Trump Pushes Using American Cities as Military Training Grounds - David Cay Johnston Joins 9/30/25

It cost an awful lot of money to drag every single general and admiral to Quantico, Virginia for a glorified pep rally that probably would have been better as an email. Pete Hegseth opened with, “Welcome to the Department of War.” He talked about training and grooming standards and decried “fat generals.” Trump then took the stage and talked about how successful it’s been to have the National Guard in some American cities before going on another strange rambling rant. When Google, which owns YouTube, banned Donald Trump from its platform after the January 6th insurrection of 2021, it did so because Trump was fomenting the very violence he now accuses the left of. YouTube said Trump’s ban was “in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence.” Trump sued over the ban and now Google is settling. They will pay more than $24 million to a nonprofit set up to build the White House ballroom. The venue, which is set to be bigger than the footprint of the White House, will be opulent and dripping with gold touches and chandeliers. Meanwhile, Trump has cut Meals on Wheels programs for seniors who have trouble getting food, food stamps for the hungry and Medicaid services for the poor. It brings to mind French royalty’s complete out of touch failure to help those struggling, “Let them eat cake!” Trump had a major cognitive incident while talking to reporters. When asked if he would be attending a massive upcoming military meeting, he didn’t understand the question - despite it being clarified three times. Finally, Vice President JD Vance had to step in to answer. It made Trump look old and incompetent and begs the question …Is Trump even capable of being in charge? Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston will discuss. Mark shares a conversation with Paul Glastris, of the Washington Monthy. In addition to his work as a journalist, Glastris was President Bill Clinton's chief speechwriter from September 1998 to the end of his presidency. It’s Tech Tuesday! Jefferson Graham will swing by to wrap up the show. The Mark Thompson Show 9/30/25 Today's Guests Links Paul Glastris - Washington Monthly https://www.youtube.com/@washingtonmonthly9554 https://washingtonmonthly.com/ Prof. David Cay Johnston at RIT, Pulitzer Prize winning Author & Investigative Journalist https://bsky.app/profile/davidcayjohnston.bsky.social Jefferson Graham https://www.youtube.com/@PhotowalksTV

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