Paul Rieckhoff closes the week with a solo briefing on a scoreboard the cable shows won't put on screen. Trump returned from Beijing with no real wins, while a confidential U.S. intelligence assessment — first reported by The Washington Post — details how China is exploiting the war in Iran to gain ground on the United States militarily, economically, and diplomatically. Xi looked Trump in the eye and warned that mishandling Taiwan would lead to a clash with America. Trump, asked about promised arms sales to Taiwan on the flight home, sounded ready to sell them out the same way he sold out Ukraine. That's not partisan spin. That's the read from the no-BS chair.
From there, Paul walks through a 30-hour Russian missile and drone barrage on Kyiv, Hegseth canceling a U.S. brigade deployment to Poland (a gift-wrapped present to Putin), a new hantavirus cluster on a cruise ship that's giving early-COVID déjà vu, and Mayor Mamdani's shameful 13% cut to the NYC Department of Veterans Services right before Memorial Day. He also flags California's June open primary as a once-in-a-cycle chance for independents to actually move the needle, salutes Ukraine's drone operators schooling NATO at a Swedish exercise, remembers Donald Gibb, and closes with Harrison Ford's commencement call to the next generation. Righteous anger, patriotic hope, and a reminder that we're all in this together.
In this episode
- Why Trump's 'total military victory' claim doesn't survive contact with the intel community
- The Washington Post scoop: how China is exploiting the Iran war to gain on the U.S. across every domain
- Xi's public Taiwan warning to Trump — and Trump's wobbly answer on promised arms sales on the flight home
- Hegseth cancels the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team deployment to Poland — a wish-list win for Putin
- Day 1,532 of Russia's invasion: a 30-hour barrage on Kyiv with 56 missiles and roughly 1,560 drones
- Ukrainian drone operators crushing Swedish forces at a NATO Gotland exercise — and what NATO must learn
- A new hantavirus cluster on the MV Hondius and why the RFK Jr.–era HHS doesn't inspire confidence
- Mayor Mamdani's 13% cut to the NYC Department of Veterans Services a week before Memorial Day
- California's June 2 open primary: why independent voters are the sleeping lion
- Remembering Donald Gibb and Harrison Ford's ASU commencement call to meet the moment
