The War Room with Stephen K. Bannon – Episode 5165

Date: February 24, 2026

Podcast: Real America’s Voice (iHeartPodcasts)

Episode Overview

This episode of The War Room dives into the turbulent state of American politics on the eve of President Trump's first State of the Union in his second term. Host Stephen K. Bannon is joined by Cleta Mitchell, Pat McCrory, Mike Davis, and others to discuss the transformations within the Republican Party, the ongoing legacy and controversies of Trumpism, deep divides in the nation over issues like election integrity, legal battles, media narratives, and foreign policy, especially regarding Iran and the Middle East. The episode is marked by Bannon’s signature combative style and is rich in behind-the-scenes insight, inter-party conflicts, and deep skepticism toward mainstream institutions.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The State of the Republican Party & MAGA’s Legacy

• Pat McCrory’s Take on the GOP (00:10)

  • McCrory recalls not wearing a MAGA hat during the campaign, expressing confusion over its meaning and criticizing both sides for "name calling and immaturity."
  • "This is a populist movement... we need to get people who can work together during crisis," he states, lamenting the current divisiveness in politics.

  "We've got to get back to statesman like behavior. And I'm scared to death at... what's going to be said at the podium and what the reaction is going to be because it's everything that goes against my instincts of why I got into public service."
  — Pat McCrory (00:19)

  • Bannon’s Response:
    Bannon forcefully calls McCrory out for distancing himself from Trump and losing his reelection, accusing him of hypocrisy and emphasizing Trump's role in North Carolina's Republican resurgence.

• Discussion on Tribal Politics & Language

  • Slogans like MAGA/RINO criticized for lacking meaning (McCrory, 00:10).
  • Bannon: “Let me be blunt, brother. You are a bald-face liar... North Carolinians stood up and we won. And Pat McCrory lost the governorship because he’s so feckless and hapless and did not embrace President Trump.” (11:40, 47:44)

2. The Democrat Rebuttal and Partisan Theater

• Democrats Prepare a Counter-Event (04:19)
  • Democrats announce their own event to rebut Trump’s State of the Union, confident they’ll draw a bigger crowd.
  • Central complaint: Trump is “torching the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution.”
  • “We're supposed to sit there and respect his opportunity to speak to us?” — Democratic Politician (03:58)
  • State of the Union viewed as a flashpoint for both parties.

3. Trump as a ‘Unique Threat to Constitutional Government’

• Reflections on Trump’s Second Term (05:47)

  • Cleta Mitchell revisits whether Trump is a “unique threat”; Bannon agrees, referencing the events surrounding January 6 and ongoing distrust in elections.

  “That’s a unique virus in the American body politic. And if you create the capacity, the tendency to denounce elections simply because you don’t like the result, no American president’s done that... But in 2020, we had an American president who... decided to sow distrust in the system. And that continues to be something... to be dealing with.”
  — Stephen K. Bannon (06:12)

4. Foreign Policy, the Middle East & Iran

• Ambiguity and Danger in U.S. Posture (08:17)
  • Military analysts point out the risks of a strategy-less military buildup in the region, posing questions about true policy objectives.
  • “We've got a real disconnect between our means and our ends. Congress isn't holding hearings about it, the President's not explaining it, and here we are. This is a crisis of choice.” — Military Analyst (08:17)

5. Legal Wars: The Jones Day Controversy

• Trump vs. His Former Law Firm (20:06, 22:30)

  • Mike Davis highlights ethical and legal concerns with Jones Day, the law firm that represented Trump in his first term, now representing JP Morgan against Trump in a major “de-banking” lawsuit.
  • Davis:

    “If you're representing President Trump as a law firm... you have his confidential information. You're on a very dangerous, treacherous path as a law firm if you are taking clients adverse to that.” (21:30)

  • Discussion of legal ethics, conflicts of interest, and the chilling effect major law firms are said to have on hiring top conservative talent for Trump’s second term Justice Department.

• Barrier to Staffing DOJ

  • Bannon and Davis claim big law signals that serving in Trump’s term will end one’s legal career in “respectable” firms.

    “They try to kill Trump... smother Trump in January 2021... They tried to bankrupt him before they tried to imprison him, before they tried to assassinate him.”
    — Stephen K. Bannon (18:32)

6. Deep State, Election Integrity & Georgia Legal Battles

• Cleta Mitchell on DOJ’s Challenges and Willpower (31:38)

  • Debate between Bannon and Mitchell: Is DOJ’s problem a lack of talent or a lack of will? Mitchell asserts it’s the absence of the “killer instinct,” not just a pipeline problem.
  • Ongoing legal fights in Georgia highlighted as crucial (“…to the bottom of the 2020 steal”).
  • DOJ’s recent legal filings met with approval from Mitchell, though she is sharply critical of judicial culture in Georgia.

  “I have a huge amount of respect for John Sauer. He's a true, he's a true conservative, true MAGA conservative and a great lawyer.”
  — Cleta Mitchell (37:26)

7. The Save America Act & Senate Tactics

• Letter to John Thune, Senate Maneuvering (39:54)

  • 80 organizations, led by Cleta Mitchell, demand Senator Thune use Senate procedures to force Democrats into a talking filibuster over election reforms, not kill it with procedural closure votes.
  • Details on how House-to-Senate vehicle bills can be fast-tracked to the floor.
  • Priority issues: voter ID, mail-in ballot reform, cleaning voter rolls.

  “We want him to know... Just saying they're going to vote for the bill, that's huge... But now we want them to make the Democrats actually engage in the talking filibuster... then the bill can be considered with 51 votes and passed.” — Cleta Mitchell (45:50)

• Bannon frames the Senate GOP as lacking courage and being complicit in stalling MAGA’s legislative aims.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the Left and Populism:
  “Maybe there’s a reason for the populist movement because the left went too far left and some of its rhetoric and there’s pushback against it.”
  — Pat McCrory (00:10)

• On Legal Betrayal:
  “I would say to Jones Day... you have plenty of business. You may want to... make sure you're not even close to crossing that ethical line.”
  — Mike Davis (22:31)

• On Hope:
  “I don’t use the word hope anymore. There is no hope. ...We will vanquish, we will get rid of this guy [Trump].”
  — Democratic Commentator (09:17)

• Bannon on the Information War:
  “This is the primal scream of a dying regime. Pray for our enemies. Cuz we're going medieval on these people... but you’re not going to stop it. It’s going to happen.”
  — Stephen K. Bannon (10:31)

• On Justice Department Staffing:
  “The problem I see is that I worry they don’t have the will... killer instinct. And that’s... you cannot push a rope.”
  — Cleta Mitchell (35:17)

• On Georgia Legal Fight:
  “There’s something in the water down there. And who knows what this judge will do?... these judges... it’s a problem.”
  — Cleta Mitchell (37:57)

• On McCrory and MAGA:
  “You got your ass kicked and Trump won your state. And he couldn’t even drag you across the line. … Then he begged for a job. What a beauty.”
  — Stephen K. Bannon (48:46)

Timed Segment Highlights

• 00:04 – Pat McCrory opens on the fate of GOP and MAGA
• 03:58 – Democrats prepping their own counter State of the Union event
• 05:47 – Bannon interrogated about Trump’s threat to constitutional government
• 08:17 – Military analysis on U.S. lack of strategy in the Middle East
• 10:31 – Bannon’s rally cry “primal scream of a dying regime”
• 20:36 – Mike Davis on Jones Day conflict of interest in Trump lawsuit
• 31:38 – Cleta Mitchell debates talent vs. will in DOJ with Bannon
• 39:54 – The Save America Act and Senate procedure expose
• 47:04 – Replay and dissection of McCrory’s MSNBC comments

Conclusion

This War Room episode explores not only the high drama around the Trump presidency's ongoing impact but also reveals fault lines within the GOP, the conservative movement's deep distrust of establishment institutions (legal, political, and media), and the growing stakes in battles over election integrity and legal ethics. Bannon and guests offer a no-holds-barred, behind-the-scenes view into both the MAGA movement’s grievances and strategies, while openly clashing with both Democratic and old-guard Republican voices.

For more:

• Cleta Mitchell: electionintegritynetwork.org, X: @CletaMitchell, @EIWatchdogs
• Mike Davis: article3project.org, X: @mrddmia

This summary covers the core content and key exchanges, skipping over advertisements, sponsor mentions, and introductory/outro statements.