It looks like Chicago will be the site of President Trump's immigration crackdown. Several reports say ICE is planning expanded operations as soon as next week, much like the ones recently carried out in Los Angeles. The White House is prepping contingency plans to send in the National Guard if any ICE protests get out of hand. Illinois Governor JD Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson both have both said the stepped up enforcement is not welcome in the city. We'll talk about it with journalists Michael Shure and Jim Avila as we wrap up This Week in Politics. A little peek at our wild Floridian brothers and sisters is in order during Friday Fabulous Florida. Culture Blaster Michael Snyder slides into the show to talk movies and streaming options for the long weekend ahead.

The White House fired CDC Director Susan Monarez after about a month on the job. The reason? Her attorney says it’s because Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and would not fire dedicated health experts. A White House spokesperson says it’s because she refused to resign and is “not aligned with the President's agenda of Making America Healthy Again.” After her firing yesterday, at least four other CDC officials turned in their resignations too, citing the political weaponizing of science and the spread of misinformation hurting public health, The shake up comes amid new strict CDC Covid vaccine regulations. We’ll check in with Emergency Medicine specialist, Dr. Michael Daignault, to see what impact the new CDC Covid vaccine recommendations and the upheaval at a key federal agency might have on public health. We are very excited to welcome author Sarah Kendzior back to The Mark Thompson Show. We’ve loved talking about her books so much that we invited her back to talk politics. Former Federal Prosecutor David Katz joins. We will ask him about Trump’s executive order banning U.S. flag burning and whether that’s going to withstand upcoming legal tests.

Trump is finding a handy enforcer in an unexpected place. Instead of focusing on the housing finance system, America’s top housing regulator is honing in on Trump’s political enemies. Bill Pulte is searching through property records looking for ways to accuse people (Senator Adam Schiff, NY AG Letitia James and Fed. Governor Lisa Cook) of mortgage fraud with the threat of a criminal investigation. How did Pulte’s new job as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and chair of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac end up morphing into this attack dog position? Presidential historian and political analyst John Rothmann is back! We’ll ask him about this and more. Trump is stopping key wind turbine projects at a time when spending on renewable energy is on the rise. We turn to eco-journalist Belinda Waymouth for “ It’s the Planet, Stupid!” to find out why.

The Mark Thompson Show 8/26/25 Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshow Maybe you’re more into PayPal. https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24 And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

The Mayor of Chicago says the city does not need an occupation by the military and an attempt by Trump to do so would be a flagrant violation of the Constitution. The Washington Post reports that Trump ‘s Pentagon has been planning a military deployment to Chicago for weeks. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says he has not requested federal help. If Trump is concerned about cleaning up a crime ridden Windy City, Chicago police data shows that overall crime has declined 15 percent since 2023 and incidents like shootings are all down compared to last year.
IHeart TV & radio political analyst Gary Dietrich will join us to discuss it all. 
We welcome Jasmine Burney-Clark to The Mark Thompson Show. She is a social justice activist and the founder of Equal Ground, a community centered civic engagement group. Jasmine will tell us about efforts to protect the vote. 
The Mark Thompson Show 
8/25/25
Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:
https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshow
Maybe you’re more into PayPal.  
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24
And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

It was supposed to be Trump joining troops and or police for a patrol last night, but that didn't happen. Instead, it was a but photo opportunity. Trump showed up with food to pass out and took pictures with officers. He also spoke to the officers and guardsmen saying: “We’re going to make it safe, and we’re going to then go on to other places, but we’re going to stay here for a while.” The use of the military in a civilian setting comes as DC officials say their crime rates have dropped and are no the emergency Trump claims as the need for intervention by the National Guard. Nathan Taylor with Election Truth Alliance will be on The Mark Thompson Show today looking at new developments in election abnormalities. This Week in Politics brings out Michael Shure by the show to talk about the week's headlines. Friday Fabulous Florida and the Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder, bring some fun and levity as we start the weekend.

All of a sudden, Latin American drug cartels are such a pressing problem that the U.S. must deploy military assets? Trump, who has been using the military a lot lately, is ordering 3 warships to go on patrol along the South American coast. Like the recent use of the U.S. Marines and National Guard in LA and the National Guard in DC, it smacks of bringing out the big guns to distract and divert attention from his ties to the Epstein scandal. It’s a double lawyer day on The Mark Thompson Show. Thursday brings former federal prosecutor, now defense attorney, David Katz to the show. Dimitri Lascaris will swing by to talk politics. He is an attorney, journalist and activist. We’ll ask him why he is motivated to create his popular Reason2Resist YouTube and Substack content.

Security clearances are being stripped from 37 current and former National Security officials. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard publicly named those affected in a press release saying they had politicized and manipulated intelligence, and in some cases leaked classified intelligence. Some of those who lost clearance credentials worked on the intelligence assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Is it just another stop on Trump‘s retribution tour? We’ll discuss. We welcome Anthony Davis, host of “5 Minute News” to talk politics. The conversation continues with former opinion editor for the San Francisco Chronicle John Diaz. A major doctor’s organization is opposing RFK Jr.’s childhood vaccine policies. We welcome Dr. Michael Daignault to explain. And finally… we’ll save the planet. It seems like a big job, but when you have eco-journalist Belinda Waymouth leading the way, it’s a walk in the park. “It’s the Planet, Stupid!” Returns.

First, there were Epstein files waiting to be reviewed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Then, Bondi said there were no files and no Epstein client list. Then, the clients were well known Democrats, according to Trump & Co. Now, there are Epstein files and they are being sent to Congress as part of House Oversight Committee chair James Comer’s ridiculous effort to keep the attention off the Trump-Epstein connection. 
The Justice Department will reportedly start to turn over Epstein-related materials this Friday. After the roller coaster ride of disinformation regarding the files, does anyone believe that Trump allies haven’t sanitized all related documents where Trump is concerned? 
We are so fortunate to have two Pulitzer Prize wnning athors and journalists the show. David Cay Johnston joins to talk politics. Michael Hiltzik with the LA Times will drop by to talk Russia, Ukraine and the economy. 
The Mark Thompson Show 
8/19/25
Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:
https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshow
Maybe you’re more into PayPal.  
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24
And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

It's another day with the war between Russia and Ukraine front and center as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the White House to meet with Trump.  He will be joined by other European leaders in a show of support.  Trump is already putting pressure on Zelensky to reach a peace deal, though after meeting with Vladimir Putin, of Russia, Trump is insisting Ukraine not be allowed to join NATO and that Russia keep the Crimean territory that it illegally took in 2014.  
iHeart television and radio political analyst Gary Dietrich will join to talk about the latest developments with war, redistricting and much more. 
The Mark Thompson Show 
8/18/25
Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:
https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshow
Maybe you’re more into PayPal.  
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24
And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.come