Bolling! - March 30th, 2026

Summary

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Real America’s Voice: Bolling! – March 30, 2026

Host: Eric Metaxas (w/ Stephen K. Bannon, Rep. Mark Harris, and guest commentary)
Theme: Deep Dive Into U.S. Politics, National Security, Iran Regime, “No Kings” Protest, and Oil Market Strategy

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Episode Overview

This episode of Bolling! delivers impassioned analysis and commentary on current U.S. political turmoil, specifically centered around the funding standoff over the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), border security, and ICE. The program also tackles the implications of the oil market’s volatility, Iran’s theocratic regime, the specter of Sharia law in American cities, and the energy behind the growing “No Kings” protest movement. With a blend of outrage, humor, and cultural critique, hosts Eric Metaxas and Stephen K. Bannon, alongside Rep. Mark Harris, paint a picture of American politics and security at a crossroads—frequently taking aim at Democratic leadership and mainstream narratives.

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Key Discussions & Insights

1. Economic Snapshot: Markets & Oil’s Outsized Impact

Timestamp: 00:58 – 02:30

• Market Watch: Dow slightly up, S&P and NASDAQ down; gold stable, but oil pricing up at $104/bbl “weighs on everything.”
  • “Oil goes up, stock market equities go down.” (Eric Metaxas, 01:19)
• Gas Price Warning: If oil hits $120/bbl, gasoline could reach $5/gal—problematic in an election year.
• Gold as a Safe Haven: Historic comparison raised—$20,000 in gold 20 years ago is now worth $165,000.
• Emphasis on diversifying personal assets amid market volatility and political uncertainty.

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2. DHS Shutdown Drama & Media Reaction

Timestamp: 03:10 – 08:20

• The Standoff: Democrats blamed for holding up DHS funding over ICE appropriations; accusation of playing political “hostage” games.
  • “Even the media seems…to know that it’s losing the game for the left.” (Eric Metaxas, 03:57)
• Media’s Shift: Cites ABC's Jonathan Karl pressing Democrats about ICE funding.
  • “It’s amazing how these, these jerks can actually say we’re not holding up, except we’re just not voting for what they want.” (Eric Metaxas, 05:28)
• Senate Republicans Called Out: Frustration at their willingness to remove ICE from funding bills—accused of lacking backbone.

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3. Crime, Race, and Political Priorities

Timestamp: 08:41 – 12:31

• Chicago’s Priorities: Outrage at Mayor Brandon Johnson’s focus on immigrant rights after a local murder by an illegal immigrant.
  • “Your priorities are screwed up. Democrats.” (Metaxas, 09:25)
• Political Cynicism: Democratic figures like Cory Booker and Ayanna Pressley called out for “inciting division” and “race-baiting.”
  • Notable quote: “There’s a difference between the KKK and ICE…ICE is upholding the law. Do you see the difference, you clown?” (Eric Metaxas on Pressley, 11:57)
• Don Lemon Lampooned: Ridicule of Lemon’s claim he could run the country better than Trump, referencing controversial comments about women.
  • “Please, please, run, Don. Make the popcorn.” (Eric Metaxas, 13:19)

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4. EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Mark Harris on DHS & Congressional Dysfunction

Timestamp: 15:55 – 23:55

• The Senate’s ‘Garbage’ DHS Bill: Harris details a “shameful stunt” by Senate Republicans who passed funding for DHS minus ICE/Border Patrol by unanimous consent at 2:30am.
  • “This charade…was absolutely inexcusable.” (Mark Harris, 17:46)
• House’s Response: Speaker Johnson and House Republicans pushed a continuing resolution to fund all of DHS until May 22.
• Filibuster & Political Games: Senate procedural rules allow avoidance of on-the-record votes; Harris laments lack of transparency.
  • “That was my disappointment…It was just inexcusable to do it the way they did it.” (Mark Harris, 19:06)
• The Save America Act: Legislation for border security stalled by Senate procedural wrangling and “back-burnered” during vacation.
• Filibuster Fate: Harris sees little hope Democrats would preserve the filibuster if in power, likening their tactics to a future threat.

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5. Regime Change in Iran: Risks, Realism, and Western Interests

Timestamp: 27:42 – 32:44

• Will There Be Regime Change?
  • “For 47 years the people of Iran have been oppressed by these mullahs. These are monsters.” (Bannon, 28:00)
  • “Is it the right thing at the right time? Of course we want regime change…but we don’t want endless wars.” (Metaxas/Bannon, 28:38)
• The Resistance & Martyrdom: Overcoming Iran’s regime difficult, especially with their embrace of martyrdom.
  • “They would happily blow up the world to bring about the end times they believe in.” (Stephen K. Bannon, 31:44)
• Emphasizes uncertainty—regime’s irrationality makes diplomatic or military solutions perilous.

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6. “Sharia Creep” and Cultural Anxiety in U.S. Cities

Timestamp: 33:08 – 35:45

• Concerns Over Progressive Immigration Policy: Discussion of New York politician Zohran Mamdani’s ambitions and “Sharia creep” in major cities.
  • “He smiles constantly and then does the most sick things.” (Bannon, 33:17)
• Constitution vs. Sharia: Strong assertion Sharia is “completely unconstitutional.”
  • “If you allow Sharia law to come into our cities and our states… It is absolutely the death of America.” (Bannon, 34:48)

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7. “No Kings” Protest Movement & Its Ironies

Timestamp: 36:46 – 44:00

• Satire & Skepticism: Mockery of “No Kings” protesters as misguided—living in a free country while protesting monarchy.
  • “If you can stand in the street and yell ‘No Kings,’ you’re not living under a king. That’s kind of the giveaway.” (Metaxas, 38:44)
• Leftist Hypocrisy: Argues that progressive protestors actually want “their own kings,” not true freedom.
  • “You don’t hate kings. You just hate kings that aren’t yours.” (Metaxas, 43:30)
• Critique of Progressive Governance: Compares leftist control (lockdowns, mandates, etc.) to the tyranny they claim to fight.

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8. Energy Strategy: Oil, War, and “Trump Card” Diplomacy

Timestamp: 47:55 – 51:12

• Bannon’s Oil Negotiation Pitch: Leverage Venezuela/Iran oil via tough negotiation and partnership to secure U.S. energy independence.
  • “There are 7 million additional barrels…We would help them produce, they’d own it. We produce it. But we get oil independence.” (Metaxas, 48:31)
• Total War for Stability: Bannon argues for all-in economic and military measures.
  • “I think we have to go all in on every different aspect, even the more the bombing, et cetera.” (Bannon, 51:13)
• Election Politics: Caution about continued oil price inflation as a political risk heading into the 2026 elections.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Eric Metaxas on Democrats in Congress:

  • “Democrats are now not happy unless they’re sticking it to Republicans. And they seem almost thrilled at the idea that all Americans get to suffer in the process…” (05:33)

• Stephen K. Bannon on Iranian Regime:

  • “These are true religious fanatics. So…the question is: can it happen? Will it happen? How would it happen?” (29:30)

• Mark Harris on Senate’s DHS Maneuver:

  • “They did it by voice…no one wanted to be on record which way they were voting…It was inexcusable to do it the way they did it.” (19:01)

• On the “No Kings” Protests:

  • “You don’t hate kings. You just want to crown your own kings.” (Metaxas, 44:00)

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Important Timestamps

• Market/Economy Overview: 00:58–03:10
• DHS/ICE Funding Showdown: 03:10–08:20
• Democrats’ Political Calculations & Media: 05:41–08:20
• Crime and Liberal Priorities: 08:41–12:31
• Don Lemon Segment: 12:31–14:20
• Rep. Mark Harris Interview: 15:55–23:55
• Iran Regime Change Discussion: 27:42–32:44
• Sharia Law & U.S. Policy: 33:08–35:45
• “No Kings” Protest Satire: 36:46–44:00
• Oil Strategy/War Room Segment: 47:55–51:12

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Episode Tone & Style

• Outspoken, combative, sardonic.
• Blends hard news analysis with cultural commentary and satirical jabs at political opponents.
• Strong themes of “America First” patriotism, skepticism towards progressive movements, and an urgent call for political backbone and constitutional fidelity among Republicans.

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Summary Utility:
This summary distills a densely-packed episode, highlighting its major themes, biting commentary, strategic discussions, and the hosts’ distinctive right-leaning take on current affairs. It’s designed for those wanting the episode’s substance and style without listening in full, capturing key timestamps and the podcast’s bold, unfiltered voice.

Transcript

[Eric Metaxas]

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[Stephen K. Bannon]

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[Eric Metaxas]

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[Stephen K. Bannon]

wins and advances to the championship match

[Eric Metaxas]

right [e-mail] that's globalgamingleague.com in partnership with Lev Up Expo. There you go. There you go. Coppers, coppers. Ring that bell. Pound that gavel right there. Broaden the wall. Four o', clock, market's closed. West Palm Beach. Oh, take a look here. Another rough day in the market. Dow's up a tiny bit, 1/10 of 1%. Meanwhile, S P down half a percent. NASDAQ take it the hardest. 168 points lower on the day. Look underneath that, folks. There's what's going on. First of all, gold settling in around the 4,500mark. Getting very comfortable at that level. But that oil up $4 to another $104 per barrel. And that is weighing on everything. It's like all these equity markets, all these other markets are watching to see what oil's doing right now. Oil goes up, stock market equities go down. And then you look at crypto. Crypto just sat there most of the day. 66,000 was up and down a little bit. And just everyone seems to be looking. Gold's quiet. Everything else is quiet. What the heck is happening in oil? Oil really, really affects a lot of things on Wall street and the economy. That's why we talk about it. It's not just the Wall street. It affects the economy. For $104 a barrel is clearly a $4 gallon gasoline. If it gets to 120, which I think it's going to, unless something happens, we fix some things, you're probably going to see a five dollar gallon of gasoline, which is really tough for the economy, especially in an election year I think about this in 2006, $20,000, just 20 grand equaled roughly 33 ounces of gold. So here's 20 grand, here's 33 ounces of gold. At today's spot prices, those same 33 ounces worth about $165,000. See that? $20,000 up to 165,000 smart Americans the first eye a portion of their savings into precious metals. And that's why you need to consider buying gold from our friends at Birch Gold Group. For thousands of years gold has been a store of value wealth and today it's a crucial part of any balanced strategy. Even better, Birch Gold can help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered retirement account in gold. In other words, you move things in your IRA that your stocks of your Iraq just move them over to gold. Doesn't cost you a penny. And you're now playing in the gold market versus this equity market that seems to be so, so heavy right now. All you have to do is text the word America to the number 989-898 to receive your free info kit on gold. No obligation, just useful information. They've got an A plus rating with a better Business Bureau and they've got tens of thousands of happy customers. So why not let Birch Gold Group help you diversify with with gold that is peace of mind folks. Text the word America to 989898. Again, text the word America to number 989-8982 day. Okay folks, the leftist media has had it with the Democrat clown show. This continued DHS shutdown, the obvious temper tantrum by the Democrat party over deportations. Everyone has had it by now. Not sure what's happening but even the media seems to now only know that it's losing the game for the left. And yet it's still surprising when the folks at ABC Broadcast News are calling out Chris Van I love gang banger illegals. Holland Watch is you have fought and blocked the funding for the Department of Homeland Security because you object, as you just outlined to what ICE has been doing and you wanted to force changes. And yet the only thing that has been assured throughout all of this is that ICE already has the money because as you said, $75 billion passed in the budget bill last year. So you're holding up the entirety of the Department of Homeland Security because you object to ICE and you want changes to ice. But through it all, ICE continues to have the money. John, we're not holding up all of the money.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

For all the Department of Homeland Security.

[Eric Metaxas]

That's just a false statement. We have said repeatedly, well repeated, we should fund tsa, we should fund fema, we should fund the Coast Guard. We are not prepared to give ICE another $10 billion on top of the

[Stephen K. Bannon]

monies they already have and are using

[Eric Metaxas]

in many of these lawless operations. We're not going to give them another $10 billion unless they make fundamental fighting over that $10 billion. You're holding accountable for the killing of American citizens and fighting over that additional $10 billion. You are, you are holding up the rest of Department of Home. We're not holding it up.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I mean, you're saying, john, we're not holding it up.

[Eric Metaxas]

We have now voted 10 times, but you're holding up. Unless it doesn't include money for ice. That's just the fact. It's amazing how these, these jerks can actually say we're not holding up, except we're just not voting for what they want. Jonathan Carl, ABC is no fan of Trump, believe me. He is a has a bit of Trump derangement syndrome. And even he, even ABC getting a little tired of the Democrats holding, playing this game of hostage because just because they just don't like Trump. Democrats are now not happy unless they're sticking it to Republicans. And they seem almost thrilled at the idea that all Americans get to suffer in the process, even as the liberal media continues to call out their nonsense. And Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes seems devastated that the President is finding a way around the ridiculous plot. What did Democrats get out of this standoff? Yeah, well, Margaret, the standoff is not done yet.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Right. The President is illegally paying, apparently TSA agents. You had the Senate, as you pointed

[Eric Metaxas]

out with Mr. Homan, pass a bipartisan

[Stephen K. Bannon]

bill unanimously in the United States Senate

[Eric Metaxas]

to say, look, let's fund everybody else and let's deal with this thorny issue about ice.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

And then you had the Republican House

[Eric Metaxas]

say, hell no, we're not doing that. Do that. And by the way, the sense the Senate, the Republicans in the Senate are going to take some heat for doing that, for allowing the Democrats to basically pull ICE out of that bill. They wanted to get TSA funded. I got it, okay? But you know what? Stick together, have some backbone Senate Republicans, and they're going to get called out on that. So Himes is wrong about that. They didn't do it because they liked it or they believe in it. They did it because they're just trying to figure out a way to pay tsa. They should have held out in My opinion, we should never have a single doubt in our minds that some of the most highly educated, most elitist Democrats are truly bad people in their purest form. Case in point, Gavin Newsom's wife, who has her sights set on being the first lady of this country. By the way, Newsom's wife actually proves yet again that the left truly, truly hates America and Americans. You took your four kids on this trip. You're here in Alabama now. Why was it important to you to take them on this trip to red states and learn about the history in our country? That's a great question. Well, I don't think or I know for a fact that we don't get all of this history in our schools. And it's part of enlivening them, building their curiosity, expanding their hearts, their empathy, so that they themselves can be the change they wish to see in the world and recognize that we have work to do and that we have healing to do and so that they can be, you know, use their voices to stand up and speak out when they see pain and suffering and bullying and racism and misogyny around them. And you want them to see it

[Stephen K. Bannon]

so that they know I do.

[Eric Metaxas]

I'm a truth seeker. They need to know the truth. Two things. She calls herself the first partner for first lady of California. Not the first lady, not the first wife, the first partner. Wacky. And if she slicked her hair back, wouldn't she look just like Evan Newsom? Just asking, or should say just asking. Hey, kids, want to see racism everywhere? Just look down. By the way, this one is important. The murder of loyal student Sheridan Gorman. And yes, we're going to say her name. Sheridan Gorman. Sheridan Gorman. Sheridan Gorman. Even if the leftist media refused to, the murder of Sheridan Gorman by an illegal immigrant is the left's nightmare because it destroys their agenda to keep those illegals in America. And of course, as you would expect, despite her, the murder in her city, her murder being in the city of Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson shows exactly where his loyalties lie. Tell me why you wanted to come out and what's your message for the community here? Well, it's pretty straightforward. We have to end the assaults against working people. We have to end the assaults against immigrants. So an illegal kills a young 19 year old loyal university student in, in Chicago. And Brandon Johnson is worried, worried about the illegal immigrants who are here illegally being, I don't know, asked or escorted out of the country. Your priorities are screwed up. Democrats. Always funny when a Democrat who incites violence against Republicans then goes back to try to ease the tensions. I'm old enough to remember when Cory Booker stood literally in adult diapers on the floor of Congress and screamed about how the President of the United States is a tyrant. So spare us your feeble attempts at Kumbaya moments. Corey. I really believe this is a time where we need new leadership, new moral imagination to pull our country together. Because the challenges on the horizon aren't just this current crisis that Trump has caused. He shouldn't be the main character of our narrative right now. We have real challenges from new technologies like AI and robotics, new challenges that we need more unity in our country and a reminder that we are not each other's enemies. In fact, our ability to find common ground has always been our greatest hope. Again, one of the most divisive people in the Senate, again saying, oh, we need to reunite the country around a high. Whatever that means. You can always count on a member of the congressional squad to say something like this. Ayanna Pressley, proving right here that race baiting is useful in a way to incite violence against your federal agents who you don't approve of. I do not believe we should be doing immigration enforcement under the Department of Homeland Security. And in the same way that the KKK cannot be reformed, in that ISIS practices are very informed by slave patrols, the KKK cannot be reformed. And neither can this mass militia, a rogue, lawless, racist, unlawful, unconscionable and unconstitutional ages. Ms. Presley, there's a difference between the KKK and ICE, and it's. I know you can't call them the same because they're both three letters. So maybe that's where you're saying that the same KKK killed people illegally, murdered people, Right? ICE is upholding the law. Do you see the difference, you clown? Maybe you don't. Speaking of clowns, Don Lemon. Don Lemon. When I heard this clip, I thought, maybe it's time for old Donny boy to seek professional help. And when you hear it, you're probably going to agree with me. If I wanted to, I know people are going to think I'm crazy. This is going to be the headline and people are going to laugh about it. I think I could be President of the United States. I could definitely run this country better than Donald Trump. Do you think you might ever run for office? Oh, boy, that is a long pause. Done.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I hear that all the time.

[Eric Metaxas]

First I hear I don't want to ruin my life.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Why would I invite fight that sort

[Eric Metaxas]

of even more criticism and whatever. I don't. Why would I want to ruin my life with people digging into, you know, everything about me and, and, and campaign ads, putting everything that I've ever said that steam controversial. Please, please run, Don. It'll be absolute. Make the popcorn. Let's watch Don Lemon run for something. Dog catcher. You'd lose that too. I don't know, saying things like what? Don, is this what you're talking about? By chance, Nikki Haley isn't in her prime. Sorry? When a woman is considered to be in her prime in her 20s and 30s and maybe 40s, what are you talk. That's not according to me. Prime for what? It depends. I mean it's just like prime. If you look it up, it'll. If you look. If you Google when is a woman in her prime? It'll say 20s, 30s and 40s. I don't necessarily. So I got it. Another saying. I agree with that. Talking about prime for like childbearing or are you talking about. Facts are. Well, that got you bounced out of the very liberal cnn. Dom, I'm not sure how it's going to do fair for you because that will come up whoever you're running against in an election. By the way, Ben, let's do this very quickly. I know we're hard pressed for time, but you wanna subscribe, folks? Ben will show you how. Right here. Hello. So if you scan this QR code

[Stephen K. Bannon]

on your screen with your camera, a

[Eric Metaxas]

little yellow tag will pop up at the very bottom. If you hit that, it'll take you

[Stephen K. Bannon]

directly to Eric's YouTube channel. Hit subscribe.

[Eric Metaxas]

And once you do, you can hit that little bell that pops up next to it to be informed whenever Eric posts videos that you do. That's all you gotta do. We want you with us. Thank you for watching RAV Date top to bottom. By the way, RAV crushed it at cpac, folks, bar none. Best, best programming across the board at CPAC. Thank you for watching bowling at 4 and thank you if you hit subscribe asap. Appreciate your time. We'll be back in two and a half minutes. The Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA is heating up. March Madness is here and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today. So you never miss a moment. All right folks, last Friday my first guest posted on X saying quote, I am done with Senate Republicans. Their failure to fully fund DHS is not just disappointing, it's a disgrace. They refuse to fund ICE units that target sex traffickers. They refuse to fund border patrol agents. And where is the Save America Act? Once again, they have failed the American people. They have made one thing clear, American safety is not their priority. Close quote. Here to discuss his ex post is the Republican congressman from North Carolina, Mark Harris. Congressman, good to have you on my friend. I think you, I think you capsulized many, many Republicans, many, many conservatives feelings right there. Tell us what happened in the Senate. How did they put, how they pull some stuff out, pull ice out and then push this thing through? I think it was a big mistake. They should have held out your thoughts and tell us why, why you believe it.

[Mark Harris]

Thank you so much for having me today. And you're exactly right. The stunt, and I call it a stunt that was pulled by the Senate in the wee hours of the morning last Friday left everyone really just sort of taken aback. I mean, at 2:30 in the morning they managed with just a very handful. I mean, I think I heard the number five, including the person in the chair were on the floor of the Senate and passed by unanimous consent this crazy bill that was really just garbage. I think the leader referred to it as garbage. In fact, the Speaker, I mean, referred to it as garbage that was sent over to the House of Representatives saying to us that they wanted to fund all of DHS except, except ICE and Border Patrol. I mean that is ludicrous. And first of all, there was such a reaction by the vast majority in our conference to say there's no way that we could go along with this. And so I'm very grateful. The speaker was very firm, he was very strong when he went back and responded at a press conference that this is not going to stand. We came up with a solution and the solution was that at least at a minimum, let's get a continuing resolution through. And that continuing resolution would then go at least until May 22nd and we would fund all of DHS, all of DHS because we recognize we are at a very vulnerable moment here in our country and we've got to defend the homeland. And so this charade that the Senate had pulled off was absolutely inexcusable. And so we, we stayed through Friday, went into Friday night, just before midnight, we passed the continuing resolution that would at least fund everybody, get everybody paid and then we would be able to have some discussions as we got to 22 May and take care of this. But, but listen, Eric, this was so, so much a failure on the part of the entire United States Senate. And then when they were just finding senators that were catching flights out early Friday morning heading off for a two week vacation, this is not acceptable. So we gave them a roadmap, we gave them an off ramp, if you will, that they could have come back in this morning and they could have taken action and it would have all been over and they could have done it by the same way, unanimous consent, with just a small portion on the floor to have passed it this morning. But the Democrats refused and Chris Kuhn was there and I've seen other reports where Chris said that he was sent basically to be at least the one who would have objected if it had come up, but it didn't even come up, which is also amazingly shocking to me.

[Eric Metaxas]

Congressman, tell me if I'm wrong about this. I think one, one thing is absolutely disgusting. What they did, Republican, Senate Republicans, they didn't vote on it the way you could vote on it, where everyone could say where they stood. They did it by voice and someone decided it passed via, via voice. Did they do that because no one, they didn't want anyone to be on record which way they're voting.

[Mark Harris]

That's the only obvious reason it could have been done, was to simply get a unanimous consent if anybody, that was my disappointment. If anybody even on our side had objected, they could not have moved this by unanimous consent. That was the reason for my post, that it was just inexcusable to do it the way they did it. And that's the reason I think the speaker was so flabbergasted and really angry. You don't often see Mike Johnson the way Mike Johnson was seen on Friday. And he was very firm, very strong. The President backed him up on this and we passed the continuing resolution, sent it back to the Senate and now we wait and they need to get back to the Senate, they need to pass this immediately and let's get on with business.

[Eric Metaxas]

Congressman, is it, is it, am I being too, I don't know, skeptical of these folks that maybe they did this this way so they can hurry up and board their flights for that two weeks off away from D.C. and really not caring about the folks at DHS or ICE or Border Patrol after one year?

[Mark Harris]

I mean, all things point to that fact. I have, I have not talked with any, I have no explanation whatsoever for the action that they took. But I do know that when you 0 out Homeland Security and you, or particularly you 0 out ICE and you 0 out Border Patrol, you are inviting another invasion of our southern border. Again, inexcusable. We've spent the first 16 months of this administration trying to secure the border, hold that security there and then to just send out that you're going to defund these until later on that Again, the American people are not going to accept that. And the House of Representatives made certain that we weren't going to accept that either.

[Eric Metaxas]

Tell us where the hell Save America act is. What, where, where does that stand? All of a sudden we're worried about funding and this and that and you Nam's consent which avoids an actual I vote for or against this and, and Save America act gets what? Back burnered.

[Mark Harris]

That seems it's gotten back burner. One of the things that was happening is they had taken it up, which was certainly to Senator Thune's credit that he put it on the floor. They were having the debate and there was this ongoing filibuster, if you will, that Republican amendments were being discussed and they were dealing with that. But now they stopped that, which I guess that means from. Listen, nobody understands all those Arcadian rules they've got over there. So I'm not even sure what all the things are going to happen, but it appears that they'll have to start over when they get back after this two week vacation. So again, the American people want the Save America act passed. We have said over and over again this is critical. There was even some conversation about attaching to the bill we were going to send back that we would actually put on their voter ID because even the Democrats seem to be softening on the idea of voter id. And we thought about attaching that to what we were going to send back that they could have taken action on this morning. But ultimately the decision was made. Look, let's make this as simple as possible. Let's do a continuing resolution that simply funds DHS, all departments, through May 22 so we can get everybody paid and we can move forward. And again, that's what's over there now. And we wait for the Senate to take any action on that.

[Eric Metaxas]

President Trump has told John Thune, Senator JOHN Thune MAJORITY Leader, get the votes. And if you can't get to 60, you can get to 52. But if you can't get to 60 than do the talking. Filibuster. And Thune is pushed. This boggles my mind. Thune is pushing back on the president with this idea that somehow if you do the talking field, nuke the filibuster, it'll benefit the Democrats. Any question in your mind that when the Democrats, if the Democrats take, take the gavel, that they are going to do it themselves, get what they want?

[Mark Harris]

That's my concern. Listen, I have an appreciation for the filibuster. I have an appreciation for somehow protecting the voice of the minority because at some point someday we're going to be. But your point is best taken, and that is, Eric, the Democrats, they only stopped short last time because there was a mansion and there was a Christian sinema that were willing to say, no, we're not going to go along with that. They're no longer there. And I'm convinced Democrats, given the opportunity, will trash the filibuster instantly and will move on to their other action.

[Eric Metaxas]

Well, I'm thankful for a guy like you who's willing to stand up again. It's the Senate caucus versus the House, but so what? A Republican saying, hey, wake up, you guys, we're trying to do our job. Hey, Senate, Senate Republicans, how about you do your job, too? Congressman Mark Harris, North Carolina. Great Congressman. Thank you for joining us.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Thank you.

[Eric Metaxas]

Good to be with you. Okay. Hey, folks, take a look at this. You can feel it right now. There's pressure building all around us. Men are being told, slow down, soften up, buttercup, lower your standards. A lot of them are buying it, but some aren't. Some men still want to be strong, disciplined, sharp, in control of their body, their money, their mind, their future. That's who the Edge was built for. No politics, no noise, no distractions. Just real conversations about performance, longevity, success, and what it actually means to win when no one's watching. Because this isn't about motivation. Motivation fades. This is about standards. Building your standards up, forging your standards in the fire. It's about showing up when you don't feel like it. It's about pushing through when it's easier to coast to sit on the couch. It's about building a life that doesn't depend on luck or permission. New episodes drop every Thursday, 10am Eastern. If you're serious about getting better. If you're done negotiating with yourself, subscribe right there. Take your camera. Hit that QR code. Step into the edge. Spring is calling weddings, patio sessions, barbecues. And you want that drink vibe without sacrificing tomorrow. That's RK zero proof. As the world's first zero proof spirits

[Stephen K. Bannon]

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[Eric Metaxas]

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[Stephen K. Bannon]

mind you need to enjoy every moment.

[Eric Metaxas]

Step into the zero proof season at rk0proof.com. Every single day Americans make choices that shape our country's future right down to which cell phone provider we support. Here's what most people don't realize. Patriot Mobile isn't just a wireless provider. They're an activist organization funded by selling top tier cell phone service. They've been on the front lines defending our freedoms long before it was cool. Standing in the gap when others wouldn't. The best part is they deliver prioritized premium service on all three major US networks, giving you the same or better coverage backed by 100% US based customer support. Get unlimited data plans, mobile hotspots, international roaming and more and more. When you switch to Patriot Mobile you'll help grow a movement that fuels the Christian conservative cause. Every bill you pay helps advance the values of faith, family and freedom. Switching is easier than ever. Activate in just minutes. You can keep your phone number, you can even keep your phone or you can upgrade both. Take a stand today. Go to patriot mobile.com that's patriotmobile.com RAV or call 972 Patriot. I use that promo code RAV for a free month of service. That's Patriot mobile with an e.com rav or call 972 Patriot and make the switch. Today we had Jenny Story on at CPAC and she is just one patriotic American. She's either CEO or CFO of Patriot Mobile. All right, our next guest, founder and host of Socrates is it Socrates in the city. Soccer is in the city and also the Eric Metaxas show podcast. His newest book, Revolution the Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the world comes out June 2, a couple of months away. Always have to have Eric Metaxas with us. Eric, I'd love to start with Iran because we're talking about regime change now. I know somehow it became let's get rid of the nukes to let's get rid of the mullahs and the mullah structure in Iran, the clerical mullahs that are running the country and they have for a better part of 60 years or so.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

47.

[Eric Metaxas]

47. Got it from, from just they took over after the shot and now they've just run that country into the ground making fanatical Islamist the, I guess the, the story every single day in that country. Will we regime change them and will we ever get rid of that structure?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

I have to say, there's no doubt that that would be the greatest thing. It would be amazing because we have to understand, for 47 years, the people of Iran have been oppressed by these mullahs. These, these are monsters. I mean, the fact that they murdered scores of thousands of their own people, that they are. They treat women like dogs. I mean, these are true monsters. And they are theocratic lunatics. Now, there's theocrats and theocrats. They're all bad, but they would happily blow up the world to, you know, bring about the end times that they believe are. I mean, these are. There are people who often, like, worry about religious fanatics. And let me just tell you, these are true religious fanatics. So the question, Eric, is what is our role in bringing about regime change? And by the way, there's nothing wrong with the United States bringing about regime change. The question is, is it the right thing at the right time? I mean, we'd love to bring about regime change in North Korea. We can't do it, and we're not going to do it. But the point is, if we had an opportunity. Of course you want regime change in certain places, but we don't want endless wars. We don't want Americans losing their lives. But what is happening in Iran right now? This is a moment that people have waited for for decades. And so I think the question is, is Israel, the Mossad, are we giving the people of Iran weapons so that they can rise up? Because for sure, we want them to rise up. We want them to be a Western democracy. What they had under the Shah was not a democracy, but it was infinitely better than what we've had in the last 47 years. And I think that we should be rooting for the people of Iran. I know the president is rooting for them. He said as much. The question is, it's the details. The question is, can it happen? Will it happen? How would it happen? But the theocratic.

[Eric Metaxas]

If I may have been in charge,

[Stephen K. Bannon]

these are true monsters.

[Eric Metaxas]

If I may, I agree with you, you on all of that, except will it happen? And more importantly, how long would it take? And would it have to include American ground troops to do so? I would say yes to the second and probably in excess of a year for the first question. Your thoughts?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Well, I mean, I think the main issue is, and we can't know the answer to this, but the main question is, what is the state of the resistance in Iran? I mean, we know that there are people who have hated these Mullahs who for 47 years, we know that there are people whose lives have been destroyed, whose families have been murdered. What is the state of that resistance? Are they able to step up? Are they able to wage war and overthrow the people that you know, have, have destroyed their culture for 47 years? That's the, that's what we cannot know. I assume President Trump has some knowledge. Our intelligence forces, the Mossad have knowledge of what that state is. But that is always going to be the prayer that we would overthrow these mullahs. And of course, if we can't do that, the question is, will we eventually kill enough of them till we find someone who has some rationality, even if it is part of this Islamo fascist regime who is willing to make a deal and understands that if he doesn't want to die, he needs to make a deal. So it's a kind of a crazy continuum and we cannot know the answer to that.

[Eric Metaxas]

Very quickly, just. I want to go on to the next subject, but however, you know, one of the things that makes this so difficult for, for anyone outside of Iran, these people believe dying for the cause is martyrdom. And that is a tough, tough ideology to kill.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

But, but that's the whole point if you're dealing with the Soviet Union, right? You know, we have, we have nukes. They have nukes. But we know they're rational. We know that even though they're evil, they're rational. What we're dealing with in Iran is evil people who are not rational, who would be happy to blow up the whole world for their end time, lunatic, whatever scenario that they want to bring back. So if you're dealing with that, it'd be no different than if you're a cop on the street and you know that there's a guy on the street that when you tell him freeze, he comes at you. How do you deal with that guy? You're going to deal differently with that guy because that guy wants to kill you. And when you're dealing with Iran, up until now, that's who you're dealing with. They don't. They're not going to deal rationally. And unless you understand that, clearly Obama didn't understand that, Biden didn't understand that. They think we're dealing with like, you know, they're kind of like a Western power, except wearing turbans. No, they're not. These are theocratic lunatics.

[Eric Metaxas]

Mamdani, very quickly, New York City, about two minutes or so to discuss this. Tell us what's the latest? My fear of this guy right now, that wherever he is, right now he's looking for substantially higher office. Now, I, I think he was born overseas, so he technically can't be president, but, man, does this guy seem like he wants to either be that guy or the, the whisper to the president someday. Your thoughts?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

There are very few people. There's a lot of people that I can't stand or I, you know, I hate where they're coming from. There are very few people that I kind of smell evil.

[Eric Metaxas]

Yeah.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Like, really, like he is a diabolical figure. He smiles constantly and then does the most sick things. He's clearly super pro Muslim, which is a slap in the face to everyone in New York who is not, which is most of us. So there's something very strange about him. He's practically a kid. He's 33 years old. He has no experience and anything. So the question is, who is behind him? We know that his wife makes him look sane. I mean, she posted positive things about what happened October 7th. When you have somebody like this, every person in New York, everybody in the country needs to speak out and needs to insist, you know, on clarity from this guy. But he is as much a charlatan as anyone I have ever seen in public office, and that's saying a heck of a lot. He makes Obama seem like a nice guy.

[Eric Metaxas]

Yeah. My fear is he's boy, he was born in Uganda. I just looked it up. And, and that doesn't mean the Democrats won't try and figure out a way to, to, to go around that Constitutional law. They seem love to love to do that. Yeah, they'd be the worst thing in the world. And I got to say something here. Years ago I was on Fox and I was told, stop saying the Sharia creep is real. And it was happening 15, 20 years ago. Now you see it in our major cities. You see in New York, you see it in Detroit. You see it in Dearborn, Michigan, you see it in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in parts of Texas even. It's a real thing, isn't it?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

And it's completely unconstitutional. People need to understand you cannot have Sharia law. That would be no different than I'm saying, like in my house, I can beat my wife and kids to death. We have our own laws in my house. America says, no, no, no. If you want to live in the United States of America, you can't have your own laws. I don't care what house you live in. That's what Sharia law is. They say, we're going to have a carve out area. We have different laws here. You are no longer in the United States of America. But Americans need to stand up against it, to speak against it, to vote against it. It is absolutely the death of America. If you allow Sharia law to come into our cities and our states. We really need to understand what it means to be a free people, what our Constitution says, who we are. And in our 250th supercentennial year, I think a lot of people are going to be relearning our history. It's a healthy moment for us. Because if you don't know your history, don't know who you are, you can't push back against this stuff.

[Eric Metaxas]

You know, I was at cpac. Cpac. One of the. There's a lot of signs floating around. One was, don't sharia our dogs. Another one was don't Sharia. Texas is in Dallas. I literally said, don't shri our dogs. Don't sharia Texas. In fact, don't shri a any state in the union. Final thought where we can find you, Eric?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Well, you can find me@eric metaxas.com I host a show called the Eric Metaxas show, and I do host something called Socrates in the City, which is kind of like, you know, the PBS version of the rest of what I do. Conversations on the most important questions in life with, you know, amazing thought leaders. And we've been doing that for 25 years. Hard to believe it, Eric, but it's been 25 years.

[Eric Metaxas]

Oh, you look like you're only 25 years old. Eric Metaxas, good friend. Always good to have you on the show. Appreciate your time. Thank you.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Thank you.

[Eric Metaxas]

All right, folks, we'll be back two and a half minutes.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Instead. I'm living so free.

[Eric Metaxas]

All right, folks, no kings. Let's think about that for a second. No kings. These protests, what a joke. Don't just come to no kings.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Bring five friends.

[Eric Metaxas]

Bring people who haven't gone to protest before. No kings is like a first step. You know, it's like reaching out a hand and saying, come on, there's a room for everybody here.

[Mark Harris]

You'll have fun.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

You'll meet new people, and you can

[Eric Metaxas]

protest and look cute while doing it. Listen, get out there. And no kings that arrive with five. Don't go anywhere alone in these autocratic streets. Arrive with five. No kings. Because guess what? We are the United States of America, and we don't do the kings. All right, here's a good word of advice. If you see Jane Fonda and Joy Reid together anywhere, just run. This is all Just a collective leftist temper tantrum. Because the democracy they supposedly love so much got Donald Trump into the White House for a second time. A collective leftist temper tantrum about so called authoritarianism, by the way, by the same people who refuse to let you into a restaurant if you're maskless or without some sort of vaccine passport. That's real authoritarianism. But these clowns, Big crowds, big energy, big joke, big money, by the way, if you're standing in the middle of a protest in a country where you're allowed to protest the government without getting arrested or killed, and holding one of these many signs mass produced by George Soros, that reads no kings, guess what? You already won that fight of no kings. About 250 years ago, we did the whole thing. Tea Harbor Constitution ring a bell? No kings. Nailed it. You absolute morons. And just in case you didn't know, here's Nancy Pelosi with an important lesson in history sponsored by a massive overstay in Congress. In my view, the democracy issue is everything. We're in our 250th anniversary. We have no King's Day today. Our founders did not want a king.

[Mark Harris]

Our founders did not want a king. They wrote a constitution that said we

[Eric Metaxas]

don't want a monarch to declare war

[Stephen K. Bannon]

anytime he felt like it.

[Eric Metaxas]

That's why they have Congress declaring war. They didn't want somebody in charge of all the money to do whatever he wants. That's why Congress has the power of the purse. So the separation of power is essential to not having a monarch. Do you think it's a bit unhinged? A woman who's been in office, holding a position of power for five plus decades, going on about a monarchy and no more monarchies? Have any of these people even opened a book that wasn't written by Karl Marx? Or maybe any book at all for that matter? If you can stand in the street and yell no kings, you're not living under a king. That's kind of the giveaway. Wait a minute, hold on. The Marrier of the Brothers Mother of Fraud Dragons, the America hating Self Sprayer has something to say. I came to this country as a refugee. To me, America was a beacon of hope. A place where freedom wasn't just a word, but it was a promise. I arrived here when I was 12 years old. I could have never imagined the day would come when we were staring down at this kind of creeping authoritarianism in the United States of America. A place where I can promise Somalis that if they can steal from the government and women can marry their brothers. Boy, that. That's all me. No kings. But Sharia law is cool. Is that about right, Elon Omar? They pretend there's fascism. Meanwhile, you've got Elmer Fraud, worshiper of the Chinese Communist Party, out there declaring his love. Not for the American people. Nope. Tampon Tim uses a no Kings protest to declare his love and devotion to the Somalis. And I will add a special, a special thank you and a special acknowledgment that we will never leave the side

[Stephen K. Bannon]

of our Somali Minnesotans.

[Eric Metaxas]

Here's our pledge to you, our Somali Minnesotans.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Your great grandchildren will still be here when that orange clown is in the dustbin of history.

[Eric Metaxas]

How do you even respond to such sheer lunacy? Because to these people, we are the fascists. You love your country. You're fascist. You want a border. You're racist. You think parents should raise their own kids. Well, that's bigoted. You want to know who's voting? Jim Crow. At this point, fascism just means anything. They don't like. Half the people yelling no. Kings don't even seem clear on what a king is. These are the same people who don't know the difference between a man and a woman. Reality check here. Every country has borders. Every country enforces them. Most countries require IDs to vote. That's not oppression. That's called a country. But when you've been told to believe otherwise and over and over and over again, and the media follows you into that rabbit hole, eventually you go out and start marching for it and saying some of the dumbest things in the process. We stand in solidarity with our indigenous siblings, knowing that the US Will never be free until the stewardship of this land is returned to its indigenous peoples. Thank you. Yep, that's real. Want to hear something wild? Congress has about a 15% approval rating. All right, that means that 85% of Americans don't like them, and yet 97% of incumbents keep winning every single time, every vote. So tell me again, who's acting like royalty? I'm looking at this list. People in power for 30, 40, even 50 years. Decades. Generational political lifers. Case in point. As all of you know, we are living in an unprecedented and dangerous moment in American history. In many ways, the future of our country and, in fact, the entire world, is hanging in the balance. And the actions that we take now will determine what the future looks like. Says the guy who's been in Congress for well over three decades, who also owns three houses, flies around in private jets, but somehow the guy who's been around for like five minutes is the king okay? Hey snowflakes. You don't hate kings. You just hate kings that aren't yours. About time we call them out for it. Should we? I'm old. If you remember when the left wanted to anoint King Obama. So let me get this straight. Back then a king is good. Now king is fascism. Back then mass deportations. Under Obama, fine. Now it's racist. Despicable. Kkk. That's a pretty aggressive rebrand. Our king inspiring your guy. Dictator. That's not a principle, that's a massive mood swing. These people are out there chanting no kings. We're totally fine even demanding about some of the most top down control we've ever seen in this country. All under leftist governments. Lockdowns, mask mandates, vaccine, passports. They crushed our personal freedoms and rights. Permission to go outside. Really? To work, to sit down in a restaurant. A government issued card, like a hall pass to live your life. I guess they're all right with the ID then, huh? When it was that? When it was their idea, when it was their thing. But to vote, not so much. No marches, no outrage from our side. Just show your papers. Sit down now. Showing ID to vote is somehow tyranny. This isn't about kings. It's about who gets to tell you what to do. This protest isn't about monarchy, the constitution or some looming dictatorship. They lost an election. These monsters want to control our children. They want to groom our children. They want to make America woke again. Mawa. Make America woke again. They'll do it. Meanwhile, when Joe Biden was in office making a disaster of things with his crony comrade friends, there were no protests on our side. No cities shutting down. Also no. We debated, we voted. Now they can decide which protests are mostly peaceful and which ones are insurrection. Which speech is dangerous, which speech is activism. Guess what? Their voices aren't being silenced online as they compare ice to kkk. That's the game, isn't it? You don't need a crown to act like a king. The left knows that all about that. In fact, you just need power to decide what's allowed with these pre organized, pre funded, pre printed signs. Thinking they're out there defending democracy, fighting tyranny, standing up to kings. Useful idiots just carrying the message of the people who already have the power. No kings. What a joke. You don't hate kings. You just want to be on the side that gets to crown the kings. And that is a far different protest. Quickly, take a look. In just six months, the Edge has crossed 13,000 subscribers, over 2 million views, and get this, more than 70,000 watch hours. No gimmicks, no shortcuts, no fake numbers. Just real people showing up and leaning into something better. And here's what that tells me. There's a hunger out there for strength, for discipline, for clarity in a world that's gotten way too soft. And we're just getting started. Because this isn't about chasing views. It's about building something real with people who actually want more out of life. So here's the push. Let's get to that number at the top right there, that 15,000 subscriber level. If you've been watching but haven't subscribed yet, do it, do it now. And if you believe in what we're building, send it to one person who needs it. New episodes every Thursday, 10am Eastern. No politics, no noise, just the edge. Use that QR code and join the fastest growing channel that'll actually help you become your best self. All right, folks, if you've been watching Bannon Wharram in the Morning, I've joined him quite a few days, maybe 20 days or so since this thing started. And they're doing some great work at War Room in the Morning. Let's bring Stephen K. Bannon in for a second. Steve, I want to just throw to some a sound bite that from your show three weeks ago today when we had an off ramp or I came up with an author, we, we kind of negotiated a little bit on your show. And I think a lot of that is becoming, working its way into the negotiations as we speak today. But let's take a look. Trump has developed a lot of influence. He's got a lot of cards to play. He's got a lot of Trump cards to play. Venezuela and Iran right now, specifically Venezuela, has the ability to produce, and they used to produce 3 million barrels a day. Right now they're 1. Because of all the corruption over the last 20 years, Iran has the ability to produce 7 million barrels a day. They're producing 3 because of the sanctions and whatnot. There's a very, very smart solution, but it takes guts, it takes cojones. And you got to go in there and Trump's the only guy that can get this done. I would love to help him do it. I know he could do it. There are, there are public private partnerships right now in petroleum. Saudi Aramco is mostly owned by the Saudi government, but partially owned like Petro, China, Petrobras, Brazil, Gazprom in Russia. Public private Partnerships. You have Venezuela and you have Iran on their knees right now, put your foot on their neck like you are, and then say, I'll tell you what, the American boot comes off your neck. The minute you sign a relationship with the United States where our oil companies achieve you, we get your additional production that we can get you to. There's 7 million additional barrels between and Venezuela that we could help them produce. They would still own. We would produce it. But guess what happens then, Steve? I told you earlier, we use 20 million barrels of oil a day in this country. We produce 13 million barrels a day. The gap between what we produce here and use is 7 million barrels. We can guarantee for our lifetime never having to need another outside force, with the exception of Iran in Venezuela, which we would own as a partnership going forward as part of a deal to let them go back to being sovereign countries. Very simple. They get what they want, they get their country back. We get, we want what we want oil independence, real oil independence. No one's ever come up with this. No one's ever thought of this. This is the way to do it. All right. You're doing some great work on the war and with man, a lot of people don't like that idea, Steve, but I know some of it's working its way into negotiations now, per Trump on Air Force One, your thoughts?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Well, I think President Trump says that, he's saying, hey, I'm a seize the oil.

[Eric Metaxas]

Right?

[Stephen K. Bannon]

It's quite obvious that. And this is why I said the other day, Eric, with you, total war. It's not that I, I, you know, I hate this war, but we are where we are in this and we gotta win and we gotta bring stability after it. The President's looking for, obviously, an off ramp or some sort of conclusion to it. That was just reinforced today, I think,

[Eric Metaxas]

by Rubio talking to the press.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

But he's clearly picked up on your idea because your idea was a more gentlemanly or contractually where we would manage it. We'd be in partnership, but. And they would get the cash or

[Eric Metaxas]

some, you know, if I may, oil companies would be the ones who bring their, bring their production up, and we would have, we would own that oil. We pay them the fair price. But again, it's, you have to bring them, you get, got to hit them hard to get them to submit. And what I talked about was hit their media infrastructure, hit their highways. Now, Trump talked today about hitting their water filtration. I mean, these are the things you do to soften the target to get them to negotiate. And I'm just fearful that this thing could drag on too long. And Steve, we have just now run out of the cheap oil that we bought more than a month ago, the pre war oil just hitting our shores now. So everything going forward, especially at the pump, will be substantially elevated from the prices now. And I'm just again, people say don't worry about an election. I worry about elections. They have consequences for me. I think this thing, there's an off ramp and it's a business off ramp.

[Mark Harris]

And they do.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

But we have, but we have a long, yeah, we have a long way to go before that election. We got to get through this. The only reason I'm telling people, don't worry about the midterms, focus on the here and now. You know, Scott Bessant is doing an event on Long Island. We got, we're going to go live and pick it up. If it talks about the war and things they're working on. When I say total war, I want to. And there's all type of rumors coming out and some Arab media is picking up that uae, finally they're going to shut down Dubai, the Pirate cove, and seize $530 billion of the regime's money that are supposedly in financial institutions and in banks and investment funds in Dubai. I think that has to be seized. I think we have to go all in on every different aspect, even the more the bombing, et cetera.