Asia-Pacific

In Yomiuri Shimbun Interview, Bannon Says U.S. Should Intervene in Taiwan Contingency; Former Trump Adviser Supports Intervention to Protect Chip Production

Courtesy of Dan Fleuette
Steve Bannon, taken by Dan Fleuette

By Yuko Mukai / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

6:00 JST, July 30, 2025

WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to U.S. President Donald Trump in his first administration, believes that the U.S. military should intervene if China launches a military invasion of Taiwan.

“I think the United States ought to be upfront and adamant that any assault on Taiwan will be repelled,” Bannon, 71, told The Yomiuri Shimbun in a telephone interview on July 22.

Bannon wields immense influence over core supporters of Trump, known as MAGA. Although he does not hold a post in the second Trump administration, Bannon maintains close ties with Trump.

Bannon said MAGA is “not isolationist” and “not anti-war.”

“We’re non-interventionist in areas that are not … vital,” he said. Bannon argued that the United States should not get involved in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine or conflicts in the Middle East.

However, “Taiwan,” he said, is “totally different.” On top of its geopolitical importance, Taiwan has “the chip factories, and the ability to run an advanced industrial economy depends upon those factories.

“The defense of Taiwan, [and] the defense of our allies in South Korea and in Japan, are in the vital national security interests of the United States.”

When asked about Trump’s focus on maintaining good relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Bannon said: “He [Trump] doesn’t want any more warfare. He would love to come to some sort of agreement to make sure there could never be an invasion of Taiwan.”

Steve Bannon

Bannon served in the U.S. Navy before graduating from Harvard Business School and working at a major investment bank. He later became an executive at a conservative media outlet. He then served as an executive director of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in the final stages of the 2016 election. Since leaving the administration, Bannon has remained active in politics through his popular conservative program “Bannon’s War Room,” supporting Trump.