The Mark Thompson Show

Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers faced off in a heated debate over the Iran war, gas prices, health care and tariffs. The Michigan Senate candidates traded attacks over their political positions in a race that could help decide control of the Senate. Over at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wants the man who killed 13 people at the Fort Hood military base to be killed by a firing squad and wants it streamed and available to the public. This Week in Politics brings Mo Kelly and David Shuster to the show to weigh in on the current events making the biggest impact. We will lighten it up as we head into the weekend with a swing by Florida and a look at movies, courtesy of The Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder.

Trump returns to Texas to rally behind Ken Paxton, whose Senate race is tighter than Republicans expected. With Paxton privately voicing concerns about Trump’s impact on the campaign, the visit could test whether the president can energize voters or deepen the party’s political tension. The rally yesterday in Texas was chaotic and full of protests causing Trump to step away from the podium at one point. Guests today include: Our friend and former federal prosecutor David Katz. He is a legal commentator with the uncanny ability to predict legal outcomes. Marcia Chatelain is the Penn Presidential Compact Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2021, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History for her book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America. She shares details of her new book: How Bright the Path Grows: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the March on Washington (Pantheon Books; September 29, 2026). Robert Pape returns for another great conversation. Pape is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. One of the world's leading scholars of political violence, he is best known for groundbreaking research on suicide terrorism, coercion, and the rise of political violence in democracies. His new book is called : Our Own Worst Enemies: America in the Age of Violent Populism (The New Press; September 22, 2026) The Mark Thompson Show 10-8-26 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 Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page. Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/ Show sponsors: coachellavalleycoffee.com - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%

Trump says U.S. poverty is at an historic low—but that doesn’t mean life feels affordable. From rent and groceries to health care and childcare, many Americans still struggle to cover the basics. We look at the gap between poverty statistics and the cost of living ahead of the midterms. Guest today include: John Rothmann. He is a presidential historian and host of the podcast ‘Around the Political World with John Rothmann.’ Allan Lichtman is an historian, author and long-time civil rights advocate. He has testified in more than 110 civil rights and voting rights cases across the US. In his upcoming book, Great American Presidents: The Twelve Who Transformed the Nation, Lichtman introduces his innovative non-partisan framework for gauging presidential performance. He considers Trump the worst president in history for many reasons, including his blatant attacks on civil rights. Jared Yates Sexton is a political analyst and author. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Politico, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. He is the co-host of The Muckrake Podcast and his writings can be found at Dispatches From a Collapsing State and at: https://www.jysexton.com/books Substack - https://jaredyatessexton.substack.com/ Eco- journalist Belinda Waymouth joins for It’s the Planet, Stupid! She’ll discuss the damage oil companies leave in their wake and some better news about work to monitor oceans. The Mark Thompson Show 10/7/26 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 Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page. Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/ Show sponsors: coachellavalleycoffee.com - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%

Jaw dropping behavior by Trump at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska yesterday. He brought aide Natalie Harp (nicknamed the “Human Printer”) on stage to hand him an executive order allowing tax-free purchases of red-dyed diesel. He signed it, tossed his pen into the crowd, then compared Harp’s entrance to perfect people on The Price Is Right, joking that they should take the whole thing on television. Perhaps even more shocking…Trump suggested Iran could “take out” Los Angeles or San Diego, indicating he wouldn’t mind losing those American cities. California Governor Gavin Newsom responded by call ing Trump “deranged and dangerous” saying a president’s role is to protect the country, not threaten American cities or encourage attacks on their residents. Guests today include the incredible David Cay Johnston. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and a best selling author. Find David online at dcreport.org and on Substack at https://substack.com/@davidcayjohnston Legal scholar David F. Walbert will drop by to discuss his new book: Stealing Elections, American Style. It’s the right book at the right time. You can find the book here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/stealing-elections-american-style-9798216391999/ The Mark Thompson Show 10/6/26 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 Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page. Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/ Show sponsors: coachellavalleycoffee.com - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%

With just four weeks until Election Day, Republicans are in a bad spot trying to defend states Trump won by huge margins just two years ago. The polling shows Democrats leading in races that should be safe GOP strongholds. Latino voter shifts are catching Republicans offguard. GOP messaging on the economy is not landing with voters. Add to this, high gas prices are becoming a major liability, and voters can see panic in Trump's desperate cash-giveaway pitch. It all points to disaster come November 2nd. Guests today include: Sarah Kendzior. She is a best selling author, scholar and journalist. Find Sarah online at: sarahkendzior.com https://substack.com/@sarahkendzior David Shuster is an Emmy award winning broadcast journalist best known for his work at NBC News and MSNBC and his ongoing YouTube videos on "Rebel HQ." Find David at: https://substack.com/@davidshuster

For an American president who supposedly hates communists so much that he is spending money to advertise against the dangers of such ideology, he sure seems to like pictures of himself with communist leaders. MS NOW’s Jacqueline Alemany is sharing images from the Palm Room at the White House showing gold framed photos of Trump with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin prominently displayed beside a doorway. America’s adversaries, lovingly clad in big ornate golden frames hanging in the White House. So which is it? Does Trump want communist authoritarian leaders in a place of honor or on America’s list of enemies? A picture is worth a thousand words. We welcome Michael Shure and Mo Kelly for This Week in Politics. This lively, engaging discussion on the top stories of the week is one not to miss. Friday shenanigans get underway with Friday Fabulous Florida and The Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder

Elon Musk is back in government. The SpaceX CEO has been tapped to co-lead Project Meridian, a new Department of Defense initiative studying the future of warfare. He's joined by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Palmer Luckey of defense tech company Anduril. The project runs 120 days and will deliver a public report with their recommendations on achieving "absolute technological dominance on the next-generation battlefield." Mark has a very interesting conversation with Marcia Chatelain. She is the Penn Presidential Compact Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for History for her book Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America. Now, she has a new book called How Bright the Path Grows: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the March on Washington . From the federal government wanting to collect state voter rolls to deporting immigrants to third-party countries, there’s a lot to talk about on the legal front. We welcome former federal prosecutor, and now defense attorney, David Katz to the show.

Bernie Sanders is ramping up his midterm efforts with a major cash injection into races he cares about. After raising $2.8 million for his preferred candidates this cycle, Sanders is now putting hundreds of thousands of dollars directly toward key campaigns, including Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota's Senate race, Angie Nixon in Florida, and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's reelection bid. These are his first general election donations from his campaign account, marking a significant escalation in his midterm push. Beyond the money, Sanders is also spending to hire full-time organizers in Michigan, Minnesota, and Florida, while planning get-out-the-vote text campaigns for candidates he's endorsed. In this clip, Guest today include: John Rothmann. Presidential Historian, author & host of the podcast Around the Political World With John Rothmann. Jared Yates Sexton is a political analyst and author. He is the co-host of The Muckrake Podcast and his writings can be found at Dispatches From a Collapsing State. https://www.jysexton.com/books Substack - https://jaredyatessexton.substack.com/ Robert A. Pape is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago and director of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats. One of the world's leading scholars of political violence, he is best known for groundbreaking research on suicide terrorism, coercion, and the rise of political violence in democracies. His new book is called: Our Own Worst Enemies. Find more on Substack at: https://substack.com/@professorrobertpape Find the book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Own-Worst-Enemies-Populism/dp/1620979586/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5CP7FSHQ20N5&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.w-d4izGrZU7Ga0vjxLUYjecV3WDdsao9WqwQWKcxJiKjJ3OOcLvE-L3N0_Emk7YPG_Ex6Pt4IlypBR4vjYheWrBFtdSBm3ntbWyVOgcD7Itd_P7ouzKFp9OfFUyc5jmwZWjeteIbRUeH6b7D0RWvlg.B_1l6vD7-gzz1OPWQwzoDK43UnBkVU32sBFFHNi4pxE&dib_tag=se&keywords=our+own+worst+enemy+robert+pape&qid=1790778815&sprefix=our+own+wor%2Caps%2C166&sr=8-1 The Mark Thompson Show 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 Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page. Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/ Show sponsors: coachellavalleycoffee.com - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%

President Trump just signed off on sweeping import restrictions on Canadian goods, and they're taking effect tonight at midnight ET (September 29, 2026). From whiskey to the whey protein in your favorite supplement to motorcycles,we’ll look at what Canada's saying about retaliation, how Trump’s trade war will raise prices for Americans yet again and why trade talks between the U.S. and Canada are stalling out. We turn to Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston to dig deeper. Find more of David’s writing on his Substack: https://substack.com/@davidcayjohnston Mark sits down with Charles Derber, eminent sociologist and prolific author. Derber says America was wired for authoritarianism long before the emergence of Trump. We dislcuss his latest book ‘Wired for Authoritarianism: American Oligarchies and How to Re-Wire America for the People.’ Find the book at: https://www.routledge.com/Wired-for-Authoritarianism-American-Oligarchies-and-How-to-Re-Wire-America-for-the-People/Derber/p/book/9781041267553 The Mark Thompson Show 9/29/26 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 Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page. Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/ Show sponsors: coachellavalleycoffee.com - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%

A strange Trump ad caught football fans by surprise. The taxpayer-funded advertisement aired during NFL games this past Sunday, appearing in commercial breaks of the Seahawks versus Commanders and Browns versus Panthers matchups. The spot shows Trump walking through a hallway declaring "this is the final battle" while his voiceover states he'll "cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists" and "liberate America from these villains once and for all." The ad drew criticism from both Democrats and Republicans for using federal funds for what many argue is political campaigning. We welcome guests: Sarah Kendzior. She is a best-selling author, scholar and journalist. Find Sara at both: https://substack.com/@sarahkendzior Sarahkendzior.com David Shuster is an Emmy award winning broadcast journalist best known for his work at NBC News and MSNBC and his ongoing YouTube videos on "Rebel HQ." Find David a: https://substack.com/@davidshuster The Mark Thompson Show 9/28/26 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 Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page. Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/ Show sponsors: coachellavalleycoffee.com - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%