Full Show; Stephen A is one-on-one with political strategist Steve Bannon!

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Stephen A. Smith Show – One-on-One with Steve Bannon

Episode Information:

• Title: Stephen A is one-on-one with political strategist Steve Bannon!
• Host: Stephen A. Smith and iHeartPodcasts
• Release Date: April 19, 2025

---

Introduction

In this compelling episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, host Stephen A. Smith engages in an in-depth conversation with former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. The discussion delves into Bannon's unwavering support for Donald Trump, his vision for America's future, and his perspectives on contemporary political dynamics.

---

Donald Trump's Potential Third Term

Timestamp: [01:58 - 04:38]

Stephen A. Smith initiates the conversation by challenging Steve Bannon on his assertion that Donald Trump will secure a third term in office, despite the 22nd Amendment limiting presidential terms to two.

Key Points:

• Constitutional Interpretation: Bannon argues that Article II of the Constitution empowers the President with broad executive authority, suggesting that legal workarounds could potentially bypass the 22nd Amendment.

• Past Predictions: Bannon references his early support for Trump, predicting his rise from zero polls in 2015 to presidency.

• Endorsement of Trump's Return: He firmly believes Trump will return to the White House on January 20, 2029, serving a third term.

Notable Quote:

“President Trump will be in the White House as serving his winning his fourth election and serving his third term.”
— Steve Bannon [04:38]

---

The Fixation on Donald Trump

Timestamp: [05:03 - 06:18]

Stephen A. questions why the focus remains solely on Trump, suggesting other GOP figures like JD Vance and Marco Rubio could step into key roles. Bannon responds by emphasizing Trump's unique leadership qualities and the sacrifices he's willing to make for his political resurgence.

Key Points:

• Resistance from Establishment: Bannon highlights the GOP establishment's reluctance to support Trump, contrasting it with Trump's dedicated grassroots backing.

• Extreme Measures: He controversially suggests that Trump might pursue a third term through legal means, equating his actions to historical leaders like John F. Kennedy in terms of moral clarity and courage.

Notable Quote:

“President Trump, we've had most countries don't have something like Trump in their entire history.”
— Steve Bannon [06:18]

---

Election Integrity and Unity

Timestamp: [08:20 - 09:00]

Stephen A. challenges Bannon on the narrative that the 2020 election was stolen, questioning the continued spread of this belief despite widespread dismissal by courts and officials.

Key Points:

• Public Belief: Bannon cites that approximately 43-45% of Americans believe the 2020 election was stolen, advocating for congressional investigations to address these claims.

• Defending Trump's Credibility: He maintains that Trump's decision to run again stems from a genuine belief in electoral fraud, drawing parallels to historical figures known for their steadfastness.

Notable Quote:

“The people I'm working with have never said we're trying to amend the Constitution. We think that there are a number of legal workarounds of that.”
— Steve Bannon [09:00]

---

Economic Nationalism and DEI

Timestamp: [33:13 - 38:04]

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around Steve Bannon's opposition to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, which he views as counterproductive to achieving economic freedom for minorities.

Key Points:

• Critique of DEI: Bannon argues that DEI programs are insufficient in addressing systemic economic barriers faced by African Americans and Hispanics, advocating instead for dismantling oligarchic structures in corporate America and Silicon Valley.

• Economic Freedom Focus: He emphasizes economic nationalism as the solution, promoting policies that prioritize American citizens' economic interests over globalist agendas.

Notable Quote:

“Eradicating DEI and getting back to a level playing field. Here's what they want to do. You want to make it. You want to get Hispanics and African Americans a shot at the apartheid oligarchs created by the Democratic Party.”
— Steve Bannon [41:12]

---

GOP vs. Democratic Party Dynamics

Timestamp: [35:13 - 47:50]

Stephen A. confronts Bannon on the Republican Party's accountability, questioning whether the GOP shares in the nation's economic woes alongside the Democratic Party.

Key Points:

• Blaming Both Parties: While Bannon primarily criticizes the Democratic Party for economic mismanagement and globalist policies, he also expresses disillusionment with establishment Republicans, labeling them as controlled opposition.

• Inner GOP Struggles: Bannon highlights the internal conflicts within the GOP, particularly the tension between traditional Republicans and the MAGA faction led by Trump, suggesting that establishment figures undermine Trump's influence.

Notable Quote:

“The GOP did nothing. The GOP is the same. Neoliberal neocons invade everywhere and have huge tax cuts for the wealthy.”
— Steve Bannon [46:20]

---

Legal Troubles and Credibility

Timestamp: [47:50 - 52:29]

The conversation shifts to Steve Bannon's legal issues, including his conviction for contempt of Congress, which he frames as political persecution.

Key Points:

• Political Prisoner Narrative: Bannon asserts pride in his imprisonment, describing it as a consequence of standing up for constitutional rights and opposing Democratic agendas.

• Continued Activism: Despite legal setbacks, Bannon remains committed to his political endeavors, reinforcing his role as a steadfast figure in the MAGA movement.

Notable Quote:

“I am proud to go to prison. I was proud to be an inmate. That's why people come to my show because they realize, hey, this guy puts it all on the line.”
— Steve Bannon [50:37]

---

Vision for America's Future

Timestamp: [61:10 - 67:54]

In the final segments, Bannon articulates his vision for an economically nationalist America that prioritizes its citizens and dismantles globalist influences.

Key Points:

• Economic Policies: Bannon advocates for bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., imposing tariffs, and renegotiating trade deals to favor American industries.

• Coalition Building: He emphasizes the importance of building a diverse coalition that transcends traditional political boundaries, aiming for a 1932-style realignment to address modern economic challenges.

Notable Quote:

“If you want to throw those chains off, you have to be an economic nationalist. And I'm proud of that.”
— Steve Bannon [52:54]

---

Conclusion and Stephen A.'s Reflections

Timestamp: [70:08 - End]

Stephen A. Smith wraps up the episode by reflecting on Bannon's unyielding conviction and the potential implications for American politics. He acknowledges disagreements but commends Bannon's dedication and influence within the MAGA movement.

Key Points:

• Respect for Conviction: Stephen A. respects Bannon's steadfastness and the clarity with which he presents his views, despite not agreeing with all perspectives.

• Future Implications: The episode underscores the growing divide within American politics, highlighting the challenges the GOP faces in reconciling traditional values with the MAGA agenda.

Notable Quote:

“He's unapologetic in doing so. So it's pretty damn scary, to be quite honest with you, when you consider how convicted he is.”
— Stephen A. Smith [70:38]

---

Final Thoughts

This episode serves as a deep dive into Steve Bannon's political ideology, his strategic vision for the future of the Republican Party, and his relentless support for Donald Trump's continued influence in American politics. Stephen A. Smith provides a platform for Bannon to articulate his perspectives, offering listeners a comprehensive understanding of the internal dynamics shaping the MAGA movement and its broader implications for the nation's political landscape.

Overall Themes:

• Economic Nationalism vs. Globalism
• Internal GOP Struggles and Trump’s Influence
• Legal Challenges as Political Warfare
• Critique of DEI and Advocacy for Economic Empowerment

Listeners are encouraged to reflect on the complex interplay between traditional political structures and emerging populist movements, as exemplified by the candid exchange between Stephen A. Smith and Steve Bannon.

Transcript

[Stephen A. Smith]

At&t has a new guarantee because most things in life are not guaranteed. Like getting through self checkout by yourself. Not guaranteed in a world where nothing is guaranteed. AT T is bringing something new to the table. AT and T is introducing a guarantee with connectivity you can depend on deals you want and service you deserve or they make it right. Learn more at att.com guarantee@t Connecting changes everything. Terms and conditions apply. Visit att.com. guarantee for details. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Loddon. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star studded a little bit, man.

[Steve Bannon]

We met them at their homes, we.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real.

[Steve Bannon]

It really does.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs Podcast Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app app podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to the Stephen A. Smith Show. My next guest served as the White House chief strategist for the first seven months of President Donald Trump's first administration. He's now the host of the conservative War Room podcast. He is also a man that has been on the record on several occasions endorsing circumventing the 22nd Amendment for Donald Trump to receive a third term in office. Okay, that is why I wanted to talk to my next guest. Mr. Steve Bannon is on the show with yours truly. How are you, sir? How's everything? Thank you for being on.

[Steve Bannon]

Doing fine, Stephen A. Thanks for having me, Honor.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Now explain to me, Steve Bannon, how, how you can, with a straight face, sit back and say, Donald Trump is going to be inaugurated as the President of the United States in, in January of 2020, 2029. He's going to win the election in 2028 when the 22nd Amendment clearly states no one shall serve more than two terms. Could you talk about that, please?

[Steve Bannon]

The Constitution says, Stephen, that on President Trump's Article 2 powers that he's chief executive officer of the US government, he's commander in chief of the armed forces, he's chief law enforcement officer of the United States, governor, chief magistrate, and I think, as I count coming on your show, I think there's 150 lawsuits in federal court by various organizations affiliated with the Democratic Party. The NGOs are actually members of the Democratic Party suing President Trump on his Article two powers that are clearly delineated in the, in the Constitution. So the Constitution is open for interpretation. I have never said, and the people I'm working with have never said we're trying to amend the Constitution. We think that there are a number of legal workarounds of that and we're working on that and will probably present it to the public sometime either right before the 22 midterms or shortly thereafter when most people will be jumping in the race for the 2028 nominations for their parties. And so this is something I'm absolutely convinced of. And I tell folks, I said, look, when I first really I'd known Trump for a couple of years, but when I first start watching him as a politician act and really as early as May of 2014, when I saw him go to these cattle calls in Iowa and in New Hampshire and I told people I was running Breitbart at the time and I told people I said, that guy's going to win the Republican primary and he's going to be the next president United States. People laughed in my face. And he was polling at zero. In fact, he polled at zero up for the next year, all the way up right before he ran, he was still in distant seventh or eighth place before he announced that day on 15, January 2015, which would come up the 10 year anniversary in 2021 when he had the second election stolen, he went back to Mar a Lago. The odds were long there. People laughed in my face. Fox News did not show him live for two years. So I tell folks, I say, folks, I have had Trump's back and been involved with people early on when the odds were so much longer than we have now of actually working through different alternatives to make sure he's on the ballot and he will be elected president. States and on the 20th of January, in the afternoon of 2029, President Trump will be in the White House as serving his winning his fourth election and serving his third term.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm doing this for my sole enjoyment, this clip that I'm about to bring up because I watch Bill Maher show all the time, real time with Bill Maher. I loved seeing you on there last week. I love seeing what he had to say say in the aftermath of his visit to the White House to meet with Trump. But this is you and him interacting with one another about this very subject. I'll ask my next question after I show this to you again. Take it away, guys.

[Steve Bannon]

Here it is. The Constitution. Can I read a passage to you? Amendment 22 no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice. And yet you keep talking about Trump's third. Maybe you should have this. I'll get you to sign it backstage and underline President Trump didn't bring up running for a third term. Myself and others brought up running for a third term. President Trump is going to run for a third term. And President Trump is going to be elected again. On the afternoon of January 20th of 2029, he's going to be president, United States.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Why did I bring that up, Steve BANNON I'm going to tell you why. Because the key thing that I peeled from that was you saying, president Trump didn't say this. He didn't ask for this. You guys were the ones that initiated it. What is this fixation on him? I see JD Vance as the vice president, United States. Last time I checked, he probably governed the same way. Trump is governing. We see Marco Rubio as the Secretary of State, has been a senator for quite some time. He knows what the hell he's doing. There's a plethora of other individuals within the GOP that could definitely fill those shoes. What's the fixation on Donald Trump?

[Steve Bannon]

Sir STEPHEN look, there's a lot of good folks out there that could be president and do an okay job. But if an individual like Trump, let's be specific about this, when he had the election stolen from in 2020, went back to Mar A Lago and he made that decision those, those really dark days of, of January, February, March, he understood that if he was to come back and not just sit in Mar A Lago and buy more golf courses and get in the Open Rota in the United Kingdom or get some of his courses in the PGA Tournaments in the US Open Rota here in the United States and enjoy a big book deal and hang out with Melania and the family, he understood at the time that if he came and ran for president again, not just the Republican establishment, but that the apparatus would try to put him in prison, the apparatus would try to bankrupt him, the apparatus would eventually try to assassinate him. He made a. It's the most courageous political move in the history of this country. If you take John Kennedy's profiles and courage, you read it and add it all up and triple it. That's one tenth of the moral clarity and courage that President Trump had to say, I'm going to come back. Because if I don't come back and do this and win and take the country back and take it back, get it back on the constitutional republic, we should be understanding what happened. And then Looking what happened in the four years the country's finished. This is why President Trump, we've had most countries don't have something like Trump in their entire history. We've been very fortunate to have General Washington at the founding of the nation, President Lincoln at the rebirth of the nation, and now President Trump at the rejuvenation of this country. And that's why a man like that comes along every hundred years and we've got to, we got to get all the squeeze out of the limit. We have to have this guy's back. We want him there as long as possible and we're going to find legal methods to do it. And President Trump will be reelected and be back in the Oval Office.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Now, Steve, and I'm not going to be some leftist constantly, you know, just just drilling in this point. But you do know everyone says, excuse me, the election wasn't stolen, that you lost fair and square in 2020, the inordinate amount of lawsuits that were thrown out there, even the courts dismissed it, et cetera. Yet guys like yourself and others continue to say the election was stolen when others would argue that the facts say otherwise. Do you ever think about letting that go, particularly now that the man is back in Office as the 47th President and to avoid spewing such rhetoric, knowing that it just serves to continue to divide the country. What about that notion?

[Steve Bannon]

I actually think it brings the country together, Steve. So, Stephen A. The other day President Trump signed an executive order about Krebs, about a guy that he appointed that was at DHS that said his most secure cyber secured election in history. He actually initiated an investigation as Tulsi Gabbard, who was a Democrat, right, Head of dni, Director of National Intelligence, said that they now have beginning of proof that the machines can be hacked. And I'm not a machine guy. I say they stole it the old fashioned way, particularly in Philadelphia and in Pennsylvania with mail in ballots. But over 70% of the Republican Party believes the 2020 election was stolen. So I think right now, of all Americans, I think it's about 43 to 44, almost 45%. So a vast minority of your fellow countrymen believe that the 2020 election was stolen. And then a whole raft of people think there was something up. I have been adamant from day one, we have to have a congressional investigation, open hearings about get to the bomb of 2020 and let the cards fall where they may. But it's not over. You cannot have something that that's questioned in a constitutional republic. And I am adamant that we have to investigate. Now. I see that Tulsi Gabbard and President Trump signed an executive order. You're going to have a formal investigation of this and I'm sure we're going to go over the next couple of years and get it on the table. But for the MAGA believers and the MAGA faithful, it is an article of faith, through our knowledge of doing this and getting, drilling down those numbers, that the 2020 election was stolen. President Trump would have never run again if he actually thought he lost. He would never run again. He says time and again he ran for the simple reason. He knew the 2020 election was stolen and he had to come back and write that wrong. This is why we call him. He's like the, the Roman General Cincinnatus who retired and went to back to his farm and returned at the, at the request of the people to basically save Rome from invading armies. That's how we think. We think of President Trump as the American Cincinnatus.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I got a couple of more questions to ask you and I'll be right back. I don't want the audience to go anywhere, but I got a couple of questions that I got to ask you before I let you get on out of here. I'll be back after I pay these bills. All right, folks, I need you all to stop what you're doing and listen up, okay? Earlier this week, I gave you my picks for Saturday's game between my beloved New York Knicks and the Detroit Pistons. Here's where I picked, okay? More for Jalen Brunson. More for Cade Cunningham. More for Carl Anthony Towns. More for Tobias Harris. More for Mikhail Bridges. More for Malik Beasley. I know it's crazy, but damn it, I went more, more, more, more, more. And I believe I'm going to be right. Because I believe it's going to be a high score game because the Knicks don't play defense the way that they used to. But that's a different subject for another day. Well, listen, here's the bottom line. If you haven't done so already, go to Prize Picks app and check out the Stephen A. Smith Show Community play. It's boosted 15%. The app is easy to use. Just pick more or less on a few player stats and you can win up to 2000 times your cash on a single lineup. Best of all, Prize Picks will give you $50 when you play your first five dollar lineup, win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks for playing. Use promo code SAS and download the app now. Again, download the app and use code SAS to get $50 instantly after your first $5 lineup prospects. Hey. Hey. Run your game. Joining me today to talk about the prize picks community play is streamer and prize picks partner. The one and only sketch. What's going on, man? First time on the show. How you doing, buddy? How's everything?

[Sketch]

Doing great, brother. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. And I would also like to say I love prize fix still. And from what you're saying about your lineup, you must love them too, because what you're doing is just donating money to price picks. A lot of bore there.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That looks great. So I think so. But you know what? I might be right on a few of them. I'm telling you, I might be right on a few of them. Let's get to the first order of business. Sketch. I hear you're a fan of all the Houston sports teams. What are your picks for Sunday's Houston Rockets game?

[Sketch]

Jalen Green, more than it's. It's three and a half assists. I like Jelly Green more than three and a half assists. My reasoning, why, I don't know if you know, that day is 420. That's a day of passing. Okay. And there's me a lot of passing in that game. In Houston, we love to pass. Jabari Smith Jr. Is my next guy and I will take him more than nine and a half points. Why? Because that number is so low. It makes me angry. It makes me angry. And I'm telling you this. I would push it up and make it a demon. If it was 14 and a half, I would almost take 20. Okay, that's my second guy. My third guy. I have Gary Payton Jr. Again, 420. I don't know if you ever smoked some Gary Payton. It's, it is quite literally the. Some of the best stuff you can find. And I'm going with Junior on this one. And it's going to be more four and a half rebounds and assists. Okay. That's my third guy. And then my other guy is Stephen Curry, 24 and a half points. I am from Houston and he is our kryptonite. So I am expecting him to have a field day. So that's my reasoning.

[Stephen A. Smith]

All right.

[Sketch]

And if you want to win money, you should actually throw it to you. You should probably throw some online.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It sounds crazy. It sounds crazy. But. But you might win. I get it. So I'm gonna flow with you on this one. Let me go to the next question because you had a unique opportunity to announce you know the fourth round pick at last year's NFL draft for the Texans, Mr. Cade Stover. How was that experience? Talk to me about that.

[Sketch]

That was awesome. I think my favorite part about it was being in Detroit and announcing an Ohio State guy. Did not realize until the moment when I heard the booze. I forgot about where I was. The other part was it was cool because I'm a CJ Stroud fan and Stolber's at X. CJ Stroud or was CJ Stroud's teammate at Ohio State. So that was kind of cool. It was kind of all that. All that. And they traded a pick before. So I had a lot to read. They had a whole paragraph. It was. It was dope though. I got the crowd fired up.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Did you? Did you did and you should have. And listen, I wish they had better. I wish they had had a better season, but it still wasn't awful. And by the way, speaking of the Houston, I'm gonna get to the Houston, Texas. Speaking of the Houston Texas, you know a few of the Texas players, including quarterback C.J. stroud and. And of course linebacker Will Anderson. How do you think they'll do this upcoming season?

[Sketch]

I think they'll do great. C.J. i.

[Steve Bannon]

Some.

[Sketch]

A lot of you are saying he.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Took what's great sketch great.

[Sketch]

Great. Is the AFC championship game the least. I've already bought the tickets. I've already bought the tickets and flights non refundable. I usually fly first class. I bought economy this time just because it was non refundable. I'm gonna be there rain and. And he's gonna throw for 300 yards and I'm. I'm looking for a possible MVP. And Will Anderson. I will say I. That was one of my favorite picks of the Texans. When we traded up for Will Anderson. That was. We are going to win now and we are going to shock the world and we are going to win this year. Okay. And I don't want to be that guy. So I am knocking on wood for. For my city.

[Stephen A. Smith]

A lot of emotion there. But I'm gonna let it slide. I'm gonna let it slide because CJ Stroud is a stud and I got love. I wish them nothing but the best.

[Sketch]

What do you. What do you think about.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I think he's a stud. I just think you gotta protect him better. But I think he's a quarterback of the future. He's one of the elite quarterbacks in the future and I think he's gonna deliver a championship to Houston one day. I just don't think it's gonna be in the immediate future. The future? Because I think Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson will probably grab a title before him.

[Sketch]

I don't think so about that. Have you seen Josh Allen play football irl? It is quite literally, I don't know. Every time I've seen him play Houston, he gets his ass kicked. Okay, sorry for cussing. I forgot about.

[Steve Bannon]

But.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Oh, you need to stop that. You didn't stop that.

[Steve Bannon]

That one.

[Sketch]

They'll give you 10 gifted sketch.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I got to get ready to run. But now, before I ask you this last question, we'll talk about this later, because I don't like your take on Josh Allen is all. But before we get on out of here, tell me about the sideman charity match at Wembley Stadium in London. Because you were involved in. You were involved in that. Tell me about that.

[Sketch]

It's just something I do, Mr. Smith. To be honest, that's what I do. I am a winner. All I do is win. I broke my trophy, but I do have this other trophy, so I know what I'm talking about most of the time. You see that? It says sports streamer of the year. They only give out one of those. Mvp. But this charity match, I don't know. Look up the highlights. Lots of highlights. I'll tell you what, it's like. I was walking around England like I was Tom Cruise or something. Schools of schools of children were stopping me, asking me and telling me, great football game in a different country. It was a dream come true. And, you know, to be the guy to save the world, it was like, I don't know, I felt like Nicholas.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Cage sketch living large. I got it, I got it. Sketch on Stephen A. Smith show. I'm happy. I like you, my man. Look forward to talking to you soon. You take care of yourself, all right?

[Sketch]

I love you, bro. Thanks, bro. Thanks for having me.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Appreciate it, man. Take care.

[Sketch]

Have a good one.

[Laura Carenti]

This is Courtside with Laura Carenti, the podcast that's changing the game and breaking down the business of women's sports like never before. I'm Laura, the founder and CEO of Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment, your inside source on the biggest deals, power moves and game changers. Writing the playbook on all things women's sports, from the heavy hitters in the front office to the powerhouse women on the pitch. We're talking to commissioners, team owners, influential athletes, and the investors betting big on women's sports. We'll break down the numbers, get under the hood, and go deep on what's next. Women's Sports are the moment, so if you're not paying attention, you're already behind. Join me Courtside for a front row seat into the making of the business of women's sports. Courtside with Laura Carenti is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Courtside with Laura Carenti Starting April 3rd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Foreign.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm Israel Gutierrez and I'm hosting a new podcast, Dub Dynasty. The story of how the Golden State warriors have dominated the NBA for over a decade.

[Sketch]

The Golden State warriors once again are NBA champions.

[Stephen A. Smith]

From the building of the core that includes included Klay Thompson and Draymond Green to one of the boldest coaching decisions.

[Steve Bannon]

In the history of the sport. I just felt like the biggest thing was to earn the trust of the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Players and let the players know that.

[Steve Bannon]

We were here to try to help them take the next step, not tear anything down.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Today, the warriors dynasty remains alive in.

[Steve Bannon]

Large part because of a scrawny 6.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Foot 2 hooper who everyone seems to love for what Steph has done for the game.

[Steve Bannon]

He's certainly on that, like Mount Rushmore.

[Stephen A. Smith]

For guys that have changed it, come revisit this magical warriors ride. This is Dub Dynasty.

[Steve Bannon]

The Dubs dynasty is still very much alive.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Listen to Dub Dynasty on the iHeartRadio.

[Steve Bannon]

App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You know what? I'm so fascinated to talk to you. I could talk to you for hours. I ain't gonna lie because some of the stuff that you say, I was like, I cannot believe this man really, really feels this way and is this adamant about it. But I respect the conviction. But I'm gonna switch to something else because I'm gonna get. I wanna get more into you. Steve Bannon, for example, you appeared to have Donald Trump's ear during his first term, but he now seems to be listening to what some would describe as oligarchs, or the elite, as you call them. How often do you talk to President Trump right now and what role do you currently play in in the Trump administration?

[Steve Bannon]

It's simple. I have a podcast, a show that we've had now going on for five years. We started at the beginning of the impeachment when nobody on the right wing or conservative media took the impeachment seriously. When Nancy Pelosi stepped to the microphone, I think it was up at the United nations and said she was forming a committee to investigate potential impeachment. Over the call with Zelensky, I said right away, which I've been preaching since before 2018, if you lose the House, they will impeach Trump, just like Hakeem Jeffries. And the Democrats right now are going to raise $2 billion the moment they take the House. If they do in 2026. The first order of business in early January 27th is to begin impeachment process of President Trump. The ruling class of this nation know they must destroy Trump and destroy Trump's populist nationalist movement. So it's my show is just the show we have various experts on and people. And, you know, Scott Bessant, Secretary, treasury, was a contributor for a coup years. Peter Navarro is one of my co hosts. Right. Mike Davis, the viceroy, the one that has such a big voice, particularly bringing Facebook to trial under the Justice Department and FTC today, he's a prominent member. So we have all the top hardcore, and I mean hardcore MAGA members, people who are, quite frankly, we are farther to the right than President Trump. This platform has led us to have a vanguard of citizens. The reason our show's different, we are the show for the activists. We're not a general audience like Fox or just sitting there changing the channels. We are. We have an activist base. These are the people that make the phone calls. These are the people that took over the Republican Party by the precinct strategy. We believe in one simple thing. Human agency is your effort and your will that will change this. But you as an individual, and that's what the show is. And President Trump sees clips of it, and he knows that. He knows that we're backing his policies, and we're backing him every day, although we disagree on certain implementations of the policies. He understands the war room's always there, and that's why I think we've become quite powerful in the MAGA movement.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, you're talking about what the left allegedly has done. What you guys believe that he has done, they have done. You talk about you and your show and the movement essentially being activists, being. Being rife with activists. That's the. That's the approach that you have. I get that. So what about the question that one would pose to you in terms of what are you willing to do? What lines are you willing to cross if you assume that the left has done these things, if you assume that they've stolen an election, what about when people look at you all and they say, is there any lines that you won't cross? Because as we see things unfolding before our very eyes. Just the other day with the immigrant that was sent back to El Salvador, he wasn't an American citizen, but the court specifically said about Abrego, I believe that's his name. They said to him, hey, he's to be protected here. The Supreme Court voted nine to nothing to keep him here and that he was gone. And the Trump administration said, hey, you know, we can't get him back. You know, when we see stuff like this in the United States of America, we're not accustomed to seeing an administration essentially ignore the Supreme Court, particularly when they vote unanimously. Are these the kind of things that you would endorse and support happening?

[Steve Bannon]

I absolutely endorse it. Let's, let's go back for a second on demand. People talk about breaking rules, things like that. We're the biggest believers in democracy. We just won a sweeping victory in November against all odds. Remember in 16 where I stepped in and ran the campaign starting in mid August, when he was 10 or 12 points behind in 16, we came out of nowhere to be Clinton, quite frankly, as people know. A lot of people say Clinton lost more than we won because she was so arrogant about going to Michigan, about going to Flint, Michigan, about going to Detroit, about going to Wisconsin, by going to working class Pennsylvania. We pierced the blue wall because we went there and did rallies. And President Trump convinced working class Democrats and independents to vote for him. So we won that in 2016. That way, in 2024, four years, they came after Trump. You know, they, they threatened to put him in jail, to bankrupt him, to do everything right. They saw us coming. And still President Trump won a sweeping victory, including the popular vote, against all odds, as you so well know. And so we're a huge believer in democracy. The reason is we're seeing in front of us a 1932 type reorganization. Just like FDR led his coalition, right now we have more black, young, black men voting for President Trump than ever. We have Hispanics. Why? Because he's reaching out to working class people who are populist economic nationalists. And that message is resonating, I tell you, from my time in prison. I only put out one statement. It was in late September. And I said, trump's gonna win in the third week of September. I said, he's gonna win. I said, I could tell that from being in a prison. I was teaching civics there and my students, young African American and Hispanic men in jail under mass incarceration for non violent drug dealing on these ghost drugs, that there were 10 and 15 and 25 year sentences are sitting there talking about their families. And they to a person, hated the Democratic Party. Hated the Democratic Party. So the Democratic Party has lied to us. The Democratic Party has misled us. The Democratic Party has destroyed our families and destroyed the basic economics. Right. Because they're globalists. It was incredibly powerful. And that's what President Trump represents. So when you get this, I was trying to tell Bill Maher the other night when he handed me the Constitution, I said, look, in the unitary theory of the executive that Trump is the chief executive officer. He is the commander in chief of the armed forces. He is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. That's laid out in Article 2 and it couldn't be plainer. And we have 150 lawsuits and what the Supreme Court, this whole thing started to try to come between President Trump, his duties and responsibilities as the commander in chief of the armed forces. Now, Stephen A. Smith, let me posit to you that if you ever got serious about this and actually ran for president, United States and one of the most important powers you have as commander in chief of the armed forces, would you ever, and you swear an oath to God to uphold that, would you let the Supreme Court, any judiciary, come between you and what you've sworn to high heaven, that you will protect the Constitution of the American people? As being commander in chief, I would say would be no. You would put your, you would put your obligation as commander in chief first, and that's what Donald Trump's done.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But I would put my obligation as commander in chief first, Steve Bannon, to upholding the laws of this nation and what the Constitution dictates as well. That would play a role. I wouldn't debunk it. I wouldn't shove it aside. I wouldn't say to hell with all of that because I took this oath before God. So as a result, me being the commander in chief of this nation ignores the foundational things that this country was founded on and up and is upheld by. I wouldn't do that as a way to like, for example, when we talk about the terrorists, for example, I'm just switching gears just to make my point. We talk about the terrorists for a second. I don't disagree with Donald Trump about we need to fight China and that we've been hosed and we've been taken advantage of. But I did disagree with how he went about it because I felt he was alienating a bunch of allies when in fact the target was China. So go after China by going after everybody you're turning allies against us, potentially turning them into, into allies for China, potentially. And that was something that concerned me. I'm only making that point to say you can agree with something or you can disagree with something, but under the tenets of the laws that govern our society, as long as you play by those rules, we're all safe because you're not scaring the living hell out of the American people. You guys don't seem to do that sometimes. And let me say this to you. You brought up African Americans and Hispanics when you were talking about, you know, a voting bloc that Trump has actually gained ground in. And I said to myself, I know you're not bringing that up because, you know, I'm going to bring a Project 2020, right? You know, I'm going to bring that up and I'm going to wonder your feelings about that, how supportive you are of that and what kind of debilitating effect you think would have on African Americans and minorities in this country if everything about 2025, Project 2025 was embraced. What do you say to that?

[Steve Bannon]

Well, first off, everything about Project 2025, and I've got my Project 2025 mug right here in front of you. I'm drinking my Warpath coffee out of. Oh my Goodness, the Project 2025 look, here's when President Trump went back to Mar a Lago, right when the election was stolen and he was thinking through about running again. There's really dark months of January, February, March of 2021. Two things happened. One was the we started the precinct strategy, which was take over the Republican Party at the grassroots by individual activists, working class people, middle class people that had no political power, had never been engaged in process before. That was the political aspect of it. The intellectual part of it was that we know we needed if we came back, not to have happen what happened in 16. In 16, we came from behind. We had very little time for transition. We didn't have a deep bench of people. So we needed a number of years to think through both policies and work through cadres that are working together. That's where you had America First Policy Institute under Brooks Rollins, who's Secretary of Agriculture. He had America First Law Institute under Stephen Miller, who's the really the head of policy in the White House. You had conservative CPI under Meadows and Dement. You had the OMB director, had cra, center for Renewing America, Russ Vote, which had Mark Paoletta and Jeff Clark. All these luminaries in the Trump second term had these think tanks. The Heritage Organization stepped in and kind of did an umbrella group to do it. Of course, President Trump. All of those policies are not President Trump's policies. There's various alternatives. The key to Project 2025, I think, if you look, is America first, national security, to really think about what's in the best interest of the United States, inner citizens and kind of economic populism, economic nationalism. What you're seeing now and what you dispute as the execution of really the economic war against the Chinese Communist Party. And so I understand there's a lot of debate about how this thing's being executed. But I think if you look at all of those think tanks combined in the policies, what we call days of thunder or flooding the zone, that every day President Trump is doing 7, 8, 9, 10 executive orders, executive actions, having heads of state come in, we're doing press availabilities. No one's ever seen a presidency like this. This is like FDR doing a fireside chat every day live and disintermediating the media. So the cameras are right there, and he's taking questions and answers. Why signing executive orders? Why taking executive action? This is why this presidency is so powerful. It has so much momentum. But that momentum was four years in the making to do this. And that's why Project 2025 and all the policies, President Trump doesn't agree with them all. He's going to pick and choose which one he does believe in. And you're seeing it right now in his executive orders and particularly. And when you see this rapprochement, he's trying to work with Russia to pull him away from the Chinese Communist Party orbit, the peace he's trying to bring in the Middle east and in Ukraine, what he's trying to do with the Persians, to make sure that we have a negotiated deal and not a bombing run over their nuclear facilities. And most important, the tariffs and the reorganization of the world's commercial relationships, putting America first, and most importantly, American citizens first. And this is why African Americans and Hispanics are gonna come to our cause, because we're putting their economic interests first. We're not putting the easy money overlords on Wall street or the global corporatist CEOs are the apartheid state of Silicon Valley. In these oligarchs, we're putting their interests first. That's why people are rallying to our cause.

[Stephen A. Smith]

See, I think you. I think what you're saying, it sounds great. Here's the problem. For example, the whole DEI issue, I don't know if you heard what my Opposition to the administration was on that issue. So I'll tell it to you right now. When people thought about diversity, equity and inclusion, the words that I use was let DEI stand for didn't earn it. I could say the same thing about Pete Hag, Seth. Now, I'm not denigrating him in any way. He served this country. He's a damn good host on Fox News. I'm not trying to throw any shade on him whatsoever, Steve Bannon. I'm simply saying to go from the host of a weekend show on Fox News to being the Secretary of Defense for the United States of America overseeing three and a half million people, I think that's a bit of a stretch. So when they talked about DEI and it always seemed attached.

[Steve Bannon]

Hang on, hang on, hang on. You're please have been at you, you today, you have been a sports commentator and a journalist and a sports reporter, etc, and it's not beyond the bounds of reason. Donald Trump was a, was a real estate developer and a TV guy, had no government experience at all, no military experience. It is not beyond the bounds of, you know, probabilities that you could be the Democratic nominee for president, United States and you could be the president, if not in 2028, because it'll be Trump sometime in the future. So the Pete Hexith didn't, didn't go by. We're living in an era. You don't have to check the box, you don't have to go to be a mayor and a governor and then you're eligible to president. I say, in fact, I would say the exact opposite. Now, if you look at all these governors in the Democratic Party, I think they're at a disadvantage to people that actually have common sense, business sense, courage, conviction and authenticity. And so I think putting something about people's previous like Tulsi Gabbard. Tulsi Gabbard never had a role in intelligence. She's doing an amazing job as dni. So I think holding that against people is an old way of looking at things.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And that's why I'm trying to address you, because I'm not holding it against them. I'm saying what people were saying about dei, that's what was being done to other people. In other words, you've got diversity, equity and inclusion. And in order automatically assume that if you are a minority, that's why you got that job. And ultimately we've got to eradicate that, that stuff as opposed to looking at your potential. The fact that there were roadblocks and impediment to your eventual success. And we have to, we had to overcome those things. That's what I'm saying. I'm not trying to throw any shade on Tulsi Gavin, Pete Hegseth, anything. I was just saying by people's definition of it, the nerve of some folks to come and to look at something like DEI and DOT to and not take into consideration why the necessity for it existed to begin with. Similar to me covering sports. You got a Rooney rule that. Yeah. You got to interview minority candidates because owners weren't giving them interviews. You have, I mean, when you have civil rights legislation, why. Because there were so many impediments to the success or to the up, upliftment of minority communities in this country. We don't seem to be taking into account the roadblocks and the impediments to the American citizen success that really provoke these policies being put into place to begin with. And I don't ever hear Steve Banning and his ilk talking about that. That's my issue.

[Steve Bannon]

You hear about us talking about all the time. We've done the most outrage from day one to say we're going to be a multi ethnic, multi party and this is the way we build a coalition. This is why in the Rio Grande Valley now, Starr County, Texas, which is the most Hispanic. It's a hard bitten county down in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, the most Hispanic community in the country. County, country, 97%. We lost Hillary Clinton by 60 points in 2016. President Trump won by 16 points in 2024. Hispanics and African Americans are hearing our message of economic freedom. Right. Of putting America first and of putting American citizens first. And we talk about the hard dollars and cents of bringing back manufacturing jobs, jobs available for everybody. This is the reason that the African American community, the biggest critics of the Democratic Party, the African American community, have realized that they've been lied to by big city politicians, by the Democratic machine. They've been taken advantage of. Look at the, at the head, little headway they've made in these urban areas because Democratic politicians have been leeching off them for generation after generation after generation. They're finally said, hey, Steve, why do you keep saying that? We might not love Trump, we may not love everything Trump stands for, but we love the fact that Trump's going to give us a fair shot. Dei, by the way, DEI to me was a cultural Marxist endeavor and would have never done for the African American and Hispanic community what economic freedom is going to do for them.

[Stephen A. Smith]

All right, everybody, listen up. With all the big time Sports action that's happening each and every day. The Stephen A. Smith show wants to make sure you are taking advantage of it all. That's why we've partnered with the Prize Pick the best place to win cash while watching sports. The app is really easy to use to make a lineup. All you have to do is pick more or less on a few player stats. Choose from any of your favorite players, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, and Zach LaVine, all in the same entry. Then sit back and watch. The list is absolutely endless. You can play prize picks in over 40 states, including California and Texas. Best of all, Prize Picks will give you $50 when you play your first $5 lineup. Win or lose, you'll get 50 bucks. Just use promo code SAS and download prizepix right now. Again, download the app and use code SAS to get $50 instantly after your first $5 lineup. Prize picks Run your game this is.

[Laura Carenti]

Courtside with Laura Carrenti, the podcast that's changing the game and breaking down the business of women's sports like never before. I'm Laura, the founder and CEO of Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment, your inside source on the biggest deals, power moves and game changers. Writing the playbook on all things women's sports, from the heavy hitters in the front office to the powerhouse women on the pitch. We're talking to commissioners, team owners, influential athletes, and the investors betting big on women's sports. We'll break down the numbers, get under the hood and go deep on what's next. Women's sports are the moment, so if you're not paying attention, you're already behind. Join me Courtside for a front row seat into the making of the business of women's sports. Courtside with Laura Carrenti is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Courtside with Laura Carrenty Starting April 3rd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports Network. Are your ears bored?

[Steve Bannon]

Yeah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Are you looking for a new podcast.

[Steve Bannon]

That will make you laugh, learn and say queue?

[Laura Carenti]

Yeah. Then tune in to locatora radio season 10 today.

[Steve Bannon]

Okay.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm Diosa.

[Steve Bannon]

I'm Mala, the host of Locatora Radio, a radiophonic novella, which is just a.

[Laura Carenti]

Very extra way of saying a podcast. We're launching this season with a miniseries, totally Nostalgic, a four part series about the Latinos who shaped pop culture in the early 2000s it's Lala checking in with all things Y2K 2000s. My favorite memory, honestly, was us having our own media platforms like Mondo's and MTV Tres. You could turn on the TV, you see Thalia, you see JLo, Nina Sky, Evie Queen, all the girlies doing their things. All of the beauty reflected right back at us. It was everything.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Tune in to locatora radio season 10.

[Laura Carenti]

Now that's what I call a podcast. Listen to Locatora Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Stephen A. Smith]

So you're saying eradicating DEI is actually putting minority interests first? Is that your position?

[Steve Bannon]

Yes. Eradicating DEI and getting back to a level playing field. Here's what they want to do. You want to make it. You want to get Hispanics and African Americans a shot. Take a shot at the apartheid oligarchs created by the Democratic Party, because that's where the money is. In Silicon Valley we have elementary schools have been turned over to the STEM program. And why do we not have. I agree with that. Hang on. Because they can't get into the engineering schools of computer science. Engineering why? Has nothing to do with iq, has nothing to do with achievement, has nothing to do with native intelligence, has nothing to do with their drive, their grit and determination. It's a simple fact, because before I went to Harvard, I went to a land grant university. And the engineering schools in my land grant university is, I don't know, 75 or 80% South Asian and Chinese. Why? Because their governments pay full freight on tuition. And the African Americans, Hispanics of my state still play in state tuition. So they're not there. And then Silicon Valley won't hire them. You know why? They're taking HB1 visas, which is a scam, and hiring young people coming out of India right at one, at half the cost and having them, you know, sleep eight to a condo in Silicon Valley, work as indentured servants and blocking out African American Hispanic families. If we want to take on the oligarchs, let's take them on. If the African American community wants real economic freedom, let's talk on Wall street, corporate America and in Silicon Valley that has blocked them and it's blocked them for their economic interest. DEI and all these social programs are not going to do it. We take down the oligarchs and the African American community, particularly young men, understand this, that a guy like Trump ain't a politician. He's an armor piercing shell. And what he's going to do is Pierce. Excuse me.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He's not. He's not. He's not a politician. He's not. I got you on that. And by the way, Steve Bannon, I got to tell you something right now. I think you've got me a little twisted, my man. Let me tell you something right now. I'm not here to defend the Democrats. Let's stop that right now. Let me stop. Let me eradicate that thought right now. So most of what you said, I totally get you. And it definitely. There's been tremendous damage done by the Democratic Party, particularly with African Americans in this country. I'm sick and tired of them riding. But you're acting like the Republicans haven't done it.

[Steve Bannon]

They don't want your voice in this thing, and I can tell you why. I'll give you one data point, one of the first polls done that had your name. Because I've been telling people for a while, I said, this guy's authentic.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He's.

[Steve Bannon]

He's got convictions, he's tough. He's the type of candidate that the Trump era is going to see. I think the first poll had you at seven and a half percent. Now you see other polls coming out for Democratic or 1%. I said, Stephen A. Smith's getting the treatment, okay? Because the last thing they want you are, brother. Hey, the last thing they want is you calling them out. Trust me. They gotta. They got a closed shop. That closed shop has got people that'll line up and support them and support the billionaires that finance them in the credential class of a lot of Ivy League progressives, right, that run the deal that you see on MSNBC every night. And the last thing they want is a guy like Stephen A. Smith coming out and talking truth to power. So I've already seen how you're getting the treatment. Has a guy go from 7 1/2% to 1%. I'll tell you how the poll is rigged, okay? And you're going to get more of that treatment because the last that apparatus wants, they don't want anybody coming in and intruding on their game.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But, But Steve Bannon, Fine. I. I actually agree with what you just said. I said it on Hannity last night. I don't think I. I thought that was a bunch of BS. I'm nearly 8% in the polls, and after being all over the news over the last month, suddenly I'm at 1%. I was born at night, not last night. I saw that a mile away. No problem there. My issue, however, is this. You Keep saying them like the Democrats, like the GOP has been innocent in all of this, all of these years. When we point to a $37 trillion debt, when we talk to about America not being prioritized in a litany of areas and what have you, the things that you've pointed to. You act like it's just been the Dems. It's been the GOP too, wouldn't you say? Haven't they been guilty in this?

[Steve Bannon]

I've had a big, I've had a bigger beef with the, I have a bigger beef with Republicans than Democrats. They've been controlled opposition. The country didn't get in this shape unless you had both parties working it right. You had the neoliberal, neocons, the globalists that set policy and the Republican Party just went along with. First off, you do understand the Republican Party hates Donald Trump. Now to the degree that we've put MAGA in there, it's fine. But the traditional country club Republicans, they hate maga. They hate everything MAGA stands for. They hate Donald Trump. Hate, pure hate. This is why when the election was stolen in 2020, no establishment Republicans stood up for him when he went back to Mar? A Lago, Fox did not. And brother Hannity, they did not have Trump on live. I think for almost two years. They were afraid he was going to talk about the stolen election. Everything had to be. They would take the rallies later or they would do pre recorded interviews. The Murdochs were all in for the Governor of Florida and for Nikki Haley. Right. And for Ron DeSantis. This entire crowd, Glenn Youngkin, everybody but Trump. Trump.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You mean the same network that had to spend 787,87 million for the Dominion voting thing? You mean that network? That's what you're saying. They were all in for somebody other than Trump.

[Steve Bannon]

Somebody other than Trump, 100%. They didn't really put up any fight on the, they didn't put, they put a very little fight in going after the stealing of the campaign. Very little fight. And when Dominion came up after Murdoch was deposed and you saw that he, let's say this, he's lost his fastball. They didn't want him in a court, in open court, getting eviscerated. That's why they settled for this huge number and essentially kick Trump to the curve and the Trump movement to the curve. They tried to basically drive Ron DeSantis. Ron DeSantis on a town hall every other night on Fox and 21, 21, 2021. In 2022, President Trump was basically boycotted by Fox for any real coverage.

[Stephen A. Smith]

STEVE Bannon Let me. I'd be remiss and neglecting to bring this up because obviously you have a very influential voice in this country. A lot of people look at you. A lot of people trusted what you have to say. So let's just get right to it. In 2022, you were found guilty of contempt of Congress after refusing to comply with the subpoena to appear at a hearing of the United States House select committee on the January 6th attack and served a short prison sentence in 2020. 24. When you look at your track record, okay, and what you've been, what you've had to endure, okay, recently reaching a plea agreement, why should people trust what you have to say on this particular subject that they can do? Follow your lead and everything will be all right. Why should they trust you?

[Steve Bannon]

STEVE Bannon by the way, I'm proud. I went to prison. I went to prison as a political prisoner. I went, I went to Danbury prison for around 100 years. I think I'm the only misdemeanor in the history of Danbury. It was, I am proud to go, and I didn't go to a camp. Danbury is an old school prison, quite dangerous. And one of the reasons it's dangerous because the mass incarceration of young, African American and Hispanic young men on these, on these RICO charges, conspiracy to distribute drugs, which they get 10, 15, 20, 25 years in a small place like Danbury, and they can't handle the time. And what they do is they turn to these drugs called K2 and others, and that turns, you know, that totally flips them. These prisons are very dangerous. They're very overcrowded. I was proud to go to prison. I was proud to be an inmate. And the reason was I would do it again. The people that sent me to prison, Nancy Pelosi and the committee, Stephen A. Smith, they went and begged Biden, he didn't want to do it. They went on their bellies and begged Biden for blanket pardons that have never been done in the history of this country. Blanket, undefined pardons. It's never been done. All the committee got them and all the staff got them. And why was that? Because the whole thing was a lying sham. At the beginning, I stood up for the Constitution on separation of powers and also for the president to be able to talk to people and keep that confidential, Right? On two purposes. I said, and I told my lawyers, let's just go all the way and try to do it. If they find Me guilty in a rigged trial in Washington, D.C. with perjured testimony from a person who took a pardon. Okay, I'll do it. I don't care. If I go to prison, I go to prison. I'm prepared to put it all forward here. And that's what people understand. That's why they come to my show. I don't care. And I tell people, hey, if they steal it again, we're gonna go back to prison. I keep saying, if they win the midterm elections in the midterm, which traditionally kind of flips back and forth, if Hakeem Jeffries, who will raise $2 billion if he wins, becomes speaker of the House. Because this is going to come down to after we lost the seats in Wisconsin on the Supreme Court ruling, it's going to come down to California and New York. And if we lose those seats, the first action Hakeem Jeffrey is going to say is impaneled, just like Pelosi did, going to empanel a impeachment committee and impeach President Trump. We're going right back to it. And if they steal 2028, the first thing they're going to demand is they're going to have all kind of lawfare again, just like the Justice Department had after us and go after us again. And, hey, if I go to go to prison again, I'll go to prison. I don't give a damn. I'm not going to back off one second. And I think that's why people come to the show, because they realize, hey, this guy puts it all on the line. He's not afraid of these guys. There's nothing. I'm 71 years. They put me in prison. I'm 70. I don't give a damn. They can put me in prison the rest of my life. I'm not going to shut up and I'm not going to stop fighting for my country.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You talked about being proud. Are you proud of the plea deal you. You reached when you admitted to 100%?

[Steve Bannon]

100%. First off, think about it. They spent seven years, millions of dollars. They basically had to rewrite the Constitution in New York to come after me again. They said I stole $22 million. At the end, it was about 50 to $75,000. I paid a legless, one armed veteran, okay, so that he could work right on something for me. And when they did, the deal is because they couldn't get a conviction, okay? We couldn't get total acquittal. Why? Because they went to Manhattan. They went to Manhattan and got the same type of Manhattan jury they got against Trump. Right? These things, these things are totally rigged. They signed Steve. The thing I signed, by the way, had. Had no penalty, no fine, no public service, nothing. The judge actually signed it says, hey, I've been doing this a long time. I've never seen a deal like this. They realized that I could fight this thing and still get hung juries. But they told me, we're going to come after you, and after you and after you. So I said, okay, fine, let's do it. I am proud. One of the proudest things I've done, including the Navy and working for Trump and doing this show, is building that wall in El Paso, Texas. If you saw the movie Sicario, you know how bad Roar is. And what happened, what, that we built a wall right there to stop the cartels from trafficking women across it. I am so proud of that wall. And the people, they couldn't find a witness ever to come forward and say what Bannon, these guys did was wrong. So, yes, I wear that with pride, too. They've come after me to bankrupt, to put me in prison. I cannot be defeated. You know why I don't quit? If you don't quit, you will beat them because eventually they will fold. Are you a nationalist 100%? Yes, absolutely. Nationalist economic world that we're living in? Yes, sir.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's why I was going to add that. I mean, some, some people, and I didn't want, I didn't want to say that. Some people have looked at that. They say Steve Bannon and they say white national. I said, no, I'm not going to do that to him. I'm going to ask him the word nationalist and I want him to describe himself as what he believes he is. So you say an economic nationalist. What exactly does that mean in this world of globalization where everybody's doing business with one another and if you're on the outside looking in, it can compromise an economy in a lot of people's eyes. Explain.

[Steve Bannon]

STEPHEN A. It's putting the country first and putting the citizens first is. What's this economic war, as you described at the beginning of the show, about China and about tariffs and about non tariff barriers, bringing back manufacturing, the 5 million manufacturing jobs, jobs that we lost over the last 20 or 30 years to China, to bring those manufacturing jobs back. Remember New York City? Your city used to be a manufacturing powerhouse. And people say today, well, it can't be. That's not the second law of thermodynamics. There's no natural property that says Manufacturing jobs can't be here in the United States. That's all done by human decisions, particularly by globalists, which is very simple. The capital wants to follow where the cheap labor is. And the cheap labor is the Lao Baijing of China, the working man and woman of China, what they call old hundred names. They work for essentially slave labor wages and slave labor conditions in filthy environments because the Chinese Communist Party doesn't care. And more importantly, the lords of easy money on Wall street don't care. The global corporations in the C Suite don't care. In the apartheid state of Silicon Valley don't care. They don't care. Happens those people just like they don't care what happens to the working class in the middle class in this country. Whether you're black, white, Asian, what's your ethnicity, what's your religion. They do not care. What they care is about their money and their power. And they got a rigged system to keep control. If you want to throw those chains off, you have to be an economic nationalist. And I'm proud of that. And here's what I'm most proud of to see coming together. The diverse crew we're putting together to have a 1932 type realignment. And I see Bernie Sanders in AOC running around the country drawing huge crowds. Those people are thirsting for an answer. The Democratic Party abandoned working class people because they abandoned the policies that would bring jobs back. And you see Bernie Sanders aoc. Well, what did the GOP do? Talking about what did you.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Because you separate.

[Steve Bannon]

You separate.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You separate. You separate Trump from the gop. That's why I'm asking. I know how you feel about the Dems. How do you feel about the gop?

[Steve Bannon]

The GOP did nothing. The GOP is the same. Neoliberal neocons invade everywhere and have huge tax cuts for the wealthy. This is what Trump brought to the table. This is in 14. When I see Trump there, he's against all these other GOP politicians. He talked in another nomenclature. He talked in another vernacular. People leaned forward. This is not the traditional thing. That's very thin, without substance. Trump was talking about substance. He's not a polished politician. He wasn't a politician at all. But people leaned into it. And that's the populism that we have brought to the Republican Party and took over the Republican Party. But I'll tell you, most elected officials behind closed doors are not pro Trump and they're certainly not pro our policies. This is why heads have exploded the last couple of days, including your good buddy Sean Hannity. Whose head blown up the most about we are going to raise taxes on the wealthy. The tax bill that's there is being worked on right now does not, does not extend the tax cuts to the upper bracket. It has a snapback. It goes from 37 back to probably 40% for the upper bracket and maybe even something else for people that are millionaires. And Sean Hannity is having a total meltdown right now because that's not traditional Republican policies. This is what President Trump and his economic populism, this economic nationalism has brought into the Republican Party. And this is why we have people who are Democrats and independents, including so many young African Americans, are listening to Trump finally, because he's talking in a different nomenclature and his policies are different.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You know what you went off about Billionaire Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. You called them close to an unmitigated disaster. But some would argue because you don't like him in front of the camera. Cuz he doesn't seem to know what the hell he's saying in your eyes half the time. But some would argue it's because Trump's all over the place and as a result he doesn't know what to say from day to day. It's like, it's almost like I need to notice. Steve Bannon, is there anything that Trump does wrong in your eyes? And if it is, what if there is something, tell us what it is. Because you seem to blame the gop, you clearly blame the left, you even blame people that he's listening to that he has speaking on his behalf. What do you find at fault with.

[Steve Bannon]

Donald Trump in this regard? With Howard Ludnick? I am not saying about his job as Commerce Secretary. My point is that we have to be very tight and on point about how we're rolling this thing out. And I think President Trump to date, because the whole concept of reciprocity and how he's rolled it out and escalatory ladder, which he is going up the escalatory ladder against China. I think it's been pretty much a close run thing. Has it been perfect? Has not been perfect perfect because it's quite complicated. But you take what Bessant's doing, you take what Trade Representative Jameson Greer is doing. You talk about the East Asian countries of Japan and South Korea and Taiwan and Vietnam and throw in India are now stacked up coming in to make deals like planes at LaGuardia on a Friday night. I think it's as close to as best as a close run thing as we get. Is it absolutely perfect? It's not. But these type of complicated negotiations, just like the Russians, they're never gonna be perfect. Just like Reagan's was not perfect, just like Kissinger's to bring the Vietnam War to end. We're not perfect. They're not perfect. They're complicated deals with big personalities representing their countries, as they should. So I think right now where we're positioning this is amazing, given that the Chinese Communist Party has been running an economic war with us against the. For decades in the elites on Wall street, corporate America and Silicon Valley, and the political class of Democrats and Republicans have stood by and let them ravage our nation and ravage the American people. And finally, Trump stood up and we're in it now. We're engaged in it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You call Tesla CEO and Doe, and Mr. Doge himself had Elon Musk. You've called him evil. Is there a new civil war brewing inside of MAGA in your estimation?

[Steve Bannon]

It's not a. It's not a civil war. You do have. Look, let's go back to the 1932 coalition, right? Remember in 1932, FDR had Southern Klans members in the, in the Democratic Party in the south, who basically dominated. He had professors at Harvard, he had Wall street tycoons, he had ranchers out West. The Democratic Party was a broad coalition that essentially governed this country, really till Trump came along, even past Ronald Reagan. But really till Trump came along, that was for what, 50, 60, 70, 80 years, because they put a broad coalition together. A lot of them hated each other and hated what each other stood for. President Trump's putting together a coalition. One of the newest aspects of that, Stephen A. Is what we call these tech oligarchs or these tech bros. They're more libertarian, but they support particularly in putting together a winning coalition. I think over the last couple weeks, they've been a little shocked about what President Trump's done, particularly Mark Zuckerberg gave him a million dollars, but then came in the Oval Office as a supplicant every day to say, please, whatever you do, call off this lawsuit, the lawsuit that Trump brought in his first term. But that one of the hidden jewels of the Democratic Party, Lina Khan, who is ftc, cleaned it up and brought it forward. And she, to me, is one of the best people about being an economic nationalist and a populist in this country, in the Democratic Party, that no Democrat, that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden didn't have her back at all. Now, Zuckerberg failed. The trial started yesterday. Zuckerberg is going to have to testify. And what are we trying to do? We're trying to break up Facebook, we're trying to break up Meta, we're trying to take on the oligarchs. So, yes, they're seeing that. All the coziness they had with Trump, at the end of the day, look at Elon Musk. Elon Musk, financial sponsor is the Chinese Communist Party. That's who he's in business with. Tesla. President Trump could not be dropping bigger hammers. Everybody in the media saying he's going to let Elon Musk cut so many deals, everything. He's going after Elon Musk's chief financial sponsor. And he's actually put a tariff that's going to have, that's going to be so prohibitive for Tesla, his boards tell him, hey, dude, you got to come back, you got to stop the Doge thing and you got to come back. And it shouldn't be lost on you, Stephen A. Smith, that, that, that, that Elon Musk and Doge is a lot more prominent today than it was a month ago.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That is true. Can't deny that. Before I let you get on out of here. And, man, I, I got to tell you, I disagree with a lot, but you're smart as hell. You know what the hell you taught you. You know what you want to say. I give you credit for that, Steve Bannon. I can't deny it. I got to ask you this, though. Based on everything that you've said, essentially, that's what all of this comes down to in terms of 2028 and Trump getting a third term. You believe the only person that you can rely upon to deliver what your vision and what the MAGA vision is for this country is Donald Trump. You don't believe in anybody else in the gop. That's what I'm peeling from all of this, Steve Bannon. To that you say what?

[Steve Bannon]

STEPHEN A. Smith I think they're very good people. JD Vance is a good man. You get so many good people. But for this time in history and what we have to do, look, it took us 40, 50, 60 years to get the country in this place. And the Republican Party had power as much as they didn't have power. This is both parties got us here. The uniparty got us here. A guy like Trump, a leader, not a politician, is the guy getting that? And my point is we gotta play this handout. We gotta play this handout. And yes, that's why I'm a firm believer in spending a lot of time on working through the issues regarding his running for a third term. But I will say, and I think you need to think about this for the nation, the Democratic Party. Cause I come. My family were Democrats. We're Kennedy Democrats. My dad, you know, fdr, that's when he came up in the Great Depression. FDR was everything my family, you know, to think voting for Nixon was like incomprehensible. It was Ronald Reagan, eventually the Vietnam War. And Ronald Reagan got my family only about a third of it. Still over 50% of the greater expanded, you know, Bannon clan is still Democrats. So what President Trump, what the Democratic Party needs, because the Democratic Party of our parents and grandparents is gone. A service to the country would be people like yourself and others actually confronting that and getting into the race and actually putting forward common sense, common sense solutions for the nation thing. That's a debate on the left that needs to happen. And we're not gonna get this thing sorted until you get a Democratic Party that's back to the roots, that it had a back of actually listening to working class people and not this credentialed class. Right, the credential class and the billionaires. You can't let the billionaires be the puppet masters. You can't let the credential class kind of run the deal. What it has to do is get back to its roots. And it's not going to get back to its roots unless it's confronted. Look, the fight for years against the Republican Party. We've had our civil war. We're still having it. You guys have not.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Steve, I got, I got. Listen, I'll address that in a second, but you're driving me nuts with this when you're bringing up the billionaires. Listen, I know that the left has been catering to elites and it was clear they forgot about the working class. Don't get me started with woke culture. Cancel culture, identity politics, transgender, all of this. Oh, don't get me started with that. I know that they're at fault for that, but I just saw Trump in the White House just the other day talking to billionaire friends about how much money they made in one day when he went on his Truth Social account and said, said this would be a good time to buy. So it ain't like this. Just the left talking to billionaires. He's doing it all the time. And by the way, isn't he one? Aren't those his contemporaries? Why are we acting like it's the left talking to the billionaires and forgetting about folks? But it can't possibly be him, now that he's in office.

[Steve Bannon]

Stephen A. Smith, number one. He's the first. When Biden came to office on a stolen election, he had Schumer, he had Pelosi. The Democrats ran the deal, okay? Ran the entire deal. They put up a proposal, a tax proposal that would actually tax the wealthy. Tax billionaires, brother. It never even got out of committee. They're totally performative and they're totally phony. The reason is the billionaires owned the Democratic Party lock, stock and barrel. Bernie Sanders runs around the country right now talking about the oligarchy. The oligarchy was created by the Democratic Party. All of those oligarchs, all of them were Progressive Democrats until 11pm Eastern Standard Time on 5 November, when MAGA and President Trump won. And then they had their road to Damascus, their Damascene moment. The reality, oh, all of a sudden, I think we're maga, I think we're tech bros. We really like Trump. Trump has got the biggest of them all. Zuckerberg in court trying to break his empire up right now. Show me what every Democrat's done, including the phony Bernie Sanders who wanders around yammer. Bernie Sanders had two shots at the Clinton, the Clinton mafia, the neoliberal neocon apparatus in charge of the Democratic Party. Two shots. He never laid a glove on him. Trump came in out of nowhere and politically ripped her face off and beat her in a general election against all odds when he was down as much as 10 or 12 points. Bernie Sanders is a phony. Bernie Sanders is a weakling. Bernie Sanders doesn't talk about any fundamental change. And that's because nobody in the Democratic Party until you and a couple other guys come along, men and women come along, challenge the billionaires that own it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'll definitely challenge them. I ain't got no problems with that. I mean, I'll be on my. I'll be right here. Just like you have your own platform, I have mine to challenge them. But it doesn't mean I'm not going to challenge your side either. So let me paint this, this, let me throw this out there as a last question to you, Steve Bannon. And I really appreciate your time, by the way. Thank you so much for giving me your time. And like I said, I owe you. I return the favor anytime you ask. Here's my question to you. In your perfect world, from a policy perspective, a vision of America, how do blacks, how do Latinos, since you alluded to them earlier, how do they fit into this grand makeup of what America should be and may, may end up being down the road if your guy, Donald Trump is in office or anybody else that you support for that matter. I want to give you an opportunity to paint a picture of what America would look like for people other than white males. Because we all know. Yeah, I don't know if, you know, I have this saying, when black folks catch a cold. I said when white folks catch a cold, black folks catch pneumonia. It's always worse for us than it is for folks in white America. I always say that. So I don't want to be a hypocrite and not say that right here while you're on the airwaves. But if your vision, if you achieved, if this administration and beyond achieved what you want achieved for America, how does America look for the rest of us?

[Steve Bannon]

You know, I was raised in the north side of Richmond, which is a predominantly black section of Richmond. And when everybody ran in the 1960s and ran to the suburbs, my parents, we stayed. And the reason was, it doesn't matter if you're black, whatever, you're a neighbor and you see the hard working folks there in that neighborhood, it's very simple. They're American citizens and they get a better deal than everybody else. This country comes first, her citizens come first, regardless of your ethnicity, your race, your religion, any of it. And right now, that's the vision of Donald Trump, to put the country first. And in putting the country first, the American citizens get a preferred deal. Right now, the entire world system is on the shoulders of the working class and middle class in this country. The full faith and credit of the entire system, of the $36 trillion and the $100 trillion contingent liabilities. It's not the Federal Reserve, it's not the sec, it's not the great banks on Wall street, it's not a handful, the political class. It's the American working class and the middle class, the full faith and credit, the entire apparatus, world security, the two battle groups in the Red Sea. Right now, those two carrier battle groups are made up, the 24,000 sailors. There are working class sons and daughters of American citizens. It's quite simple. Put this country first. At the same time, put the citizens first. All they're asking for, the citizens in our country are not asking for a handout. All they want is a piece of the action. And it's upon us to deliver that for them. If we give them a piece of the action and actually turn a capitalist system that has very few capitalists in it to actually bring them into the capitalist system with ownership of real assets and ownership of financial assets and understand in their own country they don't have to compete against foreign labor in the soil. That for generation after generation their families have fought and died for and built these communities. That's the sunlit uplands. Once we deliver that, this country is going to be on the right track. And that's why I support having Trump around as long as possible, because he is an armor piercing shell to the elites that rule this country.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Two terms, not any more than that. So the 22nd Amendment, but I hear you loud and clear. I want to thank you for your time. I really, really appreciate it. Can't thank you enough. And, and I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm extending an invite down the road because we know midterms are coming up and all of that stuff. And I wanted you to know that you're welcome back on. I really, really appreciate your candor, your thoughtfulness and what have you. I don't agree with everything, you know that, but I hear where you're coming from and I thank you for taking time out of your schedule to come on the show for so long. I really appreciate, thank you. You take care. Thank you.

[Steve Bannon]

And you, and you've got a duty to your country, just like Trump knew he had to do to this country. Stephen A. Smith, thank you for having me on. Look forward to coming back.

[Stephen A. Smith]

All right. All right. Take care. Thank you so much. That's it. You heard him. Former chief strategist for Donald Trump, still strategizing for him. Very, very committed to it, no doubt about it. Outspoken as hell. Unapologetic about going to prison, unapologetic about supposedly breaking the law. Unapologetic about his unwavering support of Donald Trump and what Donald Trump is trying to do and making it very clear it ain't the GOP support, it's Donald Trump. He believes he's a once in a generation kind of figure and he's not bending one inch on that. Whether you like it or not, you got to respect the conviction. If nothing else, that's really what this comes down to. It's going to get very, very, very interesting. I just, you know, I asked him the questions. I just wanted to hear him speak and let him articulate his position to the masses. And he certainly did that. He was unapologetic in doing so. So it's pretty damn scary, to be quite honest with you, when you consider how convicted he is. And he talked about the MAGA movement, he talked about them being activists. He said we ain't the gop. We are who we are. Damn. He wasn't playing. He's given me a lot to think about over the weekend, make no mistake about it. And I'm gonna do just that until next time, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you all enjoyed that. Hope that left some food for thought. A lot to think about, lot to contemplate. Should give the Democratic Party an idea of what the hell they're up against and what they're going to have to do to knock off Donald Trump or anybody else on the GOP with that man supporting them. Something to think about. No way around. It's nothing to think about. That's it. I gotta get on out of here. I got NBA playoff action to get back to. I'll holla at y'all in a few days. Until then, peace and love, everybody take care. Be safe. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott and this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of star studded a little bit, man.

[Steve Bannon]

We met them at their homes, we.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Met them at the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real.

[Steve Bannon]

It really does.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs Podcast, Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Steve Bannon]

My name is Brendan Patrick Hughes, host of Divine Intervention. This is a story about radical nuns in combat boots and wild haired priests trading blows with J. Edgar Hoover in a hell bent effort to sabotage a war. J. Edgar Hoover was furious. He was out of his mind and he wanted to bring the Catholic left to its knees. Listen to Divine intervention on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.