Culture, Faith and Politics with Pat Kahnke

Robert Mueller died on March 20, 2026. Donald Trump's response on Truth Social: "Good. I'm glad he's dead." This is my response.

Mueller was a Bronze Star recipient, Purple Heart veteran, and the second longest-serving FBI Director in American history — a man who bled for this country in Vietnam and spent sixty years in public service under four presidents of both parties. Trump called him someone who "hurt innocent people." We need to talk about what that reveals. Not just politically — theologically. Because MAGA theology has a specific way of treating men of integrity: it destroys them. And what happened to the FBI after Mueller is the proof.

Was Trump's Iran war just? Pat Kahnke and Adam Swenson apply the five criteria of just war theory to the opening phase of the conflict — and the results are damning. From the bombing of a girls' school on Day One to Trump's personal vendetta against Khamenei, this conversation asks the question MAGA Christians won't: does this war pass any Christian moral standard?

If you're a Christian wrestling with MAGA theology, an evangelical asking hard questions about war and conscience, or simply someone who wants moral clarity on the Iran conflict — this conversation is for you.

After 20 years as an evangelical pastor and church planter, I've reached a conclusion I never thought I'd reach: I will never vote Republican again — and as a Christian, I believe I have no other choice. This isn't a political rant. It's a theological reckoning.

In this episode, I make the biblical case for why MAGA Christianity is incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Using Scripture, history, and observable evidence, I walk through why the Republican Party has become a haven for religious grifters — men like Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, and Paula White — who have traded the Gospel for political power and access to Donald Trump.

I also announce a new weekly series: The Bible vs. MAGA — a systematic, verse-by-verse refutation of Christian nationalism and the theology that props it up.

Senator Markwayne Mullin has built his political brand on toughness, Trump loyalty, and conspicuous Christian faith. But his Senate confirmation hearing revealed something more troubling: a man who glorifies violence and holds a view of justice that is, at best, sub-Christian. In this episode, I examine Mullin's confirmation hearing testimony, his documented history of glorifying physical confrontation, and a comparison to his predecessor Kristi Noem — the same pattern of evangelical branding paired with institutional brutality at ICE and Border Patrol. I also address the ongoing investigation into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — two individuals shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota — and the federal government's deliberate obstruction of Minnesota state officials from participating in that investigation. This is what MAGA theology looks like when it has a badge and a budget. Not just a political position — a theological permission structure for cruelty that dresses itself in the language of faith.

Imagine for a moment that the attack on Iran was necessary. Donald Trump has proven why you don't put an ignorant, impulsive narcissist in charge of the most powerful country in the world. Pat and Ken Napzok discuss three foolish, avoidable mistakes Trump has made that will have lasting consequences on America's safety and prosperity.

Pete Hegseth isn't just unqualified — he's a weak man in the most powerful military position in world history, and his theology is the reason why that's so dangerous. In this episode, I break down how Hegseth's Christian nationalist theology — rooted in Doug Wilson's framework of domination, power, and violence — has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus and everything to do with control. I examine the White House and Pentagon videos promoting the war in Iran as what they actually are: pornography of violence — content engineered to bypass rational thought, trigger a dopamine response, and manufacture consent for war among people who feel powerless.

Sean Feucht's ministry revenue jumped from $243,000 to $5 million in a single year — and whistleblowers say that's only part of the story. Pat Kahnke and Amy Hawk examine the public financial records, the F rating from Ministry Watch, and the allegations of spiritual abuse that MAGA's most prominent worship leader does not want his followers to see.

From tariffs to Iran, Donald Trump is often able to swing the markets with his decisions and his words, but at some point, the entire world will try to make the US less relevant to their lives. What will happen when Trump’s luck runs out? Join Pat and Producer Ken as they dive into this question.

When a church that claims to be persecuted gains political power, who does it persecute first? We examine how the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) — the prophetic wing of the Christian nationalist movement — is weaponizing spiritual language to justify real-world political violence: from Paula White summoning angels from Africa to maintain Trump's presidency, to NAR prophets declaring spiritual curses over Trump's opponents in the 2018 midterms — curses whose physical expression arrived on January 6th.