The Erick Erickson Show

Erick Erickson opens with the Speaker of the House's "common sense versus crazy" midterm pitch, then walks the 2026 Senate map from Ken Paxton versus James Talarico in Texas to Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, and Georgia, warning that MAGA alone cannot win in November while farmers rage over tariffs and diesel prices. He defends Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' welfare to work campaign ad against a white nationalist backlash and takes on the grievance politics spreading on the populist right, with Brian Kemp's Georgia gas tax suspension, Texas dyed diesel, and Marco Rubio on the Strait of Hormuz along the way. Common sense versus crazy: the Speaker of the House's midterm message, Scott Bessent's economy talk, and Erick's warning that Republicans cannot win with MAGA alone as independents break for Democrats and non-MAGA Republicans stay home Senate map breakdown: Ken Paxton versus James Talarico in Texas, Mike Collins in Georgia, Michael Whatley in North Carolina, Mike Rogers in Michigan, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Susan Collins in Maine, and Josh Turek versus Ashley Hinson in Iowa Farm country fury: tariffs and diesel prices, weekly farm bankruptcies in South Georgia, Brian Kemp suspending the Georgia gas tax, and Texas allowing dyed diesel on its roads Sarah Huckabee Sanders' welfare to work ad: Erick backs the Arkansas governor against white nationalists, identity politics grifters, and the JD Vance loyalty crowd, and asks why Republicans keep attacking their most competent governors Also: Candace Owens rumors, vandalism at Susan Collins' Maine Senate office, New York Magazine's Elliot Page cover, and Marco Rubio on Iran, oil prices, and the Strait of Hormuz

Erick Erickson breaks down the Pentagon data breach that exposed nearly 3 million people and the FBI job site hack, asking whether Iran is probing American defenses while Pete Hegseth's future gets shakier heading into the midterms. He also warns that the 10-year Treasury yield at 5.29 percent is squeezing mortgages and credit cards, holds up Argentina's Javier Milei as a lesson in fiscal sanity, and digs into Derek Thompson's data on the collapse of hosting friends at home and what it means for loneliness, faith, and community. Pentagon and FBI data breaches: 2.76 million living people and 294,000 deceased exposed through the Defense Manpower Data Center, the FBI job application site under investigation, and Erick's suspicion that Iran or China is behind the probing Pete Hegseth's future: Republican senators whispering that the Defense Secretary will not survive the midterms, House Democrats eyeing impeachment, and the fired generals and admirals Congress liked Iran, Strait of Hormuz, and oil: Condoleezza Rice on Fox News, Abbas Araghchi's doomsday war warning on Meet the Press, and oil prices easing while Iranian crude stays bottled up Bond yields and Javier Milei: the 10-year Treasury at 5.29 percent, a national debt over 40 trillion dollars, stagflation fears, and Argentina cutting tariffs, freezing new currency, and taming inflation Americans stopped hosting: Derek Thompson at The Atlantic on monthly hosting falling from 42 percent to 12 percent, Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, Rosaria Butterfield, Pew data on church community and mental health, and Erick's Sunday night porch tradition

Erick Erickson uses the UK Home Secretary's new refugee sponsorship plan to warn that America must not copy Europe's immigration failures, then argues the GOP can build a multiracial coalition by rejecting identity politics and grievance grifters, with Sarah Huckabee Sanders' welfare ad still fueling the fight. He also takes calls on assimilation and the melting pot, shares his taco soup recipe and cookbook plans after a Low Country barbecue caterer calls in, and breaks down the Protect College Sports Act from Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell as an Auburn employee is charged with stealing athletic trade secrets. Europe's immigration mess: the UK Home Secretary's new refugee sponsorship routes, free speech arrests in Britain, immigrant ghettos, terror suspects out on bail, and why Erick says the United States must avoid the European Union's path GOP identity politics and the multiracial coalition: Donald Trump's gains with Hispanic voters, young black men, and Indian American families, the backlash over Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Arkansas welfare ad, and Erick's warning that grievance politics loses elections Assimilation versus the salad bowl: a Jacksonville caller back from Alberta and British Columbia on Canadian immigration, and Erick on why America needs the melting pot Cooking, cookbooks, and hosting friends: a Low Country barbecue caterer calls in, Erick's 400 cookbook collection, Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond, his taco soup and corn flake chicken recipes, and Meta's Muse AI app finding subscription savings Protect College Sports Act and Auburn: the bipartisan Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell NCAA bill clears the Senate, the transfer portal and endorsement caps, and an Auburn employee charged with theft of trade secrets Also: Chuck Grassley's memo on Jack Smith seizing reporters' records, Tom Cruise's poorly reviewed movie, and streaming picks including Slow Horses and Lanterns

Erick opens with the good news: Iran's economy is collapsing under U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz, and President Trump all detailing the pressure campaign as gas and diesel prices start easing on returning refinery capacity. He also covers SpaceX's historic Starship launch of the new Starlink V3 satellite and Scottie Scheffler's class act at the President's Cup. Then comes the bad news hour: Erick makes his case for why predictions of a GOP Senate wipeout in the midterms, driven by weak Republican turnout, Trump Jr.'s wedding scandal, and flawed candidates like Ken Paxton and Mike Collins, are overblown. Iran's economy craters under U.S. sanctions and the Strait of Hormuz naval blockade; Chris Wright, Mike Waltz, and President Trump lay out the pressure campaign as gas and diesel prices ease SpaceX successfully launches Starship carrying the new V3 Starlink satellite; Elon Musk explains why it dwarfs Delta's in flight WiFi Scottie Scheffler's sportsmanship highlights Team USA's President's Cup comeback win over Nico Echavarria Erick argues against GOP midterm doom: Republican voter turnout, corruption anger over Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding gift, and weak candidates like Ken Paxton and Beau French in Texas and Mike Collins in Georgia Trump's economy approval rating and lingering tariff anger are dragging down Republican prospects even as his Iran policy succeeds

Erick Erickson breaks down agentic banking, the new Wall Street fear from Apollo Global economist Torsten Slock and Bank of America analysts, as Meta's Muse AI agent helps consumers cancel subscriptions and chase high yield savings account rates. He also reports on the Macon, Georgia park shooting that wounded 12 teens, three blocks from his studio, and on huge crowds of young people turning out for Pope Leo in France, arguing the real fight is between the sacred and the secular. Agentic banking and Meta Muse: Erick let Muse read his bank accounts, and it found three Spotify subscriptions and an unused Peacock plan, saving him a couple hundred dollars a month Apollo Global Management's Torsten Slock and Bank of America analyst Ibrahim Punwala warn that AI agents moving cash to high yield savings accounts could drain cheap bank deposits and squeeze net interest margins Macon, Georgia mass shooting: 12 teens wounded at a park after an Airbnb party in Jones County, with the sheriff vowing to charge the adults who knew the kids had guns Pope Leo draws massive crowds in Paris and Lourdes, and Erick argues young people in a secular France and America are hungry for tradition, liturgy, expository preaching, and belonging Las Vegas family trip: Adrenaline Mountain machine guns, sniper rifles, Tannerite, and flamethrowers for his daughter's 21st birthday, plus a jab at Delta's Wi-Fi and the Pope's White Sox fandom