Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff
@independentamericans·13.4K subscribers·3.5K videos

The Forever War Machine shifts its sight’s to Cuba. Hegseth and Trump Want the Focus Off of Iran.

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May 4, 2026

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Two months in, $25 billion spent, more than a dozen Americans dead, gas at 4.30 a gallon — and now Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump want to change the subject from Iran to Cuba. This is the forever war machine in real time: shift the target, claim the win, drag allies along, and hope the country doesn't notice. The angry middle is noticing. And they don't feel safer.

Pete Hegseth is on the ropes, and the political class is finally asking the questions that should have been asked two months and 25 billion dollars ago. In this solo briefing, Paul Rieckhoff breaks down why the Secretary of Defense keeps comparing Iran to Venezuela — because he wants you to think it was a win — and why the next target on the board is Cuba. The polling hasn't moved. Americans don't support this war. Wars don't get more popular over time, and the man running this one served in one that proved it.

This is a no-BS look at how the forever war machine drives away our allies, threatens the bases in Germany and Italy that have kept America secure for generations, and leaves the homeland exposed to domestic terrorism while DHS sits shuttered. Paul lays out the math that actually matters in 2026: 27 percent Republican, 27 percent Democrat, 45 percent independent — and 60 percent of young people unaffiliated. The future is none of the above. From Graham Platner's open field against Susan Collins in Maine to gas at 4.30 a gallon, the angry middle is the battlefield, and this episode is the briefing on how to read it.

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Guests & Subjects Covered

Pete HegsethDonald TrumpCuba ThisPaul RieckhoffCuba TheFrom Graham Platner'sSusan CollinsSUPPORT THE MOVEMENT

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The Forever War Machine shifts its sight’s to Cuba. Hegseth and Trump Want the Focus Off of Iran. · Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff · Sentinel