← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Trump Deal or No Deal on Iran? New Names Same War.
00:26:28
They're playing name games to dodge accountability. Operation Epic Fury became Project Freedom overnight — and Congress still hasn't authorized a damn thing. In episode 515, Paul Rieckhoff delivers a solo briefing on Trump's Iran proposal, the unsecured Strait of Hormuz, the enriched uranium still sitting in Tehran, and a regime that's still very much in place. New name, same war. Same forever war. And the most powerful military the world has ever seen is being driven all gas, no brakes by one man with no one stopping him.
Loading summary
Transcript39 lines
- [00:00]
Paul Rykoff
And they're playing political and mission name games to avoid accountability on a war, a war that Congress didn't approve and the American people don't support. So don't let them spin you new name, same war Also same forever war. Because it's not just about Iran. It's about Trump doing whatever he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen and nothing stopping him.
- [00:32]
Independent Americans Chorus
Foreign.
- [00:39]
Paul Rykoff
Welcome to independent Americans. Welcome to episode 51 5. I am your host, Paul Reikoff and It is Thursday, May 7, only Thursday, but I'm coming to you from New York City, usa. And the weather here is very nice, very, very nice, especially since the Knicks won here last night. But like 2026, every win comes with a challenge. OG Anunoby might be hurt after the big win, but we've got to drive on. We've got to keep pushing. We've got to drive on. And today's artist is in that theme. Today's artist of the day is the great band Incubus because they created that great song drive, formed in 1991 when they were enrolled together in Calabasas High School, led by the great vocalist Brandon Boyd. You may know their songs like Drive and wish you were here, pardon me, and the great albums make yourself science and maybe one of the best album titles of all time, fungus among us. But we're going to have the fungus among us in our politics. I'm going to keep you driving forward and bring you the five eyes. I bring you in every single show, independence, integrity, information, inspiration, and, of course, impact. No guest today, just me to drive you through it. So let's put the pedal to the metal, pop the clutch and stay vigilant. All right, as we drive into the news today, a couple of quick national security, politics, cultural issues to rip through, as I always do. Welcome to all our new listeners and all our new viewers. Today has got one top topic above all others, and it's in a similar theme, but there is one top topic, And the top topic is no peace. There is no peace. And there's no real ceasefire either. In the Middle East. The US has now put forward a proposal. Tehran is responding. It's this back and forth over what seems to be like a giant PowerPoint slide of a wish list. Trump has put forward, I think, an unreasonable series of things to give up, like our military presence in the area. The Iranians still have the enriched uranium. The Strait of Hormuz is still unsecured. And as I said yesterday in my weekly visit on News Nation, no matter how you Cut it. This is a mess. And the president said he had one of any number of four objectives. Keep the strait of our moves open. That hasn't happened. Remove the regime. That hasn't happened. Secure the enriched uranium. That hasn't happened. Totally obliterate the navy or the military. It's kind of like half happened, okay? But the bottom line is the regime is still in place, the bad guys are still there. And in Washington, Trump continues to try to spike the ball before the game is over. And I think it's very important to watch what they're saying and what they're doing. Chris, play this clip, please.
- [03:50]
Chris (Producer/Assistant)
If the fighting were to resume, because you've said that Operation Epic Fury is over, the president also said that the US Would bomb them off the face of the earth if they tried to go after US Ships. So if the fighting resumes, are you saying that it would resume under Project Freedom, and I ask, as it relates
- [04:06]
Paul Rykoff
to the war Powers Act. Mr.
- [04:08]
Military or Government Official
Yes. Look, the Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. I'm not going to, you know, we're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What the president would prefer is a deal. He would prefer to sit down, work out a memorandum of understanding for future negotiations that touches on all the key topics that have to be addressed, a full opening of the straits so the world can get back to normal. And he prefers that be negotiated through the, the route that Steve and Jared have been working and that all of us have been supporting. That's the route he prefers. That is so far, not the route that Iran has chosen. And so the result has been that the United States has to do something about the fact that we're the only nation on Earth that can do anything to open up a lane within the Straits of Hormuz to get product and to rescue these people that are trapped in there.
- [04:53]
Paul Rykoff
So now they're saying that the fighting is over, and now we're calling it something new. It's now called Project Freedom. Now, that's in part because they know that they don't have authorization from Congress. So they're trying to basically say that really wasn't a war and that's over, and now here's a not really other war, and that's called something else. So they're playing games. It's not Operation Epic Fury anymore, at least name games. They're playing war name games. They called that one Operation Epic Fury the first two months or so. And now they want to call this Project Freedom. It's bullshit. It's spin. It's manipulation. It's propaganda. And they're playing political and mission name games to avoid accountability on a war, a war that Congress didn't approve and the American people don't support. So don't let them spin you new name. Same war. Also same forever war. Because it's not just about Iran. It's about Trump doing whatever he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen and nothing stopping him. It's still the most important story in the world that he's doing anything he wants. And generally nothing is stopping him. And Cuba is still next. So stay vigilant, my friends. Stay vigilant. All right, driving on. You may not have noticed because most people haven't. The United States debt continues to skyrocket. It's now outgrowing the size of the entire US Economy. The president's policies are only accelerating that, as he wants to spend over $30 billion in counting on Iran. He wants to request a new defense budget of $1.5 trillion, your gas prices to continue to go up. He wants a billion dollars for the ballroom. Somebody's got to pay for that. And right now, it's going on our country's credit card. And that is a problem. And I think it's especially a problem for conservatives. So there may be a fight for the soul of the Republican Party around the midterms and especially in the days to come. You've got Trump targeting somebody like Congressman Massie, who is a libertarian, kind of like the next generation of Rand Paul, who wants a smaller budget. He wants no foreign wars. He wants no deficit. And now Trump is in conflict with someone like Massie, who really represents the more true spirit of his own party. Keep an eye on it and stay vigilant. But of course, there's something else related to all of this that is unfortunately even more than the deficit. Below the radar. Below the radar, they continue to blow up alleged drug boats. On May 5, two days ago, the second in two days, they blow up another boat, killed another three people without authorization, without an adequate explanation. I'm going to continue to ask if these guys, and I assume they said they were guys, are bad enough to kill, why aren't they bad enough to capture? We could get intel. We could find out who they are. We could try them before a court. We can explain why. You should explain why they think this is necessary. Keep in mind the US has killed more than 180 people at least in the eight months since they've started blowing up these boats. They continue to carry out an indefinite number. We don't even know a real number of extrajudicial killings. Sorry. The public scrutiny is almost entirely gone. Jack Reed from Rhode island, the senator has called him illegal. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia has questioned the targeted criterion. Representative Bill Keating of Massachusetts described the operation as pirating American values and phony rationale. And Hegseth has called Keating's remarks incredible array of false accusations. Here's the really important part. These continue to happen and most Americans don't even notice. It's also cost a bit of money, anywhere between 12 to 50 million dollars in munitions that to carry out the strikes. And meanwhile they spent $4.7 billion on what they call Southern Spear and Absolute Resolve, which was the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. America, we should never accept and normalize this no matter how many times they do it. So keep it on your radar, keep driving on and stay vigilant. Have you heard about the kamikaze dolphins? Yeah, for real. This is not like some crazy made up shit. I don't know, maybe it is, but they're talking about kamikaze dolphins. Here is the latest question from the propaganda press corps that asked. This is from the daily wire that asked the chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff about kamikaze dolphins. Play that clip.
- [09:28]
Chris (Producer/Assistant)
Chris, are there still concerns about mines in the strait? And can you kind of clarify these reports of kamikaze dolphins that we've heard about?
- [09:38]
Military or Government Official
I haven't heard the kamikaze dolphin thing.
- [09:40]
Paul Rykoff
It's like sharks with laser beams, right? He cannot confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins. This is going to go in the same line item with UFOs. But dolphins have allegedly been used by the Navy before. We will find out if we have kamikaze dolphins. If we do, I'm pretty sure you're going to see a video of Pete Hegseth around them or riding them or with Kash Patel drinking with them. Kamikaze dolphins, people. Welcome to 2026. How much you think those might cost? Stay vigilant. All right. Trump's all gas, no breaks. Nothing is slowing him down. He's still waging war against the free press and he's still waging war against your health. He doesn't really care about your health or his own. More on that in a second. But the FDI FDA has now blocked publication of research finding that Covid and shingles vaccines were safe. Yes, this New York Times reported that the agency's scientists and data contractors reviewed millions of patient records for studies that were pulled back from release, they're not releasing information that says that vaccines were safe. This is a dangerous pattern that we've seen where they're releasing information that only fits their culture war and political narrative. This is the kind of information that saves lives. This is the kind of information that keeps kids safer. This is the kind of information that makes our country safer. And when we don't release it, when our country is sicker, when people don't get vaccines and get measles or get the flu on a battleship, our enemies are celebrating. All right, Trump was talking about his workout regimen. That's an oxymoron, right? Trump, workout regimen, yeah, but he had another bizarre press conference earlier this week where he had a bunch of kids around him, and that's especially dangerous because he's asking them about their thoughts on transgender policy. He asked one kid if he could beat him up. It was a pretty typically ridiculous and shameful display, but check out this clip here. Please, Chris, play it.
- [11:54]
Donald Trump
And it is indeed a beautiful day to celebrate America's athletic traditions and champions physical fitness and all of those things that I work so hard at on a personal basis. I work out so much, like about one minute a day, max, if I'm lucky, he says.
- [12:13]
Paul Rykoff
I work out so much, like one minute a day max, if I'm lucky. I don't even think he does that. Eating hamburgers and putting does not qualify. But make no mistake, he is still trying to hurt our national health, our fiscal health, our national security health, our actual health. Stay vigilant, people. All right? He's still trying to take over the Western Hemisphere. We got to keep our eyes on Venezuela. He continues to threaten Greenland. He's threatened to wage strikes in Mexico as a part of his forever war. And meanwhile, Ukraine continues to drive on the with dignity, with integrity, and with tremendous ingenuity. All right? But they also face horrific strikes almost daily. And this week, there is horrific footage of the site of a Russian strike on a kindergarten in Sumay. I bring this up because we can never lose track of how horrific the strikes are that Putin wages every day. He's another guy who. Who calls a ceasefire and then bombs civilians. Play this clip, Chris. It. You can see it or you can hear it, but this is what Putin does. This is what Putin does every day. And we in America especially cannot forget that what the Ukrainians are enduring every day is almost unimaginable. What children and civilians are enduring every day is almost unimaginable. It won't stop until Putin is gone. So down with Putin. And as always, much respect to our friends in Ukraine who continue to fight on, drive on and help us all. So stay vigilant. All right. In politics, the war for the future and the soul of the Republican Party continues. I talked about this earlier this week on CNN with Aaron Burnett. But Trump did win the first major battle in the soul for the gop. Five of his backed challengers beat incumbents in the state of Indiana where there are no open primaries, where independents haven't had a say, but represent a rising part of the the Indy state, Indiana, and a state that used to be the state of his former vice president Mike Pence. So now he's at war with people in his own party. He's going to continue to try to punish people. And Tom Massie in Kentucky will be next. Also earlier this week, the Ohio governor's race is now set between entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican, and Dr. Amy Acton, a Democrat, who are going to be very different. They're going to be very bombastic. Vivek Ramaswamy is going to be having no shortage of crazy things to say, I'm sure. Do not by any means Google the time he tried to wrap the entirety of Eminem's Lose Yourself. But the politics continue, especially the partisan politics and the worst kind. Republicans, in my view, are bankrupt and mean and gone. The Democrats suck and weak and are weak and won't save you. You want to see what's wrong with our politics? You want to really see or hear it? Check out this exchange between former Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin from Virginia and former U.S. ambassador to Japan and mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel. Play this, please, Chris.
- [16:07]
Political Commentator or Interviewee
What's going to happen in November and it's going to come as a big shock to you. People don't like corruption. They don't like the White House looking like ebay. And you have sold if it ain't nailed down, you've sold everything. And they don't like a set of politics that goes from the rule of law to the rule of one man. And they're going to reject crony capitalism. That is now the rule of what's happening at the White House. And you're going to get your comeuppance that you can say all you want about socialism. I can tell you right now that's not where the Democratic Party is. It's about building the middle class that escalates quickly. I want to popular leaders, the most popular leaders in the Democrat Party today, I want to compliment socialist. I Want to and I want. The most popular leader in the Republican Party has sold everything that's not nailed down. Take that ballroom and take everything that's going on with his kids. With what? Secretary of Commerce's kids and with Witkoff kids. They are making money in this government. And you went into public service to serve. Good. And I compliment you,
- [17:00]
Paul Rykoff
defending a party
- [17:01]
Political Commentator or Interviewee
that wants to have. You did not walk out. You did not walk out. $4 billion. Tom, you may have a point, but this is why you are deflecting. I think it's time.
- [17:12]
Paul Rykoff
It's painful to watch or hear. And it's the painful reality of our politics that are dominated by two broken, failed, shrinking and corrupt parties. The truth is that most voters don't want either of them or either of their parties. Most Americans want none of the above. More and more by the day. That's why I invite you, if you haven't already, to declare your independence. There are more of us than there are of them. We are 45% and growing. Republicans are 27%. Democrats are also 27%. We are the people's champion. We are moving the needle, and we are the needle. I hope you heard that yesterday in my conversation with Ty Pinkens, who's running for Senate in Mississippi. If you haven't, please go back and check that out. And I want to revisit an idea that I put out before. I've said that we need to recruit more high profile candidates. Jesse Ventura said that in our episode. Go back and check that out if you haven't heard it or watched it. But. But I want to revisit the idea again of Stephen Colbert, who brought it up with, of all people, former President Barack Obama. Check this out. Right.
- [18:14]
Stephen Colbert
I'm looking for a new gig soon and a lot of people tell me I should run for president.
- [18:20]
Barack Obama
Well, you certainly have the look.
- [18:21]
Donald Trump
Thank you very much.
- [18:22]
Barack Obama
You have the hair.
- [18:22]
Stephen Colbert
Well, for the record, I think it's a stupid idea. How dumb do you think it is for people to say that I should run for president?
- [18:30]
Barack Obama
Well, you know, the bar has changed.
- [18:35]
Paul Rykoff
That is.
- [18:36]
Stephen Colbert
That is true at times subterranean. So I don't have to limbo so low.
- [18:41]
Barack Obama
They put it this way. I think that you could perform significantly better than some folks that we've seen.
- [18:49]
Paul Rykoff
Right.
- [18:50]
Independent Americans Chorus
Yeah,
- [18:52]
Paul Rykoff
I have great confidence in that.
- [18:54]
Stephen Colbert
Thank you very much. Is that an endorsement?
- [18:56]
Barack Obama
It was not.
- [18:58]
Paul Rykoff
All right. I don't know if he's going to run for president. I don't know if he'd win as a president, but I know that he might make a very compelling candidate for Senate in his home state of South Carolina against Lindsey Graham, especially if he was an independent. I do think this is possible. Remember, Vladimir Zelensky was dismissed. Ronald Reagan was dismissed. Donald Trump was dismissed. And earlier this week, I talked about Golden State warriors, legendary coach and former player Steve Kerr. And somebody named Jstar2 wrote back to me on X, which is always kind of a cesspool. But he said, no, stop. No more celebrities running for offices. They have no business assuming. If you're going to vouch for indie candidates, which is good, find real candidates. That's what he said. Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, Donald Trump, Tommy Tuberville, Vladimir Zelensky, and many more. The model works, people. America loves celebrities, and celebrities can win. And Kerr is one example of someone who's more than just famous. He's trusted, he's respected as a leader and as a communicator and definitely more than anyone else that's running for governor of California right now. So how about less lawyers and professional politicians? We've got enough of them in our politics. And more football coaches, more innovators, more entrepreneurs, more professional communicators, more people who. Who talk to other people and understand what's happening on the ground. And more people who can unify, inspire and win, not just for the Republicans and Democrats, but for the independents and for America. Stay vigilant, folks. All right. In culture, the news has broke earlier this week that Ted Turner has died at the age of 87. The groundbreaking figure in media, he oversaw a vast cable empire that included cnn, especially charting CNN at its apex during the periods of the Gulf War. And I just want to say, you know, he had a massive impact on our culture. And CNN is, of course, not what it used to be. I still visit there from time to time, and I respect a lot of the people that work there. But the days of standard cable are gone, and Ted Turner knew that more than anybody. And now we're looking for the next generation of Ted Turners. And they're coming. Independent media. And media like this is doing what cable news did decades ago. So I encourage you to stay independent, not just in your politics, but also in your media. Seek out alternative news sources. Look to people you trust and not just the standard corporate cable news. Because what CNN and cable news have become is not what Ted Turner created. And I think most of all, the audiences reflect that. So if you like what you hear here, please share it far and wide and invite others to declare their independence when it comes to their Media as well. And stay vigilant.
- [21:51]
Political Commentator or Interviewee
Stay vigilant.
- [21:52]
Paul Rykoff
All right. Finally, in sports, basketball. Let's go, Knicks. Big win last night for my Knicks. 108, 102 against the Sixers. Spurs demolished the Timberwolves 133 to 95 for the Knicks. Embiid was out, but Robinson was out, too. And it wasn't pretty, but they found a way to win. OG an nobe continues to be huge, but also maybe hurt Hart. Josh Hart is Hart. And Karl Anthony Towns commits more dumb fouls than any player I've ever seen. They need to be more disciplined. The Knicks need to be disciplined and win like too many people, like many people in our politics. If a game like that, they're going to lose against San Antonio or okc. But last night it was enough to win. And that's what I think independence can be as well. They may not be perfect, but they should be. And they can be good enough to win. All right, coming up tonight, we got the Pistons at home against the Cavs. Detroit leads one nothing there. Thunder against the Lakers. They have a one nothing lead there. Tough to beat at home last night. The Sabres beat the Canadiens 4 2. Buffalo leads that series 1 nothing. And the Ducks won 31 to even the series with the Golden Knights at 1 to 1. Sports is important. Sports is a break. Sports is a bit of joy that can help you break away from what's happening every day. And don't let them take your joy, because joy is a form of resistance, and it will help us stay vigilant. Something good.
- [23:17]
Independent Americans Chorus
Oh, something sweet.
- [23:19]
Paul Rykoff
Feel the fire. Feel the fire. All right. Finally, something good. This is very different. Spirit Airlines is shutting down, and I think that's good. Spirit Airlines sucks. Have you ever flown on it? It's terrible. Every time you get on a Spirit Airline flight, you feel like you might die, and I think that's bad. I don't think airlines that make you feel that way should survive. The government has threatened to bail them out, but it's the last thing we need given the deficit and everything else that we're talking about. So for a little bit of a change of pace, I'm going to say that sometimes things need to go away. Sometimes things need to stop. And Spirit Airlines has taken a lot of our spirit and I would say arrivederci to Spirit Airlines. Your demise is actually something good. All right, folks. Something Good is, of course, also the show we're daily now. If you like what we're cooking, share it far and wide. Especially check out my episode last week with Yesterday Rather with Ty Pinkins, independent veteran running in Mississippi. Check out all our recent Meet the Independent Candidate series. I've been doing them about once a week. We had, we had Seth Bodner on, we've had Jesse Ventura on, we've had lots of folks from all different backgrounds check out every Wednesday or so. I'm trying to bring you a new one of those and I'll bring you more in the future. America's divided and we're driving on like the Incubus song. We're driving here at Independent Americans. We're trying to bring people together and add light to contrast the heat. So if you're now among the 45% of Americans who are independent unaffiliated, this is your show. We're meeting the moment and we're bringing hope. That is the future of our democracy. Country over party, people over politics, light over heat, challenging that status quo. And our movement is growing. Please give me your feedback. Tell me what guests you'd like to hear, what topics you'd like to cover, or if you see something good, shout it out on social media. You can find me on Instagram, bluesky everywhere else. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, share it far and wide, because we are inviting others to declare their independence and stay vigilant, my friends, because eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. It's what I'm willing to pay. And if you're listening or watching, you're paying it too. But no, 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 into Independent. Ah, sometimes that's tough to say. Thank you for tuning in to Independent Americans. That's Thursday syndrome right there, folks. But I will see you tomorrow, Friday for an episode to end out the week. Until then, I hope you enjoy your Thursday. I hope you can enjoy some basketball or hockey. I hope you can keep the faith and most of all I hope you can stay.
- [25:52]
Independent Americans Chorus
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 and blue are dead and independent is an attitude an island in the sea a red. And when you wait it's time to
- [26:23]
Paul Rykoff
grow Power by Righteous Media
- [26:30]
Barack Obama
if you
- [26:30]
Podcast Outro Announcer
like the show, please take a moment to rate, review and subscribe. It really does help the show to grow. Thank you for listening.