Steve Bannon Threatens “ICE Surround The Polls” For The Midterms

Summary

Bulwark Takes: Steve Bannon Threatens “ICE Surround The Polls” For The Midterms
Date: February 5, 2026
Hosts: Tim Miller, Katie Turley, Rod Dreher, Burgess Everett, plus commentary on Steve Bannon, Lindsey Graham, Stephen Miller

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Episode Overview

This episode of Bulwark Takes focuses on Steve Bannon’s incendiary threat to have ICE agents “surround the polls” during the 2026 midterm elections—a move the hosts describe as dangerous, un-American, and likely to backfire. The Bulwark team analyzes Bannon’s rhetoric, discusses how intimidation tactics are meant to suppress voter turnout, and reflects on broader trends about the erosion of moral red lines in politics and society. The panelists also look at Stephen Miller’s continuing influence in Trump’s circle and examine parallels with historical authoritarianism.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Steve Bannon’s Threats to the 2026 Midterms

[01:39] Steve Bannon (clip):

“You're damn right. We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November. We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again. ... We will never again allow an election to be stolen.”

• Host Reaction:

  • Fake Tough Guy Bluster
    • Tim Miller: “This is fake bluster, okay?” [02:13]
    • Katie Turley: “To say that they’re going to intimidate real Americans with their fucking mass thugs and secret police ... there’s just nothing more un-American than that threat.” [02:19]
  • Undermining Democracy
    • Turley re-emphasizes the fundamental value that every American gets to vote, undeterred by government intimidation. [02:19]

• Strategic Backfire:

  • Katie Turley: “It’s strategically wrong, it’s going to backfire. And the only way it works is if we let it work, if we let ourselves be intimidated.” [02:55]
  • The only real impact is if people let themselves be scared away from voting.

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2. The Real Goal: Voter Suppression

[03:26] Rod Dreher:

“This messaging is pervasive and it is preying upon people who want to be convinced that they’re being sidelined, that the government is corrupt.”

• Suppressing Turnout by Instilling Fear:

  • Burgess Everett: “If you instill fear in the voters, if they think they're going to go to the polls and find armed, masked agents, they just might not go.” [03:39]
  • Dreher highlights the connection between armed ICE agents and recent violence, furthering the fear narrative. [03:54]

• Host Call to Action:

  • Katie Turley: “We need to rally people. More people should turn out because they’re trying to scare us. That’s the way we take power back and ... get bullies, fake tough guys like Bannon to back down.” [04:22]

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3. Republican Dismissal & Historical Amnesia

[05:09] Tim Miller:

“Are those Republicans three? I don't know. How old are they? Because they just tried to steal an election five years ago and stormed the Capitol in order to do it.”

• Many Republicans dismiss the alarm over threats like Bannon’s as “crazy talk.”
• Miller argues this is a conscious strategy, offering an “easy way out” that avoids confronting reality or defending intimidation on its merits.

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4. Will Intimidation Work or Backfire?

[05:09] Tim Miller:

“Bannon’s tough guy act is not going to work. Actually, it’s going to backfire ... I can't think of anything that would motivate the opposition base more than trying to send some soldiers into the streets to intimidate people.”

• Suggests a backlash is likely, motivating more voters to turn out—not fewer.
• Underscores the need for pro-democracy voices to be unequivocal and not to feed the intimidation narrative with fear.

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5. Stephen Miller’s Enduring Influence with Trump

[06:31] Unidentified Guest (possibly political commentator):

“When this clock strikes 12 on the Trump era, there'll be a few people walking out the door with Donald Trump. Stephen Miller will be in that group.”

• Rod Dreher: Questions why Trump never distances himself from Miller. [06:51]
• Tim Miller: Acknowledges Miller’s ideological importance and bureaucratic effectiveness in the Trump apparatus, noting “he survived all that ... there’s not a clear heir to that role.” [08:46]

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6. Authoritarian Parallels & Loss of Moral Red Lines

[08:52] Rod Dreher:

Quotes Hannah Arendt: “In an ever changing, incomprehensible world, the masses had reached the point where they would at the same time believe everything and nothing ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd ...”

• Dreher and Tim Miller discuss comparisons to historic propaganda, the erosion of trust, and acceptance of lies if they serve one’s interests.
• Miller relates this to recent scandals involving Epstein and Saudi influence, noting, “There are very few people that have moral red lines in the elite ...” [09:47]

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7. Societal Reflections

[11:19] Rod Dreher:

“We’ve lost something, a certain set of values and a certain compass in society, that we value the pursuits of wealth and influence above everything else.”

• Panel laments the scarcity of principled resistance to corrupt or immoral behavior, especially among elites.
• Encouragement for listeners to uphold democratic and moral standards—don’t let cynicism or intimidation win.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Katie Turley:
  • “To say that they’re going to intimidate real Americans with their fucking mass thugs and secret police ... there’s just nothing more un-American than that threat.” [02:19]
• Tim Miller:
  • “Bannon’s tough guy act is not going to work. Actually, it’s going to backfire.” [05:09]
• Rod Dreher (quoting Arendt):
  • “Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow.” [09:02]
• Burgess Everett:
  • “It’s a campaign to deter and depress the vote because otherwise they don’t think they're going to win the next two elections.” [03:56]

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Important Timestamps

• [01:39] Bannon’s threat clip played/discussed
• [02:13 - 02:55] Katie Turley and Tim Miller on bluster and un-American intimidation
• [03:26 - 04:22] Dreher and Everett on voter suppression; Turley's call to action
• [05:09] Tim Miller on Republican denial and likely backlash
• [06:31 - 08:46] Stephen Miller’s permanence in Trump’s inner circle
• [08:52 - 11:19] Dreher and Miller on authoritarian echoes, loss of moral red lines

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Tone & Conclusion

The tone is urgent, exasperated, and resolute—the hosts are deeply frustrated by the normalization of intimidation and fear-mongering in American elections, but they’re equally determined to rally listeners against these anti-democratic tactics. The episode repeatedly calls for moral clarity and public courage, urging audiences not to be cowed into staying home, but instead to actively defend democratic participation and values.

Transcript

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[Tim Miller]

Hey everybody. Tim Miller from the Bulwark here. So I was on Kitty Chur and.

[Katie Turley]

We talked, you know, about all the stuff that's in the news, including Epstein.

[Tim Miller]

And kind of went a little bit.

[Katie Turley]

Deeper on where is, is there anybody.

[Tim Miller]

In society that has a fucking red line anymore?

[Katie Turley]

We talked a little bit about that.

[Tim Miller]

But I wanted to really dial in.

[Katie Turley]

For you guys on this discussion around Steve Bannon's threats to the 2026 midterm election. There's this video that they played during the clip of Bannon that you may.

[Tim Miller]

Have seen, but if you haven't, let's.

[Katie Turley]

Just watch it now.

[Steve Bannon (clip)]

You're damn right. We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November. We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again. And you can, you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen.

[Tim Miller]

So that's Steve.

[Katie Turley]

Sitting next to him is a friend, a one time friend of mine, Caroline Wren. Write about her in my book if you want to go check that out while we did it. That could piss me off starters because I know them. I know he's full of shit.

[Tim Miller]

This is fake bluster, okay?

[Katie Turley]

And for him to want to try.

[Tim Miller]

To say that they're going to intimidate.

[Katie Turley]

Real Americans with their fucking mass thugs and secret police. There's just nothing more un American than that threat. And even if I disagree with you, even if I think your politics are noxious. In this country, everyone has an opportunity to have their voice heard. That is the fundamental bedrock of what this country is about. People get to go to the ballot box and they get to vote, and the government doesn't get to try to scare them.

[Tim Miller]

And this.

[Katie Turley]

Noxious affront is fundamentally wrong. But here's, I think, the most important thing. It's strategically wrong. It's going to backfire. And the only way it works is if we let it work, if we let ourselves be intimidated.

[Tim Miller]

There's another woman on the panel, a.

[Katie Turley]

Judge, and I appreciate her intent and the. She was coming from a place of genuine concern. And I appreciate that in speaking about how some people might not turn out if they're scared.

[Rod Dreher]

But this messaging is pervasive and it is preying upon people who want to be convinced that they're being sidelined, that the government is corrupt.

[Burgess Everett]

Well, but there's a really important point to make. It's about deterring and depressing the vote. If you instill fear in the voters, if they think they're going to go to the polls and find armed, masked agents, they just might not go to the polls.

[Rod Dreher]

Armed, masked agents, by the way, who just killed two American soldiers.

[Burgess Everett]

Oh, I understand that. So if you say, should I vote today or not, maybe I'd better not go. I think it's a campaign to deter and depress the vote because otherwise they don't think they're going to win the next two elections.

[Katie Turley]

I want to try to encourage people not to do that. We need to do the opposite. We need to rally people. More people should turn out because.

[Tim Miller]

They'Re.

[Katie Turley]

Trying to scare us. That's the way we take power back and that's the way that you get bullies, fake tough guys like Bannon to back down. So there's more on that with Katie Turkey, but I want to get that here on this channel as well. So subscribe to the feed, tell your friends, give the bird to the people trying to scare us out of our birthright, and we'll be talking to you again soon.

[Rod Dreher]

There are a lot of Republicans, and I'm sure Burgess has heard this on the Hill, who say this is all crazy alarmist talk. This is insane. What are you talking about? Of course the election's going to be fine. Donald Trump's not going to get involved. Why do they dismiss it?

[Tim Miller]

Are those Republicans three? I don't know. How old are they? Because they just tried to steal an election five years ago and stormed the Capitol in order to do it. So I think that they do that because it's their easy way out. They can't defend this on the merits. So pretending like people that are concerned about it are alarmist or have derangement syndrome or whatever is their only safe harbor. I just want to say one other thing going back to that Bannon clip, because I do think it's important for folks on the pro democracy side to say this clearly, that Bannon's tough guy act is not going to work. Actually, it's going to backfire. I don't think that having some ICE agents standing outside the ballot the box is going to depress people from turning out. I think what we've seen in Minneapolis is people will get out in the streets at risk to themselves. I think it will draw a lot of attention to the midterms. The midterm elections is a lot about motivating your own base. And I can't think of anything that would motivate the opposition base more than trying to send some soldiers into the streets to intimidate people. So it might work on the margins. There might be a couple people who decide they don't want to vote because they don't want to deal with the hassle. But I think that there will be an overwhelming backlash to it. I think it's important to say that clearly and to encourage people, you know, rather than kind of playing into their hands and acting like their little intimidation thing is going to work, because it isn't.

[Unidentified Guest (possibly a political analyst or commentator)]

As to Stephen Miller, to my colleagues who believe that you can convince Donald Trump that Stephen Miller is a liability for him, good luck with that. When this clock strikes 12 on the Trump era, there'll be a few people walking out the door with Donald Trump. Stephen Miller will be in that group.

[Rod Dreher]

That right there, Senator Lindsey Graham, confirming what many of us already know, that despite fears Stephen Miller's aggressive immigration tactics will cost the GOP in the midterms, the president is sticking by him. Is there nothing that Stephen Miller can do, no line that he can cross that will make the president Donald Trump? Maybe take a moment, take a breath, and pause and say, maybe this guy is not so good for me.

[Tim Miller]

Boy, I hate to agree with Lindsey Graham, but I think you forced me into that position right now. I just don't think so. Look, Stephen Miller has been there from the beginning. You would remember this, Katie, better than anybody. And he would speak at rallies, like going back to 2015 for Trump, because Trump recognized at the time that he had kind of an ideological bearing and an appeal to a certain part of his base that for Trump was a little bit performative, that he was not quite as deeply passionate or ideological on some of the matters, particularly around immigration, that Stephen Miller is. So he's been there from the beginning. He was in the good graces of Ivanka and J. I think that Jared and Ivanka, who tried who knows how hard, but at least played lip service to trying to moderate some of Trump's successes in the first term, recognized they needed Stephen Miller because he was more in touch with the base than they were. And so he survived all that. He survived Trump in the wilderness. So I don't know what it would be now that would push him out. And there's also, I think it's worth noting, a pretty minimal number of people in the administration that seem capable of doing things that are effective bureaucrats, if you want to put it that way. And I think Stephen Miller, Russ Vogt and Marco have been the main ones in this second term, maybe Scott Besant. And so who would Trump turn to.

[Katie Turley]

If not for him?

[Tim Miller]

There's not a clear heir to that role. So I think that he's there as long as he wants to be there.

[Rod Dreher]

Roger in the Free Press talked about this being our pre revolution revolutionary moment and the ominous echoes of history of what this has revealed. There's this quote here, but I'm going to read another one. He's quoting Hannah Arendt, the author of the Origins of a book from 1950. And she says in an ever changing, incomprehensible world, the masses had reached the point where they would at the same time believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. I mean, this is, she's talking about the Weimarization of a population. Again, this is written in 1951. But Tim, you could say all of these things about today.

[Katie Turley]

You could.

[Tim Miller]

And whether or not there is a revolution, you know, I don't know. It's an interesting prospect that Rod points out. I think the question is whether there's any know, sort of moral reprobation if there's any pushback to any of this right or people just do come to accept, you know, as, as aren't rights like that they're going to be lied to and that as long as they're lied to in ways that benefit them, that's fine with them. I mean, to me this Epstein story ties like a couple of other stories and obviously the one I lived through with Trump, you see this in the Saudi Arabia story, the way they're corrupting our elite with money on both sides. There's just seem to be very few people that have moral red lines in the elite. People that are just willing to say no, not for me, that's fine. You know, and like there was just this. The Saudis, for example, just had this comedy tour. All the big comedians were there for the most part. You know, there's just a event over in Saudi that Tucker and Hillary Clinton were co billing. You know, like there were very few. You can put the Never Trumpers on a couple of hands at this point. And I don't know, I haven't gone through every email of the Epstein email, but did we see very many or any people like saying, no, Jeffrey, sorry, I don't want to come to dinner with you and Woody Allen and Roman Polanski and Larry Summers, like, this is too gross and I don't want to be there. Like, no, you don't. People don't do that. And to me, like, that is like a big take, a societal takeaway that I don't know what the answer is to it. But you know, maybe, maybe, you know, trying to encourage people to have more courage of their convictions, I guess, and see where that.

[Rod Dreher]

What you're pointing out is that we've lost something, a certain set of values and a certain compass in society, that we value the pursuits of wealth and influence above everything else. And I'm not naive. I know that's always been valued to an extent, but we've gotten pretty far away from it.