The Kinzinger Report

Rescue Mission | Trump Spends Final Month Defending Red States As Approval Hits 30 Percent — October 1, 2026

Trump is spending the final month before the midterms campaigning in Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa and Alabama, some of the reddest states in the country, while a new AP poll puts his approval at 30 percent and his economic approval at a record low 26 percent. Two thirds of Americans say Trump's policies are driving higher prices. Adam Kinzinger explains why the 2026 midterms have turned into a rescue mission. Adam also gets into Trump's plan to let AI companies regulate themselves, the $500 HealthCare.gov checks that come with a letter from Trump, Elon Musk and Newt Gingrich leading the Pentagon's Project Meridian weapons study, and the U.S. withdrawal from the GRECO anti-corruption panel. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

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Caught on Tape | Ken Paxton Privately Admits Trump Is Sinking His Campaign — September 30, 2026

Ken Paxton was secretly recorded at a private Washington fundraiser admitting Trump's Republican convention in Dallas dropped his poll numbers and hurt the whole GOP ticket. The tape went to the New York Times, Paxton's campaign is calling it manipulated, and James Talarico leads every independent poll in the Texas Senate race while Paxton dodges a Fox News debate. Plus, Republicans hype a migrant caravan a thousand miles from the border just ahead of the midterms, a new poll shows Hispanic voters swinging hard toward Democrats and flipping Republican-drawn districts in Texas and Florida, Speaker Mike Johnson calls Democratic investigations of Trump a nightmare and promises more of the same if the GOP keeps the House, and the White House censors its America.gov chatbot after it contradicted Trump on the 2020 election, tariffs, and the Big Beautiful Bill. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

A Scam From the Beginning | Trump's Grand Conspiracy Probe Loses Top Prosecutor — September 29, 2026

Trump's grand conspiracy investigation loses a second prosecutor in a month. Kurt Olsen, the election denier sanctioned in Arizona for false statements in Kari Lake's case, walks away from the DOJ probe into Obama officials. Fourteen months, three lead prosecutors, zero indictments. Adam Kinzinger explains why this was never a real investigation. Also on the show, FBI deputy director Andrew Bailey resigns after clashing with Kash Patel as a massive FBI data breach exposes employee records, Trump falls asleep in the Oval Office during his Iowa steel mill announcement, Trump's AI "Golden Age" event and the America.gov chatbot, and a federal judge blocks DHS from tying counterterrorism grants to election demands. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Walking Away | Farmers and Superfans Abandon Trump Before the Midterms — September 28, 2026

Farmers, truckers, and Trump's own rally superfans are turning on him. Soybean prices collapsed after China stopped buying, diesel hit a record six and a half dollars a gallon in the middle of harvest, and farm bankruptcies tripled in Iowa. One superfan who followed Trump in an RV for years now calls him a fraud. Adam Kinzinger explains what the MAGA defection means for the midterms. Plus: taxpayers pay over a million dollars for a Trump campaign ad, Trump's illegal offer to sell weapons to China, Trump turns down an Iran peace deal as 37 more wounded troops go unannounced, and Vance's fraud task force caught padding its numbers. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Follow the Money | Government Watchdog Finds ICE Wasted Millions on Detention Nobody Used — September 25, 2026

A government watchdog says ICE wasted tens of millions on detention space it never used, including tents and empty warehouses, after Congress gave the agency 45 billion dollars. Meanwhile new reporting shows ICE arrests are surging, spread out across the country and away from the cameras after the January backlash. Plus, Trump hosts Xi Jinping at the White House, the West Wing lets GOP candidates distance themselves from Trump ahead of the midterms, Senate Republicans block a resolution to end the Iran war, and a taxpayer-funded ad praising Trump airs on Fox News. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

You Can't Do This | A Trump-Appointed Judge Orders the White House to Restore Press Passes — September 24, 2026

A Trump-appointed federal judge blocked Trump's press ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, ruling it likely unconstitutional and ordering the White House to restore their press passes. Reporters were still turned away at the White House gates the next morning. Plus: Trump invites Putin to the G20 at his golf club, MAGA podcasters stop talking about Trump, F-35 parts turn up in China, and Cook Political Report shifts three Senate races toward Democrats. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Right Before They Vote | Trump's Big Beautiful Bill Starts Hurting His Own Voters — September 23, 2026

Republicans timed the One Big Beautiful Bill's Medicaid and SNAP cuts to land after the 2026 midterms. They're hitting early instead. Food stamp work requirements, expired health insurance subsidies, and rural hospital cuts are landing hardest in Trump country. Plus Trump's UN speech falls flat, Sen. John Curtis wants Don Jr. subpoenaed, the GOP spends big to defend safe seats, and JD Vance defends Trump's press ban. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Caught in the Act | The Susan Collins Bribery Scheme and the Case Trump Killed — September 22, 2026

Trump killed the FBI's bribery investigation into Congress. ProPublica reports the case ran through Susan Collins' office, built on a defense contractor who funneled $150,000 to her Super PAC through a shell company and then gave the FBI a road map naming more than a dozen members of Congress. Trump fired the agents working the case, including one targeted for investigating his 2020 election scheme. Also on today's show, the White House press pool walks out over Trump's ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, his Arlington arch is redesignated a military installation with a sniper nest, Republicans demand a diesel export ban to cover for the Iran war, and housing chief Bill Pulte pulled mortgage records on Attorney General Todd Blanche. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

The Fine Print | Trump's Drug Pricing Deals Exposed — September 21, 2026

Trump's secret drug pricing contracts are finally public, and they show the deals protected the pharmaceutical companies instead of lowering drug prices. Tariff exemptions, confidentiality clauses, and bestsellers carved out of the discounts entirely. RFK Jr. signed the deals, and now his Make America Healthy Again movement is holding a summit funded by corporate money. Plus: Republicans in Congress turn on Pete Hegseth, Trump's Greenland deal with Denmark changes almost nothing, Trump privately admits the midterms look bad for Republicans, and he blames Ukraine for record diesel prices. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

Pulling the Plug | Republicans Sink Trump's ICE Pick — September 18, 2026

The White House pulls its nominee to run ICE after Republican opposition in the Senate. Rand Paul wanted DHS files on the two American citizens killed by federal agents in Minneapolis, and the administration chose to lose its nominee instead of handing them over. As a result, ICE stays in the hands of an unconfirmed acting director. Plus: RFK Jr. speaks at an anti-vax conference as the Pennsylvania measles outbreak kills a fourth unvaccinated victim, DOT lobbyists pour money into Sean Duffy's son-in-law's congressional campaign, Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna hit 218 signatures to force a House vote on a second Epstein files bill, and Attorney General Todd Blanche breaks decades of norms to campaign for Republican candidates. Go deeper at AdamKinzinger.com

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