Paul Rykoff (3:33)
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.