THE WAR ROOM WITH STEPHEN K. BANNON (EP. 4966)
Date: December 2, 2025
Host: Steve Bannon
Platform: Real America’s Voice, iHeartPodcasts
Overview
This episode of "The War Room" with Stephen K. Bannon is a snapshot of contemporary MAGA-aligned political activism, election mobilization, and conservative culture war commentary. The show covers breaking election developments in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional district, Turning Point’s redistricting campaign in Indiana, a deep dive into ideological conflicts affecting Christian America, and live updates from D.C. power centers such as the Pentagon and Capitol Hill. Regular guests like Matt Van Epps, Garrett Gallie, Dave Brat, Megan Basham, and Jack Posobec deliver a fast-paced, combative, and unapologetically partisan overview of “the state of the republic,” blending campaign tactics, policy battles, and meta-political arguments about culture and the future of the right.
Key Segments and Discussion Points
1. Mobilizing the "War Room" Audience for Tennessee’s 7th District Election
[02:57–07:01]
- Guest: Matt Van Epps, Army combat veteran & TN-7 Congressional Candidate
- Main Message: Urgent call for Republican voter turnout in a critical election; Van Epps underlines narrow race margins and frames the contest as essential for the “America First” direction.
- Coordination with GOP Leadership: House Speaker Johnson’s direct involvement; multiple rallies and telerallies with Trump’s participation.
- Practical Info: Polling locations and campaign resources available at matt4tn.com and “Matt for TN” social media handles.
- Notable Quote:
“Your vote might be the one that decides this election and it decides the direction we’re going to move this country. And that’s an America first direction.” — Matt Van Epps [04:14]
2. Turning Point’s Redistricting Blitz in Indiana
[07:05–15:47]
- Guest: Garrett Gallie, National Enterprise Director, Turning Point Action
- Context: Upcoming Friday rally at Indiana State Capitol to pressure GOP state senators into approving a more aggressively Republican-leaning congressional map (from 7:2 to 9:0 GOP).
- National Stakes: Framing Indiana as a “last line of defense” for GOP control of the House and Trump’s legislative agenda.
- Internal GOP Friction: Some Republican senators resistant due to “petty, tyranny, and self-righteous” motivations; accusations of establishment unreliability.
- Left–Right "Uniparty" Doxxing: Garrett recounts being doxxed after organizing efforts, interpreting it as validation of being “over the target.”
- Engagement: Rally details and sign-up at tpaction.com/rallyindiana.
- Notable Quote:
“If we lose the House next year, Democrats are gonna make it extremely difficult on the Trump administration to do anything… For these Republicans that are opposing this, it’s for petty reasons, it’s for tyranny reasons, and it’s for self righteousness reasons.” — Garrett Gallie [09:26]
3. Republican Grassroots—Young Voters and the “Numbers Game”
[19:58–22:23]
- Host & Panel: Steve Bannon, Dave Brat
- Discussion:
- GOP electoral mobilization depends on strong voter turnout, especially among young and Christian voters.
- Importance of “force multipliers”—spreading turnout reminders via social/online connections.
- Voting as a civic and spiritual obligation.
- Notable Commentary:
“Voting is a privilege. It’s a right. It’s a duty. God wants us to participate in the civil realm to ensure justice.” — Dave Brat [19:58]
4. Culture Wars: “Empathy” as a Wedge in Christianity
[22:55–36:33]
- Guest: Megan Basham, Journalist & Author
- Key Topic: How progressive political strategies, especially around “empathy,” are shifting the discourse within evangelical Christianity and being leveraged to push left-leaning positions (BLM, immigration, LGBTQ, climate).
- Axios Article Reaction: Agrees “empathy” is being weaponized to steer evangelicals left; distinguishes true biblical compassion from manufactured empathy that suppresses critical inquiry and justice.
- Examples Used: BLM movement, transgender issues, immigration NGOs like World Relief; criticism of evangelical leadership for drift from their conservative base.
- Call for Accountability: Basham urges refusal to allow former leaders to regain trust or platforms absent repentance.
- Notable Quotes:
“You’re supposed to feel empathetic for the BLM activists… but you’re not supposed to feel empathetic for the police officer who has now had his reputation destroyed over a lie.” — Megan Basham [27:13]
“If you showed in the day of battle that you were going to bend the knee, then you no longer get to be trusted as a leader. You should no longer get to occupy that leadership role in our movement.” — Megan Basham [36:33]
5. Live from D.C.: Pentagon Briefing & Capitol Hill AI Legislation
[40:49–45:07]
- Reporter: Jack Posobec, live from the Pentagon
- Updates:
- Anticipation of Pentagon press briefing; “MAGA” and America First journalists in attendance.
- Republican division as Sen. Roger Wicker joins Democrats in launching inquiry into Trump’s Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, regarding rules of engagement and drone strikes.
- Analysis: Posobec and Bannon claim this is about internal power politics and anti-Trump leverage, not principle.
- AI Legislation:
- Breaking News: House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers signals that the “moratorium”/amnesty for state AI laws lacks support and likely won’t be in the NDAA.
- Notable Quotes:
“They have no problem… But if Pete Hegseth, on the orders of Donald Trump, is conducting these types of kinetic strikes... the entire Beltway is totally against that. They want liberal hegemony… they’re using Pete Hegseth to get to Trump.” — Jack Posobec [44:09]
“This audience… lit it up. Article three, just fantastic. Now it ain’t over till it’s over. As you know, they could put this thing back in tomorrow morning and try to slide it in, but we’ll be on it.” — Steve Bannon [47:12]
6. Practical Segment: Credit Card Debt Solutions
[48:55–52:53]
- Guest: Jillian Barbary, sharing personal testimony and promotion of ‘Done With Debt’ services to help listeners manage credit card debt.
- Key Points: Urges listeners to consult professionals before considering bankruptcy; describes process of negotiating down debt and interest with creditors.
7. Ongoing/Upcoming:
- Republican Party infighting vs. MAGA movement, especially in state-level races and processes like redistricting.
- Influence campaigns by Turning Point and youth organizations.
- Continued coverage of AI “amnesty” and tech policy.
- Monitoring Pentagon pressers, activism on Capitol Hill, and the looming Cabinet meeting and national Trump campaign announcements.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- Bannon (Opening):
“This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies. Because we’re going medieval on these people.” [02:07]
- Garrett Gallie:
“If we lose the House next year, Democrats are gonna make it extremely difficult on the Trump administration to do anything… All of this will make Gavin Newsom look like a hero among the Democrat Party because he rewrites history.” [09:26]
- Dave Brat:
“Empathy is a modern psychological term… You want to know what’s not subjective? God and the good.” [28:50]
- Megan Basham:
“If they do not recognize their error, then, no, they don’t get to keep their platform and their audience… If you showed in the day of battle that you were going to bend the knee, then you no longer get to be trusted as a leader.” [36:33]
Timestamps for Major Segments
- [02:57–07:01] — TN-7 mobilization with Matt Van Epps
- [07:05–15:47] — Indiana redistricting and Turning Point’s rally with Garrett Gallie
- [19:58–22:23] — Youth voter mobilization, “force multipliers” with Dave Brat
- [22:55–36:33] — “Empathy” and the evangelical controversy, Megan Basham & Dave Brat
- [40:49–45:07] — Pentagon briefing, internal GOP fights, AI legislation updates with Jack Posobec
- [48:55–52:53] — Personal finance advice with Jillian Barbary
Tone & Language
The tone throughout is combative, urgent, and heavily partisan; Bannon and guests routinely employ military and religious metaphors (“force multipliers,” “bulwark,” “pagan world”), and frame contemporary American politics as existential and often zero-sum. Energetic rallying of the base and ‘in-the-trenches’ reporting is coupled with intellectualized arguments about history, faith, values, and the future of American conservatism.
For Further Information
- Matt Van Epps campaign: matt4tn.com
- Turning Point’s Indiana Rally: tpaction.com/rallyindiana
- Megan Basham: X @MegBasham, Book: Shepherds for Sale