THE WAR ROOM WITH STEPHEN K. BANNON, APRIL 2ND, 2026 (EP.5266)

Summary

THE WAR ROOM WITH STEPHEN K. BANNON – April 2, 2026 (Ep. 5266)

Podcast: Real America’s Voice
Host: Stephen K. Bannon
Featured Guests & Analysts: Eric Bolling, Brandon Weichert, Kurt Mills, Multiple Political & Military Analysts
Date: April 2, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode digs deep into President Trump’s national address on the ongoing military conflict with Iran, dissecting his rhetoric, objectives, and the strategic consequences for global markets and U.S. foreign policy. Through rapid-fire analysis and spirited debate, the War Room crew assesses the prospects for de-escalation, evaluates Trump’s stated goals, and explores the risks of falling into an “escalation trap” reminiscent of past U.S. wars. Commentary threads in market reactions—particularly in oil price volatility—and the uncertainty around next steps for the U.S., Iran, and global allies.

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Main Discussion Points

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1. President Trump’s Iran Address: Clarity or Ambiguity?

Key Segments: [00:34–07:03], [16:12–26:09]

• Opening Tone: Trump’s speech was heavy on resolve, promising to complete U.S. objectives against Iran swiftly, using stark language like “send them back to the Stone Ages.”
• Regime Change: Trump denied regime change as an initial goal (“Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders death.” – Bannon, [02:32]).
• Objectives: U.S. objectives are reportedly close to finalized; continued heavy bombardment of Iran is promised over the coming “two to three weeks.”
• Diplomatic Off-Ramp: Unclear messaging on diplomatic alternatives—will the U.S. negotiate, or escalate further if Iran refuses a deal?
• Iran’s Position: Despite decimated military capacity, there are doubts about whether Iran’s regime perceives defeat, and if Iranian hardliners might try to shift the center of conflict to the Persian Gulf.

Notable Quote:

“We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing. …”
— Stephen K. Bannon, quoting Trump ([02:32])

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2. Market Reaction and Oil Price Volatility

Key Segments: [12:15–15:13], [16:04–19:39], [34:17–37:34]

• Immediate Impact: Oil markets spiked following Trump’s speech, with prices rocketing from $98 to $112 per barrel overnight.
• Trader Sentiment: Analysts note that the lack of a tangible “off-ramp” deeply unsettled markets—every refiner expects prices to go higher.
• Pump Prices: The overnight move will translate into a significant increase at the gas pump—potentially up to 60–70 cents per gallon.
• Speculators vs. Industry: Physical oil movers (shippers, refiners) were more alarmed than speculators.
• Global Ripple: U.S. is less sensitive to Hormuz, but since oil is a global commodity, any shock in the Gulf raises prices worldwide.

Notable Quote:

“Bomb them into Stone Age indicates more than just limiting the ability to deliver nuke. … People are smart. You can’t bomb them into the Stone Age in a couple of weeks.”
— Eric Bolling ([34:17])

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3. Escalation Trap & Lessons from Past Wars

Key Segments: [31:49–33:39], [39:04–41:24]

• Definition: Brandon Weichert explains the “escalation trap” (as studied by Dr. Robert Pape): an incremental commitment loop where the U.S. keeps escalating to try to win, echoing Vietnam or other protracted wars.
• Ambiguity & Uncertainty: Trump’s speech is described as ambiguous, lacking the usual decision and clarity—analysts worry this signals the administration isn’t actually decided on its next move.
• Troop Movements: Significant U.S. military assets (Airborne, carriers, Marines) are still funneling into the region, which could presage further escalation despite talk of winding down.

Notable Quote:

“That’s the escalation trap, because you can’t go down without being defeated... the only way to go forward then is to go higher on that escalation ladder.”
— Brandon Weichert ([31:49])

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4. Geopolitical Maneuvering & Allied Roles

Key Segments: [16:12–19:39], [35:58–37:01], [44:49–48:51]

• NATO & Regional Allies: Skepticism that NATO, Japan, or India will move decisively to open Hormuz; U.S. is “doing it as their proxy”.
• China & Oil: Emphasis that consumers—China, Japan, Europe—are told by Trump to manage Hormuz, reducing direct U.S. stake, but analysts note global oil is still highly interconnected.
• Israel’s Actions: Kurt Mills and Bannon discuss U.S.-Israel friction: Israel reportedly continues aggressive operations, including targeted killings, possibly undermining U.S. diplomatic options.
• Deal-making Complexity: Attempts to establish direct communication with new Iranian leadership are stymied by murky channels and Israeli resistance.

Notable Quote:

“I think Israel wants this war to continue for the foreseeable future, and they want the Americans to bear the battle. …willing to fight this war to the last American.”
— Kurt Mills ([46:16])

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5. Internal Dissent & Political Pressure

Key Segments: [38:04–44:49]

• Mixed Reactions: Analysts are split: some heard a path to deescalation, others see signs of endless escalation and mixed messages (“...sounds like a whole lot lot longer. People are smart. You can’t bomb them into the Stone Age in a couple of weeks.” — Eric Bolling, [34:17])
• Trump’s Record: Skeptics recall prior promises (“15 days to slow the spread” during COVID), warning that “two to three weeks” is unlikely to be a realistic endpoint.
• Market Confidence: Analysts worry Trump is losing his ability to calm markets with speeches as oil volatility surges.
• Changing Objectives: U.S. rhetoric has shifted from nuclear containment to destruction of missile capacity, causing concerns about strategic drift.

Notable Quote:

“The President has said a number of things and they are, some of them are just self evidently contradictory. And so until we leave, I don’t think we’re out of it.”
— Kurt Mills ([39:04])

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Notable & Memorable Quotes

• On Iran’s Fate:
  “Iran makes a deal to make sure they never do this again or we will destroy their infrastructure to survive as a nation. That’s their choice.”
  — Political Commentator ([04:14])

• On U.S. Military Accomplishments:
  “We are in this military operation so powerful, so brilliant ... for 32 days and the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat.”
  — Stephen K. Bannon ([04:28])

• On Global Oil Markets:
  “Speculators right now are, are a fly on the ass of the oil market right now. … The refiners are very, very jittery.”
  — Eric Bolling ([21:16])

• On Israel’s Role:
  “The Israelis ruled out ground troops of their own ... willing to fight this war to the last American.”
  — Kurt Mills ([46:16])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

| Time | Topic/Segment | |---------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:34–02:32 | Trump’s stern language and setting the stage for escalation | | 02:32–04:28 | Regime change, military objectives, impending escalation | | 12:15–16:12 | Eric Bolling details oil price shocks and market reactions | | 16:12–21:16 | Market analysis: who’s driving price volatility, consumer impact | | 23:33–27:45 | Brandon Weichert and Bannon debate off-ramps vs. escalation, troop movements | | 31:49–33:39 | Explanation of the “escalation trap” in conflicts | | 34:17–37:34 | More on market/political expectations, why lack of “off-ramp” spooked traders | | 39:04–41:24 | Kurt Mills criticizes lack of clear command, signals of strategic confusion | | 44:49–48:51 | Israeli actions, sabotage of diplomacy, possibility of further U.S. ground troop escalation |

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Analysis Summary

• Tone & Message: The episode mirrors the fog and ambiguity surrounding U.S. operations in Iran—oscillating between muscular resolve and cautionary hesitance. Bannon and guests blend praise for military accomplishments with skepticism over the administration’s endgame and communication strategy.
• Markets as Barometer: The oil market’s panic is repeatedly linked to the administration’s inability to provide clear de-escalatory signals—a major theme for both economic and geopolitical stability.
• Echoes of History: The “escalation trap” concept is invoked often, warning of an extended entanglement if the objectives continue to shift or broaden.
• Allied Reluctance: There is deep skepticism about the willingness (and capability) of U.S. allies to take over security responsibility in the Gulf, and doubts are raised regarding Israel’s independent actions.
• Political Ramifications: Analysts caution that eroding market confidence and unclear messaging may weaken Trump’s political position and MAGA’s agenda.

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Conclusion

This War Room episode offers a forceful critique and granular snapshot of the post-speech environment, blending real-time market insight, military analysis, and political debate. Bannon and his guests highlight the dangers of strategic ambiguity, escalating rhetoric, and the mismatch between stated objectives and on-the-ground realities. With global markets rattled and U.S. allies hesitant, the War Room paints a picture of a conflict at a crossroads, with potential for either resolution or protracted entanglement hinging on fast-moving events and unpredictable decisions.

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For further perspectives, follow Eric Bolling on YouTube (“Eric Bolling: The Edge”), Brandon Weichert’s publications, and Kurt Mills at The American Conservative and on X (@URTMILLS).

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Stephen K. Bannon]

Terrorists who have nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat. The most violent and thuggish regime on earth would be free to carry out their campaigns of terror, coercion, conquest and mass murder from behind a nuclear shield. I will never let that happen, and neither should any of our past presidents. This situation has been going on for 47 years and should have been handled long before I arrived in office. This short term increase has been entirely the result of the Iranian regime launching deranged terror attacks against commercial oil tankers in neighboring countries that have nothing to do with the conflict. This is yet more proof that Iran can never be trusted with nuclear weapons. They will use them and they will use them quickly. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done, so it should be easy. And in any event, when this conflict is over, the strait will open up. Naturally. It'll just open up. Naturally. They're going to want to be able to sell oil because that's all they have to try and rebuild. It will resume the flowing and the gas prices will rapidly come back down. Stock prices will rapidly go back up.

[Host/Moderator]

Speech.

[Political Analyst]

The President is looking for an off ramp. Well, perhaps politically he is, but militarily he talked much more about escalation and effectively using words like the Stone Ages, sending them back to the Stone Ages that sent the market tumbling in the wrong direction. So there's no doubt that the politically, the White House is hoping for this to come to an end. But that is not what the President signaled last night. But I think the biggest sort of takeaway is that there was so little knew in that speech. And had he given this five weeks ago before going into Iran, or perhaps right after, would that have changed public opinion? It's unclear.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

It made clear from the beginning of Operation Epic Fury that we will continue until our objectives are fully achieved. Thanks to the progress we've made, I can say tonight that we are on track to complete all of America's military objectives shortly. Very shortly. We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to Three weeks. We're going to bring them back to the Stone Ages where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing. Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders death.

[Host/Moderator]

Do you think he made that case?

[Military Analyst]

I thought he started with the necessity. We talked about necessity, the objective and what's the plan. I thought the necessity laying out the bill of particulars on Iran was fairly effective, not entirely accurate as you just pointed out. I think it's important to remind people of what Iran is about. It is a real threat. There are reasons to be doing what we're doing. I thought when he laid out the objectives in the plan, I don't think we heard too much. And my takeaway was that we might be in for an escalation of this war. I mean, he said if there's not a deal he put back on the table.

[Military Correspondent]

He didn't talk about a deal very much.

[Military Analyst]

Well, he said it was not a deal. The energy targets, everything else he'd been talking about. So if we were thought we might hear a de escalatory speech that we're going to wrap this up in a couple weeks. I actually heard something quite different that and he said he visits the families at Dover and he said we must honor them by completing the mission. And then he basically threatened Iran that there's that we're prepare to send you back to the Stone Age. So I think this war is going to continue for some time. That's what I, that's what I heard next.

[Political Commentator]

And here's what I learned. Iran makes a deal to make sure they never do this again or we will destroy their infrastructure to survive as a nation. That's their choice. And that's the big takeaway tonight for me.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

We'll hit them with missiles very hard again. We have all the cards. They have none. It's very important that we keep this conflict in perspective. American involvement In World War I lasted one year, seven months and five days. World War II lasted for three years, eight months and 25 days. The Korean War lasted for three years, one month and two days. The Vietnam War lasted for 19 years, five months and 29 days. Iraq went on for eight years, eight months and 28 days. We are in this military operation so powerful, so brilliant, against one of the most powerful countries for 32 days. And the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat.

[Foreign Policy Expert]

While he had a chance to speak to the Iranian leadership that the replaced Iranian leadership, he did not make an offer or any discussion of what the US Iran relationship could look like. I mean these are two countries that have every reason that they could be natural allies. Historically, at various moments long time ago they were. But there was only threat to the Iranian leadership. There was no incentive. I thought the second really interesting thing was that the President basically dismissed the operations to go get the nuclear material. You may remember that when this war started that was supposed to be the number one objective, keep Iran from making a bomb. And that means taking away the near bomb grade material this time. He said it would take months for them to get near the nuclear death.

[Military Correspondent]

I mean also this morning US Central Command just released a new video about strikes. And centcom's commander said this. In releasing this video he wrote. Now in our fifth week of the campaign, it is my operational assessment that we are making undeniable progress. We don't see their Navy sailing, we don't see their aircraft flying. And their air and missile defense systems have largely been destroyed.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

But one, buy oil from the United States of America. We have plenty. We have so much. And number two, build up some delayed courage. Should have done it before, should have done it with us as we asked. Go to the strait and just take it, protect it, use it for yourselves.

[Political Commentator]

This movie end. Here's what President Trump said tonight. If you're in Iran, you better be listening. I'm willing to do a deal to make sure you don't become the largest state sponsor of terrorism again. I'm willing to do a deal that will allow you to exist under certain conditions. You have to change your behavior. But if you don't do a deal, I'm going to decimate your ability to come back economically. President Trump outlined targets that would destroy the ability of this regime to survive over time. If you don't take this deal, we're going to blow up all the things you need to come back. This was a defining moment in this campaign. He defined the end state. He set the objectives early on. We're inside the 10 yard line and he's telling Iran how this movie ends. It's up to you. We could do it through diplomacy and if you reject diplomacy, this will end with a decimation of your ability to ever come back economically.

[Host/Moderator]

This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies because we're going medieval on these people. There's not got a free shot. All these networks lying about the people, the people have had a belly full of it. I know you don't like hearing that. I know you try to do everything in the world to stop that, but you're not going to stop it. It's going to happen.

[Eric Bolling]

And where do people like that go to share the big lie? MAGA MEDIA I wish in my soul, soul. I wish that any of these people had a conscience.

[Host/Moderator]

Ask yourself, what is my task and what is my purpose? If that answer is to save my

[Foreign Policy Expert]

country, this country will be saved.

[Eric Bolling]

War ROOM here's your host, Stephen K. Banner.

[Host/Moderator]

It is holy Thursday 2nd April in the River Lord 2026, the foremost important days in the Christian calendar. Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. And of course, the world will be here to commemorate those with you all these days. Many specials we're working on right now for the, for the Easter weekend. A lot going on, of course, the speech last night, I want to thank Real America's voice for allowing us to do live coverage and then commentary and observations last night of the speech. Of course. The President, I think, laid out what his beginning objectives were, whether you agree with it or not, the progress he felt that the armed forces had made, that the military forces, the very specific military objectives, and I think laid out a two or three week program to defang and declaw the Iranian military and the, the existing regime or whoever's taken over and what part they've actually taken over. It kind of defined, you know, hey, straight or Hormuz, if you're taking oil out of there, it's, you should cherish it and you should, and you should step up to the plate. Now, he did have an escalatory latter part where he told the Iranians, which I think is not exactly clear of what he's looking for, whether it's a ceasefire or an actual deal and who can actually make that deal. The reports last night that I think Israel tried to take out or attempted to take out or did take out is still pretty muddled. Who JD Vance is trying to work through to actually set meetings up because there's no direct communication right now with Iranians is all through third parties. So that part's pretty murky. But the President did say that there would be a major escalation if, if they couldn't come to some sort of arrangement. And actually was in quite stark terms of what he would do, including take down the electrical grid and destroy their oil infrastructure. I think that's that part of it, given the rest of it was pretty methodical about what he, what he, what he set out to do, what he's done and what is left to do is caused, I think a little, how would you say, turbulence in global markets. Eric Bolling joins us. Eric, talk to I want to go back because last night we didn't have you as a commentator because you were watching the markets full on. I think it's an important exercise for the audience to see it through the eyes of how the markets see it. So let's go back to right before the speech started because you were tracking this quite closely as the speech progressed and then overnight, because overnight. Now we're in a situation where I think that the global oil markets are saying they're not enthusiastic about what they heard in the speech. So let's go back over time. Let's take your time on this. Last night as you were behind the scenes working this, as we were listening to the speech and then doing commentary with John Solomon Posovic and the rest of the Real America voice team.

[Eric Bolling]

Steve, before the speech I sent you, we were at 98 a barrel after market trading, sitting very comfortably, you know, down off the highs, but not where we should be. We should be in the 60s or 70s. However I sent you, you asked me what is the oil mark? What are the oil guys, the, the real boots on the ground? What are they thinking? I said something like to the moon or something with that respect because someone, one of the traders had emailed me a guy who doesn't need oil prices higher, refiner who needs them lower so it's cheaper to run through his system. He said off, off to the races or to the moon or something like that. I watched the trade. It really didn't move very much. During the speech. I kept updating you. When he talked about the part where he said we're going to send them back to the Stone Ages, I think that triggered something because that's really where it started to tick up to $99 a barrel, $100 a barrel. When he finished, I think traders were hoping to hear some sort of legitimate off ramp and it just spiked. 1011-021031-05107, 108 or so. This morning I got up, Steve, and I was just shocked. 112 dollars a barrel. That's 15%, $13, $14 a barrel higher. And I just have to tell you, that translates folks into on the pump, just the overnight move. In crude oil, there's 42 gallons to a barrel of crude oil, 55 in the industrial world, crude oil barrels are 42 gallons. Unfortunately, that turns into about a 60, 70 cent move up on the pump price Just on the overnight alone, what it did overnight. So anything that's purchased at these levels, it's going to make its way to the system and you'll see a, you know, you could see a 474.75 again. The longer we stay these elevated levels, the more likelihood it continues to go higher. My concern is Trump addressed this. He addressed it like he said, you know, they'll come down soon. I've been doing this a really long time, Steve. He can get the oil price down soon. He can't get the pump price down unless he wants to go. And like government manipulation of price, which we don't want. We just do not want our. You don't want to open that Pandora's box because admitted Democrat gets in there, then you know they can destroy the economy. So there's a lot going on. I think there is also very quick. You know, Steve, we, you and I have been talking for three weeks. What's the best off ramp? You know, we sent it to Susie Wiles, we sent it to Pete Hegseth. They've got it. We, we said they need to pound Iran hard, hit them hard, hit their water infrastructure, hit their highway infrastructure, even maybe hit their media infrastructure and then get them to rely and maybe, just maybe, and I'm very hopeful on this, that that's what's going on right now. He's going to literally lay into them as hard as he can right now to bring them to the bargaining table and come cut whatever deal he wants. I hope he picks our deal. Our deal is the best, the smartest. Everyone walks away with a little bit of their own skin. But we walk away like a rose. And he becomes the businessman that gave us energy independence for real. Forever.

[Host/Moderator]

Hang on one second. Sure. Commercial breaker. Bowling on the other side. What about Lake and Riley? It's surely too hard to say. What about when you took your shot at the one you called King? Where is your song for justice?

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[Eric Bolling]

War room.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Band.

[Host/Moderator]

Okay, there's breaking news. As soon as we get. Get somebody to read it. It just came to me. There's been some update On Tina Peters, this Tina Peters situation, the clemency situation, we're going to get on top of that right now and be back to you guys momentarily. Colorado Court of Appeals just put forward a document that supposed to be at 11 o', clock, came in a little bit early. So, Eric, the president went out and defined as much as you can define because remember, you're in the middle of a war and you don't want to tell the enemy too much, although you do want to signal maybe your overall intent. He did. And when you talk about an off ramp, he did say, hey, look, we've decimated their military. There's still more to do because they're still getting scatter shots into and I think Israel last night, my understanding is that they had 10 missiles launched at them. So that's, I guess that's more in scattershot. But he did lay out, hey, this is where we're going to do this. As soon as I've done that, we're finished. Except for he laid out some deal with the regime, I'm not so sure, as much as the regime is getting pounded, that they feel in their heart of hearts that they're losing this. I think a lot of people in that regime feel that they've shifted, that they've taken the initiative and although they're crippled through conventional military aspects, that they have shifted the center of gravity of this fight to the Persian Gulf. And I think it's pretty evident to everybody, although the president praised the Arab states last night, we know specifically that the Arab states have not stepped into a military situation, whereas UAE was rumored, and I think it was the Wall Street Journal said they were telling President Trump and prepared to actually participate in active military engagement to open the Strait or Hormuz. The Jerusalem Post is reporting this morning that that's in fact maybe inaccurate, that UAE was not that tough on it. So given the fact that President Trump, two things I think ruled the markets is, number one, he did leave it kind of open of whose actual responsibility is to open the Strait of Hormuz. Part of the implication it would be the Chinese and Chinese Communist Party, because he was very specific on those of you who take the oil, not those of you who produce the oil. So he got the, he got, I think the Arabs are trying to get the Arabs off the hook of any obligation they have, which I think is a huge obligation, it should be theirs. But he said those who take the oil, which is clearly Japan, the Chinese Communist Party in the NATO nations, it's your responsibility. In addition he did. He was very specific and used, you know, the bomb them to a Stone Age phrase of, I think Curtis LeMay from the Vietnam War in talking about if he didn't get a deal. Now, I want to go back. What do you think happened overnight, how the market's processing this? Because the numbers we're seeing this morning are, you know, much higher and the volumes have been kind of greater. So it looks like it's going to, you're going to have even a tougher time of drawing these back. And it, it looks like nothing the President can say is going to do that. They're going to look for specific actions. Your thoughts?

[Eric Bolling]

Yeah, a couple things there, Steve. You're right. So it's almost a closed loop. So the producing, producing countries are selling to China and India predominantly, and, and NATO countries as well, European. So it's almost a closed loop over there. So we don't have a major, major issue over there. But with oil, it's global market. If you have an oil that's cheaper over there to transport, it'll bring all prices up. There was that opportunity at one point he said, you know what? Europe and in China, you guys take over the Strait of Hormuz. Rubio's right. We're not that sensitive to the Strait of Hormuz oil flowing through there, but we are sensitive because it's like a tail effect. So when Middle Eastern crude jumps up 10, 20, $30 a barrel oil, ours is going to as well. Why not just let them handle it? The off ramp was, and he was right there, let them handle it. We're going to. We did our job. We eliminated their ability to deliver a nuclear weapon. And the Iranian people, the Persian side of the Iranian people could say, you know what, screw you guys. We want something different. That was the off ramp. I think the market stayed calm until when he, when he was concluding it literally didn't jump until he finished. They were looking for a definitive exit strategy and he didn't provide that. That would have been a certainly calming tone. As soon as he was done, Steve, it was off to the races. And we're talking, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars in value of oil trading from $98 a barrel to 112 where it is today, right now.

[Host/Moderator]

Is this speculation or is this people trying to hedge out? Oh, in, in future months. What they're what, what? To make sure that they're covered.

[Eric Bolling]

Steve, Steve, speculators right now are, are a fly on the ass of the oil market right now. It's, it's the people I was talking to in Dallas last week, it's the, the transport companies, the, you know, people who are shipping it or even piping oil. And it's more importantly the refiners. The refiners are very, very jittery. They're very scared of a massive spike, which we've got, or for it to stay this high, this long, because remember the, they have to buy oil, it takes 30 days sometimes to get it through the systems, sometimes more if they have to ship it and get it through the system. And so they're susceptible to these higher prices down the road. And that, that hurts their business, it hurts their margins, and they're very, very skittish on higher oil prices. But to the t, to every refiner I talk to, and I met with them in Dallas, one of the biggest in the world, and others I talked to, they're very nervous about higher price. I have yet to hear someone. And these aren't speculators. These are actual physical delivery folks trading it who are to it to a person. Higher, higher, Higher. What do you think? Higher. What do you think? Higher. Unfortunately, there's no signal. So the markets can go up and down based on rhetoric or based on comments from Trump or the irgc. But usually those ones are, you know, those are the ones you fade, you know, you don't buy into it. They're talking exactly what they're seeing floating on the water being produced and being shipped into, into our refinery systems.

[Host/Moderator]

Eric, hang on for a second. I want to bring Brandon Weickert in here. We're also going to get Kurt Mills. Brandon, your assessment? The president, I believe, felt that he gave. He talked about the off ramp, two more weeks, maybe three, of an intense bombing campaign to defang and declaw what's remaining. And he said, it's not much remaining, but what's remaining of the conventional military forces and the industrial base, the military industrial base of the Iranians. He did at the end say, hey, look, we're looking for a deal. We didn't want regime change. I didn't start with regime change, but we got regime change or we are dealing with more logical people and we want to get an arrangement. But if we don't get an arrangement or some sort of ceasefire or at least some sort of agreement, we're prepared to amp this up as a threat, amp this up and take out their energy infrastructure and their oil producing and distribution capacity. Your thoughts about the speech, sir?

[Brandon Weichert]

Well, I thought at that point he was going to say, we're done, but unfortunately, and he could easily. I mean, he's right. They've. They've degraded everything they need to. There's not much for us to do anymore. Uh, unfortunately, though, the speech didn't end there. He talked about Korea and World War II being longer than this. And, you know, that gets me a little worried when the president, and I think this might be why the oil market started. Started spiking, because it, it sounds like he wants to, as he said, he wants to get the job done quickly, he said, but two to three weeks isn't very quick. So in my opinion, I think that he is still stuck in an escalation trap. And it looks to me, just looking at the fact the air. The Nevada Air National Guard has now deployed in 24 hours ago. You've got more of the 82nd Airborne coming in. You've got these two Meus there, Marine Expeditionary Units, you've got the French military. There was in their media, there's a general who's saying that he knows he's gotten word the Americans are planning to do this uranium hunt in the heart of, with. With our ground forces in the heart of Iran. So to me, this looks like when he says two to three more weeks, maybe that's the time frame he's operating off of. But I think he's got one more escalation in him, which is going to be some form of ground incursion either to pop open the straight or more likely now to do this Tom Clancy run and gun in the desert with uranium, you know, hunting going on. So I, I'm not convinced that this thing is an off ramp yet, unfortunately, and I very badly want to be wrong.

[Host/Moderator]

Brandon. I thought he's pretty specific about the uranium, that they had done it, that he had. He had eviscerated their capability and that, in fact, I think the signal, at least that signal I took, was that there wasn't going to be this hunt as, as the Mark Levins, you know, go get the nuclear pixie dust. Go get it, and you got to send people in to do it, that in fact, he wasn't doing that. Did you actually take it? Because I know you've been one of the ones most concerned about a combat insertion, insertion of combat troops, whether in Carg island, along the coast, in some beachhead, or in some expedition to go find the uranium dust. Did you actually take that. Do you take that speech as teeing up that possibility? Because I interpret it as that particularly not talking about it, that is two or three weeks bombing campaign. If they don't Cut a deal. I'm going to really unleash a bombing campaign on their infrastructure, but no combat troops. You took it differently.

[Brandon Weichert]

I am very concerned just looking at the flows of troops into the region, listening to what our allies are saying in their own media, the fact that the Israelis keep clipping these negotiators that Vance is supposed to meet before he can meet with them, to me, it seems like we are in an escalation trap. And so I, and, and frankly, the speech yesterday was very ambiguous. That was the most ambiguous speech. I mean, Trump's very decisive. He, I mean, you know this. He gives these very powerful speeches. He says, we're doing this. But yesterday it was, it was almost on the one hand, on the other hand, type of speech, which is not something I'm used to seeing from him, which indicates to me that, A, he hasn't made up his mind, and B, it sounds like the gravitational pull of this conflict is still pulling him toward escalation. Uh, even if he does do an increased bombing campaign where he targets that electrical and energy infrastructure, that's going to have blowback for us because there are capabilities the Iranians still have in the cyber realm, there's possibly electromagnetic pulse capabilities the Iranians have that could potentially lead to, you know, real damage being done on the home front here. And I think the President wants, should want to avoid that at all costs. So I would advise avoiding those target sets at all possible because that, that basically puts your enemy into an impossible position where they won't be able to negotiate. So that's why I say, Steve, I, I really do think that we're still stuck in an escalation trap. And there's, there's not yet been an off ramp.

[Host/Moderator]

Brandon, hang on for one second. We're going to hold you through a break. Take your phone out. Text Bannon B A N N O N at 989-898. The Ultimate Guide for Investing Gold in Precious Metals in the Age of Trust. Crump from Birchbold. Talk to Philip Patrick and team Phillip's with us on Saturday morning.

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[Stephen K. Bannon]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[Host/Moderator]

As we reported yesterday, some of the tolls that are being charged are being paid in Chinese currency. U.S. dollar is under pressure. We're in talk tonight. Bloomberg's got a story that I'll dress to see evening on the evening show about the 2027 budget. It looks like I think mathematically even a bigger budget deficit. We'll talk all about that. US dollars under pressure. We've done the eighth free installment in the end of the dollar empire. It's about the US dollar. Make sure you go to birchgold.com promo code, war room and make sure that you get the make sure that you get the free. It's totally free. First seven editions, first seven installments free. They're now in a bound edition, but you still get them free. Get the eighth edition. And we're going to talk with Philip Patrick about that on Saturday. But I want everybody to be up to speed on that. Also, our sponsor, the great team at Patriot Mobile, 972 Patriot call right now. Talk to somebody with the East Texas accent. Find out everything the company does to support causes that support your values. Also, it's the best phone service in the world. Go check it out today, Texas based Patriot Mobile, Jenny and Glenn Story, just two incredible individuals. 972patriot Go talk to one of the customer service reps today. Do it immediately. Kurt Mill is going to join us in a moment. But I want to go back I'm going to go back to Weikart into bowling here because I want to make sure what the speech I gave at cpac. It's important for this audience to come to their own conclusions and think through this complexity, through the fog of war. And what we hope to do is provide you the information that you can start to think this through because that's what the president needs, for people to have his back as he works through this. You can tell last night he is working through it every second of every day. Brandon Weickert, you bring up a good point about escalation in the escalatory trap, which I want you to define in a moment. But you say that it's quite evident we are still committing assets and significant assets to the region. I don't believe that the Gerald Art Ford, which is up in a naval base in Croatia going through some repairs, has been ordered home yet. I think they're continuing to be part of this operation. And the Bush is on its way. So you now have three, at least generally three carrier strike groups associated with this. And you've Got additional assets, particularly potential ground assets and the air cover. Ground assets would need like A10s pouring into the region defined for this audience, what do you mean by an escalatory trap? President Trump and Bolling's going to talk about this in a minute because for a day or two, things were starting to calm down as President Trump was talking about he's going to make this address. But it was going to be, you know, implied. It was going to be an off ramp. And talk about an update of when this war is coming to an end. You said, hey, that may be his intent, but the actions right now lead these smart people in the world, particularly the traders in these commodity markets, to take a different interpretation. Mr. Weikart.

[Brandon Weichert]

Yeah. So basically, and I highly recommend your audience look up Dr. Robert Pape because he is the godfather of the escalation trap. So I'm just going to kind of parrot what he's been saying here. Basically, it's a feedback loop. It's, you know, you try to make a different course correction. Unfortunately, though, you keep flowing in, you keep doing things that are going to make that course correction impossible. Vietnam is one of the great examples of an escalation trap. We went in, it was supposed to be an air war, remember? Then it became we're going to do defensive ground troop movements, we're going to protect our bases, protect our ships. And then, of course, the enemy gets a vote and the enemy keeps doing things, they're not getting defeated the way they're supposed to. So then you have to then counter punch in a way that you think will then allow for them to be defeated. And then you can go home. And in that whole process, basically, you, you've now essentially become fully committed. You didn't intend to, Lyndon Johnson never intended to get involved in Vietnam to the level that he ended up being involved in. And that's the escalation trap, because you can't go down without being defeated. So you're not going to want to surrender. You're not going to want to be seen as having lost. But then you, you also, the only way to go forward then is to go higher on that escalation ladder. And the enemy, as long as the enemy keeps meeting you there, which the Iranians are like the North Vietnamese, you're going to be stuck then in this endless loop, this doom loop of, well, let me go up to the next run, let me go up to the next run, maybe I can, I can outmaneuver them at that higher level. And every time the enemy is Able to stay with you and able to basically continue fighting back. And that's where we are.

[Host/Moderator]

That phrase bomb. Yeah, bomb them into the Stone Age was. Came for that. That. That was a very unfortunate choice of words.

[Brandon Weichert]

Mr. Hegseth,

[Host/Moderator]

the by 6465 set A, set a framework that really had the country wrapped around the axle for another 10 years. Bowling Talk to me because for a couple days the world's market is saying, okay, I kind of feel. And the president was talking this down. He then said he was going to give this speech. People assumed that he's going to do an off ramp. He did say two to three weeks. He talked about the defanging decline process. What was it that got, what was it got people so worked up?

[Eric Bolling]

Well, I think it was the whole 48 hours, Steve. If you remember, Trump came and he kind of pivoted a little, which I think he pivoted in the right direction, saying, you know what, this isn't really our thing with the straight of Hormuz. We're not really susceptible too much to the strait. It should be NATO, should be Japan. Sorry, it should be China, NATO, maybe even India's job to keep the thing open. And then he said, tomorrow night we're going to, tomorrow night at night we're going to do an address, surprise address to the nation. And everyone and their brother, certainly in the markets, thought, well, this is it. This is finally an off ramp and he's going to take it. And, you know, we can breathe a sigh of relief. Oil's 100 bucks. It should be moving down. It started moving into the upper 90s. And then when the speech came, like I said, it settled at 98 before the speech. And when the speech came and people were waiting and it didn't, Steve, they were waiting till he finished his last word, just hoping beyond hope there'd be some sort of legit off ramp or timetable. How about just a timetable for an off ramp? A few more weeks and we're going to pound the crap out of them in those few weeks isn't new. It may be great to hear if you're, you know, you want to see Iran obliterated, which I'm on that camp, but in the oil world and certainly at the pump, it's the worst possible thing you could hear. Bomb them into Stone Age indicates more than just limiting the ability to deliver nuke. It indicates a whole heck of a lot more and it sounds like a whole lot lot longer. People are smart. You can't bomb them into the Stone Age. In a couple of weeks. It would take, you know, months, maybe years to do that. So I think that the lack of a defined off ramp or a timetable is what really spooked is right now spooking the oil market badly.

[Foreign Policy Expert]

Yeah.

[Host/Moderator]

The president wants the NATO allies to step up. He wants, obviously, people taking the oil said, look, Hormuz, cherish it, you know, embrace it, make it yours first. He said, go in and take the oil. Are the world's markets also telling us that, look, as much as President Trump may want that, that they see the NATO allies and their navies as deadbeats, they know the Indians have nothing and they don't trust the Chinese Communist Party to do anything appropriate or for the benefit of others.

[Eric Bolling]

Sir, I would say that they're, why would they. Until they have to, Steve. So we're, we're doing it as their proxy right now. Smartest move is like, you know what this is? You're way more sensitive. Your economies are way more sensitive to the Strait of Hormuz than ours is. It's all yours. So why would they, why would they spend treasure and blood when they don't have to? The minute we pull out, I pretty much would bet that NATO and some of the other countries, maybe India, would get that straight opened.

[Host/Moderator]

Eric, where do we go to keep up with you before the 4 o' clock show? You'll be at 4 o'. Clock. Hopefully we'll do a transition today to the five. Where do people go?

[Eric Bolling]

So much news going on oil markets. Steven, at ericboling across social media. That Eric bowling the edge on YouTube. That's a different type of show. No politics, but always, you know, the handoff between 4 and 5 is great. And right here we're breaking some ground. Steve, you look back, some of the things that we've been talking about over the past 30 some days have actually come to fruition as we, as we go forward.

[Host/Moderator]

Eric, thank you so much. Brandon Weichert, you've been on fire recently. We're seeing you everywhere. Our audience loves you. Where do people track you?

[Brandon Weichert]

Some of them love me, but they can track me at we the Brandon on Twitter x natsec guy at Emerald TV and natsec talk on Rumble. And get my books anywhere they're sold. Amazon or anywhere. There's three of them right there. And the fourth one is a disaster of our own making. How the West Lost Ukraine.

[Host/Moderator]

Thank you, sir. And by the way, you've got one of the best books about Iran. It's amazing book. Go check. Brandon Weikart's writing out. Kurt Mills, thank you for joining us. When I get Liz Mitchell up in a moment. Kurt, you were unimpressed. We thought that the President laid out why he did this, whether people agree with it or not, what he's accomplished to date, what he feels he needs to accomplish, and gave a two or three week off ramp till it's over. Until at the end he did talk about, you know, wanting a deal or negotiating a deal and that if the Iranians didn't get with the program, there would be their potential additional hammer would drop. You were, you were unimpressed to take it. Looking at your Twitter feed by the speech, I thought, I thought Kurt Mills would love it because it finally said we're out of here. And you know, Brandon Weicker disagrees with me, but I thought he's pretty definitive or it sounded like he had no interest in ground combat troops, sir.

[Kurt Mills]

Well, what he has interest in and what he's doing may be two different things. I have no doubt that President Trump remains very much the same man who is skeptical of the Iraq war, skeptical of escalation in this conflict. But the fact remains that he is surrounded by a set of sycophants and advisors potentially that are steering him in this direction. What I heard from the address last night was a speech that maybe the President shouldn't have given. He indicated that we would be out of there in two to three weeks. And I agree that's a nice sentiment. But the problem is that a lot of people are having flashbacks in this moment to Covid, which is, you know, the president also said 15 days to slow the spread. And additionally the president announced, and his secretary of war was licking his chops to announce that we were going to bomb the Iranians back to the stone age. So I mean, what is it? And the administration hasn't shown any command of events thus far. If they bomb the Iranians and the Iranians escalate right back and start bombing desalination plants and Saudis start doing drone strikes and missile strikes on the Gulf and Israel again with real verve, this situation could easily spiral out of control. The President has said a number of things and they are, some of them are just self evidently contradictory. And so until we leave, I don't think we're out of it. And additionally, and this would be my counsel to him, he's obviously losing his ability to manipulate the markets. The markets didn't like the speech. And that's going to be a problem for him and a problem for Maga.

[Host/Moderator]

You say, I want to go back two things you talked about. No command of events. This is the heart. Let's get to the heart of it. Because in a military conflict, one of the central things is to be able to enforce your will on your opponent. Now, he has taken one of the most powerful militaries in the world and is in the process, in just a couple of weeks, of defanging and declawing. And he said, look, I'm two or three weeks away from. I think two weeks, maybe three weeks from actually accomplishing that and having shattered not just their military, but their industrial base. Give me a minute on this. We're gonna go to break. I'm gonna have you stick around. No control of events. What does that mean, sir?

[Kurt Mills]

Well, I think it remains imminently unclear how real these negotiations actually are. I mean, the Barack Ravid person at Axios is an interesting player. I sort of enjoy him. But one has to wonder with some of these reports, to what degree is the former IDF soldier carrying water for the Israelis? I don't know. I don't think there is serious communications between Tehran and Washington, even if Washington is trying to will it. I don't know if the Iranians will ever enter a room ever again. Jared Kushner or Steve Witkoff. They seem to only want to deal with Vance to the degree that we can even believe they want to deal with him. And so, you know, that is where we. That's where we are on April 2. We are in a situation where, yes, tactically, we have bombed the Iranians. Tactically, we have eroded their naval capacity, some of their missile capacity. And you see Rubio try to defend that as the new war objective. But strategic, strategically, we have given a new hardline government control of the strait. And the president's popularity is flagging.

[Host/Moderator]

Hang on. Yeah, Kurt. Kurt, hang on for one second. Short break.

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[Eric Bolling]

War room.

[Stephen K. Bannon]

Here's your host, Stephen K. Ban.

[Host/Moderator]

Okay, I think the Atina Peter Leaders is they remanded the appeals court. Remanded Trial court for resentencing. I'm gonna find out what all that means momentarily. We're gonna get some people up here in the next hour. Kurt Mills, the you said we don't have command of events. Implied that the initiative has shifted to the Iranians, that they've shifted the. Which I've said, hey, they've shifted the center of gravity of this to the Persian Gulf and the Strait or Hormuz. I believe that that was. Although I agree with the President's sentiments, NATO's got to step up and others. I think one of the reasons we had the reaction in the oil markets is that the oil market's pretty sophisticated and they just don't think these guys are up to it. They look at them as a bunch of, you know, as President Trump saying, kind of disorganized clowns. They haven't put any resources into naval assets, which is what you need to control the Strait of Hormuz and air assets. Make the. What should people look, if your, if your theory is right, we don't have command of events, what would you see happening over the next couple of days that would put us in a more perilous situation than the president who has now come out addressing the nation, not just doing it at an Oval Office availability or something like that, it's addressed the nation and said, hey, we're there for two or three more weeks. I have this on the, on my punch list militarily to take care of. If they don't come to the table, then, hey, maybe we have to escalate. But I'm going to try to deal with that. What should people look for to your theory that maybe the Iranians actually have the initiative here?

[Kurt Mills]

Well, number one, the Israelis keep trying to assassinate interoculators on the Iranian side with the Americans. So the Americans ability, or lack thereof, of constraining our quote ally, I think is a key facet here. Number, number two within that is whether or not the Israelis start some of these more gnarly attacks, bombing the oil facilities which blacken the skies of Iranian cities, that sort of thing. I think there's every indication that they might start doing that. And then additionally, you know, just remembering the macro.

[Host/Moderator]

Hold it, hang on, hang on. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on, hang on. Have I my understanding there's direct order that that is not to happen by the commander in chief? And this is why he said, if I can't get a deal, we'll take out the grid and maybe even get to taking out their energy resources, because that, that would get you to 150 bucks pretty quickly. My understanding. And so do you have information out there differently that since they did it at Tehran a couple of three Saturdays ago, and then the inflection point of this war was attacking the Qatar's gas field, the joint gas field they managed with the Iranians that the President, in no uncertain terms told Bibi, hey, that's not to happen again. And that is a standing order. You think that America's greatest ally would actually go against a direct command of the commander in chief to take it upon themselves to attack the oil infrastructure and gas infrastructure of the Iranians?

[Kurt Mills]

Sir, yes, I think they would do it. And I think or another spectacular operation that is spiritually similar. And so I think the reality is that they are trying to eliminate off ramps for the president to take. That is why they assassinated Laranjani, who was the most likely interlocutor with the administration to get this war done. And I think Israel wants this war to continue for the foreseeable future, and they want the Americans to bear the battle. I mean, very tellingly, the Israelis ruled out ground troops of their own for. For the war, which is, I think it's a spectacular admission that they are willing to fight this war to the last American.

[Host/Moderator]

Did you. Brandon Weikart said he we only get a couple minutes. I appreciate your time. I know you get a bounce. Brandon Weikart said he thought the speech teed up the possibility of actual ground troops. I took it the exact opposite, but I'm just one voice in the wilderness here. Did you take it that the president actually implied we could have ground, we could have the insertion of ground troops, given his speech last night, I think,

[Kurt Mills]

I think that's the most likely escalation at this point. I mean, I don't know what more the United States could do. You know, I think that they've weighed a number of options. Special forces units to go in to take the nuclear material, the seizure of Carg Island. I think if we are going to escalate, that's the kind of the direction we will go in. I think the speech last night was 70% of rehash of what Trump has said online and elsewhere, and 30% tilting towards escalation. I understand he said this could be over in two to three weeks, but until it's over, it's not over.

[Host/Moderator]

And so you think when he says two or three weeks, we will have all of our objectives and he went through those objectives again as Ruby has been pitching them all of those objectives, which can be done essentially by air, you still believe, at least open the possibility of ground combat. Troops.

[Kurt Mills]

Yeah, I think it's possible they change what the objectives are every day. I mean that Rubio is hawking this missile line. Apparently we no longer care about Iranian nuclear material which was the entire reason for caring about Iran in the first place. Now it's their missiles. I just don't think it's out of the question that they'll shift the narrative again. This war is not going to end in my view until the president, until this administration tells Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel in no uncertain terms, no, we're out.

[Host/Moderator]

And you don't believe that that speech last night was the tee up for that?

[Kurt Mills]

No, I don't think so. We saw a reiteration of a lot of the propaganda and talking points for the war. We did not see a frustration with Israel.

[Host/Moderator]

In fact, it was barely I think Israel was only mentioned once and he did give a shout out to the, to the Arabs as being involved in this. And the one thing I would disagree with the president, I don't think they've been engaged at all. In fact, the Jerusalem Post is reporting counter to the Wall Street Journal that UAE actually the Wall Street Journal has reported that hey they were all in militarily to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. And now the Jerusalem Post I think is reporting the exact opposite. Anyway Kurt, thank you so much for joining us. We're going to get you back on. Where do people in the interim you're in the lineage of Pat Buchanan. Where is that?

[Kurt Mills]

Yeah. So www.theamericanconservative.com it is the American conservative magazine here in Washington D.C. you can find my own work at U R T M I L L S on X. Thank you.

[Host/Moderator]

Thank you brother. Appreciate you coming on. We will bug you over this the Easter holiday weekend to come back on maybe now my Patriots supply go to preparewithbannon.com I think it's a good time to talk to the people at my Patriot Supply. They are the leaders in the space for everything related to preparation. They've got a special three month food kit includes a free mega program protein upgrade. This originally about a thousand bucks $997 now roughly 800 bucks 200 saving plus they throw in a couple of hundred dollars of free mega protein upgrade. The key thing is talk to their customer service reps if you know zero about preparation. My Patriot Supply is the company you want to go to prepare with Bannon.com the its own special site just for the war and posse. Preparewithbanet.com Short break Liz Troutman next.

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