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00:01According to Iran's state media, the assembly of experts has named Mushtabah Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,
00:10as the country's new supreme leader.
00:12The news also comes as Trump has said that he'd like to be involved in picking Iran's next leader.
00:17President Trump, who has said he wants to be involved in picking Iran's next supreme leader, Trump has said that
00:22Mushtabah Khamenei is an unacceptable choice.
00:25This season on the Celebrity Ayatollah, Donald Trump must choose the new leader of Iran from such candidates as Sadiq
00:33Ahmadi, Arsenio Hall, Rantean Hussainzaneh, Snooki, and Brett Michaels.
00:40Who will he pick as the new supreme leader?
00:43What was your, your, the Ayatollah?
00:46This season on the Celebrity Ayatollah.
00:49Okay!
00:50It's the Late Show with Stephen Colbert!
00:56Tonight, Fossil Fool's!
00:59Plus, Stephen Welcomes!
01:02John Lisko!
01:05And Paul Ryker!
01:08Featuring Louis Cato and the great big joy machine!
01:12And now, live on tape from the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York City, it's Stephen Colbert!
01:26Thank you, my friends.
01:28Oh, Jesus.
01:41Thank you, my friends.
01:43Welcome, welcome, one and all, to The Late Show.
01:46I'm your host, Stephen Colbert.
01:47Ladies and gentlemen, we now, we now are on, was this 10?
01:53Day 10 of the Iran War, and we're not any closer to finding out what the goal is.
01:59Is it regime change?
02:01Is it ending a nuclear program?
02:03Is it changing the name to Donald Trump's Iran-a-lago?
02:10But we are learning more about the cost, because according to estimates, the first week of the
02:16war alone cost approximately $6 billion.
02:21Yeah.
02:22Yeah, it's surprising.
02:24You know, do you know what you could buy with $6 billion?
02:2827 Kristi Noem Horsey commercials.
02:33It's unclear.
02:39It's unclear how long the war will continue, because this weekend, Trump said the war will
02:44only stop after Iran's unconditional surrender, to which Iran replied,
02:49that's a dream America should take to their grave.
02:53Okay, that's spooky.
02:56And metal is hell.
02:58Is there any more to that statement?
03:08Thank you, cleric disturbed.
03:11After, after Iran surrenders, Trump wants to pick their next leader, as he said on Air Force
03:16One.
03:17We don't want to come back every five years or every 10 years and do this, so we want
03:21to pick a president that's not going to be leading their country into a war.
03:24When can we pick one of those?
03:29They are way ahead of me.
03:32They were way ahead of me.
03:34We were both...
03:35We were all jumping for that joke at the same time.
03:38There are some candidates for the job we know Trump doesn't want.
03:42Last week, there were rumors that the new Supreme Leader would be the second son of the former
03:47Supreme Leader, but Trump said,
03:50Kamenei's son is unacceptable to me.
03:54It can't be.
03:55Look, it cannot be.
03:57There's no way it can be Kamenei's second son.
04:01His mouth is all gums, and he had to repeat kindergarten three times.
04:05No, wait, that's my son.
04:08That's my second son.
04:16So, it was a real kick in the khakis for the president when this weekend, Iran elected
04:21their new Supreme Leader, Kamenei's son.
04:24Uh, rude.
04:26Do they even consider Trump's preferred candidates?
04:29Iran, you could have had kid Rakatola.
04:34The son in question is hardliner, uh, Mushtaba Kamenei, seen here, noticing that bitch Dariush
04:42is wearing the same clerical robe as him.
04:47This new guy isn't likely to be America-friendly, as a top Iranian official said of the new leader,
04:52he will have no choice but to show an iron fist.
04:56Well, good luck.
04:57Iran's fist may be ironed, but we have a fist made of blueberries you forgot at the back
05:01of the fridge.
05:03Just wash them off.
05:05Just rinse them off, they'll be fine.
05:07A little mold.
05:08Yeah, exactly.
05:11The big news on Iran we got, this was right before the taping, we got, uh, was that Trump
05:16just told CBS News,
05:18I think the war is very complete, pretty much.
05:24Yes.
05:25Very complete, pretty much.
05:26Just like that famous banner,
05:28mission accomplished, in a manner of speaking.
05:31Let's just hope this war ends soon,
05:33because today it pushed oil prices above $100 per barrel,
05:36and analysts are expecting $4 and perhaps $5 a gallon gas prices within weeks.
05:43Which brings me to tonight's Late Show Energy Tip.
05:48Hi, Penny Pinchers.
05:49Uh, it's so simple.
05:51Here is a slice of pizza, okay?
05:54Okay, this is a napkin, okay?
06:04Now, just squeeze this into your gas tank, okay?
06:19Available in leaded, unleaded, and meat lovers.
06:25Thank you very much.
06:30The president seemed too concerned when he was asked about oil prices on Air Force One.
06:34Are you worried about gas prices right now?
06:37No.
06:37This is a short excursion into something that should have been done for 47 years.
06:43We figured oil prices would go up, which they will.
06:46They'll also come down.
06:48They'll come down very fast.
06:49We have a plan.
06:51Replenishing our oil supply is very easy.
06:54We simply have to kill and crush up more dinosaurs.
06:58Therefore, I have ordered strikes on all the Jurassic Parks,
07:03including Isla Nublar,
07:05the Lost World,
07:07and the one from the third with, uh, Tia Leone.
07:11Why doesn't she work more?
07:14Wasn't she my secretary of state for a while?
07:17Was that her?
07:19Madam secretary?
07:25The price of oil isn't the only thing Trump doesn't seem to give a damn about,
07:29because on Thursday,
07:30Trump was asked if Americans needed to worry about Iran retaliating on U.S. soil,
07:35and he said,
07:36I guess.
07:39You guess?
07:40I guess isn't what you're supposed to say about a terrorist attack.
07:43It's what you say when someone asks,
07:45do you want to order the buffalo cauliflower?
07:52Trump went on,
07:53you know,
07:54we expect some things.
07:55Like I said,
07:55some people will die.
07:57When you go to war,
07:58some people will die.
08:00It's really not the most reassuring response you could get from a leader.
08:03It reminds me of that scene from Braveheart.
08:05They may take our lives.
08:08Well,
08:09your lives?
08:10I'm out of here.
08:12Bye.
08:14Trump,
08:15Trump put his,
08:17sure.
08:20We miss you,
08:21Mel Gibson.
08:22What happened to him?
08:24Oh,
08:24yeah.
08:26Trump put his disregard for human life on full display Saturday during the
08:29first dignified transfer of soldiers killed in the line of duty in his new war.
08:35Now,
08:36this is one of the most solemn things a commander-in-chief could do,
08:40which is why some people were shocked that Trump never took off his branded golf hat.
08:45Wearing a novelty golf hat to a dignified transfer is like wearing a coconut bra to give a eulogy.
08:53I think we're all,
08:55I think we're all going to miss,
08:56Doug.
08:57I remember when we used to go horseback riding together,
09:00it sounded like this.
09:21If you thought the golf hat was inappropriate,
09:23you're not alone.
09:25So did Fox News,
09:26clearly,
09:26because instead of showing Trump in his stupid hat,
09:28they aired footage from last year when Trump went hatless.
09:33They just,
09:35they just ran old footage.
09:37What are you doing,
09:38Fox News?
09:38You can't trick your audience.
09:41You've trained them for years to notice subtle differences.
09:44I mean,
09:45they're the only people who can tell that these are different women.
09:52When asked,
10:00when asked by CNN's Dana Bash how he would rate his new war,
10:04Trump said,
10:05I would say at 12,
10:07maybe 15 on a scale of 10,
10:09with 10 being the best.
10:11And I would give that answer two thumbs down out of five bananas.
10:17With 10 being makes sense.
10:22While he was telling Bash about Iran,
10:24he casually threw this in there.
10:26Cuba's going to fall pretty soon,
10:28by the way,
10:29unrelated,
10:29but Cuba is going to fall too.
10:32Unrelated?
10:33You just can't toss that in.
10:35Hey,
10:36champ,
10:37mommy and I are getting divorced.
10:39By the way,
10:40unrelated,
10:41you're adopted.
10:43That's why you're unrelated.
10:48Trump explained of Cuba,
11:00Trump explained of Cuba,
11:02I've been watching it for 50 years and it's fallen right into my lap because of me.
11:07It's fallen.
11:08Cuba fell right into Trump's lap.
11:10Ooh,
11:10Cuba,
11:10get out of there.
11:12You don't know where that lap has been.
11:16So what's Trump's,
11:18I want to say,
11:18plan to,
11:20I want to say,
11:21steal Cuba?
11:22Well,
11:23I'm going to put Marco over there and we'll see how that works out.
11:28What?
11:29No,
11:29no,
11:30Marco Rubio already has like six jobs.
11:32Marco's going to rub Cuba.
11:34He's going to be in charge of a cigar production,
11:36harvest the sugar cane,
11:37and I'm also going to put him in the trombone section of the Buena Vista Social Club.
11:41Get out.
11:42Work on your embouchure.
11:51Trump's got plans for the rest of Latin America, too.
11:54On Saturday,
11:54the president held this big summit at his Doral Golf Club,
11:58which is somehow normal now.
12:00While there,
12:01he launched his new organization to fight drug trafficking,
12:04the Shield of the Americas.
12:06That's right.
12:07We're the new agents of Shield.
12:09I'm starting my own Avengers, folks,
12:11and it's led by me,
12:12White Panther.
12:16What cankles forever?
12:28Remember?
12:29Back in the day.
12:30Shield of the Americas even has a logo.
12:32Apparently,
12:33they use the same graphic designer as Paw Patrol.
12:36When asked what exactly the Shield of the Americas mission statement is,
12:42Trump said,
12:43it has to do with drugs, largely.
12:46Powerful.
12:47Reminds me of the Marines' motto,
12:48it has to do with boats sometimes.
12:52At the event,
12:53Trump gave a shout-out
12:53to some of the assembled leaders,
12:55including El Salvador's president,
12:56whose name is pronounced Naib Bukele.
12:59President of El Salvador,
13:01another friend,
13:05Naib Bukele.
13:07Oh, yeah.
13:09Oh, yeah.
13:10They're clearly,
13:12clearly great pals.
13:13Just,
13:14just like me and my band leader,
13:16Louis Kutubu.
13:18Louis Kutubu.
13:20Close.
13:21Louis Kutubu.
13:27He answered the leaders
13:28of the Spanish-speaking nations
13:30with the utmost respect.
13:33I'm not learning your damn language.
13:35I don't have time.
13:36Don't be offended.
13:37No.
13:38No.
13:39Do not be offended,
13:40Latin America.
13:41He also didn't have time
13:42to learn English.
13:44We got a great show for you tonight.
13:47My guests are John Lithgow
13:49and national security analyst
13:51Paul Rykov.
13:53And when we come back,
13:55are men okay?
13:57Okay.
14:17Welcome back. Give it up for
14:20Louis Ketubu and the Great Big Toy Machine.
14:31Folks, if you have the internet, you may have noticed that a lot of men are going through
14:35some stuff right now.
14:37Every day, we see more headlines telling us that men are falling behind feeling lonely
14:41and being dragged into something called the manosphere.
14:45The manosphere is a group of masculinity-touting influencers, and not as I thought when you
14:50put a bunch of dudes in one of those inflatable hamster balls.
14:54So tonight, I wanted to take a moment to ask the question...
15:06One men's trend, or Tremend, raising some sculpted eyebrows out there, is that men are now embracing
15:12aesthetic treatments, sometimes to the extreme, in a trend called looks-maxing, which is the
15:19maximization of one's appearance, also what it's called when you get plastic surgery at
15:24TJ Maxx.
15:27Looks-maxing may include everything from moisturizing to a cosmetic surgery, with tech bros getting
15:33facelifts, and finance bros opting for filler, with particular importance given to jawlines,
15:39eyes, and physique.
15:40It's what women know as getting ready to do anything ever, only to be told, you look tired.
15:50And you're tired.
15:53You look a little tired.
15:55And looks-maxing is just the tame stuff.
15:58Some resort to more extreme fixes known as hard-maxing, which includes the use of extra-strength
16:04botox called bro-tox, which is the same as traditional botox, but at a higher dosage, to account for
16:10men's thicker skin and stronger facial muscles.
16:13And instead of a needle, it's administered via trank dart.
16:18Now, if their max still isn't hard enough, some undergo a procedure that relaxes scrotal
16:24muscles, making testicles appear larger and smooths out wrinkles, called scrotox.
16:38Be advised, as with Botox, it does affect your scrotum's ability to look surprised.
16:50Like a water balloon.
16:55Some max hardeners are even doing something called bone-smashing, which involves using
16:59hammers to break bones in the face to look more masculine.
17:03I guess it's predictable that men want a cosmetic treatment that starts at Home Depot.
17:08So why are so many undergoing the hammer?
17:12One expert cites increased professional visibility through social media, high-definition photography,
17:17and something called Zoom Face.
17:20Zoom Face is when you feel self-conscious seeing yourself in online meetings, so you crank, touch-up-my-appearance
17:25-so-far,
17:26you end up looking like a yassified moon.
17:31That was good.
17:32Pretty.
17:33That looks real good.
17:34Who was that young whippersnapper?
17:37So it seems like men are trying to fill a hole in their heart in ways that are unhealthy,
17:41but which they're attracted to because they seem hyper-masculine.
17:45Which is why I want to let real men in on some self-improvement secrets that only true
17:50hard boys know.
17:51So snort a rail of whey protein and meet me at the man camera.
17:55Or as I call it, the...
17:58Cam Man-Mura Cam!
18:01Hello, strong boys.
18:03Now that all the softos are gone, I can tell you about the most effective paths to personal
18:08growth that still sound hardcore with my man hacks.
18:11With two X's.
18:13Yeah.
18:16Strap in, buddy, it's go time.
18:17The next time you feel tempted to break your own face to be a man, instead try taking a
18:22ball peen to your pride through something called active listening.
18:28Okay?
18:30Yeah.
18:33If you like bone-smashing hammers, just wait till you learn to use figurative hammers to
18:38build a foundation of trust with your partner.
18:42That foundation levels you up to something I call emotion chugging.
18:48That's where you start to feel anger, but examine the source of that anger, which is usually
18:52fear that you're covering, then do a keg stand of communication with your significant other
18:57instead of yelling because they touched your guitar.
19:00You both feel truly seen!
19:04And listen up, bro-hams.
19:06Once a week, you can sit down with a trained mental health professional for a session of
19:11something I call brain thunder.
19:1450 straight minutes of making your feelings your bitch.
19:17So powerful, your eyeballs will wet themselves out of respect.
19:31Follow these hacks, and you'll be man-maxed to your most.
19:34Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take this bone-smashing hammer and build shelves for the
19:39food co-op.
19:41We'll be right back with John Lithgow.
20:03Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen.
20:06My first guest tonight is the legendary actor you know from Conclave, The Crown, Terms of
20:14Endearment, and so much more.
20:16Please welcome back to The Late Show, John Lithgow.
20:42Maestro.
20:45So lovely to see you again.
20:46Wonderful to be back.
20:47You look absolutely in the pink.
20:49Well, I am.
20:51I am.
20:51I've just been told that this is my tenth appearance on the show.
20:56Oh, wow.
20:57Just in time.
20:58Wow.
20:59Fantastic.
21:00Well, you've just turned 80 in October.
21:03Yes.
21:03Good for you.
21:06Busier than ever.
21:07Yes, I only deal in round numbers.
21:10Oh, exactly.
21:10You're back on Broadway for your 25th time in the show Giant, which I want to get to in
21:17just a moment, but you're also, you're also, everybody knows now, you're playing Dumbledore
21:24for the next eight seasons on the Harry Potter series.
21:28Do you enjoy being as busy as possible?
21:31Well, it's exhausting, but it's exhilarating.
21:35Having two fantastic jobs like this at my age, I kind of can't believe it.
21:41I'm working harder and better than ever.
21:47Now, you're one of our greatest actors, and I'm just curious, how do you define, I've
21:51talked to so many actors over the years, but I've never asked, what is it you do?
21:54What is it you do for a living, actor?
21:58Well.
21:59Defend your choices for what you do for a living.
22:02Well, at the very most basic level, I tell stories.
22:07I can't explain why it is, but everybody needs stories.
22:12You can't get through a single day without seeking out some sort of narrative being told
22:17to you, whether it's an episode of a TV show or a Broadway show or an opera or a ballet
22:24or sitting and listening to a symphony being played.
22:30We just crave it, and I don't think people give it a thought.
22:34They just do it because it's a part of their lives.
22:36And I am that part of society that delivers this to the other half.
22:43And are you, as an actor, what's your greatest tool to do that?
22:52Is it your voice?
22:53Is it your physicality?
22:54Is it your curiosity?
22:55Is it your empathy?
22:56Is it your interest in human beings?
22:58What is it?
22:58I think all of the same.
23:00Okay.
23:01It's great that you...
23:02Weak answer, John.
23:04As you rattled it off, I sort of, it was like checking off the boxes.
23:10Yes, an actor uses his body and his voice and his, the depth of his emotional experience,
23:17I think, to sound pretentious for just a moment.
23:21Yes.
23:22When you were younger, did you ever play a part that you later looked and went,
23:24oh, I wasn't ready for that part.
23:25I didn't have the depth of emotional experience to actually understand what I was doing?
23:31No.
23:38I was, I was, you came out of your mother deep.
23:42Yes.
23:43Born deep, the John Lithgow story.
23:46You're starring now in the play Giant on Broadway, playing Roald Dahl, the great author.
23:54Looking at this play, Bill, it doesn't seem like it's the sunniest depiction of Roald Dahl.
23:58If we have a shot here, if you don't mind looking at that again.
24:00There you go.
24:01He's a little grumpy looking.
24:02Yeah.
24:03What is it?
24:04What is it about?
24:06Well, lots of people know Roald Dahl's writing.
24:10You know he has his dark side as a writer.
24:13Well, he had his dark side as a human being.
24:17A man of great charm, great wit and intelligence, but a streak of witting and unwitting cruelty.
24:28Curiously, not so curiously, he had a streak of antisemitism, which is very much what the play is about.
24:35It's a piece of history.
24:37It's a day in Dahl's life in the early 1980s, when in the middle of the conflict between Israel and
24:47Lebanon, when Dahl himself, he had a book coming out, one of his major books, The Witches.
24:55And he chose that moment to go very public in a book review he wrote with his antisemitism and his
25:03strong anti-Israeli feelings in the way they were conducting this assault on Lebanon.
25:11It's an examination of that day, and as you can imagine, in this day and age, it's extraordinarily timely.
25:21You've done this play in London.
25:22We did it in two different runs in London at the small Royal Court Writers Theatre, where it was such
25:30a success, award-winning success, that it went to the West End, had a run there, and now we're doing
25:36it on Broadway.
25:36And you won the Olivier Award for your performance, or that.
25:45I'm just curious, did you ever meet Olivier?
25:51I never met him.
25:52Did you ever see him perform live?
25:53Yes, I did.
25:54When I was a drama student in London, when I was about 22 years old, it was when he was
26:01running the National Theatre at the Old Vic.
26:03And I saw him in two performances, one a very small role, and one a big, titanic role, one of
26:12his great roles.
26:13The captain in Strindberg's Dance of Death.
26:17And I was completely stunned by this performance.
26:21I feel like I saw it five days ago.
26:24It stays with me so vividly.
26:27I've been stealing from it my entire career.
26:31And it was uncanny, being given the Olivier Award at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and invoking Laurence Olivier.
26:41I believe I said, I never met the man, but I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
26:49We have to take a quick break.
26:51We'll be right back with more John Lithgow, everybody.
26:53Stick around.
27:00We're back in the car.
27:01We'll have to see a yellow person.
27:03Yep.
27:05I still haven't heard it.
27:06That's all right.
27:07Ten times.
27:07Ten times.
27:08That's okay.
27:09Okay.
27:12Folks, we've captured John Lithgow.
27:15It's not just Broadway stages that you've graced.
27:18You've also danced recently with the New York City Ballet.
27:20Yes.
27:21And not for the first time.
27:23Here you are.
27:24What part are you playing there, sir?
27:26I'm playing the elephant.
27:28The elephant as portrayed by Dame Edna.
27:32Yes.
27:33It's Sanson's Carnival of the Animals.
27:36Oh.
27:36Quite lovely.
27:39Yeah, yeah.
27:40Quite lovely.
27:41Are you a good dancer?
27:43You know what?
27:45I met Mikhail Baryshnikov for the first time.
27:50Recently?
27:50No, years ago.
27:52He had seen Carnival of the Animals without my knowing it.
27:56And the first words out of his mouth were,
27:59You are a wonderful dancer.
28:03Wow.
28:06Wow.
28:07Now, I must add that I was dancing to comic effect.
28:14And I made them laugh.
28:15In other words, you know, I was dancing as well as an elephant can
28:19possibly dance ballet.
28:22Well, John, it's so lovely to see you.
28:24Thanks for being here ten times.
28:26You know, I was on with Dave ten times.
28:28That was the number of times I was on with Letterman.
28:30Is that right?
28:30Yeah, I was so happy to have been on with ten times.
28:32God, I made it to ten.
28:33Yeah.
28:34Yeah.
28:34Stephen.
28:42This is a really, really sentimental moment, Stephen.
28:45Oh.
28:46I mean, I share this feeling with everybody in this audience.
28:53I just have loved talking to you and getting to know you over the years.
28:56Yeah.
28:57And I've loved hearing your poetry.
28:58Uh-huh.
28:59You shared poetry with us.
29:00And my producer tells me, and I have not heard this,
29:02my producer tells me that you have brought a special poem for us.
29:06Yes.
29:06And I told her, do not tell, do not show this poem to Stephen.
29:13I want him to hear it on TV in front of everybody to see.
29:18Yes.
29:18It's called The Mighty Colbert.
29:28The time has arrived for us all to prepare for the doleful departure
29:34of Stephen Colbert.
29:37How will we last in the gaping black hole that's left in the absence of this merry soul?
29:45For a decade of late night and nine years before of satirical japes on the Colbert rapport,
29:52we've been lavished with laughter for twenty straight years
29:57from the genius between Stephen's two mismatched ears.
30:12Why does his exit stir up such despair?
30:17What mysterious magic imbues late night's air?
30:22Stephen's wit is the source of his lunatic art, his intelligence, wisdom, compassion, and heart.
30:30These are the virtues that bring out the best in even his gravest, most humorless guest.
30:39His monologues, though, with their slap-happy quirks,
30:43have clearly been Stephen's sublime masterworks.
30:47Each one is a targeted rotten tomato, bookended by music from Batiste and Cato.
31:02So why is he cancelled?
31:04Why trash all that pleasure?
31:07Why yank off the air this beloved national treasure?
31:14Stephen's tale is a lesson for all who come after.
31:18Beware of a boss with thin skin and no laughter.
31:29But don't mourn for Stephen, he's going to be fine.
31:33He'll only get better like aging fine wine.
31:37With a talent so rich and discernment so rare,
31:42there's much more to come from the mighty Colbert.
31:54Thank you, John.
31:56Thank you, John.
32:04Previews for Giant on Broadway.
32:07Star Wednesday, John Lithgow, everybody.
32:09We'll be right back with the national security analyst, Paul Rykov.
32:24There you go.
32:27Welcome back, my friends.
32:30My next guest tonight is a national security analyst, podcast host,
32:34and founder of the group Independent Veterans of America.
32:38Please welcome to The Late Show, Paul Rykov.
32:55You're welcome.
32:56You're welcome.
32:56Good to see you.
33:00Well, Paul, it's been a little while, but you haven't gotten any smaller.
33:03Thanks for being here.
33:04Okay, national security analyst, advocate for veterans,
33:07served in Iraq, host of the podcast Independent Americans.
33:11You were, uh, you advised us over at the Colbert Report
33:15when we took the show to Baghdad in 2009 for the USO and the Troops.
33:19It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.
33:21And, uh...
33:21And here we are again.
33:23And here we are again. That's what I keep thinking.
33:25We're now at war with Iran,
33:29even though they say it's not a war, but it is a war,
33:32but it's not a war.
33:33And as a former soldier, um, I'm just curious
33:37what you think the troops need to hear
33:41from a commander-in-chief before we go to war.
33:45And, and, and did that get delivered this time?
33:49Was that case made in a clear way
33:52to the people who have to fight and sacrifice
33:55for the goals, whatever they may be?
33:58There's nothing more sacred,
34:00nothing more important than the commander-in-chief can do
34:02than send men and women into harm's way, potentially, to die.
34:06And before he even talks to the troops,
34:08he has to talk to the country.
34:10Because first you have to commit the country,
34:12then you have to commit the troops.
34:15Mm-hmm.
34:17And...
34:17It's one of the reasons why the Congress
34:20is supposed to declare war,
34:21because those people have to answer their individual districts.
34:24We're going to get to that, I hope, right?
34:26Yeah.
34:26But, but anytime you get it backwards,
34:28and you send the troops first,
34:29and then try to convince the country,
34:31we get into trouble.
34:32And, and the challenge is that most of the country
34:34does not support this operation in Iran,
34:37does not support boots on the ground,
34:39does not support a lot of what he's doing right now.
34:41And, and that is a real problem, because...
34:46Because not just the troops,
34:48but the country need, needs a clear objective.
34:51We need goals.
34:52We need a timeline.
34:53We need a real understanding
34:54of what the costs of war can be,
34:56not just financial, but especially human, right?
34:59And then we need to know
35:00that it's absolutely and positively, vitally necessary,
35:04that it's worth the cost of now seven American troops
35:08and probably more to come, tragically.
35:10But we need to know it's worth it.
35:11He's hit nine countries...
35:14I got him here so far in the last 14 months.
35:16Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, Caribbean,
35:20Syria, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Ecuador.
35:23And for a guy who ran very specifically
35:25on no new wars,
35:28what do you make of this change of heart?
35:31Well, he said no regime change,
35:33no, no, no regime change wars, no new wars.
35:35And now he's at eight and counting.
35:37He's hit Iran twice.
35:38I think the most important story in the world
35:40is that Donald Trump can do anything he wants
35:42with the most powerful military the world has ever seen.
35:45And nothing is stopping him.
35:46Congress is completely failing.
35:48And I think Americans are outraged
35:49with Republicans most of all, of course,
35:51but the Democrats too,
35:53because...
35:55They...
35:58When he went to war,
35:59when we started this war,
36:01and it is a war, okay?
36:02I don't believe the spin
36:03and the crap coming out of the White House.
36:05He did it on a Saturday.
36:06They didn't even come back into Congress.
36:09They didn't interrupt their weekend.
36:10The members of Congress were in their mansions
36:12and they're posting tweets.
36:14They couldn't even have an emergency session of Congress
36:16to discuss the new war.
36:17At least the UN called the Security Council
36:20and had an emergency session.
36:21Our Congress didn't even get back together.
36:23There's supposed to be a check.
36:25There's supposed to be a guardrail.
36:26They're not even a speed bump.
36:27They're supposed to be the guardians of our democracy.
36:30They're like the mall cops of our democracy.
36:32They're not even writing tickets.
36:33He is all gas, no brakes, right?
36:36And he's blowing past them.
36:39Now, we heard...
36:41We heard...
36:41We heard freedom for the Iranian people.
36:44We heard regime change.
36:45We heard stopping their nuclear ambitions.
36:50We said stopping their attacks,
36:52both regionally and eventually,
36:54and possible near-term missiles
36:57against the United States.
36:57It got vague after a while.
37:00As far as regime change goes,
37:02as we were saying earlier,
37:03now there is a new Ayatollah,
37:06a new supreme leader.
37:07It's Mushtaba Khamenei,
37:09which is Ayatollah Khamenei's son.
37:16What's he like?
37:18Do we know?
37:20He's more bad.
37:21Yeah?
37:22And younger.
37:24He's got something...
37:25He's got a vendetta, I'm sure.
37:27Yeah, of course.
37:27I mean, look, the rationale keeps changing, right?
37:31And that is by design, right?
37:33The strategy is to ensure
37:35that there are multiple rationales.
37:36Maybe they'll land on one that sticks,
37:38but it also ensures they're not held accountable.
37:40And we've seen this before.
37:41I got sent to Iraq for yellow cake
37:43and weapons of mass destruction,
37:44and Saddam's a bad guy and all that stuff.
37:46But this ensures that they're not accountable
37:48because they're all gas, no brakes.
37:50They just keep going forward.
37:51And they want to hit Cuba, too, as you mentioned.
37:53But they have not articulated what success looks like,
37:57not just for the American people,
37:58but for the Iranian people and for the region.
38:00Now we've got over a dozen countries
38:01that are being impacted.
38:02The lid is blown off.
38:04And by replacing the Ayatollah with his son,
38:06it's kind of like replacing Kristi Noem
38:09with Mark Wayne Mullen, right?
38:11I mean...
38:12Right?
38:13As I said, you've worked with veterans groups
38:15that you've helped develop yourself,
38:17and now you work with veterans
38:19who want to run for office.
38:21What impact do you think politicians
38:24with a military background who have seen combat,
38:27what difference would they have
38:29in our government and our country?
38:30They have experience.
38:31I think it's important to underscore.
38:33I'm focused on independence, right?
38:35Because most Americans understand
38:37that the Republicans are gone and they're corrupt,
38:40and the Democrats can't slow them down.
38:42Democrats can't stop them, right?
38:44So most Americans are actually politically independent,
38:47unaffiliated.
38:4845% of Americans are independent.
38:50Only 27% are Democrats and Republicans.
38:53And something I'd like to point out here
38:54is that the military itself,
38:56people think of it as a very conservative organization,
38:58and while there are rules and standards
39:00and all those things that we associate
39:01with the most conservative aspects of America,
39:03they're a broad cross-section of America.
39:05Right.
39:06They're not a monolith,
39:07but they are a reflection of the best of America.
39:10And they want to continue to serve,
39:11and many of them want to answer the call right now,
39:13but they don't want to pick a side.
39:15Right?
39:15You're in the military.
39:16You're putting country over party,
39:18people over politics.
39:19Then you get out,
39:19and they tell you you've got to choose a side.
39:21Well, what if we could create a way for them to run
39:23without having to pick a side,
39:24to run for America,
39:25not for the Democrats, for the Republicans?
39:27That's what we believe is the opportunity
39:29that's presenting itself right now.
39:30And they are the hope that this country needs.
39:32They are strong.
39:33They have integrity.
39:34They have independents.
39:35But they need help
39:36to be able to make it viable for them to run.
39:38So we are recruiting 100 independent veterans
39:41to run from the Senate
39:42all the way down to school board
39:43to meet this moment
39:45and provide the leadership
39:46that this country is really looking for.
39:48I'm afraid that's all we have time for.
39:52New episodes of the podcast,
39:54Independent Americans,
39:55are available weekdays.
39:57Paul Rykoff, everybody.
40:06That's it for The Late Show, everybody.
40:07Tune in tomorrow.
40:08My guests will be Michelle Pfeiffer
40:10and Dave Matthews.
40:11Good night.
40:13Good night.
40:17I'm going to be Michelle Pfeiffer.
40:31I'm going to be Michelle Pfeiffer.
40:32Hi.
40:34Hi.
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