Podcast Summary: Bannon's War Room

Episode 5076: Globalists Warning To President Trump; Tech Oligarchs Still In Bed With Foreign Interests
Date: January 17, 2026
Host: Steve Bannon (WarRoom.org)

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on escalating geopolitical tensions at the US northern border, particularly concerning Canada’s developing ties with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The panel analyzes the strategic implications for US national security, especially regarding key Arctic routes and NORAD. The second half dives into the role of American tech oligarchs in enabling China’s AI and semiconductor ambitions, as well as the policy fights emerging in Congress over chip exports. Throughout, Bannon returns to the “America First” doctrine and issues warnings to both US and Canadian elites regarding national sovereignty, hemispheric defense, and the dangers of economic entanglement with the CCP.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Canada’s Strategic Shift and CCP Influence

• Bannon introduces Canada as a mounting security concern for the US, alluding to recent events where Canadian leaders, such as Mark Carney, “kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party” [00:53], and framing this as a “huge issue” for President Trump.
• Chris Tomlinson (National Pulse) outlines the geopolitical landscape:
  • The importance of Greenland, the Panama Canal, and especially Canada in hemispheric defense.
  • Warns that Canada’s deal with the CCP might serve as a pressure tactic toward the US, especially after failed trade negotiations, blaming "Ontario Premier Doug Ford...publishing doctored footage" [01:48].
  • Emphasizes the Northwest Passage as a new, traversable Arctic trade route due to global warming, increasing its value for commerce and military positioning [03:39].

Quote (Tomlinson, 03:39):
“China realizes...if you control the choke points of trade, you control the world.”

2. Arctic as the "Great Game" of the 21st Century

• Bannon calls Arctic control “the great game of the 21st century” [05:11], likening Chinese expansion to both Mackinder (land power) and Mahanian (sea power) theories.
• Brian T. Kennedy gives historical context:
  • During the Cold War, the US had war plans to invade Canada if it fell to Soviet control — “it would be intolerable to have a foreign power above our northern border” [06:51].
  • Expresses alarm at Canada’s potential “strategic partnership with a known enemy,” and calls for immediate reevaluation of "Five Eyes" and NORAD cooperation.
  • Raises the specter of Chinese troops potentially operating in Canada under military pretenses [08:00].

Quote (Kennedy, 06:51):
“We're going to have to reevaluate that Five Eyes relationship with Canada today, not next week, not next month.”

3. Canadian Political and Demographic Change

• Bannon and Kennedy voice concern over demographic shifts (25% of Canada’s population foreign-born) and assert a radical political shift toward anti-US sentiment among Canadian elites [10:00-12:23].
• Kennedy attributes the change to “radical leftists,” unchecked immigration, and criminal networks, alleging that “the central enemy of the United States” is now being courted by Canada.

Quote (Kennedy, 12:23):
“Canada, like much of the West, has lost its mind and is simply not interested in its own survival.”

4. Warnings and America First Doctrine

• Bannon issues a stern warning to Canadian politicians: “You play with the...Chinese Communist Party, then guess what...You will rue the day that you did that” [18:58].
• Praises Canada’s historical role as an ally, but insists the US will not let Canadian decisions undermine US security.

Quote (Bannon, 18:58): “If Carney and these globalists in Canada think they're going to sell out the United States...you have another thing coming.”

5. Tech Oligarchs, Chip Exports, and AI

• Joe Allen and Dave Brat focus on American tech companies (notably Nvidia) enabling China’s AI development through chip exports.
• Discussion of the legislative battle around the Overwatch Act:
  • Seeks to restrict chip exports to adversaries, requiring Congressional oversight.
  • Allen critiques Nvidia’s interests and voices suspicion regarding tech leaders like Jensen Huang’s ties to the CCP [35:53–43:08].
  • Highlights the argument that denying China chips forces them to develop their own ("indigenous chips"), but asserts that direct US supply accelerates China’s AI capabilities anyway.
  • The stakes: control of the future of AI.

Quote (Allen, 43:08): “If we keep providing China with the chips to use and perhaps reverse engineer, it only builds up their AI training and inference capacity.”

Quote (Bannon, 35:53): “Anything that helps the Chinese Communist Party build an ecosystem with chips...anything that helps them on AI at all is bad and must be stopped.”

6. Broader Context and Call to Action

• Bannon, Kennedy, and Brat each reframe these issues as part of a wider "unrestricted warfare" waged by China—biological (COVID), chemical (fentanyl), and now by economic and technological encirclement.
• Urges the need for vigilance against the corruption of global elites and for the administration to fully adopt an “America First” mindset [48:07].

Quote (Kennedy, 48:07): “We've not yet built completely in this country an America first mindset that understands that the Chinese are this kind of a threat.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Topic | Speaker(s) | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------|-------------------|---------------| | Opening salvo on regime/media/Canada warning | Bannon, Rickards | 00:02–01:48 | | Arctic/Greenland/Panama/Canada analysis | Bannon, Tomlinson | 00:53–04:45 | | Arctic’s future, Northwest Passage | Bannon, Tomlinson | 03:12–04:52 | | Strategic context of Canada’s shift | Bannon, Kennedy | 05:11–10:00 | | US-Canada history, shifting demographics | Bannon, Kennedy | 10:00–12:23 | | America First warning to Canada | Bannon | 18:58–21:52 | | Tech oligarchs and chip export debate | Bannon, Allen | 35:53–43:08 | | Overwatch Act/AI export restrictions | Allen, Brat | 35:53–43:08 | | Closing thoughts/America First call | Kennedy, Bannon | 48:07–49:38 |

Notable Quotes

• “China realizes...if you control the choke points of trade, you control the world.”
  — Chris Tomlinson (03:39)

• “We’re going to have to reevaluate that Five Eyes relationship with Canada today, not next week, not next month.”
  — Brian T. Kennedy (06:51)

• “Canada, like much of the West, has lost its mind and is simply not interested in its own survival.”
  — Brian T. Kennedy (12:23)

• “Anything that helps the Chinese Communist Party build an ecosystem with chips...anything that helps them on AI at all is bad and must be stopped.”
  — Steve Bannon (35:53)

• “If we keep providing China with the chips to use and perhaps reverse engineer, it only builds up their AI training and inference capacity.”
  — Joe Allen (43:08)

• “We've not yet built completely in this country an America first mindset that understands that the Chinese are this kind of a threat.”
  — Brian T. Kennedy (48:07)

• “If Carney and these globalists in Canada think they're going to sell out the United States...you have another thing coming.”
  — Steve Bannon (18:58)

Memorable Moments

• Bannon’s dramatic framing of the geopolitical moment: “This is the primal scream of a dying regime...” (00:02).
• Heated warning to Canadian leadership, stressing the historic alliance but promising “very serious” consequences for strategic partnership with China (18:58).
• In-depth technical policy breakdown on the Overwatch Act and the chip export fight—a rare, detailed legislative debate (35:53–43:08).
• Bannon referencing the Cold War’s US Defense contingency “plan for invasion of Canada,” illustrating the depth of US strategic concerns (06:51).
• Joe Allen’s call-out of Nvidia’s CEO as aligned with CCP interests (40:10).

Conclusion & Tone

This episode is a high-energy, urgent warning about shifting alliances and perceived betrayals in North America, delivered in Bannon’s adversarial, martial tone. Expert guests provide historical context, detailed geopolitical and tech briefings, and calls to action for listeners. The second half spotlights the structural risks posed by American business interests collaborating with China on AI, framing US tech oligarchs as both naive and self-interested at the country’s expense.

The core takeaway: The war room sees a two-front threat—geopolitical encirclement via Canada’s new ties with China, and technological/surveillance empowerment of the CCP via US chip exports. Both, they argue, must be met with aggressive, America First policies and vigilance against the influence of compromised elites.