The Kinzinger Report

Begging for Mercy | Vance's Desperate Closing Message for the Midterms — September 17, 2026

JD Vance gives the Republican closing message for the 2026 midterms, and it amounts to begging voters for another chance. Adam breaks down why the White House can't ask for forgiveness while insisting nothing is wrong. Plus, Republican candidates like Maria Salazar run away from Trump, the Federal Reserve raises interest rates over Trump's objections, House Republicans fight behind closed doors over the gas tax, and Mike Johnson sends the House home to dodge a vote on impeaching Pete Hegseth. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

The Revolt Begins | Republicans Start Breaking With Trump Over the Iran War — September 16, 2026

The Pentagon's inspector general and the Congressional Budget Office just revealed the true cost of the Iran war: dozens of aircraft destroyed, bases hammered by missile strikes, and $38 billion spent. Now Republicans are breaking ranks. Thomas Massie filed articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and seven Republicans voted with Democrats to end the war. Adam also covers a new report on DOGE paying 150,000 federal workers to stay home, Trump shutting down the Kennedy Center, Kash Patel's brutal Senate hearing, and Trump's Truth Social attack on his own Supreme Court justices. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

The Final Blow | The Supreme Court Ends the War on Mail-In Ballots — September 15, 2026

The Supreme Court rejects the Trump administration's attempt to rewrite mail-in voting rules weeks before the midterms, and a whistleblower report reveals a new scheme: federal immigration officers pulled off their jobs to hunt for noncitizens on state voter rolls. Plus, Trump calls AI safety warnings a hoax as industry leaders beg for regulation, Iran-backed Houthis seize a second oil chokepoint at Bab-el-Mandeb, oil hits 109 dollars a barrel with diesel above 6 dollars a gallon, and a federal judge rules Trump's FEMA cuts illegal heading into peak hurricane season. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Brought to You by Russia | Putin's Inner Circle Paid for Don Jr.'s Wedding — September 14, 2026

A ProPublica investigation reveals Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas wedding was bankrolled by Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch in Vladimir Putin's inner circle who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the private island and fireworks. Adam reports from his trip to Ukraine, where a Russian drone hit a passenger train on the route he'd just avoided. Plus, 60 Minutes catches Trump allies selling presidential pardons for $300,000, peace envoy Steve Witkoff reports $250 million in income while working in government, and Democrats map out their investigations ahead of the November midterms. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

He Quit | The Man Running Trump's Revenge Probe Walks Away — September 11, 2026

Joe diGenova has resigned from the Justice Department's grand conspiracy investigation into Trump's enemies, saying on his way out that indictments without evidence are an ethical problem. Today's show breaks down why Trump's revenge probe keeps losing its own prosecutors. Plus, Republican election officials ask the Supreme Court to keep Trump's mail ballot order blocked, the FCC pressures Jimmy Kimmel into pulling his James Talarico interview off ABC, Democrats run competitive races in deep-red states like Kansas, and JD Vance distances himself from the Iran war. Subscribe at AdamKinzinger.com

Rigging the Census | How Trump's New Plan Redraws Political Power — September 10, 2026

The Trump administration wants to change who counts in the 2030 census. A new Commerce Department proposal would exclude millions of immigrants, including people here legally, and drop the race and ethnicity questions asked since 1790. The census decides House seats, electoral votes, and federal funding, and the Fourteenth Amendment says to count every person. Plus: Trump promises a $5,000 "Trump Dividend" if Republicans win the midterms, a mystery super PAC linked to MAGA Inc. spends $47 million without disclosing donors, Elon Musk's Vote Safe website harvests voter data, and the DOJ blocks European investigations into Jeffrey Epstein. Subscribe at AdamKinzinger.com

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The 9/11 Lie | Trump Turns the 9/11 Anniversary Into a Story About Himself — September 9, 2026

Trump told a fake story about firefighters carrying him to safety at Ground Zero on 9/11, days before the 25th anniversary. There's no record he was there until September 13th, and on the day of the attacks he called a news station to brag that his building was now the tallest in downtown Manhattan. Adam Kinzinger breaks down the lie, plus the GOP convention Republicans are skipping, Canada's retaliatory tariffs and Trump's new import bans, a federal appeals court ruling that the IRS broke the law sharing tax returns with ICE, and the secret DHS predictive policing unit using Americans' financial records to trigger traffic stops. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

The Shadow Secretary | The Unconfirmed Aide Who Ran DHS and Shopped It to Foreign Governments — September 8, 2026

The Wall Street Journal reports that Corey Lewandowski secretly ran Trump's Department of Homeland Security as an unpaid, unconfirmed adviser, controlling billions in DHS contracts, then offered his services to Qatar and the UAE on the side. Adam breaks down the shadow secretary scandal and the criminal referral now on the table. Plus: the White House marks Labor Day with AI videos that contain no workers, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff meet Putin in Moscow with nothing to show for it, the GOP's redistricting scheme starts backfiring in Texas and beyond, and Gallup gives Democrats their biggest party ID lead since 2008. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Workers Organize Anyway | A Labor Day Reckoning With Trump's War on Unions — September 7, 2026

Adam Kinzinger marks Labor Day with a special episode on Trump's assault on organized labor, from stripping nearly a million federal workers of collective bargaining to firing career employees without due process. Then the 2026 midterm map, Democrats' path to the Senate, ICE at the polls, and what Adam learned running for Congress that every first time candidate needs to hear. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

A True Warrior | Trump Salutes the Fox Anchor Fired for Serving Him — September 4, 2026

Fox News fired Maria Bartiromo after she leaked internal Fox guidance about Trump's 2020 election claims straight to the White House. Adam Kinzinger breaks down how she finally lost her job, and why Trump calling her "a true warrior" says it all. Plus: the DOJ fires the prosecutor who wanted to hold an ICE agent accountable for shooting a man in Minneapolis, the Missouri Supreme Court throws out Trump's gerrymander, construction begins on a 250-foot triumphal arch nobody approved, and House Republicans cancel the rest of September. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

The Exodus Begins | Republicans Flee Trump's Midterm Convention — September 3, 2026

Republicans are skipping Trump's first-ever midterm convention in Dallas. Politico surveyed more than 70 GOP candidates and most are staying away or won't answer, with swing-district Republicans leading the exodus sixty days before the 2026 midterms. Adam Kinzinger breaks down what it means for the election, plus DHS agents hunting voter fraud that doesn't exist, a whistleblower's report on ICE hiring failures, the federal judge who blocked Trump's birthright citizenship order, and the White House building an executive privilege strategy for a Democratic House. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

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Nobody's Buying It | Trump's Numbers Collapse and the GOP Blames Biden Again — September 2, 2026

Trump's approval rating just hit 33 percent, a record low for his second term and his worst numbers since January 6th. Republican approval is down 14 points, 71 percent of Americans disapprove of his handling of the cost of living, and Democrats now lead on the economy for the first time in a decade. Adam breaks down the polls Trump calls "Demoralization Operations." Plus: Pete Hegseth's Pentagon purge and the Army leaders sounding the alarm, the USS Abraham Lincoln docking in Thailand after a record 286 days at sea, European allies refusing to pose with Russia's finance minister at Trump's G20 summit, and the Tarrant County, Texas voters fighting the closure of 92 polling places ahead of the midterms. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

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The Pentagon Revolts | Army Secretary Resigns as Military Chiefs Warn Hegseth on Iran — September 1, 2026

Adam Kinzinger breaks down the revolt inside the Pentagon. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned after telling President Trump how many generals Pete Hegseth has fired, and military chiefs are warning that the Iran war is unsustainable. The Army now has no Senate-confirmed civilian leader or top general. Plus, a USPS whistleblower says Trump's mail ballot system was built to fail ahead of the midterms, mass deportations are shrinking the American workforce, Republicans beg Trump to spend his $400 million super PAC war chest, and a GOP House candidate gets banned from Kalshi for betting on her own election. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

They've Had Enough | Trump's Own Voters Revolt in Farm Country — August 31, 2026

Adam Kinzinger breaks down why Trump is losing farm country. Cattle ranchers and farmers are furious over tariff-free beef imports, soaring fuel and fertilizer costs, and the trade war with Canada, and Republicans like Senator Kevin Cramer now fear a 2006-style midterm wipeout. Plus: fired three-star admiral Nancy Lacore runs as a Democrat in South Carolina, DHS gets caught using a 1930 customs law to spy on journalists, Trump threatens NBC's Kristen Welker with the FCC, secret State Department deals cut global health funding by 59 percent, and the Pentagon takes a 35 percent stake in a Venezuelan oil venture. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

The Case That Wasn't | Rand Paul's Fauci Prosecution Stalls at the DOJ — August 28, 2026

Adam Kinzinger breaks down why the case against Anthony Fauci is falling apart. Rand Paul's committee held Fauci in contempt of Congress, but Trump officials at the Justice Department doubt the referral would survive in court, and nobody wants to prosecute. Plus: Trump signs an executive order renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America," the Iran war hits six months with 18 Americans dead and no end in sight, corporate donors who bankrolled Trump start writing checks to Democrats before the midterms, and fired Stars and Stripes journalists sue Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

The Panic Begins | Republicans Race to Fix an Economy Trump Says Is Fine — August 27, 2026

Adam Kinzinger breaks down the White House's quiet admission that the affordability crisis is real. After a year of Trump calling high grocery prices a Democrat scam, a JD Vance fundraising text told donors the truth, internal polling shows the issue could sink Republicans in the midterms, and Congress is now scrambling for a last-minute stimulus. Plus: ICE arrests surge for people with no criminal record, the CIA Director's secret Moscow trip to warn Putin against attacking NATO, a Trump-appointed judge refuses to erase Steve Bannon's contempt conviction, and a Florida grand jury traces ten million dollars in Medicaid money to DeSantis political causes. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Not So Fast | Judges Throw Out the GOP's Plan to Flood the Airwaves — August 26, 2026

A federal appeals court just blocked the Republican plan to buy midterm TV ads at the discounted candidate rate, throwing out Trump's FCC guidance days before the 60-day election window opens. Adam breaks down what the ruling means for the midterms. Also on today's show: a Trump-endorsed Kentucky candidate scrubs Trump from his website after a bad poll, MAGA influencer DataRepublican is exposed as a paid Pentagon employee, DHS withholds police and counterterrorism grants to force Trump's election rules, and new reporting ties the firing of Army Chief of Staff Randy George to the Kid Rock helicopter flyover. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Who Gets a Ballot? | Supreme Court Lets Trump's Mail Voting Order Take Effect — August 25, 2026

The Supreme Court just cleared the way for Trump's executive order restricting mail voting, lifting a freeze that covered 23 states, while the Postal Service says ballots should be handled like replica explosives. Adam breaks down what the order does, what the dissent warned, and what it means for the 2026 midterms. Plus: the US-Canada trade war and Trump's plan to rename Lake Ontario, America's refusal to sign a UN statement on Ukraine as CIA Director John Ratcliffe makes a secret trip to Moscow, the largest visa revocation in American history paired with a $100,000 H-1B fee, and a federal judge rejecting Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal while the DOJ fights to keep Epstein files redacted. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Election Integrity? | The DOJ's New Election Monitor Was Convicted of Hacking Elections — August 24, 2026

Adam Kinzinger breaks down the DOJ's apparent hire of a convicted election hacker into the office that polices voting rights, plus the White House sitting on the 2024 foreign election interference report that federal law required to be public over a year ago. Also on today's show: Trump's June financial disclosure reveals more than 1,000 stock trades, including Boeing and SpaceX purchases timed to government contracts. Canada trade talks collapse into a trade war with 50% tariffs. A federal judge rules Trump's visa ban on 75 countries illegal. And Democrats prepare investigations and subpoenas ahead of the midterms. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

He Made It Up | Trump's Census Bureau Caught Manufacturing Voter Fraud — August 21, 2026

Trump got caught manufacturing his own voter fraud. Adam Kinzinger exposes the Census Bureau's anonymous 2020 election report, built by partisan operatives, contradicted by Republican election officials, and debunked by DHS's own staff in Nevada. Also on today's show: the USS Doris Miller renaming controversy, the House Judiciary report on Trump's 1.7 billion dollar pardon giveaway, GOP hypocrisy on the 40 trillion dollar debt, and Trump's ground beef tariff suspension that leaves ranchers holding the bill before the midterms. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

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