
Episode 5382: President Trump Speaks About America's New Ballroom ...
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Donald Trump
Bill, Cassie's lost because he tried to destroy Trump. Massey's going to lose because he's trying to destroy the agenda. You can disagree with President Trump, but if you try to destroy him, you're going to lose because this is the party of Donald Trump.
Interviewer
Can you disagree with the president because
Political Analyst
another Trump target is out of a job? As you just heard from Senator Lindsey Graham, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy is the latest Republican to lose his seat after crossing President Trump. He lost his president primary, he might not be the last. Showing once again that Donald Trump is willing to spend time and money, a whole lot of money, to crush dissent among the Republican ranks. But to what end?
Political Commentator
I know this personally. As you know, I remember I was thrown out in a church convention, you know, during COVID because I was probably one of the first, right to to feel the wrath of that specific type of retribution. And I think I'm happy that I did it right. I'm very proud of it. And I think part of what you're looking at, too, with Senator Cassidy, he's in a red. The person that's going to replace him is probably going to win. Even if it's a plus two or minus two or a plus three or minus three differential, right, in the pbi, or how they win, it doesn't really matter, right? If Cassie won by nine points and say the person who replaces them as MAGA wins by seven, it doesn't matter because they still win. And President Trump is willing to put those type of resources and time into doing that. So right now what you're saying is that anybody who bucks the system, as Kevin McCarthy told me, Denver, you're out of the current. So once you're out of the current, you're not really part of the system anymore, which that means fundraising gets taken away from you. You lose, you know, your ability to get laws or to get even, any type, anything through committee processes. And I think, you know, Senator Cassidy probably realized pretty quickly that that was going to happen. But here's the. There's the thing, and I'll end with this. This is a guy who got RFK Jr through. So for me, right, seeing Cassidy, you know, on the end of this, it really doesn't matter. He already did such incredible damage that the person replacing him is gonna be equally as bad, but really comes down to personal retribution. The fact that MAGA is still firmly in Donald Trump's corner, to me, the
Political Strategist
most striking number here is think about the fact that after January 6, 17 congressional Republicans voted to impeach Trump. Now, that's not a lot, but it's a significant number. Ten House Republicans, seven senators. In the years that followed that five. Five of them lost their next primary. Eight of them decided not to run again because they saw no path forward.
Donald Trump
Right.
Political Strategist
So for Albany, very small number of people like Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski deciding to vote against Trump was the end of their political career. And, you know, I do tend to think that part of the reason this White House is so intent on destroying any Republican who dares, you know, speak out against him, disagree with him, certainly vote against him, is because it's almost like they have their finger in the dam. Right. They're trying to prevent this giant tidal wave of dissent and backlash that is inevitably going to come after these midterms. All bets are off, right? Donald Trump is officially a lame duck president. Every Republican in Washington is going to start trying to jockey for position to run in 2028. And I'm sorry, but Donald Trump can do whatever he wants. And I'm sure that people in orbit will try to prevent what's coming, but it's going to come. There will be a big old fight in the Republican Party about where to go after Donald Trump. And right now, he's just trying to do everything he can to hold that off as long as possible.
Political Analyst
Two state Supreme Court races, and I still think it is crazy that we elect judges anywhere, but we do. And because of the way Georgia's judicial elections work, these races tomorrow aren't primaries. This is it. Whoever wins these races tomorrow is going to end up on the Georgia Supreme Court. Supreme Court. Now, Georgia Supreme Court is technically nonpartisan, but right now, that court is dominated by conservatives who were appointed by Republican governors. Two of those Republican appointees are up for reelection tomorrow. And no sitting Georgia Supreme Court justice has lost a reelection challenge in over a century. But tomorrow, there are two candidates who are making a really strong effort to try to do just that. Their names are Miracle Rankin and Jen Jordan. They both have gotten big endorsements from people like former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Kamala Harris. If those two challengers win, it would not only change the composition of the Georgia State Supreme Court, which is a huge deal in its own right, but it would also, I think, change the way Georgia voters think about Supreme Court elections going forward. It would also be a big sign of Democratic enthusiasm in a really important state where both the governorship and the U.S. senate are up for grabs this year in terms of early voting. Already more than a million people have voted early in Georgia. Democrats have outpaced Republicans by about 15% of the votes cast.
Donald Trump
I'll say that again.
Political Analyst
Democrats have outpaced Republicans by 15% of the votes cast in early voting already. It's going to be fascinating to watch this one. Polls close 7pm Eastern Time tomorrow in Georgia. Watch this space.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
Tuesday the 19th of May in the year of Lord, our 2026, it's election day. Commonwealth of Kentucky, state of Georgia, Idaho, others. We're going to cover this all throughout the day. We're going to go to Georgia, particularly off the talking about the bunker, the secret bunker in Fulton County. So we got all the players associated with that are going to be on this morning. We're going to talk about Georgia. We're going to start in Texas, the Caroline Wren. And not all these are perfect. I realize there's some that are, that are, you know, personal vendettas and, you know, some are about policy. But as one of the people in the engine room told me, watching the cold open, it's not so much being outside. The current is getting caught in the undertow of the riptide, is it not, ma'? Am?
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
Certainly. And that's what happened to Bill Cassidy. I mean, this was a resounding defeat of a two term incumbent Senator Bill Cassidy, who mustered, I believe only 25% of the primary vote. He didn't even make the runoff. He came in third. And I will say that the grassroots, but particularly Maha played a huge role in this complete shellacking of Cassidy in Louisiana. And this was a vote that took place five and a half years ago. But people do not forget when you betray President Trump, when you, I believe, betray democracy in the way that he did. Primary voters don't forget that, nor should they. And so I was thrilled to see him go. He needed to go. And so it's a big win for the MAGA movement. And yes, I mean, today we have primaries in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania. And then all eyes turn to the runoff in Texas, which is next Tuesday.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
But the early vote, give me a minute. On Make America Healthy again. We had Tony Lyons on last night this but Politico in the New York Times spent the last two weeks telling us that it's, it's a flop in the Washington Post, too. It's a flop. It's a failure when you talk to voters, it's all an Internet phenomenon and on the war room. But other than that, it doesn't move the needle. It has no power on Capitol Hill and certainly no stroke in these primaries. What does Cassidy tell us about that, ma'.
Donald Trump
Am.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
Well, that's absolutely. I think the Maha movement has huge, huge power. It had a huge power in the massive popular vote win that President Trump had then. Also, Kennedy's doing a great job in the role. We're seeing a ton of movement out of there. And in Louisiana, this was a particular battle for the Maha movement. Bill Cassidy had been against everything that the Maha movement stood for. You know, he did end up voting for Kennedy, but not after, you know, having to put us through the wringer during that confirmation vote. But he's still just been obstructing the Maha movement at every moment. And so the Maha movement, I think, really turned out and said, no, we don't want you anymore. And they showed their power that they could play. The thing about the Maha Movement is they have power to play not only in primaries, but also in general elections, making them a very, very lethal movement in this country.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
The Hill story, lead story. Because here's what's so shocking about it. It's not simply that a sitting senator was defeated, a city senator in the South. Right. Because you know how they lock in down there, the city. He finished third. He did not make the runoff. That is what so I think people are stunned about. The Hill newspaper today had an article about how John Thune in the Republican Conference and Stephen Law. Those guys are shocked right beyond belief that. Because I thought, worst case, he'll get in the runoff and he'll beat let low, you know, in the, in the, in the, in the runoff, like they helped Cornyn did. But they, they, he didn't, didn't even come close to making the runoff, ma'. Am.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
Of course, I know they're probably shocked. But the thing is, there is no movement behind those folks. There's no movement behind preserving the Senate rules and preserving the filibuster. All they have behind them is money. And, you know, they didn't spend as much money as I expected them to on Cassidy. I think they kind of saw the writing on the wall with the, with the, I guess, polling numbers. But also they've also wasted so much money in Texas that their resources can only stretch so, so far. But, but with Cassidy, I mean, he just, he really had no chance. And even, I think in the clip that you were playing in the beginning, they talk about how almost every senator that voted to impeach Trump is now gone. Except for now, Murkowski and Collins. Well, don't forget, Murkowski lost her primary. Right. Like, so she actually was defeated in the primary. She just ended up running A, a write in campaign that she was able to win. So I would actually put that in the category of being defeated in a primary.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
Yes, she ran. It's an independent. That funky way they do it up in Alaska talk. Let's pivot to the, let's not bury the lead. The $150 million that has everybody's attention and has the MAGA movement outrage in Texas. Cornyn yesterday admitted he doesn't think, he doesn't think a Trump endorsement is coming. His quote was that ship has sailed. Do you buy that?
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
I certainly hope so. And that ship should have sailed. It should have sailed from the moment he tried to. He defended Lisa Monaco and every other foe that Donald Trump has had. And the entire closing argument from the Corning campaign as allies is that Paxton is unelectable in the general. And I just want to take a moment to point out how preposterous that is. I mean, the Democrats need to pick up four seats for majority. They're also defending three seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire. And so when you, when you go to look up those for pickup seats, I was actually watching David Axelrod said this. He said there's no way we should play in Texas or we're going to play in Texas. It's too expensive. They're better off trying to play in Alaska or Ohio or Nebraska or Iowa, which are much, much cheaper. But you know, they poured, the Democrats have learned this lesson. They poured millions behind calling all red and Beto got them nowhere in Texas. Texas is a deep red state. I don't care if it's Paxton or Cornyn. The Republican nominee is going to win. Which leads us to the point of why you should then vote for Ken Paxton. There is no reason why John Cornyn deserves a fifth term from Texans. He cannot point to any legislative accomplishments that he has done over those four terms. And it's time to have some new blood and someone like Ken Paxton who is unshackled from the corporate money from D.C. establishment. And so that is why I'm just hoping and praying that Paxton has a big victory coming up next Tuesday. And the number one thing the Warren posse needs to be doing is calling and texting every single person they know in Texas, remind them about this runoff and tell them that they've got to vote for Ken Paxton.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
Yeah, it's all about turnout. The turnout is, is absolutely important here for the grassroots.
Donald Trump
It doesn't.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
This all point back to John Thune, though, the Save America Act. You, you came up with this great idea that Ken Paxton jumped on that Ken Paxton would actually jump, jump out of the race. If Cornyn got the save. If he got really in, in the grill of John Thune and got the Save America act, of course that thing died. It was all performative. And they're lying to President Trump isn't time. Because I think we're going to hold the House because of the great work of you and Alex De Grasse on being bomber command and doing these redistricting, which was a trench warfare. Brian Harris and the folks in Texas, I actually feel pretty good about the House given that hopefully the economic situation won't worsen with these interest rates. But the Senate, I just don't see. I don't see anybody as I go around the country or have people and talk, you know, have these meetings after the show. I don't see any enthusiasm on a mass basis for the grassroots to turn out for these senators. I think we can actually lose the Senate no matter how much money they've got. Isn't the way we counter that, isn't it? To remove John Thune as leader and to do it asap.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
You know, when Corny made his comment yesterday about how, oh, that ship has sailed with the Trump endorsement, I'm like, actually, it hasn't sailed. Paxton literally handed you a way to be the captain of the ship, and it was, get Save America passed and I will step aside and let you be the next senator. And John Cornyn refused to be a captain of that ship, refused to try and get his colleagues. He changed his own personal opinion, which he didn't actually change it, he just pandered. But he wasn't able to go convince his colleagues. And so we still now are months down the road without the Save America act passed. And I think that's preposterous. And so I love what Trump is doing right now where he's saying, all right, fine, how about you attach it to the must pass FISA bill or the must pass housing bill? And I hope Trump doesn't try to attach it to those things and say, no, I'm not going to sign these bills on my desk unless you put the same America act language on there. Because it is the most important piece of legislation not only to President Trump, but to the integrity of our elections and this country. And John Cornyn did absolutely nothing to try and get his Senate colleagues on board. And he could have cut a deal with John Thune and said, let's deliver the votes for President Trump. Let's nuke the filibuster and pass the Save America act and he didn't. He wasn't able to do it. So you're right. Now the ship has sailed. But don't blame President Trump for that. We tried to give you a lifeline, Senator Cornyn, and you didn't take it.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
Okay, can you hear for one second? I know you got a bounce. I just want to hold you through commercial break for a moment with Thune. We don't have. He keeps up. We don't have 60 votes. We don't have 51 votes, but we got 27 votes. Caroline came up with Paxton. This amazing offer to Cornyn to get Save America Act, Save the Save America act passed and Ken Paxton would drop out. He didn't really put any effort. Didn't happen. The President says, hey, you got to attach it now to must pass legislation like FISA and all these other must pass pieces of legislation. Thune hasn't done that. He's not going to do it. It's time now to remove. You're going to lose the Senate. Flat out. Done. Unless Thune is removed as leader. You got 27 votes. Remove the leader. Put somebody else in. Get some energy. Short break. The American health care system is broken. And for most Americans, nothing changes. There's still delays, denials, high cost insurance, roadblocks. 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I think we'll get to more of that in the implications and the impact and Ambo Lynn's impact on American history. How's that? CAROLINE wren, Miss South Carolina ma'.
Donald Trump
Am.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
So today is day three of the South Carolina special session. The special session was called by Governor McMaster to get redistricting passed. And yesterday the Democrats in the House, they put up over 6, 600amendments in a not so naked effort to delay the redistricting bill. And thankfully the Republicans in the state House called their bluff, changed up the rules late last night to expedite the process. And so today they will continue the debate. But the redistricting bill is expected to pass tomorrow morning and head over to the Senate. The Senate is where we had problems, but you know, I, I don't expect that this time. The Senate will debate it on Wednesday and Thursday should probably go to a vote on Friday. And then we're hopeful that it could pass either, you know, Sunday or Monday. And when we had trouble with the state Senate before, there was a you had to get two thirds the majority to pass it. This time around, we only need a straight up majority, which we have more than enough votes for that. And so I'm now very, very optimistic about South Carolina, feeling very, very good about it. Seems some of these state senators really heard from the war room posse and are not really causing many problems. So I think we're looking good in South Carolina. So it's a good update, but we
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
ought to stay at the ramparts. And what a, what a magnificent thing to accomplish over Memorial Day. You could not honor.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
Right.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
You cannot honor our war heroes who gave their lives for this republic. Just amazing. Caroline Wren, where do people, where do people go for Bomber command? We always have to be, particularly this week, folks, early voting. Scott Pressler is down there. Early voting has started in Texas. It's everything. We have to have turnout there. Caroline Wren, where do we go?
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
It's Caroline Wren on X Truth Social and Getter.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
Ma', am, thank you so much. Amazing. Absolutely incredible. So, Garland Favorito, we're going to have the lieutenant governor Candidate, hopefully Greg Dobersol, who's, I think, the guy doing the suit. But tell us, you know, Paul Sperry and others came out yesterday, this bunker. How can this happen in Georgia? How can there be something, as you put up yesterday, magnificently against Georgia state code, it absolutely breaks the law, given all the problems we've had in Georgia. You had the Director of National Intelligence down there overseeing a transfer of evidence that which Abby Lowell and Norm Ison went to court and spent millions of dollars trying to get it back. And they told the judge, we're going to destroy it as soon as we get it. This thing in Georgia is so out of control. I get literally texts and calls from people all over the world, the Internet, not just the national audience of the war room, the international audience, going, what is going on? You know, we go through the airport in Georgia. It's a renowned state, right. You get global television coverage of the Masters. People love Georgia. But this thing is like a third world banana republic, sir.
Election Expert (Garland Favorito)
Steve, I wish I had a great answer for you, but I don't. Basically, he has been violating the law ever since he first went on to the system. And he bought this $100 million system that was violated two statutes right up until two weeks ago when he was actually. He was actually doing his own election challenge, adjudicating his own election challenge, which also violates the law as well. So it is just really something that is continued. And I think the reason, Steve, is because there is a collusion between this Republican Secretary of State and the Democrats in Fulton County. So the Democrat judges in Fulton have covered up for Ravensburg and protected him, and he has then protected them, as you know, in regards to all the election activity which appear to be absolutely criminal that occurred dating back to 2020.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
When you say actually criminal, I mean, this is the reason the FBI and DNI were down there and the reason the judge, I guess, came on our side for this evidentiary hearing. What do you hear about. Because this is just more crimes. I mean, they're committing more crimes in broad daylight. When do you think this thing is going to be brought to head? Do you have any idea? You're one of the major plaintiffs in all this. You're one of the major witnesses in all this. You have any feel for how this is going to be brought to you? Because now we're through another primary. Right. And nothing's happened.
Election Expert (Garland Favorito)
Well, right. This particular issue, I think, will be brought to a head today on the secret bunker, because right now, I believe, as we speak, the hearing has Started. Judge Glanville has granted the petitioner's attorney, David Als, a hearing to make his case, even though Secretary Ravensburger's attorney will not be there for five days. He requested five days. And the judge has granted an emergency hearing because of irreparable harm that will be done to Senator Dozal, as well as Chris Mora, congressional candidate in the 11th district, and a commission candidate there in Cobb County, Kelly Gambrell. They're all on this lawsuit and they are being backed up in part by the new congressman, Clay Fuller out of the 14th, who has requested congressional observers for this election. So hopefully all this pressure, and thanks again to the war room posse, hopefully all of this will result in forcing Secretary Ravensburger to actually follow Georgia election law, which clearly states that all election officials have to perform their duties in public.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
Garland, is there good news to take out of here and that both Rastenberger and Chris Carr and the attorney general here was just as bad. Both of those guys are running for governor. Are they finished? I hear they're finishing a distant third, fourth or fifth. Is that so? Are Georgia Republicans onto what they've done and not supporting them?
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
Yes.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
Hang on. We're going to cut to the president right now, live. Let's go. Thanks.
Donald Trump
You'll see some interesting things and I'll show that to you in a second. You want to grab that, please? I'll show that to you in a second. The facility. There will never be another building like this built. That I could tell. I built a lot of great things, but there will never be anything like this built. And what we have is the roof is dead flat with absolutely nothing but strength on it. It's very strong steel. It's drone proof, and it's meant for our military to be able to stay on it. You get a view of Washington. Also for the drone building capacity. Some of that takes place right down here. You can see the very large piping and the other things that it's a very complex building. It's all knit together. The roof goes with the ground floor. The ground floor goes with the roof. The roof also goes down into the basement. Everything is connected, intertwined, elevators, heating, air conditioning. It's one building. That's why we're trying to explain that this is one well knit building. One does it. One thing doesn't work without the other. Very importantly, though, in terms of the beauty, probably the closest thing to this would be the US Supreme Court. The facade of the US Supreme Court. So here's a couple of things you can look at how are you? There will never be another thing like this. I don't believe built from a car standpoint, this is all my money and donors money. This is tax free. So everyone's talking about they're going to give money, they're going to give money. The money they're going to give is really for the security of that and the whole White House premises. And I guess you probably need that nowadays. We've done. The fencing on the outside of the wet hats is all titanium. You see the black fencing? That's been just done recently and it was approved originally by me and it's been completed. And it's very powerful, very powerful. The tractor, a bulldozer cannot knock it over. It goes down deep. And it's titanium, which is the strongest of all of the metals, much stronger than steel. As an example, the ballroom is all. It's going to be a tremendous, tremendous thing. As an example, what happened a couple of weeks ago at the White House, correspondent said it could not happen here. One thing that we have is we don't have people living above it. We don't want that. That's no good. They have a thousand units above it with the elevator coming right down next to where the convention or whatever it may be is. So this is a room that's been wanted for 150 years by presidents. We have no room to have an event. The only way you can have an event is if you build a tent on the lawn. And the tent would not do the job. And by the way, if it rains here, because this is built on a wetland, the lawn is. Is impossible to deal with. The water goes over everybody's shoes. It literally goes over the shoes. So. And they've had a lot of catastrophes with the tent. So we have this. And if you take a look at this section, this is the different facade. So this is a Greek, more or less. It comes out of Greece. This is the ultimate facade for Greece. This faces the treasury building. This faces. This is a different facade. That's Rome and that faces the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, etc. So you have two facades. Primarily. You have two entrances. You have here, you have here. But the primary entrance is through the White House. Directly through the White House. And it's really something. I think you can see the complexity. All of these columns go directly up to the roof. And the roof is a barrier, it's a shield because it's made out of. The side walls are steel, impenetrable steel, and also imperial penetrable glass. The glass is approximately 4 inches thick. And yet it's amazing. You can see through it as though it didn't exist. It's amazing. And it can stop just about anything, just about anything. On the other side of the glass we have steel and concrete so that the glass is very powerful. What's holding the glass is equally as strong, powerful. And that's here you can see they're just about ready to go up to the top. All of these columns, they go directly right to the roof of the building. And again, we call it a drone port. It's set up for unlimited numbers of drones. Purposely, we don't have any air conditioning equipment up there because we don't want anything coming down through the pipes. If anybody gets. Normally you'd have a lot of air conditioning equipment on the roof. We built it all inside the building, inside the case of the building, because we don't want to have anything having to do with air or air quality or any problems playing with the air. So you'll notice it's a dead flat roof with no equipment on it. All of the equipment is inside of the building. And that's for safety reasons. Normally you do it a lot less expensive, you do it a different way. So all of this was paid for by myself. And because I keep hearing like I'm not, we are making a gift of this boy. This is a gift. This is not going to be paid for by the taxpayer. We have a judge that thinks it's a terrible thing that we're making a gift. He said it's terrible that we're making a gift that should be paid for by the taxpayer. That's one I've never heard before, but I'm sure maybe, I don't know, maybe he doesn't understand. This is a gift to the United States of America. And more than a gift, it's going to be one of the most beautiful buildings that's ever been built in the country or in Washington D.C. so here's the other facade you see over here. And again, this is taking these great classic old buildings. They're taken out of different parts of the world from very glamorous times. This is Rome. They like the flat roof. Greece likes the. They call it the triangles. And you see that this is a porch that looks out over the city also. It's developed in such a way that we can have military there, but the entire roof is developed for military. They're very high. They're higher than just about anything else. They have a 360 degree vision of Washington, D.C. they have a massive drone capacity. Not only is it drone proof, if a drone hits it, it bounces off, it won't have any impact. But it's also meant as a drone port. So it protects all of Washington. The roof of the building. Okay. Now, does anybody have any questions? If you want, you can take. I think you can bring your cameras up, but you might want to take a look at the complexity. These are all different rooms down here. They're building a hospital. They're building. It's a military hospital. They're building all sorts of research facilities, also meeting rooms and rooms that go hand in hand for the military. Using the ballroom. And the ballroom is really a shield and protecting all of the things that are built here. This goes, as you see, it's already up to the ground. This goes down very deep. You get a better view right over here. This is down because we've already done these floors, but these are already down two floors. That is down about six stories deep. That's big stuff. Normally when you build a ballroom, you build it flat. You just build a ballroom. It would have been built. The complexity of this. And again, it's all knit. It's all knit together between the drone proofing, the missile proofing we have and the drone capacity upstairs. We can have all sorts of military up. Whether. I hate to use the word snipers, but we have great sniper capacity. It's built for our snipers, not the enemy snipers, our snipers. And because of the height, we get a very clear view of everything all over Washington. Yeah. Mr. President, you mentioned that this is being paid for out of pocket, but why is Congress in pocket? It's going to be different. Well, they're not. Congress is approving. Yeah, Congress is approving money for security. It may go. Some of it may go here for additional security. I don't know. But Congress is approving money. But this building, I mean, I put up the money, built this building along with a lot of great patriots. People have put up a lot of money to build the building. And we have a building that is going to be. I think it's going to be potentially the most beautiful building in all of Washington. And with that is great military capacity. We're building it in conjunction with the United States military and the Secret Service. Well, they have a budget in Secret Service and the military to do some of the work that you see right here. So the answer is, I think they want to enhance what you see. It's. It's very powerful. You see what's happening. It's very powerful concrete. It's 9,000 pound concrete that if you know anything about contract, it's very, very strong. That's very strong concrete. But they probably want to enhance the area. They get to spend money. This is a very sacred piece of land. This is the White House. And they want to do things, but all of everything that you see and the money that's being put up to build the ballroom. And again, the ballroom, it's necessary for the ballroom to be built with what you see over here, it's all knit in, the air conditioning, the heating, the drone capacity, the shield, you know, the ball. A lot of things going on downstairs. And some of it you see this goes down six stories, you see three stories because it's already been built. This will be very shortly. This will be in the form of the roof, goes along these lines. Basically, it goes outside. You see where the, the wood is. You're going outside side of that line and then it goes straight up and it's all protection and everything's together. You can't build one without the other. And what we have is we have the safest building ever built, in my opinion. You can have. And, you know, the other thing is, when we're right on budget, we're right on plan. The only budget change would be that we double the size. At the request of the military, we doubled the size. But we're right on budget, right on plan. And originally we're going to build a much smaller room. And it wouldn't have done the job. It just wouldn't have done the job. You have too many events. Like, if we have President XI coming here, we have no place to put him. We had the King and the Queen the other day, and we had a thousand people wanted, and we had. We ended up having 100 people sitting in a bird's bowl. So they've been after this for a long time. But maybe more important is the safety element. This is a shield that protects everything that's inside, everything that's on top. And, you know, obviously, the White House was built in 1792. Yeah, it's awfully hard there. It's awfully hard to do that kind of a capacity that we've done here. So this will give future presence. But you have to understand, when this is finished, my term ends shortly after that. This is really for other presidents. This is not for me. This is my gift to the United States of America. I'm going to be able to use it very little, because when it's finished, we're talking about six or Seven months. But it will be used for hopefully hundreds of years for other presidents. And there will never be anything like this built again. There'll never be a room built like with the safety as an example. If we had the White House correspondents dinner here would have been no problem. I have, I have. I better not tell you about that, Daniel. But yeah, we have. Everybody wants to be here for the first event. We're talking about heads of nation. So we have some very special places that it could happen. You know, we have, we had, literally, if the king and queen were, you know, we had this finished, we would have had an event that would have been 10 times essential. I mean, we literally were in a little room in the White House President. Now, now we're not even talking about safety. Presidents have been asking for this literally from the time the White House has been built. But on record for 150 years, they've said, what about a big room? And you all know you probably attended. They have some where they use tents. If it rains, it's a disaster. We will have to have a safe country. Country. We have to have a great country. We have to make sure that Iran doesn't get a nuclear weapon. All of the things that you see me fighting for so hard. And it's always tough. You know, we're negotiating with Iran. And then you have the Democrats, I call them the Democrats putting in a bill that Trump should immediately stop. You know how it is to negotiate with a country where you're beating them badly. They come to the table, they're begging to make a deal. Because they're begging to make a deal. I hope we don't have to do the work, but we may have to give them another big hit. We may have to give them another big hit. I'm not sure yet. You'll know very soon. But how do you feel when you're negotiating? You're winning every point. And they say, but in Washington, they want to stop you from negotiating. They want to stop you. And it's only political. It's the Democrats, they're dumb. It's a new name. It's a very accurate name. So I'm in the middle of a negotiation. I'm saying, you cannot have a nuclear weapon. And it comes over the wire that the Democrats want to stop Trump from further negotiations. They want to stop Trump from, if he has to, giving them another slap. They want to have a nuclear weapon to blow up the Middle east and to blow up, frankly, the world. It's not going to happen. Nice to see you, by the way, good job.
Interviewer
Were you striking around?
Donald Trump
I was. I was. I was an hour away. We were all set to go. You're talking about yesterday? Yes, we were going to be striking very. It would have been happening right now. Yeah, it was all done. The boats, the ships are all loaded. They're loaded to the brim and we're all set to start. They said that they feel they've had for the first time in almost 47 years. You know, Iran's been the bully of the Middle east for 47 years. I mean, literally the bully of the Middle East. And they're nasty. Very nasty, very dangerous. They wanted a nuclear weapon. Had I not terminated Barack Hussein Obama's Iran nuclear deal, Had I not terminated it. See, that's the wind. That can't happen with the real structure.
Interviewer
Mr. President, on Cuba, what do you want to see from Cuba's doctor?
Donald Trump
You're talking about Cuba. Well, we're going to see. Look, Cuba is calling us. They need help. Look, Cuba is a failed nation. Cuba needs help, and we'll do that. Just hold them, though. It's like an exercise game. Give that to me. I'll hold it. I'll hold it. So beautiful. See, I look so thin. They'll say, oh, he's gotten so thin because I'm holding this. You don't have to look at my waist. You can look at this. You saw enough of my waist. Along with President Xi, are you confident
Interviewer
that you can reach a diplomatic with Cuba?
Donald Trump
I think so. Yeah. I think so. We are. I am very prone toward the Cuban Americans. They've been incredible people. Many of them have lost family members. They've been. Been very badly hurt themselves. They've been in prison. They've come to this country. They've been very successful. The Cuban American people in Miami, I mean, they are amazing people. Most of them are in Miami. In Florida, but mostly in Miami. I'm very, very prone to helping them. I mean, that's. They've been. I think I got 97% of that vote. I want to help them. Now they have family members in Cuba. They've been treated very, very badly. They've been treated extremely badly, and we're going to get that solved. That's not going to be hard for us to solve.
Interviewer
You can do that without changing the regime?
Donald Trump
Well, I don't know about changing the regime. I can do that. Whether you change a regime or not. You know, it's been a rough regime. They've killed a lot of people. But it's a country that really needs help. It has nothing. They can't turn on the lights. They can't eat. We don't want to see that.
Interviewer
How much notice did the Gulf nations have. How much notice did the Gulf nations
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
have that you were going to do
Donald Trump
these strikes before they asked you to pause? They called me over the last two days to say they made a lot of progress because we have them negotiating with us and primarily Saudi Arabia, Qatar, uae, Kuwait, a little bit, and Bahrain and some of the others. And we have them negotiating with. We're all working together. It's like a team. And Israel, of course, and Israel has been a great partner. And so we are negotiating together. I got a call from numerous of these people. They know the people in Iran, don't forget, when you talk about regime change, I think it's the ultimate regime change, because the first level and the second level are no longer with us. They're someplace, but they're no longer with us. So we have real regime change. But I got a call yesterday, sir, could you wait? We think we're close to a deal, and that's okay. Now, I've heard it before with these people, and they change their mind. I made deals with them. No nuclear. We immediately get the nuclear dust. And they said, you're the only one can get it. Because the bombers did such an unbelievable job that the mountain literally collapsed on top of it. They said us. And they thought China would be the only two countries that could even get it. But I think it's important to get it, maybe psychologically more than anything.
Interviewer
No. How long did they know that you were playing the Gulf region?
Donald Trump
They knew I was getting ready to attack. I didn't tell them. I'd never tell anybody when.
Interviewer
You're a constant contact.
Donald Trump
I never tell anybody when. But. But they knew that we were very close. I would say we were. I was an hour away from making. Making the decision to go today. And we would probably not be talking about a beautiful ballroom today. We'd be talking about that. And no, we were. I had made the decision. So they called up. They had heard I made the decision and said, sir, could you give us a couple of more days? Because we think they're being reasonable.
Interviewer
How long does that take for Iran?
Donald Trump
Well, I mean, I'm saying two or three days. Maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something. Maybe early next week, a limited period of time, because we can't let them have a nuclear weapon. If they had a nuclear weapon, they would start with Israel, they would blow it up, and they would blow it up fast. But they'd blow it up. And I'll tell you what, they go after Saudi Arabia, they'd go after Kuwait, they'd go after uae, they go after Qatar, they go after. I think they go after the entire Middle East. And it would be a whole different negotiation. It would not be. It would be. It would be nuclear holocaust. And there's no question in my mind that they'd use it. There's no question. And I deal with these people. They're extremely radicalized. These are not people like what I deal with you. You're a very nice guy. These are people that are seriously radicalized. They would use it. The only question would it be the first minute, the first hour, or the first day? I'm not doing this politically. I'm doing. Look, everyone tells me it's unpopular, but I think it's very popular. When you. When they hear that it's having to do with nuclear weapons, weapons that could take out Los Angeles, could take out major cities very quick. When they hear that, you know, when they're explaining, I'll tell you what, when we explain it to people, I don't really have enough time to explain to people. I'm too busy getting it done. When they understand, I think it's a. I think it's frankly very popular. But whether it's popular or not popular, I have to do it because I'm not going to lift the. The world be blown up on my watch. It's not going to happen.
Interviewer
Thomas Massey and your endorsed candidate.
Donald Trump
Yeah.
Interviewer
Do you think your candidate can beat him and what are you seeing?
Donald Trump
Yeah. Thomas Massey is a terrible congressman. He's been a terrible congressman from day one. Dealing with him is just a horrible. I don't think he's a Republican. I think he's actually. I think he's actually a Democrat. He's not a Libertarian. You know, sometimes they. They say he's really a Democrat. He votes against us all the time. He voted against the border wall. He voted against men playing in women's sports. He voted against transgender for everybody, the mutilization of your children. He voted against, again, open borders. We have the best border we've ever had right now. Nobody's coming in. I mean, a report just came out in the last 11 months. Literally nobody has been allowed into our country illegally. We're taking people legally. They go through a process, but nobody's coming to our country. But we've taken out hundreds of thousands of people. We had 10,000. It was 10,800, 11,888 murderers. Many of these murders allowed into our country from prisons. They were in prisons. Many of these people killed more than. Than one. More than 50% killed more than one person. This was gross malfeasance. This was. On behalf of the Biden administration. I don't know Biden because I don't think he knew he was alive. But she. Kamala was the border czar. She never called, not one time. She never called the border patrol. She never called ice. She never called law enforcement. She never went to the border. Think of it. I used to call every single day, and that's recently. Now I call less. We have nobody coming through. We have. We had caravans coming through with tens of thousands of people pouring into our country. We had no idea who they were. We would have been. I'll tell you what that would. Our country would have been destroyed if they won this election. Our country would have been. We have now the hottest country anywhere in the world. If they had won the election, our country. Country would have been destroyed. Our country was a dead country two years ago. And now we have, really, the hottest country in the world. And this is the ballroom, and it's going to be something incredible. You see the quality of it. And they go right. Those columns go right into the roof. And on top of the roof, we're going to have the greatest drone empire that you've ever seen, and it's going to protect Washington. Thank you all very much. We have a little breakfast for you.
Interviewer
Really?
Donald Trump
Yeah. Where is your breakfast?
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
I'd have it.
Donald Trump
Where is it? Oh, it's right over here. We have a little bit of a breakfast here. I figured I'd be nice to you. Well, I think that it was great. Thousands of people showed up, and it was a beautiful everything. Beautiful day. I did. I did. Scripture. You think it's easy to read scripture? It's not easy to read scripture. That's a whole different ball game. That's not like reading a speech. We will build the wall. This is a whole different deal. But I did it proudly, and I guess it was broadcast. We had tremendous crowds. I think religion is very important for a country. I think having really this country was. Was built largely on religion. If you look, it was built so. And when you have strong religion, you have less crime. It's just a fact, you know, whatever it may be, it's like, gee, I want to go to heaven, so I'm not going to do this or that. Who knows? But we have a country that was based on religion, and I'm very proud of that. And if you look and you see all of the polish, I mean, polling is so fake. But on this, it's not fake. Religion is really going up in the last year. And during the time. I mean, really during the time I first got elected in 2016, it's a much different thing. I'm very proud of that. Religion is a good thing. Christianity, it's a great thing for our country. I mean, so many of the things that we. We've done, the successes that we've had, have been based on. On Christianity and religion. So I'm very proud of that. Religion is taking off like our country has taken off. Our country is hotter now than it's ever been. And I'll tell you, religion is making a tremendous comeback. You look at churches today, they're full. You go back two, three years, nobody was going. So we're very happy with it. Mr. President, why do you think about the age that we see happening? Yeah, yeah. No, I'm always concerned. I see things happening. Look, from the beginning of mankind, you've had that. You've had the good and you have the bad. I'd like to get rid of the bad, but somehow that's going to be there. But the good has been many times what it was. Really many times what it was.
Interviewer
If Congress is not going to fund those dollars for your security funding, would you be willing or would you like to go to your donors to ask for that money?
Donald Trump
Well, this is money for the whole premises, including the East Wing. This is the East Wing section. But the ballroom is, as you see, it's going up. It's ahead of schedule. It's. It's larger because they wanted more military capacity. They wanted more drone capacity. They needed a larger roof, and frankly, we needed a larger facility. And so we're doing that. And we've done this in strict coordination with the military and with the Secret Service, and they've been great to work with. The money that they're talking about is the surrounding areas and maybe enhancing some security aspects of the. But the building, the building, as you see, it's a very active site, and a lot of people are amazed. And by the way, that floor goes down three floors. Just so you understand, you're seeing the. Almost the top floor, that floor goes down three floors, and there are many things in there having do with security, and many of those things are going to be taken from there and put onto the roof of the building. And that has to do with drone and missile capacity.
Interviewer
A lot of residents have done renovations to the White House to all these things. Why do you think people are so mad about your renovations, though?
Donald Trump
Because I'm doing it.
Interviewer
You got the water flowing again, all of it. And. And they just seem to hate you.
Donald Trump
Well, it's a sad thing, actually. You know, it's. You just. That's very nice. I appreciate the question. First I said, oh, this is going to be a negative question. Then I heard she's really saying, why do they hate you for fixing the water fountains? So, you know, we have. We have 40. I know. I want. Because I want to see Washington be beautiful. To me, it's very important. But as an example, you mentioned the water fountain. We didn't have one water fountain. And I think we have 40. We didn't have one in Washington that worked. And soon they'll all be working. Many of them work right now. And the. I think one of the best things. Obama, President Obama, President Biden spent much more than $100 million on the reflecting lake between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. They spent much more. They spent, some people say, 200 million. You know what they got out of it? A closed lake. It never opened. And when it did, it shut right away. It leaked. It was a disaster. I'm doing a job on the reflecting leg for a fraction of what they paid now. I've upgraded it very. I got so into it. I've upgraded it like you wouldn't believe. I'm doing all the walkways outside. You know, I'm doing. I'm doing it properly, but it's a much bigger job. But you see, it's happening now. It's going to be beautiful. It's going to be waterproof. It's going to be reflecting again. I took over a dirty, filthy thing that wasn't open and it was disgusting. And friends of mine would come to the Lincoln or the Washington and they'd say, sir, it's disgusting. I said, what's disgusting? The reflecting link. So I drove down. I looked with Secretary Burgam, who's fantastic of interior. He's fantastic. And we got together and we have. It's under construction right now. I want to get it open before July 4, which will easily, easily be able to do. It'll be open before that, but easily be able to do. July 4th being a very special day, and it is going to be beautiful. Beautiful blue color, dark blue color. It's very reflective. I put a thing out yesterday showing the reflection. We did a little test. We want to see. It's unbelievable. It's like a mirror. Well, it's like, it's like a mirror. It's beautiful.
Interviewer
And I saw there was guys out there almost like. Are they hand painting it?
Donald Trump
Yeah, they're doing. Yeah. Well, they're fixing the stone outside and they're sandblasting the stone. We're doing a much bigger job than we wanted to do. But think of it. Obama and Biden spent over $100 million. And you know what? They got nothing. They opened it up and it leaked like a sieve. And they closed it and it stayed closed. They've been working on it for years. I've been working on this for a couple of months. When it's finished, it's going to be incredible. But we have other fountains, beautiful fountains. They haven't worked in 30 years. They're just sitting there rotting. And most of them are now open. And right across the street I made a donation and I'm building Lafayette park. And it's going to be beautiful. I like her donation.
Interviewer
How much was the donation?
Donald Trump
About $10 million.
Interviewer
Are you happy with American flag blue?
Donald Trump
Well, I put up the American flag. No, the American blue. I think so. I mean, I'll let you know. I wanted a lighter color blue. The person that really knows this stuff said, no, dark is much better. You don't see the leaves and you don't, you know, things will get in there. But most importantly, the dark reflects much better. Mr. President, why does the establishment media claiming so desperately that Mag is divided? Well, I think it's the strongest it's ever been. You know, you take a look at what happened in, in Louisiana two nights ago with a certain senator that was very disloyal to me and to the Republican Party. He's not even allowed to run for office. We have another big race. This guy Massie is terrible. Let's see what happens. It's not easy beating incumbents, but we have a great guy running against Massie. Massie is a terrible, I think the worst congressman the Republican Party's ever had. That'll be tonight. That'll be good television and we'll see what happens there. But I think MAGA has never been more together. Actually, I'm going to be making an endorsement today in Texas. I'm going to be putting out an endorsement in a little while in Texas, the great state. You know, I won Texas all six times, meaning primaries and the race. And I got the highest vote in the history of Texas and I love Texas. But I'm going to be making a endorsement at about 12:31 o' clock today for the Big race, the Senate race in Texas, and I hope you find it good. So I do think. I mean, I appreciate the question because even CNN, they did a poll two, three weeks ago, they said Trump is at 100%. That's Harry Endon. I like Harry. And he's got a lot of energy. I like him. But he did a poll and he's a good pro, and he gives the good and the bad, but I think he's an honorable guy because we get a lot of good. You know, he predicted I was going to do great with the Muslims in Michigan and win Michigan. And I did. I did good, and I won Michigan by a lot. He made a lot of good predictions. But he did a poll two weeks ago that said Trump is. I mean, this is up. You can check 100% popularity with MAGA. MAGA is most of the Republican Party. The rhinos are gone to a large extent. A few of them are still left. So hopefully we get rid of one tonight in the form of Tom Massie, who's horrible. But, no, it's been amazing. But I'll be making a statement in a little while as to who I'm endorsing in Texas for the Senate. And there are those that say whoever I endorse is going to win. I don't know if that's true, but historically, that's absolutely true. I just don't like to say it because I don't like to brag.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
What have you.
Donald Trump
Well, I've had my mind made up for a long time, but I just think it's. I just think it's going to be, you know, I just think it's appropriate.
Interviewer
Mr. President, President Xi told you during your meeting that perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin would come to regret invading Ukraine. Did he say that?
Donald Trump
No. No, he never said that.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
You mentioned it. Followers with your gift to the country.
Donald Trump
It's a gift. It's a gift from me and from incredible successful companies and patriots, and they put up close to $400 million. And you see the. You see what's happening and it's beautiful. And again, it's ahead of schedule. Unlike the Fed Building. Think of it. This building at 400 million, the Fed building at 4 billion. And it's at tiny little project by comparison.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
And you, you spend a lot of
Donald Trump
time renovating the White House, the Rose Garden, the colony. I do. Putting up the American flag, those flag poles on each side. Why was this so important for you?
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
Part of your legacy?
Donald Trump
Well, this is the most important because, number one, security. And number two, was so needed just on a social basis for presidents. And again, I'll be here for a very short period of time. Time when this opens. I'll be here for a very short period of time. This is really being built for other presidents. It's not being built for me. And I'm a really good builder. The thing I do best in life is build. I'm a great builder, and I build beautiful product. This. This. There will never be anything like this. I always admired the facade of the Supreme Court. I said, I wonder if that can be duplicated or bettered even. Not to say bettered, but even bettered. And we've actually bettered it. What we're doing is something that will. You'll never see it again. Mr. President, one more on Iran, if I may. When you were having your discussions with the regional partners, the regional leaders, did
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
they express to you any concern about Iran's ability to still retaliate in the event of the.
Donald Trump
They have a little ability. Their missiles are 82% gone. We estimate their capacity to build is very little right now because we hit, you know, we hit all of their manufacturing areas. Same thing with drones, largely gone, but they still have a little capacity. Yeah, not much, but they have a little. Their navy is completely gone. Their air force is completely gone. President Xi has promised me that he's not sending any weapons to Iran. That's a beautiful promise. I take him at his word. I appreciated it. We had an amazing time in China. You know, look, we got along very well before this, but President Xi and I had really an amazing time. I think he'd say the same thing, but he promised that he's not sending any weapons. And, you know, if you think about it, he gets 40% of his oil. He's not sending oil floats in, you know, tankers in with 20 destroyers alongside of him. No, he wants it. He does want it open, like me. I want it open, and we'll get it open. But Iran has used the straits as a. As a military weapon for 47 years, really much more than that. And that's not their straits. That's international waterways. That's not for them to do. And look, they've learned their lesson. If I left today, it would take them 25 years to rebuild. But we're not leaving. We're going to do it right so that in five years, 10 years, if you have a bad president who doesn't want to do what's right to do. This should have been done by Obama. This should have been done by Biden. It should have been done by other presidents long before.
Interviewer
Mr. President, you pushed.
Donald Trump
And everybody agrees to that. They agree to it.
Interviewer
Mr. President, you pushed to suspend the federal gas tax.
Donald Trump
Yeah.
Interviewer
Are there other initiatives that you're.
Donald Trump
Well, there may be. It's very temporary. Yeah. Yeah, there may be anything to keep it down. Look, as soon as this war is over, gas is going to. You know, I had gasoline down to a dollar 85 cents in Iowa. I was in Iowa and the stations had it at $1.85, but I was down to, in many cases, less than $2 a barrel a gallon. And then I said to myself, this is great. We just hit a new high in the stock market. Everything's going good. I'm sorry, but we have to go down and take a little journey down to. We have to do something with Iran. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon. You want to see the world exploded? You want to see a problem, and this is peanuts. And I appreciate everybody putting up with it for a little while. It won't be much longer, but you're going to have. And frankly, there is so much oil out there. One of the things that is happening is these big ships are coming up to Texas, Louisiana and Alaska and they're loading up. But I don't even think about that. What I think about is you can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon, and they won't have a nuclear weapon. And they fully understand it. Mr. President, I once asked you, how do you deal with, some time ago during your first term, you told me, success, bring us back success. Based on that, why do you continue to do what you do knowing that so many people are criticized every day
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
to try to bring up success?
Donald Trump
Well, you know, you have some people disagree with, like the Iran thing. To me, it's no question to me, you have to have borders. You have to have walls and you have to let people in legally, but you have to have borders. Some people think you don't have borders. You should let anybody, murderers, drug dealers, you should let them in. So there is some. But I said to you once, I remember it, the greatest healer of our country when we had just before COVID we were so successful, you know, we had the best economy we've ever had in my first term. This term is going to blow it away, I think. And you see all the numbers. Even during the war, we have the highest stock market we've ever had. I thought the market would go down 25% and I was okay with that. To get rid of a nuclear potential holocaust would have been a nuclear holocaust. So going down 25% is okay if you're going to get rid of a nuclear holocaust. So most people agree with me when, when I'm with people and they, let's say, oh, gee, why do. And I say, here's the problem. Is it okay for Iran? And they are very volatile people. I'm being nice. Is it okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon? Everybody says no. I said, then we have nothing further to discuss. You know, it's like one of those things. And they will never have a nuclear weapon. Not going to happen. And probably that's going to be very soon. So one way or the other, whether it's military or an agreement, they. That'll start opening up very soon.
Interviewer
Now both of their names are going to be on.
Donald Trump
No, no, I waited. I've pretty much always known who I was going to endorse, but I just thought this was a good time, you know, the voting starting and I thought this was a good time. I'm going to be doing that very short already.
Interviewer
Have you put any thought into potentially endorsing someone to run against JB Pritzker like Darren Bailey or.
Donald Trump
Well, I like Darren Bailey. J.B. pritzker is a slob of a governor. You know, he could call me and I'd send the National Guard in. Chicago would have no crime. Look at Washington D.C. did you see the crime status is down to like, nothing. People go to rest. Restaurants now, new restaurants. Restaurants are all being closed in Washington now. They're building new restaurants. It's a hot city. We have a beautiful city. We have very little crime, almost no crime. And we could have the same thing in Chicago. All he'd have to do is say, president, I don't want to have any crime in Chicago. Can you help me? Within three months, Chicago would be a different place.
Interviewer
What about Samara, Brandon?
Donald Trump
What can I say? He's so bad. He's so bad, Right? You've done that.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
You made a major announcement yesterday that
Donald Trump
was a big announcement. Got no coverage. I reduced drug prices by 50, 60, 70, 80% and it gets no coverage. I think it's maybe the other than medical itself, like a cure. I think it's the biggest thing to happen in health care ever. Maybe I brought the price. We paid the highest price in the world. Now we're paying. As of now, we're paying the lowest price in the world. Prices of drugs have gone down 70, 80, 90% for 28 years. That never went down within my administration. I got it down 1/8 of 1%. And I thought it was great. The first time, the only time in 28 years that it went down, down. Now I got them down 50, 60, 70 and even 80%. And that has a huge impact on health care. Listen, go have breakfast. Have a good time.
Interviewer
Thank you.
Donald Trump
Have breakfast. Enjoy your sight. You can shoot down there, but those, those, the next time you come here, those columns will be standing even taller.
Interviewer
How long did it take to design the underneath like you said? Kind of the military was like what
Donald Trump
was the architecture actually the underground underneath parts? Good question. It's far more complex than the upper because what you don't see are the floors that are beneath here and they have very, very important rooms down there. Very. The most important. And this was the one opportunity for the military to do something. You know, they came. Normally I'd build a ballroom on flat land. I wouldn't have any of this whatever it would have been built. I would very fast. I'm a very fast builder. We're way ahead of schedule here. But we went down six stories. It's actually far more complex than what's the easy part is up. But again we have a drone proof roof. We have all. It's all sealed and all of this that you see is totally sealed and we use it as a drone port. We can have unlimited drones up there and drones are what's happening right now. Thank you all very much.
MAGA Supporter/Commentator
Thank you.
Donald Trump
Thank you. Thank you you very much. Don't eat too much,
Election Expert (Garland Favorito)
okay?
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
The president of the United States.
Donald Trump
You're right over here.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
President, United States. That was the ballroom, man. You are. That is pure President Trump right there in sales mode. Talk about the ballroom today. The Hill had a article about the Senate was getting jiggy about the ballroom. He was out there, gave a big part of his national security. He had a couple of blockbusters in there. We understand now at 12:30, immediately after the show is over, we believe he's endorsing in the Texas race. Obviously we're going to cover that. That is a monumental decision right there. He's cut. He's going to endorse in the Texas race. I got Eric Bollinger. Peter Navarro is going to join us here momentarily. Only got Eric for a couple of minutes. We had to blow off John Solomon. We had to blow off the guys. The end at Georgia. There was a temporary restraining order given by the judge in the Georgia situation. That came down while we were covering the president right there. I don't have enough time to play the cold open for you, but a couple things Quick, he said in this impromptu description of the ballroom and, and and taking questions from the media, he was prepared to make a decision to go forward and do an attack. And that would have taken place today when the Saudis and Qatar and UAE said they're working together and they're coming up with something. And we should have that document, he said, by this weekend or maybe early next week. Eric, right now give us your assessment of the oil market. I think what you've told me is that this is only three vessels have
Market Analyst (Eric Bollinger)
gotten out three in the last 24 hours, Steve. More concerning than all of that right now. Price of diesel fuel 565 a gallon right now all time high 58116 cents away on its way there. Again we, you know, it's really interesting. There's, there's an article, I sent you a piece chunk of that article talking about the effect of the straight of Hormuz. Originally it was an oil issue but long ago you and I talked about where the, the greater effects will hit the economy will hit inflation and therefore will hit interest rates. And over the last couple of days, Steve, we've been talking about the interest rates. They continue to soar higher because after Trump left Xi Jinping and China and Beijing, the market, the bigger market, the, the bond market dwarfs all these other smaller markets. The oil market tends to be the tail that wags the dog. Well that's the big dog. Let's, let's call the bond market the big dog. They don't, they don't see not that it's not going to end. They don't see that there's an immediate ending they, to this conflict in the Middle east and for that they believe inflation is roaring and that's why interest rates are now on the 30 year 5, almost 5.2, 5.18 now and on the 10 year for almost 47 which is these are really, really tough numbers especially for people who want to buy a house or have a credit card debt or you know, almost anything. And what it does too, it slows down capital spending for businesses. When that slows down, it just trickles down into employment and into spending.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
The bond market has turfed out more governments than howitzers. I'm going to go back to this. The direct issues with as you warned us with this with energy is now leading to, to people being reticent about they'll lend to the US Government but they want to, they want more money for that. They think there's more risk involved. The 30 year is directly tied to people's mortgages. And of course we had Polti and these guys on the president wants to make a big issue about afford in housing. Right. For young people. The 10 year is your credit card, your student loan, any home equity loan. You have your auto loan, all of it that's now popping, heading towards 5%. They, they can't look away from this. I mean Scott Bessant, this, this has to be dealt with, does it not because of everything else people have been talking about. This is, this is the signal, not the noise.
Market Analyst (Eric Bollinger)
So here's the problem and I love Trump and I love you, Steve Bannon. Since 20/VER-2020 you've been talk America first. My issue is right here we are listening to President Trump. After the 12 day war in June of last year, we obliterated their ability to deliver nuke for the foreseeable future. Now we're talking we can't allow them to deliver a nuke for the foreseeable future. I just got to know which one it is because right now tell you, most markets are now not listening to what both sides are saying. They're just going what they see. And what they're seeing is higher pump prices, which will turn into higher food prices, which will turn into higher inflation, which basically handcuffs the Fed from doing anything, anything but raising. So it's either going to be a raise or stay still. And if they stay still, you'll likely get higher inflation. They're really, really putting the clamps on and to say just wait till this war is over. And gas will drop like a rock. No, oil may, but gas will stay elevated for 30, 45 days. I just think people yell at me, you're a whiner, Bowling, you're a whiner. They call me a whiner every time I'm on the war. I'm not whining. I would profit if oil went down. Problem is it's not going down anytime soon. I'm just showing people what I see.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
You have not been wrong. You have not been wrong yet on this. You warn about this and Scott's talking now using this term. Take your number two, pencil out disinflation elements or disinflation things that are going to happen. Not deflation, but disinflation. What he's talking about is oil coming down. The Persians understand they're going to. They're going to with their partners, the ccp. They're going to stretch this out. They see a way to end Trump and end the Trump revolution and they see that in the midterm elections. Very, very obvious display. Eric, I know you've got a bounce. You got other recording. We'll be up and do a handover. We'll have more information. We'll do. If you're so gracious, we'll do a handover with you today at 4:50. How's that sound?
Market Analyst (Eric Bollinger)
I actually see both audiences love it. So yeah, we absolutely open an invite my friend every day if you, if you can, if you can get by the way, disinflation is healthy in a good economy. Deflation is deadly in a faulty deflation.
Show Host (Steve Bannon)
Deflation is terrible. No, can't handle. Thank you sir. Appreciate you for sticking around. We had to juggle a lot. John Solomon we missed but we're going back to the White House. Dr. Peter Navarro gonna make it all make sense for us. Short break. Everyone's focus 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 now@preparedwithbannon.com 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 preparewithbannon.com that is preparewithbannon.com to get your emergency food supply today. That's preparewithbanet.com do it today. Go check it out.
Date: May 19, 2026
Host: Stephen K. Bannon
Guests: Donald Trump, MAGA commentators, political analysts, Caroline Wren, Garland Favorito, Eric Bollinger, others
This episode centers on President Trump’s unprecedented unveiling of the new White House ballroom, encompassing architectural details, its security and national defense purposes, the funding mechanism, and Trump’s intent to leave a legacy gift. The discussion further extends to pressing political issues: MAGA’s impact on GOP primaries, the ongoing fight for Senate leadership, southern judicial elections, Texas’s critical runoff, election integrity controversies in Georgia, energy and inflation, and U.S. foreign policy alerts — notably on Iran.
Trump’s Influence:
MAGA loyalty continues to topple dissenters within GOP ranks.
Senator Bill Cassidy’s primary defeat is highlighted as a warning to “those who betray Trump and the agenda.”
Most anti-Trump Republican incumbents are now out of office.
“You can disagree with President Trump, but if you try to destroy him, you’re going to lose because this is the party of Donald Trump.”
— Donald Trump [00:00]
Systemic Retribution:
Outliers lose fundraising, legislative sway, and are “out of the current.”
Replacing dissenting Republicans, even in deep red states, is depicted as necessary and inevitable.
“Anybody who bucks the system... you’re not really part of the system anymore."
— Political Commentator [00:54]
Analyst highlights post-Jan 6 attrition:
“Five of them lost their next primary. Eight didn’t run again because they saw no path forward.”
— Political Strategist [02:06]
Georgia’s Supreme Court Races:
First real challenge to conservative, Republican-appointed justices in over a century.
Obama/Harris endorsements signal national attention; record early Democratic voting (+15%).
Seen as an enthusiasm indicator for November.
“Democrats have outpaced Republicans by 15% of the votes cast in early voting already.”
— Political Analyst [05:10]
South Carolina Special Session:
Legislators moving to expedite redistricting; Republican unity and War Room pressure credited for legislative progress.
“I’m now very optimistic about South Carolina, feeling very, very good about it… Some of these state senators really heard from the War Room posse.”
— Caroline Wren [20:10]
Accusations of Republican-Democrat collusion, secret “bunker” evidence transfers, and violations of election transparency statutes.
Emergency judicial hearing under way to force compliance with election law.
“He was actually doing his own election challenge, adjudicating his own election challenge, which also violates the law as well…this Republican Secretary of State and the Democrats in Fulton County.”
— Garland Favorito [23:06]
Showdown:
Cornyn versus Paxton is framed as iconic establishment versus grassroots MAGA.
Cornyn’s lack of Trump endorsement is read as a fatal error; Democrats seen unlikely to win Texas regardless.
“There is no reason why John Cornyn deserves a fifth term from Texans…It’s time to have some new blood.”
— MAGA Supporter/Commentator [10:17]
Save America Act:
Trump-aligned guests press for the removal of Senate GOP leader John Thune, blaming him for stalling priority MAGA legislation.
“You’re going to lose the Senate, flat out, unless Thune is removed as leader.”
— Steve Bannon [14:04]
Main Event: Trump's Detailed Tour and Press Q&A
Timestamps: [26:28]–[69:30]
Scope and Security:
Ballroom features: drone-proof, military-grade roof; 360º D.C. sightlines; support for Secret Service operations.
Underground complex: six stories deep, hospital, research facilities, military operations center.
Security fencing: titanium, “strongest of all metals.”
“There will never be anything like this built…It's drone proof, and it's meant for our military to be able to stay on it…all my money and donors' money. This is tax free. So everyone’s talking about…this is a gift to the United States of America.”
— Donald Trump [26:28]
Architectural Vision:
Designed with classical facades referencing Greece (towards Treasury) and Rome (towards monuments).
Inspired by Supreme Court’s aesthetic; built as a legacy project for future presidents.
"This is the most important because, number one, security. And number two, was so needed just on a social basis for presidents…This is really being built for other presidents. It’s not being built for me.”
— Donald Trump [60:47]
Funding and Political Friction:
Asserts entire construction is private; only security enhancements may use federal funds.
Addresses critics of his renovations:
“Why do they hate you for fixing the water fountains?...Because I’m doing it.”
— Donald Trump, exchange with reporter [53:53]
Notes cost/competence contrast with Obama/Biden’s failed reflecting pool renovation:
“Obama and Biden spent over $100 million…They opened it up and it leaked like a sieve... I’m doing a job...for a fraction of what they paid.”
— Donald Trump [56:15]
Iran: On the Brink
Trump confirms he was “one hour away” from ordering major strikes due to Iran’s nuclear advances, attributed delay to Gulf allies asking for more time on negotiations.
“I was an hour away…The boats, the ships are all loaded…They said they feel they’ve made progress and want more time.”
— Donald Trump [41:16]
Candid on Israel, Gulf partners, and regime change:
“The first level and the second level are no longer with us. They’re someplace, but they're no longer with us. So we have real regime change.”
— Donald Trump [43:55]
On nuclear threat:
“If they had a nuclear weapon, they would start with Israel...and it would be nuclear holocaust. There’s no question in my mind they’d use it.”
— Donald Trump [45:56]
Domestic (Gas, Economy, Religion):
Defending gas tax holiday; reiterates priority to prevent Iranian bomb over short-term economic setbacks.
Framing America as “hottest country” since 2016, links renewed religious engagement to national strength.
“Religion is making a tremendous comeback. You look at churches today, they’re full...and I’m very proud of that.”
— Donald Trump [50:17]
Refutes claims of party division:
“MAGA is most of the Republican Party. The rhinos are gone to a large extent...CNN did a poll two, three weeks ago, said Trump is at 100%.”
— Donald Trump [57:01]
Teases imminent Texas Senate race endorsement, predicting it will determine the outcome.
“There are those that say whoever I endorse is going to win. I don’t know if that's true, but historically, that’s absolutely true.”
— Donald Trump [59:52]
Analyst Eric Bollinger warns rising diesel (now $5.65/gallon; near-record) will fuel persistent inflation, suppress capital spending, and squeeze credit markets.
“The effect...will hit the economy, will hit inflation, and therefore will hit interest rates...The bond market has turfed out more governments than howitzers.”
— Steve Bannon [72:47]
“Gas will stay elevated for 30, 45 days…People say I’m a whiner. I would profit if oil went down. Problem is it’s not going down anytime soon.”
— Eric Bollinger [73:37]
On Ballot Retribution:
“Almost every senator that voted to impeach Trump is now gone, except for now, Murkowski and Collins.”
— MAGA Commentator [09:03]
On Infrastructure as Legacy:
“I wanted a lighter color blue...but the dark reflects much better.”
— Donald Trump, on choosing the color for the reflecting pool [57:01]
On Fixing Washington:
“They just seem to hate you... for fixing the water fountains?”
“Because I’m doing it.”
— Reporter and Donald Trump [53:59]
On National Security/Humor:
“It’s built for our snipers, not the enemy snipers, our snipers.”
— Donald Trump [31:45]
Self-Assessment of Impact:
“I am a really good builder. The thing I do best in life is build. I’m a great builder, and I build beautiful product. There will never be anything like this.”
— Donald Trump [60:49]
This episode epitomizes the current MAGA strategy: intolerance for dissent, pride in engineering “gifts” for the country, and a focus on hardline security and infrastructure. Trump’s showcase of the ballroom is both a literal and symbolic summation of his presidency’s dual themes: fortification (physical and political) and legacy-building, all as the country stands on the cusp of major economic, political, and global conflict-driven tests.
The discussion is suffused with Trumpian bravado, campaign-style calls to action, and continual reminders of MAGA’s dominance — making this a critical listen for those tracking the power dynamics in today's American right.