The Mark Thompson Show

President Trump is  laying down an indefinite ceasefire with Iran while he says negotiations continue- though Iran says they won’t negotiate under threat. 
Overnight, Iran fired on three Ships In Strait of Hormuz.  The fear is that it may complicate  efforts  to  get peace talks off the ground. 
We welcome presidential historian and political consultant John Rothmann to discuss it all.  
ABC-7 Weatherman Spencer Christian will stop by to talk health and recovery from a major surgery.

The Mark Thompson Show 
4/22/26
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We all saw the video of FBI Director Kash Patel boozing it up in the locker room with the U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team. It seems that behavior wasn’t a one-off. New reports in The Atlantic detail accusations by those in Patel’s inner circle that he drinks to excess, passes out and has been unreachable behind the locked doors of his office. Staffers say they even have trouble waking him up. Patel denies the reports and is threatening to sue the Atlantic over the story. If it is true, it brings great concern about security in America at a time when Trump has lashed out at countries around the world, including Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, Greenland and Canada and has put a spotlight, or target, on the U.S. It’s a very bad time to have an FBI director sloppy drunk and passed out at the helm. We welcome iHeart political analyst Gary Dietrich to the show to talk about this and more.

For a man who won the presidency seemingly based on the high cost of living. Including rising grocery store prices, Trump appears to have forgotten that, “It’s the Economy, Stupid!” With Americans growing more frustrated by the day about the price of gas, Trump brushed it off yesterday saying prices are "not very high.” He said, gas is “not as high as what was expected from the war” and higher prices are worth it to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon. By ignoring the economy in favor of war, is Trump pushing Americans away with the midterm elections coming up? We’ll discuss. From religion and the Pope to Iran and Hegseth’s impeachment charges being filed, we will cover the top stories of the week with Michael Shure and Mo Kelly. Then it’s off to swing by Suite 106 bakery to check out the new flavors on tap for Mother’s Day! We’ll roll through Florida for some Friday fabulousness. Finally, our Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder, will stop through to share his thoughts on the best movies and streaming options to watch. Happy Friday!

Five articles of impeachment are being brought by Democrats against Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth. They will likely go nowhere because Republicans control the house, but they sure make a statement. The first article accuses Hegseth of violating his oath of office in overseeing an “unauthorized war against Iran and reckless endangerment of United States service members.” Hegseth is accused of war crimes for targeting civilians, breaking the rules of armed conflict, and the alleged mishandling of sensitive information in the “Signal-Gate” scandal. He is accused of obstructing congressional oversight responsibilities, in his alleged withholding of details on military actions and of abuse of power for “launching bogus investigations against certain elected officials for the express purpose of retribution.” Despite the serious nature of the charges, a Pentagon spokesman says it’s “just another Democrat trying to make headlines. We welcome former federal prosecutor and now defense attorney David Katz to discuss this and more. Congressman Jared Huffman will stop by the show. He’s the ranking Democrat on the Committee on Natural Resources and serves on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. He has a lot to say about plans to drill for oil off the coast of California, stripping historical information from national parks and Donald Trump, Jr.’s rare earth start up. Plus, cupcakes! Christy from Suite106Bskery stops by to debut her new Mother’s Day flavors and OMG do they look delicious.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says there are no more Epstein Files to release. He tells Fox News that he doesn’t intend to release any more saying “We have released everything, We reviewed six million pieces of paper. What we released [was] anything associated with the Epstein files. So we are not sitting on a single piece of paper. Nothing that should be released.” It wouldn’t be the first time the DOJ gave the public the runaround. Last year, former AG Pam Bondi said the Epstein list was "sitting on my desk" for review.  She later said it was the case file not a client list. It took an act of Congress and intense pressure to get any files released. Have we truly seen all the Epstein files or is Blanche protecting Trump?
We’ll share the latest on Trump’s War in Iran and the results of his effort to blockade Iranian ports. Presidential historian and political analyst John Rothmann joins. 
Should Americans be ‘happy’ that Trump is deeply involved in the Department of Justice? We’ll ask former US pardon attorney Liz Oyer.
“It’s the Planet, Stupid!” brings our lovely 
eco-journalist Belinda Waymouth by to help save the world.
The Mark Thompson Show 
4/15/26
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: 
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Show sponsors:
coachellavalleycoffee.com  - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%
Suite 106 Bakery use code MarkT to save 15%
Here’s a special link:
https://suite106bakery.com/discount/MARKT

Vice President JD Vance is likely not too high on Trump’s list right now. He was sent to Hungary to give Victor Orban a pre-election day boost. It didn’t work and Orban lost. He was sent to hammer out a deal with Iran as Pakistan facilitated talks…that also failed. No deal and no dice. Sadly for Vance, his boss isn’t too understanding. On Easter, Trump was asked about a deal with Iran and joked,”If it doesn’t happen, I’m blaming JD Vance, If it does happen, I’m taking full credit.” We know Trump’s jokes come with a jumbo sized side of truth. That has to have Vance feeling uneasy. Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston will swing by the show to talk about this and more.

Headlines around the world called Trump’s verbal attack of Pope Leo extraordinary. While some may disagree with church policies, it’s hard to call out a man who consistently offers messages of peace and harmony. Trump called Pope Leo “weak and ‘terrible” and said the only reason he got the job is because of Trump himself. He called on the Pope to “stop catering to the Radical Left.” His blistering social media post was followed up with comments to reporters. Is it wise to take the leader of the Catholic Church to task in such a public way? Could this cost Trump more support as his poll numbers continue to plunge? Or is the world going to keep normalizing and ignoring Trump’s outbursts? Michael Shure is in for Mark Thompson. We welcome iHeart political analyst Gary Dietrich to examine the possible ramifications of Trump’s anti-Pope rant.

It's a mystery. Why did Melania Trump hold a solo press conference yesterday where she tried to distance herself from the late Jeffrey Epstein? Was she trying to get ahead of a story about to break, sending her husband a message maybe or is she really just tired of questionable stories and pictures tying her to the late pedophile? One thing her announcement did do...bring the Epstein story back into the spotlight. Political journalist Michael Shure joins the show. He'll discuss the peculiar timing of the First Lady's announcement and offer analysis of the latest with Trump's Iran War. In the second hour, prepare to be wowed by the uniqueness of Friday Fabulous Florida. The Culture Blaster, Michael Snyder, always starts the weekend off right with a look at the best movies.

Before Trump's Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz was considered an International Waterway and as such, there was no toll to pay to pass through it. Now, Iran wants to charge fees for ships ‌to pass. Whether that comes to fruition remains to be seen as international leaders are speaking out against the idea of a toll. Meanwhile, a fresh 2-week ceasefire between the US and Iran already appears fragile. Israeli airstrikes against Lebanon prompted Iranian state media to announce the strait was “fully closed” again on Wednesday and only four bulk carriers crossed the strait, no oil or gas tankers, Is the Strait of Hormuz closed? How will Donald Trump respond? We'll discuss it all. Former Federal Prosecutor David Katz will join us to talk about whether former AG Pam Bondi will be testifying before Congress about the Epstein Files, how Steve Bannon is poised to have his former conviction vacated and he will give us his thoughts on the case involving the US Government and AI company Anthropic.