--- 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. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=15e6a607-b2ec-495b-a0e9-144c4834e3fc&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## 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.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] We can't all be ****. We can't all be asking for it. I am here to give you permission to be angry. This reality might not have to be our reality anymore. I felt this crushing sense of powerlessness. This is the time to take my power back. Here's my story. Uber promises. Investigation into sexual harrassment. Fox News cutting its ties with Bill O'Reilley. I felt it was my duty for the women who are silent to be brave. It's okay to stand up for yourself. Taylor Swift appearing in court today. Harvey Weinstein, the New York- People forget a lot that there's a human behind this. Someone who was very hurt and wronged. [ MUSIC ] [ CROSSTALK ] I always thought maybe things could change for my daughter. I never thought things could change for me. [ MUSIC ] Honestly, I was furious. I have had a man grope me in front of multiple collegues and I was tired of wondering if it was something I wore, I was tired of wondering if it was a vibe I was giving off and when I talked to other women they were furious too >> I felt that if I can speak out, may be if I just stand up then someone else would stand up with me >> There wasn't a place For us to report these experiences. But I sure did talk about it a lot over the years. The least I could do was actually tell my own story and validate theirs for them in a way, just as I was hoping someone much bigger than me would help validate my story. And I knew that other women Would continue to apple for jobs there and that made me feel really uncomfortable. I was afraid of the retaliation, I know the power of patriarchy. I know what men can do when their angry. They did everything that they could to prevent me from raising my concerns further. They asked me if there were other girls, maybe that he has done this too and can I go get them. I had to show them that I wasn't lying And it's like they took me for a joke. And if they couldn't stop us from talking, well, they were gonna stop everybody from listening to us. People digging into my Instagram and pulling up sexy photos as if they kind of discredited me. Well, I've seen you in committee. You're really tough. Why didn't you just hit him? Why did you let it go on for so long? I was a smart young woman that had gone to college, that knew how to fight, and I still was manipulated and conned. I felt ashamed that I hadn't spoken out sooner, not having the strength earlier on to make it stop. The feeling of being humiliated as a woman And there's a point you think is it my fault? For so long I went around harboring this ridiculous belief that because I was a non white woman in my 20s, it was expected that I would have to be treated this way. We don't have to just live like this. Few things could change from my daughter I never thought things could change from me. I'm here to give you permission to be angry, people are afraid specially women where conditioned since birth to be polite. To be nice, to be kind, to be liked to not make waves. ****. We can't all be crazy, we can't all be ****, we can't all be asking for it. And I'm telling you that all the people who stand up, all the people who speak out you are teaching people how to treat and you should not be shamed for that. The shame is not ours to hold, the shame is on perpetrator. Me Too can be a conversation starter or it can be the whole conversation. It took away the power from the predator. And placed the power on the victim. And maybe, just maybe we would be able to get a glimpse at the magnitude of this problem. The amount of people sharing the stories with me is so intense. People that were complete strangers reached out to tell very personal stories. It's What they did with this and they did a lot and not only in France in Hong kong japanese. The most months >> I feel like the day that I spoke up and I said you are a sexual harasser I changed >> some of the. Things in the night. [ FOREIGN ]. It's an honor to be the person that hey I spoke up about this. I took on the risk. And I was very humbled and I was very proud. I'm very glad now that the story has been heard. It's a direct response to that arrogance and that show of power and [ UNKNOWN ]. A sense, we won't be silenced. 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