The Mark Thompson Show: October 14, 2026

This guy is a presidential historian lecturer, our former colleague from KGO Radio.

He's John Rothmann, everyone.

[audience applauding] Rothman, welcome.

Hi, Mark.

Yeah.

Delighted to be with you always.

You, uh, have a sense of things politically, and so I can kind of ask you for a state of the state.

I think the economy is affecting likely outcomes in any number of races.

It looks like there are many more competitive races than one might have handicapped at the beginning of the Trump administration looking at what midterms might bring.

What do you see?

Well, the Republicans are clearly on the defensive.

Uh, they know that they are going to lose at least the House of Representatives.

Uh, Speaker Johnson has said win or lose, he will try to remain leader of the Republicans in the House.

But I think the Republicans are headed for a defeat, and as you progress with your commentary today and our question and answers, there is no doubt that the corruption, the incompetence in the Iran war, the incompetence with Ukraine, it's compounding time after time.

And, and as we will talk, I know this threat to California in terms of voting, I mean, uh, you can't make this stuff up.

Oh, and by the way, did, did our former First Lady Kimberly Guilfoyle call you? She didn't call me, but I'm speaking-

Did you, did you ever interview her or know her?

Yes, I met her.

I did not interview her, but I did meet her on several occasions when she was married to Gavin Newsom.

Sure.

And so, uh, it's shocking to me-- By the way, Donald Trump, who always fires people, didn't fire her.

He said he would welcome her resignation, and I would say that is a says it all.

Well, I mean, uh-

By the way, she was a member of that family for four years.

She was m- engaged to Donald Trump Jr.

This guy is a presidential historian lecturer, our former colleague from KGO Radio.

He's John Rothmann, everyone.

[audience applauding] Rothman, welcome.

Hi, Mark.

Yeah.

Delighted to be with you always.

You, uh, have a sense of things politically, and so I can kind of ask you for a state of the state.

I think the economy is affecting likely outcomes in any number of races.

It looks like there are many more competitive races than one might have handicapped at the beginning of the Trump administration looking at what midterms might bring.

What do you see?

Well, the Republicans are clearly on the defensive.

Uh, they know that they are going to lose at least the House of Representatives.

Uh, Speaker Johnson has said win or lose, he will try to remain leader of the Republicans in the House.

But I think the Republicans are headed for a defeat, and as you progress with your commentary today and our question and answers, there is no doubt that the corruption, the incompetence in the Iran war, the incompetence with Ukraine, it's compounding time after time.

And, and as we will talk, I know this threat to California in terms of voting, I mean, uh, you can't make this stuff up.

Oh, and by the way, did, did our former First Lady Kimberly Guilfoyle call you? She didn't call me, but I'm speaking-

Did you, did you ever interview her or know her?

Yes, I met her.

I did not interview her, but I did meet her on several occasions when she was married to Gavin Newsom.

Sure.

And so, uh, it's shocking to me-- By the way, Donald Trump, who always fires people, didn't fire her.

He said he would welcome her resignation, and I would say that is a says it all.

Well, I mean, uh-

By the way, she was a member of that family for four years.

She was m- engaged to Donald Trump Jr.