{"id":5715,"date":"2025-04-29T14:27:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T14:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/bonus-episode-331-charlie-sykes-to-the-contrary-with-paul-rieckhoff-the-rise-of-the-fake-tough-guys-why-secretary-chaos-hegseth-has-to-go\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T14:27:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T14:27:00","slug":"bonus-episode-331-charlie-sykes-to-the-contrary-with-paul-rieckhoff-the-rise-of-the-fake-tough-guys-why-secretary-chaos-hegseth-has-to-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/bonus-episode-331-charlie-sykes-to-the-contrary-with-paul-rieckhoff-the-rise-of-the-fake-tough-guys-why-secretary-chaos-hegseth-has-to-go\/","title":{"rendered":"BONUS: EPISODE 331: Charlie Sykes\u2019 To The Contrary with Paul Rieckhoff: The Rise of the Fake Tough Guys. Why \u201cSecretary Chaos&#8221; (Hegseth) Has to Go."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=ANA8453176037\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve got a great bonus pod for you to check out as <em>Independent Americans<\/em> host Paul Rieckhoff joined Charlie Sykes for a spirited, no-holds-barred deep dive into everything happening with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, SignalGate and the danger we all face now with this inept leadership at the helm. They explore how a Fox News persona ended up with the nukes, what it means for U.S. national security, and why even Trumpworld is starting to panic. Plus, signs of resistance from Harvard, independent veterans, and the surprising impact of punching the bully in the nose.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a hard-hitting no bullshit look at everything happening in and around the turmoil at the Pentagon. AND, the backstory and history you\u2019ve probably never heard before.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From Charlie Syke\u2019s <em>To The Contrary<\/em> Podcast:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Paul Rieckhoff: Why Hegseth Has to Go<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Pity the poor parodists. How can they possibly compete in a world where this is an actual headline: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/news\/us\/hegseth-orders-makeup-studio-installed-at-pentagon\/ar-AA1DtQq8?ocid=BingNewsSerp\"><em>\u201cHegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon<\/em><\/a><em>?\u201d Or this: <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2025\/04\/23\/hegseth-signal-pentagon-computer\/\"><em>\u201cHegseth had Signal messaging app installed on an office computer<\/em><\/a><em>\u201d?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>On today\u2019s \u201cTo the Contrary\u201d Podcast, Paul Rieckhoff and I discuss the witless reign of the chode installed by Donald Trump as Secretary of Defense \u2014 and speculate about his fate. Paul is the founder of Independent Veterans of America and the host of the \u201cIndependent Americans\u201d podcast.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Be sure to check it out on our <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/XsIaeNY6x14\"><u>YouTube page here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>-Get extra content, connect with guests, attend exclusive events, get merch discounts and support this critical show that speaks truth to power by<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><u> joining our IA community on Patreon<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/-DMhxsp9x80\"><u>NEW! Watch the video version of the entire podcast here.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/charliesykes.substack.com\/\"><u>Check out Charlie\u2019s To The Contrary Substack here.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<p>-Find us <a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/independentamericansus\"><u>on social media<\/u><\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independentamericans.us\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.IndependentAmericans.us\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/www.IndependentAmericans.us<\/a><\/u><\/a>. Where you can also get some very cool IA merch in time for Easter, Mother\u2019s Day or Father\u2019s Day.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ways to listen:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Apple Podcasts: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ways to watch:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>YouTube: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Instagram: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Social channels:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>X\/Twitter:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>BlueSky:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Facebook:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/megaphone.fm\/adchoices\">megaphone.fm\/adchoices<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve got a great bonus pod for you to check out as Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff joined Charlie Sykes for a spirited, no-holds-barred deep dive into everything happening with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, SignalGate and the danger we all face now with this inept leadership at the helm. They explore how a Fox&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/bonus-episode-331-charlie-sykes-to-the-contrary-with-paul-rieckhoff-the-rise-of-the-fake-tough-guys-why-secretary-chaos-hegseth-has-to-go\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">BONUS: EPISODE 331: Charlie Sykes\u2019 To The Contrary with Paul Rieckhoff: The Rise of the Fake Tough Guys. Why \u201cSecretary Chaos&#8221; (Hegseth) Has to Go.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episodes","entry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920.jpg",800,800,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920.jpg",800,800,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920.jpg",800,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920.jpg",750,750,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920.jpg",800,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920.jpg",800,800,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2c3106c0ba03dc8877559cd59fa82920.jpg",800,800,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/category\/episodes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Episodes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"We\u2019ve got a great bonus pod for you to check out as Independent Americans host Paul Rieckhoff joined Charlie Sykes for a spirited, no-holds-barred deep dive into everything happening with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, SignalGate and the danger we all face now with this inept leadership at the helm. They explore how a Fox&hellip;&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}