The Godfather of Maga

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The New Statesman

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4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Last week Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist for the first seven months of his first term in office, graced the stage at CPAC (the annual Conservative Political Action Conference) to rapturous applause.

"We're not going to retreat. We're not going to surrender. We're not going to quit. Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Although Bannon fell out of favour with the president back in 2017, he's managed to maintain great influence over the Maga movement, a movement he helped create.

His speech created headlines worldwide after he was accused of performing a Nazi salute to the crowd. Something he denies. He also called for Trump to run for a potentially constitutional breaching third Presidential term in 2028.

So what does he really believe Maga are still fighting for?

Kate Lamble is joined by the New Statesman's US correspondent Freddie Hayward, and Politico reporter Ian Ward.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Most of us are getting screwed over.
0:03.0	As the world burns, mega corporations are reporting record profits.
0:08.0	But how are they getting away with it?
0:11.0	I'm Ash Sarka, and in my book Minority Rule, I show you how minority elites rule
0:17.0	by creating the culture wars that have taken over our politics, stoking fear
0:23.3	and panic in our media landscape. Available in bookshops and on audiobook now.
0:32.2	The New Statesman
0:33.8	In the five weeks since starting his second term in office, Donald Trump has signed
0:44.1	more than 70 executive orders, upended international relations and begun a potential trade war.
0:51.4	Yet on stage at the annual Conservative political action conference or CPAC in Washington
0:56.8	last week, some called for more. The only way we lose is if we quit, the only way we don't
1:03.8	have victory if we surrender. The only way that they win is we retreat and we're not going to
1:09.7	retreat. We're not going to surrender, we're not going to surrender,
1:11.5	we're not going to quit.
1:12.7	Fight, fight, fight, fight.
1:14.3	This is Steve Bannon, Trump's chief strategist for the first seven months of his first
1:19.7	term in office.
1:21.2	Bannon then became known as sloppy Steve, quickly cast aside after contradicting the president in a number of interviews.
1:29.5	Last year, he served four months in prison for refusing to comply with an investigation into
1:35.0	January the 6th. But Steve Bannon has maintained an influence over the MAGA movement.
1:41.1	At CPAC, he continued to combine his populist rhetoric with praising Trump, comparing
1:47.1	the president to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. It's a glorious day. Days of thunder.
	...

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