Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist and host of the popular show War Room, spoke to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor Breakfast on Wednesday at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. acknowledged that if the President Donald Trump made a solid case for the U.S. striking Iran or escalating the situation, the MAGA movement would eventually get on board.
“If the president as commander-in-chief makes a decision to do this and comes forward and walks people through it…the MAGA movement will support President Trump,” Bannon said.
However, Bannon urged the president to consider public opinion and past American experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan before escalating the situation
Bannon emphasized that a new Middle Eastern war would “tear this country apart,” pointing to a recent Economist/YouGov poll, which showed only 16 percent of Americans think the U.S. military should get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran.
“We can’t have another Iraq,” he said, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
The former Trump advisor criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting Israel should handle destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities on its own without expecting automatic U.S. support.
“The Israelis have to finish what they started. They started this. They should finish it,” Bannon said.
Aside from his advice for the president, Bannon ultimately expressed confidence in Trump’s Cabinet, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“There’s a lot of hot talking back and forth…But I think leveler heads will prevail. I think the president’s going to look for a broad range of input,” Bannon said.
On Tuesday, Trump announced that the U.S. has “complete and total control of the skies over Iran” and confirmed he had intel about the location of the Supreme Leader of Iran.
“We know exactly where the so-called “Supreme Leader” is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, before calling for Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER.”
On Wednesday, Trump mentioned possible U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, which Israeli weapons are not capable of reaching, but remained noncommittal, telling reporters, “I may do it, I may not do it.”
– – –
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Steve Bannon” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.
