Steve Bannon is telling MAGA to give up on suburban women

Bannon is tied to Project 2025, the right's extreme presidential transition plan that would gut women's health care

Written by Jacina Hollins-Borges

Published

Steve Bannon, former Trump strategist and host of War Room, is telling his audience that Donald Trump should give up trying to win over suburban women in the upcoming presidential election. 

The former president is historically unpopular with this demographic, and Republicans have long worried that he needs to win them over for a successful run. 

While complaining that Trump’s upcoming criminal trial is designed to “destroy Trump in front of the American people and particularly women,” Bannon said he is “pretty adamant you shouldn't go out of your way to chase that vote.” 

From the April 1, 2024, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room

The next day Bannon ridiculed the idea that Trump has to “modify” his message to attract college-educated women voters, whom he called “all the Karens,” calling it “a waste of time and money” as “they think Trump personifies the patriarchy.” 

From the April 2, 2024, edition of Real America's Voice's War Room 

Bannon reiterated the point the day after, saying that trying to convince suburban women to vote for Trump is “a waste of resources.”

On April 4, Bannon tried to caveat his previous strategic advice after it received attention on social media. He said, “Don't chase the marginal Karen in a suburb that's got a college degree, just trying to kowtow to her to convince her to support our movement and support Trump when we have tens of millions of men that have punched out of the system because of the way immigration and all the society is stacked against them.” He went on to say if you get the support of these men, “you rule for 100 years.”

Last month, Bannon argued that Republicans must find a way to counter Taylor Swift fans rather than bring them into the fold, and suggested banning TikTok to achieve this objective.

A former White House adviser, Bannon has reemerged in Trumpworld as “one of Trump’s most important advisers” ahead of the 2024 election, according to reporting from ABC’s Jonathan Karl. His show War Room is the media home for Project 2025, a comprehensive staffing and policy plan for the next Republican administration. Project 2025 includes an extensive anti-choice agenda that takes aim at women’s health broadly, including calling for removing the term “abortion” from all federal laws and regulation, reversing abortion pill approval, punishing abortion providers by withdrawing federal health funding, and restricting clinics that provide contraception and STD testing. The Heritage Foundation, which is leading Project 2025, has released draconian new IVF policy recommendations that would limit access to the reproductive method.