Podcast “Learned Again”: How Steve Bannon is working on the Trump comeback

Joe Biden has not been in office for a full year as US President, but his opponents are already forming up for the next election. It is quite possible that his predecessor Donald Trump will run again. An old friend could help him with a podcast.

It is not only thanks to his voters that Donald Trump was able to win the presidential election against Hillary Clinton in 2016. One man in particular laid the foundation stone for the long-term victory that was not thought possible: Steve Bannon – the former head of the right-wing news site “Breitbart” and later Trump advisor. In the first six months of Trump’s presidency, Bannon was the chief strategist in the White House, Trump’s top adviser.

But gradually the star of the former film producer slowly went under. Millions in debts became public, Bannon left the White House in August 2017. Three years later he was arrested and charged with fraud, among other things. However, he was released on bail and was fully pardoned on January 20 of this year by Donald Trump, on his last day as US President.

Since then, Steve Bannon has been able to switch and do what he wants again. And work on Trump’s return to the White House. He acts similarly to his time as Breitbart boss, only the format is different. In his podcast “War Room”, Bannon provokes, polemicises and radicalizes his listeners. “It is the right-wing conservative ecosystem that we are talking about,” explains Klaus Kamps, professor of communication science at the Stuttgart Media University, in the ntv podcast “Another thing learned”.

Provocation, polemics, radicalization

The format is “very well placed” within this “right-wing conservative media ecosystem”. To speak of “successful” when looking at the entire USA is a bit exaggerated, says Kamps, who is considered one of the most prominent German-speaking experts on political communication in the USA. “The system also lives from the fact that people within this bubble visit each other in their podcasts and YouTube programs, support each other, speak the same language. That is the area that is still very much linked to the ‘Make-America- Great-Again ‘and promotes it. “

The roots of the “War Room” format lie in the fall of 2019, when the first impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump ran. It was then that Bannon started a radio show called “War Room: Impeachment”. It has now become a pure podcast format, with new episodes appearing three times a day. The show has been titled “War Room: Pandemic” since mid-2020. Unsurprisingly, the corona policy has played the main role in the programs since then. In addition, the lie of the allegedly falsified presidential election is being chewed through. And so, on the day before the Capitol storm in January of this year, Bannon called on “all patriots” to come to Washington. On the podcast, he announced that “all hell will break out”.

His role in the Capitol Tower is now also occupied by the investigative committee in the US House of Representatives. But because Bannon had ignored two subpoenas to testify in the committee, he was charged last week. He appeared on charges earlier this week. Bannon was brought before a federal judge. This released him subject to conditions. He has to appear in court again this week.

The riots on January 6th and Bannon’s words in the run-up were also the reason for Youtube to block the “War Room” channel. Twitter pulled the plug at the end of last year. After Bannon wished on the podcast that US top epidemiologist Anthony Fauci and FBI chief Christopher Wray were impaled and their heads hung on the corners of the White House.

One of the most popular politics podcasts in the US

Despite such derailments, the “War Room” can still be accessed on other platforms. For example at Apple Podcasts, the second largest podcast provider in the world. In the American Apple Podcasts Charts The show appears consistently in the top five in the “Politics” category, while “War Room” made it into the top 50 among all programs. In October announced Bannon, the format has meanwhile cracked the 100 million download mark across all platforms. The numbers cannot be checked, but they do not sound unrealistic.

The reason for the relative success of the podcast is the radicalized part of the Republicans, says Klaus Kamps. “A big wing that has radicalized to a certain extent. What is meant by Trumpism. Behind it, of course, is Steve Bannon.” Its overall importance is “difficult to assess because in his first life, when he made Trump great, he worked a lot in the background.” He was “quite efficient and successful,” said Kamps.

With the “War Room”, Bannon now has a stage again on the right-wing political spectrum in the United States. Ultra-conservative or right-wing Trump supporters from the Republican Party are constantly exchanging ideas on the podcast. The show has long since become a “reservoir for right-wing extremists”, writes the Non-profit platform “Pro Publica” in a research.

According to the analysis, Bannon was aiming to “take over from below” the Republican party. The right puller wants to gain complete control of the “Grand Old Party”. That is why he repeatedly calls on his listeners to offer themselves as functionaries of the party and to step in as a kind of “electoral district leader”. An important function because you can have a say in candidacies or nominate people as election supervisors, writes “Pro Publica”.

“Medial provocateur” with “riot strategy”

“Again something learned” is a podcast for the curious: Will Deutsche Bank get its money back from Donald Trump? Why do some commercial pilots pay money for their job? Why are pirates moving from East to West Africa? Listen to it and get a little smarter 3 times a week.

You can find all episodes in the ntv app at Audio Now, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. “Learned again” is also with Amazon Music and Google Podcasts available. For all other podcast apps, you can use the RSS feed. Copy and paste the feed url and simply add “Again Learned” to your podcast subscriptions.

For Kamps expert this is only “superficial”, he says in the “something learned again” podcast. “The real strategy is the riot strategy. Bannon is a media provocateur. He knows that very well and sees that as his political strategy. And now it is necessary to bring these provocations, so to speak, into the electoral districts.” That is not the big one Stage, instead he wants to make a riot on many small stages. ”

Steve Bannon is making a riot at the grassroots level, stirring up the constituencies to strengthen the power of the Trumpists in the Republican Party as a whole. They have long made up the majority within the “Grand Old Party”, but there are also millions of Republicans who disagreed with Trump’s radical agenda and still haven’t.

Bannon wants to make this even more meaningless by strengthening his own bladder. That’s why you don’t hear any moderate tones in your podcast, no classifications, and certainly no other opinions. “There are no compromises and you pull that through in all your arguments. Everything the Democrats do is socialism. Everything Biden does is maybe even communism. It’s ‘far left’ and it’s radical. He’s suppressing the true American identity. Everything is very one-sided, “says Kamps, describing the communication strategy of Bannon and his followers.

Right Trump wing in the majority

Steve Bannon’s long-term goal has not yet been expressed by him or his people, but it is clear: Donald Trump should be in 2024 win the presidential election and return to the White House. In any case, there is nothing to suggest that someone else suddenly appears in the front row of the Republicans, analyzes Klaus Kamps.

The midterm elections, known as midterms, could provide a clue in a year’s time. If the Republicans are successful, that should strengthen the radicals in the party. Klaus Kamps estimates that “70 to 80 percent” of Republicans now belong to the right Trump wing. A good election result in the midterms should strengthen their course. “If the midterm elections go in the direction of Republicans, public communication will turn much more towards Trump. Of course, Republicans have learned that Trump as a person is an incredible magnet for media attention. And they will probably play this card fully from January 2023.” , predicts Kamps with one caveat: “These are speculations. We have to wait and see.”

If it were now for the presidential election, Trump could actually win the race. According to current survey from Emerson College 45 percent of voters would vote for Trump, 43 for Biden. When asked about the mid-term elections, 49 percent of voters – as of today – would vote for the Republican candidate, 42 percent would vote for the Democrats. Steve Bannon is working in the “War Room” to make these numbers a reality.

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