
Episode 4567: Mainstream Bangs The War Drum ...
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John Bolton
Went on the air, he said, quote, we know exactly where the so called Supreme Leader is hiding. He is an easy target but is safe there. We are not going to take him out kill. At least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. You part ways with the President on that issue. You think he should be taken out?
Nikki Haley
Well, what now? I'm going to. I trust president's judgment very much. I trust his judgment. I think for now is a term that I told us should understand in Trump world is ever changing. So what is the President trying to do? He's letting the Ayatollah know if you attack American interest, that's the end of you and your regime. What am I trying to do? I'm trying to make the case that ending Iran's nuclear ambitions is not only good for Israel, it's good for us. And we're they're the weakest they've been since 1979. This region since 1979 has been a president. This regime has been repressing their people, trying to destroy Israel and have American blood on their hands. I hope it's eliminated. I would like to see this regime fall, but I'm going to leave it up to the President as to what to do and when to do it. But I do know this, if we don't take out their nuclear program now, we'll all regret it. We're very close. Be all in, Mr. President, and helping Israel finish the job. And let's see where we're at after we neutralize our nuclear program. They're in disarray and they're very dangerous. I don't want to underestimate the danger of being involved in these operations. But the danger of Iran having a nuclear weapon or surviving as a state sponsor of terrorism is far greater than the danger of trying to end the threat. So that's the decision President Trump has to make. And I think he's the right guy at the right time to make that decision. But I'm hoping the sun is setting not only on their nuclear program, but the regime itself. Sooner they leave the world stage, the better the world will be. We can have true peace in the Mid east only if the regime falls, in my view.
Wolf Blitzer
President Trump emerging out of the White House's Situation Room after over an hour of deliberations with his national security team as he's weighing how to respond to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Sources telling CNN that the president is warming to the idea of using American military assets to strike Iranian nuclear facilities. So joining me now is someone who has spent quite a bit of time in that very room with our presidents. CNN senior military analyst Admiral James Stavridis joins us now. Admiral, I'm so. Admiral, I'm so grateful to have you here. And this obviously, is a foreign policy challenge that has been on the table for decades. Really, I. What would you be advising the president to do, given the facts, as we, as members of the public not privy to classified information, understand them to be right? Now.
Admiral James Stavridis
Let'S go back to THE Situation Room itself. What the president deserves in this Situation Room is the best advice. Ultimately, he's going to make the decision we elected him to make those kind of truly hard calls. But he needs unfettered, unvarnished, take the bark off kind of advice from his cabinet. I hope he's receiving that. I think he's probably got three broad courses of action here, Casey. One is let the Israelis continue to pound away. Another one is put pressure on the Iranians by moving forces into the region, sort of set the table for strikes, but then use that leverage to get back to a negotiation. That would be option two. And then option three, of course, would be to conduct a strike. Your reporting indicates he's leaning toward option three. I just hope he's getting all of the advice of both the pros and the cons of each of those three courses of action.
John Bolton
Arabia would like to see the theocracy gone. I know the Emirates would, and many other Arab states as well. But then there's the question of what happens if there is a power vacuum there. We saw all too well what happened in Iraq. We saw what happened in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over in literally a matter of hours. You've got competing factions as well who would vie to take over Iran. On the one side, you've got the crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who would like to go in as an interim leader. The other side of that fence, you've got the ncri, the National Council for Resistance in Iran, which used to be the Mekhi, which a lot of people in Iran say would be worse than the ayatollah. So what steps into the vacuum if the regime falls?
Nikki Haley
Well, I think what will happen is the Iranian people will know freedom for the first time since 1979. You know, people probably asked that about Hitler in the 30s. What would happen in Germany if we took him out in the mid-30s. Well, I wish we had, because we know what happened when they let him stay in power. And here's what I can say taking the Ayatollah's regime down is a good thing, not a bad thing. And I'm willing to risk what happens next because I know what's going to happen if they stay in power.
Wolf Blitzer
But sir, can you guarantee that, Can President Trump in any. Can you make the commitment that this would not lead to a longer war?
Nikki Haley
I can guarantee you that if the Ayatollah gets a nuclear weapon, he will use it. I believe that with all my heart and soul. So the men and women who serve, they're the ones going, not people answering a poll. And if you ask them, would you be willing to risk your life to stop the Ayatollah from having a nuclear weapon? All of them would say yes, because it makes their country, our country, safer. So we live in a world where you got to confront problems. You want to avoid World War three, learn the lessons from World War two. People in World War two appeased Hitler to the point that it got so much out of hand. We had a world war and 60 million people got killed. So we live in a world where you pay now or you pay later. Let's stop this threat before he gets a nuclear weapon. Let's end this reign of terror. Let's do it now. It's not going to take 20 months. But I can't guarantee your freedom and your safety unless we're willing to fight for it. I can guarantee you this. If we don't fight for our freedom, we will lose it.
Steve Bannon
This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people. There's not got 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. And where do people like that go to share the big lie? MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul.
Nikki Haley
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.
Jack Posobiec
WAR ROOM here's your host, Stephen k. Ban.
Steve Bannon
Tuesday 17 June, Year of a Lord 2025 obviously a very action packed afternoon. And we're packed this afternoon. We had a show lined up. We were going to do talk about a lot of finance and the good things are coming out of President Trump's administration. Economically. We've got a couple of treasury officials, former head of the World Bank, Philip Patrick, all that, we're going to get that in. But we obviously got to talk about what happened National Security Council Day, President Trump came back from Calgary. I think partially he was bored. Number two, he had to get back to deal with the situation at hand. They did go through alternatives. It's pretty obvious. At least one alternative is to consider at least some sort of strike because they're pre positioning massive assets in the region, both naval assets and air assets, both support logistics assets and also combat aircraft. That has to be viewed as at least negotiating leverage. If President Trump is to try to force the hand, which looks like it's either between a full capitulation on the nuclear program or maybe even regime change, as this seems to be changing every minute. Let's go to Jack Bosobic. Jack, you're going to be on Tim Pool tonight, is that correct? People can see you on the Tim Pool Show.
Jack Posobiec
That's right, Steve. And to the war room posse. Yes, I'll be on Tim Pool in a couple hours tonight. So we'll be do, we'll be covering all of this live. We'll be taking super chats. We'll be doing all of it right there. We're tracking all of this in real time as well.
Steve Bannon
So, Jack, obviously in the range of alternatives President Trump's looked at and his current position is, hey, they can, I mean, his constant position is they cannot have a nuclear weapon. I've told him they can't have a nuclear weapon. He's tried to negotiate. They kind of tried to tap him along. He wasn't prepared to be tapped along. The Israelis did what they did and now we are where we are. Looks like the range of alternatives to date, Jack, clearly has at least, I mean, you can just tell from the outside action. They haven't released any statement, but clearly a lot of assets are being moved around. We had Admiral Stavridis there in the, in the, in the cold open saying that's to give him a range of alternatives. Admiral Stavridis is correct. This is what he's trying to do, is have options to have what we call optionality. Jack, give us your assessment of, of the options you think are out there.
Jack Posobiec
Well, Steve, I think there are a number of options. Obviously, these range from the United States military being ordered to take runs at the political leadership or even the energy or infrastructure of Iran, all of which are capable, all of which are reachable from our air bases throughout the Gulf, including Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. There's stealth. There's Multirole fighters there, F35, F16, F22. There's also the bomber as the B52s down at Diego Garcia. And of course, there's been a lot of talk about the United States coming in and having the weaponry and the firepower to take out this underground base over at Fordo, which is built for this purpose, because Israel does not have the bunker busting bombs or the mops, these gbu, these gravity bombs, which the Israelis do not have, but the United States certainly does. This is why they were built for this purpose. And of course, it was also what the bomb was designed to do. This is part of the escalatory ladder and the tit for tat that we've seen in the writing world, that hardening world that the Iranians and some of these places. This is why Iran has their Shahad Shah drones underground, for example, and all these other various facilities. And so these options are all available to the United States. There's also a range of options from intelligence sharing to asymmetric warfare. So intelligence sharing, shutting down electronics, going after their communications, going after their media. There's also a huge range that can be done there as well. And it really all remains to President Trump what he wants to or order happen here. We're waiting to hear that readout from the National Security Council meeting, which we're told ended just a little while ago at the White House.
Steve Bannon
Jack, walk people through what, the gravity bomb? Exactly. The mechanism, how does it actually work? It's kind of unique. And this is why people are saying, well, maybe you put it on a, you know, a C4, you put it on a big, one of our big transport aircraft and have the Israelis push it out the back, or you put it on an Israeli aircraft. Walk me through what do we have here. And the size of ours are much bigger than theirs, correct?
Jack Posobiec
Yes, yes. Russia has much larger. Russia has been using a version of this technology in Ukraine for quite some time now. And essentially what the Russians are using for a smaller version of it, what it does is it turns your. You use the parlance, you turned your dumb bombs into smart bombs. Because you're up, what you're doing is you're able to upgrade them to a point where they have a rudimentary type of guidance which is far more, far superior to simply just dropping it away, you know, bombs away, as, as, as we know. And so they're carrying that, you know, a guidance system. They're monitored, it's controlled externally. Guided bomb, you know, depending on the given weight. That's how much explosives that it has on. It has radio. And this, this technology has been around for quite some time, but it's really been plugged up through World War II and then even after, throughout the Cold War where they've been used and it's only been in the Gulf War, the Ukraine war, and on that we've seen them really use now. And so this is, it's, it's sort of in the way that I think of it. Is, is it precision guided munitions? It is, it is not quite precision guided munitions, but it is a, it is a guided bomb. Is the best way to think about it.
Steve Bannon
The difference between taking out the nuclear program and making sure they have no capacity to refine material and also even maybe some of the ballistic missile technology they need versus regime change. Give me a minute on that before we go to break.
Jack Posobiec
Well, Steve, this could be everything. So taking out President Trump has been very clear that he is against Iran's nuclear weapons program. But Iran's regime depends on far more than just that program. They have the irgc, they have the Iranian army, they've got and of course, all of the oil pipelines and the deals that they have with the Chinese Communist Party. That's really where that power relies upon. You take out the regime and that's going to open up a whole Hornet's death, possibly civil war. This is bigger than Iraq, bigger than Afghanistan, bigger than Syria, bigger than Libya.
Steve Bannon
The shocking thing, though, I think for a military point of view is that given all their bluster, the Israelis did take complete air supremacy. Air superiority first and air supremacy. So far, it doesn't seem like there's any, you know, combat aircraft up or the combat aircraft gets up. Their air defenses systems got destroyed about 90 days ago. But right now, I think in President Trump, of course, he used the royal. We, we, we have control of the airspace over Tehran. Right? That's never really a good sign. All of a sudden you're, you're, you're in it. I tell you what, Jack, can you hang on a minute? I know you hang out. Going out to Tim Pool. We take a short commercial break. Jack Posopic is with us. We're going to have Joe Lavonia on special counsel to the Secretary of Treasury. Big breaking news at a Treasury day about the impact of President Trump's economic program. How about the economic program on you Take your phone out, text Bannon B A N N O N at 989-898. Get the ultimate guide. It's free to investing in gold in special in investing in gold in the age of Trump. Back in a moment. This July there is a global summit of BRICS nations in Rio de Janeiro. The bloc of emerging superpowers including China, Russia, India and Persia are meeting with the goal of displacing the United States dollar as the global currency. They're calling this the Rio Reset. As BRICS nations push forward with their plans, global demand for US Dollars will decrease, bringing down the value of the dollar in your savings. While this transition won't not happen overnight, but trust me, it's going to start in Rio. The Rio Reset in July marks a pivotal moment when BRICS objectives move decisively from a theoretical possibility towards inevitable reality. Learn if diversifying your savings into gold is right for you. Birch Gold Group can help you move your hard earned savings into a tax sheltered IRA and precious metals. Claim your free info kit on gold by texting my name Bannon. That's B A N N O N to 989-898 with an A plus rating with the Better Business Bureau and tens of thousands of happy customers. Let Birchgold army with a free no obligation info kit on owning gold before July and the Rio reset Text Bannon B A N N O N to 989-898 do it today. That's the Rio reset. Text Bannon at 989-898 and do it today.
Jack Posobiec
Here's your host, Stephen K. Band.
Steve Bannon
Welcome back. Joe Lavornier is going to join us from the White House special assistant or special counsel to Secretary Treasury. I want to make sure because I have some economic guys on here next, Jack Bosobic talking about the economy, talking about, you know, I got a guy from, you know, the former head of the World bank and one of the undersecretaries under President Trump in the first term. Philip Patrick is going to join us. Obviously gold is kind of on fire now but also there are many economics, not just geopolitical economic. Iran is one of the most important oil and gas producers in the world. They provide, I think Jack, you would agree, the Chinese Communist party anywhere between 1.5 and 2 and a half million barrels per day either sold directly or through the black market. They're the principal provider to the CCP of energy. Those oil fields and there's discussion of the oil fields may come into play. I think Qatar and other nations around the world own, I think the oil fields that kind of go in Basra, that part of is in Iraq, part of it's in Iran. Of course that part down by Basra, since it's tons of Shiite Muslims, ever since the Iraq war, they kind of claim it for their own. How big a deal is the geoeconomics here of the situation in Iran?
Jack Posobiec
Well, Steve, the idea of the geoeconomics is key. And, you know, we say on human events daily all the time, that when it comes to geopolitics, sort of like, you know, the French have a phrase, cherchez la femme. You know, whenever you're trying to figure out something, look for the woman. Well, in geopolitics we say cherchez le petrol, look for the petrol, look for the oil. And so in this, right, cherchez le petrol. You don't steal that from me, Ben. And that's all me.
Steve Bannon
I'm gonna do it as an homage. I'm gonna do it as an homage.
Jack Posobiec
As an homage.
Steve Bannon
All right, so good.
Jack Posobiec
Obviously, you know, that's, that's one of the fastest ways that could lead to this regime change, civil war kind of that we're talking about. But if you want to talk about the global oil market impact of a massive sudden supply shock, we're talking immediate, you know, depending on the broader market conditions, you're talking $100 a barrel oil, $150 a barrel of futures market. You're going to get immediate reaction, huge volatility, stocks, commodities, and you know what? You're not sure what's going to happen, what OPEC decides to do. Does OPEC want to cut, Does OPEC want to keep flooding the system, the U.S. the EU? There's going to be a lot of pressure then to release oil from strategic reserves. Of course, Trump's been trying to fill, by the way, our strategic oil reserve. But here we are in summer, just started, and you might be seeing $6.
Steve Bannon
Of our oil or, or get our guys, or get our guys ripping and even pumping more. Jack, social media, you're putting up great stuff all the time. You're going to Tim Pool. You're on the Tim Pool show tonight. What is that? Does that start at 8 o' clock Eastern Daylight Time? The Tim Pool Show.
Jack Posobiec
So that'll start at 8. So once you're done watching all your evening war room, you have your dinner and then boom, you lock in with Tim Cass. 8:00pm Eastern.
Steve Bannon
Hang on, I'm gonna try to get you from Tim's, Tim's place at seven when you get out there. So if we get an update, we'll come right to you. Okay? Thank you, brother.
Jack Posobiec
Thank you.
Steve Bannon
The great Jack Posobic. I want to go now. To the White House. Joe Lavornier, Special Counsel to the, to the Secretary of Treasury. Sir, today Scott Besant had an interview. They put up an interview with Miranda Devine. He talked about the increase in blue collar wages. It saw some analysis you've done. Can you walk us through exactly. Give us the receipts, give us the backup. What's actually happening and more importantly, why is it happening?
Joe Lavornia
Sure. So Steve, if you look at President Trump the first term and second term, what we looked at when I worked for President Trump in the first term is blue, what we call blue collar wages, which are non supervisory production workers. These aren't people that are part of the professional managerial class. It's not Wall street, it's Main Street. It's the backbone of Main Street. And what we've noticed in this first five months of this Trump administration is that the annualized increase in real blue collar wages is almost 2%. The next closest growth we had of that magnitude in the first five months of administration was, was Trump 1.0. So it's remarkable the wage gains he has. And that's a function really of a very pro growth supply side led set of policies where food and energy costs have been trending down significantly from where they were. And as Secretary Besson has said, as there are fewer illegal workers that are artificially depressing wages, it's keeping nominal wages high. So you have a double whammy of falling inflation. The inflation numbers have been absolutely stellar. At the same time, nominal wages have been strong. So your real wages are expanding, increasing purchasing power for the everyday worker.
Steve Bannon
I want to go back because we did this before in the tax cut in 17 and it came to fruition in 18 and really in 19, I think it was the fall of 19, you had the tremendous gains in blue collar versus white collar, non college graduate versus college graduates. Is that essentially the same thing? We haven't got to. The extension of those tax cuts are still there. But is that what's going on? Is it anything about the investment in jobs coming back? I know a big part of this has got to be immigration. What do you think is actually the big drivers here in back of this?
Joe Lavornia
So you're correct. If you look at the big effects obviously with tekja was in 18 and 19, if just to put it in broader sense, from 17 to 19, those first three Trump years, real median household income was up almost $8,000, more than double what it had been in the prior 16 years of both Republican and Democrat administrations. In the one big beautiful bill, the tax expensing the likelihood that we get 100, well, we get 100% expensing on CapEx back to President Trump Inauguration Day combined with the deduction of plant equipment factories, that is hugely supply side generative. And what that means, Steve, is that you're going to get strong productivity growth because you've got capital deepening, you're giving workers more tools to produce the goods and services that people want. If you have higher productivity, you have higher living standards, you have higher wages. So this bill, once it passes, will codify and further implement what was built off a Trump 1.0. And I'm optimistic we'll get faster growth, we'll grow, our deficit will grow deficits so that they will fall relative to GDP and most importantly, Main street will thrive. I mean that's the way the theory supposed to work. It's the way it worked in Trump 1.0. And by all indications we're off to a great start so far in 25.
Steve Bannon
Great start. And this shows why the immigration policy, sealing the border in the mass deportation is the beginning of that has all worked out. And remember President Trump's focus and this comes Malpass was in the first administration, Scott Bessant, now Secretary of Treasury, Joe Lavornier. Everybody's focused on the working class, the middle class for Main street in a supply side tax cut and also to make sure that everything we can do to increase productivity is there as Dave Brad is often there warning us. Joe, real quickly, what are you doing? You're one of the great guests inside Treasury. You've got an incredible team over there. What is your title and what are you doing for the secretary every day?
Joe Lavornia
Well, this is, this is my 10th day. So I come from Wall street and I had the pleasure of getting to meet know the secretary a little bit in my prior private life. I'm helping out in anything they really, they want me to do, Steve, all things sort of macroeconomics and policy related. And it's been 10 days but it's been fun and hoping I get to come on with you again and I'll have even better news to report the next time I'm on.
Steve Bannon
Well, it's pretty good news today, Joe. Thank you so much. Joe, do you have social media? Where do people go to find out more about your work and put this up. So Ben Luick.
Joe Lavornia
Yeah. On my private role it was at lavorneonomics. We'll see if we can make it an official government role. But you probably see me a little bit more maybe on TV and radio than social media. But we've got to fine tune that.
Steve Bannon
Thank you, brother. Look forward to get all your social, all this up on social media.
Joe Lavornia
Same here.
Steve Bannon
Joe Lavornier, thank you. Over there, one of the team that Scott Besson is pulling together. Really good news. So Malpass, before you've got some observations about the Fed, as you often do, David, you were one of the big, one of the big guns for President Trump in the first term over treasury. Then you're head of the World Bank. First off, just how concerned are you about particularly as this thing starts to spread in Iran and whatever can happen, sabotage. They had a thing today that there was a vessel stuck in the mouth of the Straits of Hormuz. And I can tell you, having sailed in and out of there on a destroyer, it's not that big. How concerned are you for global economics of what's going on in Persia right now?
David Malpass
Of course concerned. But the US Is powerful and President Trump has been really clear that peace through strength. And also they can't have a nuclear weapon. So there are exit, you know, there's ways, exit ramps that they can, they can use. And if not, then I think there is power to control the situation. I think we should really make a distinction between that meaning necessary steps to control bad outcomes. That's peace through strength and then turn to allowing a free market economy in the US to really expand and that. So in my mind, there's kind of a connection. There is a connection to, to the Trump plan. The program is to have the economy be really strong so that we have enough strength in the US Especially, but globally, to really see peace break out. And he's been clear.
Steve Bannon
David. President's been pretty critical of Powell over at the Fed. The Wall Street Journal's got a piece. What, what is your take? You're somebody the president would always turn to and ask about these situations. What do you think about the Fed and interest rates? Are they ahead of the curve or behind the curve?
David Malpass
Sir, they're behind the curve and they're often behind the curve. And we go from inflation to deflation because they're driving through the rearview mirror. Their models are really antiquated. These are 40, 50 year old models that basically say the US economy can't grow too fast or it'll be inflationary. And that's just wrong. There's productivity growth. You just heard Joe Lavornia talking about that as the major strategy. If we can get manufacturing going in the US and small businesses really cranking, then it's not going to be an inflationary economy. It's going to be a growth economy. So that's within reach. There is this clear path. The data is, you know, is clear that there's room for the Fed to cut. That's the retail sales that were negative today. The, the job growth in May in the household survey was weak. We've got the prime rate at 7%. What are you going to do with that? And why is, why is that where the US Is sitting? So I think if the Fed is clear and Trump has been, that we defend the dollar, we have the dollar as the reserve currency. If the world believes that they'll beat a path to our door in terms of buying, buying US US Debt, dollar denominated debt and driving down interest rates, I think that's within reach.
Steve Bannon
Hang, hang on, hang on for one second because I want to go back over this and I got a couple other questions. Philip Patrick from Birch Gold is also going to join us. Got David Malpass, former head of the World bank, in the war room. Short commercial break 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 steve@hometitlelock.com 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 title urgent alerts to any changes and if fraud should happen, they'll spend up to $1 million to fix it. Go to home title lock.com now use promo code Steve. That's home title lock.com promo code Steve. Do it today.
Jack Posobiec
Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.
Steve Bannon
So Brother Malpass. And by the way, David was undersecretary for International, one of the most important jobs in the Treasury Department for President Trump in the first term. And then head of the World bank put There by President Trump. David, when you just said the models that the Fed uses, because President Trump, let's be blunt, he's not particularly happy with Lewis Powell. He's kind of all over the Fed. He keeps saying they, they're missing the window here. When you say the models are 40 years old, clunky. Doesn't the Federal Reserve, I don't know, have like 8,000 people over there? It's a huge organization, is it not?
David Malpass
That's right. Maybe 700. I don't know. PhDs. Dumb and dumber. But the Phillips curve is the idea that there's somehow a trade off between unemployment and inflation and you have to have higher one to get lower the other. And that is, you know, so the Fed is constantly talking about its mandate that it's supposed to have price stability and full employment, and somehow those are in opposition. They work totally together. If you have price stability, you'll have more jobs in the economy. That's, that's what Trump is talking about. That's what Scott Bessen is talking about today. Even of how do you, how do you get real wages up? If the Fed is always leaning against it, this, this is because, you know, if you think about the last 40 years, there's been innovation everywhere except at the Fed. They're still talking about monetarism, which is ages old, and they're not. And remember, the Fed not only sets interest rates, but they also regulate banks, and they do it poorly because they fail and the small businesses can't get credit. And the Fed has this giant balance sheet that's been horribly managed. They, they bought $9 trillion of U.S. government bonds at the very trough when yields were the lowest. So they've realized loss on their books of maybe $1 trillion. So it's just mistakes all around, old models.
Steve Bannon
The last thing you said about us being the prime reserve currency, we actually are very focused on the real reset. We've done a whole special of this. We've got a whole thing we've done over the last couple of years called the end of the dollar empire. We put out an installments, we got the seventh installment about the Rio reset. Walk me through what you said in the last minute of the previous segment about making sure that there's demand for dollar denominated bonds and that we remain the prime reserve currency.
David Malpass
Sir, even today, you saw Europe saying they want to have more room for the euro on people's shelf space. Well, that, that, that is not really the way to have the world be safe. You need the dollar to be the backbone. And that's also important for crypto and digitalization of the world economy. If you look at stablecoins, they need to be in US Dollars and regulated by the US not by some island. I don't know your view on that, Stephen. People can have different views, but I really think that we can allow and permit this innovation that is the core of the US Economy. All that has to happen is treasury and the Fed say they plan to have the dollar be the core of the global economy for decades and decades. That would bring down interest rates if they would say it. But the PhD economists all think that the currency should just float around with no anchor at all. I think that can be fixed pretty easily.
Steve Bannon
David Malpass, we hope to have you on here a lot. Where do people get you on social.
David Malpass
Media, where they go on Twitter or at David R. Malpass Thanks, Steve, brother, thank you. Great show.
Steve Bannon
Thank you for coming on. Look forward to having you back. I think one of the things we're going to do is this clearly this conflict between Israel and Iran. And we're picking up did CNN just report that the okay, maybe that was a false thing. I don't want to okay, Christy Noem is Christy Noem. We'll get more of that, but Secretary of Homeland Security has been taken, I think to a local Washington hospital and ambulance. We don't know anything more than that. As soon as we no more, we will report it. Philip Patrick, one of my favorite people. You had Malpass right there saying what we needed to do to make sure that we remain the the prime reserve currency. Our favorite, as you remember. As you know, the, the Financial Times of London had this article right about, about gold. If, if Denver could put it up, I want to make sure it's up. Got Philip Patrick on starts with one of my favorite quotes, Phillips and the headline's amazing. As you know, Philip, we've been working together for four years now over four years and we talked about doing the end of the dollar empire to make sure people understood the importance of the dollar as the prime reserve currency and how that was so important and then what backed that up. Now the Financial Times of London, they does this big story how gold became the world's refuge from uncertainty, which is kind of the thesis that we've been talking about for four years. The sub headline in an era where core assumptions about the global economy are being questioned, gold has once more become an anchor, especially for central banks, as you've reported for four years here. But the lead paragraph, though talks about one of My favorite quotes is by, is by John Maynard Keynes, who was the economist that really, after the war, after World War I, they all kind of, you know, went into Keynesianism, which hadn't been really grasped before, which meant bigger governments, bigger government stimulus, which we're living through, that two and a half trillion dollar, two trillion dollar deficit you see, every year we say that is a Keynesian stimulus to an economy. And Keynes called gold a barbarous relic of an ancient world. Sir. So break down the Financial Times and really, the Financial Times coming to understand what we've been kind of laying out for this audience for four years, sir.
Philip Patrick
Yeah, look, I mean, as you say, we've been talking about this for a long time. First of all, we can, I think, clearly show that John Maynard Keynes was incorrect calling gold a barbarous relic. Seeing gold this century outperform almost every other asset class. I think it's very clear. But, but I thought a very good article, it was summarizing a lot of what we've talked about over, as you said, the last few years, and that is slowly we are disincentivizing the world to hold our dollars, right? After 1946, what incentivized the world to use dollars was redeemability, right? It was the only currency in the world that central banks could hand into the Treasury Department and get gold back in return. Agreement following 71. It was the Petrodollar agreement, right? The world had to use dollars to buy oil. 40% of the world's oil supply came from OPEC. It guaranteed this demand, right? Since then, it's really been stability, right? The dollar, as far as currencies go, has been the most stable. All of that being said, the world has been incentivized to hold our US Dollar. Well, what have we seen really, since the Biden administration, right? We've seen devaluation of currency. We've seen weapon currency. Central banks around the world are looking at dollars now more as a liability. That is an asset. Even Trump's policies. Listen, Trump's been trying to thread the needle. Things like tariffs, they tell nations around the world, look, we understand why he implemented them. We have to boost domestic manufacturing. But tariffs have negative impacts as well. They force countries to diversify away from our country, currency, even the big beautiful bill, right? Trump was elected with a mandate. I said to you before, I'm torn on this, right? You know, he was elected with a clear mandate to shore up the borders. This stuff is expensive, but it comes with consequences, right? That is an explosion in deficits. Right. The dollar, again, less attractive to foreign investors. What about the revenge tax within the big beautiful bill? Right. The Financial Times reference that specifically. I understand why Trump has it in there. Right. It's one more weapon that Trump can use to balance global trade. But I also understand that as a foreign investor. Right. That's a concerning thing for me. So my concern now is not that we lose global reserve currency status, but that we move into a more multipolar world. Right. Other currencies being used, demand for the dollar waning longer term. Longer term, that can put our position as global reserve currency under threat. So, you know, we've been talking about this for a long time. I think Biden put President Trump into a corner. We're trying to fight our way out, but it's a very, very tough battle.
Steve Bannon
What's the hardest thing he has to do? Because I'm expand the conversation to talk about this current war that's going on and particularly if it expands. But as you sit here today with, with all the policy levers President Trump is trying to do, and you just heard Joe Lavarnier from Treasury talk about some good news we're hearing at the get go.
J
Right.
Steve Bannon
Particularly about blue collar wages. What is the hardest thing you think President Trump and Bessant have to do to thread the needle?
Philip Patrick
It's, it's such a very tough question. If I had the answer to that, I may be sitting next to both of them.
Steve Bannon
Hold it. We had the answer. Philip, Patrick and Steve. I wouldn't be doing this. Philip wouldn't be there. We'd have the Patrick Bannon hedge fund.
Philip Patrick
There's no question about it. Look, I think it's all about creating incentives. And this is where politics and economics cross. If you ask me as an economist what we have to do, the answer is not politically viable. Right. What we have to do really is curb spending. We have to sort of generate more revenue. We've got to tighten the belt buckle. Ultimately, that's the way to do it. President Trump's strategy is a riskier one. Right. And that is to grow the economy and to do it at a rapid rate, faster than debt. But I don't envy President Trump's position. I've said before, if I left with his legacy in 2020, I wouldn't be back again because this is a much more difficult fight he has in front of him. But he's got to balance things in a way that I think is going to be difficult to do, but he's got to incentivize this. And I thought the trade deal he struck with the United Kingdom was genius, right? That was a way to sort of work China out of crucial supply chains while sort of maintaining good relationships with our European counterparts. I think that should be the blueprint for any future trade deal. So it's a tough one. I think curving deficit spending is going to be key. Trying to get a handle on the debt is going to be key. In growing the economy is going to be key. But we're in a very tough position. Look, it wouldn't surprise me, and you and I have said this for a long time, 20 years from now, people take an economics course. There's going to be discussions about the 60 year experiment from 1970 to 2030 with a global free floating, unbacked currencies and how it failed.
Steve Bannon
Right.
Philip Patrick
And I think ultimately that is the biggest problem. This is how every empire in history has collapsed and we're heading down that path.
Steve Bannon
Let's go back to that because the Financial Times talks about that too. And talking about Keynes, that there was a system in place really from the post war period, given the devastation. Remember, they didn't have a system in place really, you know, from World War I to the Second World War. And it was that people forget it wasn't just World War I that caused World War II. Keynes came to prominence because he wrote a book about the Versailles Treaty and he called it the Economic Consequences of the Peace where he kind of forecasted that, hey, there's some bad things going to come, particularly about reparations and debt in Germany and some of these countries not being able to pay this off, that maybe the terms were too tough and people didn't listen to him. And of course, when people ask about how Hitler came to power, Hitler came to power because of hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic. It really destroyed the currency. And when you destroy persons, when you destroy a country's currency, you really destroy the fabric of the country, do you not, Philip?
Philip Patrick
Patrick Yeah, absolutely. I don't think any historian disagrees with that position today. The Treaty of Versailles put the German people in dire straits and desperate people do desperate things, there's no question about that.
Steve Bannon
Philip, can you hang over a second? I want to hold you for another block. I get some other questions asked you about the current situation, particularly as President Trump goes through and looks through various alternatives to deal with this situation in Persia. Don't know if we're going to hear from the president or not tonight or not. Maybe even a press avail, etc. A lot of rumors going around. We're going to try to track them all down. Short commercial break. You got Philip Patrick of Birch Gold. Just take your phone out right now. Text Bannon B A N N Owen at 989-898. Get the ultimate guide for investing in gold and precious metals in the age, not the era, the age of Trump. It is pretty straightforward. It gives you access to Philip Patrick's team of Birch Gold. Short commercial break Philip Patrick on the other side, we rejoice when there's no more. Let's take down the ccp. There's a lot of talk about government debt, but after four years of inflation, the real crisis is personal debt. Seriously, you're working harder than ever and you're still drowning in credit card debt and overdue bills. You need Done with debt and here's why you need it. The credit system is rigged to keep you trapped. Done With Debt has unique and frankly brilliant escape strategies to help and your debt fast so you keep more of your hard earned money. Done With Debt doesn't try to sell you a loan and they don't try to sell you a bankruptcy. They're tough negotiators that go one on one with your credit card in loan companies with one goal, to drastically reduce your bills and eliminate interest and erase penalties. Most clients end up with more money in their pocket month one and they don't stop until they break you free from debt permanently. Look, take a couple of minutes and visit DoneWithDebCom talk with one of their strategists. It's free, but listen up. Some of their solutions are time sensitive so you'll need to move quickly. Go to donewithdebt.com that's donewithdebt.com Stop the anxiety, stop the angst. Go to donewithdebT.com and do it today.
Jack Posobiec
Here's your host, Stephen K. Band.
Steve Bannon
Okay, Philip Patrick, the geopolitical concern flight to quality we've had, you know, it's about volatility, it's about safe havens. There's all kind of rumor tonight that President Trump may come and address the nation. We have not heard anything official. Right. We know that people are viewing a range of alternatives including continue on negotiations, but give them a play me or trade me now. But if this continues down the path and clearly Israel is going to keep pounding the Persians and the Persians going to pound back. And if the oil assets and resources get hit down there by Basra and those massive fields down there, what's your sense of where this could head as far as financial markets and particularly gold.
Philip Patrick
Look, I think it's in our interest for President Trump to try and end this as quickly as possible. Obviously some of it, a lot of it's out of his control. But the longer this goes on, the worse it is for global financial markets. We saw an immediate response, obviously from energy markets. We saw a 7 1/2% spike in oil prices last Friday. On the back of that, obviously gold, the traditional safe haven when US Treasuries are not spiked as well. It drove drove up 1 1/2% on the back of back of that news alone. From a broader economic perspective, regional instability adds to fuel the existing inflation that's happening here in the United States and around the world. And it comes at a time when major economies are already strained. Right. Europe's in recession, China's growth is spluttering, and our own GDP in the first quarter was negative 0.53%. So I would say geopolitical shocks like this, they don't create an economic crisis, but they put pressure on financial system and makes the cracks worse at a time when we really can't afford to. So this isn't welcome news domestically for the economy, but I don't see where this goes. We've had sanctions on Iran since the 1970s. They don't appear to be stopping them pursuing a nuclear weapon. I don't know. Again, geopolitics is not my forte. From an economic standpoint, we've got to end this as quickly as possible. Otherwise it's going to be the catalyst for the Fed to keep interest rates where they are. That's the last thing we need from a debt standpoint and from a growth.
Steve Bannon
Standpoint in an era of future instability. And you just mentioned that, hey, people are going to study from 1971 to 2030 when you kind of had this floating yet fiat currencies out there, right, without anything really backing it up. In the article they talk about central banks have had this kind of fascination with gold here recently. And that's one of the reasons that the price of gold, we tell people it's not the price, it's the process. You got to learn what's in back of it. That's been very strong demand by central banks and we got the BRICS nations. In fact, you guys will be down there reporting from down there in Rio for the real reset. What is your anticipation of the appetite of the central banks to continue to purchase gold at kind of the rates that they've been purchasing it in the last couple of years?
Philip Patrick
I mean, look, the trajectory is not letting Up Gold buying is increasing. The biggest single quarter in world history was the fourth quarter of 2024. We saw a slight tail off first quarter of this year. But the trend generally is increasing and I think it'll continue to increase. We have to remember the traditional safe haven asset was U.S. government debt. Treasury specifically. What we are seeing now is demand for that debt is waning. Right. The Fed lowered interest rates on lowered interest rates. Borrowing rates on the 10 year went up 70 basis points. On the 30 year, 100 basis points, which is concerning. So I am of the belief that that trend will continue. And until another currency appears right, there is not a currency better than the dollar today outside of gold. Until that appears, I think central banks will continue increasing gold holdings. Let's not forget gold overtook the euro as the number two global reserve asset last year. My feeling is those trends continue.
Steve Bannon
Wow. Philip, how do people start to work with your team? How do they start to work with your team? Where do they go?
Philip Patrick
Of course. So very simple. Information is big for us as it is for you. So vertical.com forward slash Bannon or text Bannon to 989-898 either one. That will get them access to free information kits. How and why to buy precious metals today and importantly the installments at the end of the dollar empire. So Birch Gold, forward slash Bannon, they can reach me personally on getter at Philippatrick.
Steve Bannon
And people just remember that we don't get into it a lot, but Birch School's got all kind of methodologies and mechanism. 401ks, IRAs, tax deferred, all of it. Get into the details with them. We've partnered with these guys for four years now. It's been a great partnership because what we decided to do at the beginning is do something different and giving people information. So they understood the dollar, they understood currency, they understood what the prime reserve currency is, they understood gold and how important gold really is in the system, whereas a lot of people dismiss it. And as Philip said, it's had a better run in this century than any asset. Pretty. It's not what gold's really set up to do or done historically, but hey, you never know. Philip, Patrick, you guys over at Birch Gold are terrific and thank you for taking care of everybody.
Philip Patrick
Thank you for having me. Steve, good to see you.
Steve Bannon
If you get in with his team over there, it'd be a very good experience. Birchgold.com Go check it out today. Put promo code Bannon in there and you get all the free access to the information. Mike Lindell did You win or did you lose? The mainstream media told me you lost. I'm hearing from the alternative media, us that you won. What is it?
J
It's a big win. Everybody. My pillow. 100% innocent, vindictive. We got completely validated that we did nothing wrong. Never did anything wrong. And I want to tell you, Steve, the other part that the mainstream media media is telling you. These are this my statements. They said there's three of them that I made realize they were all after I was attacked. It's like being in jail and you bad mouth the guard, you're out and you're in jail and you weren't supposed to be there. They sued me first before I did anything. And you know what? It's the same team that called my pillows lumpy. Remember that? Same attorneys.
Steve Bannon
I remember.
J
Think I called them all. I called them all criminals. And you know what? They're coming after me for it. But we won, you guys. We keep fighting. And my pillow is here to stay. We're not going anywhere. And they asked me if I'm going to quit talking about securing our elections. Of course I am. And I wanted to get on here. I want to thank the war room policy, you guys. This is the last few hours we did this. You guys supported us. These wholesale prices right from our factory so we could support this trial. 49, 98. Get your free MyPillow 2.0 with any purchase tonight. Do it now. The last few hours of the sale go to mypillow.com. use the famous promo code.
Steve Bannon
War room.
J
Use that war room promo code. Get the Mike. Crowds is 50% off. Get all those Visa sheets, you guys. You guys deserve them. Get them all. 4998. Any size, any color. See if it's an exciting day for my pillow. I'm telling you, we're here to stay. Made in the USA promo code.
Steve Bannon
War Brother Will. The most powerful promo code in the world. We'll see you tomorrow morning. Stick around. The second hour of the War Room will be quite intense. You missed the IRS tax deadline. You think it's just going to go away? Well, think again. The IRS doesn't mess around. And they're applying pressure like we haven't seen in years. So if you haven't filed in a while, even if you can't pay, don't wait and don't face the IRS alone. You need the trusted experts by your side. Tax Network usa. Tax Network USA isn't like other tax relief companies. They have an edge. A preferred direct line to the irs. They know which agents to talk to and which ones to avoid. They use smart, aggressive strategies to settle your tax problems quickly and in your favor. Whether you owe $10,000 or $10 million, Tax Network USA has helped resolve over $1 billion in tax debt, and they can help you, too. Don't wait on this. It's only going to get worse. Call Tax Network USA right now. It's free. Talk with one of their strategists and put your IRS troubles behind you. Put it behind you today. Call Tax network USA at 1-800-958-1000. That's 800-958-1000 or visit Tax Network USA tnusa.com Bannon do it today. Do not let this thing get ahead of you. Do it today.
Release Date: June 17, 2025
Host/Author: WarRoom.org
Description: WAR ROOM: Pandemic, hosted by Stephen K. Bannon, delivers the most up-to-the-minute news and insights from medical experts, politicians, business leaders, and frontline responders. This episode delves into the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, economic policies under President Trump’s administration, and the shifting dynamics of global currencies.
John Bolton on Potential Action Against Iran's Supreme Leader [00:00]
John Bolton initiates the discussion by addressing the intelligence community's assessment of Iran's Supreme Leader's location. He states:
"We know exactly where the so-called Supreme Leader is hiding. He is an easy target but is safe there. We are not going to take him out kill. At least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin."
Bolton emphasizes the delicate balance the administration faces in deciding whether to take decisive military action against Iran's leadership.
Nikki Haley's Stance on Iran's Nuclear Ambitions [00:20]
Nikki Haley responds by expressing unwavering support for President Trump's judgment:
"I think for now is a term that I told us should understand in Trump world is ever changing... If we don't take out their nuclear program now, we'll all regret it."
She underscores the imperative of neutralizing Iran's nuclear capabilities, asserting that the regime poses a significant threat to regional and global stability.
Admiral James Stavridis Advises on Military Options [02:52]
Host Wolf Blitzer brings in Admiral James Stavridis to discuss possible military responses to the Israel-Iran conflict. Stavridis outlines three broad options:
"One is let the Israelis continue to pound away. Another one is put pressure on the Iranians by moving forces into the region, sort of set the table for strikes, but then use that leverage to get back to a negotiation. That would be option two. And then option three, of course, would be to conduct a strike."
He emphasizes the need for the President to receive comprehensive advice on each potential course of action, weighing both pros and cons.
John Bolton on Post-Regime Scenarios [03:57]
Bolton raises concerns about the aftermath of a potential regime change:
"What steps into the vacuum if the regime falls?"
He highlights the risks of a power vacuum, drawing parallels to the chaos experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan, and questions the viability of potential successor factions like Reza Pahlavi or the National Council for Resistance in Iran.
Nikki Haley on the Importance of Regime Change [04:42]
Haley counters Bolton’s concerns by focusing on the long-term benefits of dismantling the current Iranian regime:
"I hope it's eliminating. I would like to see this regime fall, but I'm going to leave it up to the President as to what to do and when to do it."
She argues that removing the regime will pave the way for true peace in the Middle East, drawing historical comparisons to Hitler’s Germany:
"What would happen in Germany if we took him out in the mid-30s. Well, I wish we had, because we know what happened when they let him stay in power."
Steve Bannon’s Critique of Mainstream Media Coverage [06:18]
Steve Bannon voices frustration with mainstream media narratives:
"This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people."
He criticizes media outlets for misleading the public and emphasizes the need for decisive action against Iran.
Joe Lavornia on Blue Collar Wage Growth [20:15]
Joe Lavornia, Special Counsel to the Secretary of Treasury, discusses the surge in blue collar wages under the Trump administration:
"In the first five months of this Trump administration, the annualized increase in real blue collar wages is almost 2%."
He attributes this growth to pro-growth, supply-side policies, including tax cuts and reduced illegal immigration, which have collectively enhanced workers' purchasing power.
Steve Bannon on Policy Drivers [21:58]
Bannon connects wage growth to broader economic strategies:
"This shows why the immigration policy, sealing the border and mass deportation is the beginning of that has all worked out."
He highlights the administration’s focus on supporting the working and middle class through targeted economic policies.
Philip Patrick on Economic Incentives and Deficit Management [39:33]
Philip Patrick from Birch Gold discusses the challenges of balancing economic growth with deficit reduction:
"I think it's all about creating incentives. If you ask me as an economist what we have to do, the answer is not politically viable. What we have to do really is curb spending. We have to sort of generate more revenue."
He underscores the complexity of sustaining economic growth while addressing national debt and deficits.
David Malpass on the Federal Reserve and Currency Stability [26:43]
David Malpass, former head of the World Bank, critiques the Federal Reserve’s monetary policies:
"They’re driving through the rearview mirror. Their models are really antiquated."
He advocates for a strong dollar as the global reserve currency and warns against the implications of a destabilized currency system.
Philip Patrick on Gold as a Safe Haven [32:31]
Patrick elaborates on the resurgence of gold in global financial markets:
"The trajectory is not letting up. Gold buying is increasing."
He points out that as demand for U.S. debt wanes, central banks are turning to gold to safeguard their reserves, reaffirming gold’s role as a premier safe-haven asset alongside the U.S. dollar.
Discussion on BRICS and the Rio Reset [50:29]
The conversation touches upon the BRICS nations' plans to challenge the U.S. dollar’s dominance:
"Philip, Patrick and Steve... discussing the end of the dollar empire and the importance of maintaining the dollar as the global reserve currency."
Patrick emphasizes the strategic importance of gold in countering the diminishing dominance of the dollar, especially in the context of geopolitical shifts and economic uncertainties.
Impact of Iran Conflict on Global Oil Markets [46:03]
Philip Patrick analyzes the potential ramifications of prolonged Iran-Israel conflict on global oil markets:
"Geopolitical shocks like this... makes the cracks worse at a time when we really can't afford to."
He warns that increased instability in oil-producing regions could lead to soaring oil prices, exacerbating global inflation and economic strain.
Economic Growth Amid Geopolitical Tensions [47:35]
Patrick stresses the urgency of resolving conflicts to prevent further economic destabilization:
"From an economic standpoint, we've got to end this as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it's going to be the catalyst for the Fed to keep interest rates where they are."
He links the resolution of geopolitical tensions directly to the sustainability of economic growth and monetary policies.
Steve Bannon on the Future of the U.S. Economy and Global Order [41:34]
Bannon reflects on historical economic systems and the current challenges facing the U.S.:
"This is how every empire in history has collapsed and we're heading down that path."
He draws parallels between past economic collapses and current vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for strategic economic and geopolitical maneuvers to preserve U.S. dominance.
Philip Patrick on the Multipolar World and Currency Shifts [42:53]
Patrick discusses the transition towards a multipolar world and its implications for the U.S. dollar:
"My concern now is not that we lose global reserve currency status, but that we move into a more multipolar world."
He highlights the strategic steps needed to maintain the dollar's prominence amidst evolving global alliances and economic policies.
Episode 4567 of Bannon’s War Room provides a comprehensive analysis of the intertwined nature of geopolitical conflicts and economic policies. The discussions highlight the critical decisions facing the U.S. administration in addressing the Iranian nuclear threat, the impact of these decisions on global markets, and the strategic importance of maintaining the U.S. dollar's dominance in the face of emerging challenges. Insights from key figures like John Bolton, Nikki Haley, Admiral James Stavridis, Joe Lavornia, David Malpass, and Philip Patrick offer a multifaceted perspective on navigating the complexities of international relations and domestic economic growth.
Notable Quotes:
John Bolton [00:00]: "We know exactly where the so-called Supreme Leader is hiding. He is an easy target but is safe there."
Nikki Haley [00:20]: "If we don't take out their nuclear program now, we'll all regret it."
Steve Bannon [06:18]: "This is the primal scream of a dying regime."
Joe Lavornia [20:15]: "In the first five months of this Trump administration, the annualized increase in real blue collar wages is almost 2%."
Philip Patrick [32:31]: "The trajectory is not letting up. Gold buying is increasing."
David Malpass [26:43]: "They’re driving through the rearview mirror. Their models are really antiquated."
This summary is intended for informational purposes and encapsulates the key discussions and insights from Episode 4567 of Bannon’s War Room. For a comprehensive understanding, listening to the full episode is recommended.