Former Trump White House chief strategist and creator and host of War Room 2020, Steve Bannon joined host Michael Patrick Leahy Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – to discuss how he’s taking the Trump Revolution to the left every chance he can.
During the third hour, Bannon explained how it was important for him to take the Trump message to the left and noted that he is seeing more receptiveness among liberal audiences. By sticking to the facts, Bannon felt assured that it would help win over the working-class African American and Hispanic working-class voters and maybe a few Bernie supporters.
Nearing the end of the segment, he switched gears by stressing how important the current pandemic in China was to Americans and their economy. Bannon urged all Americans to stay alert regarding the situation and can listen more about it on his podcast at War Room: Pandemic.
Leahy: Welcome to the Tennessee Star Report Steven K. Bannon – a good friend who was on Bill Maher last night. Welcome to the Tennessee Star Report.
Bannon: Hey Michael Patrick Leahy. How are you doing, brother?
Leahy: I was watching last night this clip of you with Bill Maher on HBO. I mean you go into the lion’s den Steve don’t you? (Chuckles)
Bannon: It’s the only way to do it. Its the only way. Listen, I love talking to conservative audiences. We’ve got the podcast and the show and all that now so it’s fantastic. But if you’re going to spread the message of the Trump Revolution you’ve got to go take it to places that are not natural like a Bill Maher Show. And debating these guys that debate is going to CNN and MSNBC is the only way you’re going to get the word out.
Leahy: This is a fantastic 30-second clip of you and Bill Maher on Saturday.
Bill Maher clip plays, which ends with this comment from Maher: I wish our side had someone as evil as you, Steve
Leahy: (Leahy laughs) What do you have to say about that comment from Bill Maher Steve?
Bannon: It’s a huge compliment. What do you mean? Laughs I’ll take it from Bill Maher and the Democrats when they say that you’re the most evil guy in the world. I love it. He’s actually a guy that lets a lot of conservatives on. I think people naturally have their head blows up with Bill Maher. I think he does an excellent job of allowing people to talk to people.
Now you’ve got to be ready. He’s going to be in your grill from the very first second you walk out there. So you’ve got to be ready. I thought it was a good show. The point I was trying to make is the action the President has taken is coming together now. Whether it’s the USMCA, the new China trade deal. What he’s doing at the border. Of course America first national security and the economy. All of that’s coming together and the party is united behind him.
I think the Trump movement is more on fire than it’s ever been because they’re seeing the results. We had people up in New Hampshire for the next couple of days on our show. And it’s in total disarray up there. They’re having a tough time filling these town halls and they’re going out in the last second and pleading with people to come to the VFW halls to make a show for the mainstream media.
Where Trump’s doing a rally tonight which is so classic Trump. He’s doing a rally and there are 20,000 RSVP’s and people already lined up at 8:00 am in the morning to go in there. In the cold, to go in to see Trump. It’s just a different enthusiasm. You saw this in Iowa. The overall, forget the fiasco they had. The overall numbers in Iowa were down and the Democrats are getting more and more depressed day by day.
Leahy: By the way, here’s something I’ve noticed and you can feel the audience there. It strikes me. You’ve been taking it to the left, I’ve seen it many a time you had a debate in Toronto with David Frum. That’s not exactly a conservative audience up there in Toronto. And then HBO, Bill Maher’s audience, they’re not conservative. I sense the audience is being more receptive to your message. Am I reading that right?
Bannon: I’ve gone all over Europe also and debated Bernard Levy in Athens. If you go around and particularly, we’re going through this global change of politics. And particularly there is a lot of people on the populist left, a lot of Bernie followers that if you really get Trumps’ message out to them and talk about populism and talk about economic nationalism and they understand what it’s about is increasing opportunities for citizens to participate in the technology economy.
It’s about rising wages. It’s about protecting American jobs and American workers. It starts to resonate. Remember, in 2016 this is why I brought up the example of Michigan. I think Michael Moore always points to it, I think that there 80,000 cast ballot tickets down for Democrats that didn’t vote in the presidential election.
Those were principally Bernie voters and African Americans who just would not vote for Hillary Clinton. Now a lot of these folks are not prepared to vote for Donald Trump. But most importantly for us, they’re not prepared to vote for the Democrats. So yes, I tell people all the time when I go and talk to these crowds, if you start hammering them with facts and getting the concepts out there, these are not that hostile of audiences.
All you need to do is flip the 10, 15, 20% of these people and you can have a governing majority for 50 years. If you start to get working-class African Americans and working-class Hispanics and some of the Bernie voters to come over you can put together a governing majority under the Trump Revolution and it will be like the FDR’s in 1952 and you could govern for 50 years. And I think you’re starting to see that. People should not get cocky.
This is going to be as nasty and brutal, far more than 2016. So everybody’s got to show up. Everybody got to go to work and listen to shows like yours. Get on Facebook. Go on Twitter. Get on social media. It’s all about mobilization. This is 100% about getting people out to vote in November 2020.
Leahy: What is billionaire Michael Bloomberg trying to do with his campaign for the Democratic nomination?
Bannon: I think it’s a very dangerous thing in American politics. He’s an oligarch. I keep saying he’s going to do a leveraged buyout of the Democratic Party.
Leahy: That’s a great line.
Bannon: (Leahy chuckles) No, this is the thing that is so scary. On March third, he’s going to drop a thermonuclear cash weapon on the Democratic primary and basically shatter it. I think it’s a very low probability if you look at it today that Bloomberg will be the nominee principally because he’s a moderate republican mayor of New York City.
But with this type of capital, millions of dollars here with a personal vendetta here against Donald Trump. You’re talking about billions of dollars that he will apply to his already formidable. He has a 1,000 person staff whereas Klobuchar, Yang, and Biden are laying people off. He has 1,000 people in a very organized staff right now. Not even including Everytown USA, the anti-NRA group that is also his and quite valuable. He’s bringing organization.
He’s bringing data. He’s bringing capital we’ve never seen before. This isn’t someone like Sheldon Adelson writing a 50 million dollar check for TV ads. This is billions of dollars. He does not have to spend a second to fundraise that he can apply to this. He’s already said that if Bernie the nominee or Mayor Pete’s the nominee or Warren’s the nominee he will back them with several billion dollars to defeat Trump. And I think what happens is Hillary Clinton or maybe even at a contested convention Michelle Obama come in at the very last second as a candidate in back of Bloomberg’s cash.
because Joe Biden is in a free fall. Or because Elizabeth Warren is in a free fall. Every day is a new day. People have to stay focused. People have to remember that if you want to continue the Trump Revolution you’ve got to get your friends to vote in November.
Leahy: You’re continuing now you’re very successful podcast. It started off as the War Room Impeachment, and now it’s War Room 2020? Tell us about that?
Bannon: Basically the War Room with a new concept of media. Where I have people doing analysis 24 hours a day. It’s starting with War Room 2020 today which is the follow on to the impeachment because the impeachment was really the pre-amble. We’ve also got another show in the two-hour block it’s War Room Pandemic. The situation in China is absolutely critical to the world. Not just the world’s health but the world’s economy.
Given many years I’ve spent in and around China in my obviously anti-CCP take on things, we are very focused on what’s going on in Wuhan. For all of your listeners, you should spend as much time as possible and get online, not just the MSM but social media but this is an event that will affect your life and the American economy.
And I think because of President Trump’s bold actions a couple of weeks ago, hopefully, we’ll have minimal impact on the public health of the citizens of the United States. But it is something people should follow. It is a plague of biblical proportions that’s taken place in Wuhan.
They’ve essentially quarantined now almost 100 million people within an area the size of France. Last night they just announced that they’re locking down Beijing, a city of 35 million people. This is as serious as it gets.
Leahy: Steve Bannon, thanks so much for joining us. We know you have a busy schedule. I love it when you take it to the left! It’s always fun.
Bannon: Thanks, Mike. Thanks for having me on.
Listen to the full third hour here:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to the Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
