{"id":6249,"date":"2026-07-23T09:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/trumps-iran-quagmire-hegseth-in-the-hotseat-more-dead-soldiers-again\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T09:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T09:45:00","slug":"trumps-iran-quagmire-hegseth-in-the-hotseat-more-dead-soldiers-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/trumps-iran-quagmire-hegseth-in-the-hotseat-more-dead-soldiers-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Iran Quagmire. Hegseth in the Hotseat. More Dead Soldiers. Again."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>Another War, Another Congress That Can\u2019t Stop It. Media Blitz Pod<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>Six months in and Americans already revile this war more than they came to revile Vietnam. Trump went all gas, no brakes \u2014 no declaration, no authorization, no plan \u2014 and now Pete Hegseth is on the Hill with his hat in hand asking Congress for the money he swore he didn&#8217;t need. Meanwhile Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton of North Carolina, thirty years old, husband and father, is dead in Iraq. Two more service members are dead in Jordan. And the Secretary of Defense can&#8217;t tell you how many Americans have been wounded, because per New York Times reporting, this Pentagon is undercounting them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Paul brings the ground-truth veteran perspective live to MSNBC alongside David Rhodes and Tom Nichols: the human cost first, the political theater second. He calls out the joint hearing farce, the Hegseth spin, and the senators \u2014 from both parties \u2014 who still won&#8217;t force a vote to stop this. This is what happens when you commit the troops before you commit the country. This is what a rigged two-party system looks like when the bodies start coming home. And this is why &#8216;Independent is an attitude&#8217; isn&#8217;t a slogan \u2014 it&#8217;s the only posture left that makes sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-WATCH <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jQaW10OBcm0\"><span>full video of this episode here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Millions of American veterans are being locked out of primary elections in the country they served. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/veterans-locked-out\/\"><span>See what we\u2019re doing to change that<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Visit <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/kalshi.com\/r\/INDEPENDENT\"><span>Kalshi and trade on anything<\/span><\/a><span>. Use code [INDEPENDENT] to get ten dollars when you trade ten.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/noblemobile.com\/paul\"><span>Noble Mobile today and get a $100 bonus<\/span><\/a><span> when you use code PAUL and stay a member for 2 months!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Join <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/\"><span>IVA and help us get independent veterans elected to office<\/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>Six months in and Americans already revile this war more than they came to revile Vietnam. Trump went all gas, no brakes \u2014 no declaration, no authorization, no plan \u2014 and now Pete Hegseth is on the Hill with his hat in hand asking Congress for the money he swore he didn&#8217;t need. Meanwhile Sergeant Michael Emmanuel Swinton of North Carolina, thirty years old, husband and father, is dead in Iraq. Two more service members are dead in Jordan. And the Secretary of Defense can&#8217;t tell you how many Americans have been wounded, because per New York Times reporting, this Pentagon is undercounting them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6249","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\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581.jpg",1400,1400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581.jpg",1400,1400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581.jpg",1400,1400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581-1024x1024.jpg",750,750,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581.jpg",1400,1400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581.jpg",1400,1400,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ia-promo-square-ep581.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":"Six months in and Americans already revile this war more than they came to revile Vietnam. Trump went all gas, no brakes \u2014 no declaration, no authorization, no plan \u2014 and now Pete Hegseth is on the Hill with his hat in hand asking Congress for the money he swore he didn't need. Meanwhile Sergeant&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6249","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=6249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}