Bannon’s War Room – Episode 5034: WarRoom New Year's Eve Special 2025

Date: December 31, 2025
Host: Stephen K. Bannon
Guests: Ben Harnwell, Dave Brat

Main Theme & Purpose

This New Year's Eve special offers a sweeping and combative review of 2025, a year Bannon calls "historic" as it marks the return of Donald Trump to the presidency. The core discussions revolve around perceived existential threats to American identity, sovereignty, and Christianity, especially in the context of America’s geopolitical stance against China and the perceived "Islamification" of the West, marked symbolically by New York City's incoming Muslim mayor. The episode mixes reflection on recent “victories and defeats,” predictions about 2026, and fervent calls for political and spiritual mobilization.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The U.S. at War: China and Internal Challenges

• Opening Salvo: Bannon asserts the U.S. is in the "kinetic part of the Third World War" with China, blaming elites ("Mitch McConnells," Wall Street, tech leaders) for past weak policies that allowed Chinese dominance.
  • Quote: “We have to shut them down now. They're an existential threat… to all our allies, and they're a threat to the people of the United States.” (00:52)
• 'America First' Doctrine: Only by prioritizing American citizens and sovereignty ("America First") and with figures like Trump (“Washington, Lincoln, and Trump”) can the U.S. prevail.
• Practical Steps: Bannon outlines logistical and legislative actions for 2025-26: new sheriffs, ICE, camps, deportation orders, major media attention on ensuing court battles.
• Upcoming Firestorm: Predicts social and media upheaval in 2026 around massive deportations and social spending cuts—“You’re going to have to have a spine of steel.” (03:25)

2. AI, Tech, and Political Power

• Concern Over AI: Bannon warns of AI's governmental influence, referencing live anti-“AI preemption” messaging and the battle for internet safety legislation.
  • Quote: “This is not about speech… This is about power politics and what Charlie Kirk believed in to the core of his being, that America makes decisions for America and Americans make those decisions for America.” (06:15)
• Charlie Kirk as Martyr: Bannon frames the late Charlie Kirk as a Christian patriot, martyr, and saint, urging listeners to ask themselves if they are “next man up.” (08:41)

3. Islamification & the Left—New York as Flashpoint

• Texas Event: The War Room plans a Texas event focused on resisting "Islamification," inspired by trends in Europe (London, Paris) and symbolic developments in the U.S.
• New York City’s New Muslim Mayor: The impending inauguration of Zora Mamnani, the city’s first Muslim & South Asian American mayor, on the Quran, is discussed as emblematic of a broader ideological shift.
  • Quote (Bannon): “A Ugandan Marxist jihadist is going to take the oath of office tomorrow on a Quran.” (19:48)
• Media Framing: Ben Harnwell and Bannon criticize The New York Times’ “gushing” portrayal of Mamnani as evidence of elite preference for Islam over Christianity.
  • Quote (Harnwell): “The left and Islam… their alignment in opposition to Jesus Christ and his kingdom… That’s what unites the left and Islam.” (23:40)
• Call to Christian Action: Harnwell urges prayer, discernment, and action, framing this as a spiritual and cultural battle for Christendom.

4. Contrasting Worldviews: Christianity vs. Islam

• Dave Brat’s Analysis:
  • Lack of Democracy in Islam: Brat claims no Muslim-majority nation is a functioning democracy and denies the existence of human rights traditions in Islam as compared to the Christian roots of the U.S. Constitution.
    • Quote: “Show me the lines, connect the dots between the Quran and any significant document that shows me democracy or human rights… there is no Islamic country that has a human rights record at all.” (36:03)
  • Christianity & Minority Rights: Brat argues that removing the Bible from schools undermines the very book that "gave us the minority rights in the first place." (39:45)
• Spiritual/Philosophical Roots: Discussion of Christianity’s integration with rationality and Greek thought versus Islam’s top-down submission to authority.

5. Europe as Cautionary Tale; the Elite “Choosing Sides”

• Europe’s ‘Fall’: In Bannon and Harnwell’s view, Europe—Paris, London, Brussels—has succumbed to “Islamification” due to elite failure and loss of Christian grounding.
  • Quote (Bannon): “The elites in this country are choosing a side… in that article, they're choosing Islam.” (44:42)
• What’s Worth Defending? Harnwell distinguishes defending “Christian civilization” (rooted in revelation and tradition) vs. a post-Christian, secularized West.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Existential Framing:
  • Steve Bannon (00:52): “We have to shut them down now. They're an existential threat to… the people of the United States.”
  • Steve Bannon (03:25): “You're going to have to have a spine of steel. And besides Trump, show me these guys up on Capitol Hill has got a spine of steel.”
• On Charlie Kirk:
  • Steve Bannon (08:36): "Charlie Kirk is a Christian martyr and Charlie Kirk is a Christian saint. That is your legacy that you take up."
  • Steve Bannon (09:01): “Are you next man up? Are you going to fill the shoes of Charlie Kirk? Do you have the stones to do it?”
• Islamification Theme:
  • Steve Bannon (19:48): "A Ugandan Marxist jihadist is going to take the oath of office tomorrow on a Quran."
  • Ben Harnwell (23:40): "As separate notionally as the left and its LBGTQ agenda is from Islam... The most fundamental point between the two is the alignment in their opposition to Jesus Christ and his kingdom."
• Elite Media Critique:
  • Steve Bannon (35:16): “They're glazing Mandami. They're glazing the Quran. They're glazing Islam. And this is the paper of record in… this country. They are gushing all over it. It's sickening.”
• Christian Rationality vs. Islamic Authority:
  • Ben Harnwell (46:16): “Christianity as a religious force developed from three principal streams... the importance of rationality… it’s absolutely not there in Islam.”
• Call to Defend Christian Civilization:
  • Ben Harnwell (45:01): "I’m interested in defending Christian civilization, because that’s founded on the true revelation of God… Post-Christian civilization [is] just a make it up as you go along project which has been failing since… the Enlightenment."
• Bannon as Righteous Warrior:
  • Steve Bannon (12:23): “Pray for our enemies because we’re going medieval on these people.”
• End of Year Reflection:
  • Steve Bannon (12:51): “Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my country, this country will be saved.”

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00-06:14: Bannon sets the existential stakes: China, the need for mass deportations, Trump’s unique leadership, coming “firestorm” of 2026.
• 06:14-09:12: AI & tech power, Charlie Kirk’s legacy, call to spiritual and activist readiness.
• 18:33-25:16: Focus on Islamification and symbolism of the Quran being used at New York mayoral swearing-in; shift to the left’s alliance with Islam.
• 28:31-32:04: Detailed play-by-play of Zora Mamnani’s inauguration in NYC; discussion of political and media reactions.
• 34:37-39:45: Dave Brat’s theological, political, and economic contrasts between Islam and Christianity/Western tradition.
• 42:18–46:16: Bannon and Harnwell’s reflections on the historical roots of Christian civilization, Greek philosophy, rationality, and the spiritual contest playing out in the West.

Overall Tone & Language

• Tone: Combative, urgent, apocalyptic, religiously charged (“primal scream of a dying regime,” “medieval on these people,” “spine of steel”).
• Language: Repetitively frames issues as existential, spiritual, and cultural war; references martyrdom, sainthood, and biblical motifs; frequently disparages ideological opponents and elite institutions.

Summary Conclusion

This War Room New Year’s special doubles as a “state of the movement” address. It frames 2025 as a historic turning point reliant on aggressive populist-Christian activism against threats from “within and without”—China, the “Islamification” of American cities, and “post-Christian” elites. Bannon and guests combine political analysis with deeply religious, civilizational rhetoric, espousing “America First,” spiritual revival, and a redoubled fight in the coming year. The episode closes with renewed calls for audience engagement, vigilance against internal subversion, and the preservation of Christian America as the ultimate goal.