Podcast Summary: Bannon’s War Room – Episode 5029

Title: What Is Really Happening With Ukraine Negotiations
Date: December 29, 2025
Host: Steve Bannon | Guests: Jack Posobiec, Kurt Mills, Dr. Thayer, Rosemary Jenks, Mike Lindell, Harnwell, Philip Patrick

Overview

This episode takes a comprehensive look at ongoing Ukraine-Russia negotiations amidst continued warfare, American foreign policy priorities, and the so-called "America First" approach amid entanglement in multiple global crises. The discussion delves into whether effective progress is being made in Ukraine peace talks, the U.S. role and commitments in the region, the emerging deals in the Middle East, and the broader implications for American security. Notable contributors provide insider analysis, critique American and European leadership, and connect historical strategy documents with present events. The tone is urgent, skeptical of U.S. interventionism, and fiercely critical of establishment politics, with repeated allusions to the failure of globalist and neoconservative agendas.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ukraine Negotiations: Real Progress or Stalemate?

• Bannon expresses skepticism about the efficacy of current negotiations—Trump’s massive diplomatic efforts seemingly yielding little with Russia holding the upper hand militarily.
  • Bannon: “I don't see this thing getting done with. And Zelensky is talking about he asked for a 50 year security guarantee, sir.” (07:47)
• Kurt Mills frames the war as now being Trump’s responsibility, with the administration heavily invested in a resolution, but hamstrung by Russian intransigence and European reticence.
  • “The Russians are fine with the war continuing...This is win, win [for Putin].” (04:31)
• Mills and Dr. Thayer agree the previous “28-point plan” was closer to ending the war, but was derailed by intervention from “the globalists.”
• Dr. Thayer forcefully argues against U.S. security guarantees to Ukraine, warning it risks nuclear entanglement and ties down U.S. resources at the expense of confronting China.
  • “A security commitment is a pledge...including a nuclear. Employing our strategic nuclear arsenal to advance the particular end. So making a security commitment to Ukraine means we're pledging...to use nuclear weapons for Ukrainian security.” (11:07)
  • “The PRC wins if we make this strategic commitment to Ukraine. And we lose.” (13:37)
• Zelensky’s ask for a 50-year security guarantee is seen as theatrical, with 15 years being little better—a trap to draw the U.S. into indefinite commitment.

Memorable Quotes

• Kurt Mills: “This war was, I think, a strategic mistake by Vladimir Putin, but he's recovered from it and they're slowly grinding territory and they're able to project power deep into this country...” (04:31)
• Dr. Thayer: “It's as dangerous as the blank check that Germany gave Austria Hungary in July of 1914 that allowed Austria to escalate.” (13:58)

2. American Political Consequences & “America First”

• Bannon and Posobiec rail against what they see as U.S. prioritization of foreign interests over domestic ones, drawing frequent analogies with mass immigration and urban decline.
• Bannon asserts: “The eastern Russian speaking eastern border of Ukraine is, has nothing to do with the vital national security interests of the United States.” (06:17)
• The administration is accused of being distracted by foreign affairs, failing to wind down major wars, and being manipulated by the “globalists.”

3. Inside the Political & Diplomatic Stalemate

• Kurt Mills reports on a new alleged Ukrainian drone strike on Putin’s residence, further entrenching Russian hardline negotiating stances.
  • “This looks like a potential 11th hour...gum in the works here...we are at an incomplete point on this deal...” (17:09)
• Discussion moves to whether U.S. or European leadership can fundamentally alter the stalemate, with consensus that Russia is unwavering and European countries are unwilling and unable to commit more.

4. Middle East Dynamics & Netanyahu’s Agenda

• Netanyahu's visit to the U.S. is scrutinized: He seeks support for expanded operations in Gaza and positions American intervention as crucial to Israel’s interests.
• Turkish and Qatari roles are seen as undercutting Israeli ambitions and changing the regional power balance.
  • Kurt Mills: “...I think it's pretty clear for all the investment that Israel has put on Iran, meanwhile, sort of Turkish Qatari access has emerged that has checked Israel's ambitions in the region, and they're going to keep asking Washington to intervene on its behalf.” (31:07)
• Bannon and guests argue that the U.S. should resist automatic deference to Netanyahu’s demands, asserting that ongoing wars are now primarily useful for his domestic political survival.
  • Mills: “Netanyahu may be remembered as the greatest enemy of the Israeli people.” (34:39)

Memorable Quotes

• Bannon: “The Israel first crowd brought this on themselves. They've got a two state solution in Gaza with Qatar writing hundreds of billions of dollars and the Turks are going to provide security and they don't like that.” (24:35)

5. The “Two Georges” Theory & Root Causes of U.S. Foreign Policy

• Jack Posobiec presents his “Two Georges” theory: U.S. foreign interventionism driven by George Bush (war) and George Soros (globalist money agenda).
  • “George Bush pushing the war and then George Soros, the money extraction…” (22:15)
• Reference made to the “Clean Break” memo (1996) as the foundation of neocon foreign policy, with regime change wars pursued not for American security but for Israeli aims.
  • Kurt Mills: “...this is a memorandum that was prepared for future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Richard Pearl and David Wurmser...the Rosetta Stone of modern neoconservatism. Its goal…and the realm of course, was Israel.” (43:01)
• Posobiec draws throughlines from Iraq to Ukraine, critiquing “neocons” and the bipartisan foreign policy establishment.

Notable Exchanges

• Bannon: “Isn't a lot of this Israel first crowd just vehemently anti Catholic and anti Christian?” (25:08)
• Posobiec: “In our time, in times like this, we need to focus on the things that are higher than us, higher than our own interests, higher than our own self interests.” (26:14)

6. Broader Geopolitical Picture: China, AI, and Economic Alarm

• Dr. Thayer and Joe Allen warn about neglecting China as the real threat, with U.S. involvement in Ukraine serving the PRC’s interests by diverting American attention and resources.
• The episode briefly touches on the rising importance of AI, referencing growing public and political concern about its social and psychological ramifications.
  • Joe Allen: “Child protection laws, laws that insist that the companies, when they know the AI systems are causing AI psychosis, that they simply pull the plug and stop it.” (48:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On U.S. Commitments:
  • Dr. Thayer: “A security commitment is a pledge by the United States that it will use all of its might if necessary, including a nuclear [arsenal]...making a security commitment to Ukraine means...we’re making Ukraine the 51st state.” (11:07)
• On Neoconservatism and Israel:
  • Kurt Mills: “This is American officials writing for a future Israeli prime minister and sort of monolithic Israeli prime minister. Highly unusual. Very weird. Definitely not the pure pursuit of US national interest.” (43:12)
• On War Fatigue:
  • Bannon: “President Trump's put in a monumental effort. I mean, he should get the Nobel Peace Prize just on what he's done to date…” (06:59)
• On European Attitudes:
  • Bannon: “The Italians, Meloni talks a good game, but she doesn't put any money up ever. None of them do. That's why the Russians look at this and think it's a joke.” (09:54)
• On Political Reality:
  • Harnwell: “This is a defeat for the America First movement for the reasons that we've been saying right from the beginning of this war…” (19:27)

Important Timestamps

• 00:51 – Episode focus set: domestic priorities vs. foreign entanglement
• 03:16 – Immigration, domestic fraud, and parallels to foreign policy
• 04:31 – Kurt Mills’ opening analysis on the Ukraine situation
• 11:07 – Dr. Thayer’s warning on security guarantees to Ukraine
• 17:09 – Breaking news of possible Ukrainian drone attack on Putin’s residence
• 18:47 – Harnwell’s take on the “theater” of security guarantee durations
• 22:15 – Posobiec’s “Two Georges” theory introduced
• 24:35 – Discussion of Netanyahu's political maneuvers
• 31:07 – Kurt Mills on the regional power shift in the Middle East
• 34:39 – Mills on Netanyahu’s need for perpetual war
• 41:25 – Posobiec details the “Clean Break” and neocon strategy
• 43:01 – Mills contextualizes “Clean Break” and Israeli-American relations
• 48:19 – Joe Allen on AI and coming child protection laws

Structure & Flow

1. Opening Rant from Bannon about the failures of America’s political establishment and the outsized interests of “globalists.”
2. Main Segment on Ukraine: Progress update, skepticism about negotiations, and deep dives into the practical impossibility of victory or exit under current leadership.
3. Security Guarantees Debate: Dr. Thayer breaks down the perils of extended U.S. commitments and shifting focus from real threats (China).
4. Breaking News: Reports of a possible Ukrainian drone attack on Putin; increased pessimism for near-term peace.
5. Middle East Conversation: Analysis of Netanyahu’s objectives, U.S.-Israeli relations, and the broader strategy of sustaining regional instability.
6. Meta-Level Analysis: Posobiec's "Two Georges" theory, “Clean Break” memo context, bigger picture of regime change as a through line across recent decades.
7. Broader Issues: Immigration, AI, economic instability—how all connect to American leadership’s choices.

Tone & Takeaways

• Fiercely critical and combative, advocating for isolationism, skepticism of policy elites, and resistance to entangling alliances.
• Laments the co-opting of U.S. foreign policy by interests not aligned with core American needs.
• Calls for a moratorium or drastic reduction in foreign and domestic programs seen as corrupt or detrimental to ordinary Americans.

For Listeners:

If you missed this episode:

• The Ukraine war remains deadlocked, with Russia holding the initiative and America faced with impossible choices and internal pressures.
• The push for long-term U.S. security guarantees to Ukraine is seen by the War Room as both pointless and dangerous.
• Netanyahu presses for U.S. intervention on multiple regional fronts, but may be losing influence even among allies.
• Broader context provided for how decades-old strategies and figures continue to drive policy today—often not in America’s benefit.
• Recurring argument for a renewed “America First” focus that avoids entanglements, closes loopholes for fraud, and refocuses on domestic security and prosperity.

More Information:

• WarRoom.org
• TheAmericanConservative.com (for further writing by Kurt Mills)
• Human Events Daily (for Jack Posobiec’s “Tales of Regime Change” series launching at 2pm)