Kinetic equations for the electromagnetic drift modes are derived and analyzed for the stability of tokamaks in the local approximation. In the dissipationless, hydrodynamic limit, the fifth‐order polynomial dispersion relation previously studied is recovered. The kinetic velocity space integrals in the ion dynamics are shown to modify the five principal modes of oscillation and their polarizations. It is shown that in kinetic stability theory the critical plasma pressure defined in magnetohydrodynamic theory determines a transition from microinstability to macroinstability.