--- title: Steve Bannon: Time's Up and Right-Wing Populism Will Clash description: Former White House strategist Steve Bannon thinks the Time's Up movement will clash with right-wing populism, starting with the midterms. canonical: https://time.com/5185798/steve-bannon-says-times-up-and-right-wing-populism-are-on-a-collision-course/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-06T22:25:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:49:47.723Z article:section: Politics og:title: Steve Bannon: The Time's Up Movement Will Clash With Right-Wing Populists og:description: "We’re going to see who wins and who loses" og:url: https://time.com/5185798/steve-bannon-says-times-up-and-right-wing-populism-are-on-a-collision-course/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9619a58ae35c1fca/6988f704e76ad2202c63080a/gettyimages-892144966.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1920 og:image:height: 1080 og:image:alt: Senate candidate Roy Moore og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Steve Bannon: The Time's Up Movement Will Clash With Right-Wing Populists twitter:description: "We’re going to see who wins and who loses" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9619a58ae35c1fca/6988f704e76ad2202c63080a/gettyimages-892144966.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Steve Bannon Says Time's Up and Right-Wing Populism Are on a Collision Course > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=bc21ecb9-76dc-4761-a4b3-844b0af65c84&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=bc21ecb9-76dc-4761-a4b3-844b0af65c84&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=bc21ecb9-76dc-4761-a4b3-844b0af65c84&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jbtW5SvJ.m3u8) (5:02)  _Published 2017-12-06. For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing all of us to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year._ by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/) and [Simon Shuster / Zurich](https://time.com/author/simon-shuster/) Mar 6, 2018 10:25 PM UTC  Former White House strategist Steve Bannon speaks at a campaign event for Senate candidate Senate candidate Roy Moore in Midland City, Alabama on Dec. 11, 2017. Former White House strategist Steve Bannon speaks at a campaign event for Senate candidate Senate candidate Roy Moore in Midland City, Alabama on Dec. 11, 2017.Jabin Botsford—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/) and [Simon Shuster / Zurich](https://time.com/author/simon-shuster/) Mar 6, 2018 10:25 PM UTC Former White House strategist [Steve Bannon](http://time.com/4907060/steve-bannon-donald-trump-timeline/) thinks the [Time’s Up movement](http://time.com/5049635/person-of-the-year-cover-groups-history/) is destined to clash with a right-wing populist insurgency, starting with the midterm elections this fall. In a speech Tuesday an event hosted by the Swiss magazine _Die Weltwoche_ in Zurich, the former Breitbart News executive chairman and Donald Trump adviser argued that a movement to fight sexual harassment and misconduct will eventually find itself fighting directly with the conservative populism he’s long espoused. “You’re starting to see an empowered, grassroots on the left,” he said. “It is a movement that, I think, focuses on the power dynamics in society and asks deep and searching questions, questions that are going to have to be answered.” “Time will tell, but I will tell you that in every country, starting with the United States, and starting in the midterm elections of 2018, these two forces are going to collide, and we’re going to see who wins and who loses,” he added. Bannon has [often argued that various political movements](http://time.com/4659390/howe-strauss-steve-bannon/), including Islamic fundamentalism and right-wing populism, were historic forces fated to clash climactically, and he’s previously criticized the Time’s Up movement as well. After former talk-show host Oprah Winfrey [delivered a powerful speech](http://time.com/money/5092809/oprah-winfrey-net-worth-billionaire/) at the Golden Globes in January, Bannon [argued](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-13/in-exile-bannon-sounds-the-metoo-alarm) that Time’s Up was “even more powerful than populism” and called it “anti-patriarchy.” In his speech Tuesday, which was given to a sold-out crowd of 1,500 people according to organizers, he argued that Time’s Up would be revolutionary. The nationalist movement that Bannon has championed is akin to the American Revolution, he said, because it pits an “imperial power” against the “colonial people.” By contrast, he said, the Time’s Up movement was similar to the French Revolution, which he categorized as “a complete turning upside down of society and the structure of society.” The speech came [just two months](http://time.com/5086254/trump-steve-bannon-book/) after a spectacular downfall for a figure who had once appeared on the cusp of establishing a movement that threatened to upend the mainstream Republican party. Bannon, who served as CEO of Trump’s campaign during its last few months, chairman of Breitbart News, and chief White House strategist, had already become a target of the Republican leadership after he staunchly backed controversial Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, even after sexual misconduct allegations were made against him during his campaign for office last year. But he then found himself pushed even further to the fringe of conservative politics after Trump publicly broke with him following the publication of _Fire and Fury,_ a salacious book on the inner workings of the West Wing. In that book, Bannon was quoted as questioning Trump’s ability to follow complex topics, and criticized [an infamous Trump Tower meeting](http://time.com/4855690/donald-trump-jr-emails-russian-lawyer/) with a Russian attorney as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic,” speculating that Donald Trump Jr. had set up the meeting, which he called treasonous. Rebekah Mercer, who was Bannon’s biggest financial backer and owns a stake in Breitbart News, followed suit, and Bannon soon [stepped down](http://time.com/5096035/steve-bannon-breitbart-news-out/) as chairman of Breitbart. During his speech to a packed hall in Zurich, however, Bannon tread carefully around his public falling out with Trump and Mercer, as well as his resignation from Breitbart News, choosing instead to heap praise on the U.S. president throughout his hour-long appearance. When the moderator of the event, _Die Weltwoche_ editor Roger Köppel, asked Bannon whether he was even on speaking terms with the U.S. President, he replied: “I’m on listening terms.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5185798/steve-bannon-says-times-up-and-right-wing-populism-are-on-a-collision-course/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5185798/steve-bannon-says-times-up-and-right-wing-populism-are-on-a-collision-course/"},"headline":"Steve Bannon Says Time's Up and Right-Wing Populism Are on a Collision Course","datePublished":"2018-03-06T22:25:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:49:47.723Z","description":"\"We’re going to see who wins and who loses\"","url":"https://time.com/5185798/steve-bannon-says-times-up-and-right-wing-populism-are-on-a-collision-course/","keywords":["europe","onetime","steve bannon"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9619a58ae35c1fca/6988f704e76ad2202c63080a/gettyimages-892144966.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Simon Shuster / Zurich"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9619a58ae35c1fca/6988f704e76ad2202c63080a/gettyimages-892144966.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate candidate Roy Moore","caption":"Senate candidate Roy Moore","creditText":"Jabin Botsford—The Washington Post/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/europe/","name":"europe"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5185798/steve-bannon-says-times-up-and-right-wing-populism-are-on-a-collision-course/","name":"Steve Bannon Says Time's Up and Right-Wing Populism Are on a Collision Course"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers","description":"For giving voice to open secrets, for moving whisper networks onto social networks, for pushing all of us to stop accepting the unacceptable, the Silence Breakers are the 2017 Person of the Year.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jbtW5SvJ/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-12-06T12:11:05.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jbtW5SvJ.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5185798/steve-bannon-says-times-up-and-right-wing-populism-are-on-a-collision-course/","duration":"PT5M2S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5185798/steve-bannon-says-times-up-and-right-wing-populism-are-on-a-collision-course/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```