Podcast Summary: WarRoom Battleground EP 847 — “Next Man Up”

Date: September 11, 2025
Host: Steve Bannon (WarRoom.org)
Key Guests: Jack Posobiec, Dave Brat
Theme: The assassination of Charlie Kirk, its aftermath, and the escalation of political violence in America.

Episode Overview

This episode of WarRoom Battleground is dedicated to the fallout from the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Host Steve Bannon, joined by Jack Posobiec and Dave Brat, analyzes the killing’s causes, its copycat context, implications for American political discourse, and the broader war on conservative voices. Discussion turns to trend patterns in political violence, failures of institutions, ideology, and the “next man up” ethos in the conservative movement.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Reflections: “A Primal Scream of a Dying Regime”

• Bannon underscores the gravity of the moment:

  “This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going.” (00:15, Bannon)

• The show immediately frames the assassination as a deliberate act in a broader war on the right.

2. Copycat Killers and Escalating Violence

• Bannon and Posobiec discuss similarities between the Kirk shooting and other attacks:
  • Butler and Maggione cited as prior copycats, noting a worrying trend of young, technologically adept assassins.
  • Discussion of Thomas Matthew Crooks’ background: robotics, bombing skills, and how the media/FBI have not fully reported details.
• Posobiec’s chilling analysis:

  “We're now seeing a trend...highly intelligent, well planned, well trained, well practiced assassins. Young in age, Gen Z... and now the Charlie Kirk shooter becomes a copycat of both.” (03:40, Posobiec)

• Increasing boldness and a ‘godlike’ complex among attackers.

3. Demand for Institutional Accountability

• Frustration about FBI and institutional reticence; lack of transparency in details concerning evidence (weapon, shells, ideology).
• Bannon on government failure:

  “The FBI has really been forthcoming. The CIA hasn't been forthcoming...The parents...never interviewed to the degree under oath to be accessories...” (02:31, Bannon)

4. What Unlocks the Pattern?

• Law enforcement “must get the assassin alive.”
• The assessment: attacks will persist unless “these types of groups and this type of ideology is actually addressed directly at the national federal level.” (07:01, Posobiec)

5. Pushback Against Conservative Inaction and Denial

• Bannon singles out Sen. Thom Tillis for criticism—portraying him as emblematic of ineffective conservatism and “go along to get along” politics.
• Tillis’ quote:

  “It seems like a cheap, disgusting, awful way to pretend like you’re a leader of a conservative movement...” (07:46, quoting Tillis)

• Bannon distances himself from conservatives like Tillis, emphasizing populist nationalism and labeling the present a “war”:

  “I am not a conservative...because people like Tillis are conservatives. And those wimps are the reason the country's in the shape it's in...” (09:51, Bannon)

6. Media Narratives and the Language of ‘War’

• Discussion of media framing—from Jake Tapper (CNN/NYT) analyzing the right’s narrative as inflammatory or unity-breaking.
• Posobiec’s rejoinder:

  “Where's any talk about the shooter? ...No discussion about political assassinations...It's always the conservative rhetoric. Oh, gosh, the rhetoric.” (13:07, Posobiec)

7. Social Media, Mockery, and the Left’s Response

• Bannon and Posobiec address the online left’s ‘glee’ at Kirk’s death, accusing Twitter/BlueSky users, and even public officials, of celebrating.

• “If you watch the whole video, [Charlie Kirk is] doing what he does best. And he's gunned down...then they mock it and ridicule it on social media and say how great it is and how he deserved it.” (15:07, Bannon)

8. The “Next Man Up” & Anti-Fragility Doctrine

• Extended replay of Charlie Kirk (prior to his assassination) asserting the movement will not be conquered by intimidation, legal assaults, or violence.

  “They think if they can decapitate [the MAGA movement]…if we just sit there and say, 'Oh, woe is me,' then we lose. We’re winning, we're ascended. This movement's getting bigger every day.” (43:05, Bannon & Kirk clip)

• “Next man up” philosophy: each attack brings more resolve and participation.
• Discussion of Nassim Taleb’s “anti-fragility”—the idea that the movement grows stronger under adversity:

  "...There are unique people, organizations, movements...that actually get stronger the more pressure and opposition that is applied upon them. And when you find an anti-fragile movement...that is Donald Trump..." (45:21, Kirk via Bannon)

• Kirk described as an “exemplar, tying the crown Christian tradition together with a founding, with our liberties. Our liberties are being annihilated right now.” (41:15, Dave Brat)

9. Religious & Philosophical Framing

• Dave Brat laments a culture-wide war on God and the Christian foundations of liberty.

  “There is a war against God that’s continual every day within every person. But it's broader than that...they're rejoicing over the death of Charlie Kirk. Jumping up and down with joy. There’s a demonic look on the faces...” (21:34, Brat)

• Calls for a return to “first principles”—traditional morality, liberty, and resistance:

  “We need to get back to our first principles, back to the founders.” (41:15, Brat)

10. Response to Progressive Critique

• Segment includes criticism of Ilhan Omar’s and left-wing media’s response to the assassination, especially regarding issues of unity, compassion, and America’s racial history.
• Bannon is dismissive:

  “I can only take Somalians lecturing American citizens so much...It's got to be dealt with...You got to enforce the laws.” (34:20, Bannon)

11. Broader Context: Global and Domestic Threats

• Brief mention of international instability (BRICS, “Rio Reset,” currency shakeup).
• Breaking news of a shooting at the Naval Academy, folded into the episode’s narrative of escalating violence.

12. Legacy and Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk

• Emotional closing segments:
  • Posobiec announces plans to do a memorial show.
  • “We are going to leave one seat empty tomorrow. And everybody knows who seat that is.” (19:15, Posobiec)
  • Brat and Bannon call Kirk a “good and decent man cut down.”
  • Bannon: “His organization was so elemental in the victory in 2024...cut down by an assassin’s bullet.” (49:20, Bannon)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going.”
  (00:15, Steve Bannon)
• “We're now seeing a trend... highly intelligent, well planned... assassins. Young in age, Gen Z.”
  (03:40, Jack Posobiec)
• “It is a Butler copycat. And what you're seeing is escalation... They obsess over these plans, these shooters. There is a sense of godlike ability...”
  (04:30, Jack Posobiec)
• “This award's been declared on a populist nationalist movement, on the President Trump movement.”
  (09:51, Steve Bannon)
• “When we say a war has been declared... They have stopped attempting to engage in politics as the art of discussion and debate.”
  (08:58, Jack Posobiec)
• “If we act like we're intimidated, they’re going to win... That’s why next man up. Because this is a 20 year project.”
  (43:00, Charlie Kirk [clip])
• “You take one out, a thousand more appear. You take one out, we give more money. You take one out, we register more voters... it only actually makes us stronger.”
  (45:21, Jim Rickards via Bannon / Kirk segment)
• “There is a war against God... but it's broader than that. The left... are rejoicing over the death of Charlie Kirk. There’s a demonic look...”
  (21:34, Dave Brat)
• “Liberty is probably the key... virtue in our society... Liberty is being annihilated right now.”
  (41:15, Dave Brat)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Opening theme / “primal scream” framing: 00:15–00:57
• Copycat discussion: Butler, Maggione, school shooters: 03:40–06:16
• FBI & investigative roadblocks / pattern recognition: 02:31–07:01
• “Next man up” doctrine (extended Charlie Kirk speech): 43:00–49:20
• Dave Brat, philosophical and religious analysis: 21:34–25:18 and 41:15–45:00
• Media coverage/critique (Jake Tapper, Ilhan Omar, NYT): 11:23–14:22; 32:49–34:20
• Emotional memorials, plans for Kirk tribute: 18:38–19:26

Final Thoughts

This was one of WarRoom’s most emotionally charged and ideologically focused episodes. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is positioned not just as an isolated crime, but as the next escalation in what Bannon, Posobiec, and Brat frame as a war on conservative populism and Christian America. The episode calls for increased resolve, a doubling-down on anti-fragility, and a refusal to be intimidated by violence or institutional obstacles. The “next man up” theme recurs—underscoring both loss and determination to continue the movement.

This summary preserves the original tone: embattled, combative, and urgently calling its audience to action in the face of what it portrays as existential threats to the conservative movement and nation.