← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
State of the Union Reaction. Trump Makes His Iran War Pitch.
00:30:19
Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the longest State of the Union in American history — what Trump said, what he buried, and why the war drums on Iran demand your full attention. From a 100-year-old Korean War hero finally receiving his Medal of Honor to Army vet George Redis sitting in the chamber after being unlawfully detained by ICE, Paul finds the stories that cut through the pageantry. Plus: breaking news from Cuba, the Epstein accountability gap, ICE lawlessness, and something good to get you through the week.
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- [00:01]
Paul Rieckhoff
Lifelock. How can I help? The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.
- [00:05]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
One in four tax paying Americans has paid the price of identity fraud.
- [00:08]
Paul Rieckhoff
What do I do?
- [00:09]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
My refund though.
- [00:10]
Paul Rieckhoff
I'm freaking out.
- [00:11]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
Don't worry, I can fix this. Lifelock fixes identity theft guaranteed and gets your money back with up to $3 million in coverage.
- [00:18]
Paul Rieckhoff
I'm so relieved. No problem.
- [00:19]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
I'll be with you every step of the way. One in four was a fraud paying American. Not anymore. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com Specialoffer terms apply if you're
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Paul Rieckhoff
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- [01:00]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
His numbers are plummeting with pretty much everybody, so even folks who were watching last night who supported him were probably concerned. 61% of respondents in the latest poll said they would describe Trump as, quote, having become erratic with age.
- [01:25]
Paul Rieckhoff
Foreign.
- [01:30]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 449. I'm your host Paul Reikoff and I am still coming to you from Tampa Bay, Florida. Yep, still here. Flights are still not getting out. I'm hoping to get out maybe tomorrow night, maybe Friday, but at least the weather here is pretty damn nice. So I'm not going to complain about that. It is 80 and sunny, which is a whole lot better than most of the Northeast right now, so I am grateful at least for that. But our politics are no less chilly. It is Wednesday, February 25th and today's artist is Dochi. I tried to find an artist from Tampa and there aren't too many. There's lots of death metal apparently and Ray Charles reported here recorded here for a bit. But I found Dochi, the rising hip hop and rap star who has some great album, great songs. I checked him out. Anxiety, Alter Ego, Extra L Girl, get up with Ziza because I'm going to try to bring you some new ideas, try to bring you some inspiration, try to bring you some energy and bring you the five eyes. I bring you in every show, independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact and help you especially on this February Hump day. Stay vigilant. All right. A lot happening today especially, and the top topic has to be the State of the Union reaction. All right, here's what you need to know going into this. Most Americans probably didn't even watch it. And 6 in 10Americans, including a significant slice of American of Republicans, think Donald Trump has become erratic as he ages. According to Reuters Ipsos poll, his numbers are plummeting with pretty much everybody. So even folks who were watching last night who supported him were probably concerned. 61% of respondents in the latest poll said they would describe Trump as, quote, having become erratic with age. 89% of Democrats, 30% of Republicans and 64% of independents described him this way. 64% of independents think he's erratic with age. They definitely saw that last night, which is a terrible sign for Trump and the GOP going into the midterms, if we even have midterms. Some other things that I wanna highlight about the State of the Union. If you stood through it, you stood through the longest State of the Union in history. It was just about two hours. He ended around 11 o'. Clock. I think most folks changed a channel or fell asleep, but for the political folks who've gotta pay attention and folks who are just nerdy like that, it was a meandering Trump speech of the highest order with lots of page, lots of lies. And according to Luke Riddell, a total of 103 individual standing ovations. The vast majority by the Republicans, of course, and he ended just after 11 o'. Clock. There were some unexpected highlights that I'll get to in a second, but a different approach from the Democrats. In the past, Democrats have yelled or they've walked out or they've staged protests, but they were actually organized. And they created what they called the People's State of the Union, a counter programming on the National Mall. And dozens of them boycotted the event and either participated in that or didn't participate at all, including Representative Andre Carson. Dave Min. These are Democrats, of course, from Indiana and California, also not attending. Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Diane DeGette from Colorado, Mary Mae Scanlon. There were dozens of them. Jim McGovern, the Democrat from Massachusetts, said, I'd rather stick needles in my eyeballs. And the list goes on and on. Don Baer, Chantel Brown, Adam Smith, a number of senators that I should highlight. Ron Wyden from Oregon, Ed Markey from Massachusetts, Merkley from Oregon, Chris Murphy from Connecticut, Tina Smith from Minnesota, Ben Holland from Maryland, Ruben Gallego from Arizona, who was recently on this show, Adam Schiff from California, Patty Murray and more. So the Democrats were actually organized in their opposition. They tried to create some counter programming that even less people watched and watched the State of the Union. And there were some other noteworthy moments. Al Green, the longtime congressman, was escorted out of the hall after flashing a sign that said black people aren't apes. I think this kind of thing is actually important. You may remember that Trump posted a video of the Obamas as apes. And Al Green, a longtime activist and considers himself a student of Martin Luther King Jr. Made a point of calling him out on it. Mark Wayne Mullen tried to rip the sign out of his hand, which I think is trying to stomp on free speech. Al Green has a right to say this. I think it's an important reminder of how ridiculous Trump has been over the last couple of months, especially posting that absolutely outrageous and racist video that everyone seems to forget about now. A lot of folks will have already forgotten about the State of the Union by the time you hear this podcast, but I think it's important to pull out some points. There was not a huge focus on national security, very little focus on Ukraine, despite the fact that it's the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. He just had about 20 seconds and then he moved right on, which I think is despicable, disgraceful, bad for our national security, and exactly what Putin wants to hear. There was, as usually with Trump and with presidents of both parties, a focus on our military, a focus on celebrating individuals and their heroism. One in particular, Petty Officer 2nd Class Scott Ruskin, is a US Coast Guard Rescue swimmer who assisted in the evacuation of 169 people during the Central Texas floods on July 4th. President Trump awarded him the Legion of Men inherit during the State of the Union. This is the kind of thing that, frankly, I like about the State of the Union when individual Americans who are independent of politics for the most part are highlighted. This guy made news back in July 4th for saving hundreds of people and he was a good part of the State of the Union for me. Also lots of medals and awards. Trump likes to give out medals and awards. He also met with the Olympic hockey team earlier in the day and put their medal around his neck because he likes to wear other people's medals. But he also gave out two Purple Hearts for the two West Virginia National Guard members who were shot in the head despicably a couple months back, including Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolf was there in person. Trump told the story about his mother who said that he would survive when many folks didn't think he did. Andrew Wolfe, Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolf was actually there to receive his Purple Heart. Also there was the parents of Sarah Beckstrom of Elliot and Gary received the Medal of Honor posthumously on her behalf. You may remember that she was killed during that fatal shooting. I've been to the State of the Union twice myself, and I think that most guests are always political and it's about making a statement. Some are important, some are ridiculous. And there was one in particular that I thought was very important that should be mentioned and focused on now. An army veteran that was detained by ICE in 2025 attended the state of the Union. The army veteran is named George Reddes. You may have seen him testify. He's been in the media. I hope he'll come on this show. Actually, he was detained by federal agents last year and he attended the address as a guest of Mark Takano, who is the ranking member on the Veterans Affairs Committee, A guy I've worked with over the years who cares very deeply about veterans. He is a Democrat from California. He was heading to his security job in Ventura, California, last year when he got caught up in an immigration raid. He got out of his car to identify himself and custom officers put him on the ground, arrested him, detained him, drove him to processing, and then he sent for three days in solitary confinement, suicide wash having been deemed by a social worker as a danger. He was released without ever being offered a phone call or a lawyer. But he was there at the State of the Union to bring attention to his case and to how many other Americans have been unlawfully, I would argue, illegally detained, he said. I hope my presence represents that they can't just lie and have it be okay. I represent everyone else that this is happening to, Reddish said to an interview in the Military Times. Now, since the start of the deportations under Trump, a reminder, ICE has arrested nearly 400,000 people, 60% who've had prior convictions or charges and 14% who are charged with violent crimes. But 40% roughly have no prior crimes. That is a part of what we need to talk about, including Reddis, a former E4 who deployed to Iraq from 2019-20. He was honorably discharged. He said what's going on is not okay, he said, quote, unquote. There is really no other way to put it. It sucks. It's so disappointing this happened to me last year and seeing it just continue to happen and things continuing to get worse and people dying, it just sucks. So I just want to call out Reddis as part of the heroic group of People who attended the State of the Union. This is part of what could come out of the State of the Union. We can talk about other stories that are not getting enough attention. There were also two Medals of Honor announced. This is, I think, got a lot of attention today, as it should. First, Trump honored a 100-year-old veteran. His name is E. Royce Williams. He conducted secret missions during the Korean War. He's 100 years old. Senator Mark Kelly wrote about it, saying, more than 70 years ago, Captain Royce shot down four Soviet MiGs in one dogfight during the Korean War. The dogfight lasted 35 minutes, an eternity for a fighter pilot. And by the end, his plane was out of ammunition, badly damaged, and he barely managed to make it back to the aircraft carrier. This is Kelly himself, a fighter pilot. This stands out as one of the most exceptional and brave feats in naval aviation in our history. But to avoid escalation with the Soviets, the details of the mission were kept secret for decades, and Captain Williams wasn't recognized at the time. That's why Dan Sullivan and I passed a law to waive the time limit so Captain Williams could receive the Medal of Honor he deserves. And that happened last night, which was a tremendous honor, a tremendous moment, a tremendous point of unity, where you got an actual standing ovation from both sides. And then there was another surprise, another surprise Medal of Honor awarded actually in the chamber. Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, a Chinook helicopter pilot, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions under fire during the capture and extradition of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela just a couple of months ago. But very unusual. They presented it to him at the State of the Union. Check this out. So we have a surprise for Eric and Amy. In recognition of Eric's actions above and beyond the call of duty, I would now like to ask General Jonathan Braga to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover with our nation's highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor. All right, those were the unifying points, but there were many that were not. Tons of partisanship, tons of Trump at his worst. And at the end, there was one dividing point that was very critical, and that was the focus on Iran. Trump has hit at least eight countries in the last year. I want to remind you of that. Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, the Caribbean. Where exactly? We don't know the exact location, and nation's waters are undisclosed. Syria, Nigeria, Venezuela. And he wants to hit Iran again. He made that case last night. I don't think he made it very well, but he did not definitely lay out the costs Which I think a president has an obligation to do. He didn't prepare the country for what could be long, drawn out conflict. He basically said, here's my latest regime change, war. And I'm thinking about doing it. And it looks like he will do it maybe potentially in the next couple of days. But he also wants to hit Mexico, he wants to hit Cuba, he wants to deploy more troops domestically, and he wants to invoke the Insurrection Act. So especially last night, as you reflect on the State of the Union, the most important story is still and always that Trump can do anything he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen, and nothing is stopping him. And he didn't focus on it much last night except the end, because he doesn't want you to notice. But there is nothing more important. Nothing more important than sending men and women to potentially die. And that could happen any minute now. And it's another reason why, coming out of this State of the Union, if you read between the lines and you hear what you heard, you have to stay vigilant. All right. There was also a Democratic response. And I wanna note that I think it was actually the strongest one in recent memory. It was staged pretty well. It actually looked very presidential. And it was Abigail Spanberger, the newly elected Democratic governor from Virginia. She looked very presidential. There was an audience that clapped. It wasn't a weird stage thing where she was by herself or in a kitchen. And she has a strong background in national security. She herself was a CIA agent. And here's a clip that I think underscores an unusually effective Democratic response.
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Paul Rieckhoff
In his speech tonight, the President did what he always does. He lied, he scapegoated, and he distracted. And he offered no real solutions to our nation's pressing challenges, so many of which he is actively making worse. He tries to divide us, he tries to enrage us, to pit us against one another, neighbor against neighbor. And sometimes he succeeds. And so you have to ask, who benefits from his rhetoric, his policies, his actions, the short list of laws he's pushed through this Republican Congress? Somebody must be benefiting.
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Podcast Narrator/Guest
Now, of course, there's a question if anybody in America watched any of it. And I think the reality is most Americans did not. They're gonna see the clips of the Olympic gold medalists and the Medal of Honor recipients, and they won't dig deeper into hearing what happened on ir. They were watching some, but most were not. But they are watching Epstein. And Epstein continues to be front and center outside of the State of the Union. And Representative Thomas Massie Continues to lead the charge along with Ro Khanna. And he had this to say in advance of the State of the Union last night. Here's the clip. I'll tell you what I've not seen. I've not seen any arrests from the revelations in the Epstein files. Over 3 million documents describing horrible things, describing unspeakable things, much of it redacted. Over two dozen people have resigned CEOs, members of government worldwide. But I haven't seen any arrests or investigations here in the United States from this Department of Justice. He said, I have not seen any arrests around the revelations for the Epstein file. Two dozen people have resigned CEOs, members of government worldwide. There are arrests happening in places like England, but nothing happening in the United States. And I think that is an issue that continues to bubble below the surface and infuriate Americans of all backgrounds and especially Republicans, which could very much hurt him going into the midterms. If there are midterms. Look at him eating whatever he wants, never gaining a pound while I'm stuck
- [17:17]
Paul Rieckhoff
with the boring special and can't lose an ounce.
- [17:19]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
How's your lunch, man? Amazing. Yours? So good.
- [17:23]
Paul Rieckhoff
Oh, I'm sorry.
- [17:24]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
Happy for you. Cool, buddy.
- [17:26]
Paul Rieckhoff
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Podcast Narrator/Guest
So same time next week?
- [17:34]
Paul Rieckhoff
No.
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Podcast Narrator/Guest
Definitely.
- [17:36]
Paul Rieckhoff
And your friends. Learn more@joinmochi.com Mochi members have access to licensed physicians and nutritionists. Results may vary. Lifelock, how can I help? The IRS said I filed my return, but I haven't.
- [17:47]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
One in four tax paying Americans is paid the price of identity fraud.
- [17:51]
Paul Rieckhoff
What do I do?
- [17:52]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
My refund though.
- [17:53]
Paul Rieckhoff
I'm freaking out. Don't worry, I can fix this.
- [17:55]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
Lifelock fixes identity theft, guaranteed and gets your money back with up to $3 million in coverage.
- [18:00]
Paul Rieckhoff
I'm so relieved.
- [18:01]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
No problem. I'll be with you every step of the way. One in four was a fraud paying American. Not anymore. Save up to 40% your first year. Visit lifelock.com Special offer terms apply. Another reason to stay vigilant. All right, let's go below the radar because Americans are watching what's happening at Epstein. They're probably not watching what's happening in Cuba. And as I record this on Wednesday afternoon, there is breaking news that the Cuban government has shot four Americans on a speedboat. The New York Times has a report four people aboard a Florida based speedboat died in a gunfight with a Cuban border troop near the nation, the island nation's coast. The Cuban Interior Ministry said. And a U.S. official said the firefight involved the U.S. civilian boat that was part of a flotilla to get relatives out of Cuba, adding that the missile was not a US Naval or Coast Guard boat. The Cuban government, of course, is in the throes of an energy crisis, largely because the Trump administration is blocking foreign oil. The boat attack took place just a day after the 30th anniversary of the Brothers to the Rescue shootdown, when Cuban military planes shot down, shot down two planes from a South Florida humanitarian organization. That was disturbing fliers in Cuba. Four people were killed. But this is a developing story, and I think it's very, very important because Trump wants to take out the regime in Cuba, Rubio wants to take out the regime in Cuba. And this, this right here, which is below the radar. This could be their excuse. There's been a lot of talk about strikes in Iran this week, but maybe we'll see strikes on Cuba as well. Watch this space. Our folks are continuing to watch ice, as you definitely should. There was, of course, no defense of ICE last night, really, from Trump, as Americans of all backgrounds continue to be outraged. And before the State of the Union, there was an interview done by Elia Rahmid, the woman who was dragged out of her car by ICE in Minneapolis. And I want to play this because I think it's a very important issue that we have to keep coming back to play this.
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Paul Rieckhoff
Most storied places in America, but face to face with the man whose policies have upended your life. Can I just ask how you're doing?
- [20:19]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
Yeah.
- [20:20]
Paul Rieckhoff
Thanks for having me, and thanks for asking that question. You know, I have spent the last month learning the names of the tendons in my shoulder because both of my shoulders are torn, cartilage and tendon. Right. But what I haven't learned is the names of the people who did this to me. And that's really challenging. But honestly, the thing that I'm far more concerned about than myself is that this is an ongoing fear and threat for people around this country. What happened to me is absolutely not new in the history of this country. And we have not seen accountability that gives me any reason to believe this won't be done to somebody else.
- [21:06]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
She said. I've spent months learning the names of the tendons in my shoulder because both of my shoulders were torn, but I still haven't learned the names of the people who did this to me. This is so central. We have to continue to call for accountability. We should know the names of the agents who abuse and murder Americans, we cannot take our foot off the gas. We cannot take our voices away from demanding accountability, especially coming out of the State of the Union. Ice remains lawless. Ice remains unaccountable. Ice, in my view, remains unaccountable and un American and deeply, deeply just uncool. So we gotta continue to focus on ice and don't let them change the subject, especially if war with Iran develops. We will continue to stay focused here and we'll keep you updated. All right. In politics, I want to shift to another issue that's got folks, I think, understandably, outrage. There was video of an incident in Washington Square park in New York, in New York City on Monday, where police officers got totally assaulted with ice balls and snowballs. And it's become a real issue in the national press and of course, locally in New York. Mamdani has got a bad record on supporting the cops. He's had a lot of friction with the nypd. And there's this at the end. I'm going to play this video because I want you to hear his own words. Play this. So I've seen videos of kids throwing snowballs at members of the NYPD in Washington Square Park. And first, I want to say that officers have been on the front line of helping our city respond to this blizzard. They have been keeping New Yorkers safe, and they have also been at the heart of our efforts of digging New Yorkers cars out of these kinds of conditions and ensuring that our ambulances, our MTA buses can keep functioning across this city. They and our entire city workforce deserve to be treated with respect.
- [22:56]
Paul Rieckhoff
The only person in our city's workforce
- [22:58]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
who deserves to be treated with a snowball is snowball incident.
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Paul Rieckhoff
The head of the PBA says that the people who were involved in attacking the police officers should be charged criminally with assault on a police officer. I wonder if you agree with that, if those people can be identified.
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Podcast Narrator/Guest
I don't. From the videos that I've seen, it looks like a snowball fight. So at the end, when he was asked if people involved should be charged, Mamdani says, from the videos I've seen, it looks like a snowball fight. That was not a snowball fight. That was a mob attacking a bunch of cops with snow and ice and who knows what else. And this was the first big opportunity for Mamdani to stand strongly with the police, and he blew it. It did not look like a snowball fight. And no mayor in our lifetime has been less trusted by the nypd, understandably. And this is going to become an issue because if he continues to be unpopular with the cops, if he continues to be unpopular with law enforcement, Trump will not just sit on the sidelines. I think Trump is always looking for a reason to get into a battle with Mamdani. And if he continues to lose support with the nypd, this will be it. Just in case you get it twisted, the NYPD considers it an assault. They posted this message saying, wanted for assault on a police officer. At approximately 420, two uniformed police officers were inside Washington Square park when two individuals intentionally struck the officers multiple times with snow and ice, causing injuries to their head, neck and face. If anyone has any information, contact the tip line at 1-800-567-7-TIPS. They're posting the pictures. One has a guy with a giant ice ball over his head. This was not just a snowball fight. And mom, Donnie, you gotta turn it around, man, because the cops don't trust you. And after this, it's understandable why. All right, speaking of dumb, one final note. Tommy Tupperwill is always among the dumbest and hackiest members of the Senate. Yesterday he had this clip that I want to play for you for your Wednesday amusement where he said, we've got the hardest working president ever. So the rest of the story, Look, America today is a prosperous country. It's a safe country and it's a very well respected country around the world, don't you think? Oh, and I'll tell you why. We got the hardest working president every ever. He's not getting a lot of help from Congress, either the House or the Senate Republicans either. We've done a little bit here. We should have done another reconciliation on health care before the first of the year. We didn't do it for some reason. We have another one we can do. All it takes is a little bit of work. But President Trump sleeps about two hours a day. He's bound and determined not to just take care of the people, the taxpayers here, but as I said, the rest of the hemisphere. What he did down in Venezuela was outstanding. What he's trying to do in Greenland with the golden dome, okay? According to him, Trump sleeps two hours a day, which is ridiculous. He also thinks he's the hardest working president ever, which is ridiculous. He thinks he's the smartest and greatest president ever. And Tommy Tuberville continues to be Senator Redneck, the hackiest member of the Senate, who we will always bring a special focus on, if only to keep your outrage a little bit stoked as we go through another cold winter week. All right, finally, let's go to culture. Some sad, but I think important news you may remember if you're as old as me. Robert Carradine, the star of Revenge of the Nerds. He was also in Lizzie McGuire. He died this week at 71, and he died by suicide. And this is very, very important. His family said he lived with bipolar disorder for two decades. And his brother said that he died by suicide. He said, we want people to know it, that there is no shame in it. It's an illness that got the best of him and I want to celebrate him for his struggle with it and celebrate his beautiful soul. He was profoundly gifted and we will miss him every day. I loved him in Revenge of the Nerds. I feel like he was a part of my childhood. I've seen that movie a million times. He was a brilliant actor and he gave power to nerds everywhere. I considered myself a nerd when I was growing up, and I will always remember Keith Carradine's role in that film and in that film as cheering for the underdogs. But it's really important, this message that they're putting out after we've seen an increase in the number of suicides across this country, especially this time of year. So if you or someone you know needs help, the National Suicide and Crisis lifeline in the US is available by calling or texting 988. Spread the word. All right. Finally some positive news. Bruce Springsteen is on a new tour with the E Street Band. He is pushing back. He is blasting Trump. He is playing new music. And there is now breaking news that he will be joined by Rage against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello at every stop of their Land of Hope and Dreams US arena tour. That is going to be something to watch. I'm going to check it out. I, of course, invite the boss and Mr. Morello on this show anytime. We'd love to have you here because we know that you can bring something good.
- [27:53]
Paul Rieckhoff
Something good.
- [27:58]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
All right. Something good to finish this Wednesday, there is a new Barack Obama foundation library, the Barack Obama Presidential Library in Chicago. And I think there's something that needs to be celebrated about this because Barack Obama, no matter whether you agree with his politics or not, was great at culture and great at community, great at bringing people in. And he was great at basketball. I mean, I'm sure Trump and Tuberville think that they could beat him, but Obama could play. And basketball was always a centerpiece of his presidency. And there is now news that there will be a basketball court inside the presidential library. I think this is really cool because I've been to a number of presidential libraries and they seem like the kind of places maybe you go to once or twice or maybe you go for an event. But by putting a basketball court in there where teams can play and clinics can happen, it creates a vibrancy, it creates life, it creates energy, it creates community in a way that only sports can. So I want to celebrate Barack Obama. He's of course, got the Barack Obama Rising sun logo in the middle of the court, which is pretty cool if you ask me. But that move to bring sports into our culture in a positive way and putting a basketball court in your presidential library, that for me, on this Wednesday, that's something good. All right. I am still in Tampa. I'm going to try to catch one more spring training game with the boys before I leave. If you didn't check out my episode yesterday with Mayor Mike Duggan of Detroit, you should, because he is neck and neck with a Republican and Democrat. He is the independent candidate in Michigan and he's in a tight one. But he doesn't sound like an independent in a lot of ways. Some ways he does, but he also was a Democrat until about a year ago. So I challenge him on a number of things, especially on Ice and Trump. It was a challenging conversation. It was an important conversation and I hope the mayor will come back again as this campaign continues to unfold. I was also on News Nation earlier today from here in Tampa. I will be on msn in about 5:00 clock tonight, a little bit before this post and maybe again tomorrow. And there's some big news. I will be on the Late show with Stephen Colbert at some time in the next few weeks, sometime, I think next month. Stephen's team has reached out. I am honored. I am humbled. I am excited. I think Stephen is a tremendous patriot and the first time I appeared on his show was on the Colbert report back in 2006 when that show was first starting. So in his final couple of weeks, I will join him on the show. Stay tuned for more. I'll try to take you behind the scenes and be sure to follow and subscribe everywhere. Check out our Independent Americans merch. Join our Patreon community hit. Subscribe right now on YouTube, especially leave a rating on Apple podcasts and spread the word because America's divided more than ever before. But coming out of something like the State of the Union, we at Independent Americans are working to change that, add light to contrast the heat and take you below the hood on news and politics in a way you probably don't get from other shows. If you're among the now 45% of Americans who are independent, you know, this is your show. The independent movement is bringing hope for the future. Country over party, people over politics, light over heat, busting up the status quo. You know the deal. And our movement is growing and bringing hope. That is the oxygen of democracy. Hope that you need. If you're still digging out on the East Coast, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did share it far and wide. Next week, I just got confirmation. I will have Sebastian Younger back on the show. Got some other great guests coming up, so invite others to declare their independence and join us. And stay vigilant, my friends, because eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. And no, you're not alone in your vigilance. We're all vigilant. We're all in this together. Where the sun is shining is where you where you are the snow is coming again we are all in this together. Got a couple more weeks of winter. Let's stick together and get through it. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. Thank you for tuning into Independent Americans. I will see you tomorrow with a new episode. Happy Hump day and Stay vigilant, America. Stay Vigilant 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
- [32:00]
Paul Rieckhoff
and blue are dead and independent is an attitude an island in the sea
- [32:06]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
of rhetoric and acrobatico he tells me
- [32:08]
Paul Rieckhoff
the left and right Our dreams for
- [32:11]
Podcast Narrator/Guest
those without a clue and when you wait it's time to grow Power by Righteous Media.