Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff

Cuba’s Castro Charged with Murder. Here Comes the Next Regime Change War. Panel Approves Trump’s Stupid Arch. GOP Revolt Over Slush Fund for Domestic Terrorists. Indy Bennett Makes Ballot in Maine. Until Next Time, Stephen Colbert. 

It's Memorial Day weekend, and Paul Rieckhoff is in no mood to soft-pedal. Tulsi Gabbard has resigned as Director of National Intelligence — the second Trump appointee to defect over Iran in months — and the administration is already telegraphing its next war. The Justice Department just charged Raul Castro with murder. The USS Nimitz arrived in the Caribbean the same day. Stephen Miller is on Fox doing the warm-up act. Meanwhile, the president is downplaying the 13 American service members killed in Iran, pausing a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, ignoring Ukraine, and telling a Coast Guard Academy audience he won't be leaving in 2028. This is a solo briefing for the angry middle, delivered with the urgency the moment demands.

Paul walks through the GOP mutiny finally pushing back on Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund for January 6th insurrectionists, the three-plan scheme to disrupt the 2026 midterms, and the independent veterans — from Rick Bennett in Maine to Karen Matthews in California — fighting brutal ballot-access barriers to give the 45% of Americans without a party a real choice. He closes with a Memorial Day reflection on TAPS, the Good Grief camps, and a tribute to Stephen Colbert as a true patriot and conscience for America. This is what no-BS analysis sounds like when the stakes are this high.

-WATCH full video of this episode here.

-Join IVA and stand up to Trump’s Forever Wars.

-Learn more about Paul’s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America.

-Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here.

-Remember Independent is an Attitude.

-Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It’s a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.

Connect with Independent Americans:

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Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
-Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. 

-And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year. 

Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. 

And now part of the BLEAV network! 

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Trump Plummets in Polls with Independents, $5 Gas, and War With Iran He Can't Spin. We’re Not The Spoilers! The Surging Knicks. $1.8B for Insurrectionists and Violent Proud Boy Extremists? Is Cuba Next? Memorial Day Pain is a Reminder. The Real Spoilers are the Parties. Thank you, Stephen Colbert. 

Trump is in the 20s with independents, gas is over five bucks a gallon in some states, Memorial Day is about to remind Americans of the human cost of his Iran war, and Cuba is looming over the horizon. Meanwhile the administration is funneling what looks like $1.8 billion in taxpayer money to January 6 insurrectionists and violent Proud Boy extremists — including a reported $2-to-5 million ask from Enrique Tarrio. Paul Rieckhoff calls it Plan C: if the military won't invoke the Insurrection Act and ICE can't carry the water, you green-light the angry mob and promise pardons in advance. This is what corruption looks like, and it's the most immediate threat to free and fair elections this fall.

In this special quick-fire episode, Paul takes you out of the studio and into the streets of Midtown Manhattan with highlights from two back-to-back media hits — one left of center on MSNOW, one right of center on NewsNation — same independent read on both. He breaks down why ten thousand Americans are walking out of the Republican and Democratic parties every single week, why Thomas Massie just got elevated by Trump's attacks, why the Democrats are the actual spoilers in Senate races in Nebraska, Montana, and South Dakota, and why the rigged two-party system is finally cracking. Plus a Memorial Day shout-out to Stephen Colbert on his last show, and yes — a Knicks pick.

-WATCH full video of this episode here.

-Join IVA and stand up to Trump’s Forever Wars.

-Learn more about Paul’s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America.

-Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here.

-Remember Independent is an Attitude.

-Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It’s a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.

Connect with Independent Americans:

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms

Read more at Substack

Support ad-free episodes at Patreon 

Connect: Instagram  • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook 

Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
-Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. 

-And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year. 

Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. 

And now part of the BLEAV network! 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

JD Vance Really Sucks. War Powers Act on Iran Finally Advances. Senator Redneck Will Be Governor Redneck. Zelensky Promises More Strikes in Russia—GOOD. Knicks Miracle Comeback. 

Congressman Tom Massie lost in Kentucky last night — sort of. Trump and the MAGA machine spent tens of millions to take out the GOP Congressman who crossed him, and in the process made Massie a household name with a ready-made presidential-grade platform: no war in Iran, no tariffs, no Trump, and no stopping the release of the Epstein files. Paul Rieckhoff opens Episode 528 with a no-BS solo briefing on what last night's primaries really mean, why JD Vance is lying about Ukraine, why January 6 rioters may now go from prisons to pardons to payouts, why James Murdoch buying Vox Media's podcast network should put every independent voice on alert, and why the NY Knicks comeback and leadership is bigger than basketball. 

Then Paul sits down with Dr. Karen Matthews (https://www.matthewsforcongress.com/) — Navy veteran, radiologist, small business owner, and independent candidate in California's 23rd district. CA-23 isn't Gavin Newsom's California. It's Reagan's California: working class, libertarian-leaning, a third independent, with one of the best VAs in the country and a slice of Fort Irwin inside its lines. Matthews lays out why the incumbent doesn't show up, why the Democrats have given up, and why California's open primary on June 2nd may be the single biggest day for the independent movement in years. This is what the angry middle sounds like when it stops complaining and starts running. It’ll leave you inspired. 

-WATCH full video of this episode here.

-Join IVA and stand up to Trump’s Forever Wars.

-Learn more about Paul’s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America.

-Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here.

-Remember Independent is an Attitude.

-Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It’s a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.

Connect with Independent Americans:

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms

Read more at Substack

Support ad-free episodes at Patreon 

Connect: Instagram  • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook 

Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
-Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. 

-And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year. 

Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. 

And now part of the BLEAV network! 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Massie vs Trump. San Diego Mosque Attackers Murder 3. LIRR Strike Deal. Another Buffalo Heartbreaker. Wemby Dazzles. 

It's Tuesday, May 19th — a huge primary day in Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Alabama — and 3,557,000 independent Americans are being locked out of the elections deciding their representation. Paul Rieckhoff runs a solo briefing on the closed-primary problem nobody in the rigged two-party system wants to talk about: taxpayer-funded elections, run in public schools by public poll workers, that exclude anyone who refuses to put on a jersey. With 93% of House races and 80% of Senate races already decided by primaries, this isn't a procedural quirk — it's a structural assault on representative democracy.

Paul also unpacks the Trump-versus-Tom Massie proxy war in Kentucky, including the Secretary of Defense leaving his post to campaign against a sitting Republican congressman, the Georgia governor's race chaos between Burt Jones and Brad Raffensperger, and Trump's ever-expanding billion-dollar White House construction project that's quietly morphed from a ballroom into something that sounds a lot more like a bunker. He closes with the heroism of Amin Abdullah at the San Diego mosque shooting, a Long Island Railroad strike resolved in workers' favor, and the young helpers showing up across America when it counts. Righteous anger, patriotic hope, and a clear-eyed look at why the independent movement is the only path forward.

-WATCH full video of this episode here.

-Join IVA and stand up to Trump’s Forever Wars.

-Learn more about Paul’s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America.

-Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here.

-Remember Independent is an Attitude.

-Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It’s a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.

Connect with Independent Americans:

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms

Read more at Substack

Support ad-free episodes at Patreon 

Connect: Instagram  • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook 

Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
-Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. 

-And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year. 

Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. 

And now part of the BLEAV network! 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Trump’s Approval Drops to 37%. Reporting Isn’t Treason. Ebola Outbreak Global Health Emergency. Ukraine Hits Moscow. LIRR Goes on Strike. Trump Wins Again: Takes Out Cassidy. 

It's Manosphere Monday and Paul Rieckhoff is broadcasting from high above New York City with a solo briefing built for the angry middle. The New York Times has confirmed that Navy SEALs escorted Cash Patel and nine others on what the Pentagon itself called a 'VIP snorkel event' next to the underwater tomb of the USS Arizona — one week before Memorial Day. Paul says if anything is impeachable, this is. Meanwhile the administration has quietly stood up a $1.8 billion fund to pay off allies of the president, Pete Hegseth is openly campaigning for House Republicans in Kentucky, ICE is banging on doors without warrants, and Trump's approval has cratered to 37%.

From there the briefing widens out: U.S. combat operations in Nigeria most Americans will never hear about, an Ebola outbreak the WHO is tracking while we sit outside the organization, classified intelligence about Cuban drones being shaped into a pretext for war, Ukraine hitting a Moscow oil refinery, and a Senate purge that just took out Bill Cassidy. Paul closes with a Memorial Day call to action, a tribute to Wells Crowther — the man in the red bandana — and a reminder that 45% of this country is now independent. We're not politically homeless. We're free.

-WATCH full video of this episode here.

-Join IVA and stand up to Trump’s Forever Wars.

-Learn more about Paul’s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America.

-Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here.

-Remember Independent is an Attitude.

-Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It’s a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.

Connect with Independent Americans:

Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platforms

Read more at Substack

Support ad-free episodes at Patreon 

Connect: Instagram  • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook 

Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky
-Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. 

-And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year. 

Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. 

And now part of the BLEAV network! 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.