← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Ecuador is Trump’s Latest Target. Trump Left Americans to Die.
00:38:38
Trump has struck nine foreign countries in the past year and just opened a new front in Ecuador—while thousands of Americans remain stranded near Iran with no clear evacuation plan. From Times Square after sparring with Democrat Senator Blumenthal on MSNow, Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff blasts a Congress acting more like “mall cops” than a check on Trump’s runaway war powers.
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- [00:01]
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- [00:31]
Paul Rykoff
Trump does not care. He does not care about the polls. He does not care about the will of the American people. He does not care about his base. He is going as far and as fast as he can until the wheels come off or until he's stopped. Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to another very important episode 455. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff and I'm coming to you from New York City, USA in Times Square, where I just finished a conversation with Nicole Wallace on Ms. Now. And a bit of a spicy little exchange with Senator Blumenthal of Connecticut because now is the time to hold everybody accountable. Democrat, Republicans and independence. It is Wednesday, March 4th. I'll have more on my conversation with Blumenthal in a second. Today's artist is Nancy Sinatra, daughter of course, of Frank Sinatra, because she's saying these boots are made for walking and that's just what they'll do. And one of these days, these boots are going to walk all over you. And American boots might be walking all over Iran by the time this posts because Trump is all gas, no breaks. The regional war is now expanding far beyond Iran and I've got a lot to get into and bring you the five eyes that I bring you in every show to fill your boots. Independence, integrity, information, inspiration and, and impact. And I might have to add Iran, at least for the next couple of weeks, months, maybe years. No guests today, just me in a quick fire pod to get you up to speed on the national security, political and cultural issues that are all intersecting that you need to know about to help you navigate it and help you, especially right now, stay vigilant. All right, look, folks, I know there is a lot flying at you and part of my job is to help you navigate the battlefield and battlefields. And I will try to prioritize what I think is most important. I will try to bring you things you might have missed. And today the top story undoubtedly is war, war, war and new war. Did you know that there's a new front being opened? Some folks have not even covered this Some folks have not even seen this. But Trump has hit another country. Yes, it is, if you don't know. Ecuador. Ecuador. There is now military engagement happening on behalf of the US against so called narco terrorist organizations in Ecuador. Trump has hit nine foreign countries in the last year. He's hit one twice. And let me give you the list in case you're not keeping track at home. Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, the Caribbean. Exact location, we don't know. Undisclosed. Syria, Nigeria, Venezuela, Iran again. And now Ecuador. And I am going to keep reminding you and anyone else who will listen, he wants to hit Cuba and probably Mexico. He wants to continue to deploy troops domestically. He may invoke the Insurrection Act. And the most important story is still and always and especially right now that Donald Trump can do anything he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen. And nothing is stopping him or even slowing him down. Congress is a failure. I've talked about it this week. I said yesterday, they're not state troopers trying to take Trump's runaway car. They're more like mall cops. He is blowing past them. And as I warn, they haven't even voted on Iran yet. And he's already on to another country. Ecuador. Now, my money was on Cuba. I've talked about that, but I was close. Ecuador. If you had Ecuador in the poly markets, you either have a crystal ball or you're on the inside. And you should be in jail for trading on inside information about our national security. But this is happening, folks. He's on to another country. All gas, no breaks. Congress is doing nothing. Either they're complicit or they're whining. And he's already deeper and further into Iran and beyond. And now especially we have to stay vigilant. So, so vigilant. All right, now, talking about Iran failing to plan is planning to fail, especially when you're the President of the United States and it comes to war. And now thousands of Americans are stranded all across the region. And the question is, why isn't there an evacuation plan? Why haven't they been gotten out? Play this clip, please. Chris. Commercial air travel right now is severely restricted in the Middle east and thousands of Americans are stranded.
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Sponsor Voice (Shopify)
Why wasn't there an evacuation plan and
- [05:37]
Paul Rykoff
will you send planes to get people out?
- [05:39]
Unidentified Interviewee or Commentator
Well, because it happened all very quickly. We thought, and I thought maybe more so than most. I could ask Marco, but I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked. They were getting ready to attack Israel, they were getting ready to attack others. You're seeing that right now. And a lot of those missiles that are heading in, those are stationary. Those were aimed there for a long period, time of period of time at these other countries. So I think I was right about that. We attacked first, and if we didn't, it could have been, you know, look, we're really decimating them. They're being decimated.
- [06:16]
Paul Rykoff
So let's go back a couple years. Bush screwed up Hurricane Katrina and left people to die and suffer in New Orleans. You may be old enough to remember those images. Biden screwed up the withdrawal of Afghanistan. That is important and true. And Trump and company never stopped blasting Biden for it, especially at the GOP convention, if you remember, because they knew it worked. It moved people, especially veterans and independents. All Americans are outraged when they see Americans left to die by a president of any party. And now Trump's done the same thing, and there's no spinning it. The whole world can see the videos will tell the terrible story until the stranded Americans can eventually speak out for themselves. I see that they're already talking to folks on television and in media now, but the whole world right now can see the scale and the scope of the failure, which is just getting started. And Trump will own it, just like Biden did. Failing to plan is planning to fail. And again, Americans will die because of it. And again, our enemies are celebrating. But the difference here is that Bush arguably cared about the polls, Biden cared about the polls, and they cared about the impact it would have on the upcoming election. Trump does not care. He does not care about the polls. He does not care about the will of the American people. He does not care about his base. He is going as far and as fast as he can until the wheels come off or until he stopped. And this latest example is the cost of failed leadership. But there's a human cost to those failures. We now know that Iran has struck at least 11 US military facilities since Saturday. And they've had damage on or near communications and radar systems on seven of them. That's probably gone up in number since I started recording this. And the costs are expanding. The Pentagon has now released the identities of four U.S. troops that were killed over the weekend. They are Captain Cody A. Clark, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida. Sergeant First Class Noah Titchens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska. Sergeant First Class Nicole M. Armour, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and Sergeant Declan J. Cottey, 20. Only 20 of West Des Moines, Iowa. All these soldiers were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command out of Des Moines Iowa. Of course, the incident is under investigation. We're finding out more about it and there are two other Americans who have yet to be identified. Probably have that for you on the show tomorrow. But we are now learning the names, seeing the faces and hearing the stories of the Americans who are paying the price for this war in Iran and beyond. Sergeant First Class Nicole Armour was 39 years old. She was weeks away from returning home to her husband and two children in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. That's what her husband, Joey Amer had to say. She was in her 90 day window, he said in a text message, adding that she deployed in early August, meaning she was in her last 90 days. And there's a lot in the headlines today and this news should not be pushed aside from by any of it. And Americans want to do something and don't know what to do. If you've listened to the show or you've watched this show for a long time and you know how I'm going to offer you ideas and ways to make an impact. I don't want you to feel helpless. I want you to feel empowered. There is something you can do, especially in moments like this. And if you want to help their loved ones and the loved ones of others who are killed in action and also those who have been lost to accidents and suicide, please check out the heroic work of TAPS Tragedy Assistance Program for survivors. I'll also link to it in the show notes. You've heard Bonnie Carroll on the show in years past and Bonnie Carroll and TAPS are there now and they'll be there long after the media attention fails. They are helpers, the helpers that you should look for in moments like this. The folks who are running in when others are running out. And they are true heroes for the heroes. And it's another way you can stay involved and you can stay vigilant. Those American troops didn't have to die, but leadership failed them. And leadership is failing to provide a plan, adequate support or even the right tone. Cue Pete Hegseth, the acting Secretary of Culture War who is now doing almost daily press conferences and demonstrating to the world how he is. Check this out from Hegseth today at
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Pete Hegseth
the press conference ending and fixing their leaders and their military leaders flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital, flying over the irgc. Iranian leaders looking up and seeing only US And Israeli air power every minute of every day until we decide it's over and Iran will be able to do nothing about it. B2s, B52s, B1s, Predator drones fighters controlling the skies, picking targets, death and destruction from the sky all day long. We're playing for keeps. Our warfighters have maximum authorities, granted personally by the President and yours truly. Our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it. This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they're down, which is exactly how it should be.
- [12:04]
Paul Rykoff
I think it's important to underscore that this is the worst tone we've ever seen from an American Secretary of Defense to the world, ever. He's like a guy who likes to beat people up and thinks he's going to be able to beat people up forever. But everybody who knows who's been in a fight knows that eventually there's someone tougher than you. Eventually someone lands a blow, eventually, you're not bulletproof. But his tone, his presence, his everything is a failure. And today in the press conference, it got worse. Check this out.
- [12:41]
Pete Hegseth
Much was made of the volume of missiles Iran was able to shoot in the first few days. And sadly, as we projected, a few got through and killed six of our best who will hopefully arrive home soon. We will avenge them, no doubt. But I liken Iran's predicament to a football team who scripted the first 20 plays of a game. The team knew what plays to run because their first few drives were scripted. But now that the game has started and the blitz is on, they don't know what plays to call, let alone how to get in the huddle and call those plays.
- [13:21]
Paul Rykoff
Now, as a guy myself who coaches football and uses them often, this is not a time or place for a football comparison. It's also not a good football comparison, because when a team is down big early, they can still take cheap shots and they can take out your stars for the rest of the season or end their careers. And of course, a football team doesn't have the ability in the second quarter to activate proxies worldwide. They can blow up players on the other team, coaches on the sidelines, fans in the stands, and people in the parking lot and around the entire state, country and region, including back at your home field. But Iran does. And just as a side note, Hegseth played football in high school, apparently, but didn't play football in college. He played basketball. You know where he played? Ivy League, Princeton, which is one of the many schools he just banned from Department of Defense. It's just so much arrogance, so much stupid, so much. And it's a failure. It's a failure and one that we need to continue to track on and focus on and stay
- [14:33]
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- [15:35]
Paul Rykoff
All right, speaking of failure, beyond my voice, which obviously continues to fail me later in the days, there's something below the radar and I'm going to pull things out that I think you need to know about. And this is one. Apparently, Donald Trump got out of Vietnam because he said he had bone spurs. Well, there's a 2026 version of bone spurs. You know what it is? Being too tall. Yes. I and many others have said, why can't Barron Trump, he's in his 20s, he's Trump's son. Why can't he serve in the military? Why isn't he putting on a uniform and, you know, getting linked up with Hegseth and the boys and going over here to kick some ass? Well, the White House says Barron is too tall. Yes, he's too tall at six, nine to serve. Now, as many have noted, they forgot about David Robinson, the admiral who was seven foot tall and put his basketball career on hold to serve. He served at the Naval Academy and then went on to play for the San Antonio spurs. And he petitioned to have his service obligation waived so he can go to the NBA. But he was tall. He was probably about the same height as Barron Trump and he served. Barron Trump is not going to serve any more than Jared Kushner or Ivanka. Trump served and Trump served. They will not put their own skin in the game. They are chicken hawks. More on that in a second. But others are in harm's way across the season, the region, and there is continued examples of how the region has been endangered. A suspected Iranian drone hit the CIA station in Saudi Arabia in what could amount to a pretty significant symbolic victory for the Iranians as it lashes out against American targets along around the entire region. That's from John Hudson, who also just joined me on MSNBC with Nicole Wallace and others. But stay vigilant, folks, because the lid is off. This will not be contained to Iran. And no matter how dominant and amazing our military is, there are things that will get out. The lid is off, and we all need to stay vigilant. Let's do what may have to be a daily check in with the 2026 Chicken Hawk Club founding members. Yes, we've talked about it recently, and I'm going to talk about it a bunch more because there's a whole new generation of political leaders who have never served, don't have their kids serving, and think it's cool to just send endless numbers of American women to die in a foreign land without any accountability. And, of course, that means Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, who continues to struggle with what war is. Check this out. Are there measures being taken not to
- [18:12]
Mark Wayne Mullen
eliminate other possible alternatives to leadership? This is war, and we're taking out the threat. And if you're part of the threat, then you have. Then you're a target. You know what we'd call. Call not all the arrows, but going after the archers.
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Paul Rykoff
You'll concede this is war. Concede this is war.
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Mark Wayne Mullen
We haven't declared war. They declared war on us. But we haven't.
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Paul Rykoff
Secretary Hex.
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Mark Wayne Mullen
We haven't declared.
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Paul Rykoff
Now, you said this is war.
- [18:36]
Mark Wayne Mullen
They've called it war. What I was saying. Okay, well, that was misspoke.
- [18:39]
Paul Rykoff
What?
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Mark Wayne Mullen
I was saying that they declared war on us.
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John Fetterman
But.
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Mark Wayne Mullen
But war is ugly. It always has been ugly. But we're, you know, we're in a. We're taking out a regime that's been trying to attack us for quite some time.
- [18:51]
Paul Rykoff
But you're not conceding this as war.
- [18:52]
Mark Wayne Mullen
We have declared war. So if we haven't declared war, then I don't see that the president asked us to declare war yet, but they have declared war on us. We're just simply fighting the threat that's been at our door for 47 years.
- [19:07]
Paul Rykoff
Yes. So he said it was a war, and then he said it wasn't a war. We haven't declared war, but it sure feels like war to the families of those six folks who've been killed. And most of our troops around the region are getting combat pay. But I want to note that the Chicken Hawk Club is bipartisan. And it's time to add Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who thinks war is awesome. Check this out. And this nonsense. He's been spewing most recently with Jake Tapper on cnn. Senator, the Trump administration just wrapped up
- [19:38]
Mark Wayne Mullen
its Iran briefing for all members of Congress.
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Paul Rykoff
Did they give any information that gives you any pause about supporting this war?
- [19:46]
John Fetterman
No, no, nothing that I've, that I've heard. I mean, I think overall, I think the, the, the dynamic really is, is, is the same. And now ever since, especially after 10, seven, you know, it's all been, you know, every single senator agreed that we can't ever allow a quiet Orion to acquire a nuclear bomb. And now here we've had what's happened now. They, it seems now this has made it virtually impossible to do that at this point. And that's also severely damaged their entire military apparatus, though. So I say, I think overall this has been a very, a big, big win for, for global security, especially in the Middle East.
- [20:32]
Paul Rykoff
So he thinks this is going great. He thinks this is a great success. He, of course, has never served. He, of course, does not have kids serving, and he's one of many who are quick to spike the ball. He thinks this is a great decision. I'm sure there's a lot of folks who thought the Iraq war was a great decision when they declared mission accomplished. But the smart people know that this is far from over and it's way too early to declare any victory about anything. And it is truly bipartisan. The condemnation from me and others, I think should be. And the chicken hawks and just the senselessness and the lack of focus and the lack of strength in Congress is coming from many places. Check this out. This is Senator Blumenthal from Connecticut who I just mentioned, I had a conversation with on Ms. Now in addition to Nicole Wallace, but check this out from him.
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Senator Richard Blumenthal
I am more fearful than ever after this briefing that we may be putting, putting boots on the ground and that troops from the United States may be necessary to accomplish objectives that the administration seems to have. But I also am no more clear on what the priorities are going to be of the administration going forward, whether it is destroying the nuclear capacity of Iran or simply the missiles or regime change or stopping terrorist activities. And I think the administration owes it to the American people to have briefings not just for members of Congress, but for the American public. Nothing here should have been classified. It should be available to the American people.
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Paul Rykoff
Here's the question that I asked Senator Blumenthal and everyone else who was angry and fearful and upset. What are you gonna do about it? What are you gonna do about it? What's your strategy? Being angry, being sad, is not a course of Action. You've now finally gotten the War Powers act to be voted on maybe on Wednesday or Thursday, almost five days after he started the war and five days after six Americans have been killed. You haven't even addressed Ecuador yet. You could get ahead of that or maybe have a War Powers act now on Cuba. Or if you think all of this is illegal, impeach him, focus on removing him. Make that your number one focus. But what are you going to do about it? Nothing. Per usual. He's blowing past Blumenthal and the rest of the weak and failed Senate and all of them Democrats and Republicans, because I didn't see any Democrats. Couldn't even be interrupted to be bothered to interrupt their weekend to convene an emergency session on Iran. They're not even a speed bump. And the Chicken Hawk Club is bipartisan and continues to grow. Meet Congressman James Comer, Republican of Kentucky. Check this out. A lot of Americans and military families want to know if their loved ones are about to be deployed to Iran for this. Will there be boots on the ground?
- [23:34]
Sponsor Voice (Shopify)
The president has yet to rule that out.
- [23:38]
Congressman James Comer
I certainly hope not. If there are boots on the ground, I hope they're not on the ground any longer than the boots on the ground were in Venezuela. But I think that that's something the president knows that members of Congress certainly hope doesn't happen. But sometimes that's unavoidable in a situation like this. And you mentioned six troops had lost their lives. Some had been from Fort Knox in Kentucky, my home state. So, you know, we're devastated. And obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the families of anyone that's been lost or wounded thus far.
- [24:13]
Paul Rykoff
He says boots on the ground is sometimes unavoidable in a situation like this. Yeah, it's unavoidable if Congress just lays down and lets a renegade, rampaging president do whatever the hell he wants. Yeah, all of this seems to be kind of inevitable because you can't stop any of it. So this guy, who I'm sure we will mention again, Congressman James Comer, joins Rubio, Tuberville, Mullen and many others, including Fetterman. The Chicken Hawk Club is definitely bipartisan and includes all of these messes of leaders and many others that will come because we need to call them out, both parties. Don't let them make excuses. Every single one of them should be held accountable, especially right now as American women and men continue to die in times of war, there's no more important time to stay vigilant. All right. And the threats continue to rise, including Here at home. If you haven't heard my recent episode with Nolan Peterson, go back and check it out. We talk about the drone war. The drone war that America is not ready for. That the world is not ready for. Except for maybe in Ukraine. They're ready for it. But the threats continue to rise, especially here at home. And the Defense Department is now telling San Diego military bases to remain on alert for attack. Yes, all military bases in America are now on higher alert levels and military bases around the world. But the plan is apparently not in place to protect those places. We will find out. But failing. But failing to plan is planning to fail. And here's just one other example that I got to address. Apparently we could run out of bullets. Well, maybe not bullets, but lots of other stuff. Phil Stewart and Reuters says that the Trump administration plans to meet with executives from Defense Department, sorry, from defense contractors at the White House on Friday to talk about accelerating weapons production as the Pentagon tries to replenish supplies on Iran. After all these recent efforts, they're gonna talk to Lockheed and Raytheon and other key suppliers and there's definitely urgency now to shore up weapons stocks after Iran is drawing so heavily on our, on our munitions, our stockpiles of artillery shells, ammunition, anti tank missiles. All of that is now on some levels depleted. But here's the important point. Maybe they could have done that earlier. Maybe they should have done that a month ago. Maybe they should have done that two weeks ago when everybody in the world knew we were going to hit Iran. I mean, they could have definitely planned for that in the same way they could have planned to get Americans out of the region. But they didn't. Failing to plan is planning to fail. And maybe here's another issue. Maybe they can make up for lost time. And ask the VA secretary, Doug Collins, what's his plan because, you know, they just created a whole new generation of veterans. And when will America and our military hear from our VA secretary about his plan for what could be hundreds of thousands of new veterans? It's a question that we should ask at the next hexa presser, at the next White House briefing, and anytime anybody gets a chance to talk to Donald Trump or anybody else, ask them if they're really ready and help.
- [27:22]
Sponsor Voice (Shopify)
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- [28:20]
Paul Rykoff
Stay vigilant all right folks, in addition to all this national security stuff, there's also some important political news, and I'm always going to try to bring a focus back on that. Last night was primary night and there are a couple of things to report if you haven't heard by now. James Talarico won the Democratic primary against Jasmine Crockett. I think this is very, very important on a number of levels, most importantly, because Talarico will definitely do better with independence in the general than Crockett would have. He's still going to be dragged down by the Democratic brand in Texas especially, but he'll be the test for how much that is true. So watch this space. There's so far no Democratic candidate in there, but if someone like Mark Cuban or Matthew McConaughey jumped in as an independent in Texas, things could get really interesting. Also, in the Republican GOP primary for Texas's second District, there's a noteworthy one. Steve Toth has defeated incumbent Dan Crenshaw the Republican nomination. Now this is important because MAGA non veteran Toth will definitely do worse with independence in the general than Crenshaw would have. Now Crenshaw has been in battles with right wing podcaster Candace Owens and especially with fellow Navy SEAL Shawn Ryan, another big podcaster, and that definitely hurt him badly. So this is going to be a spot to watch. Now also important to take a big step back. Last night was primary night, and it's also a night that's basically irrelevant in most races, and it's one that shuts out millions of American voters simply because we're independent. It's a night that reveals how broken and corrupted by the parties our voting system really is. And there was some important information put out from Unite America that most folks didn't see it said. In more than a third of these districts, 26 races, the outcome is already locked in before a single vote is cast. These candidates are running opposed and they're usually safely won in these districts by the dominant party. There is a staggering lack of competition in American elections that isn't an Anomaly. It's a preview of how the 2026 election will unfold across the country. Now, I'll link to that in the show notes and I'll link to the primary map. Sorry, the map from open primaries that you can look at and find out what the rules are like and the landscape's like in your state. But here's the important point. If we want to fix our democracy and attack the partisanship and the polarization that's ripping our country apart, we have to fix our primaries. We've talked about a lot on this show. I've talked to John Opdyke from Open Primaries and others. We need to let all Americans, especially, and particularly the 45% of Americans who are independent, participate just like everyone else. Because as you saw in Texas and as I think you'll see especially this fall and definitely in the next presidential, if there is one, we're not just moving the needle. We are the needle and we are the future. And there's some good news I want to share with you. Good news on a difficult and tough week, especially for our independent movement. Former Montana University leader and veteran Seth Bodnar has launched his independent campaign in Montana for Senate against GOP incumbent Senator Daines. This is a pretty big deal. Democrats have been broadly sidelined in the state's votes over the recent years. You may remember John Tester recently went down in the Senate seat. He's been a guest on this show and I think was was an important voice for veterans especially. But this is really an interesting one to watch. And I'm going to play a clip of his introduction video. Check this out.
- [31:44]
Seth Bodnar
My faith is an American one. I was 18 years old when I raised my hand and swore an oath to the Constitution for the first time. The code we were taught was simple duty, honor, country. The prayer we learned ask for strength to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. Now, to some, these are just words. But when you bury a brother in arms who died far from home in service to this country, you know deep in your soul what they mean. Duty, honor, country. That is my North Star in a code I will not breach. My name is Seth Bodnar, and I'm running to serve the people of Montana in the U.S. senate.
- [32:21]
Paul Rykoff
Now this is very exciting news for independents, for vets, for Montana and for America. The movement took a big step forward today. Seth is an outstanding leader. I've gotten to know him over the last couple of months, and I think he will show that independents can win. This may be the single most competitive race for an independent veteran in America. And if we can get him in the Senate as an independent Fulcrum, everything changes. He's the latest independent to answer the call. I've been talking about it and highlighting it and supporting this movement as more and more independent veterans and independent candidates are declaring their independence and declaring their intention to run. You've heard from folks like Adrian Bonnenberger, who just announced he's running in Connecticut. You've heard from Lindsey Church and you've heard from others and iva Independent Veterans America is looking to support seth Bodnar and 99 other independent candidates running this fall. So if you're one of them, if you want to be one of them, if you're interested in supporting them, we are recruiting. We want more Seth Bodiners. We want more Dan Osborne. We want more Lindsay Churches to step up and meet this moment. Go to independentveteransamerica.org and if you can't run, you can support, you can share, you can donate. And I look forward to having Seth on this show soon. Follow his lead, declare your independence and put country over party. America needs you now more than ever because the Republicans are morally bankrupt and mean and the Democrats suck and they won't save you and they're weak. But independent candidates and independent voters, we're the people's champion. We're not just moving the needle. We are the needle and we are the future. So stay vigilant. All right. Finally, in sports, I've skipped over sports for the last couple of shows because frankly, I just didn't have the interest or the time to track on it. But sports is an important part of our culture and it's still continuing. Lots of folks aren't paying attention to the war and just watching the NBA where my Knicks are doing pretty well lately and whoop, the spurs this weekend, an impressive one. But something else is coming up that is interesting in that it intersects with all of our politics. The World Baseball Classic is coming up and I'm pretty excited about that. My boys are pretty excited about that. There are a lot of Yankees who are going to be playing for a number of different teams. Aaron Judge is going to play for the U.S. austin Wells is going to play for the Dominican Republic. Jazz Chisholm is going to play for Great Britain. And it could be a really fun distraction over the next couple of weeks. But there will be 20 teams from around the world, including Venezuela and Nicaragua and Cuba. So the question is how many of these countries will Trump attack before the tournament is over? Let's stay vigilant and wait and see. But even in the world of sports, while the war is unfolding, as we saw at the Olympics and the Paralympics, which will start this weekend, there is an intersection and a distraction that we need to focus on and root for the USA in both plays. Root for them in the Paralympics coming up and root for them in the World Baseball Classic. And if you need it, take a break, watch some baseball, watch the Paralympics and stay vigilant. All right. Finally, I want to give you something good. We need something good. And we've been talking a lot about the cost of war. We've talked about it on the show for many years, and this happened a couple weeks ago. But I want to shout out our friends from the documentary short Armed Only with a Camera, the incredible story of Brent Renaud. And I want to shout out our friends Juan Arendado and of course, the Renaud family and everybody who's been behind this film, if you haven't heard, they have been nominated for for an Oscar. Armed Only with a Camera is now on HBO. You can check it out on HBO, Max. But it's the incredible story. This is the 98th Academy Awards. The Renaud family and Juan will be there at the Oscars next month, and we will be rooting for them. If you haven't seen this incredibly courageous film, please check it out. It'll be linked in the bio, but the story of both Renaud brothers and Juan, truly heroic Americans who, who stepped up, most importantly, to share the cost of war. And this is a cost that they've been covering from Iraq all the way through to Ukraine and beyond. And it's a message that needs to resonate right now. It's heavy stuff, but it is an important way to communicate the cost of war with people. So tell them to check out this amazing story about Brent Renault. Check out this amazing film. It'll be linked in the bio and root for these guys. If there's somebody we want to root for, especially at the Oscars, it's going to be this little film and these courageous people that are helping us. Stay vigilant. We got to stay vigilant. I got to stay vigilant. My voice, I got to get more cough drops. There is a lot coming up in the next couple of days. I'm going to continue to bring you shows. A lot of you have been recommending guests. Please keep those coming. Hit me up and let me know who you'd like to see. I may also do an ask me anything soon, which I haven't really done before. We might do some live shows and some other exciting stuff tomorrow. We've got the great Sebastian Younger, just an incredibly insightful, real tough guy, thoughtful guy who's going to talk to us about the war. He's going to talk to us about Iran and he's going to talk about why the Democrats are struggling so much to reach young men and why independents may be succeeding. Check that out on a Friday. Adam Kinzinger is here, my old buddy. We're going to talk about why he's still a Republican. We're going to talk about Iran, and we're going to talk about much more. We are daily now, so tell your friends. We hit number 36 on the charts and we're chugging along. So follow and subscribe. Wherever you're listening right now, hit that subscribe button. Help us spread the word. And on YouTube, YouTube is up like 800%. We are chugging on YouTube. So if you haven't watched us on YouTube, take a minute after this, do me a solid and do that now and share it far and wide. You can get IA merch and you can join our Patreon community, chip it a couple bucks and help us keep this going. I won't spend it on cough lozenges or tea, but I will spend it on bringing you this great content. I also want to give a special shout out to Chris Rosenthal, our amazing producer, creative director and the genius juggernaut behind so much of what we do. He makes every single show and everything we do possible. He is a hero, he is a patriot, and he's a brilliant fucking dude. And I just want to send him a special shout out. Be sure to follow him on social media and send him a thank you as well because he helps us bring this content. America's more divided than ever before, but independent Americans, I'm working to change that. You know the deal, adding light to contrast the heat of all the other political shows. And if you're now among the 45% of Americans who are independent, this is your show. And if you're a Democrat who watches Ms. Now where I'm coming to you from now, or a Republican who watches News Nation where I was earlier, or an independent or any other affiliation who watches CNN or any of the other places I've been, this is your movement. This is your show. Our independent movement is Hope for the Future. Seth Bodnar is the latest example in Montana. Bringing that country over party people over politics, light over heat, busting up that status quo and fueling a new movement. And our movement is growing and bringing hope. That is the oxygen of democracy. And we're going to need our movement, we're going to need that hope, we're going to need that accountability, especially if Trump puts boots on the ground in Iran by the time this post or maybe more troops in Ecuador or maybe even troops in Cuba. It's crazy out there, folks, but I'm gonna try to help you get through it. Invite others to declare their independence now, not just from the political machine, which is partisan and broken, but from the media that right now a lot of it's just not meeting the moment. We're gonna try to do it and help you stay vigilant, my friends, because eternal vigilance is, you know it, the price of freedom. And it's one we're gonna pay right now. No, you're not alone in your vigilance. We're all vigilant. We're all in this together. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. I tomorrow will also be on the Al Franken podcast and next week it looks like I'm going to be on Colbert. So stay tuned for that. Thank you for tuning into Independent Americans. Look out for each other. Stay frosty. I will see you tomorrow. Happy hump day. And when I say stay frosty, I mean it. Try to keep yourself cool. Try to take care of yourself. Try to keep breathing. Look out for those around you. We'll get through this together and we will. Stay vigilant. So do it. Share it. Be it. Stay via Joan America, I'll see you tomorrow. He tells me the left and right are dreams for those without a clue and when you wait it's time to grow and it's not cool to believe in school but if I can say one thing I've seen the children of the revolution and the good trouble they can bring he says the red and blue identity dependent is an attitude an island in the sea of rhetoric and alcoholic go he tells me the left and right our dreams for those without a clue and when you wait it's time to grow Power by righteous media.