Steve Bannon was hit with a brutally honest reaction to Donald Trump’s war on Iran on his podcast.
During an episode of his War Room podcast, Bannon, 72, argued that regardless of opinions about Trump’s surprise war—launched in coordination with Israel on Feb. 28—the United States had to “win.”
“Regardless of how we got in here. And we can debate that…we have to win,” he said. However, he conceded that the conflict had “rattled” Trump and the world’s economy.
“Now we’re in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea, all of it. And it’s rattling, whether you like it or not, whether you support President Trump or not,” he said. “It’s rattling the world’s economy and President Trump’s economic plan.”
His guest, right-wing author Brandon Weichert, echoed the messiness of Trump’s conflict.
“Clearly, there is a severe breakdown in communication not only between the U.S. and its purported allies in the region, but also within the administration itself,” Weichert said. “And I would encourage everybody in the administration to get on the same page now. Because this is not—this is not going well. The American people do not understand what’s going on.”
Bannon, a leading far-right figure in Trump’s coalition, has previously said he is not exactly an “enthusiastic supporter” of the war, which has killed 13 U.S. troops at the time of publication.
He joins a growing number of notable MAGA figures who have voiced their displeasure—or in some cases forcefully rejected—the conflict, which the Department of Defense is now asking $200 billion to fund, almost double the cost of a single year of the Iraq War.
Also among the critics is Fox News firebrand Megyn Kelly, who has repeatedly voiced “serious doubts about what we’re doing” in the Middle East to her audience.
Elsewhere, Tucker Carlson, a hugely influential figure in Trump’s orbit, has also blasted Israel’s apparent influence in convincing the president to launch what is already an unpopular war that will further destabilize the Middle East.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Bannon and the White House for comment.
