Stephen K. Bannon (1:40)

If the US Were to stop their side in this, do you think Israel would continue with that?

Unknown Middle East Expert (1:49)

Well, I think it's possible, although many in Israel say, look, Trump started the war. Trump will end the war. That's what happened last summer in June, when the Israelis were on their 12th day of a bombing campaign. Trump had the US dropped 14 bunker busters on one day and then said, OK, the war is over. Israel still had a very long target list. And the bombing of the Basij, as in all of the attacks on the Revolutionary Guard, are intended to destroy the instruments of Iranian power that both threaten us externally and threaten our own people internally. So that by destabilizing the regime in that critical area, it causes the regime to fracture at the top. They're losing leaders hand over fist. Personal animosities, ambition, opposition, family connections, now all start to play a big role. And as the regime comes apart, hopefully the opposition can begin to take advantage of it and see the regime collapse internally.

Stephen K. Bannon (2:47)

A top national security official became the first senior administration member to quit over the war. Joe Kent is his name. He headed the National Counterterrorism Center. Quoting now from his letter to the president, Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. Joe Kent is a former Army Green Beret whose wife was killed in the Syrian civil War. In the past, he's made news for amplifying conspiracy theories about January 6th. He's also had to disavow past interactions with a Nazi sympathizer and a Holocaust denier. His wife, a naval officer, was killed by a suicide bomber in Syria in 2019. For his part, the president today said, and I'm quoting him here, I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security.

Joe Kent (3:33)

To my friend Joe Kent, who's a decorated war veteran who lost his wife in Syria, what are you doing? You're giving aid and comfort to a lie. There was an imminent threat. How much more imminent could you be within two weeks, having enough material to make 10 bombs? How close could you come? Not much. Well, that's a bunch of bs. If it weren't for Israel, we'd be less safe. Israel has no choice to stop radical Islam from destroying it. I hope the American people understand we have no choice. You may be tired of fighting them, but they're not tired of fighting you. The only reason they haven't killed more Americans than they have radical Islam is we stop them before they get here. If they had weapons grade material, they would turn it into a bomb. And if they had a bomb, they would use it because they're religious Nazis, those who got Hitler wrong. You're doing the same thing in 2026. Your head in the sand approach to who the Ayatollah is and who this regime is could kill millions of people. President Trump, you're the right man at the right time. God bless you for taking decisive action. And can you imagine what the world would be like if Kamala, Kamala Harris had won? So we got to get this right. And we're very close to getting it right. We're very close to collapsing this Senator lasso.

Stephen K. Bannon (4:58)

This is Trump's daunting dilemma. This is the decision he has to make. Does he. Does he escalate the conflict with ground troops to achieve his ambitious goals, even

Unknown Middle East Expert (5:07)

though polls suggest it is deeply unpopular

Stephen K. Bannon (5:10)

here in the United States.

Unknown Middle East Expert (5:11)

And Republicans are very afraid of what

Stephen K. Bannon (5:13)

it could mean for the midterms, including

Unknown Middle East Expert (5:15)

because the gas prices continue to surge? Or does he claim some sort of hollow victory, pull out reduce the economic pain. But that would leave in Iran an embittered, violent regiment that would potentially still have some control, at least of the

Stephen K. Bannon (5:30)

Strait of Hormuz, still have its nuclear

Unknown Middle East Expert (5:32)

stockpile, and be completely unwilling going forward

Stephen K. Bannon (5:36)

to ever trust a US Negotiation again.

Neil McCabe (5:39)

Correct? You are correct. And there in this, once again, there are no good options here at this moment for President Trump. And I'd like to also point out another dilemma he's facing. My colleague David Sanger wrote this morning in the Times, which is that he has talked about increasingly publicly, about perhaps the need to send in commandos to somehow seize or destroy the nuclear material that is under a mountain that Isfahan in Iran. And he is talking more and more about this. You know, as we know, what you see with the president is what is going through his mind at any given time. And he's talked about this. And that's a very tough decision, too. It's highly risky. It would put the going after Osama bin Laden, that would look like a picnic compared to this. And it would potentially, it could cause a. There's canisters stored underneath this mountain. They could rupture. It could cause radioactivity spreading all over the area also. But also if you leave it there, Iran still has a bit of nuclear fuel that it can use as leverage and its source of its power. Very tough decision. And what you see with the president every day is just this back and forth about, I want the allies, I don't need the allies. You know, is just what you're seeing is President Trump thinking in real time that he doesn't know what his options are. I mean, he doesn't know what to do right now. It's a little alarming to watch it.

Stephen K. Bannon (7:09)

More tonight about the type of bombs that CENTCOM tonight says it dropped on Iranian missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S. official tells us they are GPS guided, so they work in all weather and are designed to destroy heavily reinforced, deeply buried targets. Tonight's strike, successful though it may be, will not be the final word, of course, on threats to the Strait or Iran's neighbors.

Unknown Middle East Expert (7:29)

Better remember, there are hundreds if not thousands of speedboats that are hidden along that coastline in coves camouflaged in open sight as commercial vehicles, literally speedboats, the

Stephen K. Bannon (7:43)

kind you would see out recreationally.

Unknown Middle East Expert (7:45)

Yes. What you'd see, cigarette boats that basically can, can shoot missiles at big ships, our ships, tankers. So until we can eliminate that threat, I still think we're not going to be considered militarily successful through the Strait and the commercial Success won't be a far one.

Stephen K. Bannon (8:04)

I mean, with the USS Cole, we saw what one speedboat like that can, can do to a vessel.

Unknown Middle East Expert (8:10)

And our tankers are much, much larger. During the tanker war, it took three or four different hits on a tanker to sink it. But nonetheless, when you've got a couple of hundred, if not thousands of speedboats, they can put a lot of pain on those tankers.

Joe Kent (8:24)

Nobody will say this in the mainstream media because it justifies what President Trump did. Nobody in the mainstream media will tell you. After Midnight Hammer, when we blew up all the enrichment facilities, they went back at it again. Thus, epic fury. What Wyckoff said on your show changes everything. To my friends at the White House, every American should know the facts. You can have your opinion about President Trump all you want. If he had not acted within two weeks, they would have had enough weapons material to make 10 bombs. Donald Trump acted decisively. God bless the fact that he did. If he had failed to act, we'd all be living with Ayatollah still alive. Enough weapon grade material to make 10 bombs. That's what's at stake here. The liberals literally do want Trump to fail. They fear him more than they fear the Ayatollah with a nuclear weapon. This is a sick time in which we live. We have to push through this.

Stephen K. Bannon (9:24)

The Houthis in Yemen, I mean, they have fired on ships previously in the Strait.

Unknown Middle East Expert (9:30)

A challenge I've dealt with in the past in the Red Sea, Anderson, so far, the Houthis which are supplied massively right down here. This is the Bab El Manda translates about the Gate of Tears. The Houthis which are here in these mountains armed with Iranian missiles and they fired anti ship missiles at our ships going Mach 4. I mean, it was by the skill of our sailors that we didn't have massive losses on our ships. This is incredibly gnarly territory. We built it. We built an international coalition. It was pretty successful. But to build the confidence of these commercial shippers, it takes time and time and time and patience. It is hard, hard work. So far, the Houthis have not joined this fight.

Stephen K. Bannon (10:11)

Why is this?

Unknown Middle East Expert (10:12)

So there's different theories. One, it's a card that Iran is holding back. Another is they have been pounded, I mean, they've really been pounded by US strikes and Israeli strikes, particularly last fall, that maybe they don't want to mix it up again. But if they started to shoot into this passageway, I think we would then have a dual challenge. So I'm watching that very close any

Stephen K. Bannon (10:31)

longer than he has to. And I don't think it's going to be much longer.

Joe Kent (10:34)

No, we're not going to invade Iran. There's no reason to. We're going to destroy their ability to hurt us, have a nuclear weapon, build missiles to hit America and terrorize the region. Karg Island. 90% of their income comes from oil and gas revenue. 100% of that revenue generating capability is on a single island. Mr. President, take Carg Island. This war is over.

Neil McCabe (10:57)

We already succeeded in sowing some element of doubt in our elections and setting a predicate on for claiming fraud. Talk me through what it is they're doing here. Well, absolutely. They're trying to make everyone feel concerned about participating. Right. They're threatening people, they're threatening election officials with imprisonment. So they're trying to make it difficult for Americans to vote. They're trying to create barriers to entry that are so high that they become insurmountable. And they are doing it based on this theory that our elections are somehow not safe, which is patently false. All of the studies that have shown this idea that people are showing up at polls and they're not who they say they are are wrong. It just doesn't happen.

Neil McCabe (11:40)

There is no even heritage prove that.

Joe Kent (11:42)

Exactly.

Neil McCabe (11:42)

There's no voter impersonation fraud where people are showing up and pretending that they're someone who they're not. There are criminal statutes and penalties that take care of that issue. So this is a solution that is a bad one in search of a problem. And the real animus behind this is to try to steal the midterm elections by shrinking the electorate and making it so small that people who want change in this country won't have a voice in our election.

Stephen K. Bannon (12:11)

Wednesday 18th March Year of Alert 2026Amazing curation by our team at Denver and of course the War room production team. Amazing. Okay, we're going to be juggling many things this morning plus doing a full show. We have the President of the United States is going to be leaving, I believe right towards the end of the show when we do the handoff to the Charlie Kirk Show. He is going to Dover to receive the honored dead of the KC135. The six crewmen that died in defense of their country will return. The President of the United States will be there to meet them. Also, Joe Kent rolled a hand grenade into the Senate Intelligence Committee meeting today of Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard, John Ratcliffe are going to be grilled by the Senate Intelligence Committee. That's taking place Even as we speak, opening statements. We're going to cut into that. Mark Wayne Mullen's confirmation is going on over at dhs and Rand Paul has already gone medieval. We're going to pull that clip here in a moment. Also, save America. So much going on in the Save America act and the revving up for this, for this big debate. Also, John Solomon did break last night, early this morning, this blockbuster news about the Chinese Communist Party direct involvement in the stealing of the 2020 election. Understanding they'd already launched the pandemic. This is all from April of 2020. John Solomon will be with us later. Wynton hall with a new blockbuster book on artificial intelligence that should hopefully wake up the conservatives. Wynton hall, one of the great writers and partner and colleague of Peter Schweitzer myself for, I don't know, last 15, 20 years will be with us in the second hour. Eric Bolling, we also called it yesterday about this pipeline in Saudi Arabia. That is a new sense of focus. Brent Oil went up, I think to $108. Israel has attacked, has hit Iranian oil facilities. This war is getting harder and tougher and tougher. Last night, massive bombing run near the Strait of Hormuz with bunker busting bombs to make sure they clear it out, which looks like, I don't know, maybe in anticipation of an actual takeover of Cargotland. We're gonna get to all of that today and much, much more in the war room. Natasha Owens will take us out. Be back in a moment.

Joe Kent (14:37)

I thank God you're not the boss.

Stephen K. Bannon (14:43)

What about Nate?

Neil McCabe (14:46)

It's Charlie too.

Stephen K. Bannon (14:48)

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Stephen K. Bannon (16:22)

Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.

Stephen K. Bannon (16:28)

Okay, welcome back. Make sure one of the simplest ways to understand where we are and particularly in this turbulence in your financial stability. Take your phone out. Text Bannon B A N N O N at 989-898 you get the ultimate guide for investing in gold and precious metals in the age of Trump. And it's no obligation. It's totally free. All the information at Birch Gold is free. Remember, we have over the last six years since we started with Birch Gold in, I don't know, June of 2020, I think gold was out of $1500, $1200, something like that. Tried to immerse you in information. It's not about the price of gold, it's about the process that drives it. And now gold's up around close to 5,000, although it's bouncing around day. Oh, I didn't even get to talk about the Federal Reserve's going to be talking about interest. Making an interest rate call this afternoon. That would normally be the lead story. I think it's number eight now because everything's going the world. That's why you need to understand the basics on capital markets and the basics on the dollar to make your decisions about physical gold. So go check it out. Today, the Mark Wayne Mullins hearing was supposed to be, you know, it's supposed to be a layup for Mullins. It started off far from it just moments ago. We're going to play a clip that was so explosive that FOX News cut away. Let's go ahead and play this Senator Rand Paul about Senator Mark Wayne Mullen.

Stephen K. Bannon (17:54)

Good morning, everyone. I entered the Senate the same year that Representative Gabby Giffords was shot. I knew then that the state of political rhetoric was encouraging violence. I think it's imperative now more than ever that the leaders in our country disavow violence and lead by example. Through the years, I've personally been exposed multiple times to political violence. I was in the right field batting cage when the crazed shooter unleashed nearly 200 shots at our congressional baseball practice. I'll never forget Steve Scalise valiantly dragging, trying to drag his body away as the gunman continued. Later that year, a Trump hating felon attacked me from behind in my yard. I was just straightening up from picking up a tree limb. I was Wearing noise cancellation headphones. Never saw him coming. Running pell mell down the hill, I was struck in the back. The force of the blow sent us through the air nearly 10ft down the hill until his shoulder impaled me. As we hit the ground. Six of my ribs were broken. Three of the ribs were completely separated, such that for weeks the ends of the ribs would grind upon each other. My lung was damaged. For weeks, I could inhale, but not have the rib strength to exhale. I developed two pneumonias. The pain was such that I could only sit up in bed by tying a rope to the foot of the bed and pulling myself up. But even then, the pain was that of a thousand knives. Over the year of recovery, I began to cough up blood. I underwent removal of part of my lung. Complications led to an infection in the space between my lung and chest wall. I spent a week in the hospital having the infection lavaged every six hours through a chest tube. Recently, Senator Mullen, if you have time to listen. You were confronted by constituents that were angry because you voted against my amendment to stop all funding for refugee welfare programs. Instead of explaining your vote to continue these welfare programs for refugees, you decided to transfer the blame. You told the media that I was a freaking snake and that you completely understood why I had been assaulted. I was shocked that it would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force. You might argue you were mad and upset about being confronted by your constituents, Senator Mullen. Your constituents are justifiably upset with him. By now, most of America knows that the Somali welfare fraud in Minnesota stole over $9 billion. But instead of defending your vote, you took to continue the vote to continue these refugee welfare programs. You chose to lash out at me. You went on to brag that you'd already told me to my face that you completely understood and approved of the assault. Well, that's a lie. You got a chance today. You can either continue to lie or you can correct the record. You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified. So today you'll have your chance. Today I'll give you that chance to clear the record. Tell it to my face. If that's what you believe, tell it to me today. Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind. Have six ribs Broken and a damaged lung. Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it. And while you're at it, explain to the American public why they should trust a man with anger issues to set the proper example for ICE and Border Patrol agents. Explain to the American public how a man who has no regrets about brawling in a Senate committee can set a proper example for over 250,000 men and women who work at the Department of Homeland Security.

Stephen K. Bannon (21:56)

Okay, we're going to grab the response in a moment. I don't know. I take it that's a no vote. I'm just kidding. This is how it's starting off today. We're going to get back to Mullen's response. That's a great way to start a confirmation here. And isn't it? We have Warner, remember, and Intel. I think it's Tom Cotton is, is the, is the chair. Mark Warner is the, is the ranking member for the, for the co chair, however they call it for the Democrats. He's tying in. He's going after our intelligence leaders. Let's go ahead and cut into that, and then. I'm going to take a break. I'll come back when we take a break. Let's go ahead and hear that.

Neil McCabe (22:35)

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And let me also offer good morning to our witnesses. Let me also join you, Mr. Chairman, by. And begin by thanking literally the tens of thousands of men and women across America's intelligence community who work every day to keep our country safe. Their work is, by necessity, secret. That is the nature of intelligence. But that is also why hearings like this one matter so much. Over the past year, we have seen a series of developments that raise serious concerns about the erosion of safeguards that protect both our democracy and our security. And nowhere is that more worrying than when it comes to the integrity of our elections. For decades now, our intelligence community has warned that foreign adversaries, including Russia, China and Iran, are actively seeking to shape the outcome of American elections. These efforts have included cyber intrusions, disinformation campaigns, and covert influence operations designed to divide Americans and undermine our confidence on our democratic institutions. Protecting our elections from these threats should be one of the intelligence community's highest priorities. The DNI is supposed to be coordinating intelligence on foreign election interference, warning the American people about adversaries seeking to undermine our democracy, ensuring that federal, state and local officials have the information they need. Congress even required the creation of a foreign malign influence center inside the office of the DNI to coordinate the intelligence community's response to foreign election interference. And ensure that these threats are properly shared across the government's. That is the mission Congress assigned to the dni. But while foreign adversaries are actively probing our democratic institutions, the DNI has eliminated the foreign Malign Influence center and does not have a designated official coordinating the response to election threats. And for months, the Committee has reportedly as repeatedly requested briefings from the ic, briefings that are required by law on legitimate foreign threats to the midterms. We have received no response. Now, that silence, I believe, should concern every member of the committee because it clearly demonstrates the DNI is not interested in protecting American democracy by combating foreign influence. Instead, unfortunately, we have seen the DNI involve herself in purely domestic matters. Last month, we saw Director Gabbard personally participate in a law enforcement raid to seize election ballots and voting machine records in Fulton County, Georgia, a raid tied to an election that the President lost six years ago. When the warrant supporting the raid was unsealed, it showed something deeply troubling. There was no foreign connection to justify the involvement of our nation's top spy. Instead, the predicate for the warrant was a slop of debunked conspiracy theories that had already been rejected repeatedly by courts, by independent investigators, and by even by Georgia's own Republican Secretary of State. Yet the nation's top intelligence official was personally involved in this operation. This raises one very serious question. If the intelligence community is not being deployed to mobilize against foreign threats, why is it being deployed at all? On a domestic issue, the DNI's appearance at this raid, as well as her involvement in seizing voting machines from Puerto Rico, suggests something that should also alarm every American. I believe in an organized effort to misuse her national security powers to interfere in domestic politics and potentially provide a pretext for the President's unconstitutional efforts to seize control of the upcoming elections. Don't take my word for it.

Stephen K. Bannon (27:17)

Okay, hang on. Okay, we're going to come back to that. Welcome back to the slop shop here at the War Room. You heard it right there. I told you this day was going to be intense. It's all inextricably linked. The war, the stealing of the vote, John Solomon's explosive report of why the intelligence community hid, found out, knew about, hid, and we'll have to find out if they hid it from the Intelligence Committee. Explosive. Explosive. Explosive. All day. And the President, United States. The Commander in Chief will be heading to Dover Air Force Base to receive the honored dead of KC135. The refueling a plane that crashed. Short Commercial break We're going to Come back. It gets even more intense on the other side. This year marks a critical moment for our country as the opposition grows more aggressive and more unapologetic. The fight now reaches into the everyday decisions we make. Patriot Mobile has standing, has been standing on the front lines fighting for freedom for more than 12 years. They just don't deliver top tier wireless service. They are activists like me and like you in the war room posse who truly care about this republic and saving our country. Patriot Mobile office prioritized premium access on all three major US networks giving you the same or better coverage than the main carriers themselves. That means fast speeds and dependable nationwide coverage backed by 100% US based customer service. They also offer unlimited data plans, mobile hotspots, international roaming and more. With a simple seamless activation, you can switch in minutes, keep your number, keep your phone or upgrade. And here's the difference. When you switch to Patriot Mobile, you'll be part of a powerful stream of giving that directly funds the Christian conservative movement. Take a stand today. Go to patriotmobile.com bannon or call 972 Patriot, that's 972-PATRIOT and use promo code Bannon for a free month of service. Don't wait, do it today. That's patriotmobile.com/bannon or call 972 Patriot and join the team today.

Stephen K. Bannon (29:55)

Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon.

Stephen K. Bannon (29:59)

Okay, we're streaming both. We're streaming both intel and I think we're streaming DHS because DHS has gotten quite controversial programming. Note, I keep telling the Stephanie rule show at 11 is the best summary of the news day. It just announced that Morning Joe's they're taking away an hour of morning Joe that 9 to 10 hour and giving it to Stephanie Rule. Also at noon, Menendez gets her own show. I hate to say that called both of those. Those are the new stars over at msnbc. So watch, watch those two slots because they are not exactly pro mega but very, very sophisticated in the coverage, particularly rule about investment banking. Kind of a mini, kind of a mini war room with an opposite political take but very smart. Bowling's with us, Eric. Intact. Well, I got bowling. Let's play. Can I play the response of Mark Wayne Mullins? I want to play this before it gets so. So we as we left Senator Rand Paul, he was going back to the time he was attacked and then he got into the whole situation about approval of some appropriations bill and how Mark Wayne Mullens had voted for the refugee resettlement program that gave all the money and you gotta out these guys. This is how they hide behind it. They all want to talk their maga, and then they're voting for the stuff. Rand Paul called him out on that, and then he went back and forth. So Rand Paul goes, hey, look, you're a coward to my face. Can you say this? That's where he left a dramatic hang. Let's go and play it. I'll get Eric Bolling's thoughts on this.

Unknown Middle East Expert (31:31)

Simply address that I said I could understand because of the behavior you were having, that I can understand why your neighbor, by the neighbor, did what he did. As far as my terms, the snake in the ground grass. Sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. I've worked with many people in this room. Seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us. I did address those remarks. I did explain your gimmicks by the amendment you put forth. And as far as me saying that I invoke violence, I don't. I don't think anybody should be hit by surprise. I don't like that. But if I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows I'll come straight to you. I'll say it publicly, and I'll say it privately, but I'll never say it behind your back. So for you to say I'm a liar, sir, that's not accurate. And I got proof to say that because you have spent millions of dollars in my campaigns against me, because we just don't get along. However, sir, that doesn't keep me at all from doing my job. I can have difference opinions with everybody in this room, but as Secretary of Homeland, I'll be protecting everybody, including Kentucky, as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma. It's bigger than the partisan bickering that we have. It's bigger than the political differences we have. The truth is, I have a job to do. And I don't like to fail at anything at all. So I can set it aside. If you're willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job. I won't fail you. I won't back down from a challenge. And I'll also admit when I'm wrong, I'm not perfect. I don't claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from them and you can move ahead. And I'll make that commitment to you. Ranking Member Peters. Chairman Paul. I do thank you for this opportunity. It is a humbling experience. A kid from Westville Oklahoma that grew up with a dad that worked hard

Stephen K. Bannon (33:38)

so bowling, he didn't back down. Kind of told Rand Paul, hey, sorry, not sorry. Your thoughts before we talk about oil,

Eric Bolling (33:44)

Sir, I, I think what's happened is I think Trump went the anti antithesis of Christy. No attractive woman, female, although tough. I mean if you really take her policy, she was, she was, she was pretty badass. But Mark Wayne Mullens, the other, the other male stands up to the union guy. It's, it's, it's very, I would say a lot of optics there that, that are, that are going to work for, for, for Homeland Security. I, you know, I can't claim to know if Mark Wayne Mullen is truly maga and he seems to be pro Trump if he's truly MAGA or not. I defer all things like truly MAGA to you, Stephen K. Bannon, who is the original architect of maga. But

Stephen K. Bannon (34:31)

okay, we'll find out about his thoughts on mass deportation. I'm sure they're going to go through this. Is the Republicans supposed to take care of him? Man, it started out explosively. Confirmation hearing from Mark Wayne Mullins in the Senate. You've got the intel and that's explosive. I want to go back to something we talked about the other day. You talked about a couple of things have happened overnight. You talked about and said you're the first person to say, hey look, one thing you got to be looking at is that the Saudis who are now, you know, kind of saying, President Trump, you got to hit harder. Have this 7 million barrel a day pipeline that goes across into the Red Sea. I think that's just been put on notice by the Iranians as a target. I think Bloomberg's reported that this Red Sea thing could really heat up. I want your thoughts on that also. The Israelis, I believe last night hit some of the facilities, containment facilities of the Iranians that those targets are supposed to be off the, the grid. But I don't think they are a lot going on the last 24 hours in oil and some of the big companies are getting increasingly nervous. How's the trading been and what are the thoughts from folks in the industry?

Eric Bolling (35:37)

Sir, this is this huge, huge day today because all night and early this morning crude oil, both crude and North Sea Brent were, were lower. And then the Iranians said every single Gulf state oil platform, refining capacity, they were all potential targets. It started to drift up and then Saudi Aramco, you're right, Steve. When Saudi Aramco, the Saudi state slash private public entity, which is mostly private. Mostly. The state decided to shut, shut in their refinery, the big refinery, the Shamref refinery. It's a massive refinery that sends a signal that doesn't matter what side of this you're on. These Middle Easterners are going to pull in production, they're going to pull in oil production, they're going to pull in petroleum product production, gasoline, heating oil, jet fuel, butane, all those helium. They're going to shut that in because it drives prices up. We were trading about $102 a barrel in the Brent this morning. So it's up $110 a barrel right now. WTI is training around 99 a barrel. We're hit 100. The reason why this is relevant, Steve, is all last week when we were talking, I said $4 is, is a lock. And people are like, oh bowling, you're full of age. We'll see what happens. I said, no, it doesn't matter what happened last week. Even if it ended then $4 was locked. I'm now going to say $4 and 50 cents national average for gasoline is, I would say an 80% likelihood of happening. That further drives up inflation. We had a price PCI number come out today saying that inflation was higher than expected. And that doesn't even include the March run up in oil. We're going to have higher inflation. We have massively higher gas prices. Steve, I talked to the head trader, I can't say his name, I'll call him. One of the head traders at Conoco was a massive oil production company and one of the best, he says, and when oil was lower yesterday and into last night for today's trading, he said oil is going to be up one to two dollars a barrel going forward. And the equity markets don't even understand what that means yet. Meaning they're kind of whistling past the graveyard. With higher oil prices, it's going to really, really, really be a damper on, on in spending and therefore on stock prices. So equities will likely go down and in response to it. So all things right now, unfortunately are pointing to higher oil prices. And then when you start playing around Carg Island, Carg Island, I totally disagree with this. I think we should protect Carg island because that's really the main asset that the Iranians have to export oil. Now, I know we want to bring them to their knees, but we also don't want to price oil price shock going into the midterms at. So basically the expense, at the expense of.

Stephen K. Bannon (38:24)

Well, I don't think, I don't think any, any plan for car, any plan for Carg island is not to, is not to destroy the oil facilities. I think it's to take seas and hold and then, then the United States. It's the first step to your plan, brother. It's the first step to say, hey, we're your partner. Since we control Carc island, let's sit down and negotiate how we're going to partner with you. I just want to go back to something that's very important though. With everything that happened overnight, all the bombing and people should know this thing's getting more and more intense every day. They brought in the bunker busters to make sure they could clear out. I think any deliberate assault to shut down the Gulf and the Hormuz and things around Kharg island, that's where they're bombing for. But the Iranians announced that every facility of Qatar in UAE is in play, but also Saudi Arabia. Tell us about that refinery because you talk about shut ins, they only got so much place to store it. They're actually shutting down production right now. That's where Brent skyrocketed with 6 bucks to $109. And in the West, Texas Intermediate is at 91 cents below 100 bucks that we look like we might have had this thing and kind of figuring out and some ships are going through and it could be some process. All of a sudden you get anti process. Tell me about that. Tell me, tell us what's. Why is this refinery with Saudi Aramco so important? And why was the closing of that or the shutting in of that a trigger to really drive prices up today?

Eric Bolling (39:56)

Because it's the Saudis, Saudis becoming play. They're the big dog in the region. Saudis produce around 7 million barrels a day. Iran produces 3 million. They have the capacity to produce more. But when the Saudis start. Well, again, we've talked about this again, Steve. They're everyone in the Middle East. Saudi, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, they're all benefiting from $100 barrel of West Texas is West Texas Intermediate, $110 barrel of Brent crude. So when they shut in 400,000 barrels a day, yeah, that's going to be storage. That's going to build up on the Saudi side. Saudis have plenty of production that can ramp up or down quickly. But when they shut down the refinery, it tells the world that there's an issue in the Middle East. I believe that they don't really need to do that, but I think they're kind of playing both sides here. They're playing us like, yeah, Trump, go hit them harder. Well, that drives oil prices higher. Well, we're worried about the Iranians. Let's shut in some production, let's shut in some refining capacity that drives the price of oil higher. And as I said, the trader for Conoco said you, these people aren't realizing that this could potentially be one to two dollars per day higher in the oil price. That is a massive drag on the US Economy. I think it's really playing into the Middle East's hands. And that's why I don't think we should hit Car guy Steve. I think we should hit all their infrastructure, hit their highways, hit their manufacturing capabilities, hit their telecom, hit, hit every industry and get them to their knees. But protect the oil production facilities.

Stephen K. Bannon (41:29)

Okay, I would just say in carg I think is production. But I don't need to be about semantics. One thing before I let you go. The President States laid this argument out the other day. This morning, he tweeted it out again about the strait, about the escorts, about the U.S. navy, the allies saying we're not interested, the Germans saying it's not our war. Correct me if I'm wrong, this is coming from the Red Sea. Whether you're taking the pipeline across Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea and taking it up through the, what is it they call it, the Gate of tears, that very small gap that gets you into the Red Sea and then up the Suez Canal. This is all Asia and Europe. And I realize the world economy is inextricably linked, but this doesn't really have that much to do with the United States of America. We're still independent and we can get very totally independent if we wanted to. This is all Europe and Asia and they are not, they're not coming to our rescue. They're not. I shouldn't say rescue. They're not coming to. To jump in here on the situation. Forget the bombing of Iran and forget the Israelis going to into Lebanon, the central fact of the Gulf and our Arab allies in quotes. They're not. They're not addressing, are they? Sir, President Trump's right. I think this argument ought to be made more. I think this ought to be put before the American people, like, what in the hell? Or we in the rich countries of Europe are giving us the middle finger, sir.

Eric Bolling (42:54)

Agree. And they don't seem to want to play ball. I will just take issue with one thing you said there. Yes, it does affect the Europeans and Asians more because they're more indebted to the Middle east. On their oil because of location. But oil, like money is fungible, generally fungible. Okay. So when you pull stock off stockpiles off of, of Brent, eventually these people are going to realize that it would, it would be more cost efficient to buy another form of oil, another, another grade of oil even if it costs me $10 a barrel. If I've got to go around the

Stephen K. Bannon (43:39)

we, we, we, we're going to take a break and I'm going to hold you over. Eric Bolling, back in a moment. Fellow patriots, the Federal Reserve has betrayed America for over a century. Printing fiat, inflating away your savings, serving globalist masters. But President Trump is ending it. President Trump is wielding a 1-2-year-old law to reclaim control over the rogue Federal Reserve. He's replacing Jerome Powell, slashing rates and igniting America's re industrialization. This isn't theory. Government backed industry plus low rates unleashes super cycles. History repeats. Gold's already exploding. Miners are up 400% in the last year. What Rickards is calling Trump's gift is wealth for American patriots, not global handouts. Now it's America's turn. Gold to 27,000 in the coming years. Jim Rickards, CIA and Pentagon veteran says act now. Go to insider2026.com that's insider2026.com to get Jim Rickards. Strategic Intelligence Newsletter. Today, here's your host, Stephen K. Band. Okay, in the intelligence, they're focused not on the Chinese Communist Party infiltration into this. They are focused on the war room posse and the great patriots in Georgia getting to the bottom of the 2020 election. The steel and Tulsi Gabbard's involvement in that. In fact, I'm going to go to Neil McCabe in a moment on Capitol Hill's covering the hearing. You're going to hear some explosive. They're now coming for Kurt Olson and they're coming for the patriots in Georgia. You watch. We'll get to that in a second. Bowling here's what I don't understand. I'm a simple man, so make this a simple explanation if you can. The Gulf, they provide the oil for Asia for our enemies in the Chinese Communist Party. The greatest existential threat in the world to the United States of America is the Chinese Communist Party. And today John Salman's going to be here and we're going to talk about a pandemic and we're going to talk about stealing the 2020 election. And they're directly involved. And we have the intelligence service of the United States not Only knew about it, but covered it up. The deep state even got Mark Warner up there talking about foreign interference. Of course, what they're doing now is trying to do the jujitsu move to show that Tulsi Gabbard's involved in Georgia, with the great patriots down in, in Georgia, Caroline Jeffords and Garland Favorito and all of them fighting down there. And by the way, it's a Georgia election board going on right now that we normally recover, but we can't because we're covering. We just can't play it because there's too much going on. But you see, they're attacking, attacking, attacking. And we allow. We have two carrier battle groups. We're spending 2 billion a day. President Trump's making the argument. It's not that we're saying, hey, we're going against. President Trump's making the argument now every day, like I called for the allies to come down here because the, the Red Sea, the Suez Canal, the Straits of Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, that's all to provide Asia and Europe their, their energy resources that they can actually have economies. The United States of America is and can be quite quickly. Energy independence. This is why Guyana and Venezuela and hemispheric defense. These aren't random things Trump's doing. So I don't understand. Just tell me why we give a damn, Eric. I understand it's fungible. It's all one world market. But that's you guys, oil traders trying to, trying to trick us into believing you're doing God's work, when really the oil traders are not hedging the future. It's just a bunch of speculative guys making a lot of money on the little guy, isn't it, sir?

Eric Bolling (47:35)

No, not at all. No, no, there is some, some speculation, but speculation in everything, including the stock market. Any sort of market, there's going to be speculation. But the oil market is so vast, it's massive. 100 million barrels a day at $100. Think about the, the numbers that are flying around now. The speculation shortly adds, but it also adds downward pressure when things start to turn the other way, the speculators will push that oil price down when things, when they get the all clear signal. So it cuts both ways. The reason why, I'm saying when, when there's a supply disruption, massive supply disruption, like what's going on right now with the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Oman or on the other side the Red Sea, or threats that Middle Eastern countries are shutting in production and, or shutting refining Capacity. The whole world feels it because you can exchange an oil for an oil. Venezuela Middle Eastern crude is a heavier sour crude. West Texas Intermediate is known as a light sweet crude. Mexico light sweet crude. Brent North Sea Brent light sweet crude. Those are the premium blends. So you can change it, you can change your refinery, but at a cost differential. So if it's, if it all of a sudden becomes I can't get the heavier Middle Eastern crude, I'm going to have to go to the light sweet West Texas Intermediate. Brent, they have to go buy it. They have to. That's why it pushes the price of the oils that we are trading and using right here in the United States, which only makes it more important for us to be completely independent of Middle Eastern or China or anyone, any of them. So when we do that, we're not beholden to any Middle Eastern country at all. Again, in the perfect metaphor, we can tell the Middle Easterns to go pound sand.

Stephen K. Bannon (49:23)

Last thing before I let you go. For people thinking of the day, the shutting in of this Saudi Aramco massive refinery, clearly Brent went through the roof. West Texas looks close to $100 a barrel. Just once again, explain to the audience why that is such an important event in this war.

Eric Bolling (49:42)

It is, because it signals to the world, not just oil speculators. I told you I had a conversation with the head trader, Conoco. He's not a speculator. He's literally hedging the production of Conoco, who believes oil prices are going higher because the Saudis, the Omanis, the Kuwaitis shut in production. They're all doing this. Why? Because they have to. No. There's virtually no human beings at refineries or oil production facilities. It's not that they're protecting their people. There's no one working in these facilities. They're highly automated. They're doing it because it sends the signal to the world, including traders at one of the biggest oil trading desks on the planet, Conoco, that they're going higher and they'll do things to get oil prices higher, like it or not. That's why we're beholden to these sobs in the Middle east when we don't need to be. $4.50 a gallon, I believe is baked in already. Now people are going to argue with that, but I'm going to be right on $4 probably next week. It's 4.50. And that is a massive drag on our economy. That's why this is so relevant. That's why every news story across every platform, whether the business or not is leading with the oil price and what's going on in the Middle East. Can you imagine a day, Steve, where we don't care what Saudi says or the Iranians say. Can you imagine how free that day will be for us? It's, it's potential.

Stephen K. Bannon (51:02)

Well, like I said, the Middle east is a sideshow in the Israeli situation. Sideshow to a sideshow. We've got every, every tool in the toolbox to make that happen. That we don't have to worry about it and we should not have to worry about the United States, particularly when the Europeans that live upon this just gave us the middle finger and they still want a security guarantee. They still want American, young American men and women, of which six are coming home.

Eric Bolling (51:29)

Can I just add one thing, can I just add one thing to your right? You're right about all of this. Higher prices. Stick it to China. Absolutely. However, I would say yes. Let's just play this game. Let's play, play this out. Put, put China on their knees too, as well as Iran. Except we got midterms coming up. If, if midterms weren't happening, I, I, I'm on board with everything now. I, I, I just, I'm very, very concerned for majorities. Not just majority in the house. Majorities.

Stephen K. Bannon (51:58)

You're sometimes, sometime sometimes your fox, your fox molding your fox formation comes through. Bowling. Anyway, I love your brother. I'm just kidding. We'll, we'll continue this conversation. Maybe we'll do a trade off today.

Eric Bolling (52:11)

I'll get punch on the way out. Bandit.

Stephen K. Bannon (52:15)

No, no, no, because you were bragging to me this morning about how much you're lifting. Lifting like 400 pounds, right? You're, you're a beast. You're a savage, Eric. Bowling. Where do people real quickly, where they go, where they get, where they get Your new show.

Eric Bolling (52:27)

I'll tell you what. You know what you do today, folks? Watch the show on RAV Real America's Voice. At 4 o', clock, we're going to be all about the save act and oil. And then right after, I'm, I'm interviewing a captain, I'm sorry, the owner of a shipping company that runs ships through the Strait of Hormuz. He's going to tell me why he's not running ships right now. It has nothing to do with anything we're talking about. Doesn't care about insurance. And I'll, I'll clip that for you, Steve. And your audience can watch some of that too.

Unknown Middle East Expert (52:53)

We'll see.

Eric Bolling (52:54)

We'll see.

Stephen K. Bannon (52:54)

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Stephen K. Bannon (54:53)

You move.