Steve Bannon guest Mike Davis warns against Trump getting authorization for war from Congress: “There are serious implications for civil liberties if that happens”
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From the February 28, 2026 edition of Real America Voice's War Room
STEVE BANNON (HOST): Mike Davis, explain to us — you made a comment that's difference between declaring war and making war. That's one of the reasons for the military use authorization. Explain to people what that is, how it came about, and how it looks like. It appears that that's what President Trump is going to use as his authorization to go do these strikes, particularly since he's had the secretary of state and his national security adviser because, remember, Rubio is the first guy since Kissinger doing both to go up to Capitol Hill and brief the gang of eight. That's not a random — that's not a random thing that happens, sir.
MIKE DAVIS (GUEST): Yeah. There's the difference under the Constitution between declaring war, which that power belongs to Congress under Article I versus making war, which belongs to the commander in chief under Article II.
There are serious legal ramifications if Congress declares war. That affects our civil liberties as Americans. The president has more authority over American citizens to fight a war than he does when there's not a declaration of war.
So I think people should be careful. These libertarians who are urging Congress to — urging the president to seek a declaration of war. There are serious implications for civil liberties if that happens. But regardless, our founders understood that there's a difference between the two. Under the — if you go back and look at the Federalist Papers, the president as the commander in chief under Article II has the inherent power to repel an invasion. He has the inherent power to stop an imminent attack.
And so if Iran, for example, we saw the supreme leader of Iran put out a video saying that he was going to sink American ships. Well, the president has the inherent power, the inherent duty actually as the commander in chief to make sure that the supreme leader of Iran does not sink American ships regardless of whether there is a declaration of war. And if you go back to 2001 after 09/11, Congress passed an authorization for the use of armed forces, the AU, excuse me, AUAF. And it was back in 2001.
I'll just read it to you, and it's very broad. It talks about this, that that the president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations, or persons.
And Congress specifically noted in this AUMF that this is consistent with giving an authorization under the War Powers Resolution. So, the president has very broad power to go after international terrorism, particularly these Islamists, like the Islamists who run Iran, who are who have been organizing and carrying out terrorist strikes against the United States for the last 47 years.