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
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.
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.”
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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]
- Fake Tough Guy Bluster
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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.
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.”
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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]
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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]
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.
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.
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]
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]
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.
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]
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
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.