{"id":6135,"date":"2026-05-17T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/china-wins-the-week-rieckhoff-sounds-off-on-trumps-iran-trap\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T10:00:00","slug":"china-wins-the-week-rieckhoff-sounds-off-on-trumps-iran-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/china-wins-the-week-rieckhoff-sounds-off-on-trumps-iran-trap\/","title":{"rendered":"China Wins the Week: Rieckhoff Sounds Off on Trump&#8217;s Iran Trap"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span>Truth is the first casualty of war, and this week we&#8217;re watching it die in real time. Paul Rieckhoff delivers a no-BS briefing on Trump&#8217;s second swing at Iran \u2014 a strike that his own intelligence community is signaling fell short of the objectives Marco Rubio publicly laid out. Where is the enriched uranium? Where are the missile sites? If the administration can&#8217;t show us, we can&#8217;t believe them. And while the spin machine ramps up to attack the press and call dissenters traitors, Iran can become a sucking chest wound for the United States \u2014 with 41% of the Navy in the Gulf, the Army forced to cut training, and Hegseth on the Hill asking for a $1.5 trillion blank check Congress never authorized.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The real winner this week isn&#8217;t in Tehran or Washington \u2014 it&#8217;s in Beijing. Rieckhoff lays out why China holds the strong hand as America gets sucked deeper into a fight with no off-ramp, why NATO and Israel are quietly recalculating, and why Trump&#8217;s collapse with independent voters \u2014 barely 24% approval \u2014 is a down-ballot disaster for Republicans heading into 2026. He also unpacks the rise of independent veteran candidates like Dan Osborn in Nebraska, where Democrats are now dropping out to clear the field. If you&#8217;re in the angry middle and exhausted by the rigged two-party system, this is the briefing you need.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-WATCH <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/smhZk92meBk\"><span>full video of this episode here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><span><br \/>\n<\/span><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/no-more-forever-wars\/\"><span>IVA and stand up to Trump\u2019s Forever Wars<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about Paul\u2019s work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>Independent Veterans of America<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/americanveteransforukraine.org\/\"><span>American Veterans for Ukraine here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Remember <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/do8wjRtDZJ4?feature=share\"><span>Independent is an Attitude<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Learn more about<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/theheadstrongproject.org\/\"><span> The Headstrong Project <\/span><\/a><span>for Veterans, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.taps.org\/\"><span>Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/health-care\/health-needs-conditions\/mental-health\/\"><span>Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area<\/span><\/a><span>. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It\u2019s a show of strength. <\/span><span>If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Connect with Independent Americans:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Subscribe on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\"><span>YouTube<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\"><span>Spotify<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\"><span>Apple Podcasts<\/span><\/a><span>, and all podcast platforms<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Read more at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.substack.com\"> <span>Substack<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span>Support ad-free episodes at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\"> <span>Patreon<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Connect: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0 \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\"><span>X\/Twitter<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\"><span>BlueSky<\/span><\/a><span> \u2022 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PaulRieckhoff\"><span>X<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/paulrieckhoff\/\"><span>Instagram<\/span><\/a><span>, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.com\/@paulrieckhoff\"><span>Threads<\/span><\/a><span>, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/rieckhoff.bsky.social\"><span>Bluesky<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\"><span>Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/span><\/a><span> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>&#8211;<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\"><span>And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch<\/span><\/a><span> now in time for the new year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\"><span>Righteous Media<\/span><\/a><span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And now part of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bleav.com\/shows\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/\"><span>the BLEAV network<\/span><\/a><span>!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href=\"https:\/\/pcm.adswizz.com\">pcm.adswizz.com<\/a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Truth is the first casualty of war, and this week we&#8217;re watching it die in real time. Paul Rieckhoff delivers a no-BS briefing on Trump&#8217;s second swing at Iran \u2014 a strike that his own intelligence community is signaling fell short of the objectives Marco Rubio publicly laid out. Where is the enriched uranium? Where are the missile sites? If the administration can&#8217;t show us, we can&#8217;t believe them. And while the spin machine ramps up to attack the press and call dissenters traitors, Iran can become a sucking chest wound for the United States \u2014 with 41% of the Navy in the Gulf, the Army forced to cut training, and Hegseth on the Hill asking for a $1.5 trillion blank check Congress never authorized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6135","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\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524.jpg",1400,1400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524.jpg",1400,1400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524.jpg",1400,1400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524-1024x1024.jpg",750,750,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524.jpg",1400,1400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524.jpg",1400,1400,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ia-promo-square-ep524.jpg",1400,1400,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":"Truth is the first casualty of war, and this week we're watching it die in real time. Paul Rieckhoff delivers a no-BS briefing on Trump's second swing at Iran \u2014 a strike that his own intelligence community is signaling fell short of the objectives Marco Rubio publicly laid out. Where is the enriched uranium? Where&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6135","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=6135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}