Episode 5341: Bringing American Manufacturing Back On Shore

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bannon's War Room – Episode 5341

Title: Bringing American Manufacturing Back On Shore
Date: May 1, 2026
Host: Stephen K. Bannon
Notable Guests: Dr. Peter Navarro, Eric Bolling, Dr. Bradley Thayer
Main Theme:
This episode of Bannon's War Room focuses on the current state of the U.S. economy, with an emphasis on monetary policy and the ongoing political and economic battle surrounding the Federal Reserve. The show discusses the push to bring American manufacturing back on shore, the ramifications of high interest rates, the impact of tariffs and supply-side policies, and the ongoing crisis in the Persian Gulf. The episode is marked by fiery criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in-depth commentary on America's industrial resurgence, and analysis of geopolitical tensions involving Iran and China.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Federal Reserve Critique & Powell's Departure

• Opening Monologue and Criticism
  • Bannon and Navarro launch with a harsh critique of Jerome Powell's leadership at the Fed, blaming him for policy blunders across multiple administrations.
  • Navarro’s viral video denouncing Powell is highlighted, setting the tone for the discussion.
  • Quote (Dr. Peter Navarro, 03:04):

    "Powell is arrogant, prissy, unqualified, petty, vengeful. Pick your word. He does not belong on the Fed."

• Powell’s Policy Failings
  • Raised interest rates too early under Trump, throttling growth.
  • Raised rates too late under Biden, failing to restrain hyperinflation as it took hold.
  • Currently, lowering rates too slowly, stifling economic recovery under Trump’s new term.
  • Navarro argues that Powell's alleged intent to remain as a Fed “shadow” chair threatens the independence and efficacy of Fed policy.
  • Quote (Navarro, 05:09):

    "He's gonna be the shadow Fed chair...One of the most egregious throwdowns I've ever seen in American financial economic history."

• Media’s Role
  • Both Navarro and Bannon call out the establishment financial media for defending Powell and misrepresenting the record.
  • Quote (Navarro, 06:48):

    "Any journalist who says that that guy is competent to serve is not competent to be a journalist covering financial matters, full stop."

2. Manufacturing Renaissance and Economic Indicators

• Surge in Capital Goods Imports (10:17)
  • Navarro explains that the surge in capital goods imports indicates increased investment in domestic manufacturing, not just a rise in consumer goods.
  • Trump’s economic policies, namely tariffs and deregulation, are credited for these “green shoots” of industrial revitalization.
  • ISM Manufacturing Index now consistently above 50, signaling expansion.
  • Quote (Navarro, 11:31):

    "We are bringing our manufacturing back onshore. You’re going to see over time, these imports come in, our factories spring up...we are in a manufacturing renaissance. Right here, right now."

• Business Press Critique (13:26)
  • Navarro claims the financial media’s globalist ideology prevents them from accurately covering the benefits of onshoring and tariffs.

3. Oil Market & Geopolitical Conflicts

• Strait of Hormuz Blockade and Oil Prices (24:50)
  • Eric Bolling delivers an update on elevated oil prices due to the Strait of Hormuz blockade, with shipping rates through the region up sevenfold and only three vessels transiting in the last 24 hours (vs. usual 130–140).
  • U.S. gasoline prices expected to push $4.50–$5.00 per gallon soon.
  • Despite global disruption, the U.S. economy is “wagging the tail,” as self-sufficiency mitigates the impact unlike in China.
  • Quote (Bolling, 25:06):

    "Gasoline is now $4.39 a gallon...We’re going to be pushing $4.50 within maybe a week or so, maybe five bucks by the end of the summer."

  • Jet fuel shortage emerging as a global concern, especially in the U.S.

4. War Powers, Iran, and U.S. Response

• War Powers Act & Iran Updates (22:16)
  • The show covers the 60-day mark of the conflict with Iran, potential War Powers Act triggers, and Iran’s distrust in U.S. negotiations.
  • Pakistani mediators and ongoing backchannel communications highlighted.
• Military and Strategic Posture (36:12)
  • Dr. Bradley Thayer outlines Trump’s leverage over Iran: the effectiveness of the blockade, credible military escalation threats, and the indirect pressure on China.
  • Anticipation of the May U.S.-China summit, where Taiwan is expected to be a flashpoint.
  • Quote (Thayer, 36:12):

    "The blockade is working extremely well...The pain that he’s putting on Communist China gives us leverage as well."

5. China, Taiwan, and Chips

• CCP Narrative on Taiwan (38:10)
  • Bannon and Thayer dissect China’s framing of the Iran situation as a precursor to Taiwan talks, highlighting the economic and strategic implications.
  • Taiwan’s booming chip sector is noted as a critical economic asset for both China and the U.S.
  • U.S. leverage identified in potential sanctions, tariffs, and restricting technology or student exchanges.
  • Quote (Thayer, 41:23):

    "Chips are a very effective way of doing that, as tariffs are ... money is still flowing from New York to Communist China. That needs to be cut off."

6. Redistricting/Wider Political Maneuvers

• Grassroots Influence (45:28)
  • Bannon underscores the role of his audience in driving redistricting victories that led to Republicans regaining the House, and the continued importance of these efforts for future electoral success.
• State/Local Political Issues (50:00)
  • Guest Mike Lindell discusses plans for legislative priorities in Minnesota, including a controversial push to “ban Sharia law” and reverse policy changes by current state leadership.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Powell is arrogant, prissy, unqualified, petty, vengeful. Pick your word. He does not belong on the Fed."
  — Dr. Peter Navarro, (03:04)

• "Any journalist who says that that guy is competent to serve is not competent to be a journalist covering financial matters, full stop."
  — Dr. Peter Navarro, (06:48)

• "We are bringing our manufacturing back onshore...we are in a manufacturing renaissance. Right here, right now."
  — Dr. Peter Navarro, (11:31)

• "Gasoline is now $4.39 a gallon...We’re going to be pushing $4.50 within maybe a week or so, maybe five bucks by the end of the summer."
  — Eric Bolling, (25:06)

• "The blockade is working extremely well...The pain that he’s putting on Communist China gives us leverage as well."
  — Dr. Bradley Thayer, (36:12)

• "Chips are a very effective way of doing that, as tariffs are ... money is still flowing from New York to Communist China. That needs to be cut off."
  — Dr. Bradley Thayer, (41:23)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–09:48: Extended indictment of Fed Chair Jerome Powell; Powell’s policy record; legacy media’s complicity.
• 10:17–13:26: Analysis of capital goods imports and manufacturing renaissance.
• 16:56–21:38: Eric Bolling on Powell’s political maneuvering, Fed independence, and inflation policy failures.
• 22:16–24:50: Iran conflict, War Powers issues, and US military sites’ vulnerability.
• 25:06–28:11: Oil prices surge due to Persian Gulf blockade; market outlook; U.S. vs China economic comparison.
• 36:12–41:23: Thayer and Bannon on U.S. Iran leverage, pressure on China, and Taiwan’s importance.
• 45:28–49:00: Redistricting victories, MAGA grassroots impact, southern vote equity.
• 50:00–51:41: Mike Lindell on Minnesota political controversies and spiritual battle narrative.

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Tone & Language

• Combative, direct, and unapologetically partisan.
• Populist anti-elite, anti-globalist framing.
• Heavy use of rhetorical flourishes ("get the gone," "shadow Fed chair," etc.)
• Frequent references to shared audience history and inside narratives (“war room posse”).

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Useful for Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In

• The episode provides an insider’s take on current monetary policy controversies, the calculation behind manufacturing revitalization, and the domestic impact of global crises.
• If you want to understand the conservative populist critique of the Fed, the rationale for tariffs, and why oil prices and manufacturing are central topics in the run-up to the election, this summary gives you the highlights, positions, and arguments—along with direct quotes and where in the episode to find them.

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Note: All advertisements and sponsor promotions have been omitted from this summary.

Transcript

[A]

Memo to the Fed Mortgage rates remain too high because of the stupidity and partisanship of a Federal Reserve chairman who needs to get the hell out of Washington, D.C. when the clock strikes midnight on May 15th.

[B]

We cannot be reminded too many times that Powell's Fed committed three major blunders

[A]

that have cost America jobs, growth and tax revenues. Those blunders raising rates too early and too fast and Trump term one raising rates too late and too slow as the Biden hyperinflation began to take hold

[B]

and now lowering rates far too slowly

[A]

even as the data screams to do otherwise.

[B]

As the bard might say of Powell's

[A]

mid spring nightmare, get the gone Dr. It's Friday, the 1st of May, year overlord 2026. Dr. Peter Navarro joins us. That was Dr. Navarro and his those amazing videos he puts up. So I want to start I'll start here because we played your video to open it up. And then I'm going to get into some of the economic numbers, particularly on the manufacturing side. We had the great John Gardner on last night for about 30 minutes and walk through this in detail. This kind of manufacturing renaissance. You're starting to see the green shoots of because of our tariff policies, the big beautiful bill, the incentives coming from a supply side tax cut and deregulation, all three of those converging to have really, I think the beginning of amazing results. But since you're there and by the way, Eric Bolling's with us and Dr. Thayer is going to stick around. We're going to talk straight or Hormuz, Persian Gulf oil, the economy and guess basically the alternatives President Trump came out with yesterday in discussing where we go forward on the Iran war. But let's go back. Since Navarro went there, let's go there. Dr. Peter Navarro, Powell has responded to, I guess I don't know if pressure or whatever it was with Gene Pirro or what he thinks is an affront to him by basically telling the administration, hey, look, I'm going to step down as as the head of the Federal Reserve and Warsh is going to come in here, but I'm going to stay as a governor and I can cause a lot of trouble there because first off, Mehren's got to go back. The chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers has to go back to the eob. And I've got a lot of people here that support me. And you may think you're going to have an independent Fed with Warsh, but I got something to say about that. And Dr. Navarro, you can huff and you can puff and you can try to blow his house down, but about too late, Powell is dug in and he's got his trenching tool and he's digging deeper, isn't he, sir?

[B]

Steve, you have to go back to 1948 for a Fed chair to stay on the board. And in that case, it wasn't controversial. The guy was actually competent. Powell is arrogant, prissy, unqualified, petty, vengeful. Pick your, pick your word. He does not belong on the Fed. And here's what pisses me off and why I did that video. Steve, anybody in the media, anybody in the legacy media who defends Powell on the basis of him being competent does not understand the enormous damage Jerome Powell has done to America. The case against Powell's competence is unequivocal, Steve. Even the Federal Reserve itself has published studies that show in Trump's first term, Powell raised rates prematurely and choked off significant growth.

[A]

Yep, yep.

[B]

In Biden's term, unequivocally, he, he unleashed the worst hyperinflation since 1970s that were still grappling with. That's on his plate, sir. And right now, since Donald Trump has gotten in office and we're approaching two years now, Powell has kept rates too high, not lowered enough, again, causing tremendous, tremendous damage. It's slower growth, it's lower real wages, it's higher debt, it's higher interest rates because of that debt, not just because he won't lower them. And that SOB needs, as I said, quoting the bar, get the gone for the country. Now, one other thing, Steve. He wants to be the shadow Fed chair. That's.

[A]

He's gonna be the shadow Fed. He's gonna be the shadow Fed chair. Not that he wants to be. He's gonna be the shadow Fed chair, sir, is he not? This is one of the most egregious, this is one of the most egregious throwdowns I've ever seen in American financial economic history. And folks, is going to have a direct impact on you. Let me just go back to the history and I don't want to, you know, but I will say when this thing first came up in the first term, it was Dr. Navarro and Stephen K. Bannon and some other folks are saying, hey, maybe Kevin Warsh or John Taylor are your pick. And of course, then Secretary Treasury Mnuchin. No, it had to be Powell. It had to be Powell. So we've seen this disaster and that's why Powell's not leaving. He thinks he's got a point to prove to counter exactly what you said now. And all the things are most egregious because even what he did in Trump's first term, because the policies were correct, he could not slow down the Trump economic train as it really started revving up in the fall of 2019 when everything came together. The only thing that choplocked us was the Chinese Communist Party's bioweapon coming out of the Wuhan lab as referred to as the pandemic. But the most egregious thing he did was the cutting of rates for Joe Biden and the Biden regime in 2024 to try to juice the market so that Biden could point to better economic indicators. Correct, Dr. Navarro?

[B]

That's destabilized the entire global economy and financial system by what Jerome Powell did. And again, I ask every SOB in the legacy media who somehow thinks that Powell is going to be some bastion of Fed independence and has done a competent job. Look at the friggin record. Any journalist who says that that guy is competent to serve is not competent to be a journalist covering financial matters full stop. And that guy is going to try to command the bunch of liberal Fed people, pro Biden people. Steve, the irony here is that the complaint is that Donald Trump is trying to take away the Fed independence when it was Powell that prostrated himself on his knees to get reappointed. That basically gave that away to begin with.

[A]

But where's the media outcry from the financial media? Where's the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times in London and Bloomberg? Because all they talk about is the independence of the Fed. Independence of the Fed. And Trump's war is as independent as you're ever gonna get. But he can't be independent because a Fed chair who should ride off into the sunset should is going to remain and he's going to remain. And his arrogant response the other day, I will remain as long as I think it's necessary. Right? He's clearly going to try to challenge Kevin Warsh's independence at the Federal Reserve, is he not, sir?

[B]

We have never, Steve, in the entire history of our republic had a Federal Reserve that is embarking on a road of partnership, partisanship and conflict in ways which will derail proper Fed policy full stop. And that's on Jerome Powell. And he needs he get the gone, Jay. Get out of here. The joke was like when I was watching him. By the way, let's make note Mnuchin's folly. You know why Mnuchin, Steve, wanted Jay Powell. The biggest irony, Mnuchin thought he could control him and as soon as Powell got in there, he stuck the knife in Donald J. Trump.

[A]

That was, that was the, this is

[B]

just, this is just wrong. And I, I would, I would appeal to the Wall Street Journal, to Bloomberg, to the Financial Times, to the folks on the New York Times, the Washington Post, who believe somehow that they're qualified financial reporters. Look at the friggin Record and tell him he needs to leave because, not for any political reasons, but simply because he is not competent to serve. Period. This is a big crisis, Steve. We don't need this now. It's the last thing we need.

[A]

On top of everything else, it's a very big crisis. Particularly as we now have this turnaround that's pretty evident. Let's go to that. Dr. Navarro, I want to talk about this chart that came out yesterday. Can we put that up about. These are imports of capital goods, right? Imports of capital goods. And this is a good indicator that we're bringing capital goods in to make, to basically expand our manufacturing base. Can you walk our people through it?

[B]

See this is a good example of how the mainstream media invariably gets these, these daily reports on the economy wrong. I'm doing columns now for Real Clear Markets. I thank them for publishing these things and I go over each report as it comes out. Now in this case it's 2% GDP growth which looks a little below than what was expected and that what we want. But the math here, Steve, is that we had a surge in imports which normally are bad, and that detracts from GDP growth with me so far. Now those imports were not like consumer good crap from around the world. They were capital goods, machine tools and circuit boards and chips and things that we are putting in place in America's latest wave of factories to produce things here to increase our productivity and our wages. And it's all happening. Every single dollar of that capital goods coming in is a product of Trump's economic policies, starting with the tariffs. We are bringing our manufacturing back onshore. And so you're going to see over time, you're going to see over time this, this, these imports come in, our factories spring up and we're already seeing another, you know, another geek thing for you. The ISM manufacturing index, it was below 50, so a 0 to 100 index for much of Biden's latter part of his term. And it didn't really get above 50 until some months in to the Trump term. And now it's robust and continues to move up. That's, that's a wonderful sign that we are in a manufacturing renaissance. Right here, right now, Steve. So you gotta, you gotta have the sophistication to look behind the headline numbers and understand how Trump nomics. Yeah, deregulation.

[A]

Full stop. Full stop. Because I know you have to play footsie with these guys all the time. The Financial Times of London and the Wall Street Journal should be pretty sophisticated, right? Our audience is very sophisticated because of the great years of training that you gave them and Dave Brat gave them and Dave Walsh gave them and Scott Besson gave them and Russ Vogt gave them. We would go out of our way to do macroeconomics and all this so people could learn. And they've learned a lot. But that's why when I read the business press or when I watch CNBC or even Fox Business, I get nothing but happy talk. And you know, Trump's terrible. Navarro's a nutcase. Tariffs are the worst thing in the world. They misinterpret every piece of data that's there that's quite self evident. So when are we going to start banging some heads in the, you know, we bang enough heads in the political media. When are we going to start banging some heads in the business media, sir?

[B]

Well, you answer your own question, Steve. The ideology of the financial press is globalism and therefore they cannot craft any message that is the news in ways which would support tariff protection to protect Americans and American factories from unfair trade. And that would onshore not just our production, but our labor by shutting our borders. I mean, it's, it's ideology and you see it every day. I do think the worst one right now is Bloomberg. I mean, they blatantly wear that crap on their sleeve and their coverage, I mean hands down, but, but it's endemic and it's. Look, it's no secret, Steve, Memo to Bannon, Post to the media is not going to give Donald Trump a fair break. But the problem is when it's the economy, that's a very dangerous thing. And I get back to like the Powell problem. We're just not getting the news. And that's why your show's so valuable. I mean, you do a lot of the politics and the election stuff and the House out, how to mobilize and things like that. But nobody does get better on the macro economy than you as well.

[A]

Hang on one second. We just got a call for a commercial break. 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 972patriot that's 972patriot 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. Here's your host, Stephen K. Bann. So a lot's going on about the the conflict in Iran. I'm gonna get to that in a second. Dr. Thayer stuck around. Eric Bolling is here to give us an update on what's happening in Hormuz Persian Gulf oil markets throughout the world. However, Eric, you are a traitor.

[B]

Are

[A]

Bannon and Navarro, are we just whining about this Powell situation, which is quite unique, or do you sense the same problem that we sense, sir?

[C]

I'll tell you, if you guys are on it, I'll add to it a little bit. You both hit on it. Jerome Powell was way late to the inflation game. He should have been raising interest rates throughout the Biden term. He didn't. He's playing politics. If he was really concerned about growth and honestly, monetary policy as it applies to growth is the only thing a chairman should do. So he has to use the gas and the pedal with interest rates. If inflation gets too high, use the brakes, raise interest rates. If it's nice and low and demand starts to seep or slow down, press the gas, lower interest rates. He played politics throughout four years of Biden, especially what you pointed out at the very end. The month of the month of October before the November election was the first time he lowered interest rates. He should have been raising them and lowering them as things got better. What he did was he started the economic turnaround. Powell started in the last month or month and a half of Biden's terms, which gives him that honor of being the most political Fed chairman probably in history. Certainly in my lifetime. I think it's going to be very important to wash come out the box. Look, Fed decisions are made almost unanimously every single time. In fact, the decision that they just made day before Yesterday was a 8 to 4 split, which is highly unlikely. Right. It's usually Fed chairman delusion. And so Warsh has to step in here and just leg sweep Jerome Powell immediately clip his wings. You're no longer chairman, sir. But you'll be one vote. You want to be dissenting vote, that's fine. Stand there muscle had the Supreme Court.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And Powell, look, he's a third tier investment banker, not an economist. Not someone like a Scott Besson or War. Somebody that knows capital markets deeply. Right? Either a trader or knows capital markets. This guy was a third term, a third tier investment banker and a lawyer. He had the worst call in at least my lifetime of a Federal Reserve. It's almost as bad as some of the calls they were making. Greenspan was making up to the 2008 financial crash. When he called inflation, when the inflation started burning, he said it was transitory. Remember he wasn't going to make moves against, he says transitory inflation. That is the worst call at least since Greenspan didn't recognize what would lead up to the 2008 inflation financial crisis. This is why this guy should not be around. This is why this guy should be out of here. And now he's gonna fight a rear guard action every day against war and President Trump. So all the business press, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times of London, all of them. New York Times business section, Barron's. You know, I don't want to hear you whining anymore about Trump, right? Trump trying to have a non independent. Kevin Warsh is an independent guy. He's the guy that I really pushed back, you know, 10, what, eight years ago for, for Fed chair at the time he or either the backup, the COVID bid would be John Taylor out of Stanford and of course Mnuchin. And these guys all wanted Powell. They all had to have Powell. But correct me if I'm wrong, his, his whole idea that he put in this mindset of transitory inflation was just dead 1000% wrong, sir.

[C]

The only question I might make is, well, maybe it was him. Janet Yellen was also talking transitory inflation. Inflation being transitory throughout the time she spent up at the top levels as well. So it was a talking point that the secretary delivered as A political talking point maybe in conjunction with the White House, which is what they're not supposed to be doing. They're supposed to be an independent body. It was horrible that they didn't get in front of inflation. And this whole idea that Powell is saying that he was in the Trump term where inflation is a third or less of what it was during Biden, him saying, well, we may have to raise when Trump is saying let's lower because to get in front. Well, where were you four years ago, five years ago, pal, when inflation was on its way up? You get in front of the rise of inflation with interest rates not behind it, but somehow you wanted to get in front of it with Trump. It was clearly political, Steve.

[A]

No, and this is one of the reasons I tell people this whole affordability thing the Democrats are trying to use to hammer President Trump, it's all their creation and that's not coming down easily once it's in. Structurally, it's going to take you a while to unwind it. Anyway, let's play this cold open. We've got on the war and economics and we've got Eric Bolling with us and Dr. Bradley Thayer. Let's go ahead and let it rip. And this is according to Iran's state media. This is their response which was expected today. Now we should know President Trump rejected a previous offer from the Iranians. Today marks 60 days since the conflict began.

[D]

Now that 60 days is important because

[A]

it would appear to trigger the War Powers Act, a Vietnam War era law that requires Congress to sign off on US military action that lasts beyond 60 days. But according to Defense Secretary Pete Hexithro, there is a loophole. He told Congress that the April 7th cease fire paused the clock on the 60 day countdown. Now, many Democrats and some Republicans don't quite buy that.

[C]

There's also brand new reporting this morning.

[A]

According to a CNN analysis, at least 16 US military sites have been damaged by Iranian strikes. A majority of US Positions in the Middle east that would make up a majority of positions in the Middle east, some, we are told, are virtually unusable. Now what are you hearing about this latest response from the Iranians?

[E]

Yeah, it's really dropped in the last hour very, very, very, very recently. It does seem to be something that is making the Pakistani mediators sort of breathe a slight sigh of relief. Of course, they've been expecting Iran to respond by Wednesday. And if not by Wednesday, then by Thursday. And if not by Thursday, then really the sense here was that this was the day if Iran didn't respond by now then things were going to slip potentially out of control pretty quickly. So the Iranians have put something on the table. We don't know what's inside of it. Of course, at the moment it is very clear, having had conversations in the past few hours with Iranian officials that they don't trust President Trump, that they do have an idea of how they could get back into talks. And part of that was indicated to us that it would be a simultaneous lifting of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. But they said who's going to guarantee for us if we take that step that the United States doesn't just then move, move the US Navy into the Strait of Hormuz and take control of it. So there is this real, real deep distrust. I think there's also this sense of sense here that potentially things have been pretty close and it's not clear if Iran has bridged the final gaps or are they playing for time, Are they going to try to spin out more rounds of talks? We know very clearly as undoubtedly Kevin was laying out as well, that President Trump has said some of this could be done on the phone, that he wouldn't send people here to talk if they were just 18 hours to get, get here, if they were just going to arrive and find something on the table they already knew wasn't acceptable. So I think if we get an indication that a US Talks team were coming here, that would indicate that there's space to move forward.

[A]

Eric, we have a, we have a saying here in the war room. Price is truth. Talk to us about what the markets are telling us about, about the Iranians position right now on this straight Hormuz and the blockade.

[C]

Well, so much to get through. Steve, I'll blow through it real quickly. First of all, gasoline is now 439 a gallon. That's up from 319 a year ago. That's not very good news. And for context, we were crushing Biden about Biden nomics. I'm going to give you the negative stuff first. We were crushing Biden by Bidenomics. But the average price of a gallon of gasoline, four years, all four years of that miserable term was only 358. We're going to be pushing 450 within maybe a week or so, maybe five bucks by the end of the summer. That's going to be a real, real drag on certainly the economy, possibly even the election. But we'll go for it. Chevron and Exxon reported earnings this morning. Both CEOs were out there blasting it out on CNBC talking about how much profit they were making. Meanwhile, I'm watching that going, you guys are tone deaf. Yeah, you're making profit because you're an oil producer and higher prices benefit you. I didn't see any refiners on there talking about they need the oil to put into their refinery to make gasoline. Those prices are going up. No one seems to want to talk about that side of the barrel equation, so to speak. The good news is, here's the very, very good news. Yesterday we talked about it, demand came out, GDP grew or it's stable at 2%. And that's relevant because 2.5% is a target. But 2% in the midst of a 60 day conflict that's choking off oil means that in the United States the dog is still wagging the tail. We saw China the day before report that their economy was slowing, likely due to the higher oil prices. Which means now the tail is starting to wag the dog. Where the high price of oil is really starting to hurt the Chinese economy because we are self sufficient in oil. Remember we use 20 million, we produce 13, and for some odd reason we're shipping 14 million barrels a day out. But that's another story. So the good news is versus China, we're doing really, really well. I will give you one more thing. Take if you can pull up the camera or the guys, if you can pull up that first chart I sent you. Steve, last night I got a refresh for my friends who are traders at some of the top oil trading desks. Real people, upper left hand corner of that chart if you can see it, the number three there, that's the number of vessels that have transited the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours. The number is three, Steve. The actual number should be 130, 140. Number three. Three vessels have transit in the last 24 hours. And if you look at the lower left hand corner of that chart, you see the number 350. It's talk, it's, it's a shipping rate, it's 350 versus what normally should be 45 or 50. So it's the shipping rates in this region, not just through the strait in the region have gone up sevenfold. One final thought, jet fuel is becoming a global issue for not just Europe anymore, now the United States as well. We're, we're starting to drain some of our jet fuel. Oh, I'll give you one last one. I read this this morning in California are the biggest, most populous state, used to have 46 refineries. They have three now. They're down to three because of policy.

[A]

Unbelievable. Eric, you're back up at 4:00'.

[B]

Clock.

[A]

We'll do a transition today. Yeah.

[C]

Hey, show them the pictures real quick. Show them the pictures real quick. I. I had this. I gotta show it. Here's Steve Bannon as a young Navy man. All right, one more real quick to the other one. Steve Bannon next to who? Andy Gibb. Oh, my God, Steve, you're a lady killer as a man. Happy Friday.

[A]

Thank you, sir. The dollar's convertibility into gold ended in 1971. Gold was fixed at $35 an ounce. Well, fast forward to today, and the US dollar has lost over 85% of its purchasing power. Gold, on the other hand, is increased in value by over 12,000%. That's why Central banks are buying gold at record levels. That's why major firms like Vanguard and BlackRock hold significant positions in gold. And that's why I encourage you to consider diversifying your savings with physical gold from Birch Gold Group. But it starts with education. Birch Gold just announced their Learn and Earn Precious Metals event. This free online event rewards you for learning the basics of investing in precious metals. Sign up to get a free silver on your next purchase. Get even larger incentives as you go. The more you learn, the more you can earn. But you must act now, as this special event only runs through April 30th. The dollar lost its anchor in 1971. You don't have to lose yours. Text my name, Bannon B A N N O N to the number 989898, to join Birchgold's Learn and Earn Precious Metals. Eventually, by April 30th. Text Bannon B A N N O N to 989898 and do it today. Here's your host, Stephen K. Bannon. So what did bowling throw up there? See that? I got a little surprise. The photos. Can we see? Okay, got it right there. And then the other one. Okay, that's college. I think that's my senior year of college. Junior senior year. And then that's right after college. The Navy cleaned me up. Let's say that back to what my mother felt. She had turned me over to college as coming out of military school. But anyway, Eric Bolling caught me by surprise there. College. And then right after college, Birch Gold. Take your phone out. Text Bannon B A N N O N at 989-898. We have the ultimate guide to investing in gold and precious metals in the age of Trump. Get Some learn about financial stability, why gold is a hedge. They used to have a saying, I think the BRICS nations took this personally.

[C]

Our dollar.

[A]

Your problem about, particularly during the Biden years, the drop of purchasing power of the dollar. You know that in your own life. And this is why the BRICS nations bound together and say, hey, we don't have to take this. This is this huge fight geopolitically about the dollar being the prime reserve currency. Now, I think we're having a national debate. We will continue to have a national debate. Do we want to be the prime reserve currency? There's tremendous amount of benefits from it. There's also obligations. One of the obligations you're seeing taking place right now in the Persian Gulf, this whole situation with giving these swap lines to these quite wealthy Gulf emirates that may be ain't so wealthy. Maybe a lot of it's ephemeral, maybe a lot of it's just phony. Maybe they have big cash problems and they just need it. So anyway, birchgold.com promo code bandit, end of the dollar empire. You can get that, no obligation, totally free. A little more in depth, but the guide for investing in gold and precious metals today, you get to fill up Patrick and his team and have them walk you through all the different methodologies and modalities of all the different ways that you can, that you can invest in gold, physical gold in the modern world and find out why it's been a hedge. Philip Patrick's team are best at talking through that. So go check them out today. The guys at Birch Gold. Also, this thing about people coming to me and said, president Trump's getting rid of the income tax. President Trump's doing this. You see it online all the time. And Cameron Kinsey from the first term is now over at Text Network usa. Understand, particularly if he didn't file. There's two things. These two kind of rumors bounce around. Number one, they're under such pressure because of cuts to the government that they don't have enough agents or enough IRS auditors that they're not going to be doing audits, not going to be checking. Number two is that President Trump's getting rid of the income tax. It's aspirational. President Trump saying, hey, if tariffs work right and other fees that we can charge, maybe foreign entities one day, maybe we can eliminate the income tax. That's his goal and objective. You know, Peter Navarro just said last segment, the entire history of the Republic with the Federal Reserve, well, thank God it was only created in the early 20th century along with the income tax. Because if the Federal Reserve had been from the very early days the Republic, we would never had the explosion in economic growth using the American system of Alexander Hamilton in the 19th century. That's why Andrew Jackson, the first great populist, fought the bank of the United States, which was a first cut of a Federal Reserve, of course owned by private individuals in New York City and basically shut down by Andrew Jackson, his great fight. But the IRS is not going away. And quite frankly with the deficits we've gotten, particularly you saw Pete getting lit up Yesterday with the $1.5 trillion in the defense budget, the current defense budget, and we're fighting this war right now, $25 billion. They said so far Scott Bessant's kind of the interim head or the guy overseeing it. They need all the cash they can get. If there's a big difference between what they think you owe, that would be the IRS and what you think you owe, that would be you. That gap is where you get a fight. 866-513-5516. This number's just for you. 866-513-55160. Tax Network USA is giving you war room posse member totally free. A discovery call which would normally cost hundreds of bucks, maybe even thousand or more. You get that to find out kind of what your situation is. These people have solved, I don't know, over a billion dollars of tax problems. Your tale of woe about the IRS they've heard before many times. So make sure you contact me. 866-513-5516. It is totally free and it comes with no obligation. Just like over at Birch Gold. All the information is free, has no obligations, so take advantage of it. Dr. Bradley Thayer, the president and you can tell he's and I've said this before, President Trump has read a lot of naval history. He's a very big believer in Mahan. Victory at Sea is one of his favorite documentaries in Samuel Elliot Morrison's book. It's one of favorite books on naval warfare. His entire hemispheric defense is Mahanian. Right. As we now make the Central Pacific the strategic pivot of the United States of America and not the heartland of the Eurasian landmass, which totally changes kind of world geopolitics that's been around or at least that fight of it's been around for thousands of years. Your thoughts as Admiral Cooper at CENTCOM briefed him yesterday when the range of alternatives. Where do you think we are, sir?

[D]

Well, Steve, Admiral, according to the Axios report Right. Cooper was briefing him on two major pillars, and that would be a Hormuz option, which might include ground forces and then special operators really working on to seize fissile material, the enriched uranium. I think President Trump has got three points of leverage here. First, the blockade is working extremely well, and that gives him. That's a very potent weapon to use against the Iranians. Secondly, he's got the threat of escalation, and that includes the following elements. First, we've learned a lot about where the Iranians are storing things given this hiatus, this break in targeting. So there are going to be a lot of more. There are going to be military targets that will be very usefully struck, as well as perhaps broadening that to the economic, civilian and economic targets, which of course, Iran does not want us to target. And then the third component there besides the blockade and essentially returning to military force would be China. The pain that he's putting on Communist China gives us a leverage as well. So those things are working, I think, very effectively in President Trump's favor against the Iranian regime. That said, of course, Iran has every incentive to drag this out as long as possible. So of those three elements, one that we haven't talked much about, Communist China is really going to come to the fore as we move into the mid May meeting, and pressure that is going to. The Xi Jinping is going to face.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Based on its economy, as Eric was saying.

[A]

Doctor, here's what I don't like about the framing so far. I didn't have time to send you this morning, but I get up this morning and go through all the European paper papers, on news sites in Asian, and then finally the American Financial Times and the American papers, they're clearly framing this, at least as of today, is that it's not so much the Iran war and how this has to be focused, but the CCP is saying this is going to be about Taiwan. I mean, it's pretty. I was pretty shocked about how their information warfare has framed this. That from Beijing's perspective, they're going to have a very detailed talk about Taiwan, and that is going to be complicated. Taiwan just put up numbers yesterday, folks. If you didn't see it, their economic growth is through the roof because of advanced chip design. I mean, the risk that they took years ago is paying off. Big league that they essentially make all the advanced chips that drives the world's economy and particularly the American economy. Your thoughts on that? I mean, did you see the same thing of how they're feeling this, that they're going to have a direct discussion about Taiwan.

[D]

And they want that, no doubt about it. And President Trump can tell them to go to hell with respect to that. Right. They can bring up Taiwan if they choose, but we don't have to engage on that. We can shoot that down. So no doubt that Taiwan is going to come up in the mid May meeting, trade, a lot of the South China Sea, East China Sea aggression that the CCP has launched against our allies and partners in the region. So, of course, the Communist Chinese can bring that up, but we're not going to bite on that. I hope the Trump administration very much does not play the CCP's game in trying to establish any type of linkage in that regard. If they want to bring up Taiwan, we can bring up the Uyghurs, we can bring up the genocide in Xinjiang, crushing of the Tibetan people. There are many other issues, the human rights record in general that we can bring up, and the illegitimacy of the Chinese Communist government. So if they want to go down that road, we can respond very quickly, I think, and very effectively.

[A]

My concern is there's an awful lot of business community. Remember this whole thing on AI, and we're going to talk to you about even more focused endeavors we're going to have on these data centers, which are a plague in this country. The oligarchs talk out of both sides of their mouth. We have to AI. We have to be China. We have to be China. At the same time, those oligarchs are totally in business with the Chinese Communist Party and don't want any confrontation with the Chinese Communist Party. We got about a minute and a half. Dr. Thayer, with that being reality, you know, there's a lot of people in President Trump's ear that he should reach some sort of rapprochement about Taiwan with the ccp. Your thoughts?

[D]

Well, it's clear, as we just discussed, the Communist China is aggressing. They have Taiwan in their sights and their moving every. They've taken for many, many years steps to prepare the battlefield in Taiwan. A way that we can shoot that down very effectively would be to cut off the chips. So it's important for everyone to recognize in the United States at any level, to recognize that they're gunning for Taiwan. Aggression is certain in that regard, and we need to respond now. Chips are a very effective way of doing that, as tariffs are. You just had Peter on, right. And so he can work his magic in that regard. And in fact, President Trump has said anybody helping Iran is vulnerable to very Significant tariffs, investment. We're still, money is still flowing from New York to Communist China. That needs to be cut off. The Trump administration has taken some measures in that regard, but that really needs to be ended. And then the students as well. The students, Chinese students that we have in the United States, 350,000 of them. That number has to be brought down as well. So we have a lot of leverage with respect to Iran, but we also have enormous amount of leverage with respect to the communist China and leading up to the May meeting. But Xi's gonna press us hard, as they always do, and we need to have our house in order, clearly.

[A]

Yeah. Where do people get you books gonna come out later this summer. Where do people get you for your writings?

[D]

Well, first, Steve, I just say Eric opened a Pandora's box with those photos. So I hope you've. He was a young man obviously in the Navy.

[A]

No, no, no.

[D]

So I, I hate if Cameron had that distributed more broadly. But

[A]

Dr. Thayer, thank you so much. And on May Day to lay Pete to tell talk to people. But the reality is, particularly in our education system, you're gonna see it today. Check your local news out. They'll make a big deal about these shutdowns at these high schools and led by these really, you know, these amazing teachers, the ones with the pink and purple hair short break. Back in a moment. Everyone's focused on how the conflict in the Middle east is raising oil prices. But there's another grim reality to this contention. Oil isn't the only resource being constrained. About one third of global fertilizer trade happens through this region. And with spring planting season on top of us, American farmers are sounding the alarm with some saying they can't afford to plant their fields. When one piece of the supply chain gets hit this hard, you know what comes next? Higher fruit prices, reduced availability, maybe even panic buying. That's why having an emergency food supply at home makes so much sense. And that's where our friends at my Patriot Supply come in. Right [e-mail] that is preparewithbannon.com we've set up an entire just site for the war room posse. You go to preparewithbannon.com that's all one word. Preparewithbannon.com you get a three month emergency food supply. They'll include a free mega protein Upgrade, an incredible $200 bonus you don't want to miss. It's a simple way to protect your family from whatever comes next. Go to preparewithband.com that is preparewithbannon.com to get your emergency food supply today. That's preparewithbannon.com do it today. Go check it out.

[C]

War Room here's your host, Stephen K. Band.

[A]

So we're already packed for this afternoon and tomorrow morning, and that doesn't include everything that's going to happen in the interim. So we're going to juggle here in the war room and make sure that you get all the information and analysis you need. I would just give you a heads up for the Warren Posse because you've been driving this for a couple of years. And remember, for those of you who've been with the show for A while, in 22, we would not, we have not, we would have never taken back the House unless it was for your efforts on the redistricting war. Of 22, 11 seats changed hands in redistricting. The Democrats picked up three and we picked up eight. And particularly in Florida, where we raised holy hell and really made the legislature there that had no interest in doing it. I think it was four seats at the time, which is really incredible. But we would have never taken back the House without that. We're not going to hold the House without this. Let me just be blunt. That's why this fight's so important. And we'll have more specifics today about who to light up because you can see those people that are MAGA and those people that are will put their shoulder to the what's so outrageous and I find so offensive is the south has been oppressed by this since the 1960s or 70s. It was clearly unconstitutional. Finally, people in Louisiana had the gumption to fight all the way through the Supreme Court 6 to 3. This was not close. This was not close in Alito buried him. And Kagan's response was, as we said today, 30 pages of whining or 30 over 60, I think were just whining. And you see it on TV last night. But to know that people in the south were not ready to hit it right away, it's unconstitutional. It has to be rectified right away. And for those that are getting on with it, good on you. And for those of you like Kemp and these people in Georgia, it's just once again their hatred of Trump, their hatred of Trump because they think they don't get these seats flipped. He's got a chance to get impeached. And that's what Kemp and these guys want. That's what the establishment wants. You heard it here first. I know it's shocking when I thank our sponsors, particularly my patron, every sponsor is given a special deal for the war on Posse. My Patriot supply set up a whole just site for us. Preparewithbannon.com you get a three month emergency food supply and it's $200 saving in value right there. And they'll throw in another $200 for a mega protein upgrade. How's that? The original price is $997 now 797. So you get 200 bucks right there and they throw in a $200 upgrade. Find all the details, go to preparewithbannon.com and talk to the customer service reps. This is what separates out my Patriot supply from everybody else. They do such amazing and great job. So check that out. Also the folks at Birchgold now more than ever I think you need to understand why gold has been a hedge and kind of what's in store. Remember, it's not the price of the prices run up quite a bit. It's the pattern recognition what drives value particularly as we go forward here with the brics nations and so much turmoil particularly in the Middle east among the big oil providers. You heard yesterday the first quarter was Santelli and Peter, we had Gardner on last night. You got the green sprouts of a manufacturing renaissance in this country. However, that's all run on energy and we'll have to see how this thing plays out. President Trump weighing his alternatives and we're going to talk a lot about that this afternoon. Also an update on the redistricting wars of which this I'm proud to say that this show has been at the tip of the tip of the spear. Now going on our fourth year of doing this big win in 22 we took the house and here I kept telling people don't get black pilled. This is you can have a net pickup of what we're talking about. 23 seats, 23 seats from Texas. And you folks have been there and fought the good fight every step of the way. Mike Lindell, brother, you're going all in on governor. You're making everybody proud. You're taking the fight. Mike Lindell, what's the first issue you're going to deal with after you take your hand off the holy Bible after being sworn in as the governor of Minnesota, what's the first thing you're going to deal with?

[F]

We've got to ban sharia law. The Islam coming into Minnesota when it we were the Trojan horse for it. I said it five years ago. Back then they called me racist. But now with all the fraud and it's opened people's eyes. That's the number one thing when I get first day, ban Sharia ra, bring back the Minnesota flag. And we have one other thing. Remember Governor Waltz put a satanic statue in our capitol in Knock St Paul and then he got an award for it. So that's somewhere in the capital.

[A]

Hang on, how can this, this is what I'm saying about these Marxists. Today's May Day. They're going to have all the high schools at Minneapolis are going to be terrible because they're all Marxists up there in the public education system. This is what they do. They applaud and want a satanic statue in the actual people's house in Minnesota. This is what turns them on. Correct? Because they can mock Christianity.

[F]

Absolutely. You've got the government. What our governor, what he said back then he goes, well, we've got to be fair. I'm going be fair to the devil. I go, you know, it's beyond comprehension. Then you got Keith Ellison, our Attorney General attacking my Christian platform. Lindell recoverynetwork.org he's been all in on the attack. He doesn't want people getting off addiction and finding Jesus. And this has been going on and, and it's this a bigger battle than people realize. It's a spiritual battle of biblical proportions. We're in. That's why these, these midterms coming up are the most important midterms in history.

[A]

Sir. We got about a minute and a half left, folks. Want to know how we doing on our deal?

[F]

Yeah, this is the last day, everybody. I told you yesterday, this is it. Let's get that last truck empty. We've got the my, we've got all these product stuff down there that we, that we, when we moved factories, we're closing out for good. So the, my slippers, they're 29.98 a pair. They're. Once they're gone, they're gone. And we're, we've got, they're 80% off. We come with a patented impact gel. But we've got bath mats. If you go to mypillow.com war room, we've got blankets, we've got kitchen towels. We're closing out as low as 9.98 for like a six pack set of towels. And we've got over 60 products. But remember, today's the last day free shipping on your entire higher order. Today's the day to take, take advantage of that with your mattresses, your mattress toppers that go on right on top of any bed to turn it into the best rejuvenation station ever. You guys, this is it. Emphasis. Empty that last truck today. Promo code war room, 800-873-1062.

[A]

Okay, brother, thank you so much. We'll see you back here in the five o' clock hour. Let's everybody get on on that deal. This is the last day of it. Mike Lindell's giving you the call. The Charlie Kirk show is next with Andrew Covet. You've got poso after that, Steve Gruber. Unreal America's voice. Eric Bowling and I'll do a transition today into the five o' clock show back here in the war room. See you at 5. The American Health care system is broken. And for most Americans, nothing changes. There's still delays, denials, high cost insurance, roadblocks. So when I find people doing things differently, I talk about it all. Family pharmacy is not your typical big chain pharmacy. This is an independent family owned pharmacy that gives you access to over 400 medications delivered straight to your door. They've got ivermectin, antibiotics, antivirals, nad, even your daily maintenance medications and so much more. If you already have a prescription, your doctor can send it directly. If you don't, their doctors handle it. As long as there is a medical necessity, they'll take care of you. And I'll tell you this, the feedback from people listening to this show and watching has been incredibly strong. People are using it, it's one working for them and they're sticking with it. That's because it cuts out the delays, the middlemen and all the usual nonsense. This is about being ready before you need it. Go to allfamilypharmacy.com that's all one word. All familypharmacy.com Bannon and use code Bannon10 to save 10%. The health care system is broken. Your pharmacy doesn't have to be.