← Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
US Fighter Shot Down in Iran. Hegseth Purges Army Chief and More Generals. Inside Artemis w/ NASA Commander Scott Kelly.
00:57:59
The ultimate split-screen moment in American history. While the world watched in awe as the Artemis crew headed toward the moon—representing the pinnacle of human achievement and international cooperation—the reality of global conflict hit home. In this urgent Friday blitz, host Paul Rieckhoff breaks down the breaking news of a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle being shot down over Iran. With one crew member rescued and another's status uncertain, we examine the tactical reality of "boots on the ground" in a conflict that continues to escalate despite a lack of public support.
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- [00:03]
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- [00:39]
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- [01:07]
Commander Scott Kelly
Prices and participation may vary. Tax tips and fees extra. We have to figure out what the right move is next. I mean, it's something our military is now committed to and we need to be, I think, just really, really careful that we don't make any future mistakes here because it could have, you know, very, very severe consequences not only for the United States, but the whole, the whole planet.
- [01:46]
Paul Rykoff
Welcome to Independent Americans. Welcome to episode 483. I am your host, Paul Rykoff. And it is Friday, April 3rd. We made it to Friday and it is final for Friday. That's right. The final four for the women and the men in basketball is this weekend. And I'm coming to you from New York City, usa. And the weather is pretty nice. The sun is finally coming out. It's going up to 60. And it's. It's also the home opener at Yankee Stadium. I can't be there because duty calls. But I am with the Yanks in spirit. And it is also the start of Easter weekend. Artemis continues to head toward the moon. And today's artist, the artist of the day, the artist I pick each morning to share with my young boys is the Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks for a number of reasons. Number one, they were extremely courageous in speaking out on George Bush in the early days of the Iraq war. Their music's absolutely fantastic. They have a song called Traveling Soldier, which I think is very, very important for a time like this when we've got men and women deployed and leaving on deployment if you don't know that first verse when she sings. 2 days past 18 he was waiting for the bus in his army greens Sat down in a booth in a cafe there Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair. The song is amazing. I can't play it due to rights on YouTube, but check out the chicks and all their songs. Of course not Ready to Make Nice is a classic. And Wide Open Spaces, I'm also picking that song for a particular reason. Our guest coming up is astronaut Scott Kelly. And when he was in space for a year, he created a mix of really good music, reflective, uplifting rock, all kinds of different stuff tailored for looking down at Earth from the International Space Station. I'm going to link to that playlist in the bio, but he has that song Wide Open Spaces in his playlist. I think it's a good one for the weekend and especially as we continue to be inspired by the Artemis crew and close out a big week. And just like the Artemis crew, just like Commander Scott Kelly coming up, I'm going to bring you the five eyes that I bring you in every single show. Independence, integrity, information, inspiration and impact. And our guest today is bringing all that and then some. He is a returning champion, NASA astronaut, former Navy fighter pilot, which is especially important for today. American hero, American patriot, a teacher to the world. Commander Scott Kelly is back to end our week, right. He's coming up to bring our conversation into orbit to take us to another level, a higher level. He's coming up in just a second. But before that, on this Final Four Friday, there is important and very urgent news that we need to dig into so we can stay vigilant. All right, top topic. It is a Friday blitz. I know a lot of folks tune out. Maybe you listen to this show later. But Friday is when a lot of big news comes out. We're also exhausted. Some people check out. But I'm going to try to take you through it, summarize some of the big news of the week and help you power into your weekend. I don't know if you listen to this when you're in the car or if you're out for a walk or you're cleaning around the house or doing your work, whatever it is. I'm going to try to end your week with some power and inspiration. These shows will continue to drop in the evening, so look for that and especially look for special episodes on the weekend, which will drop in the morning. But this is going to bring You, I hope to the end of your week, strongly. And the number one top topic is of course, Iran. And there is breaking news today that a US fighter jet has been shot down in Iran. An F15 has been shot down. News continues to unfold and as I record this, there are rescue operations underway and at least one of the crew members has been rescued. We will continue to get information as it comes out. We're praying and rooting for the other crew member and everybody involved in the operations. Hopefully by the time you hear this or watch it, there is more good news. But let's take a step back. It is terrible to see an American aircraft go down like this, but unfortunately it's the kind of losses that should be expected. Our military is exceptional, but they're not impervious. No military is. And the longer this goes on, the more south and sideways and things could go. That's the terrible reality of war, especially one like this. Now, as I record this, one of the crew members has been rescued, but a really terrible situation would be the idea of both or one held hostage by the Iranians. So pray for these brave pilots and all those working to save them and for their families watching at home, especially over the holiday weekend. Passover having just ended, Easter is now here. There are a lot of empty seats at tables as people look forward and, and look over to the Middle east for news. I'll have more coming up on the latest about this with Commander Scott Kelly, who was an F14 Tomcat pilot in the Navy. And we're gonna talk about Artemis. He is a really, really important guest for this moment. But meanwhile in Iran, not surprising, information continues to unfold about how successful or not our operations have been. Now Trump will tell you it's all awesome and amazing and touched by God and, and if you don't agree, either you're too stupid or too liberal. But there is now exclusive reporting from Jim Scudo at CNN that says roughly half of Iran's missile launchers are still intact and thousands of one way attack drones remain in Iran's arsenal despite a daily pounding by US and Israel over the past five weeks. This is according to recent intel assessments from the US and three sources familiar told that to him and, and to Natasha Bertrand, Haley Britsky and others at cnn. Look, here's the bottom line. This is not going well or as planned or if there was a plan for the President to be spiking the ball and say this is gonna be over when we know there are Russian assets, sorry, check that. Iranian assets all across the region buried, hidden, scattered. This is no time to be spiking the ball. And we know that drones, especially could number in the thousands or tens of thousands, and will be scattered throughout the country and throughout the region and will remain a threat. But the White House and Trump want more. They've already asked for $200 billion more as a supplemental for the war. As I mentioned yesterday with Ro Khanna, they have not requested a special allowance for the VA as they should. But now, today, the White House will seek $1.5 trillion for defense in their new budget request. $1.5 trillion. That's an extra 500 billion for this war. And meanwhile, they're saying they're gonna have steep cuts to entitlement programs, so they might see cuts for Medicare, Medicaid. And Trump said yesterday he doesn't care about daycare, which is political suicide for any Republicans that want to get reelected this fall. I think it's gonna drive down his poll numbers. But as I've often said, I don't think Trump cares about poll numbers, and I don't think he intends to have free and fair elections this fall. But they want to do more damage. They want to continue this war and forever war, and they want a blank check to do it. This is a time for Congress to grow a spine. This is a time for Republicans, Democrats, and the few independents to stand strong, to be united to stand with the American people who overwhelmingly say no. Say hell no. And when it comes to this additional budget request, now especially is the time to stay vigilant. All right. Meanwhile, Hegseth madness continues. His boss gave a very, very unpopular and a thud of a speech this week talking about Iran, and Hegseth went right to work under the hood. And what he did was fire. The army chief of staff, General Randy George is now out the. This is breaking news that Hegseth is now firing generals again. His purge has continued. Tripp Gabriel at the New York Times is reporting that General George's firing, in part, was because Hegseth had for months pressed General George and Secretary Dan Driscoll to remove four officers, two who are black, two who are female, from a promotions list. George and Driscoll have refused, citing their long and exemplary service. So George pushed back against Hegseth and Hegseth fired him. Gabriel goes on to report that Hegseth's firing of George reflects a hostility between Hegseth and the Army's leadership. Now, here's the key. He can't fire Dan Driscoll. Dan Driscoll can only be Fired by the President. Dan Driscoll is also a veteran of the post 911 wars. He is a friend of J.D. vance from law school. And he is a person to watch because it's my understanding that he isn't a person of integrity. He is respected within the force, and he might be someone who can push back or potentially leave the administration. But watch this space now. Dan Lamoth at the Washington Post is reporting that it's not just General Randy George who's on the way out. This is. This is really big news. Defense officials tell him and Tara Kopp that Hegseth's team is also removing General David Hodney, who is a former Army Ranger who heads the Services Transformation and Training Command. He's also getting rid of General William Greene Jr. Head of the Army's Chaplain Corps. This is as Hegseth continues to remake the chaplain Corps and triple down on religion. Hodney's command was created under General George, and Hegseth has tried to overhaul the military chaplains and wage his culture war on the Pentagon. So here's the takeaway. Hegseth is back to purging generals, and his popularity continues to fall. And as the popularity of the war continues to fall and the popularity of operations in Iran continue to expand and elsewhere, we should expect more of this. He wants to remove people who aren't loyalists, especially now, where there might be people pushing back on the Iran war, pushing back on more war, pushing back on boots on the ground. Hegseth will respond by removing them. And this is very, very dangerous and bad for our national security and for our troops. And General George must speak out as soon as possible. He. He will be retiring. It looks like he'll be out in a couple of days or weeks. Generals have long kept themselves quiet around politics after they've left. This is not normal times. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We need General George. I'm calling out to you, sir, specifically. Please speak out on behalf of the American people, on behalf of our national security, and on behalf of our troops. I think the Armed Services Committee in the House and Senate's also gotta step up. They should demand that General George and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Hegseth answer questions immediately. Let's see if Hegseth's story matches Dan Driscoll's story. Let's see who's lying. Let's see who's really standing with our country and who's falling into politics and looking for loyalists. This is all unprecedented and alarming, especially in a time of war that's not all Hegseth is doing because it's Hegseth. Right. He's now also made an announcement just yesterday that he's allowing guns on military bases because that's what we need him to focus on. Right? The War Department's uniform service members are trained at the highest and unwavering standards. These warfighters entrusted with the safety of our nation are no less entitled to exercise their God given right to keep and bear arms than any other American. Our war fighters defend the right of others to carry, should be able to carry themselves. He's saying our military installations have turned into gun free zones, leaving our service members vulnerable and exposed. That ends today. And this was the day after his boss's abominable speech. He talks a lot about second amendment rights. He doesn't talk about the risk of suicide and the risk of domestic abuse, which is always a concern. But more importantly, is this really the time to be focusing on gun rights on military bases? He's trying to shroud it in, in the idea that our troops need to defend themselves on bases. But it's another culture war move. It's another politics move. And it might be time to start considering that Hegseth may be positioning himself to run for president in 2028. He's always been more interested in fighting culture wars than real wars. And it's another reason to stay vigilant. All right, and finally on Hegseth, something that's right on Brand from of all places, the New York Post, which is definitely right of center, which is, which means that people on the right are leaking to news media on the right. When you hear from CBS News, when you hear from Fox, when you now hear from the Post, that's usually because Republicans inside the administration are going to sympathetic right wing media. And there's a bizarre story that says that Pete Hegseth's top aide claimed last year that he and Hegseth dressed up in disguise and went out drinking, breaking his no alcohol bout. Now, most sources think that Ricky Burria the aide was lying and say that he's the center of the Pentagon drama. But now there is at least speculation that Hegseth and his top aide got dressed up in disguise and went out drinking. No word if Kristi Noem or her husband were there or involved. But this is just more drama from Pete Hegseth. It cuts to the core that there are people around him who are selling him out. There are people around him who are leaking. There are people around him who are, who want him out. And many of Them are conservative Republicans. Many of them are MAGA Republicans. So the infighting is happening within the political establishment at the Pentagon and that is bad for our national security and it definitely has our enemies celebrating. Our enemies are celebrating. All right. Meanwhile, as we close this week, ICE continues to run rampant. Watch out for National Guard deployments in the U.S. we talked about that earlier in the week. Trump continues to be all gas, no brakes, nothing is slowing him down. Keep an eye on whether or not he'll threaten to use ICE to around the World cup and potentially the fall elections. A good time to ask ourselves, where is Tulsi? Tulsi Gabbard testified a lot in the last few weeks and then went quiet. I don't know if she's all in on this regime change war stuff now, but it's something that she ran against for over a decade. So watch that. Trump is still waging war on the free press. Usually Fridays are a time for more of that. He's still waging war against your health and trying to take over the Western hemisphere and other parts of the world. Foreign. Let's go to Ukraine for a second. Coming up, I'll talk to Scott Kelly, who's been a big supporter of Ukraine. He and his brother, Senator Mark Kelly have been to Ukraine, speak out in Ukraine. But Today is day 1500 of Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine. And Ukraine has been fighting for years. They've been fighting Russia for years and they have their hands full. But they also want to help us out with Iran because they consider Iran an enemy. Play that clip if we can. Chris, please.
- [17:20]
Volodymyr Zelensky
We went through, you know, such. We went through difficult relations with Iran, a dialogue with Iran, with Iranian officials. We went through difficult times and we were only losing things. We didn't do anything to them. They shot down our plane, killed our passengers, the crew of the plane. People died. They did not admit it. They did not let the experts in. Then a full scale war started. They handed over the shahed drones to the Russians and were killing our civilians. I wanted to stop all that. I asked them. They promised that there would be no more than one batch of drones. And they carried on lying and giving weapons. That's why I think of them as accomplices or Russia.
- [18:07]
Paul Rykoff
Look, he said, this is Zelensky talking to the BBC. We went through difficult relations with Iran. We did nothing to them. They shot down our plane, killed our passengers and crew, didn't admit it and didn't let experts in. And when the full scare war started, they handed shahed drones to Russians to kill our civilians. They lied and kept supplying weapons. This is why he considers them an accomplice of Russia. This is why it's all interconnected from China to Russia to Iran to Ukraine to the US To Israel. We are very much potentially already engaged in World War iii, World War III or something that's getting close to it. It's as close to World War 3 as we've ever seen, that's for sure. Coming up, we'll talk to Commander Scott Kelly, who will give you contrast. He'll give you some inspiration. We'll talk about Artemis. We will thank him for his support on Ukraine. And we'll talk about military operations and what it's like to be a pilot and what it's like to go through Sears School, which is a survival school that those crew members went through at some point in their training. All right, rounding out and heading for home. Yesterday on veterans issues, I talked to Ro Khanna and asked him to submit a request for the VA budget. If you didn't hear that episode, go back and check it out. It was a really good one. He said yes, and we are going to hold him to that. So stay tuned. In politics, I was on Washington Journal this morning. If you don't watch Washington Journal, it's on C Span. It's one of the more challenging media hits that I've done in the past. It's 45 minutes, no breaks, no water breaks, no commercial breaks. And you get phone calls, which are always interesting and exciting. I will celebrate the fact that they have multiple call in lines. They have Democrats, Republicans and Independents. And they also reserve a call in line for military and veterans, which is good. But we had a really good conversation almost an hour where I joined Washington Journal. Again, we talked about the politics, but we also talked about the potential of independent veterans running for office. Earlier this week I spoke to Seth Bodnar, who's running for Senate in Montana. Definitely go check that out. Go check out all the independent candidates, especially the independent veterans that I've talked to. Because every time I'm on tv, especially on a place like Washington Journal like C span, that reaches so many different kinds of folks, people are digging what we're putting down. They want to be a part of this movement to put independent veteran leaders forward who can answer the call. This is the time to leave the herds to declare your independence and run with the pack. We are hearing from more and more of them every day. I'll have more next week and I'll ask, coming up, Commander Scott Kelly if he who's from Colorado. He lives in Boebert's district. If he will be one of them, because the Republicans are bankrupt and ridiculous and dangerous and the Democrats suck and they're not going to save us. You, the independent candidates and the independent leaders are the people's champions. You are the people's champions. And we're not just moving the needle. We are the needle. Look for more in the days to come and I will help you. Stay vigilant. Stay vigilant. All right, finally, in culture. Let's talk culture real quick. Peaky Blinders is one of the greatest series I've ever seen. If you haven't seen Peaky Blinders, I highly recommend you go back and check it out. Tommy Shelby is an iconic character now played brilliantly by Cillian Murphy. And there is a new movie which I haven't seen yet. I am hoping to see it this weekend. I haven't had time, obviously, but there is news now that there is a sequel to Peaky Blinders coming on Netflix. Jamie Bell will take over as Duke Shelby from Barry Cohn. It's set 10 years after the Immortal man movie, which just came out. Netflix has released a first look. It's an untitled sequel so far. It will star Jamie Bell as Duke Shelby, the son of Tommy Shelby. It takes place on or around World War II, and it will be really, really good. So if you want to see something that will hopefully take your mind off of all that's happening in the world and it's just amazing content, check out Peaky Blinders. It'll help you maybe stay culturally vigil. All right, finally, in sports, this is final for Friday. March Madness is going to end in April this weekend, but it's going to end with a bang tonight. Friday, Texas will take on UCLA in the late game. I am going to go with ucla. I love ucla. I grew up watching UCLA and will always root for them. It's a number one versus a number one, and in the early game, I think the best game of the two, UConn versus South Carolina. I'm picking UConn. Hard to pick against UConn. They've got the greatest coach ever and they have such a culture of inspiration. Either way, it's going to be a great matchup and then we'll look forward to the final for the men tomorrow. In the early game, we will have number two, UConn, who won that thriller over Duke, against number three Illinois, which has been chugging along and looking really good. I'm going with UConn in that one for the same reason, but also because of the tremendous momentum they've got. And then the late game, number one Michigan versus number one Arizona. That's going to be a clash. They could go down to the wire. And I'm picking Arizona. I think this is the Arizona team that's got it. Look for an Arizona Yukon final and then I will get back to you on who I'm going to pick there. But spring is here. Easter is almost here. The Final Four is here. Artemis is in space. And it is Friday and it is time to reflect, to celebrate, and to be inspired by a special guest who is perfect for this moment to help us break down what's happening now, what's happening next, and what can happen in space and in the future if we all stay together. So now, especially on this Friday, this fabulous Final Four Friday, it's a time to stay vigilant. Ladies and gentlemen, independent Americans around the country and around the world. It is especially thrilling when I do an interview. We get a countdown, we get a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 on screen and then we go to the interview is absolutely thrilling and perfect for today because with all that's happening in the world and especially above the world, we have the perfect guest to guide us through it. He is a returning champion, a friend of the show. He is a true American hero. He has been a NASA astronaut, a Navy combat veteran. He's got a brother that's done a thing or two. He's the dad of a soon to be very famous dog named Pickles. But he's a true voice of inspiration, a role model for our children and I think the perfect person to talk to in what is a very interesting and tumultuous Friday. Rejoining us on Independent Americans, the great and powerful Commander Scott Kelly is back on Independent Americans. Welcome back, sir.
- [24:46]
Commander Scott Kelly
Thanks, Paul. Great to be here. I am a veteran, but to correct one of your points, I am not a combat veteran.
- [24:54]
Paul Rykoff
Thank you. Thank you for the correction. You are a man of precision and I always appreciate that. It's so good to have you here. I know you and your brother have been making the rounds in the last couple of days. There's breaking news to talk to, talk about in Iran. I want your perspective on Artemis, which has inspired the country and inspired the world. But let me start with a question I ask everyone. Where are you? Because you're somewhere very cool. If folks aren't watching on YouTube, they should be. And how are you in these trying and tumultuous and inspiring times?
- [25:23]
Commander Scott Kelly
I am currently in My greenhouse in my yard in Colorado. And I'm doing pretty good. You know, personally, I'm doing just fine considering, you know, all the crazy stuff that's going on in the world right now. But, you know, some really crazy positive stuff, too. So that's great to see.
- [25:47]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, that's what this time and this week especially feels like I said it when we were warming up. You're in a greenhouse. You like small spaces, huh? I mean, and it's also a heck of a view behind you, so you get the benefits of both there, right?
- [26:02]
Commander Scott Kelly
Yeah, it's nice. Especially although it seems like spring has shown up about a month and a half early. This is kind of a nice place to sit in the, in the Colorado winters. But winter, winter's gone well.
- [26:16]
Paul Rykoff
We need the spring. We need inspiration a lot to dig into. Let's start with, I think has to be the top topic right now. We're recording this around midday on Friday. Developments are still happening. This will post, you know, a couple hours later. But we now have confirmation that it looks like an American F15A went down in Iran. We don't know the status of the pilots. You've commanded flown a lot of stuff in maybe some of the most trying circumstances. I don't know if anybody I've ever met has voluntarily done more hard things than you, but you have a perspective on something like this better than almost anyone else. What should we know about what those pilots are doing right now and what's happening below the radar that we can't see, you know, on the Internet and on television? Explain what you think is most important for us to understand about this.
- [27:07]
Commander Scott Kelly
Yeah, so I think it was an F15E Strike Eagle, is my understanding. So there were two crew members on board. I guess the reporting is that they were shot down by Iranian air defenses. You know, when that happens, the crew members, if they have to, will eject. I think is. Which is what happened in this case. I'm not exactly sure where. Where in Iran this occurred, but, you know, both of them probably came down in maybe not the same exact area, but similar locations. The seats go out split seconds apart. So when they eject, they should be in relatively the same area. And I knew, I do know the U.S. military, in this case, the U.S. air Force, will go to any length to rescue these crew members. But when they hit the ground, I would imagine the first thing they're going to do is assess if they have any injuries, try to get together, and then try to evade capture for as long as possible. And then to try to help direct the rescue forces to, to them. And, you know, hopefully their radios work. They have very, very good equipment, survival equipment, radios. They'll be armed, likely, hopefully not necessary to use that weapon, but they will be armed to use as a last resort. And I am very confident that we will do whatever it takes to return these, these crew members that have been shot down in enemy territory.
- [28:55]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, this, this is one of those moments where I don't know if anybody in the world is better at this than, than our military. Right. We train on it and then, you know, so many assets are going to be focused on rescuing those. Those men. Men or women, Men or women who are on the ground, they are prepared. Right. For a situation like this, you go through training that simulates it. But the amount of resources that are focused on finding them right now or securing them and getting them out is extraordinary. I think it's going to be another exemplary demonstration of how exceptional our military is. They all go through Sears school, you know, Mark Wade Mullen this week kind of sounded like he went through Sears school. And there was a year, I think
- [29:33]
Commander Scott Kelly
he said he went through a year long SERE training. At least I heard he said that. I didn't know there was a year long seer school. I know there's an advanced school. It's a little bit longer than the week long that most of us have done. Have you done seer, Paul?
- [29:48]
Paul Rykoff
No, no, I have not.
- [29:50]
Commander Scott Kelly
Yeah, it's not fun, but it's very good training. So these guys are well trained to survive. So SEAR stands for survival, Evade, resist, escape. In other words, everything you're going to have to do if you're shot down, potentially have to do, you know, survive out in the wild by yourself, evade capture. If you are captured, you know, know what the, you know, appropriate methods and protocol are to resist interrogation. And then ultimately, you know, you might, if you had the opportunity, you're trained to escape. And that is an obligation if it presents itself. But yeah, I'm hopeful we'll get these two air crew members out of there very quickly.
- [30:42]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, it's a time where the world's eyes are gonna be on this situation At a time when the war has already got historic low levels of public support. You know, much of this war has been dominated by the air assets and by the Air Force and the navy and everyone else overhead. Thankfully, there haven't been ground forces, but we didn't know if there might be going in to the President's address this week. Can you talk about the Complexity and the magnitude of what we're seeing right now in Iran for folks, you know, who maybe weren't alive for the Gulf War or don't remember the early stages of Iraq and Afghanistan, just the scope and scale of what we're asking everybody overhead to do right now.
- [31:23]
Commander Scott Kelly
Well, we have, you know, the most advanced military in the history of this planet, the most professional. And, you know, so far, it seems like we're conducting these very challenging strikes on Iranian military hardware in a really an incredible and overwhelming fashion, which is great to see. Having said that, that's much different than having troops on the ground. And now we have two crew members are trying to rescue. And as a former infantry guy, I'm sure, you know, Paul, that this gets so much more complicated when you're putting people on the ground. So that's a, that's going to be a really hard decision to decide whether that is necessary here. I'm not an expert on it, but it is just a different level of complexity when you're involving ground troops.
- [32:20]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, I mean, this is why I don't think any president can ever promise no boots on the ground, because now we've got boots on the ground. Right. And we're going to have to send boots on the ground to get them out or to save them. And we're going to get pulled in deeper to this in a way that I think most of us probably would have predicted or expected. I mean, it's a testament to our forces and a miracle on some levels that this hasn't happened already, given the scope and scale of what they're doing. Can I ask you to talk about the war itself? I mean, your brother's obviously in the Senate. He's been outspoken about this. But what's your view on the war in Iran and this entire latest endeavor by Trump and especially after his speech the other night?
- [32:58]
Commander Scott Kelly
Well, first of all, I want to make it clear that I 100% support our service members. They are incredible Americans working in very, very challenging circumstances and in many cases, in direct harm's way. I also believe we shouldn't let Iran have a nuclear weapon. They've demonstrated, I think, through their rhetoric and other actions that they wouldn't be responsible or are responsible enough to be a nuclear power. But having said that, it seems like this operation was done in kind of, in, in kind of a backwards reverse fashion. If you consider, like the first Gulf War, we, you know, established, hey, this is the reason we're going to do this. And we went to great lengths to explain that. To the American people, to get our allies on board, to form a coalition, to take time, to develop a plan, a backup plan to have all the forces in place that you would need in a contingency situation that you might wind up into. And it just seems like, you know, this was very rushed, very unprepared. Having said that, now this is where we are and we have to figure out what the right move is next. I mean, it's something our military is now committed to. And we need to be, I think, just really, really careful that we don't make any future mistakes here because it could have, you know, very, very severe consequences, not only for the United States, but the whole, the whole planet.
- [34:48]
Paul Rykoff
So I was talking about the politics of this this week, knowing that, you know, Artemis was, was, was hopefully going to happen and, and cleared to go on the same day that Trump chose to do a speech on Iran. And it's such a split screen, right? We've got Trump, who I think is dishonoring the country, pissing off the world, making folks hate America. And then we've got the Artemis astronauts who are the opposite. They're uniting, they're inspiring the best form of America. But I also said, you know, this is going to be a really good opportunity, actually for your brother and for you to be able to talk to the world, like when we need positive examples for the world of what good American leadership looks like. I want to talk about Artemis more deeply, but I want to talk about this moment where the country had this super hot, right? Everybody felt good, everybody felt honorable, everybody felt inspired. And he came in two hours later and kind of shit all over it. But you are a voice for America to the world. And what do you want folks to know about America in this moment where you've got this split screen?
- [35:53]
Commander Scott Kelly
Well, let me first of all say I found it so odd and almost hard to understand how a president that takes credit for good things that he has nothing to do with wouldn't take credit for this amazing thing that he actually had something to do with. So who the hell knows what's going on? I mean, this was a perfect opportunity for a major victory lap to use our four crew members, Artemis, the people behind it, putting people around the moon for, again, the first time in over 50 years and to almost not even pay attention, notice, take a legitimate victory, and instead you, you know, you just move on into something else that, you know, I watched that address and, man, I didn't like, I don't, I didn't even know what to make of it, to be honest with you. It was just more old stuff. On a day we launched Americans to the moon. It kind of blew me away, actually.
- [37:08]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, I felt the same way. I mean, as I was playing, I was saying to my wife, I was like, I can't believe this. I mean, even for him, it was bad, it was low, it was weak. I mean, I think if I'm our enemies, I'm celebrating a moment like that because you just kind of stepped on your own victory in a way, you know, that really was profound. Let me ask you to pivot into Artemis. And usually we do. Below the radar. This is like, above the radar, right? This is the something good to end. You know, what's been a really hard winter. I think, you know, if there is a silver lining, it's that his speech was short and he stayed away from the launch. Like, I really thought he was going to go there. Like Cash Patel at the. At the Olympic.
- [37:53]
Commander Scott Kelly
He did in the beginning. He talked about it in the beginning a little bit.
- [37:56]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah. But I was worried he was going to be there, you know, trying to high five the astronauts and. And kind of injecting himself into it in a way he normally does, but he stayed away from it. And the thing I'm really, really excited about is I've seen a pride in this country that I haven't seen really, especially in the younger generation in a long time.
- [38:17]
Commander Scott Kelly
Right.
- [38:17]
Paul Rykoff
I mean, the whole country was riveted by this. Kids are inspired again. And it made us really proud to be Americans at a time when we haven't felt that way in a long time. What do you think is the most important macro takeaway? I mean, I want to go under the hood and talk about what these astronauts are facing, but as a historic moment for this country, kind of like in the 60s, we really needed it. I feel like we really needed this right now. But what's your reaction?
- [38:42]
Commander Scott Kelly
We absolutely did need it. It was an incredible moment of pride and achievement for this country that has been divided for way too long. And it was just a really incredible day to see us come together, Americans, despite our differences, to see people come together around the hardest thing we do, which is put people in space and returning them back to Earth. And it really shows us what we're capable of doing if we work together. I mean, it's crazy that it seems like we have a government that one of their top priorities is to divide us as Americans, and that's not how you accomplish anything. I mean, the space program has showed us that we can Work with people that we might not like, disagree with, have very little in common, were previously our enemy, yet we can work together cooperatively to get things done. And that's what we need in this country. We need to recognize that, hey, we're all different. We have different opinions on policies. We have different opinions on social issues. But you know what? If we want to make this country work, make it prosperous for everyone, we need to get together, you know, put our differences aside and look for ways to. To do what is right for the American people. And I hope Artemis will show us a little bit of that kind of path where we can put our differences aside and come together as a United States to do what we need to do to get this country back on track.
- [40:40]
Paul Rykoff
You know, these folks, the four brave leaders that are up in space right now, I also think it's kind of underreported that one of them is Canadian. Right. So that's a great, you know, example too. We're working with an ally that we, you know, the President is crapped on and they're upset about the tariffs, but we've also got, you know, an ally, a close ally, important ally as a part of this team.
- [41:00]
Commander Scott Kelly
But, you know, I had joked if, if the President learned there was a Canadian, a woman and a black guy on that, that flight, it would have been canceled.
- [41:12]
Paul Rykoff
It's entirely possible that EGSETH would have tried to fire all of them before it left. Left the strip, right? Yeah. But you, you know them, two of them are post nine, 11 veteran pilots. What do you. What should folks know about these four extraordinary human beings?
- [41:30]
Commander Scott Kelly
You know, I've known them, all of them, for man, at least 15, 16 years. The three Americans have flown in space previously. Christina Cook, who's a scientist, she was a member of the, I guess 2000 and maybe 2008 class. I don't know. The eight balls they were called, as was Victor Glover. Victor and Reed Wiseman were both US Navy fighter pilots. Both flew the F18 Hornet, but Reed also flew the Tomcat, which was the airplane I flew. He flew that a little bit in the beginning of his career. He's the commander of the crew. Victor Glover's the pilot. Commander's in charge. Pilot's kind of the co pilot, just like in the space shuttle. Canadian. Jeremy Hansen, also a F18 fighter pilot. This is his first mission, which is pretty good. First flight to get. He waited about 17 years for it, so I'm happy to see him and getting to fly around the moon. But they're all really, really Incredible people. You couldn't have asked for a better group of people to represent their countries, really humanity on this extraordinary mission.
- [42:54]
Paul Rykoff
When you look up, I'm sure every space launch is different for you, right? It probably brings back memories of times when you were up there. And every time I have a conversation with you, I remember the conversations you had with the world and with kids when you were up there and everyone was so riveted and inspired by it. What do you miss about it? When you're in a moment like this and you see those folks going up, what do you miss about it?
- [43:17]
Commander Scott Kelly
You know, generally with regards to spaceflight, I miss two things I miss and not the things you might think. You might think, oh, the launch, the landing, the looking out at Earth, the flying around, floating, right? What I miss is the people that I worked with, meaning my crew members, but also the people I worked with on the ground that are so critical to making these missions happen. And I also miss the work, meaning work that is important but has really serious consequences if you don't do it right. Like most a lot of jobs, if you make a mistake, you don't die, right? Your crew members don't get killed, you don't ruin multi millions of dollars of piece of hardware experiments that someone may have been working on their whole lives. So just having the consequences of, you know, the consequences of the work you're doing, I miss that level of intensity. Now, having said that, having flown in space four times, I have no idea what it's going to be like to fly around the moon. I can't even imagine how an amazing, how amazing an experience this is going to be for those four individuals. For something we haven't done since the early, early 70s. It's just going to be extraordinary. And I am so, so happy for them.
- [44:51]
Paul Rykoff
It's inspired a whole new generation of kids who now want to be. I remember, you know, where I was when most of the shuttle launches happened as a kid. And I think my generation especially grew up around the shuttles and we wanted to be astronauts. I saw a great story about, with Glover talking about how his dad said, you know, if you go be a pilot instead of a Navy seal, maybe you can be an astronaut. And his father's guidance was so critical in that there are a lot of young people who now want to be astronauts, who want to be like you. What's your advice to them? All these young men and women around the country and around the world that want to do what these folks are doing now.
- [45:28]
Commander Scott Kelly
It's great that we have a program that is peaceful, inspirational, aspirational, challenging, fun, exciting, important that especially kids can kind of rally around and get excited about that and understand that, hey, if they want to be an astronaut someday or a flight controller or an engineer at NASA or a scientist, they have to do well in school and they need some other skills. It's not just academic, it's teamwork, it's followership, it's taking care of yourself, your people, understanding how to live and work in very, very challenging conditions. The idea that this program can inspire young people has been really transformative for, I think, the United States, but also young people around the world, because all of those folks are not going to become astronauts, at least today. It's just not possible. Right? There's so few opportunities for a position that a lot of people aspire to, but they will go on. Those kids that were inspired by the space program will go on and do some amazing things because they had that inspiration. And these are the people, the scientists, the engineers of the future that we need to solve a lot of the problems that are in front of us with regards to climate change, energy pandemics that we may have in the future. I mean, there's so many challenges that this AI. I mean, living in an AI world is going to require some really, really thoughtful, talented, smart people. And the fact that the space program inspires that is important. But I tell kids, do the thing that interests you. Don't become a pilot, because you saw me speaking here and I was, I'm a pilot. Unless that's what you want to do. Because if it's something you want to do and are passionate about, you're going to do better at it. And NASA wants the people that have done great in their careers, whether it was a pilot, a scientist, an engineer, whatever, do the thing that inspires you.
- [47:46]
Paul Rykoff
Awesome. Awesome. So Artemis and NASA are kind of like a North Star for us right now, right? It's maybe the ultimate team game, except for maybe democracy, right? Democracy's gotta be a team game. And maybe the only thing that's harder than getting to be an astronaut is getting to be president, you know, or running for public office. Your brother's now being rumored as a presidential candidate. I saw him and Gabby out in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago. Was honored to always be with them and spend some time. But your brother can't do it alone. We need leaders. A lot of astronauts like John Glenn and so many others have gone from NASA into politics. How do we get you to run, man? How do we Recruit you to get into public office and hopefully as an independent.
- [48:31]
Commander Scott Kelly
Well, you know, I've been an independent. I've never been a member of a political party. I just, I don't know, it's just something I never really thought about it. I just vote for whoever I think's the right candidate, regardless of what label they may have on them. I live in Colorado. I actually live in CO District 4 in Colorado, very red leaning district. My desire to run for public office right now is not extremely high. Would I ever rule it out completely? No. But I think maybe there are other people that would be better for that kind of thing. Like maybe my brother. Right.
- [49:18]
Paul Rykoff
Well, I think I've said this before. I said, you know, Donald Trump screwed up in a lot of ways, but also, you know, picking a fight with a guy who's got a twin brother who's also an astronaut and pretty kick ass is one of the dumbest things he's done. But your brother can't do it alone. And, you know, I'm a big admirer of yours, big supporter of yours. We're recruiting and we need more leaders who can cut through the noise. And I think your country needs you again. So I know you don't want to do it, but I hope we can draft you and folks can draft Scott to run for office. Just continue to be a positive voice for our country and our community and somebody our kids can look up to. I think we need you now more than ever in a lot of ways.
- [49:57]
Commander Scott Kelly
Well, if you find a good spot for me, let me know where that is.
- [50:01]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah, and your brother's great, but are you the cooler brother of the two? I mean, is he, I mean, how did they, you know, how did they describe the two of you? Is, is he the. The smarter one, you're the tougher one, or you're the cooler one? How did you guys break it down?
- [50:14]
Commander Scott Kelly
I think, I think the fact that I am not in political office maybe means I can speak a little bit more freely. I don't know. But he. Yeah, I don't, you know, it's hard for me to compare myself to him. That I think that's. We kind of leave that to other people.
- [50:36]
Paul Rykoff
I like it. Well, I think the only thing we wish is there were more of you guys because we need about 100 of them in the Senate. So in the meantime, we appreciate you.
- [50:45]
Commander Scott Kelly
How many independent vets have you helped get elected?
- [50:50]
Paul Rykoff
We're about half a dozen now. And the exciting part is we're shooting for 100 this fall. I Was on C Span today talking about it, and I think people are finally waking up to what we're cooking. We got now, I think, seven that are running for Senate. I had Seth Bodnar on Wednesday, Todd Achilles, Ty Pickens, Brian Bangs, Dan Osborne. There are more and more by the day. So I think, you know, we got to show it's possible. You also got a great mayor in Colorado Springs, Yemi Mobilade, who's an independent, who's shown.
- [51:22]
Commander Scott Kelly
Oh, yeah, yeah, I've heard about him.
- [51:24]
Paul Rykoff
Yeah. So I think, you know, we got the fighters. We just need the fuel. All right, let me end with. Go ahead.
- [51:31]
Commander Scott Kelly
All right. I was gonna say, you know, you know where to find me.
- [51:34]
Paul Rykoff
Well, we do. And now I think folks are gonna be, you know, lighting up your social media. Let's finish with what we always do. Something good. Something good. Yeah, I'm gonna go first, and then I'll throw it to you. You know, I want to just double tap on. On. On. On Artemis and the inspiration and our astronauts. I mean, you guys specifically are. You know, I think somebody said to me once that if America was a religion, veterans would be the clergy. You are like the samurai right now for our values, and we need you, and we're so inspired by you. So all the astronauts and the alumni are just so important and so valuable to this country right now, and I think we need you now more. But also your dog. Okay. Pickles, that you shared with me yesterday. Your dog Pickles is pretty awesome, too. I mean, this dog might have to run for president. Definitely wouldn't be worse than the one we've got right now. But I want to say, if you need a little Passover Easter holiday inspiration, Commander Kelly's dog Pickles is my vote for something good this week. Who might be, I think, the most popular member of the Kelly family if we give it a couple of weeks. But, Pickles, you are something good. Over to you.
- [52:47]
Commander Scott Kelly
I think what that. I think what that video I sent you of Pickles is really not about Pickles. It's about Reid Wiseman, the commander of the Artemis crew. Because just watching how he interacts with that dog, my dog that he just met in a bar in Clear Lake, Texas, by the Johnson Space center, shows you exactly who that person is.
- [53:14]
Paul Rykoff
Who.
- [53:15]
Commander Scott Kelly
Reid Wiseman is genuinely one of the most nice, kind, incredible people I've ever met, and I'm really a huge fan of. Is happy to see him flying around the moon in a few days.
- [53:33]
Paul Rykoff
So he's your something good, huh?
- [53:35]
Commander Scott Kelly
Yeah, Reed. And that Video. Yeah. Show that video of Pickles and you'll get a sense for the type of guy Reid is.
- [53:44]
Paul Rykoff
All right, we will. We'll put it in after this interview, folks should check it out and follow. You know, I think there's a really important moment right now, too, because no matter what happens with these pilots, no matter what happens with Iran, no matter what happens with Trump, I've told my kids this, but next, you know, nine or so days, you can go to NASA's YouTube page. You can go to anywhere, anything that NASA's putting out there. And you can get hope and inspiration and perspective and learn something. And, you know, hope is the oxygen of democracy and we need that now more than ever. So for the next week or so, it's amazing, especially to have that plug in of hope to switch the channel off of so much negativity and go back to the folks who are doing this extraordinary stuff. But, sir, we're so grateful for you. I'm grateful for your friendship, for your leadership, for your support for Ukraine, for your support for veterans, and just for being a role model when we need it the most. I am going to stay on you about running for office. And I think more folks will, too, after they see this. Enjoy the greenhouse. Happy Passover, Easter and holidays to you and yours and hope you'll come back again soon.
- [54:49]
Commander Scott Kelly
Thanks, Paul. Happy Passover and Easter to everybody. Thank you.
- [54:52]
Paul Rykoff
Thank you, sir. Go, Artemis.
- [54:54]
Commander Scott Kelly
All right.
- [54:56]
Paul Rykoff
All right. Big thanks to my friend, Commander Scott Kelly. He answered the call on short notice. It's got to be easier to dial in from his greenhouse than dialing in from space. But I want to thank him for all he does and thank you to the whole Kelly family. You know, they're all inspiring. I had a chance to spend time with Gabby Giffords and Senator Kelly a couple of weeks ago in Los Angeles, but everybody in their orbit is amazing. I wish that the Kelly's were quintuplets because we need a whole lot more of them in the days to come to meet what's going on. But I think this show, especially with Commander Kelly, I hope is something you can share with your kids and with your family. Maybe this weekend over the break, if you're going into spring break, I hope it's one that you can share with them, to educate them, to inspire them, to give them some hope for the future. I'm always going to try to do that with this show and especially with a great guest like Commander Kelly. All right, guest this week, I want to thank all of them and recently we've had Scott McFarlane, who was great. Last week we had Admiral Stravidis, we had Mark Hertling. Go back and check those out. This week we had Ro Khanna. Great episode. I appreciate Ro Khanna coming back on the show again. We made some news of that one. And Seth Bodnar, as I mentioned earlier today, I was on C Span, Washington Journal. Later today I will be on Deadline White House. Excuse me. And on the 11th hour, 11 o' clock on Ms. Now. And look for a special media recap episode this weekend. We try to drop them early on the weekends to give you a little extra. And Monday morning too big shout out to Chris Rosenthal, creative Chris Rosenthal, who continues to pump out episodes. But on the weekends, look for them in the mornings. Monday, look for a special episode in the morning and then in the evenings. Five days a week, usually 5, 6, 7, East coast time, we'll drop those episodes to get them to you in time for dinner or your drive home or your reflections at night or you can watch them in the morning. But we are daily now. We're hitting the charts. Please keep hitting subscribe right now, especially on YouTube. Hit subscribe. Help us get four more members on YouTube if you can, just by sharing that. And be sure to subscribe on Apple podcasts and everywhere. Go to independent Americans and get the merch and join our Patreon community. We need your help pushing back against the corporate media, pushing back against the two parties and pushing back on the negativity. Help us bring light to contrast the heat. Because America is divided, but less and less so by the day. Artemis showed us that we can be united and at independent Americans. I'm going to try to propel that to another level, to keep bringing the light to contrast the heat like you got today with Commander Kelly. So if you're among the now 45% of Americans who are independent, especially if you listened on C Span. Welcome. Come on in. We're great to have you here. This is your show. This is your movement. Because our independent movement is hope for the future. That same hope you feel from Commander Kelly and you felt from Artemis. Country over party, people over politics, people over politics, light over heat, disrupting the status quo and fueling a new movement that spans all across our society. And that movement is growing and hope is the oxygen of democracy. If you enjoyed this episode with Scott Kelly, share it far and wide, launch it into orbit and invite others to declare their independence. 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 and we're all in this together. We're all looking up at the stars with a little more hope this weekend. I'm your host, Paul Rykoff. Thank you for tuning in to Independent Americans. I will see you later tomorrow and in the weeks to come, look for special episodes over the weekend. But until then, happy Friday. Happy Easter. Go, Artemis. And stay vigilant, America. And keep looking up. 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 of rhetoric and not dreams for those without a clue. And when you wait, it's time to grow. Power by Righteous Media.