeners to try it using a promo code for discounts.

Closing Remarks: The episode wraps up with Tim Kennedy providing final thoughts on President Trump's strategic actions and their implications for both national and international stages. Bannon underscores the significance of Trump's leadership in maintaining Christian values and combating secular influences.

Notable Quote:

"If it's a choice of pretty much atheistic cardinals who are on the tape, contempt for the Catholic faith, or Donald J. Trump, who shows a great openness to the Catholic faith, who are you going to look to for spiritual sustenance? I know who I would pick for that."
— Tim Kennedy, [47:56]

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Conclusion

Episode 4440 of Bannon’s War Room provides a multifaceted exploration of contemporary issues impacting politics, religion, and international relations. Through insightful discussions with guests like Ben Harnwell and Tim Kennedy, the episode underscores President Trump's pivotal role in supporting veterans and navigating complex geopolitical landscapes. Additionally, it highlights the urgent need for reforms within the Catholic Church to foster greater engagement and relevance among its followers. The episode masterfully blends critical analysis with strategic promotional content, offering listeners a comprehensive and engaging experience.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Stephen K. Bannon:
  “If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.”
  — [00:34]

• Ben Harnwell:
  “He’s not a phony politician coming in for a photo op. The real Trump is in front of real men that fought for him.”
  — [06:51]

• Ben Harnwell:
  “It is absurd that a church of 1.1 billion notional Catholics still has this incredibly medieval way of picking its earthly leader.”
  — [22:55]

• Tim Kennedy:
  “If it’s a choice of... Donald J. Trump, who shows a great openness to the Catholic faith, who are you going to look to for spiritual sustenance? I know who I would pick for that.”
  — [47:56]

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This detailed summary encapsulates the key discussions and insights from Episode 4440, providing a clear and comprehensive overview for those who have not listened to the episode.

Transcript

[Stephen K. Bannon]

This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people. Christians not get a free shot. 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.

[Tim Kennedy]

And where do people like that go.

[Ben Harnwell]

To share the big lie? MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul.

[Tim Kennedy]

I wish that of these people had a conscience.

[Stephen K. 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. War ROOM here's your host, Stephen K. Bann. Okay, we're going to have, I'm going to have Malpass back next week. We're going to get more into the Trump proofing of the agencies. This is part of the administrative state and also the Trump proof proofing of the international community. Much more BRICs, etc. Fascinating guy in a real laboring war in the first Trump term, particularly international finance. Back then the treasury was a, that was a grind as President Trump at that time tried to re what everything he's doing now in trade spent two years at the beginning of his administration. The 2019 deal with the Chinese was stunning how detailed and they just walked away from it. That's why you can't trust them. Walked away from it and shortly thereafter what happened. Wuhan Lab the military games were the where the pandemic started. So we'll get more into that. So much going on. We are jammed today. Ben's going to be with us from Rome. We got a lot going on. The president is en route. We're going to get, we get to all that. The I got Tim can now so the other day we were live in the Oval as President Trump does he signs of executive orders and does these press avails. Tim's going to come on. I want to talk about. Tim was there. I want to talk about the executive orders and what happens. Very moving. Obviously there was so much news President Trump was breaking at the time that we jumped on the news and Tim Kennedy now joins us. Tim, you were there. What was going on in the Oval. We saw some of these American heroes there. President Trump is obviously very close to these folks. He signed these executive orders. Tell us what happened and who was in the Oval with you guys.

[Ben Harnwell]

We had about a half a dozen wounded veterans, amputees, guys that were fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq obviously kind of pouring their Souls out about the state of veteran affairs. Doug Collins, Secretary Collins, his work there. But President Trump, man, what an absolute gem. He's taken pens signing these guys legs. He's giving them the president troine, the president coin. And these guys were literally crying in the Oval Office. And then in walks the legacy media. They don't care. They barely even Only one person acknowledged them. And Trump and just his brilliance went immediately to the executive orders. And those were groundbreaking, but they didn't even care about those. These were reforms in education, they were reforms in trade and commerce, international relations, relationships. And all they wanted to do was hit talking points, you know, trying to get gotcha moments with the president as he's surrounded by wounded veterans. It was, it was wild to be in there. But to watch that man work for two hours was an absolute joy.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

So you were in there before when the media came in. I want to go back to that. The mainstream media that were just hitting him with a wall of questions. They had no interest in the veterans. No interest what had just transpired. And less than no interest in President Trump's executive orders.

[Ben Harnwell]

No, no to that, Steve. We wheeled a couple of these guys in in wheelchairs, a couple of them with double amputees walking in, guys missing arms. And you know, the Veteran affairs right now, they're in just like the rest of the government. A lot of transition, radical change under Secretary Collins. You know, the intelligence community is fighting against embedded operatives, partisan operatives, and we're seeing that across the whole entire government right now. So we wheel these guys in, each and every single one of them, sincerely, thanks from the bottom of his heart. One year ago to the day, we were with President Trump again as he was talking about veteran issues. And half of the guys in the room had President Trump visit them while they were in their hospital beds. Just such a remarkable statement about how much attention he was giving to our wounded heroes, to our veterans, and even by extension to the military, making sure that this type of thing is prevent in the future because our adversaries are now scared to death about what the American military is going to look like in a couple of years.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

And you can tell that President Trump, it's a bond there that you can't break. It's not some phony politician coming in for a photo op. I want to talk one of the things that he was having a good time with and the guys were having a good time with, but I just want to make sure he got it right. The thing about he kept asking guys like, I think it was the coin, what color do you want? And they kept saying black. Is that. Was he giving his presidential coin to him? What was it? They seem like they're all choosing black and goes, hey, I guess it's just an army thing or I guess it's just a military thing, right?

[Ben Harnwell]

Oh, yeah, yeah. The military coin has a long legacy and heritage. You know, guys, I carry one around in my pocket from my first tour, combat tour to Afghanistan, so, you know, you could get coin checked. But what the President has done, he has this, of course, incredible, beautiful, gaudy gold coin. And Sarah Verardo, the founder of the Independence Fund, she said, hey, guys, you can't just don't ask him for anything. But of course, in his generosity, he immediately offers the coins to the guys. A couple of guys are fully emotional. And then even furthermore, he has two coins. One of them is this bright gold President Trump coin. And then he has a gunmetal gray made from gunmetal coin. And he gave every single one of those guys both of his coins. These veterans losing their mind, they're so excited. And, you know, and so he was going back and forth. Which one do you like more? Do you like the gold, like the Trump gold, or do you like the military gunmetal gray? And, you know, it was a really sweet moment to see the politician barrier come down and to see the real Trump not in front of a camera, just in front of real men that fought for him.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

And just incredible. That's, that's the bond. You can't break that bond. Really, really glad that you're now as the official spokesman for my Patriot supply. Tell me about it. I mean, it was once upon a time, years ago, people thought, hey, these prepper companies, they're absolutely crazy. But you see everything that's going on. You see issues with power, what we have, the winter hurricanes, all this. You always need to be ready. You need, you need, you need essentially your go bag ready to go. Talk to me about my Patriot supply and your efforts there as the new spokesman.

[Ben Harnwell]

Yeah. Yesterday, not in the Oval Office, but at the White House in the Eisenhower building. We were part of a briefing. This is open source stuff, just predictive modeling about what the next couple of years look like. And there's going to be, obviously, we see the civil unrest, we see the resist movement looking for opportunities to destabilize both our allies and elements within our own government and our nation. And while the preparation aspect is super important, I have the battery wall from GRE grid doctor for my Patriot supply. It's spring here And I got all of my seeds from my Patriot supply. So if you've got elevated gardens, not only do we know scary times are ahead of us and the best way is to prepare is to get your stuff. But just unlike the day to day things, there's just wonderful things. I'm a camper, I'm a hunter, I'm an outdoorsman. So I have battery packs that I can throw in my Land Cruiser and my motorcycle when I throw my kids in the back of the vehicle and we get to drive into someplace cool. And all of that is enabled because of the things that my parents nature supply. So on the preparation side, you're 100% right. It's the best stuff in the world. You know, you get, you got food storage, you have things for just survival basics. But then on just like the day to day, everything that you need, you can get there. So you can really just enjoy life and not have to worry about what you're going to do. Heaven forbid the grid goes down from natural disasters, from a terrorist attack, or you're just driving out into the woods. You get to have everything that you need from one spot.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Talk to me about the predictive modeling, what people are be thinking about when they're thinking about planning for their own family's future. I know it's all open source, but just when you say the resist movement in both foreign and domestic, this is what I tried to say at this speech last night. I gave the keynote address here with the folks at the conference. We have converging crises before us, right? Economic and financial. You've got the kinetic part of the third World War in Ukraine, in the Middle east, at least right now may be expanding unless President Trump can somehow try to stop it. You've got deportation issues which are going to be huge because you've got 10 million people. We're going to have a constitutional crisis because they're going to challenge President Trump. And we just had David Malpass here who takes a different perspective view. But he also said the resist movement of Trump proofing the government against President Trump's changes, of Trump proofing international finance so that President Trump can't make the changes. He goes and he says the resist movement is both in the imperial capital D.C. and it's in every financial capital of the world. So when you look and you get this predictive modeling told to you, walk me through what you see as the next couple of years.

[Ben Harnwell]

So we're with this company called Rhombus and they're an AI that's able to Scrape every bit of data on historical events. And you know, as you shape a bell curve of what happens in history, you start seeing outliers. And when you take those outliers and see what happens after them. So like, if there's an economic collapse, if there's civil unrest, if there's a terrorist attack, what were the things that happened before that for a coup? All right, we're going to see civil unrest. We're going to see military doing certain types of activities around capitals or near borders. You're going to see the civilian populace with these partisan issues. And then you're going to see catalysts that kind of kick these things off. Well, when you have now hundreds of years of data, thousands of years of data, it gets really accurate about how it can predict, but about the resist element within our government. When you look at Director Collins, Secretary Hegseth and Secretary Collins, especially in the intelligence community, from Cash Patel to Pam Bondi to Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Kent, Dr. Gorka, you have true patriots that are trying to make radical change to save our constitutional republic. But just one degree down, you have these embedded operatives that are resisting them judicially. We see lawyers and we see judges that are without a doubt making bias and inappropriate non constitutional decisions, going against the wishes of the administration, trying to slow everything. Then we see legislatively people trying to prevent people from being confirmed and just slowing the process to try to make this government less effective. And then the next order effect is our peer level adversaries are fighting us via proxies, economically, diplomatically, informationally, using Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis in Haiti, in Syria, the Taliban and Afghanistan. Those regions are intentionally being destabilized because we have to spend effort and time to try to stabilize these regions so they don't become breeding grounds. But it's a proxy war against our enemies, which is part of the resist movement. Because the people ins of the government and the large corporations that benefit from perpetual war are still trying to keep this ship going. And they are being really brilliant about it. And it's. We're in a dangerous time in history.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Wow. My patriots supply one of the reasons I love them. They have the consultants of people when you call in or go online. How did they get to them, Tim? Because our audience feeds on getting more information and really thinking through the decisions. And this is why we love mount my patriot supply. How do people get contact and build a relationship with the company?

[Ben Harnwell]

Yeah, I mean if you go to my patriotsupply.com and you're 100% right.

[Tim Kennedy]

Steve.

[Ben Harnwell]

If you call them, the people that pick up the phone, if you're. If you want to know about food storage, if you want to know about the grid doctor And a battery wall. So if the grid collapses, you're going to have power, solar power, renewable energy. Those people on the other end of the phone are truly experts. I went to Salt Lake City where their headquarters are. I went and talked to the people on the backside of the phone. I went and talked people designing the products. These people are just brilliant at what they do, which is having information about saving lives.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

My Patriot supply dot com. Make sure you put in promo code Bannon Tim. Any Tim you got social media people can follow you.

[Ben Harnwell]

Yeah, it's Tim Kennedy, mma. Pretty much across the board. Just get the verified one, not one of them fake ones.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

The real deal, the original. Tim Kennedy, thank you. And thank you for doing everything you do for the vets and having folks. That Oval Office thing was quite impressive. Just very moving. I know President Trump, thanks for everything that you do.

[Ben Harnwell]

God bless.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

It's such a high priority for him. Thank you, Tim. Incredible, incredible, incredible, incredible. Johnny Khan is going to take us out. Take a short commercial break. We're going to go to Rome next in the war room. Greatest innovator, liberator, cultivator.

[Tim Kennedy]

Freedom knows.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

So I suggest you take a look.

[Tim Kennedy]

Inside.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Cause I think you changed already. You went and lost your pride. But I'm American made. I got American power, I got American babe in America's heart. Heard me talk about my Patriot supply because I trust them when it comes to my family's well being. And I just got word they're doing something they've never done before. Right now you can get the best selling mega 3 month emergency food supply for the same price as the standard kit. Now what I mean by that, that's more than a $360 off of real beef, real chicken, plus farm fresh fruits and vegetables included at no extra charge. Even better. This kit now gives you 2500 calories a day, more than any other emergency food supply I've seen. And let's be honest, when things go sideways, you're going to need more than just survival. You need strength, you need energy, you need real food. This kit will be there when you need it, stays fresh for up to 25 years and it ships fast and discreetly. If you've been waiting for the right time, this is it. Go to mypatriotsupply.com and claim your mega kit. While this offer lasts, that's mypatriotsupply.com and going to Rome where we'll be attending the funeral of Pope Francis. Some of you are going to go, anybody going, and it's going to be very interesting. We're going to meet with a lot of the foreign leaders. They want to meet. Trade deals are going very well. I think Russia and Ukraine, I think they're coming along, we hope very fragile. And Iran, I think is going very well. We'll see what happens. We're working on plenty of things that shouldn't be worked on because none of this stuff should have happened. This should have been taken place by Biden. It should have been fixed by Biden, but he couldn't do it, nor could he come close to doing so. Anyway, we're going, going to Rome to pay our respects and we'll be leaving that same day. We'll be coming back home tomorrow night and I'll see some of you over there. Otherwise, I'll see you on television.

[Tim Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Ben Harnwell]

Take a look around me. This exact spot was jam packed with people last night lining up to see the body of Pope Francis lying in state inside of St. Peter's Basilica. But right now it's really thinned out. There's no line around me. What and the numbers reflect that. According to the Vatican, 50,000 people walked by the body of Pope Francis in the first 24 hours. It sounds impressive, but you compare that to John Paul II when he died and it was ten times that number. Half a million people walked by John Paul II to see his body in the first 24 hours.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Okay, Ben Harnwell joins us from Rome. Ben, I want to start with the the about the lack, as you called it, war room called it. There's no outpouring for this guy. You absolutely call it in the first five minutes you were down at St. Peter's and then I want to talk about the president going We've got more international news breaking that we're going to play after we finish with this part with Ben around. Ben, right there, of course they go into a big excuse. He's from Argentina and Pope, you know, John Paul was from Poland. There's so many people there. There were 500,000 people. Individuals went past the coffin of to pay the respects in St. Peter's Basilica with John Paul II in the first 24 hours. The CBS reported less than 50,000 here. Of course, they're trying to find every excuse in the world since they played up how the world was so emotional and so and so distraught about this. Ben Harnwell.

[Tim Kennedy]

Steve, good morning. To you. Well, I'm glad we had the opportunity to play that CBS clip there because it absolutely confirms 1000% the Warren's hot take on this situation on Easter Monday of this week. Look, I've been talking, right, I've been Rome every day of this week, sort of milling around, talking to people, sort of gauging the temperature of the water, as it were. And it's exactly as I was saying right from the moment. On Easter Monday itself, the day Pope invented commas, Francis died. There is no great affection for him, which is a bit counterintuitive if your sources of information are the mainstream media. And this is the point, the only people who really are going to miss this guy are journalists in the mainstream media because he would. Firstly because he rang all of their bells, right? There's nothing the mainstream media likes more than someone inside the Catholic Church undermining the Catholic Church's teaching to win secular approval and plaudits. And he had a great turn of phrase. He was very good at coming up with expressions. So Steve, basically he was great copy. Of course mainstream media journalists are going to miss him. Now you might have noticed that the Vatican put out a statement today saying that tomorrow, the funeral, they're expecting some 200,000 people to attend that funeral. Steve, I didn't know there were 200,000 journalists in the world to attend this funeral. Because they're going to be the only people there. The barometer for this, exactly as I said this on Monday, is there were no crying nuns. If there was real genuine affection for this Pope, there would have been crying nuns with the tears down the face, beneath the Apostolic palace, praying the rosary. And there wasn't any. It was just tourists mingling around, wandering around, indifference. So Steve, what does this mean for the future of the church, for the Conclave? Why is this important? Because it's evidence that for all of his vaunted liberalism and openness, this so called pontificate didn't land with the faithful. And that's really important. It may have won all the plaudits in the mainstream media, but it didn't resonate with ordinary church going Catholics. So the cardinals are going to have a choice at this conclave and it's going to be very, very interesting to see which road they take. They are, if you will, at a fork in the road on this. Which road are they going to take? Are they going to double down on Francis militant secularism, or will they try and walk it back? I don't. And that is to say to walk it back Slightly into a position of more moderacy. I don't believe we're going to be seeing a conservative branch at this conclave. But there are various shades, if you will, of modernism, and that's where the fundamental question is. If you give me a moment to add a personal observation, Steve, as a practicing Catholic on this, just taking a step back, it is absurd that a church of 1.1 billion notional Catholics still has this incredibly medieval way of picking its earthly leader. May have worked, of course, a thousand years ago when there were no means of constant communication and no means of active participation. But this current system that we have is patronizing and shows a great deal of contempt for the laity. And we're the ones that have to pay. It's our collection money that keeps the Catholic Church going on a day to day basis. I think the official church hierarchy has shown nothing but contempt for the letter and incompetence of running the church from the priestly sex scandals onwards. I think it is absolutely necessary for the laity to have a greater role in the winning of the church. That includes the picking of the bishops and then includes the picking of the Pope.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

That's close to, for traditional Catholicism, isn't that close to heresy. I mean, it almost sounds like for our Protestant brethren, that is how someone in the church would think that Protestants are much more engaged in who their minister is or in picking their ministers or going to church with certain ministers. In the Catholic Church you've got a parish and you kind of get dealt what the bishop deals you and they call the shots. And this is one of the issues with the pedophilia scandal, the priest. It's a very hierarchical run through a priest cast. Are you calling for revolution? You're essentially calling for the precinct strategy in the, in the Catholic Church that you saw it where we've revolutionized the Republican Party and turn into a worker in a middle class party with direct engagement through the use of your human agency. Are you calling for that in the church? And isn't that against, if not the, if not the theology of the church, essentially custom and tradition for a couple of thousand years, Sir.

[Tim Kennedy]

Wonderful, beautiful question, Steve. Yeah, look, I'm absolutely calling for the magnification of the Catholic Church a thousand percent. Yes, I am doing. But in terms of that, isn't this the Protestantization of the church? Well, we had the Protestantization of the Church in the Second Vatican Council basically in the liturgy when the church ditched all of the specifically Catholic elements of its practice and belief. What we maintained was simply the secular power structure, which is that. Now that's the thing obviously, that the churchmen are going to fight to the, to the last ditch in order to preserve their prerogatives of power. Of course. However, when I come, when I mentioned the idea that the laity should be in charge. Yeah, the laity should actually be in charge of electing the Pope. That actually used to be the position of the Catholic Church. One and a half thousand years ago, it was the people of Rome by acclamation that picked the successor to St. Peter. Then after a couple of hundred years, it basically fell down to the Roman families and they sort of had, they did sort of a buggins turn between them for a few couple hundred years and then eventually this contemporary system of cardinal took the position. By the way, the point is, I'm saying is that it's actually going back to the Church's original position. And this is the tragedy of the institutional Catholic Church when it comes to power and money. They will fight with tooth and nail to protect their positions, their prerogatives, their privileges. When it comes to the rule of Jesus Christ on earth. They're the first to give up, to run away and to cower in fear behind the secular powers of this world. Everything in the contemporary Catholic Church is upside down. And you know what? It's the laity, the believing Catholic laity now that has the fame rather than the sort of hireling shepherd that was supposed to keep in their marble palaces and their privileges. I,000% believe if you look what Maga has done, if you will, the laity have done, taking over the Republican Party in the United States, that can only be a good thing if we bring the same thing to the Catholic Church because our Catholic leadership isn't Catholic and the laity is.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Amazing. Ben, can you hang around for a moment? I want to hold you through because we have breaking news out of Ukraine and out of Russia and President Trump is deeply engaged in this negotiation. As you know, he's getting a little short on temper about this, about the continual assaults and attacks and the recalcitrants of the Zelensky to agree to economic deal or anything. One thing I want to say before we go to break this was about the part of Francis or Bergoglio's papacy that struck me the most to your point was when he had the Amazon pagans kind of over in the Vatican, in St. Peter's doing ceremonies in some sort of conference they had on paganism or for this religion and the pagans who were indigenous people from the Amazon. Obviously, pagans is a pagan ritual, but they had more sincerity about their rituals than the highest hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The young Austrian that took their their symbol and threw it in the Tiber, did it as a stroke for to get back to original Catholicism, and they demonized him. It was a shocking moment when you realize that they don't the hierarchy of the church aren't really that Catholic. They won't fight for Catholic doctrine, but the pagans were very sincere about theirs. Short commercial break Back in the War in just a moment. You've heard me talk about Patriot Mobile for a while now. You probably know that for years they've stood in the gap for every American who believes in faith, family and freedom. So here's the question. Have you switched to Patriot Mobile yet? You'll get exceptional nationwide coverage because unlike most cell phone service providers, Patriot Mobile utilizes all three major US Networks switch today without sacrificing quality or service. They even add two numbers on two networks on one phone. Let me repeat, they can even add two numbers on two networks on one phone. It's like you're carrying two phones in one. They have unlimited data plans, mobile hotspots, international roaming, Internet on the go devices and Internet backup. Switching is easy. Keep your number, keep your phone or upgrade. Their 100% US based team can activate you in minutes. Best of all, switching to Patriot Mobile supports your values. If you believe in our First Amendment and Second Amendment rights, the sanctity of life, supporting our veterans and first responders, this is where you belong. Right now. Go to patriot mobile.com Bannon or call 972 Patriot. Get a free month of service with promo code Bannon. So if you call in, tell em Bannon also switch today. That's patriotmobile.com Bannon or call 972 Patriot.

[Taj Gill]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

The Time Magazine correspondent. The the that interview with Eric by President Trump and Grace Push I'm I don't think it's behind a paywall, so everybody gets to read it. But it's got so many blockbuster scoops in there. It's already caused turmoil in financial markets because the guy asked very tough questions, hard questions, which President Trump loves. What he hates is the gotcha sneak question, right. Which is most of the mainstream media. These are tough. It's a magnificent interview. You see Trump as kind of we see him every day with these press avails. But very smart headline in Bloomberg right now, folks. I'm just saying Trump 28 Come on, man, headline Trump says he loves millionaire tax. Let me repeat that. Trump says he loves millionaire tax. Worries about political risk. The political risk. He talks about his reelect. He talks about, hey, you know, they convinced me of the bushing. Which president? Mr. President Trump. That is 1 billion percent wrong. You're giving a massive tax cut to working class and middle class people. Massive. We got to figure out how to pay for it somewhere. It's the millionaires. It's not tax. You're just not giving an extension of the tax cuts they got. And Bush raised it for everybody and kind of lied to people, although maybe did it for a good reason at the time. He misled people and that's why it's, you know, and the tax guys have been all over. They don't care. They want billionaires to pay nothing. Zero. Because they get paid more retainers. That's how it works. These people see it. They're all paid by the billionaires. This, this shows two things. Number one, President Trump agrees with us. He loves the millionaires tax. Doesn't like it. Loves it. But he worries about the political risk. That's because he's running again in 2028. Go get your swag. Go get your merch over there at the Trump store. Taj Gill. I need a cup of coffee this morning. Tell me about the great coffee I'm drinking. I'm so jacked up. I want to get some more coffee. I'm on the road. So I didn't bring my, I failed to. My fault. I failed to bring my, my warpath. And I've been grumpy and grouchy ever since. I'm only here for a day, but I've been very grumpy because I don't have a war path. Talk to me about my coffee.

[Taj Gill]

All right. Yeah, it's, it's the best coffee out there. You can look at our website. We have over 9,000 five star reviews.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Now.

[Taj Gill]

We roast it differently than most roasters. We, we roasted on a perforated drum. And by doing that, we don't burn the coffee. It sounds simple, but it's not. Most copy roasters, they burn their coffee. That's why it's served with milk and sugar. So we, we have, we literally have the best coffee. It's, I mean, you called it the champagne of coffee. So we have that on our website now, Steve. It's, it's an incredible coffee. The website is warpath coffee. Use promo code. War room. In the war room. Posse gets 15 off. Right now that, that fluctuates. We have big sales. Last weekend we had 30 off. But we always will have a discount for the War Room Posse. It's promo code. War room. And the website is Warpath Coffee. And when you're on our website, look at the reviews. There's a reviews tab and you can just scroll through these reviews. It's. We don't pay anybody to give these reviews. We just send out an email. And only about 13% of our customers leave reviews. And we're already over 9,000 five star reviews and growing. So you don't have to believe me. You don't have to believe Steve. Just go ahead and look at the reviews and try the coffee. We have a huge customer return rate. I was telling Steve a couple months ago on here that we have a Google Ads guy and he cannot believe the customer return rate we have because we have a good product. It's an amazing product. It's the best coffee. Like literally, you could just drink it.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

These are customers. These are customers that try it and then come back and return to try it and use it over and over again, correct?

[Taj Gill]

That's right. Yes, sir.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Yep.

[Taj Gill]

The people just keep coming back and buying more. And we are roasting huge batches now of coffee. I mean, we're roasting like thousands and thousands and thousands of bags a week now, and we can barely keep up with the demand. People are just buying it out. It's crazy. I didn't think it was going to grow this fast, but it is. People love the coffee and they just keep buying it over and over and we are just roasting around the clock.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Well, it's crazy. Good. That's why they're doing it. Before I leave you, we had Tim Kennedy on. He was there with the veterans, particularly the amputees. And the story is that President Trump had visited many of these when he was in his first term in the hospitals in Walter Reed and other places. And then they came back. He signed executive orders around the veterans. You've been there for so many times. What's the special bond that President Trump has not just with vet, but particularly war fighters? People that been in the. Have been in it. You know, the people that really been the tip of the spear and been in the gunfights. What is this special connection that the hardest of the hard in our military seem to have with the President?

[Taj Gill]

I think the connection is that people think that President Trump legitimately cares. It's not a show for the press. He actually cares about the war fighters. And you saw that in his first term, there was a Navy SEAL Ryan Owens was killed in Yemen. And President Trump went above and beyond for him, his wife and his family. And Trump wants to wind down the wars. He uses the military, but when he uses the military, he lets them win. He lets them hit hard. He takes a leash off. And people appreciate. They appreciate that. I think all the war fighters just love Trump because he loves us. He loves veterans, he loves America. I mean, you see what he's doing to the country. He loves America. He loves Americans. He's genuine. And he cares about veterans. He's just a great guy. I'm a big fan. I love him.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

No, I know. Taj, where do people go to test out Warpath?

[Taj Gill]

Warpath Coffee is the website and use promo code war room. And right now the posse gets 15% off. And we always have a sale. If you use promo code war room, it fluctuates up and down with the sale. But Warpath Coffee, promo code war room, and you'll get 15 off if you're part of the war room posse.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Thank you, brother. Appreciate you.

[Taj Gill]

Thank you, sir. I appreciate you, too.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I built a guy, served his country for many decades and then built a great company. It's a great story, fantastic story of these guys that come back and haven't really had a profession. They entered when they were so young. They were young men, didn't really have a path in life, didn't really have a profession or skill or trade or anything. They spent years serving their country and ask doing what they were asked to do and doing it great. Then came back and just kind of a lot of them just drifted and, you know, a lot of them found themselves and Tasia is one of them, just a great guy. Let's go ahead and play. We still have. President Trump is a peacemaker. He's trying to remember peace is the predicate for world prosperity. He's trying to get everybody to lay their guns down. We got some updates from a area of the world that's quite frustrating to President Trump. Let's go and play it. We'll bring Ben back in. In the war in Ukraine, Russian authorities say a senior Russian military commander was killed when a vehicle exploded in a Moscow suburb. Take a look at these pictures. The commander is the latest senior Russian military figure to be killed in a car bombing since the war began more than three years ago. That occurred just hours before President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff be met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Kremlin aide tells Reuters the two men met for three hours and that there was a discussion of renewing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

[Ben Harnwell]

Right now. We didn't take a solution. Right now, a lot of conversation about possible solution. And one of the scenario, what say it's to give up the territory. It's not fair. But for the peace temporary peace maybe can't be solution temporary.

[Tim Kennedy]

Do you and President Zelensky, as you say, you are in charge of the nation's capital. Do you and he talk about what the answer might be?

[Ben Harnwell]

No.

[Tim Kennedy]

No. Should you? You're an important man. Maybe you should be invited to those conversations.

[Ben Harnwell]

President Zelensky don't think so.

[Tim Kennedy]

But you think so. You would like to be invited.

[Ben Harnwell]

It's not my function, first of all. And it's a function of President Zelensky.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Okay, right there. Ben Harnwell, let's cut you back in from Rome. Number one, a senior commander in the Russian military for Ukraine mysteriously blown up assassinated in Moscow. Don't know if that's Ukrainian intelligence or maybe it's something related to Moscow. And then you've got the mayor, and the mayor is an opponent of Zelinsky. Zelinsky has not been, you know, Biden never made him go and actually be a democracy and have another election. Put this in perspective, President Trump, the Russians just hit Kiev the other day. He was so frustrated. So, hey, Putin, you got to knock this off. President Trump's getting shorter and shorter about Zelinsky saying they're never going to give him Crimea. Zelensky has not still signed the economic deal. He tells Time magazine, hey, I was just kind of kidding about 24 hours. Everybody knew that couldn't happen, but he implied that, you know, following Ben Harnwell's advice, he's not going to get sucked in. Two months and months and months of negotiation. Tell us what's going on, particularly this mayor. We understand he's anti Zelinsky guy. Is this guy going to have any role in these discussions?

[Tim Kennedy]

Well, let's break this down first. I think this week, next week, we're coming up to the hundredth day, the psychologically important, the psychologically crucial 100th day mark since President Trump's inauguration. And America hasn't disengaged from Ukraine. And of course, the president is saying he's not going to get sucked in, but that is exactly what is happening. He is getting sucked in. You mentioned the Russian general who was killed in the car bomb. By my calculation, Steve, that's the 21st Russian general to be killed since the start of the Russian invasion. This is a tit for tat. It's Happening on both sides. The Kiev mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, a former boxing champion, there is no love lost between him and Zelensky. There's a far worse relationship between him and the other major principal rival for the presidency, Valeri Zaluzhny, who had been exiled as ambassador, Ukraine's ambassador to London. What is interesting about this guy, Zaluzhny has a slightly better relationship. I mean, the two of them talk, at least. These two guys famously haven't spoken for quite some time. What is interesting, Steve? I think this is the first time I've seen really anyone important on the Ukrainian side starting to talk openly about recognizing the reality on the ground. Let's call it that The Americans side has done it. The Russians have obviously been doing it as part of Putin's negotiating position. I think President Putin this morning or yesterday reiterated this fact that he's ready to pause the war on contemporary. On the present, contemporary battle lines. What is interesting about the mayor of Kiev saying this and being the first Ukrainian to do so, the first important Ukrainian politician to do so, is that he is a contender for the presidency, as is, as I mentioned, Ambassador Zaluzhny. The importance being, Steve, even if most of the attention, I think, is focusing towards Ambassador Zaluzny as the principal opposition, what is interesting is that for this guy Vitaly, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, to come out and say this, it's a political calculation that he is making. This is the importance of this. It's a political calculation that he is making because he realizes his future potential electorate, or even better, his future potential selectorate, no longer wants to fight this war and is ready to compromise on the present territorial lines. That's the important thing, Steve. I think about Mayor Klitschko coming out and saying this, it's a. It used a boxing metaphor. He's given Zielinski a 1, 2 jab to the head on this because he knows the appetite for war has died down.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on, hang on. We're gonna take a short break. Back with that. If you're a homeowner, you need to listen to this. In today's AI and cyber world, scammers are stealing home titles with more ease than ever, and your equity is the target. Here's how it works. Criminals forge your signature on one document, use a fake notary stamp, pay small fee with your county, and boom, your home title has been transferred out of your name. Then they take out loans using your equity, or even sell your property. You won't even know it's happened until you get a collection or foreclosure notice. So let me ask you, when was the last time you personally checked your home title? If you're like me, the answer is never. And that's exactly what scammers are counting on. That's why I trust home title lock. Use promo code [e-mail] to make sure your title is still in your name. You also get a free title history report plus a free 14 day trial of their million dollar triple lock protection. That's 24,7 monitoring of your title, urgent alerts to any changes and if fraud should happen, they'll spend up to $1 million to fix it. Go to hometitle lock.com now. Use promo code Steve. That's hometitle lock.com promo code Steve. Do it today.

[Taj Gill]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Band.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

If you like the geopolitics capital markets, we've got the best. Jim Rickards a contributor here. Go torickards war room.com you get access to strategic intelligence. This is one of the number one newsletters out there. Tons of C suite and chairman and CEO. Read it, you can get up to speed just like on them. It's got geopolitics, it's got intelligence, it's got capital markets, all of it. Rickards war room.com put/promo code Bannon and you get. You make sure you can get the free book. The free book would be money chatgpt. This about artificial intelligence and currency only. Get it as Jim Rickards can give it to you. One of the best currency guys in the world also Patriot Mobile, Brian Glenn Story and the guys. Such an amazing job they've done down in Tarrant county in Texas. Trying to keep Texas maga. The company itself, Patriot Mobile, amazing service. Got all three big networks it lays on top of. They get every service in the world you can get. Go to 972 Patriot column today. Use promo code Bannon. Talk about all the services you can get. Amazing phone service. You don't need to be pitched on the company. Support your values against companies that hate your values. Just do the switch today. Go to their website or call 972 Patriot and you can talk to an American citizen about everything. And do the shift. Shift over. That's what we need to do. Shift over. Patriot Mobile. Glen Story. Fabulous company. Great guys. Back to Rome. Brother Harnwell, you got some closing thoughts on the president? He's en route to Rome right now. Closing thoughts.

[Tim Kennedy]

Thanks, Steve. Look, a couple of people have said to me why is President Trump going to the funeral of a man who clearly hated him, hated his movement, hated his ideas, hated everything that MAGA stands for. And I come up with two suggestions. He's going fundamentally to pay his respects to the papal office rather than its occupant. That's the first thing. And the second thing is because I think he is cementing his status as the leader of Christendom and that he'll cement that status if he goes to the and is seen at the funeral. And what I mean by that is not only the political leader of Christendom, the whole of Christianity around the world, but also, I think he's increasingly being seen as the spiritual leader of fighting those Christian values. And that is because Pope Francis himself vacated that territory. That's another thing. I think that reason that people should be able to look at why President Trump might be going to the funeral of someone who so clearly loathed him. The third thing.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Hang on, hang on, hang on, hang on. Real quickly, because this Notre Dame was another massive moment. People in the progressives that watch this show because they have to, for news, heads are blown up. How is a man that's not particularly churchy, Right. How are you saying he's the spiritual leader of. He's the leader of Christendom, not just politically, but he's the leader of Christendom spiritually. Ben Harnwell.

[Tim Kennedy]

Because people who are motivated by their Christian faith, not just Catholics, but also our great friends and brethren, the evangelicals, people who are motivated by their faith in Jesus Christ, look to Donald Trump to defend those values and to give them sustenance and reality, even on a spiritual level. We know that President Trump isn't a Holy Joe. He doesn't pretend to be a Holy Joe, but frankly, neither do our cardinals or churchmen either. So if it's a choice of pretty much atheistic cardinals who are on the tape, contempt for the Catholic faith, or Donald J. Trump, who shows a great openness to the Catholic faith, who are you going to look to for spiritual sustenance? I know who I would pick for that. My third and closing point on this, Steve, and it's a bit frivolous, but I would say this to the President. Mr. President, great. I love the idea that you're going to annex Greenland. I love the idea that you're going to annex Canada. But might I gently suggest, for your 51st state, annex the Vatican City state, make that your first annexation, and then impose a genuine Catholic pope for us, and it'll be the first Catholic pope that we've had since 1958. I just want to throw the idea out there. Stephen Parker, what a, what a, what a great, beautiful addition to the, to the union. Steve. The Vatican City state. Let's make that America. Let's make that America.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

There. There's so many heads in the left and the right blown up. Okay, Ben, where they go, where they go to abuse you and your social media.

[Tim Kennedy]

Get my social media platform of choice, type in my surname at Barnwell and I've got some brilliant, provocative posts at the top of my feed waiting for your consideration. Thanks, Steve. Thanks very much. God bless. Catch you tomorrow.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

And Ben's going to be with us tomorrow. We're going to do a lot. The pope is buried tomorrow. President Trump and leaders of the world are going to be there. It's going to be quite, quite amazing. Ben Hornwell will join us 10:00am Eastern Daylight Time tomorrow morning. Ben, thank you so much. Appreciate you.

[Tim Kennedy]

Thanks. Steve Cooper.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Mike Lindell is your islandell. Did we get Mike, is his voice any better? Mike Lindell, is your voice any better?

[Mike Lindell]

Well, I'm not singing yet, but it is a little better. Yeah. Thanks, everybody. It's been quite a couple weeks with the surgery, but I'm getting my voice back and just in time to give you back our biggest special ever. Remember, this is a whole line of sheets that were earmarked for the box store. They're over half gone, but once they're gone, they're gone. But they're for the war room posse. Any size, any color, split king king size, kel King, Queens, $25. We're putting no limit on it. You guys get as many as you want. We're closing out the whole line and promo code.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

War room.

[Mike Lindell]

Go to the website, scroll down, make sure you see Steve and click on it or you're not going to get the war room specials. There they are. Check out the kitchen towels and the bath towels as low as 9.99. Everything you think of for the kitchen from kitchen towels to oven mitts to stuff you wouldn't think why would my pillow have that? We got all these products and over 300 products that we have on sale. The microses, you guys get them I said last week they're going fast. That's the microses. You see 30% on the men's and women's like I wear and or call my operators. 800-873-1062. They love it when I get on the war room here and you guys make those calls because you're. They know that they get the comfort that they're getting supported. And my pillows here to stay. Steve. Don't ignore the fake news, Everybody.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Mike Lindell. MyPillow.com promo, promo code. Warren, we'll see you tonight, buddy. Take care of that. Voice sounding better, but not sounding great yet. What a warrior. Has surgery four times on his throat. Still back at work. Charlie Kirk next. Jack Posopic. After that, Steve Gruber. Eric Bowling. I'll do the shift over from Bowling. Actually, I will not. We're gonna have Natalie Winners at five. I'm back at six o'clock with a special guest here in the war room. See then the April 15 tax deadline is coming and it's coming fast. Do you have unfiled tax returns? Can't pay the irs. The IRS is more than aggressive and the more aggressive than ever. And the longer you wait, the worse it gets. Wage garnishments, bank levies, even property seizures are all on the table. You need to get ahead of this. You need to get ahead of it today. But going up against the IRS alone is a big time mistake. Take my advice. Call the experts at Tax Network usa. They know the system. They have an edge. A preferred direct line to the irs. They know which agents to deal with and which ones to avoid. Whether you owe $10,000 or $10,000,000, their genius strategies are designed to quickly settle your tax problems in your favor. Tax Network USA's attorneys and negotiators have already resolved over $1 billion in tax debt. Let me repeat that. They've already resolved over $1 billion in tax debt. Tax Network USA can help you too. But you need to move. You need to move fast because April 15th is already here. Remember, if you get that letter, don't put it in the drawer. It just metastasizes. Talk with one of our strategists today. It's totally free. Stop looking over your shoulder. Stop the anxiety. Stop the worry. Put it all behind you. Call Tax Network USA at 1-800-958-1000. That's 800-958-1000 or visit tnusa.com Bannon that's Tax Network USA. Go to tnusa.com Bannon hey, war room.

[Ben Harnwell]

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