Episode 4899: American Cities Are In Collapse; The Decline Of Public Spaces And Commons

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bannon's War Room, Episode 4899

"American Cities Are In Collapse; The Decline Of Public Spaces And Commons"
Date: November 4, 2025
Host: Stephen K. Bannon
Guests: Ali Velshi, Jeffrey Tucker, Mike Lindell, Aaron

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Episode Overview

This episode of Bannon’s War Room centers on the perceived collapse of American cities, the breakdown of public spaces (“the commons”), and broader national decline. The conversation navigates law enforcement practices, the justice system's politicization, dependency on government benefits, and decaying urban environments. The discussion is spiced with election integrity, cultural commentary, and pointed criticisms toward Democratic leadership.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Politicization and Paralysis of the Justice Department

(00:00–02:15, 09:49–10:59, 39:22–41:37)

• Critique of Merrick Garland and the DOJ

  • Aaron reflects on how DOJ's attempts to appear "above politics" led to delays in investigating Trump-related allegations, suggesting the avoidance of partisanship prevented swift action:

    "Attorney General Merrick Garland... doesn't go to the Supreme Court, but becomes the attorney general for Joe Biden. And what he concludes is we have to stay away from looking partisan... But the problem was it delayed looking directly at the evidence that you all saw and knew that he was engaged in a crime to overturn a free and fair election." – Aaron (00:08)

  • The theme of DOJ being more careful than Trump’s DOJ but, ironically, ineffective as a result.

• Partisanship and the Erosion of Legal Norms

  • Multiple participants refer to the evisceration of sections tasked with public integrity:

    "They eviscerated the public integrity section... Corporate fraud, people that are losing tons of money, malfeasance... All sorts of teams like this... are getting gutted." – Aaron (04:45)

  • Justice is being performed “for PR” rather than focusing on systemic corruption.

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2. Law and Order vs. Civil Liberties

(04:59–06:51)

• Debate Over Police & ICE Raids

  • Criticism of aggressive law enforcement tactics, with Ali Velshi stating these haven’t gone “far enough” due to supposed interference by "liberal judges":

    "No, I think they haven't gone far enough because we've been held back by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama." – Ali Velshi (05:01)

  • Concerns raised about nonviolent individuals (landscapers, nannies, farm workers) being targeted for deportation, not just violent criminals.

• ICE & Border Patrol Overreach

  • Federal law enforcement agencies taking over roles that traditionally belonged to local police, leading to more draconian enforcement and lack of accountability:

    "...one of the most aggressive tactics we've seen have been from Border Patrol... it's not just that, you know, there isn't a whole lot of interest in hold holding agents accountable, but that there is affirmative rewarding of the agency that's been engaging in the most aggressive tactics." – Aaron (06:00)

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3. Voter Mobilization and Concerns Over Election Integrity

(06:51–08:58, 10:59–12:36, 44:23–46:11)

• Call to Action for Civic Defense

  • Bannon exhorts listeners to volunteer as election observers, create "voter buddy systems," and build local rapid-response teams:

    "The math is simple. The more people vote, the harder it is to overturn those votes... Build local rapid response teams, groups of ordinary citizens who show up... Your physical presence is a deterrent to improper and illegal behavior." – Stephen K. Bannon (06:51)

• Fears of Voter Intimidation by Federal Agents

  • Noting concerns that ICE could be deployed to polling places, potentially intimidating minority voters.

• Warnings about Constitutional Limits & “Third Term” Rhetoric

  • Bannon warns listeners not to let talk of a Trump third term go unchallenged, citing the 22nd Amendment:

    "A third presidential term is illegal, full stop... Section 1, which reads, quote, no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." – Bannon (07:53)

  • Discussion about efforts to re-litigate 2020 election outcomes and the role of the House in a contingent election scenario.

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4. SNAP Benefits, Food Security, and Industrial Corruption

(18:19–26:07, 24:09–26:07)

• SNAP (Food Stamps) as a Symbol of Dependency and Corporate Welfare

  • Jeffrey Tucker laments the U.S. panic over reduced SNAP benefits, viewing reliance on food assistance as evidence of national decline and industrial corruption:

    "It's a grave embarrassment... if it's true that we have to live off government subsidies is what 1 in 10 people in this country are doing... indicates a kind of a rot at the heart of the American soul." – Jeffrey Tucker (18:19)

• Roots of SNAP as Industrial Subsidy

  • Tucker explains how SNAP is fundamentally about subsidizing agriculture and food retailers, not truly about helping the poor:

    "It was an industrial subsidy run out of the Department of Agriculture. And today, the source of the panic... is actually coming from industry at two levels – the producer, and the retail seller." – Tucker (21:00)

• SNAP & Unhealthy Diets

  • Critique that SNAP dollars are largely spent on unhealthy, processed foods for the benefit of major corporate grocery chains.

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5. Collapse of American Cities & the Public Commons

(26:36–35:25)

• Deterioration of Urban Life

  • Tucker describes major American cities as “post-apocalyptic” nightmares plagued by drug addiction, homelessness, and unlivable public spaces:

    "We have to have clean commons... Our cities are in collapse. And we could talk about Manhattan, which is positively post-apocalyptic... Fentanyl freaks walking everywhere... smells to you." – Jeffrey Tucker (26:36)

  • Stark contrast between private, elite spaces and the decay outside:

    "You go into the private club, everything’s glorious... The big, thick steaks were perfect. Okay? Is that really how we're going to live? ...just retreat to your private clubs where the elites hang out and congratulate each other on having escaped the apocalypse outside the door. That’s not a world in which we live or want to live." – Tucker (30:50)

• Shift in Salt Lake City & San Francisco

  • Formerly pristine cities now afflicted by graffiti, addiction, and urban decay.

• Warning about Societal Fragmentation

  • Tucker and Bannon warn that elite detachment from public decay will ultimately backfire.

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6. The State of Democracy and Political Choices

(33:07–35:25)

• Poor Political Options in Urban Elections

  • Disdain for choices in New York's mayoral race, where voters face a dilemma between "Cuomo and a Marxist jihadist."

    "A good friend of mine tweeted out that Cuomo killed my dad and I’m going to be forced to vote for him anyway because I don’t want this jihadist Marxist Communist running the city. This is not the democracy that our founders imagined." – Tucker (33:55)

• Wealthy Retreat—The "Perfumed Stockade"

  • Ali Velshi summarizes the likely result: wealthy New Yorkers will “depart to Miami or they’ll live in their stockades... while the rest of the city and working class... get destroyed.” (35:25)

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7. The Broader Decline of Civic Trust and Institutional Integrity

(Throughout)

• The episode repeatedly highlights the loss of faith in institutions—DOJ’s ineffectiveness, civic decay, food industry corruption, and the feeling of being unrepresented by current political figures.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the DOJ’s Caution:

  "He was being so hyper careful, which is so ironic when you look at what's going on right now in the Justice Department. It's worse than I could have possibly imagined..." – Aaron (02:45)

• On Law Enforcement:

  "You have to get the people out. You know, you have to look at the people. Many of them are murderers... Many of them are people that were thrown out of their countries..." – Ali Velshi (05:12)

• On SNAP/Dependency:

  "Our greatest national holiday... is called Thanksgiving, and it's about our capacity to produce food for ourselves... SNAP benefits, food stamps ... runs contrary to the whole ethos of our greatest national holiday and the spirit of America itself." – Jeffrey Tucker (20:11)

• On City Decline:

  "This is not a civilized country... We need some... We need an emphasis in this country on our commons, on our public spaces. We can't even put benches in our train stations anymore because there's too many vagrants." – Tucker (27:42)

• On the Elite’s Response:

  "Everything's gleaming, perfect flower, fresh flower arrangements, well to do. People everywhere, they're hiding... They're hiding from the outside." – Jeffrey Tucker (32:10)

• On Hobson’s Choice in Elections:

  "Cuomo killed my dad and I'm going to be forced to vote for him anyway because I don't want this jihadist Marxist Communists running the city. This is not... the democracy that our founders imagined." – Tucker (33:55)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Justice Department's Approach to Trump Cases: 00:00–02:15, 39:22–41:37
• Law & Order Immigration Debate: 04:59–06:51
• Election Mobilization and Poll Defense: 06:51–08:58, 44:23–46:11
• SNAP Debate and Food Industry Corruption: 18:19–26:07
• Discussion on Urban Decay/Public Commons: 26:36–35:25
• New York City Electoral Dilemma: 33:07–35:25
• Institutional Analysis and Close: Throughout

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Tone & Language

• Urgent, combative, and deeply critical of current institutional leadership, matched with periodic sarcasm, nostalgia, and calls for grassroots action.
• Frequent blending of policy critique with cultural commentary, a conversational yet intense “war footing” style.

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a multi-faceted critique of American decline, especially regarding urban public spaces, institutional trust, and social cohesion. The conversation moves fluidly between policy analysis, personal reflection, and strategic activism, always urging listeners to engage, defend the integrity of elections, and resist both governmental and corporate overreach. The tone is combative, populist, and steeped in a sense of urgency about the future of civic and public life in America.

Transcript

[Stephen K. Bannon]

On just how the Biden Justice Department approached these cases surrounding Trump.

[Ali Velshi]

Talk to us about some what you found.

[Aaron]

You know what Aaron and I found an injustice was like a tragedy in three acts. And the second act is the Biden administration and its desire to turn the page. Attorney General Merrick Garland, well intentioned, incredibly respected jurist, doesn't go to the Supreme Court, but becomes the attorney general for Joe Biden. And what he concludes is we have to stay away from looking partisan. We have to do something different than what Donald Trump did and make sure that this institution is above politics. But the problem was it delayed looking directly at the evidence that you all saw and knew that he was engaged in a crime to overturn a free and fair election. A little bit more of what President Obama said just around this issue of how much worse it is basically than what people thought.

[Mike Lindell]

You know, a lot of people have asked me lately whether I am surprised at the direction the country has taken. And even though I'm the hope and change guy, I want to be honest with them. And so I admit to them that I have cause for deep concern. I admit to them that I'm worried about how quickly basic democratic rules and norms have been weakened. We don't need to speculate about the dangers to our democracy. They're here. We don't need to wonder if harm is going to be done to vulnerable people or whether the public conversation will become meaner and coarser. We're witnessing it. Elections matter, and they matter to you and they matter to your family.

[Ali Velshi]

We are being tested.

[Mike Lindell]

And what is remarkable about America.

[Ali Velshi]

Is.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

That.

[Ali Velshi]

It gives us the power.

[Mike Lindell]

As citizens to change this country. We all have more power than we sometimes imagine.

[Ali Velshi]

We just got to use it. So if you believe in that better.

[Mike Lindell]

Story of America, you cannot sit this one out.

[Aaron]

It drove me crazy how long they took and how long Garland took. He was being so hyper careful, which is so ironic when you look at what's going on right now in the Justice Department. It's worse than I could have possibly imagined as somebody who spent the formative years of my career in a criminal courtroom doing state and local crimes, as the elected DA in Kansas City, working with the feds. I want you to talk about what is going on in the District of Columbia right now. I don't think most Americans understand that it is the only jurisdiction in the country that handles violent crime, federal jurisdiction, because violent crime is handled by state prosecutors across America, not the feds. The FBI doesn't get a 911 call when there's A murder the local police departments do. And in D.C. those cases have always gone to a state system. And now Piro is trying to shoehorn low level state crimes into federal crimes with years in the penitentiary for stuff that in most jurisdictions in the country would get you maybe six months in the county jail. Well, you know, what is happening there? Well, I mean, a lot of the justice that we're seeing in the U.S. attorney's offices, especially in D.C. but also other big deal ones, New York, Newark, there is an effort to do justice for pr. You know, a lot of the US Attorneys that Donald Trump has chosen are moving to, you know, what's going to get me on TV and what's going to please Donald Trump. And it's not prosecuting corrupt public officials. Right. What we learned was Aaron and I, they eviscerated the public integrity section. They eviscerated places where we usually focused our energies. Corporate fraud, people that are losing tons of money, malfeasance. All sorts of teams like this, we learned, are getting gutted. And Donald Trump is doing that gleefully through his lieutenants like Jean Perot. More recently, Americans have been watching videos of ICE tackling a young mother, tear gas being used in a Chicago residential neighborhood, and the smashing of car windows.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

Have some of these raids gone too far?

[Ali Velshi]

No, I think they haven't gone far enough because we've been held back by.

[Mike Lindell]

The judges, by the liberal judges that.

[Ali Velshi]

Were put in by Biden and by Obama.

[Aaron]

You're okay with those tactics?

[Ali Velshi]

Yeah, because you have to get the people out. You know, you have to look at the people. Many of them are murderers. Many of them are people that were.

[Mike Lindell]

Thrown out of their countries because they.

[Ali Velshi]

Were, you know, criminals.

[Aaron]

Well, you promised in your campaign that you were going to deport the worst of the worst. Violent criminals, rapists. But a lot of the people that your administration has arrested and deported aren't violent criminals. Landscapers, nannies, construction workers, landscapers, farm workers.

[Ali Velshi]

Now, look, look, the family of UC landscapers and I need farmers more than anybody.

[Mike Lindell]

Okay.

[Aaron]

Is it your intent to deport people who do not have a criminal record?

[Ali Velshi]

We have to start off with a policy. And the policy has to be, you came into the country illegally, you're going to go out. However, you've also seen, you're going to go out, we're going to work with you, and you're going to come back into our country legally.

[Aaron]

Actually, very important that there's, there are multiple agencies involved. And the reason it's very important is because last week there was A major purge at ice with a lot of career ICE officials taken out of leadership roles and a lot of Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection officials being put in to oversee ICE offices in their place. The reason that that's really important, a lot of the most aggressive tactics we've seen have been from Border Patrol. That Evanston video that we showed earlier, that was, you actually saw the US Border Patrol patch on the sleeve of the man who was pinning down that protesting US Citizen. So it's not just that, you know, there isn't a whole lot of interest in hold holding agents accountable, but that there is affirmative rewarding of the agency that's been engaging in the most aggressive tactics.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Lesson one for 2025, pay attention right now so that you can mobilize fast. So what does that look like? Well, volunteer as a poll worker or an election observer. Register voters through local civic organizations. The math is simple. The more people vote, the harder it is to overturn those votes. Number two, create voter buddy systems, especially for neighbors who fear intimidation at the polls. One tactic experts are worried about is the potential deployment of ICE agents to polling places. You can see why some qualified Latino voters, never mind Latino voters, anybody who's a little bit brown like me wouldn't want to get caught up in a raid, thrown into detention until they can clear their names just for going out to vote. Build local rapid response teams, groups of ordinary citizens who show up, as they're doing in courts right now, at county meetings, at certification hearings, at voter drop boxes. Your physical presence is a deterrent to improper and illegal behavior. Follow what's happening in other states. That's why these elections on Tuesday are so important, whether you live in one of them or not. The military deployments, attempted voter purges, the election monitors, consider them all trial runs for the bigger play, the one that's going to happen right where you live. And finally, do not let Donald Trump and Republicans normalize talk of a third term. A third presidential term is illegal, full stop. So when that one uncle floats a third term loophole conspiracy over Thanksgiving dinner. Don't let it slide. And if your uncle insists that it's doable, hand him one of a pocket constitution opened to the 22nd Amendment, Section 1, which reads, quote, no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice. The second power grab is already underway. It's being rehearsed right now in Chicago's streets, at California's polling places, in courtrooms across the country. But we can stop it because we're reading the script. In real time and because we've stopped it before.

[Ali Velshi]

This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people. You're just not going to 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.

[Aaron]

And where do people like that go.

[Ali Velshi]

To share the big lie?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul.

[Ali Velshi]

I wish that any of these people had a conscience. Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

War ROOM here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[Ali Velshi]

It is Monday the 3rd of November in the year of Lord 2025 is the 5th anniversary of the big steal. Remember where you were about this time five years ago. Remember that. It's important that you do. It's important you remember everything about that because this fight is ongoing. It's not going to end with any one election. It's just not. It's not the way the country is. It's not the way the process of history happens to unfold. And we're going to have good days and we're going to have days that are not as good. Tomorrow may be one of those. I don't know. I spent all afternoon talking to folks in Jersey and the Commonwealth who are talking about, you know, huge representations tomorrow at the polls to get a big get out the vote effort. We'll have to see. It's President of the United States when we finish here at 7. The President's going to do back to back one at 7 and one at 7:30, closed to the press. But the President will will get on and do tele town halls in the Commonwealth, in Virginia and the state of New Jersey to try to assist and motivate. Everybody's got to get to work tomorrow. We're going to be here at 9pm tomorrow. Studio 6B is going to be right before us. They're going to kick off the coverage at 7 in front of a live audience up in New York. We will pick up with wall to wall coverage all over the country from everything from the judge situation in Pennsylvania to these constitutional amendments down in Texas for the state constitution. I think they are. And of course the five state senators, including Lee Wambsgans and others. California will be going through at least to midnight or to California's Call, or at least we can tell California. I think that'll be pretty evident coming right out of the box of where that's at it. Remember, they. President Trump's doing tele town halls because none of these groups wanted to integrate President Trump into their campaign because they say, well, he motivates the left. Well, they're going to do that anyway. All of this is to stop Trump, to thwart Trump in the age of Trump. You saw right there. So, Ali, here's your response. You know, Ali Velchi. And one thing I do admire about Ali, he's, I think, one of the hardest working guys in media. You can tell he always takes. If the. He gets a call to do the night show. He does a night show. He does Friday night sometime the 11 o'. Clock, you know, if Stephanie rules. Taking the night off. He used to do that and then be up. I think his show's 8 in the morning. It's a good show. It's a good show because he lays out what they're doing and there's not a lot of happy talk. You saw right there at the end. Is that the same motivational speech that we've given people a million times? Just the same way we got up off the floor in. We got up off the floor after Trump's election was stolen 20, 25 years ago and fought back with the precinct strategy, all that, you know, we're actually going to go to a. Donna Jean Godshaw, the singer for the Grateful Dead, Controversial because her and her husband came in after the Dead. What Europe tour of 72 after Pigpen. I don't know. Took some time off. Her father, her husband was a keyboard player. She was a singer. She started as a backup singer to the, to the. To Elvis Presley. She's the backup vocals here for suspicious minds from 1969. She died at, what, 76 years old. Incredible. Quite controversial. My buddies and I, who were Deadheads, had a big crush on her.

[Mike Lindell]

Her.

[Ali Velshi]

And they were not. They didn't think. They didn't think the Grateful Dead needed a female singer. Let's say that from 1969, suspicious minds. Donna Jean gotcha dead. I think it's 76 years old. We're gonna take a short break. You can enjoy this. We're gonna be back. Jeffrey Tucker joins us next in the War Room. And I will continue my rant with Suspicious Mind. And we can build our dream no.

[Mike Lindell]

Suspicious mind.

[Ali Velshi]

Won't let our love survive or dry the tears from the W.

[Aaron]

Let'S don't let a good thing die.

[Mike Lindell]

When honey you know I have never like you because I love you too much baby.

[Ali Velshi]

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[Stephen K. Bannon]

Do it today, Phil America's Voice Family Are you on Getter yet?

[Mike Lindell]

No.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

What are you waiting for?

[Mike Lindell]

It's free, it's uncensored and it's where.

[Ali Velshi]

All the biggest voice and conservative media are speaking out. Download the Getter app right now. It's totally free. It's where I put up exclusively all of my content 24 hours a day. Want to know what Steve Bannon's thinking? Go to Getter. That's right.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

You can follow all of your favorites.

[Ali Velshi]

Steve Bannon, Charlie Kirk, Jack Posobie and so many more. Download the Getter app now. Sign up for free and be part of the newfound. Okay, welcome. By the way, that song is so amazing. What I mean, Elvis Presley and what a. What a hit. What a song. Backup singer. We may have to play that one again. We are going to play some of her music from the from the actual dead. Like I said, it was pretty controversial, but and a Southern girl too, from Alabama, Jeffrey Tucker joins us now. Jeffrey, what I love about you, you're one of our. You and Roger Kimball. We got a handful of towering public intellectuals that are pure MAGA and pure Make America healthy Again. You had a. So I had two tweets to deal with the SNAP situation. I had the Viceroy, Mike Davis's, that was so snarky and so over the top. In fact, Michael Shea of Saturday Night Live retweeted it. It was so bad. And you had a very intellectual take on this. Talk to me. If we can put up that tweet. Talk to me. This tweet was very powerful about the American experience. You've really thought this SNAP thing through. And it's more than just, oh, let's get back in and pay half and do all that. There's something deeply, profoundly wrong about that. And there are people that need this, obviously. And, you know, it's not about color or race. There's a lot of white working class folks that need it. But there's something deeply troubling about this in the companies that make money off it and the big push to make sure it happens. Your thoughts, sir?

[Jeffrey Tucker]

Well, it's a disgrace that this country is a panic over the loss of SNAP benefits. It's contrary to American heritage. We're a nation rooted in agronomy. You need to read Thomas Jefferson to discover that we've abandoned that. And apparently we've abandoned some of the ethos that was attached to that, which was about the capacity of a people to feed itself with independence and dignity, not live off government handouts. So it's a grave embarrassment. And I think as a nation, we should be embarrassed internationally if it's true that we have to live off government subsidies is what 1 in 10 people in this country are doing. And I agree with you. And this is not the same thing as charity. It's one thing to have a soup kitchen or a pantry at the local church, that's good American stuff. But, you know, just grabbing your EBT and swiping your card all the time for your. For your free food and then getting mad when it doesn't arrive, that indicates a kind of a rot at the heart of the American soul. I said in my tweet that, you know, our greatest national holiday, the one that everybody truly loves, is not overtly religious. It's called Thanksgiving, and it's about our capacity to produce food for ourselves. That's what we're doing. That's what we're thankful for. We're thankful for God's bounty that we're able to produce with our own hands, and we celebrate that. It's quasi religious. It's more like part of our civic culture. But SNAP benefits, food stamps, the ebt, whatever you want to call it, runs contrary to the whole ethos of our greatest national holiday and the spirit of America itself in a separate tweet, which you hadn't. I don't know if you saw it, but I don't think people understand. This program's run out of the Department of Agriculture for a reason. It's always been an industrial subsidy ever since 1933 from the first New Deal subsidies. What happened is that the price of grain, the price of milk and all these things began to fall because of the Great Depression. And FDR saw a chance to both help industry and buy votes. Okay, so that was the origin with the Agriculture Adjustment act of giving out free food to people. So it wasn't really about helping people. This is not charity. It was an industrial subsidy run out of the Department of Agriculture. And today, a lot of the source of the panic and the screaming and the gnashing of teeth and all the hydrogen about this is actually coming from. From industry at two levels. One is the producer side, the overproduction of these grains, which. Which is a national problem stemming from the early 1970s. They need markets for this stuff. So the government is the market, and the other is the retail seller. And. And every retail grocery store is dependent very heavily right now on getting these industrial subsidies that come in the form of SNAP benefits. And then the politicians benefit because they keep a portion of the population dependent and compliant. And, you know, like you, Steve, yes, some people need them, and I'm all for that. You know, that's better that we. The nation has to be able to feed its people. But I'm just saying, structurally, this is. It highlights a grave problem in this country when you would have. In a country of free enterprise and independence and commerce and pride and the great thing called Thanksgiving holiday, adored all over the world, by the way, and legendary all over the world. Some of our greatest artwork comes out of Thanksgiving. Our greatest national civic culture stems from Thanksgiving. That you would have a population screaming, give us our free food. Don't take away my benefits. I think it just highlights a rot that we have to fix.

[Ali Velshi]

It was Peter Schweitzer when I was chairman of Government Accountability. And Peter is obviously the lead researcher and the author down there. He brought to my attention that the folks that drive this on Capitol Hill are not the poor people, because they don't really have a voice. It's both what you said. It's the candy and snack manufacturers, and it's the Walmarts. Right? Which. This thing's a racket now. You're. You're tied to. You know what I read in the press is that you've staffed the entire Maha movement inside the government. You're all for.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

I'm a puppeteer, Steve. I mean, I'm running everything here.

[Ali Velshi]

I said I knew. I know, Jeffrey. I didn't realize he was running that aspect of it. No, but you're very influential. You're going to be down at the Children's Health Defense Conference as we're going to do two days live from down there. You're a huge supporter. What I think Nicole Shanahan and Bobby Kennedy. One of the most important things that the movement has done is this direct connection between the soil and food and what we eat and how healthy or unhealthy we are. The SNAP is known as the most unhealthy. You know, they're buying the most unhealthy food in the world and they've tried to stop it, but who knows if it's being stopped or not. What do we say when we have an industrial. I think it's 25%. 25%. 25% of Walmart's like operating profits come out of SNAP benefits because they're buying the high margin, you know, junk that we put in our system. How can we really make America healthy again and force some radical changes to SNAP besides kicking off all the illegal aliens, but make sure if people are going to use this benefit that it's really that they're eating clean?

[Jeffrey Tucker]

Yeah, well, I agree that we do need some kind of way to channel these benefits into healthier food. In the long run, that's better for people and it's better for the system as a whole. It just doesn't make sense the way the system works right now, where the worst food gets the highest subsidies courtesy of the taxpayer. An industrial subsidy to the snack food industry is not really what we should be going for. So I agree with that. It's not the regenerative farmers who are benefiting from SNAP benefits, by the way. It's all the kinds of things that are being produced with subsidies in any case, and probably wouldn't really be produced without them. So the whole system is just kind of an industrial racket. I think you described it really well. And that's what people. I tell you, Steve, I've changed my mind about a lot of people things over the last few years. But one of the things I've come to realize is how much of government is actually industry. You know, once you begin to look at it, there's. There's not this sort of separate thing called government that's seeking to do Good for the people. What it is is a series of industrial cartels using levers of power to gain profits at public expense. Right. So once you conceive of government that way, and I promise you, no textbook describes it that way. Right. You're not going to read about this by the great political philosophers. They won't tell you this, but that's the on the ground reality of Washington. It's there to serve big business and big industry and the big industrial players. They're the people with power in Washington. That is just. And that's true throughout public health especially. It's true of pharmaceuticals, but it's also true in agriculture. And that's the really great contribution that Nicole Shanahan, RFK and many others have made, is helping me see that and helping other people see that you have.

[Ali Velshi]

A keen eye for the culture. Would you agree? And I think Mondame this election, he should have, if he can close it tomorrow. I think Cuomo is definitely closing because I think people now awaken to the panic here. We used to be in managed decline by the elites. Are there aspects you're seeing now? We got about a minute here, and I'd love to hold you through the break that you see that we're actually more rapid decline or maybe even free fall in certain areas.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

Well, okay. Well, I thought you were going to say one of the good parts and I was preparing a little talk on that. But you want to talk about decline, the decline of public spaces and our commons. I mean, we have to have clean commons. We have to have clean streets, clean air. We have to have safe places to walk. Our cities are in collapse. And we could talk about Manhattan, which is positively post apocalyptic. I showed up in a suit the other day walking around Moynihan train station. People looked at me like I've been dropped out, dropped. Dropped from the 1880s or something, like from another planet, you know, it was a scary place with fentanyl freaks walking everywhere. I didn't want to describe the smells to you. I wish I had an N95. I wouldn't wear one in Covid, but I wanted to wear one in Manhattan the other day. This is so terrible. And other cities, of course, San Francisco, we could talk about Salt Lake. It's a major problem. We need an emphasis in this country on our commons, on our public spaces. We can't even put benches in our train stations anymore because there's too many vagrants that would just come in and move in there.

[Mike Lindell]

That's a great.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

This is not a civilized country. We need some.

[Ali Velshi]

Jeffrey, hang up. Hang for one second. I will hold you through the break. Jeffrey Hunter's with us. Take a short commercial break. When you're buried in credit card and loan debt, it's only human nature to put it off and say, hey, I'll deal with this later if that's you. Here's a hidden fact the debt strategy experts at Done With Debt shared with me. They discovered a little known strategy that works in your favor to dramatically reduce or even erase your debt altogether. They aggressively engage everyone you owe money to in September and here's why. They know which lenders and credit card companies are doing year end accounting and need to cut deals. They even know which ones have year end audits and need to get your debt off the books quickly. That means you need to get started with Done With Debt now. Done With Debt accomplishes this without bankruptcy or new loans. In fact, most clients end up with more money in their pocket the first month. Get started now while you still have time. Go to donewithdebt.com and talk with one of their specialists for free. Donewithdebt.com donewithdebt.com Take advantage of this. These people are aggressive, they're smart and they're tough. You want them on your side. Donewithdebt.com here's your host, Stephen K. Band. You know, Jeffrey, for you to say that is kind of shocking because Monahan Station, where they took over the old post office was this multi billion dollar redo to get rid of the, to get out of Penn Station. And you're saying now and you also said, hey, we had our gala out in Salt Lake, but Salt Lake has got certain third world. You know, it looks like a third world country in a lot of it. I spent five days of they were shocked what I saw in Salt Lake City, particularly a number of LGBTQ flags versus American flags. Your thoughts, sir?

[Jeffrey Tucker]

Well, I had scheduled our conference in Salt Lake because I had memory from 10 years ago and the place has been transformed. Between the graffiti and the fentanyl addicts wandering the streets, it's really a different kind of place. Wasn't what I expected and very sad. Although this keeps happening, right? I mean, a few weeks earlier, I was in San Francisco. I went there as a child. It was a gleaming perfection of beauty. I mean, the greatest city a child can ever imagine. Everything was beyond belief, like a dream. And now it's just this post apocalyptic nightmare with all the predictable smells. But nothing compares with Manhattan. Around the four blocks surrounding the Moynihan train station Where I was saying that I wished I had a mask. I never wore a mask during COVID but I wanted one that day. Because there are three competing smells in Manhattan today. Urine. Because you can't have any public bathrooms. Forget that. You can barely have private bathrooms. And then weed, of course, which, you know, the pot shops are everywhere. Everybody's addicted. And then you have the sewage, the trash problem. Just getting rid of the trash. They can't even do that. Everything is broken. Everything's scary. People look like hell. I was wearing a suit and tie, and I felt like a freak. I mean, I was worried. And, you know, here's the thing, Steve, that bothers me about this. I was headed to a private club, okay? I walk into the private club. Everything's gleaming, perfect flower, fresh flower arrangements, well to do. People everywhere, they're hiding. They're hiding. They're. They're hiding from the outside. So you go into the private club, everything's to going glorious. Listening to Schubert, looking at fresh music, fresh flowers. The. The big, thick stakes were perfect. Okay? Is that really how we're going to live? I don't think a civilized people can live this way with collapsing commons. And so you just retreat to your private clubs where the elites hang out and congratulate each other on how for having escaped the apocalypse outside the door. That's not a world in which we live. Why want to live? And Manhattan's a strange place because you've got this collapsed core that's so horrible. So the rich people can move up to the Upper east side and Upper west side and say, oh, at least we're away from that. It's not going to be our problem. Well, I'm telling you, it is going to be your problem. It's going to keep creeping up on you. We don't know what's going to happen in this mayoral race. But, you know, we could find that what you see in the worst parts are going to be all the parts pretty soon. I'm just saying we have a common interest in protecting the commons. And the health of our society very much traces to the health of our cities. And whether you can walk down the streets safely, feel pride in your gardens and the cleanliness of your streets. This is a very important part of what it means to be a healthy city society. And I feel as if something has happened and I'm not sure when it happened. Seems like it's happened over the last five years or so that we as a country have just decided to forget it. We don't care as Long as we can hide out with our private club membership cards and get away from the rabble, then that's gonna be fine. Who cares? Who cares what happens to the rest of the country? I think this is a really bad idea.

[Ali Velshi]

You have to be torn because you kind of came to national prominence. Brownstone and yourself. I remember we would have you on at the beginning of the pandemic. You were one of the first voices that came in, particularly calling out a guy that was known as Governor Cuomo at the time. Tomorrow your real choice is between. Because Sleev was so far out of it is really between Cuomo and a Marxist jihadist. What will happen in New York City, the greatest city in the world, when the results of that. A guy who mangled New York City during the COVID experiment. And your choice is for a Marxist jihadist that the New York Times yesterday or on the site has got the. He did a march at dawn from Brooklyn and they're just praising him. It's like Mao Tse Tung in the beginning of the long march, sir.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

Yeah. If that's the hope for the Democrats, I don't know if there's any future to this party whatsoever. I don't understand how it is that Cuomo emerged at the top of the pack. I don't follow New York politics too closely, but that man has been thoroughly discredited ever since COVID And what a painful decision for people to make. A good friend of mine tweeted out that Cuomo killed my dad and I'm going to be forced to vote for him anyway because I don't want this jihadist Marxist Communists running the city. This is not. This is not the democracy that our founders imagined we would have. The idea was that we're supposed to have high quality people that would come to represent our interests in the halls of government. But this is. This is a grim choice. I'm very worried about the future of New York. George Will's out there saying, oh, it's fine. We need a test and. And disaster economics every 20 years or so just to be reminded. So I don't really agree with that point of view. I don't think that that's the way a free and dignified people should think. I'm not willing to put up with that. I think we need to fight. We need to fight for our common spaces, fight for our cities and all of our cities, whether it's Portland or, or San Francisco or Salt Lake or Manhattan, Chicago. We can't just let them fall apart.

[Ali Velshi]

No, but the wealthy will either depart to Miami or they'll live in their stockades. You know, they used to call the Upper east side the perfumed stockade. Right. That's what they will do while the rest of the city and the working class in the city get destroyed by either of these guys. But particularly Mondami is very dangerous. Brownstone, you've made this now a major institution on the right. How do people get there and how they follow your Twitter feed, sir, is worth the price of admission. So where do folks go?

[Jeffrey Tucker]

Yeah, jeffrey8tucker on x I'm always posting and then brownstone.org I also write every day for Epoch Times as you know, but brownstone.org is my, is my true love. It's been identified by our friends in the mainstream press as the Great Conspiracy. The most, the most powerful and influential Washington institution in Washington. You know, I like to like to think I'm always on the phone with reporters trying to convince them. No, I'm just a mild mannered guy who writes stuff, you know.

[Ali Velshi]

At Epoch Times alone you're a bomb thrower. That's the best, that's the best newspaper in the country. It's called the best broadsheet. It's just the best newspaper now, sir. Thank you so much brother Tucker.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

I look forward to seeing you next week. Okay, bye bye.

[Ali Velshi]

Thank you sir. We got so much going on tomorrow night. Studio 6B is going to take the coverage. I think it's seven o', clock, they're going to go to nine. They're going to have a live audience up in New York. We're going to pick it up at 9 and all your favorite RAV folks will be here throughout the country recovering everything because we know you're interested in everything. And this is the tee up to 2019, so make sure you're around tomorrow. It's going to be, you're going to have a great time. If you've liked our specials in the past or our legendary election night coverage, be prepared for this. And we've got people deployed everywhere so it's going to be just fantastic. We're also going to bring in a bunch of other analysts and observers. So it'll be wall to wall as we cover everything from Manhattan and New York City in the environs to Jersey. So the Tri State area is going to get a real workout tomorrow. Of course my beloved Commonwealth of Virginia out to California. Politico has a piece up. I put it up on. I think I just put it on getter if Elizabeth can check. I think I put on a little while ago about Newsom, his I think they call his APEX moment. You got to hand it to him, if he pulls it off tomorrow, he timed this perfectly and he jumped into the fight, which a lot of them haven't. So we'll be covering that Waldo ball also. And down in Texas, Pennsylvania, all throughout the country, birchgold.com we've taught you, I think, over the last couple years what a hedge is and how gold, physical gold particularly has been a hedge for 5,000 years of mankind's history, has particularly become a hedge, I think since fiat currency here in the good old United States of America. And now more than ever, you need to think it through yourself. We're not here to sell you fish. We're here to teach you how to fish. That's a whole philosophy in back of the war room. Make sure you go check out. We got seven free installments. Like I said, we're working on an eighth and looking also to maybe do a town hall or some live. I want to get with Philip Patrick and do some live things, get some questions from the audience and have some back and forth about not just gold but capital markets, the economy, where everything's going. But go to birchgold.com promo code Bannon to get the end of the dollar empire. Like I said, seven free and six installments. We're coming out. We have a physical version of it that we're going to come out with and figure out how to get in your hands. So really want to make sure you go over there and to get to know Philip Patrick and the team. If we can do one thing, we're going to ask my young charge here. Can we play the opening of the long cold open? The very first clip was one that I found quite, quite interesting. Can we go ahead and play that.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

On just how the Biden Justice Department approached these cases surrounding Trump?

[Ali Velshi]

Talk to us about some what you found.

[Aaron]

You know what Aaron and I found, an injustice was like a tragedy in three acts. And the second act is the Biden administration and its desire to turn the page. Attorney General Merrick Garland, well intentioned, incredibly respected jurist, doesn't go to the Supreme Court but becomes the attorney general for Joe Biden.

[Ali Velshi]

Biden.

[Aaron]

And what he concludes is we have to stay away from looking partisan. We have to do something different than what Donald Trump did and make sure that this institution is above politics. But the problem was it delayed looking directly at the evidence that you all saw and knew that he was engaged in a crime to overturn a free.

[Ali Velshi]

And fair election Overturn a free and fair election. Of course, the Washington Post. Post. Good old Washington Post. And it's with Isaac Ornstorf. Remember, Isaac was the guy that wrote finish what we started about the precinct strategy and those in that precinct strategy and that becoming one of the elements of President Trump's political movement, the MAGA movement. Also becoming essential, like 2022 and 2024, for ground game. You see right there? Free and fair elections. That's their mantra. Free and fair elections. Well, if we seize the ballots down in Georgia and get on with it, you're going to find out something in Georgia and in Arizona and Michigan, also Pennsylvania. But there they destroyed the evidence because we allowed them to destroy the evidence. And if it hadn't been for these heroes down in Georgia, the Caroline Jeffords and folks like that that fought for years because today's the fifth year anniversary of it, if it had not been for them, the evidence would have been destroyed down there. There are plenty of receipts, and the receipts are going to show you one thing, which we said day in and day out in 2020, in November and December and January, that you could not certify the 2020 election in certain states, and you particularly could not certify the Biden electors. What does that mean? It means the election got kicked into the House of Representatives for what's called a contingent election. Cleta Mitchell, I love her, but the other day when we had this discussion, she mentioned, oh, no, they're going to pass a state thing and have a reelection on that January 3rd when they had the runoff for the two senators. No, no, no, no, no, no. You're not going to do that. It is impossible. You get one time to vote in a presidential election. Once that's done, once that's said and done, that's it. If there's any discrepancies, if there's any. Can't certify. If you don't get to 270, then guess what? It gets kicked. There's a process. It gets kicked to the House of Representatives and then you vote by state party delegation. What I mean by that, there's 50 states, there's 50 delegations, and it's, you know, it's a majority rule. So if the Republicans have a majority in a state, let's say, like in Missouri, it'll go to the Republicans. If the Democrats have a majority, like in California, even before the redistricting, it goes to the, it goes to the, it goes to the Democrats. And not 52 votes, one vote. And so President Trump would have won. Think of that time. It was 26, 231 if memory serves me correct correctly. Anyway, short commercial break the fifth anniversary of the big steel here in the war Room. Have you looked at your power bill lately? Electricity prices are at all time highs and they're only going up even worse. Power outages are becoming more and more common. In fact, according to the Department of Energy, Blackouts could increase 10,000% over the next few years. If you don't have a backup generator for your home, it's time to get one. The one I Recommend is the Grid Dr. 3300 solar generator from our friends at my Patriot Supply. Unlike gas generators, it's quiet, fume free and safe to use indoors. Yet it's powerful enough to run almost everything in your home. And with the free solar panel included, you'll have unlimited off grid power to outlast any storm, blackout or grid failure. Best of all, you can get the grid Dr. 3300 for zero down and as little as 104 bucks a month when you shop at my patriotsupply.com Bannon that's right, 3300 watts of backup power delivered to your door for zero dollars down. See the page for more [e-mail] Bannon that's my patriotsupply.combannon this electricity issue is huge. Deal with it today with the Grid Dr. 3300 from MyPatriotsupply.com Bannon1 for 2025.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Pay attention right now so that you can mobilize fast. So what does that look like? Well, volunteer as a poll worker or an election observer. Register voters through local civic organizations. The math is simple. The more people vote, the harder it is to overturn those votes. Number two, create voter buddy systems, especially for neighbors who fear intimidation at the polls. One tactic economic experts are worried about is the potential deployment of ICE agents to polling places. You can see why some qualified Latino voters, never mind Latino voters, anybody who's a little bit brown like me wouldn't want to get caught up in a raid, thrown into detention until they can clear their names just for going out to vote. Build local rapid response teams, groups of ordinary citizens who show up, as they're doing in courts right now, at county meetings, at certification hearings, at voter dropboxes. Your physical presence is a deterrent to improper and illegal behavior. Follow what's happening in other states. That's why these elections on Tuesday are so important, whether you live in one of them or not. The military deployments, attempted voter Purges the election monitors. Consider them all trial runs for the bigger play, the one that's going to happen right where you live. And finally, do not let Donald Trump and Republicans normalize talk of a third term. A third presidential term is illegal, full stop. So when that one uncle floats a third term loophole conspiracy over Thanksgiving dinner. Don't let it slide. And if your uncle insists that it's doable, hand him one of these. A pocket constitution opened to the 22nd Amendment, Section 1, which reads, quote, no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice the second power grab.

[Ali Velshi]

Okay? When they hand that to you, that constitution, tell them, yo, Article two powers. They've gone to the Supreme Court, I don't know, a dozen times to try to stop Trump. We're on a winning streak. Of course, Wednesday we're going to cover the oral arguments of the tariff, which is another big one. But the Roberts court has said, and tell them this. Yo, Uncle Ali, it's saying these are political issues. I'll play again tomorrow. Lutic, remember Lutic this morning on the cold open saying, it's not a political issue. It's not a political issue. It's not a political issue. They're nervous because they know what the Supremes are going to do. No, Ali, write this down. Take that number two principal out and write this down. As the top constitutional lawyer in this country told me, quote, you could drive a Mack truck through the 22nd amendment, end quote. Sorry. Not sorry. It's only, it only comes into play when it gets litigated. And will this even get litigated? I don't know. This is ludic. This is why he's in there. It's gonna be. It's not political. It's not political. It's not political. What Roberts court said on everything besides the 90 immunity and the 90 about taking him off the ballot in Colorado, we've won virtually, I think we won every case, but I'll say virtually every case at the Supreme Court because they're saying it's a political issue. We're not the Warren Court, we're not activists, so deal with it. Mike Lindell, I'm already getting, you know, I'm already, my early search radar has already told me you're running around D.C. burning things down. What's going on, sir?

[Mike Lindell]

Well, a lot of senators and stuff involving Arctic frost. It seems like, Steve, a long time ago, but just yesterday, five years ago, when my life changed forever. I've spent the last five years, virtually every day of My life trying to secure our elections and get to the same day voting, paper ballots, hand counting, precinct level, signature required, you name it. And then to find out, my own government attacked my pillow and myself, myself relentlessly to destroy not just my voice, but everybody else's voice out there. That's what it was all about. So, and we're finding out a lot of stuff. More and more stuff is coming out everybody and, and but like I say, it's been, it's a miracle my pillow still here. You guys have all made that been big part of that. Our faith to keep going and not stop, you know. And by the way Steve, I don't know if you know, my pillow I believe was the only company, the only private company just attacked to just destroy him. My banks were called, you guys to debunk us. My vendors overseas, their banks were called to say don't do business with my pillow. My merchant server, I mean this went on and on and on. It's just disgusting as I find more out. But you guys got us through and they said it goes back to all the cancellations too. So the sale we're having, you guys, is it Made in the US sale? What a time for that. All of our pillows, our mattresses, our mattress toppers, all these things we make right here. Every part of 100 made in the USA and then you get any products that work, they actually get you the best night's sleep ever. So those are all on sale up to 80% off. And then if you go to mypillow.com war room we 50% off or more sales. So you guys, the stuff that's on there like the, the My pillow per kill bed sheets, we still have some of them left. We're closing them out with the Warmer Policy 2988. Any size, any color. The big news though, you guys, completely with the, with the My pillow or the My pillow towels. The towels, the my towels, the six piece sets, all the new colors came in four days ago. You guys get on those for Christmas gifts. There's the made in the USA socks. Remember we have over 250 products now. We've expanded our product line. They're all on sale for the war room posse. Some more than so many of them are war room exclusive because you guys have helped us get through. So go to mypillow.com forward/warm. Use that promo code war room or call 800-873-1062 and use promo code war room. And Steve, it's great to, great to be here. In your city here getting, getting this done. I'll tell you, it's amazing.

[Ali Velshi]

We're just visitors. We're just passing through. Mike Lindell. We'll see you tomorrow morning in the 10 o'.

[Mike Lindell]

Clock.

[Ali Velshi]

10 or 11 o' clock hour, depending on your travels. Mike Lindell. Put the black flag up. The warning. Mike Lindell's here. We're gonna. By the way, she was 78 years old. Of course you can car. You can shave a few off. My mom did. We really didn't learn her real age until my mom passed away. 78 years old. Donna Jean Godshaw. We're going to leave with Ramble On Rose. I think right here, one of her great backups. Let's go and let her rip. Stick around for the 6 o' clock hour in the war room.

[Jeffrey Tucker]

In cheer.

[Ali Velshi]

The grass ain't.

[Aaron]

Sweeter either side of the year.

[Ali Velshi]

Did you say your name? Rambling. Ramble On. Okay, let's be honest. You never thought it would get this far. Maybe you missed the last IRS deadline or you haven't filed taxes in a while. Let me be clear. The IRS is cracking down harder than ever. And this ain't gonna go away anytime soon. That's why you need Tax Network usa. They don't just know the irs. They have a preferred direct line to the irs. They know which agents to deal with and which to avoid. They're expert negotiators. Have won gold. Settle your tax problems quickly and in your favor. Their team has helped clear over $1 billion in tax debt. Whether you owe 10,000 or 10 million, even if your books are a mess or you haven't filed in years, Tax Network USA can help. But don't wait. This won't fix itself. Call Tax Network USA right now. It's free. Talk to a strategist. And finally, put this behind you. Call 1-800-958-1000. That's 1-800-958-10000 or visit tnusa.com bannon make sure you tell them, Bannon. You'll get a free evaluation. That's 1-800-958-1000. Do not let letters from the IRS or your failure to file work on your nerves anymore. Take action, action, action. And do it today.