# Xi flexes vs Trump on Taiwan. The no-BS briefing on Iran, Ukraine & China with Preston Stewart.

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/xi-flexes-vs-trump-on-taiwan-the-no-bs-briefing-on-iran-ukraine-china-with-preston-stewart
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737/xi-flexes-vs-trump-on-taiwan-the-no-bs-briefing-on-iran-ukraine-china-with-preston-stewart.md
Podcast: [Independent Americans with Paul Rieckhoff](https://stenobird.com/podcast/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff-981737)
Published: 2026-05-14T22:07:26+00:00
Episode link: https://bleav.com/shows/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff/episodes/xi-flexes-vs-trump-on-taiwan-the-no-bs-briefing-on-iran-ukraine-china-with-preston-stewart/
Audio file: https://pdrl.fm/c39fb6/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/1385/injector.simplecastaudio.com/c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626/episodes/fc3f9fa9-0f03-41eb-847e-ca067a9a423f/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=c67dcf2c-bdc6-42d2-91a1-db918b8e8626&awEpisodeId=fc3f9fa9-0f03-41eb-847e-ca067a9a423f&feed=8GTvjwcf
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Duration seconds: 2791

## Resource

Who can we believe on national security? That's the question driving this conversation. Paul sits down with Preston Stewart — West Point grad, two-tour Afghanistan combat veteran, field artillery officer, and the independent national security analyst who has built a million-plus YouTube following by cutting through the spin. They open with Iran, where the ceasefire is buying time but solving nothing, where Iran's missile and drone capacity is far less degraded than the White House claims, and where the Strait of Hormuz remains a loaded gun aimed at the global economy. Then they widen the aperture to Xi Jinping flexing on Taiwan, a Chinese regime that plays a hundred-year game while Washington burns through munitions in months.

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## Transcript

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