It is not your typical man cave. Christian iconography. A bust of Julius Caesar. A painting of John Paul Jones, the revolutionary war naval officer. A book, The Russian Revolution by Richard Pipes, sitting on a crowded desk. A sign resting on the mantelpiece declares: “There are no conspiracies, but there are no coincidences.”
Welcome to the War Room, where the classical, contemporary and conspiratorial nourish Steve Bannon’s grand vision of himself as a historical figure. Each day he holds court in this basement on Capitol Hill to plot not only Donald Trump’s return to power but the next American revolution. Screens, microphones and other podcasting paraphernalia sit above piles of books and newspapers, namely the Financial Times and New York Times.
“I was a paper boy so I love papers,” explains Bannon, picking up his phone as he continues: “You can’t read it on here. It’s not the same. First off, one of the most important things is the editorial choices. Very important how they place it, how they do it.”
