Culture, Faith and Politics with Pat Kahnke

Robert Mueller died on March 20, 2026. Donald Trump's response on Truth Social: "Good. I'm glad he's dead." This is my response.

Mueller was a Bronze Star recipient, Purple Heart veteran, and the second longest-serving FBI Director in American history — a man who bled for this country in Vietnam and spent sixty years in public service under four presidents of both parties. Trump called him someone who "hurt innocent people." We need to talk about what that reveals. Not just politically — theologically. Because MAGA theology has a specific way of treating men of integrity: it destroys them. And what happened to the FBI after Mueller is the proof.

Was Trump's Iran war just? Pat Kahnke and Adam Swenson apply the five criteria of just war theory to the opening phase of the conflict — and the results are damning. From the bombing of a girls' school on Day One to Trump's personal vendetta against Khamenei, this conversation asks the question MAGA Christians won't: does this war pass any Christian moral standard?

If you're a Christian wrestling with MAGA theology, an evangelical asking hard questions about war and conscience, or simply someone who wants moral clarity on the Iran conflict — this conversation is for you.

After 20 years as an evangelical pastor and church planter, I've reached a conclusion I never thought I'd reach: I will never vote Republican again — and as a Christian, I believe I have no other choice. This isn't a political rant. It's a theological reckoning.

In this episode, I make the biblical case for why MAGA Christianity is incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Using Scripture, history, and observable evidence, I walk through why the Republican Party has become a haven for religious grifters — men like Franklin Graham, Robert Jeffress, and Paula White — who have traded the Gospel for political power and access to Donald Trump.

I also announce a new weekly series: The Bible vs. MAGA — a systematic, verse-by-verse refutation of Christian nationalism and the theology that props it up.

Senator Markwayne Mullin has built his political brand on toughness, Trump loyalty, and conspicuous Christian faith. But his Senate confirmation hearing revealed something more troubling: a man who glorifies violence and holds a view of justice that is, at best, sub-Christian. In this episode, I examine Mullin's confirmation hearing testimony, his documented history of glorifying physical confrontation, and a comparison to his predecessor Kristi Noem — the same pattern of evangelical branding paired with institutional brutality at ICE and Border Patrol. I also address the ongoing investigation into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — two individuals shot and killed by federal agents in Minnesota — and the federal government's deliberate obstruction of Minnesota state officials from participating in that investigation. This is what MAGA theology looks like when it has a badge and a budget. Not just a political position — a theological permission structure for cruelty that dresses itself in the language of faith.

Imagine for a moment that the attack on Iran was necessary. Donald Trump has proven why you don't put an ignorant, impulsive narcissist in charge of the most powerful country in the world. Pat and Ken Napzok discuss three foolish, avoidable mistakes Trump has made that will have lasting consequences on America's safety and prosperity.