Podcast Summary: Bannon's War Room Battleground EP 933

Title: "Biden Is The Cause Of ICE Agents On American Streets And The AfD Is Now On 40% In Eastern Germany"
Date: January 23, 2026
Host: Stephen K. Bannon (with guest host Ben Harnwell)
Guests:

• Peter Wolfgang (Executive Director, Family Institute of Connecticut)
• Beatrix von Storch (Deputy Leader, Alternative für Deutschland - AfD)

Episode Overview

This episode of Bannon's War Room Battleground focuses on two central topics:

1. The aftermath of a controversial ICE shooting in Minnesota and the broader debate over Catholic moral teaching, immigration, and civil disobedience in the U.S., particularly under the Biden administration.
2. The dramatic rise of Germany’s nationalist right-wing party, the Alternative for Deutschland (AfD), notably in eastern Germany, and growing international interest and support, especially from the current U.S. administration.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. ICE Agents, the Catholic Church, and Biden’s Border Policy

[00:54 – 26:30]

A. Catholic Response to ICE Shooting

• Guest: Peter Wolfgang

• Subject: Shooting of Renee Good by ICE Agent Jonathan Ross and its moral implications.

• Wolfgang elaborates on his recent articles analyzing the shooting, defending the ICE agent’s decision within a Catholic moral framework:

  "What the agent’s intentionality and split-second judgment was matters from a moral and theological perspective. Catholic morality requires considering the act, the intention, and the circumstances." (Peter Wolfgang, [08:02])

• Wolfgang pushes back against anti-ICE protestors, noting their shift from peaceful civil disobedience to more aggressive tactics:

  "Initially, these rapid response networks were meant to do something peaceful... Now the anti-ICE protesters are doing something much more aggressive that I think does cross legal boundaries." ([06:32])

B. Catholic Teaching on Civil Disobedience & Violence

• Ben Harnwell and Wolfgang reference the Catechism, specifically paragraphs 2242-2243, confirming that while civil disobedience is sometimes permitted, it is predicated on non-violence:

  "Under normal circumstances...civil disobedience...must be nonviolent. These tactics discredit the anti-ICE protesters and also the cause." (Wolfgang, [11:09])

• Wolfgang distinguishes “prudential” issues (such as immigration or the death penalty) from “core” Catholic teachings (like abortion or euthanasia) where faithful Catholics could disagree.

C. Critique of Biden Administration and Catholic Left

• Wolfgang asserts Biden's lax border policy led to millions of illegal crossings, making ICE’s current situation unavoidable:

  "We let in at least 10 million, perhaps 20 million or more illegals into this country. They are the ones that created this situation where we now have masked federal agents on our streets trying to clean this up." (Wolfgang, [15:57])

• He accuses the Catholic left of “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” arguing they ignore their own role in driving people to support Trump’s populist policies:

  "What they really need to do...is look into the mirror and ask themselves, what's so wrong with me that I drove them to Donald Trump?" (Wolfgang, [21:04])

• Wolfgang claims the Trump administration is closer to Catholic social teaching on many counts than either previous Republicans or the Vatican under Francis.

D. Notable Quotes

• On bishops’ overreach:
  "Where it is not necessary for the bishops to speak, it is necessary for the bishops not to speak." (Wolfgang quoting Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, [15:57])
• On open borders:
  "It doesn't violate the moral order to have borders; any country has borders or it's not really a country." (Wolfgang, [15:57])

2. The AfD's Rise & Changing German Politics

[32:01 – 52:00]

A. Revisiting the Cologne New Year's Assaults and AfD’s Early State Repression

• Guest: Beatrix von Storch

• Von Storch recounts her infamous 2018 tweet about Muslim men and sexual assaults in Cologne, which led to legal threats and social media bans:

  "They were addressing those whom they at the same minute were trying not to have this party again...So I just made a statement on this...and then the whole...legal process came." (Beatrix von Storch, [35:15])

• She highlights the shift in Germany: what was considered hate speech then is now openly discussed, even by U.S. officials (referring to U.S. Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers quoting her).

B. U.S. Administration’s New Stance on European Populism

• According to von Storch, American interest—both from the government and platforms like Elon Musk's X (formerly Twitter)—protects free speech advocates and “populist” parties like the AfD.

  "Every move the US Administration is doing is helping us...the US National Security strategy put it out very clearly...free speech is essential to democracy." (von Storch, [42:57])

C. Electoral Dynamics and the Cordon Sanitaire

• Von Storch describes the growing impossibility of excluding the AfD from power as they rise to 25%+ nationwide and 40%+ in eastern states:

  "Even the two biggest, former biggest parties...do not even reach 50%...they might need us or the far left to form a government. So they are stuck behind the firewall." (von Storch, [46:17])

D. Economic Crisis and Government Instability

• She explains why Germany’s coalition government is faltering—failed campaign promises, economic decline, unpopular policies:

  "Our industry is dropping. It's not slightly going down, it's dropping. And...it's really a very dangerous situation we are in and they have no solution to come up with." (von Storch, [48:55])

• Von Storch forecasts the government’s collapse within the year and the end of the “cordon sanitaire” that keeps AfD out.

E. Youth Reaction to Conscription and Foreign Policy

• She notes cynicism among young Germans toward the government's militarism and spending priorities:

  "People start to understand that it's ridiculous to try to save the world...while economy is declining so we don't have money to even...equip our army properly." (von Storch, [50:48])

F. Notable Quotes

• On the Firewall/Cordon Sanitaire:
  "Basically the firewall is protecting the far left...because without the firewall there would be a good majority with the Christian Democrats and the AfD and then to have a center right government." (von Storch, [46:17])
• On U.S. Protection of Free Speech:
  "It's very helpful, what is coming from abroad...the US National Security strategy put it out...that free speech is essential to democracy." (von Storch, [42:57])

Memorable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• "What was his thought at that moment dictated his response." (Harnwell summarizing Wolfgang, [07:20])
• "Civil disobedience...must be nonviolent." (Wolfgang, [11:09])
• "We let in at least 10 million, perhaps 20 million or more illegals into this country. They are the ones that created this situation..." (Wolfgang, [15:57])
• "Every move the US Administration is doing is helping us." (von Storch on international support for AfD/free speech, [42:57])
• "Our industry is dropping. It's not slightly going down, it's dropping." (von Storch, [48:55])
• "People start to understand that it's ridiculous to try to save the world...while economy is declining." (von Storch, [50:48])

Important Segment Timestamps

• ICE/Catholic Discussion (Wolfgang): [00:54 – 26:30]
• AfD/German Politics (von Storch): [32:01 – 52:00]

Tone and Language

• The tone oscillates between analytical (Wolfgang on Catholic moral reasoning), polemical (Bannon and Harnwell’s framing of the regime/western decline), and defiant/pragmatic (von Storch on free speech and AfD’s growing legitimacy).
• The language is direct, often combative, and repeatedly emphasizes the notion of establishment overreach and populist corrective.

Conclusion

This episode deeply probes the intersection of faith, law, and protest in contemporary America, placing the blame for border chaos squarely on the Biden administration and its supporters within the Catholic hierarchy. In its international segment, it highlights the ascent of nationalist/populist politics in Germany against a backdrop of elite suppression and credits the rising international (especially American) support with helping to safeguard free speech and undermine old political taboos. Both segments reinforce a populist narrative of establishment failure and insurgent, people-driven reform.

Follow the guests:

• Peter Wolfgang: facebook.com/peterwolfgang, ctfamily.org ([26:31])
• Beatrix von Storch: Search her name on any platform to find her social links ([51:53])