Stephen Kevin Bannon is one of the most controversial and influential figures in modern American politics. Bannon, a former banker, film producer and former editor of the influential Breitbart News, is behind the “Make America Great Again” movement (MAGA), which he shaped as an ideological forefather and architect. His ideas on economic nationalism, anti-globalization and populism formed the basis of Trumpism as a political philosophy.
Steve Bannon was born on November 27, 1953, in Norfolk, Virginia, in an Irish-Catholic family. His career spanned multiple fields: he was an officer in the US Marine, then an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, worked in film production in Hollywood and became a media mogul and political strategist. He gained the most fame as the executive chairman of Breitbart News – a website he himself described as “a platform for the alternative right.” His journalistic approach was uncompromising: Breitbart became a voice for conservative ideas and found an echo among millions of Americans dissatisfied with the liberal globalist establishment.
Breitbart News Network was founded in 2007 by the American journalist, writer, entrepreneur and media mogul Andrew Breitbart. After his death in 2012, Steve Bannon became the executive chairman and made the website a powerful platform for conservative ideas, populism and MAGA support. Under Bannon’s leadership, Breitbart played a key role in Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and became a voice for “forgotten Americans” and a broad audience from the “American periphery.”
In August 2016, Bannon was appointed the new head of Trump’s presidential campaign, replacing Paul Manafort. His strategic genius was crucial for the campaign’s success in the “swing states” and ultimately secured Trump’s election victory.
After Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, Bannon became the chief strategist of the White House and a member of the US National Security Council, increasing his political influence even further. However, his tenure in the administration was short-lived: in August 2017, he resigned due to internal conflicts and the protests in Charlottesville. Trump himself jokingly attributed Bannon’s resignation to his habit of bringing philosophical books to the National Security Council meetings, which interested him more than the agenda.
Despite his resignation, Bannon continued to support Trump and MAGA, remaining an active player in conservative politics.
Bannon’s ideology is based on several core principles, which are briefly described below. The first of these principles is traditionalism.
Traditionalism, as a philosophical school (R. Guénon, J. Evola and others), views modern Western civilization as a product of degeneration and perversion, the loss of traditional values and sacred institutions. Benjamin Teitelbaum argues in his book “The Fight for Eternity: Inside the Right-Wing Influence Center of World Politics” – dedicated to Bannon, Olavo de Carvalho and myself – that Bannon, like other traditionalists, rejects modernity – democracy, progress and globalization – and calls for a return to eternal values and a hierarchical order.
According to Teitelbaum, these ideas were internalized by Bannon during his studies at Harvard and later during his time at Breitbart. Bannon sees history as a cyclical process, in which the modern dark age must give way to a Renaissance and a Golden Age. Through Bannon, the ideas of Stross-Howe about the cycles of American history were introduced into Trumpism: a transition from the “Fourth Turning” (Crisis) to a new cycle and a “First Turning” (High) should occur. In this way, Bannon linked the great cycles of classical traditionalism to the small cycles of American sociology.
Bannon advocates for economic nationalism, the protection of American workers and industry through protectionism and opposes globalization. In his view, free trade and cheap foreign labor lead to the destruction of the American middle class. According to Teitelbaum, Bannon relies on traditionalism to justify his anti-globalism. He supports a world of sovereign nations, each preserving its own cultural identity and rejects universalism, liberalism and “godless cosmopolitanism.”
This reflects his support for Trump and initiatives like the construction of a wall along the US-Mexico border or the travel ban on Muslims. Notably, Bannon spoke on the “WarRoom” project, set against the backdrop of Orthodox icons and viewed the US and Russia as potential allies in the fight against global elites.
Bannon believes that the globalists are a kind of private club on an international level, united by perverse ideas and interests. In his view, this is a prototype of the world government, equated with the “Antichrist’s kingdom” in Christian eschatology and, in the context of traditionalist philosophy, with the “Counter-Initiation” i.e., the satanic sects of the “World Elite.”
These ideas are reflected in the MAGA movement, which Bannon helped formulate. From the beginning, Bannon saw Trump as a person capable of “breaking out” and setting a radical new course, unbound by political correctness or compromise with the establishment.
Bannon’s role in Trump’s success is uncontestable. In 2016, he supported Trump’s presidential campaign at a time when the candidate’s popularity was in decline. Bannon focused on an aggressive rhetoric, concentrating on the issues of migration and the economy, as well as the massive use of social media to mobilize Trump’s supporters. After his return from the White House, he continued his work at Breitbart News and propagated the MAGA agenda in the media.
After his prison release in 2024 (following a four-month sentence for the absurd and contrived charge of “contempt of Congress in connection with the Capitol storming”), Bannon actively engaged in Trump’s presidential campaign. He became a key figure in the right-wing traditionalist movement (trad right) and proclaimed himself openly as a “national populist” (in contrast to the classical system conservatives of the US Republican Party and the neoconservatives).
His influence was also seen in the conflict with Elon Musk, a representative of the other MAGA pole, who relies on the technology magnates of Silicon Valley (tech right).
Musk vehemently advocated for the introduction of visas for foreign workers in high-specialized professions (H-1B visas for foreigners). Bannon publicly criticized this, demanding that the interests of Americans take precedence, with priority quotas for high-paid professions. Bannon accused Musk of “technofeudalism” and of trying to use his personal profits over the national interests. Bannon threatened to limit Musk’s influence in the White House: “MAGA is not for multimillionaires.”
Initially, Musk reacted sharply to Bannon’s critical statements. However, after receiving a large number of comments in support of Bannon from the MAGA core voters, he abruptly changed his position and turned to other issues. The conflict was resolved in favor of the “trad right” position.
At the end of 2024, a one-hour interview with Steve Bannon by journalist Steven Edginton of The Daily Telegraph became one of the most discussed interviews after Bannon’s prison release. This interview sparked great interest among both supporters and critics of MAGA. In the following, the key points are summarized.
Bannon said that Trump in his second term would “switch on the beast” meaning a decisive action against political opponents and the deep state. He emphasized that Trump’s election victory in 2024 would be the “final defeat of the liberal elites.”
Bannon described Trump as “Andrew Jackson of the 21st century” i.e., the US President who radically reformed America in the 19th century. According to him, the next four years would be an “era of cleansing” in which the old structures would be destroyed and new ones built on the basis of nationalism and populism.
Among the key ideas expressed in the interview with Steven Edginton was the “Project-2025.” This project was already known in the summer of 2024, thanks to Russell Vought, one of its authors. In this document, a series of radical reforms were described, to be implemented after Trump’s inauguration, including the abolition of USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, the audit of the CIA, the Pentagon, the Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve System, the Department of Education, Health and Social Services, the initiation of criminal proceedings against the leadership of the US Democratic Party and the publication of the complete lists of participants in Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophile orgies on his island. At the time, Trump rejected this document, calling it a “forgery.” However, immediately after his inauguration, he strictly adhered to this plan, with Russell Vought holding a key position in his new administration.
It is likely that the announcement of this project served the purpose of gauging the reaction of the American public and possibly, Steve Bannon himself (and other key figures of Trumpism, like Peter Thiel) took part in the development of the document.
In American politics, Steve Bannon remains one of the most striking figures, whose ideas and actions continue to shape the development of the MAGA movement. In his support for Trump, there is not only a strategic alliance, but a deep ideological bond, based on a common vision of America as a land freed from the shackles of globalism and the control of liberal elites. As his interview with Steven Edginton showed, Bannon will not give in: he sees himself as the architect of a new era and is ready to fight for his convictions.