Real America’s Voice: The War Room with Stephen K. Bannon

Episode #4958 — November 27, 2025
Host: Stephen K. Bannon (iHeartPodcasts)
Featured Guests: Larry Schweikart (historian), Nate Morris (Senate candidate, Kentucky)

Episode Overview

This Thanksgiving Day episode centers on the meaning of American heritage, the historical roots of Thanksgiving, and a contemporary defense of American identity and Western civilization. Host Stephen K. Bannon steers a wide-ranging discussion that examines the foundation of the nation, westward expansion, land ownership and conflict, and current cultural debates, while featuring historian Larry Schweikart and Senate candidate Nate Morris. The episode is threaded with patriotic musical interludes and impassioned calls to resist what the panelists interpret as “left-wing” historical revisionism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Thanksgiving Reflections & American Beginnings

Segment: [06:12–07:50]

• Bannon provides historical context for America’s Thanksgiving, framing it as a moment to recall the settlers’ journey from the first landings in Jamestown and Massachusetts to the revolution nearly 170 years later.
• Quote:
  “People know about the first Thanksgiving. But what happened in the interim to get us to...the Revolution? ...What was it that drove that kind of tremendous growth in community, that then you had 13 English colonies, sir?” (Bannon, [06:54])

2. Motivations for Settlement and Expansion

Segment: [07:51–09:26]

• Larry Schweikart elaborates on key drivers: in Virginia, pursuit of land and tobacco farming; in Massachusetts, the quest for religious freedom. Religious diversity subsequently seeded multiple colonies.

• The role of land rights (titles and deeds) is highlighted, especially the disparity between European legal norms and indigenous oral traditions.

• Quote:
  “If there were conflicts with the Indians, the settlers would always say...where’s your land deed? ...The Indians, with a couple of exceptions, had mostly an oral tradition...So they were at a disadvantage...” (Schweikart, [08:30])

3. Complexity of Native Relations and Colonial Geopolitics

Segment: [09:26–13:59]

• Bannon interjects humorously about colonial arrogance, but emphasizes the sophistication of Native alliances and strategies in their dealings with Europeans.

• Schweikart confirms Native American agency, alliances, and rivalries, adding that French colonists generally engaged more as trading partners than settlers, contrasting with English patterns.

• The segment transitions into the French and Indian War (the North American theater of the Seven Years’ War), its geopolitical roots, and its aftermath—including British taxation and westward settlement restrictions that sowed revolutionary discontent.

• Quotes:
  “It’s not like these guys are savages. They have very sophisticated alliances...Some tribes hate each other, others have gone in confederacies...They see the whites originally as a strategic asset that one side or the other can use...” (Bannon, [10:08])
  “When the English won...they took all the land all the way out to the Mississippi...But...you have so many people running out across the Appalachian Mountains...” (Schweikart, [14:12])

4. Taxes, Land, and the Road to Revolution

Segment: [13:59–16:48]

• The British victory and subsequent policies—including taxes and the Proclamation Line of 1763—are explained as flashpoints of colonial anger.

• Unpredictable policymaking and disregard for colonial land ambitions contributed to tensions leading up to the Revolution.

• Quote:
  “Not only are taxes bad, but indecisiveness is bad. People don’t like it when they have a government that they can’t rely on to make regular, sensible policy.” (Schweikart, [16:12])

5. Modern Debates on Land and Heritage — Nate Morris' Defense

Segment: [23:37–24:47]

• Nate Morris, a Kentucky Senate candidate, delivers a fiery statement rejecting “land acknowledgments” as left-wing rhetoric, asserting that America was “conquered, not stolen,” and that land was traded, purchased, and settled under Western legal traditions.

• Claims efforts to reframe American history are rooted in anti-American sentiment and urges a defense of borders, national pride, and traditional values.

• Notable Quote:
  “America was conquered, not stolen. And anyone who tries to tell you differently is either trying to rewrite history or make America weaker…Our job is not to rewrite the past. It’s to defend our future...Stolen land is rhetoric and just one more left wing attempt to weaken America from within.” (Nate Morris, [23:37])

6. Celebration of Kentucky’s Settler Spirit & Class Divides

Segment: [27:26–31:28]

• Bannon and Morris trace Kentucky and Ohio’s pioneering legacy across the Cumberland Gap, contrasting the grit of working-class settlers with modern-day political “elites.”

• Morris frames his campaign—and American destiny—as a fight between the “silver spoons” (establishment) and hard-working, patriotic citizens.

• Quotes:
  “Our people, we’re going to fight...to protect Kentucky and to protect America. ...We should never have to apologize because Western civilization has to win...” (Morris, [28:03])
  “We’ll take on the silver spoons all day long because...they didn’t have the grit, they didn’t have the wherewithal to build like our people...” (Morris, [30:14])

7. Critique of “Land Acknowledgment” and Historical Revisionism

Segment: [39:14–42:49]

• Schweikart agrees with Morris’ framing, pointing out that Indigenous peoples—and all world civilizations—fought for and seized land.

• Criticizes the notion that Native land retention was peaceful or static, using international and historical examples.

• Quote:
  “They were all fighting over land and territory. ...Left wingers somehow act like aboriginal tribes...are magically free of this desire for control of land...” (Schweikart, [41:57])

8. Economic Expansion and American Exceptionalism — The Fur Trade Story

Segment: [42:56–46:57]

• Schweikart recounts the story of John Jacob Astor, who broke government and British monopolies in the fur trade, outcompeted rivals (sometimes illegally), and helped develop U.S. economic independence and expansion.

• Bannon links this to broader resentments against monopolies like the British East India Company, identifying economic independence as a revolutionary driver.

• Quote:
  “Astor said, I’m going to put them all out of business...And in a very short time, by 1819, the American government completely pulled out of the fur trading business…He did bring America into the 19th century.” (Schweikart, [44:54])

9. American History: The Recent Century

Segment: [47:27–50:16]

• Schweikart previews his upcoming books, including “America in the 21st Century,” which will address major crises (from Y2K to COVID-19), wars, political shifts, and what he sees as Donald Trump’s profound transformation of American politics.

• Discusses the expectation vs. reality of Obama’s presidency compared to Trump’s actual influence.

• Quote:
  “In the first quarter of the 21st century, the most transformation, most transformational political figure has been Donald Trump. Far and away, he’s changed everything.” (Schweikart, [50:16])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “They see the whites originally as a strategic asset that one side or the other can use against other Indians. Correct?” (Bannon, [10:08])
• “You don’t strengthen America by apologizing for it. Our job is not to rewrite the past. It’s to defend our future…” (Nate Morris, [23:37])
• “Indecisiveness is bad. People don’t like it when they have a government that they can’t rely on to make regular, sensible policy.” (Schweikart, [16:12])
• “Left wingers somehow act like aboriginal tribes...are magically free of this desire for control of land. ...It’s just a kind of a natural consequence of human activity and no better or no worse for whites than any other group.” (Schweikart, [41:57])
• “You know, we’re up against the McConnell machine. We’re up against 40 years of incumbency. ...we will defeat Mitch McConnell’s machine...with your help.” (Morris, [31:38])

Important Timestamps & Segments

• Thanksgiving Reflections and American Beginnings: [06:12–07:50]
• Religious Freedom, Land, & Early Settlements: [07:51–09:26]
• Native Relations, Geopolitics, and the French/Indian War: [09:26–13:59]
• British Policy, Taxes, and Uprising: [13:59–16:48]
• Nate Morris’ Controversial Land Commentary: [23:37–24:47]
• Kentucky Heritage and Working-Class Valor: [27:26–31:28]
• Land Acknowledgments & Historical Contestation: [39:14–42:49]
• John Jacob Astor & The Fur Trade: [42:56–46:57]
• Schweikart’s Upcoming Works & Trump’s Legacy: [47:27–50:16]

Podcast Tone & Style

The tone is unapologetically combative, patriotic, and at times tongue-in-cheek, especially from Bannon as narrator and commentator. There’s a distinct emphasis on historical realism as understood from a conservative populist view. The episode is interspersed with traditional American music (including “Battle Hymn of the Republic”) and references to faith, family, and Thanksgiving gratitude, all reinforcing an atmosphere of communal reflection and resolve.

Closing Note

This episode is a celebration and defense of traditional American values, historical memory, and what the hosts frame as the unfinished fight for Western civilization. The discussion is rooted in historical narratives, with a strong contemporary political strand running through the guest interviews and commentary.

Useful For:
Anyone seeking insight into modern conservative interpretations of American history, populist critiques of mainstream and academic narratives, and the intersection of historical memory with current political campaigns. Patriotic and Thanksgiving motifs make the episode especially resonant for its holiday broadcast.