← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Trump Attacks the Pope. Iran War Peace Talks Collapse. Navy Imposes Hormuz Blockade.
00:27:57
President Trump has escalated his rhetoric to a global scale, launching a stunning series of attacks against Pope Leo, labeling the religious leader "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy." As the 2026 political landscape grows increasingly volatile, host Paul Rieckhoff breaks down why these attacks are driving a historic exodus of Catholic Republicans from the party and why the Pope may be the ultimate "Independent American." But the rhetoric isn't the only thing heating up; following the collapse of peace negotiations, Trump has announced a naval blockade on Iran. Rieckhoff, a combat veteran, explains why this move is an undeniable act of war under international law and issues a blistering call for Congress to end its "dereliction of duty" by holding a formal vote on the conflict.
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KFC Narrator
A KFC tale in the pursuit of flavor. The Colonel made his $10 Tuesday bucket so full with eight pieces of juicy, crispy chicken or tenders that it might just last you till Wednesday if you've got that kind of self control. I mean some people want leftovers, others are more into right nowers. The Colonel lived so we could chicken 10 bucks 8 pieces. One big deal with KFC. $10 Tuesdays.
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KFC Disclaimer Voice
Prices and participation may vary.
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Paul Rykoff
Taxes, tips and fees extra.
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KFC Disclaimer Voice
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- [01:00]
Paul Rykoff
Trump is attacking the Pope again. We used to be shocked when he attacked John McCain and a Gold Star dad. And in 2026 this is a real headline and post. Soon he's going to be threatening to invade the Vatican and sell off all the gold. Well, one upside for America is that he's successfully driving more people out out of the Republican Party by the minute. So Catholic Republicans, declare your independence. The Pope is the ultimate independent American. Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 491. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. It is Monday, April 13th and I'm coming to you from New York City, USA. I am back from Los Angeles and the Real Time with Bill Marshall, which was fun and wild and fiery. More on that coming up. And the weather back here in New York is gloomy again, but warm. It's getting up to 80, 80 degrees this week, which is weird. But 2026 has been pretty weird. And Mondays in America with Donald Trump as president are always weird. So today's artist of the day, an artist that I share with my boys each day to introduce them to new music, is Weird Al Yankovic. Yes, because these are weird times and we need a break. We need a little bit of humor. He's of course the genius behind white and nerdy Amish Paradise. Eat it. Smells like Nirvana. Party in the CIA. Remember that? A parody of Miley Cyrus and the legendary comedy musician is going to be on Jimmy Kimmel Live next Thursday, which is the only late night show apparently he's never been on. But Weird Al Yankovic is back in the news and we're going to need a break. We're going to need a little bit of a diversion because the news is hot, heavy and intense coming into another new week. And I'm going to bring you the five eyes like I bring you in every single show. Independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. No guests today, just me. Quick fire on this important Monday. And as always, it is a Manosphere Monday.
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Manosphere Monday Chorus
Manosphere Monday, Monday.
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Paul Rykoff
Trying to offer an alternative to some of the other voices out there in podcasting and news and culture. And I think people are ready for it based off the last few weeks especially. Welcome to all the new folks. So let's get after it, let's get weird, and let's stay vigilant. All right, before we get to our top topic, Independent Americans has Now hit number 13 on the Apple news podcast charts. Want to thank you all for the support, especially our longtime supporters. That means we're ahead of Mark Levine, Dan Bongino, Pod Save the World, Pivot, Alex Jones, thankfully, morning Joe, Bill O'Reilly, Ted Cruz, Nick Fuentes, Anderson Cooper, Sean Hannity, Rachel Maddow, Don Lemon, Scott Jennings, Brian Taylor Cohen and many others. And ahead of countless partisans, radicals and bomb throwers. And closing in on Candace and Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson, the Bulwark and Tim Miller, Megyn Kelly, Midas and Pod Save America. And the YouTube growth has been explosive. And I think it's in large part because 45% of this country is independent. Millions are independent, curious and politically homeless. And everybody wants something different that they can trust, especially in a time of war. And we're going to bring it. And we're also, I am also one of the very few shows hosted by a veteran. So thank you to all of you for riding with me, for spreading the word and for joining our movement and especially for to the vigilant, the very vigilant, the most vigilant, and our Patreon members and Plank owners. And welcome to all the new folks. After real Time with Bill Maher and Stephen Colbert, I'm ready to meet this moment and bring you guests who are ready to meet this moment and continue to bring light to contrast the heat. We're just getting started in building our independent media and political movement. We're all in this together. So no matter what happens, no matter what happens next, stay vigilant, America. All right. And before we get to our top topic, I want to start with some good news because we don't rarely, we don't, we don't often do that on a Monday. Artemis 2 has landed. They are back. They are on Earth. And John Kraus, who, who works for NASA, special communications assistant for NASA, posted something. It was a photo of Artemis landing being broadcast on Citi Field, where the Mets play in New York. And he wrote that Artemis 2 was the most monocultural moment for space flight in a long time. And I think that nailed it. It was a monocultural moment. The world was watching, the country was watching. We were united and not for a Super bowl or a natural disaster. And it was inspiring. It gave people a reason to root for America. I disagreed strongly with Bill Maher on this on Friday, who apparently is not a fan of NASA and, and Artemis and the moon. But most Americans are. Most people around the world are. And that's a good thing. And it's a good reason to start off our day with something good. All right. But let's get to our top topic. There's lots Viktor Orban, Putin, Trump, Vance lose. Hungary wins. Peace negotiations in Iran fall apart. Trump has a blockade. Trump's attacking the Pope. But Artemis did land safely and inspire the world. But the topic. Trump is back at it. He has announced a naval blockade on Iran after the peace talks have collapsed. And here's what I will remind you. There will be no days off. And this is not what peace or victory looks like. Now, you could argue this is what he should have done instead of this massive bombardment and war on Iran starting about six or seven weeks ago. But a naval blockade is undoubtedly an act of war in international law. No president, in my view, should be permitted to do this without Congress, without the country behind it. Therefore, Congress should do their overdue constitutional duty and vote on whether or not to formally declare war on Iran. Seems like a good idea, right? But every elected leader in Washington should show their constituents in history where they stand now. And I think they should do what they haven't done. Call an emergency session of Congress and do it today. Anything else, in my view, is a dereliction of duty, a failure of our Constitution, a failure of our democracy, a failure of our troops. And we should do it again and expect failure from Congress because Trump does. We should do it again. We should keep pushing. We should keep asking for it. But again, expect failure from Congress. They're probably not going to do it because Trump expects failure from Congress and he continues to do anything he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen. But this is not working, America. He can't just do anything he wants in any country, anywhere. He must be stopped. And we all, especially those of you in Congress who listen to or watch this show you've got to stay vigilant. All right. But there was good news. Orban was stopped, and the people of Hungary are vigilant, and it paid off. Orban and authoritarianism lose in Hungary. Now, as I mentioned last week, my family comes from Hungary. My grandmother immigrated here from Hungary, spoke no English, and I've always had a very deep attachment to Hungary. I've been there. I think Budapest in Hungary is an amazing place. But Orban and authoritarianism have lost. Putin, Trump, J.D. vance have lost and democracy has won. So congratulations and well done to the brave people of Hungary and to Peter Madhyar and his team. You've led the way and shown the world and America what is possible. One day, Trump will be out, too, and America will have a period of nationwide celebration like Hungary is having right now, as will Russia and Iran, Israel and others who are struggling under authoritarianism. But not yet, because there's still a lot of work to do. But Hungary has broken the seal and given us all hope. Democracy is making a comeback. With more to come. We will prevail. So keep the faith and keep up the fight. One down, more to go if we stay vigilant. All right, And Trump is at the top of the list because he keeps doing things like attacking the liberal woke weak Pope. Yes, he's attacking the Pope again. If you haven't seen it, he posted it on Truth Social saying Pope Leo is weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy. He goes on with a lot more. I'm not going to read it, but it's like Trump wakes up every day and says, hmm, how can I make things worse for America? He has no failure of imagination and nothing is off limits to him. And so now he's calling the Pope weak on crime. Trump is attacking the Pope again. We used to be shocked when he attacked John McCain and a Gold Star dad. And in 2026, this is a real headline and post. Soon he's going to be threatening to invade the Vatican and sell off all the gold. Well, one upside for America is that he's successfully driving more people out of the Republican Party by the minute. So, Catholic Republicans, declare your independence. The Pope is the ultimate independent American. Kids, don't be like Trump. Be like the Pope. Because as Trump continues to attack the Pope and attack our allies around the world, our enemies are celebrating.
- [11:27]
Guest or Commentator
Our enemies are celebrating.
- [11:42]
Paul Rykoff
All right, Trump's been on a bit of a losing streak. Iran or bond peace talks. And there was another piece of news today. A judge has dismissed his suit against the Wall Street Journal. If you didn't see this. Trump had filed a $10 billion defamation of lawsuit, a claim against the publisher of the Wall Street Journal over the report of his lewd birthday greeting to Jeffrey Epstein. So another loss for Trump, I think a victory for the Free Press as Trump and Hegseth especially continued to wage their war on the Free press. They come after the Free Press and the Wall Street Journal much more aggressively than they do Putin, North Korea or anyone else. But back to Iran. Dave Brown at the Wall Street Journal is reporting that there was a very close call with an Iranian ship and a US Naval ship. The two ships came very close near the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranian forces radioed to an American destroyer. This is the last warning. This is the last warning. Now, the US Ship responded and said, passage in accordance with international law. No challenge is intended to you. And I intend to abide by our government's ceasefire. The US Ship responded. Now, thankfully, there was not an engagement, but it was a testament to the professionalism and the restraint of our outstanding military and a stark contrast to the behavior of our commander in chief. Keep an eye on this one, folks. And related to our military, related to all these discussions, there's an issue that is below the radar. All right, last week it was below the radar, but now it's at Coachella. I'm talking about the draft. Everyone has been talking about it because everyone's scared of it, which is actually what I think we want in America, when you have a draft, it forces people to think about whether or not our wars are bullshit. And the Strokes, the fantastically successful, far reaching, great rock band, talked about the draft at Coachella in front of tens of thousands of young people. Yep, everyone is talking about the draft. Some of you might be here now for the first time because I talk about the draft and I want to keep you ahead of it. And my wife told me this weekend we need to talk about it more because she said at our Little league game this weekend, the moms were talking about it because as she explains, Trump is so crazy that nobody knows what he might do next. And I think she's right. But this conversation about the draft and the recognition that In December, every 18 year old man will be mandatorily enrolled in the draft. Women are going to be left out because that's what the GOP led Congress wanted to do, which I don't think is right. But the draft is something that has got people talking and Trump hasn't taken it off the table. As I mentioned on Real Time but it's piercing the failure of imagination in America. Finally. Hooray. I think it's waking people up. So how about a new rule for America? No wars without the draft. No. No wars without a draft. Make the draft a part of any war. Then the president can only wage wars that the country is fully behind. What do you say, America? No wars without the draft. Then you can't commit the military without committing the country. Make every war require a draft, then require that will require every president to get the country committed before he commits the troops. What do you say, America? I say stay vigilant. All right. Meanwhile, ICE is running rampant around America. Don't forget about that. Every day there's more bad shit. Don't believe the government. Believe your eyes. Trump is all gas and no brakes and nothing is slowing him down. From Iran to here in the US he's still, of course, trying to take over the Western hemisphere. But in other parts of the world, operations continue. Don't forget about venezuela because on April 10, two days ago, they struck another alleged drug boat at the direction of southcom Commander Francis Donovan. Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted two lethal kinetic strikes on two vessels operated by designated terrorist organizations. This is from Southern Command. They said two male narco terrorists were killed and one narco terrorist survived the first strike. Three male narco terrorists were killed following the second strike. A reminder, there have been survivors before and we don't know where they went. I don't think they've been questioned for intelligence. There doesn't seem to be any accountability. But here's the really important. They are still hitting alleged drug boats and they are still not authorized by Congress and they still haven't released a full video from the September 2 strike. Don't forget about that because Pete Hegseth really hopes that you do. Stay vigilant, folks. All right. Of course, we always want to stay vigilant when it comes to Ukraine. This is day 1510 of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. We've had many episodes where we've gone deep in Ukraine and we will continue to stand with Ukraine even and especially when Donald Trump and J.D. vance won't. And here's an important piece of news related today. The Hungary change. Viktor Orban losing madhyar winning is a win for Ukraine. This is a defeat for Putin. It's a win for Ukraine and it could likely unlock the EU's $90 billion euro loan for Ukraine and its EU membership bid. Now, Hungary can be a tipping point. Now, this doesn't mean progress will be quick. Or free of any further obstacles. But. But my dear's win is a positive shift for Hungary and the European Union and also for Ukraine. So Iran out is good news for Ukraine. And it's another reason why momentum is still building for Ukraine. They continue to hold the line for freedom against Putin, against authoritarianism, and against those who wanted to smash the free values that Ukraine and America stand for. So I think this cuts across all partisan lines and resonates especially with veterans who stand strongly with Ukraine. It's another reason to stay vigilant. All right, let's talk about politics for a second. Trump has an unpopular war. He has unpopular tariffs. He's attacking the Pope. And this is about the last thing that Democrats need right now, a distracting sex scandal. Cue Congressman Eric Swalwell. If you haven't heard, he suspended his campaign for California governor amid sexual assault allegations. Am he says that he's deeply sorry for his mistakes and judgment in the past, but promised to fight what he calls false allegations. So again, this is about the last thing that Democrats need right now. And outside of trying to have Biden run again, there's only about one other thing that Democrats could do right now to get in the way of their own momentum and the Republicans collapsing. Kamala Harris wants to try to run again. At least she's left the door open. She said last week at an event with Reverend Al Sharpton that she might run for president again. Look, as I said with Bill Maher on Friday, Trump tried on Iran and missed his shot and the nuke threat remains. Harris tried for president and missed her shot, and the Trump threat still remains. The country said no to Kamala Harris. They're not going to say yes this time. Please, Democrats, stop trying to lose. We need anyone to slow Trump down. And you're not going to do it if you run Kamala Harris again. I'm sorry, that's facts. But the Republicans have gone off a cliff and the Democrats can't stop them. Independents remain the people's champions. We're not just moving the needle. We are the needle, 45% and growing. You're going to hear from more candidates in the days to come. I will be bringing back Dan Osborne, Todd Achilles and others and new candidates who are emerging by the day to meet this moment. A lot of veterans, especially, are stepping off the sidelines. They don't want to run for Team Red or Team Blue. They want to run for Team America. And they're coming. So stay vigilant.
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Manosphere Monday Chorus
Stay vigilant.
- [19:44]
Paul Rykoff
All right, let's talk culture. This is big news out of Hollywood. A group of Hollywood heavyweights has signed a letter opposing Paramount's deal with Warner Brothers. The letter warns that the deal will result in fewer jobs for creatives, higher costs and less choice for audiences. So more than 1,000 writers, actors and directors released a letter on Monday opposing Paramount's acquisition, saying the deal would harm their already banged up entertainment industry. This is from the New York Times. The letter was signed by a lot of well known performers including Bryan Cranston, Joaquin Phoenix, Tiffany Haddish, Lily Gadstone and others. I would welcome them on this show to talk about it. I think this is an important conversation about the future of media, about, about the future of creativity. We've talked about AI a lot on this show, but it's an issue that I think will merge with our politics in a big way. And anytime folks in the entertainment community are speaking out, it'll help us bring the political issues to more people. So I invite all those folks to join us on this show and help us stay vigilant. All right, finally. Well, almost finally. Let's talk sports. If you didn't see Rory McElroy became the fourth golfer to win back to back Masters. A fantastic performance, a dominant performance. Also of note, Trump was not there at the Masters golf tournament. I thought he might and there was speculation that he might. It's something that he talks a lot about. He plays a lot of golf, but it looks like he made a smarter sports and culture play. If you didn't see he was at the UFC fight on Saturday night, which was electrifying. I'm a UFC fan. The fights were incredible. The main card was incredible. But after the co main event, after a huge knockout victory, a fighter named Costa immediately left the octagon, jumped over the octagon and bowed down to Trump, said how much he loved Trump. Trump said how beautiful he was. But here's the takeaway. Trump being there has tremendous political value. Yes, I think he probably should have been negotiating with the Iranians, although he might not have helped the situation. But while J.D. vance was negotiating with the Iranians in Pakistan, Trump was at UFC on Saturday night, which was widely watched. And it's worth his time because at some point the Democrats are going to have to realize that UFC is incredibly popular and still growing and start showing up and fighting for this audience and this demographic. This is where a lot of independent Americans are, a lot of political jump balls. And if the Democrats cede this space to Trump, they're going to continue to lose it. So independents, especially I am calling on you. There's a UFC fight in Newark next week. Sorry, next month. I think I'm gonna go. Who's with me? Let me know. Let's all show up and stay vigilant.
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Guest or Commentator
All right.
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Paul Rykoff
Finally, as we do on every show, I want to end with something good. And it is Manosphere Monday. So I'm going to talk about the opening weekend of Little League. My little guys started this weekend. I've got a 7 year old and a 10 year old. They are excited about Little League. And our little guys started off with a game on Sunday night. It was cold. They had the baggy pants and the shoe and the shirts that don't fit. But they gave it a ton of gusto. And I was inspired by the community, the dads, the moms, the people who come together around these seven year olds who are all just trying to get better and bring in positive energy. So literally that starting all across this country is definitely something good. And I want to tell you a baseball story that I saw a couple weeks ago that I want to highlight as well, about a helper, someone who ran in when others didn't do anything. But Craig Carton is a sports writer. He has a Craig Crichton show. He has a podcast. He's also a radio show host on the afternoon drive on the great WFAN radio here in New York, the Great Sports Radio. And he wrote a couple weeks ago crazy story at yesterday's Mets game, guy in section121 had a heart attack and his wife frantically started yelling for help or a doctor or a nurse to come over. One random guy in the section who said he was neither started doing chest compressions and saved the man's life. Eventually, paramedics showed up to take over and assist the fallen man. The hero went back to his seat, sat down and watched the rest of the game with zero fanfare and attention. He just wanted to watch the Mets win. When the game ended, he walked out like nothing had happened. We don't know his name, but he saved a man's life and is a hero. In these dark times, folks, there are heroes, especially in our communities, stepping up every single day. Mr. Rogers said, look for the helpers. These are the kind of helpers who are running in when others are running out. They're setting an example for our children. And on this Manosphere Monday, it's an important one, in contrast to what you see coming out of leaders with no honor like Trump and Hegseth and so many others. So look out for the helpers and be a helper, especially as Little League starts, especially as in youth sports, even if you don't have kids, you can help and you can volunteer, you can umpire and you can help do something good. All right, folks, as I mentioned, I was on Bill Maher on Friday. It was wild. That show is always wild. It's in Los Angeles. Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel was on, who was really great, and Douglas Murray, who I had a heck of a clash with. Here's one clip, Chris, that I think breaks it down.
- [24:58]
Guest or Commentator
He is destroying the trust that has been built over generations and he's taking the reputation of the American military down with him. When he says he wants conquest, when he says today, when he says we want conquest, right, we said we're going to take the oil.
- [25:13]
Paul Rykoff
We are not marauders.
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Guest or Commentator
We are not mercenaries. When Americans send men and women to die, the only thing we ask for is a place to bury our death. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing else. And that's how it should be. But he tells all that apart and the world does not trust him. So therefore, they don't trust us. And no matter how admirable his goal is, the outcome matters. And right now, the outcome is not a victory. At best, it's incomplete. We're six weeks into it. So how many weeks is okay? How many weeks?
- [25:43]
Paul Rykoff
Look, every time I go on this show, I'm impressed by how far it reaches people of all backgrounds and especially independents. I'll share some more insights in the days to come, we'll share some more clips. But thank you and welcome to all of you that are here. I also had a bit of a disagreement with Bill Maher, who doesn't like Artemis or NASA. But Bill Maher gave me a platform again. It's my sixth time on the show. Let me know what you think. Give us your feedback. And I hope to get Bill Maher on the show coming up soon. Also guests coming up. Michael Steele will be joining us this week. I'll ask him why he's still a Republican. He's the former lieutenant governor of Virginia. I'm sorry, Maryland. Check that. John Avalon, the political analyst, will be here soon. Dan Osborne, running for Senate in Nebraska. Henry Rollins, the great Henry Rollins will be back. Jesse the Body Ventura, the governor, will be back here. And my old friend Eugene Merman, a great comedian. You may know him from Bob's Burgers. He recently had a terrible car accident and he's on recovery. I've been in touch with him. And you may not know, we were friends in college. So Eugene Mirman, the great comedian and a really thoughtful guy will be joining us in an episode to come. If you haven't heard, we're daily now and we hit number 19 on the charts, 19 and surging. So follow us everywhere. Subscribe on YouTube especially, and on Apple Podcasts, you can get IA merch, you can join our Patreon community and you can help us spread light to contrast to heat. America's been divided, but that's starting to change, especially around issues like ice and Iran. And maybe as we near Memorial Day coming up in a couple weeks, we are working to add light to contrast the heat of all the other political shows. So if you're now among the 45% of Americans who are independent, this is your show. Especially folks that are just joining us because they saw me on Real Time with Bill Maher. Welcome. Our independent movement is Hope for the Future. Country over party, people over politics, light over heat, busting up the status quo and fueling a new movement that is growing across this country because we're bringing the hope, the hope that is the oxygen of democracy. The hope that I see on those Little Leaguers and on everybody who's around Little League this time of year. It's one of the great things about America to remind us that hope is the oxygen of democracy. So if you enjoyed this episode, please share it far and wide. Go back and check out all of our recent archives, all of our conversations, and invite others to declare their independence as we go into a new week. Stay vigilant, my friends, because eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. And now you're not alone in your vigilance. We're all vigilant and we're all in this together. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. Thank you for tuning in to independent Americans. I will see you tomorrow. Happy Monday, Happy start of Little League. And stay vigilant, America.
- [28:20]
Manosphere Monday Chorus
Stay Vigilant tells me the left and right Our dreams for those without a clue and when you wake 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 I can probably 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.