{"id":6379,"date":"2026-10-14T09:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T09:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/trump-folds-to-putin-again-zelensky-emerges-as-leader-of-the-free-world-hegseths-culture-war-bender-and-firing-squad-livestream-stunt\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T09:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T09:45:00","slug":"trump-folds-to-putin-again-zelensky-emerges-as-leader-of-the-free-world-hegseths-culture-war-bender-and-firing-squad-livestream-stunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/trump-folds-to-putin-again-zelensky-emerges-as-leader-of-the-free-world-hegseths-culture-war-bender-and-firing-squad-livestream-stunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump folds to Putin \u2014 again. Zelensky emerges as leader of the free world. Hegseth\u2019s \u201cCulture war bender\u201d and firing squad livestream stunt."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span>Donald Trump is in full spray-and-pray mode. One day he&#8217;s threatening Iran and Cuba, the next he&#8217;s cutting a diesel deal with the Kremlin and backstabbing Ukraine again. Vladimir Putin ignored Trump&#8217;s latest ceasefire within hours, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board noticed. Most Americans and most American veterans still stand with Ukraine. The president does not speak for them. In this media blitz episode, Paul Rieckhoff joins Alicia Menendez and veteran national security reporter David Rhode to name what&#8217;s actually happening: Zelensky is emerging as the real leader of the free world while the American president plays political bandwagon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Then the conversation turns to Pete Hegseth and his pitch to livestream the execution of the Fort Hood shooter. Paul calls it what it is \u2014 a culture war bender, spectacle over substance, and a Pentagon secretary auditioning for a 2028 run. David Rhode, who spent seven months as a Taliban hostage, explains why a public execution is a jihadist recruiting tool, not a deterrent. This is a no-BS breakdown of a presidency that keeps handing wins to our enemies, a Pentagon chasing viral moments instead of victories, and an independent movement that refuses to let either party define what strength actually looks like.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-WATCH <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/oc3oBdhuarM\"><span>full video of this episode here<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Track the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/independentveteransofamerica.org\/polls\/\"><span>IVA candidates on our poll tracker<\/span><\/a><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Let Vets Vote: Millions of American veterans are being locked out of primary elections in the country they served. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/letvetsvote.org\/\"><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 $25 when you trade $25.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>-Head to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/cozyearth.com\"><span>cozyearth.com<\/span><\/a><span> and use the code AMERICANS for an exclusive 20% off.<\/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>-Learn more about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/americanveteransforukraine.org\/\"><span>American Veterans for Ukraine here<\/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>Donald Trump is in full spray-and-pray mode. One day he&#8217;s threatening Iran and Cuba, the next he&#8217;s cutting a diesel deal with the Kremlin and backstabbing Ukraine again. Vladimir Putin ignored Trump&#8217;s latest ceasefire within hours, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board noticed. Most Americans and most American veterans still stand with Ukraine. The president does not speak for them. In this media blitz episode, Paul Rieckhoff joins Alicia Menendez and veteran national security reporter David Rhode to name what&#8217;s actually happening: Zelensky is emerging as the real leader of the free world while the American president plays political bandwagon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6380,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6379","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\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648.jpg",1400,1400,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648.jpg",1400,1400,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648.jpg",1400,1400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648-1024x1024.jpg",750,750,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648.jpg",1400,1400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648.jpg",1400,1400,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ia-promo-square-ep648.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":"Donald Trump is in full spray-and-pray mode. One day he's threatening Iran and Cuba, the next he's cutting a diesel deal with the Kremlin and backstabbing Ukraine again. Vladimir Putin ignored Trump's latest ceasefire within hours, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board noticed. Most Americans and most American veterans still stand with Ukraine. The&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6379","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=6379"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6379\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}