They Chose Wall Street Over The Firefighters: The Ground Zero Toxin Lie Exposed. Trump’s Prime-Time Flop Up Against The NFL. “Every Day Is Like A 9/11 For Ukraine.” Media Blitz Pod

0:00This is Belie, one network, every topic, everywhere. There's a generation of people who've been exposed. And I think outrage and sadness is important, but it gets a little old. We need an action plan. We need to know what is Mamdani, what is the president, what is the governor going to do to hold people accountable? Because if people did lie, they should be in jail. I don't care who they are. If they lied to the public about toxin exposures in public health, they should go to jail. Welcome to Independent Americans. And welcome to Lower Manhattan on the week of 9-11. I opened my shot with something really unique. Downtown Lower Manhattan, I can actually configure my phone so you can see the World Trade Center,

1:05the new Freedom Tower, and the 9-11 Memorial Lights in the same photo. Right now, the World Trade Center has been lit up in a few different colors, and they're testing the 9-11 lights. They turn one on at times, they turn two on at times, a bit of local knowledge that you may not know. They turn the lights off every so often. To release birds that get stuck inside the lights, the lights form a square, an perimeter, and birds fly in and can't get out. So they shut the birds off every, I don't know, hour or so, maybe even more frequently, to release the birds. In the years when they first created this light memorial, there were lots of bird advocates and nature advocates who would document this phenomenon around our neighborhood. And eventually, they advocated, and I think appropriately, got the lights turned off from time to time, because these birds get caught in a kind of death spiral.

2:08Our politics feels like a death spiral, especially right now. 99-11 is different. Every 9-11 is politicized in different ways, and this one, even the 25th, will be no exception. On Friday, 9-11, I will bring you an extended conversation with a true American hero, a true helper, our friend Rob Sarah. If you're a regular listener or watcher of the show, you know that Rob Sarah has joined us almost every year to document and share and talk about his very first day on the job. In the Fire Department of New York, which was on 9-11. He'll join us. He always is generous for this time and his thoughts, and especially now, he's going to talk about the things I've been talking about. The fact that the New York City leaders did not divulge all the information about toxin exposures. We're going to talk about Trump's lie, saying he was carried by firefighters on 9-11. And we'll talk about what he thinks the real meeting of 9-11 should be, and how do we

3:09teach this to our kids? That's something I wrestle with all the time, and I live in Lower Manhattan. You may not know there is no formal national or even statewide curriculum in New York, teaching the history of 9-11. It's something I've been advocating to change for a long time. I will continue to advocate. I think there should be a standard approved doctrine of instruction that is independent of conspiracies and politics. The 9-11 museum does a great job of helping educate teachers and educators, but we need a formal curriculum, I think, in the United States, and especially in New York to help educate the next generation about the truth of what 9-11 was all about. The lights continue. Again, they turn on and off throughout the week to test them, but they are a powerful tribute to what this week and this time is supposed to be all about. I'm going to keep breaking it down. I'm going to try to remember the lessons of 9-11 to teach them, and to keep that spirit every day, the spirit of when we were all united.

4:11And I'm also going to share with you now a couple of quick media hits. I'm busy around 9-11. I do a lot of conversations, a lot of teaching. I try to spend time with kids most of all, and I'll be, maybe most importantly, coaching football for a group of kids who weren't even born when 9-11 happened, but we'll be practicing football and these lights will be up overhead and we'll try to remind them what it's all about. Here is a special media blitz episode. I made the rounds across all three networks yesterday, so I'll share with you my conversation with Connell McShane and News Nation. If we're able, I'll share the MS now weekly conversation I do on Deadline White House, which I think was especially important today this week. And my conversation on CNN where I talked with Aaron Burnett and former representative Charlie Dent about Trump's convention. Did you know Trump was having a convention? He had a convention the same time of the NFL kickoff, the US Open September baseball

5:12and much more. You may not even know that, but I break that down and much more. It's a quick fire media episode. I hope you enjoy it and you can share it. Be sure to subscribe. Leave us all the stars, support our sponsors. Go to independentamericans.us where you can also subscribe to the morning independent or daily free newsletter where we select the most important news you need to know and shape it from an independent perspective. But especially this week, as many will reflect, will mourn, will unite, will serve, will give back. It's an important day to give back and to serve. I'm going to try to bring you light to contrast, to heat and bring you the actual lights. If you're watching on YouTube, this is a good time to do it. As you can see, one of the lights is up now. The World Trade Center stands and we can still be united. I'm Paul Reikoff signing off from New York. Here it is, a special media blitz episode. Until next time. Ah, before I sign off, the sound of sirens is something you hear a lot of in New York

6:16this week. You hear a ton of it. And I got to admit, it's a bit triggering for me because if you lived in New York around 9-11, you heard sirens nonstop. I lived in 23rd Street and I remember hearing sirens every time fire trucks went in and out when they found bodies when they remembered firefighters or first responders, sirens, sirens, sirens, sirens. And the only other time I can remember that was remotely similar was during COVID. When we heard sirens all the time in the city. It's something unique to New York. And I was thinking about New York in 9-11 and the fact that every year, I think I want to get out of here and leave New York City. And then every year, I can't imagine being anywhere else. If you ever lived in New York, you probably know that it's kind of a reflection of what it's like to live in New York. Oftentimes you want to get the heck out of here and go somewhere else. At the same time, you can't imagine living anywhere else. So from here in New York, I'm signing off.

7:19Now I'm really signing off and asking you all to stick together, stay united, look out for each other, look for the helpers, and most of all, stay vigilant. This episode of Independent Americans is sponsored by Kalshi. We make predictions every single day. We talk about it on the show politics, pop culture, the economy, the biggest stories making headlines all across America and around the world. Kalshi. If you haven't checked it out, now is the time, especially around politics and the elections. We'll trump by at least part of Greenland. If you think he'll do that before 2027 and you wager $100, it'll pay out $2,019 and $24. If you think it's going to be before 2027, it's 17%, you can also pick whether or not

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9:26First 9-11 first responder, Iraq war veteran Paul Reikoff joins us as he does each week. Now the host of the independent Americans podcast. You can see Paul. He'll also be with us Friday, by the way, in our special coverage downtown where you certainly have spent and do spend a lot of time. So this idea of heightened security, especially in the 25th comes as no surprise, I guess. No, I think it's extremely necessary. I live down there. My kids go to school down there. I think it's important for people to understand it's not just business buildings, there's families, there's communities, there's public schools, stylish and high schools there. The Holocaust Memorial Museum is there. There are a lot of high-value targets. And I think it should be a reminder also that they're always being secured. Our first responders are out there every single day and every single night. I see them because I live down there, walk by the memorial today, not just on 9-11. So I think it's a reminder of the sacrifice and service of our cops, firefighters, EMT, FBI, everybody, a full spectrum blanket that'll be over lower Manhattan this week, but they're always there. They're always standing watch even when we don't know about it.

10:26The other thing that came out this week, of course, and as a first responder, I'd be curious to see if you have your reaction to it, is this new report that the mayor put out on the air quality, which we all suspected, was a problem. And now these reports seem to confirm that not only was the problem, but the city knew about that problem. I added one of the lawyers on who pushed for the release of these new documents on the show last night, got by the name of Andrew Carboy, and here's part of what he said. The city has pledged to help school students and former city workers establish they were actually present in lower Manhattan at the time. This was the pre-internet age, and a lot of records weren't digitized. That will help them get this care and even compensation that they need. We realized that the information this current administration is now willing to give, it could inform future healthcare research, it will inform future disaster responses. Now, the question he was basically answering there was, what is this going to lead to, the actual release? What was your... I think that's the right question, because this confirmed what we already knew.

11:30They lied and our friends have died. For 25 years now, our friends have been dying from 9-11 health exposures. I assume one day I'll probably die of a 9-11 health exposure, but they told us the air was clean. They told everybody the air was okay, it was safe to go back, they opened, stifled some high school, and there's a generation of people who have been exposed. And I think outrage and sadness is important, but it gets a little old. We need an action plan. We need to know what is mom Donnie, what is the president, what is the governor going to do to hold people accountable? Because if people did lie, they should be in jail. I don't care who they are, if they lied to the public about toxin exposures and public health, they should go to jail. And that should send a message to future leaders that when there is a massive toxin exposure, there is a natural disaster, you have to be transparent and honest, especially with first responders, but with the entire public that's affected. What do you think led to that? I was talking yesterday, I just remembered Monday, which would have been, went to 17th, that standing outside the New York Stock Exchange interviewing people going back to work, because they had closed the change on 9-11, the attacks happened before 9-30 and hadn't opened it all week, so there was a pressure to get everyone back to work, not just there, but

12:33a lot of financial firms as quickly as possible. Many of them went across the river to Jersey City, but those guys went back in person. I wonder if that had something to do with, hey, we have to say it, look, this air quality is acceptable because we need to get people back to work. Yeah, I mean, I've been covering this every year on my show for six years. I talked to first responders, I talked to firefighters, I talked to kids who were in high school at Stuyveson during that time. I think what we know now is they prioritized opening Wall Street, they prioritized getting business going, and they didn't prioritize kids, they didn't prioritize firefighters, they didn't prioritize the people who live in that area who were in the hundreds of thousands, and that is the most critical mistake. You have to put people's health first, you have to put the public health first, and that should be maybe the biggest lesson. They truly never forget, let's show some accountability, let's have an action plan, let's hold people accountable, not just dance around who they were, let's find out who lied, hold them accountable, because people continue to die now, and that information is absolutely vital. Okay, let's go back to today, we'll talk a lot more about these issues and the remembrances that are appropriate on Friday when you're downtown with us.

13:36The president spoke about the war in Iran, which I'm going to get to Robert Sherman on in a minute, but also about the war in Ukraine today. I want to play that comment, you and I have talked a lot about Ukraine. Here's the president on his call with Vladimir Putin. Nicholas, we had a great conversation. He is wanting to make a deal, and if Zelensky is wanting to make a deal, that would be very nice. Is it two people that are tired of fighting? Tired of fighting, and the idea is that Putin and the Kremlin is leaking some of this may be willing to make some sort of a deal, but what kind of a deal? If Putin's tired of fighting, he should get out of Ukraine. Yeah, I think it's pretty simple. I think this week of 9-11 is especially important to focus on Ukraine because every day in Ukraine for the civilians is like 9-11. They're getting bomb, they're getting missile attacks, kids are hiding in shelters. It's been that way for over four years now, so I think it should be a reminder to all Americans about just the carnage that they have to deal with every single day. Look, if Trump can get a peace deal, he can get Putin out of Ukraine, then I think everybody

14:37would celebrate that, especially this time of year. But Putin reportedly wants us to pull our aid to Ukraine. Yeah, I mean, we've been doing this dance with him. You can't negotiate with a war criminal in my view. I don't think he is an ally of America. We have to treat him as an enemy of freedom, which is what he's proven to be, and he can end the war anytime. Get out of Ukraine, and the war will be over. I think my friend Paul, again, will be downtown with us for our special coverage from Lower Manhattan on Friday, which begins an normal time at 3pm Eastern, then Friday, 9pm Eastern, doing a 9-11 special honoring the victims and first responders lost them. This episode of Independent Americans is sponsored by Kozy Earth. If you haven't heard about them, they're awesome, especially in the summer. You guys know I'm out with my boys. I'm at baseball. I'm at pools and beaches and just getting dirty and all over the place. And I need really good towels. And they've got awesome pool towels that you can use for the beach, for the pool. Even if you're not a pool person, they have really good bath towels that are amazing. They kind of feel like those really luxury towels you get when you come from a spa or a fancy hotel. Superplush, absorbent.

15:38They suck up everything. My kids love them and it's cool because Kozy Earth stands behind everything they make with a 10-year warranty. They're oversized, ultraplush, completely built for your best summer day. So head to KozyEarth.com, use the code Americans for an exclusive 20% off. That's code Americans for an exclusive 20% off. And if you see Post-Purchase Survey, mention that you heard about Kozy Earth right here on Independent Americans. Check out our friends at Kozy Earth. My day. Yeah, I mean, Paul, interesting, you know, in recent days, they've been reporting that a lot of Republicans were saying Trump wasn't going to spend that money on them and said it was going to save it for things like his own library. I don't know whether that reporting anything to do with the sudden unleashing of the gates of part of it or not. I mean, who knows, right? But you see a spectacle like this. What does it do? I mean, is this going to help turn out down ballot because people who love Trump decide they still love Trump or what's the point? I think it's going to be a prime time flop.

16:39I think it's a miscalculation. They might raise some money off of it, but he's a TV guy and he's up against the opening night of the NFL. Yeah, right. I said NFL, right? The opening night of the NFL and the US Open and September baseball and watching paint dry is probably more exciting than watching this. So unless you're like a die hard CSPan watcher, most folks aren't going to see this. It's not going to register. He's trying to capture that magic again. He's trying to motivate his base, but even his base is now upset about the Iran War. They're not showing up. And it's a bad sign, but they are in Texas and they are raising money and they can continue to deploy dark money. I think that's often underestimated. Say to hug Trump. That's what guys say who weren't so fast. That's so fast. By the way, Senator Moreno took a stand against the next Miller, right? Running for that seat. When the White House is backed, Miller, you know, there's a lot of layers just to that personal situation there as well. Paul, is it possible that Trump, I mean, he has, when he wanted to topple Thomas Massey, he toppled Thomas Massey, right? There are so many examples in this problem. All primary is a primary, right?

17:40It's a race of the faithful, but he has been victorious in many of those, not on the governor's side, but certainly when it comes to Congress. Yeah, he has a history of delivering turnout. And he's been effective there and he can do that in Texas where Republican turnout will be key. With Democratic brand has real problems in a state like Texas. And on the left, the socialists and the DSA have been proving they can drive turnout for the left in the progressive wing. Here's the challenge. They're fighting over independence. And Trump's got less than a 20% approval rating among independence. That's the battleground. That's what he's fighting for. And a place like Maine, a place like Michigan, his brand is not going to help. It's pushing away from him and pushing away from everything, which is a really seen moderate candidates against the Democrats against Trump against Republicans against all of it. That's been a winning message in moderate districts. And the power go he tells me the left and right are dreams for those without a clue. And when you wait, it's time to grow. And it's not cool to believe in school, but if I can say one thing, I've seen the children of the revolution and the good trouble they can bring. He says the red and blue are getting independence and attitude.

18:42And I land in the sea of rhetoric and I can ride a goal. He tells me the left and right are dreams for fools without a clue. And when you wait, it's time to grow. Power go by righteous media.