Bannon’s War Room – Episode 5165

Georgia Is Still The Railhead Of 2026; What Is JP Morgan Planning Against Trump
Host: Stephen K. Bannon (WarRoom.org)
Date: February 24, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode centers on two major themes:

1. The ongoing significance of Georgia as the political "railhead" leading into 2026, particularly regarding election integrity battles and legal maneuvers tied to the 2020 election controversies.
2. The role of major financial and legal institutions—most notably JP Morgan and the law firm Jones Day—in actions against Donald Trump, highlighting conflicts of interest and the consequences for conservative legal professionals post-Trump administration.

The episode features pointed discussions with Cleta Mitchell (election lawyer/activist) and Mike Davis (legal analyst), interspersed with commentary on opposition from both Democrats and establishment Republicans, the challenges facing Trump’s supporters in legal and governmental circles, and sharp criticism of figures seen as betraying the MAGA movement.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Future of the Republican Party and the Persistence of MAGA

• Pat McCrory’s Interview:

  • McCrory reflects on "populism" in the GOP, distinguishing between past movements and the unique, personality-driven era of Trump.
  • Expresses discomfort with “MAGA” as a slogan and with name-calling and immaturity on both sides.
    • [00:06] "I never wore a MAGA hat because I never know what it meant. ...This name calling and immaturity on both sides of the aisle, it's just got to end. We've got to get back to statesmen-like behavior…" – Pat McCrory

• Bannon's Response:

  • Strongly rebuts McCrory, highlighting his failure to win re-election as governor despite Trump’s success in the state.
  • Insists there will be no "post-Trump" GOP, emphasizing the enduring populist/nationalist movement.
    • [14:46] "Let me be blunt, brother. You are a bald-faced liar... Pat McCrory lost the governorship because he's so feckless and hapless and did not embrace President Trump." – Steve Bannon

• Election Integrity and Political Will:

  • Repeated references to Georgia as the battleground for resolving 2020 election disputes and “getting to the bottom of the 2020 steal.”
  • Emphasis on the need for tenacious legal arguments and the challenge of assembling committed legal teams, with criticism of both Democratic resistance and lackluster Republican resolve.

The State of the Union & Democratic Resistance

• Democratic Boycotts and Counter-Speech:

  • Democrats plan a press event parallel to Trump’s State of the Union address, with some boycotting the speech entirely.
  • Hostile language aimed at Trump, calling him unqualified and a unique threat to constitutional norms.
    • [04:15] "We will prebut, rebut and rebut again his State of the Union remarks... My crowd size is bigger than your crowd size." – Democratic Representative
    • [07:22] "We're dealing with a fool, a clown who's brought the rest of the circus into the White House." – Democratic Commentator

• Bannon’s Take on Political Climate:

  • Describes Democratic actions as part of the “primal scream of a dying regime,” fueling political division and inciting violence against Trump.
  • Cites multiple assassination attempts attributed to the hostile media and political rhetoric.
    • [10:27] "This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people..." – Steve Bannon
    • [12:32] "Only by the grace of divine providence is he still alive and with us..." – Steve Bannon

Legal Front: JP Morgan, Jones Day, and Legal Retaliation Against Trump

• Debanking and Lawsuit:

  • JP Morgan allegedly "debanked" Trump immediately after he left office, prompting a $5 billion lawsuit.
  • Bannon and Mike Davis highlight the unprecedented nature of a former president being financially targeted by an American institution.

• Conflict of Interest at Jones Day:

  • Jones Day—a law firm closely tied to Trump’s first term—is representing JP Morgan against Trump, raising profound ethical concerns.
  • According to Davis, this likely violates American Bar Association conflict-of-interest rules.
    • [21:19] "My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe that Jones Day was going to be adverse to Donald Trump in any litigation matter..." – Mike Davis
    • [24:45] "This just looks really bad for Jones Day. Even if there's not a technical violation, and that is very... fact specific, it just looks bad. And the other problem is you have confidential information..." – Mike Davis

• Chilling Effect on Legal Recruitment:

  • Bannon and Davis discuss the chilling effect major law firms have placed on lawyers considering service in Trump's second term—warning it will jeopardize their careers in 'big law.'
    • [26:54] "The Jones Days of the world have put the word out that if you work in Trump’s second term and particularly work in main justice... your career and big law, big conservative law is over." – Steve Bannon
    • [26:54] "Frankly, if you have so-called Republican or conservative attorneys who don't want to go serve because of that reason, then I don't want them to serve anyway because they're cowards..." – Mike Davis

Georgia: Legal Battles, DOJ, and Election Integrity

• Disagreement on Main Barrier:

  • Bannon's View: The slow pace in Georgia is due to lack of legal talent—top candidates are dissuaded from serving in Trump's DOJ.
  • Cleta Mitchell’s Rebuttal: The problem is lack of will, not talent—the existing lawyers are not making the aggressive arguments needed.
    • [36:13] "I am disagreeing with that. What I am saying is that they're not making the arguments they need to be making... I worry they don't have the will. What have they done to Ed Martin? Where's Ed Martin? He's a fighter... there's so much that they could have done." – Cleta Mitchell

• Status of Georgia Trial:

  • DOJ’s recent filings in a key Georgia election case are commended by Mitchell.
  • Expresses lingering doubts about Fulton County judges and the unpredictable legal environment in Georgia.
    • [39:38] "They brought in lawyers... they've had some people who are not even in the criminal division, but who stepped in to help them... I've been reading these cases... in Fulton County, Georgia, for five years, and I can just tell you that there's something in the water down there. You just never know with these judges." – Cleta Mitchell

Senate Maneuvering & Save America Act

• Senate Procedural Tactics:

  • Mitchell details efforts to push the Save America Act—focused on stronger voter ID and election integrity—through Senate procedural strategies, and exposes Republican reluctance to use the filibuster/talking filibuster against Democrats.

• Pressure on John Thune:

  • 80 conservative organizations signed a letter to Sen. Thune urging the GOP to enforce a talking filibuster and not let Senate “insider games” kill the bill.
    • [49:07] "We want all of our Republican senators to know that just saying they're going to vote for the bill, that's huge and we appreciate it. But now we want them to make the Democrats actually engage in the talking filibuster..." – Cleta Mitchell

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Is the pre-Trump Republican Party gone, never to be revived?" – Cleta Mitchell [00:00]
• "We've got to get back to statesman-like behavior and I'm scared to death at the tomorrow night, Tuesday night... everything that goes against my instincts of why I got into public service..." – Pat McCrory [00:22]
• "If you create the capacity, the tendency to denounce elections simply because you don't like the result, no American president's done that..." – Political Analyst on Trump’s post-2020 actions [06:07]
• "This is a crisis of choice. We're on the cusp of a war of choice. History suggests to be really, really careful." – Military Analyst on Middle East tensions [08:13]
• "They tried to bankrupt him before they tried to imprison him, before they tried to assassinate him, if you notice the scale that goes up." – Steve Bannon [16:33]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Party Identity & Populism: [00:00 – 00:50]
• Middle East Policy & Risks: [01:28 – 08:12]
• Democratic Rebuttals, Trump as ‘threat’: [03:53 – 07:22]
• Legal Battles & JP Morgan Lawsuit: [16:22 – 26:54]
• Jones Day/Big Law Chilling Effect: [26:54 – 29:44]
• Georgia Election Legal Update: [33:50 – 41:40]
• Save America Act & Senate Politics: [42:06 – 49:07]
• Pat McCrory & GOP Civil War: [50:22 – 52:18]

Additional Context & Tone

• Tone Throughout:

  • Combative, urgent, and deeply skeptical toward both establishment Republicans and Democrats.
  • Emotional calls for loyalty, unity, and resilience within the MAGA/populist ranks.

• Language:

  • Pulls no punches (e.g., “bald-faced liar,” “primal scream of a dying regime,” “cowards”).
  • Frequent use of in-group language (“the regime,” “deep state,” “the people,” “MAGA media”).

Useful for Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode is a must-listen for those tracking the election integrity fight in Georgia, the evolving financial/legal war against Trump by elite institutions, and the ongoing battles inside the GOP. The competing strategies, open feuds, and legislative maneuvers are all laid bare—with tactical advice for political action and insider knowledge about Washington power-plays.

Featured Guests

• Cleta Mitchell: Election lawyer, founder of Election Integrity Network; advocates for aggressive legal tactics on election law, criticizes lack of will in the Justice Department.
• Mike Davis: Legal analyst, former staff for Justice Gorsuch, criticizes Jones Day and the legal establishment’s actions against Trump.
• Pat McCrory (clip): Former North Carolina Governor, criticized for lack of loyalty to MAGA.
• Assorted Democratic voices: Providing context for opposition to Trump’s second term and Democratic strategy.

For in-depth understanding of the strategic fights defining GOP politics, legal power struggles, and the persistent MAGA movement as Trump’s second term unfolds, this episode’s rapid-fire discussion offers both critical warnings and tactical insights.