Bannon's Threats, MAGA's Weaknesses, and the Path Forward
Trump and Bannon have no mandate.
Having followed Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast since January 2020, I woke up this morning to see yet another round of threats from him. His targets? MSNBC—“preserve your documents,” he warns. The January 6th Committee. Liz Cheney, who seems to live rent-free in his mind. Special Counsel Jack Smith. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Essentially, anyone who worked to investigate Trump and his allies’ attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Bannon’s bluster is aimed at those he feels have undermined his so-called “populist” MAGA agenda.
A recent Slate article detailed a week of listening to War Room—about 20 hours of content—and highlighted an important takeaway: Bannon’s primary focus (beyond his bombastic rhetoric and propagandist Gen Z co-host Natalie Winters) is his hatred for “establishment Republicans,” particularly in the Senate.
As someone who has spent far more than 20 hours listening to Bannon, I can confirm this is accurate. Bannon’s pressure campaigns and primary threats are his primary tools for pushing the Republican Party not only further to the right but also into unwavering loyalty to Donald Trump.
Bannon’s Playbook in Action
Consider Kevin McCarthy’s ouster as Speaker of the House, orchestrated by Bannon ally Matt Gaetz. Or the growing resistance among GOP House members to supporting Ukraine in its fight against Putin—another victory for Bannon’s anti-establishment narrative. But there’s one place where Bannon’s tactics falter: the Senate.
In the recent secret vote for Senate Majority Leader, non-MAGA Senator John Thune won. Only 13 senators supported MAGA and Bannon-backed Rick Scott. This signals a clear limit to Bannon’s influence in the upper chamber of Congress.
Similarly, Bannon’s push to install Matt Gaetz as Attorney General fell flat. Despite J.D. Vance accompanying Gaetz to lobby senators, Gaetz didn’t have the votes and ultimately withdrew his name. Bannon’s inability to fully control the Senate is a major weakness in his strategy.
Trump’s Lack of a Mandate
Let’s be clear: Trump won less than 50% of the vote in 2024. He has no mandate. He ran for office not to serve the public but to stay out of jail. Meanwhile, Bannon himself has been in and out of legal trouble, from refusing to testify before the January 6th Committee to his upcoming trial in February for the “We Build the Wall” scam.
This election wasn’t just about turnout—it was about disinformation. The right-wing dominates digital media spaces, and we’ve ceded too much ground to their propaganda machines. It’s time for that to change.
What We Can Do
We need robust funding, infrastructure, and organization to reclaim the digital media landscape. Groups like Indivisible and Red, Wine, and Blue already show how grassroots pressure campaigns can make a difference. We must use similar tactics to counter Trump’s upcoming policies and push back against the MAGA agenda.
The fact that only 13 senators voted for the MAGA pick for Senate Majority Leader is a promising sign. It shows that Trumpism (or Bannonism) isn’t an inevitable path forward for the GOP in the Senate. This is an opportunity for us to organize and apply pressure where it matters.
Bottom Line
We are Americans, and we have the power to fight back. Bannon’s threats and Trump’s bluster don’t dictate the future of this country. With the right strategies, we can push for accountability, counter disinformation, and protect our democracy. It starts with us.