Bannon Uncorks Bonkers L.A. Conspiracy Theory for MAGA Faithful
He said California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sounded like a “Neo-Confederate” for opposing the president’s activation of the National Guard.
MAGA influencer Steve Bannon said anti-ICE protests and riots in Los Angeles are part of the “Third World War.”
He told listeners of his WarRoom show Monday that Southern California looked like a war zone this weekend because demonstrations were filled with foreign nationals who were waving their home countries’ flags.
“Why did it look like a foreign country?” he said. “They’re foreigners that are doing this. You see the Mexican flags. You see the Palestinian flags. This is a war.”
A man on a motorcycle waves a Mexican flag as smoke rises from a burning car in Los Angeles over the weekend.
Barbara Davidson/Barbara Davidson/Reuters
Bannon, 71, made clear that the so-called war, despite being on U.S. soil, is not a “civil war.” He claimed the country was under a migrant “invasion” under President Joe Biden and that the U.S. must fight back “in the streets.”
“This is not a civil war,” he said. “This is part of the Third World War.”
Police fire less lethal projectiles during clashes between protesters and law enforcement on Sunday in Downtown Los Angeles.
Jim Vondruska/Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
Like usual, Bannon showered Trump with praise, specifically commending him for sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles against the appeals of Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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“Trump ain’t going to get over it,” Bannon said. “He’s president of the United States. He’s the commander in chief, and he’s stopping an invasion, and he’s going to repel the invaders. You’re going home.”
Police cleared demonstrators after they blocked a street with a barricade during the Los Angeles protests.
David Ryder/Reuters
Bannon, who was a White House adviser during Trump’s first term, told the president he should “go full Andrew Jackson” to deal with Newsom, like “when John C. Calhoun, his vice president, started giving a little lip about the tariff situation in South Carolina.”
Calhoun was Jackson’s vice president during his first term. However, they had a public falling out because Calhoun backed state rights during the “nullification crisis,” arguing that states should be able to override any federal law they deem unconstitutional. The conflict, which was spurred by South Carolina’s opposition to high tariffs passed by Congress, led to Jackson bumping Calhoun off his ticket in his successful re-election bid.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump have clashed regularly over the years. Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, went as far as suggesting Sunday that Newsom might be arrested for impeding an ICE crackdown, but walked back his statement Monday.
Leah Millis/Reuters
Bannon said Newsom was acting like a “Neo-Confederate” and was pushing the limit of his power by opposing Trump’s activation of the National Guard. Bannon said he knows what a Neo-Confederate sounds like because he hails from Richmond, Virginia, which was the capital of the Confederacy.
“I can tell Gavin Newsom, we settled the issue of succession, right? We settled that issue,” Bannon said. “He sounded like a Neo-Confederate.”
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, went as far as suggesting Sunday that Newsom might be arrested for impeding an ICE crackdown, but he walked back his statement Monday.
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