The Mark Thompson Show

The struggle for control of California’s National Guard is playing out in the courts. Yesterday, a federal judge ruled the Trump administration illegally federalized California’s National Guardsmen and women and ordered command returned to Governor Gavin Newsom by noon today. The Trump administration filed an appeal and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court temporarily blocked that order. Trump retains control of California’s troops until at least Tuesday, June 17th, when the appeals court will hold a hearing on the matter. We are fortunate to have former federal prosecutor David Katz help us understand the courts decision with an eye toward how this may all play out. This Week in Politics brings journalist Michael Shure to the show to discuss the stories with the biggest impact. It’s not all so serious though…add in Friday Fabulous Florida and The Culture Blaster Michael Snyder with reviews of offerings both streaming and in theaters and you’ve got a great weekend send off!

From terrorists to deportees, Guantanamo Bay is being transformed into a facility to hold a large number of migrants forced out of America. The Trump administration is preparing to hold as many as 9000 undocumented immigrants at Gitmo as it is running out of space inside the U.S. Mass arrests are underway in Los Angeles, as a curfew goes into place in an attempt to keep people from protesting in the downtown area. The California National Guard is reportedly protecting ICE agents as a battalion of US Marines remains on standby. We’ll talk about it all with political analyst and presidential historian Jon Rothmann.

A full U.S. Marine battalion, comprised of more than 700 Marines, is now mobilized to respond to the deportation protests in Los Angeles. Though Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have both called for Trump not to use the California National Guard, some of 4000 guardsmen have also been activated. In order for members of the military to make arrests, Trump would need to invoke the Insurrection Act. So far, the military members may be an intimidating show of force against protesters, but they cannot take on law-enforcement duties. Why is Trump crossing this line? We will ask Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist and the author David Cay Johnston.Author Kyra Davis Lurie will stop by. She is a New York Times best selling author and screenwriter. Her new book, The Great Man, released today, is her first historical fiction novel. In this retelling of The Great Gatsby, the story is set among L.A.’s black elite. It’s Tech Tuesday and our Jefferson Graham has some thoughts about newly released features coming to the next iPhones.The Mark Thompson Show 6/10/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com 

A battle between federal and state rights is bubbling to the surface with Trump’s latest move to escalate immigration raids in California. After ICE agents rounded up more that 40 people in the LA area Friday, protesters took to the streets. The response from Trump? Call out more than 2k members of the California National Guard over the objections over both LA Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom. In doing so, Trump federalized California’s National Guard using Title 10 rules which allow a president to “repel invasion, suppress rebellion or execute laws.”Is it dangerous that the California National Guard now reports to Trump instead of Newsom? We’ll talk about it with iHeart TV and radio political analyst Gary Dietrich.The Mark Thompson Show 6/9/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

The Musk/Trump bromance imploded spectacularly yesterday. What started with Musk criticizing Trump‘s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill”devolved into Trump threatening to pull Musk’s government contracts and Musk claiming Trump would not have won the election without him and making allegations that Trump is listed in the Epstein files and that’s why they haven’t been released. Musk called for Trump‘s impeachment! The public breakup played out in comments made in the Oval Office during a press conference with the leader of Germany, on Trump’s Truth Social and on Musk’s X. We will ask journalist Michael Shure about this ugly public feud and more with “This Week in Politics.” There are some changes when it comes to recommendations on who should get Covid vaccines and boosters. We’ll check in with our doctor, Emergency Medicine specialist, Dr. Michael Daignault. Friday Fabulous Florida is upon us once again and it does not disappoint Culture Blaster Michael Snyder will join us to talk movies and streaming as summer break begins.

Trump is still stuck on exacting revenge against his rivals. He’s ordering an investigation into whether former President Joe Biden’s aides hid information about his alleged declining mental state and whether staffers were making decisions and using an auto-pen to sign Biden’s name. We’ve got two lawyers joining us today. June Carbone is the Robina chair of law, science, and technology at the University of Minnesota Law School. She wrote the recently released “Fair Shake:Women and the Fight to Build a Just Economy.” Former federal prosecutor, and now defense attorney, David Katz weighs in on legal rulings, legal questions and always has an interesting take on angles where the law intersects with politics.

Elon Musk may have checked out of D.C., but DOGE is far from done. The Trump administration wants to increase funding and staffing for the Department of Government Efficiency. Hidden in the appendix of budget documents released last week, new details about increasing DOGE staff from the current 89 to 150 next year. DOGE would also get more money, $45 million next year with another $10 million for software upgrades. Apparently, it’s expensive to save money in America We are lucky enough to get to visit with presidential historian and political analyst John Rothmann.

Trump is working GOP Senators hard with phone calls and promises in order to get support for his so called Big Beautiful Bill. Though it narrowly passed in the House, moderates and far right-conservatives in the Senate are a big question mark. Republicans are already seeing some pushback after Elon Musk expressed disappointment in the debt this bill will bring. We’ll talk about all of it with Pulitzer Prize winning author and investigative journalist David Cay Johnston. A new take on an old mystery from the days of the Civil War. Author Andrew Sillen discusses his book “Kidnapped at Sea.” Tech Tuesday brings Jefferson Graham to the show with a preview of Apple’s developer conference next week.The Mark Thompson Show 6/3/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com

An intel file on every single American. That’s what Trump wants to create. It would include all of the information the government has on its citizens, including tax and financial information, immigration information, social media details about your life and more. This kind of invasive government file would certainly make it easier for Trump to figure out who is on his side and it might just frighten people into staying quiet. Welcome to the United States of China.We welcome, iHeartRadio, television and radio political analyst Gary Dietrich to the show to talk politics.If you’ve lost a pet, you know the grief can be overwhelming. Talking to most people about it might make you feel silly. We’ll talk to you Beth Bigler about the reality of animal loss.Karen Dawn, of Dawn Watch, will join us to continue our discussion about animals.The Mark Thompson Show 6/2/25Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you’d like to help, here’s our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you’re more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you’ll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.com