Real America’s Voice: THE WAR ROOM WITH STEPHEN K. BANNON (EP. 4911)

Date: November 7, 2025
Host: Claire Dooley (standing in on location at the CHD Conference, Austin, TX)
Featured Guests: Mike Howell, Brian Hooker, Andy Wakefield, Polly Tommey, Brian Burrows, Chip Roy, Del Bigtree

Main Theme:

This special episode broadcasts live from the Children's Health Defense (CHD) Conference in Austin, Texas, centering on the long-term impact and controversy of the film Vaxxed, as well as current issues surrounding government shutdown, vaccine policy, and health freedom in the US. It features first-hand accounts from key players in the vaccine debate, as well as updated perspectives on political battles in Washington.

Key Segments & Insights

1. Government Shutdown Analysis with Mike Howell

Timestamps: [04:02–09:07]

• Topic: Senate negotiations to end the government shutdown—Democratic proposals to extend ACA tax credits (Obamacare) and Republican resistance.
• Key Points:
  • Senate Democrats proposed reopening the government if Republicans agree to a one-year ACA extension.
  • Mike Howell characterizes the deal as a political nonstarter for Republicans:

    "He basically said, we'll reopen the government if you extend Obamacare. I don't know in what world anyone thinks a victory for Obama is going to get us out of the shutdown." ([04:44], Mike Howell)

  • President Trump is pressuring Republicans to end the filibuster to secure a deal.
  • Friction within the GOP—Howell laments that many endorsed by Trump are not supporting his position now:

    "You got to dance with the girl you brought to prom, and unfortunately, a lot of people at this prom are not on President Trump's side." ([05:30], Mike Howell)

  • Howell predicts the shutdown will drag on, exposing party divisions and GOP struggles to deliver substantive wins:

    "It's time we actually get people in D.C. who stand for the things they say on the campaign trail and just not incumbents that can benefit from all of this to just stay in the swamp forever." ([06:57], Mike Howell)

  • Republicans should use their leverage: Democrats' core constituencies are more affected by the shutdown's impact.
• Ending Note:
  Howell shares his social media:

  "I'm on X @mhowtweets. The oversight project is at itsyourgov. Give us a follow." ([08:57])

2. Revisiting Vaxxed: The CDC Whistleblower and the MMR Controversy

Timestamps: [09:07–16:11], [21:54–29:53]

• Background: 10 years since release of Vaxxed; discussion with scientist Brian Hooker and filmmaker/physician Andy Wakefield.
• How Vaxxed Originated:
  • Based on revelations from CDC scientist Dr. William Thompson, who contacted Brian Hooker about a coverup of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
  • Hooker recounts:

    "He revealed to me that the CDC had been covering up the fact that there was a link between the MMR vaccine, the timing of the MMR vaccine, and autism." ([10:01], Brian Hooker)

  • Andy Wakefield provides context: prior speculation about “age of exposure,” and how CDC studied then publicly denied a vaccine-autism link, only for the whistleblower to later contradict this claim.

    "They went away and they tested it ... 14 years after they published a negative paper saying there was no association ... then Brian Hooker came on the scene and the whole thing changed." ([12:04], Andy Wakefield)

  • Hooker's independent analysis suggested African American boys were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with autism if vaccinated on schedule (before age 3), as opposed to delayed:

    "Those that received the vaccine on time were three and a half times more likely to get an autism diagnosis than those where they just merely waited until they were three years of age." ([13:04], Brian Hooker)

  • Wakefield: The CDC, according to the whistleblower, withheld this information to protect the vaccination program, not children's safety:

    "The public no longer trusts them ... they committed a terrible fraud. And to protect the program, not to protect the children, to protect the program." ([13:33], Andy Wakefield)

• Making the Film:
  • Hooker explains reaching out to Wakefield for guidance (“You are the MMR guy, I do not know what I'm doing here. Does this make any sense to you?” [15:09]), leading to recorded interviews and the eventual movie.
  • Wakefield: No lawsuits for defamation suggest the film spoke truths the system did not want aired.

3. Vaxxed: Cultural Impact & Suppression

Timestamps: [23:26–25:51]

• The Tribeca Film Festival Censorship:
  • Wakefield describes the film's initial acceptance and subsequent removal from Tribeca, generating widespread attention (“We call it the De Niro effect ... it became a worldwide phenomenon.” [25:27], Andy Wakefield)
  • Robert De Niro publicly stated regret at the film's removal and encouraged people to see it for themselves.
• Scope of Harm:
  • Brian Hooker quantifies: The delay in acknowledging findings “would have prevented a quarter of a million autism cases in African American males … and that’s a conservative figure.” ([25:59])
  • Severity: Describes the impacted children as severely disabled (“This is profound autism ... children that will need a lifetime of care ... will never be able to … go to school ... get married or have children.” [26:44], Brian Hooker)

4. Follow-up Films and the Growth of the Health Freedom Movement

Timestamps: [43:16–46:16]

• The Emergence of Vaxxed II and III:
  • Brian Burrows and Polly Tommey discuss how Vaxxed united disparate factions in the health freedom and vaccine-skeptical communities:

    "It just kind of brought everybody together and everybody started fighting on the same team ... we gained tons and tons of momentum." ([43:43], Brian Burrows)

  • Polly Tommey on touring the country, hearing hundreds of stories of vaccine injury, discovering the scope spanned many shots, not just MMR:

    "There is no such thing as a safe and effective vaccine." ([45:41], Polly Tommey) "Vax1 gave us the opportunity to make Vax2 which was about telling the stories of the American families who were injured." ([46:02])

5. The Political Angle: Congressman Chip Roy on Shutdown and Health Policy

Timestamps: [37:31–42:11]

• Health Freedom and Vaccine Policy:
  • Roy distances himself from the “anti-vax” label, stating:

    "My dad had polio. Like, I'm far from anti vax ... getting to the truth and getting to know what's actually happening and testing this stuff is critically important." ([37:50], Chip Roy)

  • On Democrats’ shutdown proposals:

    "[It's] just a fricking joke ... $400 billion in the pocket of insurers ... it's a terrible offer and it should be rejected out of hand." ([38:24])

  • Advocates for “healthcare freedom”—empowering patients and doctors rather than insurance companies:

    "Healthcare freedom means patients and doctors are in charge, not the bureaucrats in Washington." ([39:20])

  • Calls for Republicans to play hardball, propose proactive bills, and “go on offense”:

    "We should go on offense and make Democrats respond rather than playing defense." ([41:10], Chip Roy)

6. Del Bigtree: From Hollywood Producer to Health Freedom Activist

Timestamps: [50:14–55:47]

• Del Bigtree’s Journey:
  • Describes his path from mainstream medical TV (“The Doctors,” “Dr. Phil”) to vaccine advocacy post-Vaxxed.
  • He realized upon touring state capitols, “it wasn't just autism ... people were saying, my baby died after a flu shot. My teenage daughter was paralyzed after a Gardasil vaccine. I wanted to get to the bottom of that.” ([52:58])
  • Formed the High Wire and began suing for vaccine safety data.
• Motivation and Philosophy:
  • “At the tip of the spear of all freedom, if we do not control what goes into our body and the bodies of our children, we are not free.” ([54:04], Del Bigtree)
  • Now supports Robert Kennedy Jr. in public office (“I was director of communications for Robert Kennedy Jr. when he ran for president. I think he's doing a great job at HHS.” [54:44])

Notable Quotes (Speaker & Timestamp Attributed)

• “He basically said, we'll reopen the government if you extend Obamacare. I don't know in what world anyone thinks a victory for Obama is going to get us out of the shutdown.”
  — Mike Howell ([04:44])
• “It's time we actually get people in D.C. who stand for the things they say on the campaign trail and just not incumbents that can benefit from all of this to just stay in the swamp forever.”
  — Mike Howell ([06:57])
• “Those that received the vaccine on time were three and a half times more likely to get an autism diagnosis than those where they just merely waited until they were three years of age.”
  — Brian Hooker ([13:04])
• “The public no longer trusts them ... they committed a terrible fraud. And to protect the program, not to protect the children, to protect the program.”
  — Andy Wakefield ([13:33])
• “We call it the De Niro effect ... it became a worldwide phenomenon.”
  — Andy Wakefield ([25:27])
• "If the CDC would have been forthcoming ... it would have prevented a quarter of a million autism cases in African American males. And that's a conservative figure."
  — Brian Hooker ([25:59])
• "This is profound autism. ... Many of them, like my son, don't speak. ... None of them will essentially go on and get married and have children. This is severe regressive autism."
  — Brian Hooker ([26:44])
• "There is no such thing as a safe and effective vaccine."
  — Polly Tommey ([45:41])
• "Healthcare freedom means patients and doctors are in charge, not the bureaucrats in Washington."
  — Chip Roy ([39:20])
• “At the tip of the spear of all freedom, if we do not control what goes into our body and the bodies of our children, we are not free.”
  — Del Bigtree ([54:04])

Resource Links & Where to Follow the Guests

• Mike Howell: X @mhowtweets, Oversight Project @itsyourgov
• Brian Hooker: childrenshealthdefense.org, CHD TV show “Doctors and Scientists” (Fridays), X @BrianHookerPhD
• Andy Wakefield: wakefieldmediagroup.com
• Polly Tommey & Brian Burrows: CHD TV (10am ET/9am CT, 7 days/week), Tommy Burrows Productions, Children’s Health Defense
• Del Bigtree: thehighwire.com, icandecide.org, aninconveniencestudy.com
• Chip Roy: chiproy.com, X @chiproytx

Conclusion and Tone

• The episode provides an insider’s view into the ongoing CHD Conference, blending personal narratives from the vaccine debate with current political analysis of Washington’s shutdown drama. The guests share strong, impassioned arguments against mainstream narratives on vaccines and government health policy, emphasizing individual empowerment, “health freedom,” and distrust in legacy institutions. The tone is assertive, activist, and at times, deeply personal—framed as a movement for truth, transparency, and accountability.

End Note:
Next, Polly Tommey, Brian Burrows, and others will delve deeper into the filmmaking process and their personal journeys in the health freedom movement during the remainder of the CHD Conference.