Verdict with Ted Cruz - BONUS： Daily Review with Clay and Buck - Aug 21 2025

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.540 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.660 Welcome, everybody, to the Thursday edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.

00:00:10.340 A lot of news to dive into.

00:00:12.860 And we will do that with all of you.

00:00:14.960 We appreciate you hanging out with us, being ready to look at all things that are mattering on this lovely Thursday.

00:00:23.080 We can start with one here.

00:00:25.300 We can put one on the board for a Clay Travis prediction come true.

00:00:30.000 He's got a little bit of a hot hand right now.

00:00:32.480 He's feeling pretty smooth, feeling pretty on it.

00:00:36.140 The Court of Appeals in New York has tossed, tossed the $500 million civil fraud fine by A.G. Tish James.

00:00:50.760 This is breaking news today.

00:00:53.180 And I will say this is one where Clay called this very early on and he was vociferous.

00:01:01.300 He was unwavering.

00:01:02.440 I thought this was possible but not as confident.

00:01:05.380 So I give the full predictive.

00:01:06.880 If both of us 100% agree on something, I give the full predictive value here.

00:01:12.460 All points awarded to Clay on the prediction on this one.

00:01:14.980 Because I thought it was kind of a 50-50 and he said they're absolutely going to toss it.

00:01:19.420 And now this is good.

00:01:21.080 The Appellate Division First Department in New York, credit where it's due, did the obviously right thing.

00:01:28.720 This was a completely insane case.

00:01:33.260 Obvious political headhunting.

00:01:35.540 Attorney General of New York State, Tish James, it was awful what she did. 1.00

00:01:42.680 It was disgraceful that she ran promising to prosecute somebody or promising to find somebody.

00:01:49.060 You know, bring suit against, civil suit in this case.

00:01:52.000 And that they said, Clay, I mean, the things that came out in this case, that Trump valued Mar-a-Lago at $517 million and they said it was $27 million in 2020.

00:02:05.600 Anybody with even a passing, the vaguest familiarity with the Palm Beach real estate market.

00:02:12.860 You know, I don't know what house you're going to get on the water for $27 million in Palm Beach these days.

00:02:20.140 Clay, it was the abuse of law in the worst possible fashion.

00:02:26.140 And maybe, no, look, he's president now, so maybe the appellate court decided they weren't going to continue to poke the dragon.

00:02:32.160 But a good call by you, sir.

00:02:34.540 Take a bow for sure.

00:02:36.500 And a good moment actually for, I know this sounds corny perhaps, but it's true, a good moment for law and order in this country or for the rule of law in this country.

00:02:45.640 Yeah, for people who have forgotten, and I know there are so many different legal proceedings.

00:02:52.300 We've joked kind of about this, but I never would have believed when I went to law school that I would end up just analyzing Trump legal cases for what feels like a career oftentimes because Trump 2.0 has primarily been driven.

00:03:07.480 The resistance has by the judiciary, by the legal branch, and it all started as a part of the 2024 election.

00:03:13.760 So this particular case, and I know there are so many of them that it is hard to keep up, was brought by Letitia James, alleging mortgage fraud.

00:03:23.820 And I'm trying to simplify this a little bit.

00:03:26.240 And she said the mortgage fraud was that Trump inflated the assets that were under his control to obtain a lower rate of the mortgage than he otherwise should have.

00:03:39.340 But, and this is why the case was really outlandish from the start, he paid all the loans back.

00:03:48.700 So there was no actual victim here.

00:03:52.580 Even worse, even worse than that, Clay, he paid all the loans back with interest, and the banks said they had no problem with this.

00:03:59.780 Correct.

00:03:59.900 They agreed with his.

00:04:00.900 The banks did an independent assessment.

00:04:03.120 They always do.

00:04:04.300 Yes. 0.96

00:04:04.620 I mean, this is, anyone who's gotten a mortgage knows it is a giant pain in the butt. 0.94

00:04:08.560 The banks do their own assessment. 0.74

00:04:10.520 They want their own person to go in there.

00:04:11.760 Clay, the banks said they would be, this was part of the court filings.

00:04:15.080 They would be eager to do business with Trump again.

00:04:18.160 Yes.

00:04:18.800 So this was an incredibly strained legal theory to begin with because there was no victim.

00:04:27.060 And so the idea that Trump should have to pay back over $500 million with interest now, she tried to calculate what the rate, in her opinion, should have been for the loans that Trump took out that he ended up paying back and that the banks said they were very comfortable in the deal they did.

00:04:49.380 And then argued that that was a fraud perpetrated that the state of New York needed to investigate, bring civil criminal penalties, civil penalties against. 0.95

00:05:00.360 And the New York Court of Appeals just said this is garbage. 0.96

00:05:03.220 And here is where I think we are headed. 0.50

00:05:05.980 I think all these cases are going to end up getting tossed.

00:05:09.480 I think there are three, correct me if I'm wrong, Buck, because sometimes I get kind of lost in the weeds on some of this too.

00:05:15.320 There are three New York State trials and or legal proceedings of significance.

00:05:22.400 There's probably more than this.

00:05:24.120 One is this one that was just tossed out, the mortgage fraud.

00:05:27.680 The other one was the E. Jean Carroll civil suit relating to allegations of sexual assault.

00:05:35.300 I think that's going to be tossed.

00:05:37.160 I've explained why.

00:05:38.580 And then is it 34 felony counts over bookkeeping fraud?

00:05:43.400 It was 34, right?

00:05:44.780 Not 43.

00:05:45.760 I can't remember which one of those numbers.

00:05:47.180 That sounds right.

00:05:47.880 Yes.

00:05:48.540 I think all three of these are going to get tossed eventually.

00:05:52.660 The felonies obviously is the only one that is criminal in nature.

00:05:56.280 Um, and it is a sham case that is going to be tossed on appeal.

00:06:01.240 The most likely, if you had me rank them to remain, uh, if Trump were going to lose one of these, it would be the E. Jean Carroll.

00:06:09.340 But I just at its baseline, again, this goes into the weeds.

00:06:12.920 I don't understand how it's defamation to deny that you raped someone.

00:06:17.020 I mean, that seems, that seems like fair, fair for Trump to say, right?

00:06:22.680 This would mean, this would mean that in any case, by the way, your defense would make you lie liable for a liable for the defense itself.

00:06:32.480 Right.

00:06:32.960 You know, I didn't do this thing.

00:06:34.320 Let's have a trial.

00:06:35.060 Well, oh, we're going to find you guilty.

00:06:37.300 And by the way, because you said you didn't do it, we're also going to sue you because of what you said in court.

00:06:43.400 I mean, I don't understand how it's, it is crazy.

00:06:46.880 And let me be even clearer on this because this, we've seen a lawsuit over George Stephanopoulos of this.

00:06:52.260 Trump was actually in a civil context found not to have committed rape.

00:06:58.680 That is, the jury found it more likely than not in a civil context that he had not committed rape.

00:07:03.920 They did find it more likely than not that he had engaged in sexual assault.

00:07:09.060 So he then said, this is where the additional, uh, lawsuit and additional damages came back.

00:07:15.900 After this verdict, he said, well, that's not true.

00:07:19.800 I didn't, you know, rape her.

00:07:21.340 I didn't sexually assault her. 0.64

00:07:22.680 And then she's lying about that.

00:07:24.840 And then she sued him again saying, well, he defamed her based on the ruling that she had gotten. 0.99

00:07:31.700 So again, I just think that case is garbage. 0.87

00:07:34.980 Uh, we're seeing the Letitia James mortgage case is officially basically from the New York court of appeals garbage. 0.76

00:07:42.020 And I think all the felony charges are going to get tossed too.

00:07:45.220 Now, a lot of you may say, why do I don't even care?

00:07:47.660 Trump's in office, all these things.

00:07:49.520 I do think the court's rulings here matter because the precedent they put in place when they went after Trump.

00:07:56.440 If you happen to be a Republican and live, live in a blue state or candidly, if you happen to be in a Democrat and run in a red state,

00:08:03.780 we can't allow your politics to become proxy for civil and criminal liability just based on what you happen to believe, in my opinion.

00:08:13.640 Trump stomped on lawfare the same way that he stomped on MSNBC and CNN and accomplished things that I don't think many of us believed were even possible years ago.

00:08:25.120 In both, in both of those instances, the fact that you had, uh, it was four criminal trials or four criminal prosecutions rather, and multiple civil suits all timed to hit him at the same time.

00:08:40.420 And while he's running for president and that he will emerge from all of that clay, essentially now, I know there's still the New York case, but I, that one, I agree with you.

00:08:50.620 I mean, there's going to be, there's going to be no punishment that they, he's the president.

00:08:54.560 They can't do anything right now.

00:08:55.600 And there's gonna be no punishment for it.

00:08:56.780 And I think eventually that's going to be overturned as well.

00:08:58.500 Well, he's going to emerge unscathed from all of this.

00:09:01.560 Yes.

00:09:01.940 Which is, which is incredible.

00:09:03.720 Uh, and, and it also goes to, I think, the desperation that the Democrats feel right now, because what happens when you've thrown everything in the kitchen sink and the other guy just grins and keeps coming?

00:09:16.560 That's exactly what Trump did.

00:09:18.320 They did everything they could, abused the system in ways we have never seen before as a country.

00:09:23.600 And Trump is president, more popular than he's ever been.

00:09:27.700 His base is more behind him than they've ever been, if that's even possible.

00:09:31.720 And what have they got?

00:09:33.400 Gavin Newsom trying to create cool guy memes of himself and posting them online.

00:09:38.680 It's one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen.

00:09:41.820 I mean, whatever you think of Trump, I don't know that we have ever seen someone take this degree of attack

00:09:50.480 and just keep moving forward and ultimately vanquish everybody who tried to fight against him.

00:09:59.740 I mean, at this point, you're going to like this pop culture reference.

00:10:03.480 It feels like Trump is Neo in the Matrix, Buck.

00:10:06.480 It feels like he has just learned how to move at a different speed and how to handle attack, for those of you who have seen the movie,

00:10:17.120 in a way that is unprecedented and where he can basically turn on his foes and just utterly vanquish them. 0.57

00:10:26.580 And look, the one thing I will say is I really admire Trump because there were so many cowards who refused to stand up for Trump

00:10:39.640 that now are showing up and kissing the ring. 0.96

00:10:43.180 He's been the cover for a lot of companies out there that knew that their woke employees were engaging in ridiculous insubordination 0.60

00:10:52.340 that undercut the very fabric of the company's culture itself.

00:10:57.120 And he is making so much of American society better because they're using him as the cover and saying,

00:11:05.020 well, you know, Trump won. We have to do this.

00:11:07.500 They're doing what they know to be right because Trump has given them the cover to do it.

00:11:12.780 And I just think the Trump story for decades to come is actually going to get more impressive

00:11:20.060 because so many people out there are caught up in the political moment day to day and they've just decided they hate Trump.

00:11:27.340 And as that fades, I think Trump is going to become an even more iconic figure than he is as we speak about him on this day.

00:11:34.400 This is a man who at no point during the effort to destroy him, destroy his legacy, his reputation, take away his freedom,

00:11:46.840 tried to bankrupt him. I mean, it's 500 million, I think, plus 100 million in interest.

00:11:51.900 Now, Trump has a lot of money, but that hurts anybody. Cash.

00:11:55.060 OK, I mean, when was the last time you heard of a fine for an individual that big?

00:11:58.580 I might add. I mean, how much money could he have possibly made?

00:12:02.520 It's a sign of been with these bank loans if they had even been.

00:12:06.580 There's no way it would be 600 million bonkers, Buck.

00:12:09.220 I mean, they went back in time to the date of the initial loan and decided to create their own loan amount.

00:12:17.180 Sorry, loan rate and then charge him interest on that for I mean, it's one of the most harebrained legal schemes I've ever seen.

00:12:26.320 And again, it is Trump derangement syndrome inside of a courtroom.

00:12:29.920 And I honestly think Letitia James should be disbarred over some of the legal arguments that she has made. 1.00

00:12:38.000 And if she, as has been alleged, was involved in mortgage, actual clear mortgage bought herself, she should spend some time in a prison.

00:12:45.360 That should actually happen because she sent other people to prison for that while she was a G. 1.00

00:12:49.580 No problem with that. Why shouldn't she go?

00:12:51.900 She'll she would send any of you if you check, you know, it's my primary residence and it's not and you got a better rate.

00:12:58.760 She would she would send you to prison, but she doesn't go to prison. 1.00

00:13:01.980 But just one more note on Trump, Clay, during this whole process, never once did you see this guy and he's in the public all the time.

00:13:10.240 He's showing up for the mugshot and he got shot, as we know, in Butler, Pennsylvania.

00:13:16.560 Never once did you see this guy despair.

00:13:18.480 Never once did you see him claim that he's he's unable to handle all the forces arrayed against him.

00:13:26.060 And there's a real there's a real lesson in that.

00:13:28.080 I mean, this guy is a force of nature.

00:13:30.960 A lot of what was thrown against him would have been enough to break even some considerable, formidable people out there.

00:13:38.620 And they they just he just kept coming.

00:13:41.460 He just kept coming.

00:13:42.380 There's a there's a life lesson in that, you know, never give up.

00:13:45.460 All right.

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00:13:55.320 There are home invasions that can happen even in very safe jurisdictions.

00:13:59.080 You just want to make sure that you have the tools you need in your home to protect yourself and your family.

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00:14:55.420 Making America great again isn't just one man.

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00:15:40.880 A lot of news breaking.

00:15:42.140 A lot of things happening.

00:15:43.080 So, thanks for joining us here live and in real time as we are making sense of it all for you.

00:15:48.920 Just dropping.

00:15:50.780 Let me see.

00:15:51.400 When did this happen?

00:15:52.200 And, yeah, right when we started the show today, right as we came on air, almost like

00:15:56.700 he teed it up for Clay and Buck.

00:15:58.660 Donald Trump on Truth Social in regards to the massive court victory, as Clay just pointed

00:16:06.020 out to me in the commercial break, 5-0 by the appellate court in New York.

00:16:12.040 All the judges saying this entire...

00:16:15.020 Let me just be clear.

00:16:16.760 5-0 against Trump in New York.

00:16:19.520 Those are judges, they've been, you know, these are judges in a very blue state.

00:16:25.640 These are judges who, I'm sure, I haven't looked at who appointed them, but some Obama

00:16:31.000 appointees probably there, some Biden appointees.

00:16:33.400 Yeah, and let me point out this too, by the way.

00:16:35.260 We haven't had the time to read.

00:16:36.740 There are three different opinions among the five judges.

00:16:40.600 So, the whole thing is just a cluster.

00:16:42.660 I'm trying to avoid cursing.

00:16:44.340 I mean, it's a cluster, but it is, to your point, yes.

00:16:48.960 I mean, a New York Court of Appeals siding with Trump is, I think they held this for a

00:16:54.780 long time.

00:16:56.140 They didn't want to release it before the election.

00:16:59.360 I mean, this timing is no coincidence.

00:17:02.020 So, Trump has weighed in on Truth Social, and it is a doozy.

00:17:07.080 This is a big truth.

00:17:08.720 Not a little truth.

00:17:09.880 Very large.

00:17:10.900 Here we go.

00:17:11.460 I'm going to read some of this to you.

00:17:13.820 Total victory, all caps, in the fake New York State Attorney General Letitia James case.

00:17:20.000 I greatly respect the fact that the court had the courage to throw out this unlawful

00:17:24.680 and disgraceful decision that was hurting business all throughout New York State.

00:17:29.800 Others were afraid to do business there.

00:17:31.540 The amount, including interest and penalties, was over $550 million.

00:17:36.040 It was a political witch hunt in a business sense the likes of which no one has ever seen

00:17:39.580 before, a case of election interference by the city and state, trying to show illegally

00:17:43.840 that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely correct

00:17:49.520 and even perfect.

00:17:51.800 Every single dollar was thrown out, even the penalties imposed on us by the corrupt judge,

00:17:56.040 one of the most overturned in history, Arthur Engeron.

00:17:58.580 I wasn't given a jury, and during the course of the trial, which lasted a long time, was

00:18:02.700 not given one ruling in my favor by this political hack. 0.62

00:18:05.940 But worse than him, if possible, was Letitia James, a corrupt and incompetent attorney general 1.00

00:18:11.080 who only brought this case in order to hurt me politically. 1.00

00:18:14.580 She is a Trump-deranged lunatic. 0.99

00:18:16.520 They made me bond the outrageous sum, which never happened before, cost me millions of dollars 0.99

00:18:20.540 a month.

00:18:21.280 It should have never been allowed to happen.

00:18:22.820 Everyone knew it.

00:18:23.660 Importantly, the vote was 5-0.

00:18:25.240 I'm so honored by Justice David Friedman's great words of wisdom, which should be read

00:18:29.600 by everyone.

00:18:30.580 I would also like to thank the court for having the courage to make this decision, etc.

00:18:34.640 I mean, Clay, he talks about how they should...

00:18:36.660 It's an epic, stim-winding Trump post.

00:18:40.520 I got less than halfway through it, everybody.

00:18:42.200 I mean, I'll just say this.

00:18:43.820 He is laying haymakers on this whole thing, and it is...

00:18:50.120 Now, look, it's a huge win for Trump, there's no question.

00:18:52.500 It's a $600...

00:18:53.520 I think it's $500 million plus $100 million, basically, and everything together, so call

00:18:58.860 it a $600 million, give or take.

00:19:01.120 No matter who you are, $600 million is a lot of money.

00:19:04.180 $600 million you were going to pay for what?

00:19:07.400 Who is this even being paid to?

00:19:09.780 You're going to pay the state of New York because a bunch of banks with hundreds of billions

00:19:14.800 on the asset, on the balance sheets or whatever, said Trump's a great guy to do business with,

00:19:19.400 we would do it again?

00:19:20.120 And this was one of the...

00:19:22.220 I think you could actually argue this was the craziest case, because I know people would

00:19:25.280 say, oh, E. Jean Carroll, you know, they talk about that, well, you know, anyone can

00:19:28.800 accuse someone of something from 30 years ago, this is why we actually have a statute

00:19:32.580 of limitations.

00:19:33.740 Let me point out on the E. Jean Carroll, they changed the statute of limitations to allow

00:19:38.940 Trump to be sued on this.

00:19:41.100 The statute of limitations is a very important...

00:19:44.120 I know sometimes people say, oh, but, you know, it feels...

00:19:47.220 No, it's very important, okay?

00:19:49.220 Because it's unfair to a defendant, and there are, you know, there are places like murder

00:19:55.020 and other, you know, extreme sex crimes and treason and things like...

00:19:59.780 There are no statute of limitations statutes, but in general, if someone can accuse you

00:20:07.380 of something from 20 years ago or 30 years ago, defending yourself against this is very

00:20:14.340 challenging, right?

00:20:15.380 This is a very hard thing to do for a whole range of reasons, and also memories fade and

00:20:21.360 the evidence that's presented.

00:20:22.800 My point is, even with all that, I think that the...

00:20:26.160 I think the Letitia James case against Trump was the most egregious abuse of the law in

00:20:33.320 a legal sense.

00:20:34.200 I know it wasn't criminal, but I think it was...

00:20:36.460 You co-signed this one.

00:20:38.000 I think it was the most, you have got to be bleeping kidding me.

00:20:43.180 I cannot believe they're doing this.

00:20:45.740 Well, yeah, here's the way I would analyze it.

00:20:47.840 I don't agree with E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit, but what she alleged, if it were true, is a

00:20:56.180 crime.

00:20:57.460 The other two New York, and remember, it was a civil case, but at least her allegations 0.90

00:21:03.340 would, if they occurred, merit significant legal attention.

00:21:08.880 There's no victim!

00:21:11.320 When you borrow money from a bank, first of all, you're arguing that the bank is a victim

00:21:16.880 here.

00:21:17.260 The bank said they were not a victim, and they were paid back in full.

00:21:21.240 And to your point, Buck, does anybody who's ever taken out a loan from a bank feel like

00:21:25.720 the bank isn't adequately represented?

00:21:28.620 So can we talk about this for a second, actually?

00:21:30.300 Because I think that the mortgage fraud thing, it's a very severe statute that is, you know,

00:21:37.600 this is just the power imbalance of banks versus individuals.

00:21:40.700 You've gone to prison for 10 years because you could have gotten a different interest rate

00:21:44.040 if you had checked a few different boxes.

00:21:45.680 I think this is actually a statute, totally apart from Trump and Tish James, I think it's

00:21:52.720 a pretty severe one.

00:21:54.140 Unless it's a systemic, someone's doing this over and over again, clearly, there are people

00:21:59.220 who, for pretty minor stuff, they'll serve.

00:22:02.380 I think the average mortgage fraud sentence is like two years in federal prison or something.

00:22:06.980 I mean, you take, you know, people get sent away for this.

00:22:10.260 Yeah, that's at least criminal.

00:22:12.020 This is civil.

00:22:12.940 So they didn't even attempt to charge him with a criminal offense.

00:22:18.600 They just said, you got a loan you shouldn't have gotten in the opinion of the state of

00:22:24.600 New York, and we are, as a result, going to give the rate, in our opinion, that you should

00:22:32.260 have paid.

00:22:32.900 And the difference between the rate that you should have paid and the rate that you got

00:22:37.360 is going to be a fine to come back to the state of New York.

00:22:40.220 And this is also to suggest, this is also to suggest that Tish James and her team are

00:22:45.700 better, in retrospect, assessors of real estate value, not only than Donald Trump, but the

00:22:53.480 banks who have their own independence, not inspection, what do you call it when someone

00:22:59.320 comes, is it the assessor or no, it's the...

00:23:01.780 Yeah, yeah, more, a mortgage evaluator.

00:23:04.680 I think it's the assessor.

00:23:05.400 The guy who evaluates, whatever you want to call it.

00:23:07.080 There's a term for it, but appraiser.

00:23:09.680 My point...

00:23:10.440 The mortgage appraiser.

00:23:11.920 The appraiser.

00:23:12.420 Appraiser.

00:23:12.820 That's the word I'm going to call it.

00:23:13.360 Yeah, thank you.

00:23:14.040 Appraiser.

00:23:15.440 This is absurd, right?

00:23:18.260 I mean, these are...

00:23:19.060 People looked at this, said, this is a great deal.

00:23:21.420 It would be like if, Clay, if you and I were sitting there and we were buying a car from

00:23:27.180 Tish James, and we said, this is the price, and she said, that's a great price, and we

00:23:32.320 paid that price, and she says, great, I got a good price on my car, you guys got a car

00:23:35.700 you like, everyone's happy.

00:23:37.420 And then later, she's like, you know what?

00:23:38.620 I'm going to prosecute you guys.

00:23:40.440 You paid way too little for that car.

00:23:42.220 It's like, you agreed to the price of the car.

00:23:44.760 Like, everyone was happy.

00:23:46.340 I don't understand. 0.89

00:23:47.540 It is total nonsense. 0.54

00:23:47.980 It's even crazier than that, Buck, because it's not even about the deal. 0.69

00:23:51.540 It's about Trump's politics, because they would have never, ever looked at this if he

00:23:55.940 hadn't got involved in politics.

00:23:58.180 Well, of course.

00:23:58.220 It was all pre...

00:23:59.020 It's all pretextual.

00:24:00.600 But the fact that this was even broad is madness.

00:24:04.200 But, you know, when you bring up the criminal versus civil separation, remember, it's a fit 1.00

00:24:13.120 for everybody.

00:24:13.720 It's a 50%, 51% standard, which is so hugely different.

00:24:19.580 The E.G. and Carroll thing, the standard the jury has is, do you think it's like a 50,

00:24:24.340 better than 50-50 shot, this lady's telling the truth, on, again, on the sexual assault 1.00

00:24:28.340 part, not actually on rape?

00:24:30.200 I think there was a distinction that was made in that case about it, right?

00:24:33.940 So, essentially, do you think Trump might have grabbed or groped this woman?

00:24:37.860 You know, that's different than did he actually forcibly penetrate this woman, which I believe

00:24:42.540 that was not what he was found, right?

00:24:44.540 And that's where he went after Stephanopoulos.

00:24:45.940 That wasn't even in the civil trial found to be...

00:24:49.060 They found that he did not do that on the civil trial.

00:24:52.340 But do you think that maybe he groped this lady in a...

00:24:55.580 And the standard, in a criminal trial, it would be, guys, are you absolutely...

00:25:00.980 I mean, the real standard, beyond a reasonable doubt, are you absolutely sure that Donald

00:25:05.340 Trump grabbed this woman 30 years ago and should possibly lose his freedom?

00:25:10.080 That's criminal.

00:25:11.420 Civil, it's, hey, do you think he was, you know, grabbing this lady?

00:25:14.720 We don't know, but, like, better than 50-50?

00:25:17.700 Huge difference.

00:25:18.620 Yeah.

00:25:18.820 And that's why, when they change the rules and they use these civil things, they're just 0.95

00:25:23.320 hoping to get a jury that doesn't like Trump that goes, yeah, whatever, screw him.

00:25:26.840 Yeah, they were trying to bankrupt him, they were trying to imprison him for life, they

00:25:30.160 were trying to end his political future, and now the shoe is on the other foot.

00:25:34.960 As Trump has said, in the first term, he was the hunted, now he's the hunter.

00:25:38.820 And I do think it's important to play back.

00:25:40.680 Here is Letitia James bragging in 2023, I'm going to come back to all of you soon with

00:25:47.660 a check for $250 million.

00:25:50.520 Remember, they also tried to ban him from doing business ever again in New York, and

00:25:56.380 my recollection is the Trump sons, the Trump sons were banned from doing business in New

00:26:03.240 York over this.

00:26:04.040 I mean, this was effectively an attempt to force Trump out of New York.

00:26:08.660 And honestly, when this all happened, I remember we talked about it a lot on the show, but

00:26:12.520 I said, this is why I'm never leaving Tennessee.

00:26:15.740 I'm very comfortable living in my red state of Tennessee.

00:26:19.560 People, I'm not saying I'm going to be perfect, but I don't have to worry about getting attacked

00:26:25.460 like this.

00:26:26.300 This is cut 27, Letitia James bragging about taking Trump's money.

00:26:33.300 Listen.

00:26:33.460 I will be honored when I walk into that courtroom on October 2nd.

00:26:42.520 Well, my role is civil.

00:26:47.480 I will come back before you soon with a check for $250 million.

00:26:52.180 And to let you know that he is no longer allowed to do business in the state of New York.

00:27:05.960 Yeah, we've got a special charge to show up and stand up for one another.

00:27:11.220 Um, she's in trouble.

00:27:16.700 She's in real trouble.

00:27:18.680 Um, if she weren't in New York, she already would have lost her job.

00:27:22.360 And I know there's an investigation into her.

00:27:25.560 Uh, but with this New York appeals court decision, I think she's in trouble.

00:27:31.760 I haven't forgotten about Alvin Bragg.

00:27:33.920 I know Trump has not either.

00:27:36.100 Uh, I know his DOJ is investigating both of these individuals.

00:27:40.720 Um, again, I think the felonies are going to be tossed eventually on appeal in New York.

00:27:45.480 I think the timing on this is not coincidental.

00:27:48.200 They held this for a year.

00:27:50.440 If I'm not mistaken to wait till after the election to release this opinion.

00:27:54.980 Um, and, uh, I, uh, again, this is total vindication for Trump, but I think he wants to take the next step and send a message that total vindication for him is not.

00:28:09.260 I mean, he still had to spend millions of dollars in legal fees.

00:28:13.140 Uh, he still had to tie up hundreds of millions of dollars.

00:28:16.720 I think he had to get a bond of $150 million or something to even appeal this.

00:28:21.480 Um, I understand why he wants there to be consequences for Letitia James and why he wants there to be consequences for, uh, Alvin Bragg.

00:28:31.000 One more cut, Buck. 0.85

00:28:32.420 This was Letitia James before all this happened, going on The View and saying, I'm going to get Trump.

00:28:39.600 Remember, this is unprecedented.

00:28:41.520 Cut 28.

00:28:42.700 You also intend to prosecute him after he is out of office, correct?

00:28:46.600 Our investigation currently is civil in nature.

00:28:49.320 It is not criminal.

00:28:50.460 Yes, our civil suit will continue whether he's president or not.

00:28:55.740 And so after January 20th at 12 o'clock, our investigation will continue, Joy.

00:29:01.100 He cannot pardon himself.

00:29:03.100 What he could do is step down and allow the vice president, Vice President Pence, to pardon him.

00:29:10.000 Now, it's important to understand he is pardoned from federal crimes, but he is not pardoned from state crimes.

00:29:16.580 Last year, I introduced a bill in the state legislature which would close the pardon loophole so that individuals such as the president of the United States would not evade justice.

00:29:26.460 It's important that we have this check on presidential powers.

00:29:29.740 There are so many things I would like to call her that would not be allowed on FCC broadcast, but has she ever commented on Joe Biden's pardons?

00:29:41.580 No, she's a horrible person just based on her actions. 0.51

00:29:45.200 I mean, what she did.

00:29:45.780 Trump is a father.

00:29:46.620 He's a grandfather.

00:29:47.180 He's an American.

00:29:48.100 He's a patriot.

00:29:49.120 And the glee she has trying to he's a president and former president, current president, the glee that she takes and the sense of pride she has in trying to destroy somebody over what?

00:30:01.020 All this all this flowery language she's using about, you know, no one's above the law and everything else. 0.99

00:30:05.880 I'm sorry.

00:30:06.200 What's the law that he broke?

00:30:07.420 What's the what's the bad thing that he did that we need to punish?

00:30:10.500 The law that he broke is being Trump and taking the fight to the left and making Democrats sad at election time.

00:30:15.420 That's the law that he broke and honestly having the misfortune to have done it all while having many of his businesses registered in New York, which I think the ultimate consequence of all of this is a lot of people said, I'm not willing to have my businesses based on in New York where I can be prosecuted if my politics don't end up aligning with whoever is in power there.

00:30:38.260 I think Elon Musk saw this.

00:30:39.800 I think it's why he's moved so much of his assets to Texas.

00:30:42.680 It's why I'm never leaving Tennessee.

00:30:44.460 I imagine it's one reason you're happy to be in Florida, but I think a lot of people out there with New York assets have made that decision.

00:30:50.960 Look, I told you about my trip to Legacy Box headquarters, Chattanooga, Tennessee, my mom's hometown.

00:30:56.400 What a cool experience it was.

00:30:58.400 It was like being in a time capsule because they can take all of your media, eight millimeter films, VHS tapes, old photographs, and they can digitize them.

00:31:08.580 And they have different parts of their huge facility there in Chattanooga where they are digitizing so many of these different products.

00:31:19.640 In fact, I was talking with Adam, one of the co-founders there, and he said, look, we basically are on eBay buying VHS, VCRs all the time.

00:31:29.600 And he said, we got techs who can put these things back working together because they're not making more VCRs, and we want to make sure that we can preserve your family's memories.

00:31:39.180 They do incredible work.

00:31:40.420 Right now, before the holidays start, you can get 50% off your order.

00:31:45.240 You get the originals back.

00:31:46.760 It's very easy to use.

00:31:48.360 Go to LegacyBox.com slash Clay, 50% off your order.

00:31:53.860 That's LegacyBox.com slash Clay.

00:31:56.760 One more time, LegacyBox.com slash Clay.

00:32:01.280 Sometimes all you can do is laugh, and they do a lot of it with the Sunday hang.

00:32:07.560 Join Clay and Buck as they laugh it up in the Clay and Buck podcast feed on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:32:15.320 Some news out there, as we discussed in the first hour, Trump with a big legal win.

00:32:20.580 New York appeals court tosses his $500 million mortgage fraud civil penalty verdict from Attorney General Letitia James.

00:32:31.280 Trump has reacted, as you would imagine that Trump has reacted.

00:32:35.460 We've got news that Trump now says, we'll have some fun with this probably in the third hour.

00:32:41.200 First of all, D.C. crime has basically collapsed.

00:32:43.960 First, carjackings down 83%, robberies down by half in the nine some odd days since Trump deployed the National Guard

00:32:54.460 and additional resources to help drive down crime.

00:32:59.120 As we are speaking, I believe it has now been, you jinx this thing because inevitably it's going to end,

00:33:05.340 but it has been over a week since there was a murder in Washington, D.C.

00:33:09.600 They have searched the record books and they cannot find a summer, which is when murder typically peaks.

00:33:17.140 Kids are out of school.

00:33:18.720 There's way more people out and about in the streets.

00:33:21.480 It's usually that time when murders are peaking all over the country.

00:33:26.160 They have not found a summer stretch like this in decades going back to try to find a period of time where there has been no murders occurring.

00:33:36.540 So we're going to get into this maybe in the third hour, but let's first, we're going to get to Cracker Barrel momentarily here,

00:33:43.160 but I tease this as we went to break.

00:33:45.860 Yesterday, as many of you know, producer Greg dropped the ball.

00:33:50.280 He said, we like to end hours and we certainly like to end the show, if you haven't noticed, on an uplifting idea.

00:33:58.120 And producer Greg said, hit this talk back and immediately was a guy talking about working on the suicide hotline

00:34:03.640 and trying to get people to not kill themselves.

00:34:06.160 And everybody was just like, well, thanks, producer Greg.

00:34:08.820 We're just going off into the rest of the day in an awful spirit.

00:34:12.360 Well, to be fair, the gentleman was saying that people who have cats, when they are in a very bad way mentally,

00:34:21.740 sometimes what is able to get them through that when they call the suicide helpline is, well, I need to take care of my cat.

00:34:29.040 All that's very fine, but suicide helpline stories should not be the one that we end the show with.

00:34:36.900 We did not get fair warning.

00:34:38.300 We thought people, we thought cat ladies were going to be coming at you and making fun of you. 1.00

00:34:42.600 And instead, it was like a very earnest and serious talk back.

00:34:46.360 Because I suggested that MSNBC, instead of rebranding as MSNOW, should rebrand as Menopause, the Menopause Network,

00:34:59.220 and that they should spell the pause, P-A-W-S, with a cat paw to reach out to all of their childless cat ladies 0.97

00:35:06.140 that are the base of the MSNBC viewing audience.

00:35:09.420 But, producer Greg, after throwing the show off the rails, recorded his own talk back.

00:35:16.020 We have not heard this.

00:35:17.120 To apologize to everyone, here it is.

00:35:19.740 Hey guys, it's producer Greg.

00:35:21.900 Yeah, sorry, I kind of led you down the path there on that last talk back yesterday.

00:35:29.040 It was a little grim, but I thought it was an interesting point,

00:35:34.060 especially as someone who owns three cats myself, that women won't kill themselves 1.00

00:35:40.300 because they have to feed their cats. 0.92

00:35:43.300 Anyway, sorry about that.

00:35:45.680 Meow Culpa. 0.99

00:35:47.860 I like the Meow Culpa, though.

00:35:49.740 Meow Culpa is pretty good.

00:35:51.380 I'll give a high paw to Greg on that one.

00:35:53.900 He also, though, even there, he's trying to be like, have it both ways.

00:35:57.480 Like, hey, cat people, I've got three cats, too.

00:35:59.800 I think there may be a revolution brewing among the cat fanatics out there.

00:36:05.620 But thanks to producer Greg.

00:36:07.580 So, that leads into, so hopefully all of you are still alive.

00:36:12.440 That leads into Cracker Barrel, which is dead.

00:36:16.500 Because they have decided that they need to rebrand themselves.

00:36:22.700 So, I have eaten at Cracker Barrel a lot.

00:36:24.980 During the commercial break, my mom texted me and said,

00:36:29.140 your dad and I used to eat at the very first Cracker Barrel in Lebanon,

00:36:34.260 Lebanon, Tennessee, spelled like Lebanon.

00:36:37.440 Used to stop there going to Tennessee football games.

00:36:41.280 The Southerners are not going to be happy about this.

00:36:44.760 So, I don't know what percentage of our audience has ever eaten at a Cracker Barrel.

00:36:48.700 I have eaten at many different Cracker Barrels over the years.

00:36:51.480 The way that I would describe Cracker Barrel is,

00:36:54.740 it's basically what your grandma cooked if you grew up in the South. 0.99

00:36:59.080 Is this where I would get, say, as a Yankee,

00:37:03.400 my first introduction to country fried steak, perhaps?

00:37:07.040 That would be on the, that would be a very,

00:37:10.400 they fry a lot of things at Cracker Barrel,

00:37:12.820 as your grandma in the South would have fried everything.

00:37:16.120 They have great biscuits and gravy.

00:37:17.940 They have, I mean, again, the way that I would describe it.

00:37:21.360 How are they for the gluten-free community, Clay?

00:37:23.620 Probably not great.

00:37:25.140 Probably not great.

00:37:25.960 That's what I was thinking.

00:37:26.700 I don't think gluten-free New Yorkers are not the base of the Cracker Barrel food pyramid.

00:37:31.760 I think it's fair to say.

00:37:32.980 Well, I feel judged.

00:37:35.020 They have a country store,

00:37:37.040 which has all sorts of things that your grandma would like to buy.

00:37:44.000 I think that's probably a fair way to describe it.

00:37:46.200 I'm looking at the menu now.

00:37:47.460 A lot of the food is beige.

00:37:50.440 What does that mean?

00:37:52.020 The color.

00:37:52.920 It's just, like, looking at the menu,

00:37:54.340 they have all the pictures of the food,

00:37:55.520 and it's just, like, variations of beige.

00:37:58.440 I mean, it is, like,

00:38:01.600 it is what?

00:38:02.440 Breaded things, bread,

00:38:04.260 things that are deep-fried in bread,

00:38:06.300 things put between pieces of bread,

00:38:08.480 and French fries.

00:38:10.000 Yes.

00:38:10.480 Like, they have cornbread with everything.

00:38:12.720 They have rolls with everything.

00:38:14.120 The bread is very much of a southern staple.

00:38:17.480 So it basically is whatever was super popular to eat in the south,

00:38:23.300 in the 40s, the 50s, the 60s, the 70s.

00:38:26.880 I think it's probably fair to say this is that writ large.

00:38:29.440 Now, I think the Cracker Barrel is basically in all 50 states.

00:38:32.380 They're based here in Nashville.

00:38:33.580 They decided, Buck,

00:38:35.160 that they needed to rebrand to get hipper,

00:38:38.000 to get fresher.

00:38:38.940 Now, of all the restaurant chains out there,

00:38:42.240 I can't think of a less hip and a less forward-thinking.

00:38:48.960 And I actually think that's the strength of the brand.

00:38:51.260 In other words,

00:38:51.940 the nostalgia is what makes Cracker Barrel exist as a brand.

00:38:56.820 If you want to go to a hip restaurant,

00:39:00.240 you are not going to go to Cracker Barrel.

00:39:02.560 That's not their brand.

00:39:04.220 So they rebranded.

00:39:05.780 They took the old grandfather off of their logo,

00:39:10.680 sitting by the Cracker Barrel.

00:39:12.660 And they now just have the words Cracker Barrel written there.

00:39:15.920 The stock, this is crazy.

00:39:18.020 The stock today has dropped $8 a share.

00:39:22.120 They have taken $100 million off of the market cap.

00:39:26.460 Do we have the audio of the cackling,

00:39:29.460 Rachel Maddow-looking new CEO of Cracker Barrel?

00:39:33.140 It's as if she is a terrorist trying to destroy the existing...

00:39:37.100 Like, if you created a movie villain...

00:39:39.840 She's a biscuit terrorist, Clay?

00:39:41.340 Yeah.

00:39:41.920 If you created a movie villain to destroy a southern restaurant chain,

00:39:47.300 it would look exactly like this woman looks.

00:39:49.860 Do we have the audio of this woman?

00:39:51.840 I think she was on Good Morning America

00:39:53.380 talking about how everyone loved the rebrand.

00:39:55.660 We don't have it yet.

00:39:56.360 We will have it in the next segment.

00:39:57.600 So I'll introduce it.

00:39:58.580 Um, so this is, uh, this is just to me.

00:40:03.780 Maybe this would have flown a decade ago,

00:40:07.360 but Cracker Barrel seems to me to have completely bud-lighted themselves.

00:40:12.300 And I think they're going to have to fire this CEO.

00:40:14.860 I think they're going to have to acknowledge what I just told you,

00:40:17.740 which is Cracker Barrel is a nostalgic place

00:40:20.720 designed to evoke fond memories of people

00:40:23.500 who used to eat southern meals like this in the past

00:40:26.220 and is not ever going to be something different than it is

00:40:30.900 and, in fact, should lean even more into the brand that it has created

00:40:34.820 as opposed to trying to be, I don't know,

00:40:37.920 like, uh, an orange and brown version of Applebee's.

00:40:41.200 No, no shame for Applebee's out there.

00:40:43.680 It is impressively calorically dense in some cases here.

00:40:47.260 The hash brown casserole shepherd's pie

00:40:50.660 comes in at a lean 1,400 calories.

00:40:54.160 So, you know, you're not going to starve.

00:40:54.700 It is not a place where you would go to lose weight.

00:40:56.940 You do not go to Cracker Barrel to lose weight.

00:40:59.440 Um, and, uh...

00:41:00.940 Can I, honest question?

00:41:03.400 Cracker Barrel versus Olive Garden,

00:41:06.220 which one is, which one do you think has better food?

00:41:08.740 Because I have not been to the Cracker Barrel.

00:41:11.780 I am an expert on chain restaurants

00:41:14.620 because I have eaten at them all.

00:41:16.540 Uh, often, frequently.

00:41:19.180 I think it just depends on what kind of food you want.

00:41:21.280 I mean, Olive Garden, I think,

00:41:23.060 is pretty good Italian food in a chain setting.

00:41:26.740 Um, just like I think,

00:41:28.220 and people are going to get all fired up at me.

00:41:29.720 They're either going to agree or just...

00:41:30.760 Like, I think chain restaurants in general

00:41:32.860 do a pretty good job.

00:41:33.900 Like, is Outback Steakhouse

00:41:36.440 what an actual Australian steakhouse looks like?

00:41:40.020 No.

00:41:40.820 You know?

00:41:41.580 But...

00:41:42.100 Do you know that Foster's Australian beer,

00:41:44.140 I believe is...

00:41:45.140 Well, first of all, it's not...

00:41:46.920 I don't know if it's sold in Australia.

00:41:48.620 It probably is.

00:41:49.260 But I think it's, like, bottled in New Jersey or something.

00:41:52.000 I mean, it's like...

00:41:52.380 Oh, yeah.

00:41:52.820 Well, but by the way,

00:41:55.080 this goes both ways

00:41:56.000 because they sell Budweiser

00:41:57.780 as a premium brand in Australia.

00:42:00.780 Right?

00:42:01.140 So, like, Budweiser is...

00:42:03.280 I don't know.

00:42:04.840 It's...

00:42:05.440 What is the most premium brand?

00:42:07.280 Fort Worth.

00:42:07.320 I'm sorry.

00:42:08.360 Fort Worth, Texas

00:42:09.560 is the primary brewing location

00:42:12.000 for Foster's Australian for beer.

00:42:14.460 You can't find a Foster's.

00:42:16.120 But guess what?

00:42:17.860 The Bloomin' Onion

00:42:18.740 may be the greatest chain restaurant dish

00:42:22.060 ever created.

00:42:23.100 I'll throw it out there.

00:42:24.060 It's unbelievable.

00:42:25.140 If you don't like a Bloomin' Onion,

00:42:26.460 I would submit to you

00:42:27.440 your taste buds probably don't work.

00:42:29.180 I think that was the most calorically dense

00:42:31.800 single menu item

00:42:33.220 across all American restaurants

00:42:35.200 at one point in time,

00:42:36.240 the Bloomin' Onion.

00:42:36.980 I think it was something like

00:42:38.020 almost 3,000 calories

00:42:39.600 if you ate one of those.

00:42:40.620 So, I would hope it tastes good.

00:42:42.200 It is amazing.

00:42:44.320 And so, I think what's happening here is...

00:42:47.660 I just said this on Fox News

00:42:49.080 right before we came on the air.

00:42:51.320 Aisha Hasny,

00:42:52.180 who used to live in your building

00:42:53.400 in New York City

00:42:54.220 to tie everything together.

00:42:56.400 She was hosting for Harris Faulkner.

00:42:58.780 I really think that

00:43:01.200 all of these companies

00:43:02.780 need a director of common sense.

00:43:06.240 And that is someone

00:43:07.160 that actually consumes the product

00:43:09.260 and says,

00:43:10.840 hey, is this something

00:43:12.080 that the base

00:43:13.040 that actually made this company exist

00:43:15.740 is going to support?

00:43:17.420 If you had that,

00:43:19.000 Bud Light never happens

00:43:20.560 with Dylan Mulvaney.

00:43:22.640 They should go with Sidney Sweeney.

00:43:24.480 The Cracker Barrel new logo

00:43:26.340 and the remake

00:43:27.780 does not happen like this.

00:43:29.980 You would not have Nike

00:43:31.520 lighting its brand on fire

00:43:32.980 with Colin Kaepernick

00:43:34.060 back in the day.

00:43:34.800 The NBA wouldn't decide

00:43:36.920 to put political slogans

00:43:38.680 on the back of jerseys

00:43:39.820 and Black Lives Matter

00:43:40.860 on the court.

00:43:42.260 Again, just basic common sense.

00:43:45.520 These companies...

00:43:46.340 And this is me getting on a soapbox

00:43:48.020 because it fires me up so much.

00:43:50.260 These companies employ people

00:43:51.980 who have never, ever been fans

00:43:55.240 of the company

00:43:56.200 that they're leading.

00:43:57.800 And they decide

00:43:59.160 that they should make a choice

00:44:01.000 without understanding

00:44:02.340 the base of the company at all.

00:44:04.340 You can't run a kitchen

00:44:05.740 if you don't know

00:44:06.400 what your food tastes like.

00:44:07.340 You can't be a good chef

00:44:08.440 if you're not putting

00:44:09.920 that wooden spoon up to your mouth

00:44:11.400 and knowing what's going on.

00:44:12.260 You gotta eat your own cooking,

00:44:13.840 whether it's radio

00:44:14.600 or it's running a restaurant

00:44:16.780 or whatever.

00:44:17.840 You gotta know the product

00:44:18.840 you're putting out there.

00:44:19.900 Look, if you didn't have

00:44:20.980 a Southern grandma,

00:44:22.160 you probably shouldn't be

00:44:23.600 the CEO of Cracker Barrel.

00:44:25.540 Because if you had

00:44:26.420 a Southern grandma,

00:44:27.780 you would recognize the menu

00:44:29.320 and you would know exactly

00:44:30.920 what the business is.

00:44:32.500 They're trying to evoke

00:44:33.680 the idea of walking

00:44:34.980 into your grandma's kitchen, right?

00:44:37.280 Can I say grandma

00:44:38.040 home-cooked meals?

00:44:39.480 Caller Steve in San Antonio, Texas,

00:44:42.040 wants to weigh in on this one.

00:44:44.880 And I think we should let him

00:44:45.820 because he has a different perspective

00:44:47.080 on the Cracker Barrel.

00:44:48.800 What's going on, Steve?

00:44:50.780 Good morning.

00:44:51.760 Thank you.

00:44:53.320 I'm in San Antonio.

00:44:55.000 Cracker Barrel's been here

00:44:56.140 a long time.

00:44:58.060 Long, long time.

00:44:58.960 So I've eaten there, you know,

00:45:00.540 now and again for a long, long time.

00:45:03.380 And in recent years,

00:45:05.380 their product took a turn

00:45:07.360 for the worse.

00:45:08.820 You know, I don't know why

00:45:10.420 or exactly what the particulars

00:45:13.980 of that were,

00:45:15.060 but I had pretty much

00:45:16.200 stopped going there.

00:45:17.760 And then I saw something

00:45:19.540 that they changed their menu.

00:45:23.380 I forget exactly how they said it.

00:45:25.060 So I went and checked it out.

00:45:27.040 And yeah, it really did look different.

00:45:29.020 And I saw food coming out

00:45:30.340 that looked different.

00:45:31.080 So I tried it.

00:45:33.000 And they improved it like 500%

00:45:35.940 from where it had dropped to.

00:45:39.520 Okay.

00:45:40.160 Thank you for calling in

00:45:41.580 as a Cracker Barrel employee

00:45:42.800 to tell us what you think.

00:45:43.620 Um, the, uh, the stock Clay

00:45:47.000 dismissive, dismissive of our

00:45:49.380 esteemed callers, taste buds, sir.

00:45:51.280 I don't, I don't buy that.

00:45:53.200 This guy happens to call in

00:45:54.820 and give the exact corporate line

00:45:57.700 that the CEO.

00:45:58.460 Wow, you think we have a plant

00:46:01.040 in this audience of patriots?

00:46:03.120 I'm just saying,

00:46:04.020 when you call in

00:46:04.880 with the exact talking points

00:46:06.520 of the corporation,

00:46:08.140 I just question whether

00:46:09.700 you are giving your true opinion.

00:46:12.080 Maybe I'm wrong.

00:46:12.840 Maybe he, maybe he just happens

00:46:14.660 to have the exact talking points.

00:46:16.880 We'll play it for you

00:46:17.720 that the CEO gave this morning

00:46:19.880 on Good Morning America.

00:46:21.420 I just think it's awful.

00:46:22.860 I'm skeptical.

00:46:23.900 You come for the Cracker Barrel,

00:46:25.540 you best not miss

00:46:26.380 when you're, when you're talking

00:46:27.380 about Mr. Clay Travis's

00:46:28.720 Cracker Barrel here.

00:46:29.480 You better know what you're doing.

00:46:30.540 What are the odds?

00:46:31.300 What are the odds

00:46:32.040 that somebody calls in

00:46:33.060 and sounds exactly like

00:46:34.440 what the CEO would want them

00:46:35.700 to sound like at the exact moment?

00:46:37.240 Maybe he thinks the new

00:46:37.560 country fried steak is just better.

00:46:39.140 Look, I have no dog in this fight.

00:46:40.940 I've never even been to this place.

00:46:42.080 I don't even think

00:46:42.640 I've seen one before.

00:46:43.620 This is not a thing we have

00:46:44.460 in Yankee Town

00:46:45.980 in the Northeast, okay?

00:46:47.000 I don't think there are any cracker.

00:46:48.420 Guys, are there cracker barrels

00:46:49.680 up in the Northeast?

00:46:50.620 I don't think so.

00:46:51.180 I would bet they have

00:46:51.640 a cracker barrel somewhere

00:46:52.720 in rural New York.

00:46:54.860 I would bet.

00:46:55.260 It's a good question.

00:46:55.800 How many different states

00:46:56.900 are these in?

00:46:57.720 I would bet the majority

00:46:58.980 of this audience

00:47:00.680 has been to a cracker barrel before.

00:47:03.060 Wow, there are cracker barrels

00:47:04.360 in New York

00:47:05.240 near major highways.

00:47:08.180 Yeah, not in New York City,

00:47:10.580 but yeah, most people out there,

00:47:12.940 I would think

00:47:13.760 that they actually

00:47:16.220 have probably been there.

00:47:19.880 There we go.

00:47:20.760 Well, if you think

00:47:21.460 San Antonio Collar

00:47:22.640 was actually organic

00:47:23.860 and he just happens

00:47:24.840 to have the exact same opinion

00:47:26.140 as the CEO,

00:47:26.960 when we come back,

00:47:28.380 we will play

00:47:29.220 the CEO this morning

00:47:30.820 saying everybody loves

00:47:31.880 everything that she's doing.

00:47:33.800 It's ironic how that

00:47:34.720 always happens

00:47:35.240 when the CEO goes on television.

00:47:36.640 Everybody agrees

00:47:37.320 with every decision

00:47:38.020 they've made.

00:47:38.880 But I want to tell you

00:47:39.940 about Trust and Will.

00:47:41.460 Maybe you were listening

00:47:42.880 to producer Greg's

00:47:43.880 final call

00:47:44.440 at the end of the last show

00:47:45.360 and you were thinking,

00:47:46.040 hey, maybe it's time.

00:47:48.040 Maybe it's time.

00:47:48.920 I got to go get

00:47:49.640 my Trust and Will done.

00:47:51.460 Trustandwill.com

00:47:52.600 You can get 20% off

00:47:54.520 right now.

00:47:55.660 We're having a funeral

00:47:56.580 for Cracker Barrel.

00:47:57.740 Go ahead and take care

00:47:59.020 of your own funeral.

00:48:00.960 Get your Trust and Will done.

00:48:02.700 Trustandwill.com

00:48:03.860 is the website.

00:48:04.740 20% off

00:48:05.620 when you use my name, Clay.

00:48:06.940 Look, everybody needs

00:48:08.200 to do this.

00:48:09.200 If you think your family

00:48:10.420 is going to feud

00:48:11.020 after you're gone,

00:48:12.180 grandmother, grandfather,

00:48:14.360 dad, mom,

00:48:15.300 whoever it is,

00:48:16.000 if you're trying to make

00:48:17.040 your family's life better

00:48:18.640 and you're trying to leave

00:48:19.900 behind less chaos,

00:48:21.940 less division,

00:48:22.840 and you just want

00:48:24.460 what you think is best

00:48:25.880 for the family,

00:48:26.920 why not tell them exactly?

00:48:28.260 You don't have to get a lawyer.

00:48:29.320 You can save 20% right now.

00:48:31.820 Trustandwill.com

00:48:33.060 My name, Clay.

00:48:34.660 That's trustandwill.com

00:48:36.400 My name, Clay.

00:48:38.320 Stories of freedom.

00:48:39.960 Stories of America.

00:48:42.100 Inspirational stories

00:48:43.220 that unite us all.

00:48:44.640 Each day,

00:48:45.380 spend time with Clay

00:48:46.780 and find them

00:48:48.200 on the free iHeartRadio app

00:48:50.000 or wherever you get

00:48:51.360 your podcasts.

00:48:52.580 Canadian women

00:48:53.320 are looking for more.

00:48:54.700 More out of themselves,

00:48:55.720 their businesses,

00:48:56.640 their elected leaders,

00:48:57.620 and the world around them.

00:48:58.820 And that's why we're thrilled

00:48:59.800 to introduce

00:49:00.440 the Honest Talk podcast.

00:49:02.560 I'm Jennifer Stewart.

00:49:03.740 And I'm Catherine Clark.

00:49:04.980 And in this podcast,

00:49:06.100 we interview Canada's

00:49:07.080 most inspiring women.

00:49:08.660 Entrepreneurs,

00:49:09.420 artists,

00:49:10.080 athletes,

00:49:10.700 politicians,

00:49:11.400 and newsmakers,

00:49:12.280 all at different stages

00:49:13.320 of their journey.

00:49:14.460 So if you're looking

00:49:15.500 to connect,

00:49:16.280 then we hope

00:49:16.720 you'll join us.

00:49:17.680 Listen to the Honest Talk podcast

00:49:19.080 on iHeartRadio

00:49:20.080 or wherever you listen

00:49:21.060 to your podcasts.

00:49:23.040 Didn't expect this,

00:49:24.560 but just saw his tweet.

00:49:27.000 Probably the man

00:49:28.080 who is going to be

00:49:28.760 the next governor

00:49:29.460 of the great state

00:49:30.280 of Florida,

00:49:31.020 Byron Donalds,

00:49:32.720 used to work

00:49:33.680 at Cracker Barrel.

00:49:35.360 And I'm going to let you

00:49:36.800 tell the story

00:49:37.620 to everybody.

00:49:38.600 I appreciate you

00:49:39.180 calling in.

00:49:40.360 So you come down

00:49:41.340 to the south

00:49:41.980 from New York

00:49:42.900 and you got a job

00:49:44.540 at Cracker Barrel?

00:49:46.560 Absolutely.

00:49:47.140 It's good to be with you.

00:49:48.060 I worked at Cracker Barrel

00:49:49.440 in Tallahassee

00:49:50.380 when I was going to college.

00:49:52.040 I was a waiter.

00:49:52.940 I actually was able

00:49:53.620 to become a three-star waiter.

00:49:55.480 And so that's how high

00:49:56.380 I rose in the ranks, man.

00:49:57.700 I was a three-star.

00:49:58.900 I basically did everything

00:50:00.060 in that store

00:50:00.840 at the one in Tallahassee.

00:50:01.920 And then when I moved

00:50:02.480 to Naples,

00:50:03.180 I transferred to the one

00:50:04.560 down in Naples.

00:50:05.760 It's on I-75,

00:50:08.040 exit 101.

00:50:08.960 I worked there

00:50:09.520 for about four or five months

00:50:11.080 in Naples

00:50:11.900 before I got my first job.

00:50:14.080 At the Naples Cracker Barrel,

00:50:15.660 Congressman,

00:50:16.260 did they just,

00:50:17.120 did they have the butler

00:50:18.220 slip you like $100 bills?

00:50:20.220 You know,

00:50:20.480 that's a very high-rent area.

00:50:23.640 Listen,

00:50:24.340 even at the Naples Cracker Barrel,

00:50:25.960 it's about biscuits

00:50:26.900 and a hash brown casserole.

00:50:29.680 That's what it's about.

00:50:30.500 Ain't nobody

00:50:30.920 slipping hundreds in there.

00:50:31.980 I'll promise you that.

00:50:34.260 So what do you think

00:50:35.320 about the rebrand?

00:50:36.760 So this is actually a brand,

00:50:38.320 I was,

00:50:38.760 it's funny,

00:50:39.760 your world

00:50:40.500 and Cracker Barrel collides.

00:50:42.520 I used to work

00:50:43.260 at American Eagle

00:50:44.060 back when I was a teenager.

00:50:45.440 So the whole

00:50:46.060 Sidney Sweeney thing,

00:50:47.140 I felt like that whole

00:50:48.020 controversy was designed for me.

00:50:49.780 When you saw

00:50:50.860 that they're rebranding

00:50:52.180 and changing the logo

00:50:53.220 and everything else,

00:50:54.120 what's your reaction?

00:50:55.820 I hate it.

00:50:56.940 I don't even understand

00:50:58.060 why it needed a rebrand.

00:50:59.460 Cracker Barrel's a staple

00:51:00.500 of, you know,

00:51:01.780 of the country.

00:51:02.600 Everybody comes in there

00:51:03.840 to eat.

00:51:04.280 Doesn't matter who you are.

00:51:05.280 You've come in there,

00:51:06.240 you've had your pancakes

00:51:07.880 and your scrambled eggs

00:51:08.940 and bacon.

00:51:09.560 You made sure

00:51:10.000 you got your biscuits.

00:51:11.240 You might have tried

00:51:11.880 the country fried steak

00:51:13.700 or the chicken fried chicken.

00:51:14.860 Look,

00:51:15.000 I'm going through the menu

00:51:15.780 and it's been more

00:51:16.540 than 25 years

00:51:17.340 since I worked there.

00:51:18.920 But I will tell you,

00:51:20.000 it's a staple,

00:51:20.780 so I don't even know

00:51:21.280 why we needed this rebrand.

00:51:23.220 Some things just

00:51:24.340 are what they are.

00:51:25.720 That's Cracker Barrel

00:51:26.580 Old Country Store.

00:51:27.820 I don't even know

00:51:28.280 why they removed

00:51:28.960 that out of the name.

00:51:30.320 And then,

00:51:30.680 and even inside,

00:51:31.580 it looks like

00:51:32.660 what they did

00:51:33.280 is they tried

00:51:33.680 to have it become

00:51:34.960 like a photo shoot

00:51:36.860 for like better homes

00:51:38.480 and gardens.

00:51:39.140 I don't even know

00:51:39.600 what that place looks like.

00:51:40.800 It doesn't look like anything.

00:51:42.400 That is what Cracker Barrel,

00:51:44.020 what made Cracker Barrel

00:51:45.160 a real staple

00:51:46.020 in the United States.

00:51:47.300 Congressman,

00:51:47.860 if I,

00:51:48.140 you know,

00:51:48.360 I am,

00:51:49.040 I am sorry to say

00:51:49.920 I have never,

00:51:50.700 never been to a

00:51:51.820 Cracker Barrel establishment.

00:51:53.380 Which is clearly,

00:51:54.120 I know.

00:51:55.120 Buck is from,

00:51:56.120 you're from New York too.

00:51:57.300 I could,

00:51:57.720 it doesn't surprise me.

00:51:58.980 Like I grew up

00:52:00.100 going to these things

00:52:00.860 all over the country,

00:52:01.980 but I mean,

00:52:03.180 describe Cracker Barrel

00:52:05.180 food to Buck

00:52:06.180 as someone who's never been.

00:52:07.160 I was going to say,

00:52:07.780 I mean,

00:52:07.940 this is a gentleman,

00:52:08.660 this is a gentleman

00:52:09.100 who both appreciates

00:52:10.000 the menu

00:52:10.300 and had to help people

00:52:11.360 navigate it for many years

00:52:12.640 a long time ago.

00:52:14.000 Congressman,

00:52:14.960 what,

00:52:15.240 as a first timer,

00:52:16.460 if I walked in there,

00:52:17.800 what is like the best

00:52:18.840 of Cracker Barrel?

00:52:19.620 Like what would I,

00:52:20.140 forget about my

00:52:20.920 dietary restrictions.

00:52:22.160 We'll leave that aside.

00:52:24.020 Let me help you.

00:52:25.420 If you're coming in

00:52:26.260 for breakfast,

00:52:27.620 you have to get

00:52:28.620 the old-timers breakfast.

00:52:30.520 Very simple,

00:52:31.380 straightforward,

00:52:32.220 couple scrambled eggs,

00:52:33.240 some bacon,

00:52:34.280 some sausage.

00:52:35.480 They don't really do

00:52:36.400 link sausage too much.

00:52:37.460 Most of it's patty sausage.

00:52:39.280 You could get biscuits.

00:52:40.900 You might get toast

00:52:41.860 if you ask for it,

00:52:42.740 but you really just

00:52:43.440 want the biscuits.

00:52:44.500 If you really want

00:52:45.540 to get into it,

00:52:46.260 get the French toast.

00:52:47.660 The French toast

00:52:48.300 is some of the best

00:52:49.000 I've ever had,

00:52:49.920 whether I was serving it

00:52:50.920 or I'm eating French toast

00:52:52.180 somewhere else.

00:52:53.360 That's really good stuff.

00:52:54.900 If you're coming in

00:52:55.920 for dinner,

00:52:56.460 you can't go wrong

00:52:57.900 with the catfish fillets.

00:52:59.620 They're awesome.

00:53:00.520 Fried or grilled

00:53:01.320 is going to be great.

00:53:02.660 If you love fried okra,

00:53:03.840 you can get that.

00:53:04.900 Green beans are always there.

00:53:06.720 Macaroni and cheese

00:53:07.460 is always on point.

00:53:08.780 And real quick,

00:53:09.280 for the people

00:53:09.680 who love biscuits,

00:53:10.600 they got to have

00:53:11.140 their sausage gravy.

00:53:12.360 I was never a sausage gravy guy,

00:53:14.280 but a lot of people like it.

00:53:15.960 It's iconic, man.

00:53:17.280 It is great food

00:53:18.160 no matter what you eat.

00:53:19.560 Go there.

00:53:20.080 I'm telling you,

00:53:20.520 when you travel the country,

00:53:21.480 go to Cracker Barrel.

00:53:22.440 Maybe not this new version.

00:53:23.640 Find one of the old ones

00:53:24.560 where it's still designed

00:53:25.240 the old way 0.96

00:53:25.780 because the food

00:53:26.600 is fantastic.

00:53:29.160 Why do you think

00:53:30.060 this happens?

00:53:31.240 You are running

00:53:32.200 for governor of Florida.

00:53:33.540 You're in Congress now.

00:53:35.060 You have to talk to people

00:53:36.200 from all different backgrounds

00:53:37.720 all over the state of Florida,

00:53:39.100 all over the country.

00:53:40.720 And as you just said,

00:53:42.480 most people

00:53:43.280 understand Cracker Barrel.

00:53:45.500 It's like old southern cooking.

00:53:47.320 You know what you're going to get.

00:53:48.700 Everybody's grandma

00:53:49.540 cooked like that

00:53:50.500 if you're in the south at all.

00:53:51.760 And it has kind of that

00:53:53.660 down-home nostalgic feel.

00:53:56.980 Why is there such an...

00:53:58.340 And look,

00:53:58.700 you can connect this

00:53:59.400 with Bud Light.

00:54:00.260 I think you can connect it

00:54:01.080 with lots of things.

00:54:02.180 Why do we let people

00:54:03.340 who never consume the product

00:54:05.160 go out

00:54:06.240 and try to change

00:54:07.400 a brand like this?

00:54:08.520 It seems to happen everywhere.

00:54:10.900 I mean, look,

00:54:11.500 I think you sometimes

00:54:12.420 will get a new CEO

00:54:13.540 who thinks they have

00:54:14.420 to rethink everything

00:54:15.360 to prove their worth.

00:54:17.300 What you really need to do

00:54:18.420 as a chief executive

00:54:19.300 is just make sure

00:54:20.440 that the brand is earning money.

00:54:22.340 Make sure that the operations

00:54:23.520 are sound.

00:54:24.500 Make sure the employees

00:54:25.480 are getting the support

00:54:26.720 that they need.

00:54:27.780 And then, you know,

00:54:28.640 no pun intended,

00:54:29.820 but just let the place cook.

00:54:31.460 Because if it's cooking good food,

00:54:32.820 people will continue to come.

00:54:34.320 So these rebrands,

00:54:35.320 I think sometimes

00:54:35.900 you'll have an executive

00:54:36.780 who thinks they have

00:54:37.380 to leave their mark.

00:54:38.520 And that's really not

00:54:39.320 what you need to be doing.

00:54:40.380 You need to be making sure

00:54:41.440 that everybody's making money.

00:54:42.980 The earning per share

00:54:43.700 has continued to look good.

00:54:45.120 I don't know how much

00:54:45.820 they're spending

00:54:46.300 on this rebrand.

00:54:48.120 Just looking at how

00:54:48.940 some of the responses

00:54:49.740 have been like mine

00:54:50.680 and a lot of other responses.

00:54:52.120 It's not going well,

00:54:53.620 you know,

00:54:54.000 so it's probably going to

00:54:54.760 cost shareholders money.

00:54:55.880 It's pretty unfortunate.

00:54:57.660 Okay, shifting gears here.

00:54:59.220 We got college football

00:55:00.340 kicking off in Ireland

00:55:02.400 this weekend

00:55:03.180 and other places.

00:55:04.140 And then next weekend,

00:55:05.300 I was actually going to

00:55:06.120 text you about this.

00:55:06.960 Now I got you on the show.

00:55:07.880 I'll just tell you.

00:55:08.880 I am going to Alabama,

00:55:11.080 Florida State.

00:55:11.960 I have never been to FSU

00:55:13.600 for a game.

00:55:14.560 For those of you don't know,

00:55:15.780 Big Saturday

00:55:16.500 in Tallahassee.

00:55:18.340 One,

00:55:18.760 will you be at the game?

00:55:20.520 Two,

00:55:21.180 what should I know

00:55:22.460 and or go see

00:55:23.900 at Florida State?

00:55:25.040 I think I'm going to

00:55:25.520 take a couple of my kids

00:55:26.680 for that game

00:55:28.040 on opening weekend

00:55:29.180 of college football.

00:55:31.480 Number one,

00:55:32.220 I won't be in Tallahassee.

00:55:33.620 I wish I was.

00:55:34.520 I was already scheduled

00:55:35.380 to be in another part

00:55:37.260 of Florida

00:55:37.720 doing an event.

00:55:38.500 So I'm sad

00:55:39.060 I'm going to miss the Knowles.

00:55:40.440 But, you know,

00:55:41.080 I'm looking forward

00:55:41.680 to seeing how we start

00:55:42.600 this season.

00:55:43.880 Two,

00:55:44.020 make sure you take

00:55:44.920 your kids

00:55:45.360 to the unconquered statue

00:55:46.880 at the stadium.

00:55:48.660 It's an iconic statue

00:55:49.800 right in front

00:55:50.880 of Doe Campbell.

00:55:52.280 Trust me,

00:55:53.060 it's nothing like it.

00:55:54.120 Three,

00:55:54.840 and I'm pulling

00:55:55.660 from my Knowles.

00:55:56.520 I think we're going

00:55:56.920 to rebound

00:55:57.280 from last season.

00:55:58.580 So when that tomahawk

00:55:59.760 chop comes out,

00:56:01.120 let your kids

00:56:02.040 do the tomahawk chop. 0.99

00:56:03.720 Let them be a part of it.

00:56:05.060 It's iconic

00:56:05.860 in college football.

00:56:07.740 Outstanding.

00:56:08.140 I just want to throw this

00:56:09.800 out there.

00:56:10.180 I was looking this up

00:56:11.360 and hat tip

00:56:11.840 our friend Sean Davis.

00:56:12.920 Congressman,

00:56:14.080 this may go

00:56:14.900 a little bit

00:56:15.500 to what happened

00:56:16.680 with Cracker Barrel.

00:56:17.460 Bring us back

00:56:17.980 around here

00:56:18.480 for a second.

00:56:19.700 The Cracker Barrel

00:56:20.320 chain,

00:56:20.500 this is the New York Times,

00:56:21.320 Cracker Barrel chain

00:56:22.040 evoking southern-style

00:56:23.460 home cooking

00:56:24.060 and hospitality

00:56:24.800 long seen

00:56:26.680 as a white-coated

00:56:28.300 establishment

00:56:29.100 that aligned

00:56:29.900 with conservative

00:56:30.780 social norms.

00:56:33.160 Oh, gosh.

00:56:34.560 Oh, okay.

00:56:36.640 You see,

00:56:37.080 this is what I mean.

00:56:37.980 You get some new CEO

00:56:39.720 who thinks it's time

00:56:41.220 to do something different.

00:56:42.320 Now they're concerned

00:56:43.200 that too many conservatives

00:56:44.780 eat at Cracker Barrel.

00:56:45.980 I got a newsflash

00:56:46.960 for this lady.

00:56:47.580 I'm assuming it's a lady 1.00

00:56:48.380 now that's the news.

00:56:49.560 Oh, it's definitely.

00:56:51.000 It's a lady 0.98

00:56:51.520 who looks like

00:56:52.240 she's feeding her five cats

00:56:54.080 while she's watching MS now.

00:56:55.860 Yes.

00:56:56.260 Oh, boy.

00:56:57.320 All right, newsflash for her.

00:56:58.640 This is how you lose customers.

00:57:00.820 Because go look

00:57:01.540 at your customer base.

00:57:02.960 They're just regular people.

00:57:04.780 They go

00:57:05.440 and they eat good breakfast.

00:57:06.800 A lot of repeats

00:57:07.780 from people

00:57:08.580 who live in the community

00:57:09.580 who swear by Cracker Barrel.

00:57:11.360 And now they're going

00:57:11.940 to go somewhere else.

00:57:12.900 I mean,

00:57:13.080 this is how you end up

00:57:13.880 losing your company. 1.00

00:57:15.140 These are the dumb decisions 0.99

00:57:16.360 for people who think 1.00

00:57:17.060 they're smarter

00:57:17.540 than everybody else.

00:57:18.880 What you should do

00:57:19.800 is go be undercover boss

00:57:21.620 and go travel the country

00:57:22.880 before you do these remodels

00:57:24.280 and just see

00:57:25.160 how people are

00:57:26.120 in these restaurants.

00:57:27.080 I worked in a Cracker Barrel

00:57:28.400 for almost four years.

00:57:29.940 Everybody was great.

00:57:31.380 I never felt,

00:57:32.060 you know,

00:57:32.200 I'm a black man.

00:57:32.920 I never felt like,

00:57:33.740 oh, somebody was trying

00:57:34.480 to hold me down

00:57:35.640 because I was serving biscuits

00:57:37.160 in the morning.

00:57:38.160 It sounds to me, Congressman,

00:57:39.700 like you disagree

00:57:40.300 with the New York.

00:57:41.060 The New York Times

00:57:41.900 describes it as a quote,

00:57:43.500 Cracker Barrel,

00:57:44.120 as quote,

00:57:44.980 a lightning rod

00:57:45.960 for identity politics.

00:57:48.060 It's the New York Times.

00:57:49.180 Of course,

00:57:49.440 I disagree with them. 1.00

00:57:50.180 They're stupid. 1.00

00:57:50.980 They don't know 1.00

00:57:51.340 what they're talking about.

00:57:52.160 That's why they're all. 0.89

00:57:52.660 Absurd.

00:57:53.780 But I mean,

00:57:54.180 I do think this is important.

00:57:55.400 You worked as a waiter there

00:57:56.640 and you said this earlier,

00:57:57.660 people from all different

00:57:58.780 backgrounds come in

00:58:00.140 and it sounds like

00:58:01.540 you had a really good experience

00:58:02.820 with the patrons

00:58:03.680 and the overall environment

00:58:05.140 of the place

00:58:05.660 when you worked there.

00:58:06.320 Yeah, what percentage

00:58:07.440 of patrons would you say,

00:58:08.900 if you had to just put

00:58:09.400 a percentage on it,

00:58:10.640 were just,

00:58:11.300 were friendly and polite folks

00:58:13.600 who were there

00:58:14.060 to have a nice meal

00:58:14.860 either alone

00:58:15.380 or with their friends

00:58:15.960 or family?

00:58:16.540 Like, what would you put

00:58:17.780 that number at roughly

00:58:18.760 in your four years

00:58:19.440 of working there?

00:58:19.940 I'm just curious.

00:58:21.220 Oh, it's like 98%.

00:58:22.580 Like 98% is probably

00:58:23.920 a good number.

00:58:25.240 You know,

00:58:25.380 every now and again,

00:58:26.120 somebody might get

00:58:26.920 a little rowdy

00:58:27.500 if they didn't get

00:58:28.020 their biscuits.

00:58:28.480 Well, that's true

00:58:28.980 of any restaurant, right?

00:58:30.560 But, yeah.

00:58:33.040 Yeah, 98%.

00:58:34.440 Everybody was good.

00:58:35.620 They just want to come

00:58:36.720 in and eat good food.

00:58:37.900 That's what it's about.

00:58:39.360 All righty.

00:58:40.040 Congressman,

00:58:40.480 anything else you want

00:58:41.060 to announce

00:58:41.380 while we're here,

00:58:41.900 while we got you?

00:58:42.480 I mean,

00:58:42.640 you're already running

00:58:43.080 for governor, right?

00:58:44.160 I'm a Floridian,

00:58:44.920 so can you keep this place,

00:58:45.820 can you just promise

00:58:46.560 you'll keep this place

00:58:47.300 awesome when you're governor?

00:58:49.120 What I'll tell you is,

00:58:50.660 in Florida,

00:58:51.140 we're going to continue

00:58:51.920 to be the free state

00:58:52.680 of Florida.

00:58:53.440 That will not change.

00:58:55.120 Everything is going great.

00:58:56.440 Proud and honored

00:58:57.100 to have President Trump's endorsement,

00:58:59.180 Rick Scott's endorsement,

00:59:00.640 most of the

00:59:01.140 congressional delegation.

00:59:02.460 We're just going to take

00:59:03.300 our state to a whole

00:59:04.140 another level,

00:59:04.820 but it will continue

00:59:05.500 to be the free state

00:59:06.860 of Florida.

00:59:08.520 Appreciate you, sir.

00:59:09.120 We'll talk to you again soon,

00:59:09.980 especially as that gets closer,

00:59:11.040 right?

00:59:11.220 Thanks for making the time

00:59:11.920 for us today,

00:59:12.360 Congressman Donalds.

00:59:13.780 All right.

00:59:14.140 Take it easy, guys.

00:59:16.460 See, Clay,

00:59:16.960 you never know.

00:59:18.500 You don't have to look

00:59:19.140 that long.

00:59:19.580 You figure it out.

00:59:20.940 The CEO came in.

00:59:22.260 It's because there's

00:59:23.460 a perception among people.

00:59:25.520 This is what I think

00:59:26.260 we've unearthed here,

00:59:27.960 and I'm speaking

00:59:28.700 kind of from the

00:59:29.340 outsider perspective.

00:59:31.080 There's a perception

00:59:31.860 among coastal elites

00:59:33.440 that Cracker Barrel

00:59:35.060 is coded

00:59:37.020 as old,

00:59:39.280 white,

00:59:39.520 and Southern,

00:59:40.260 and therefore,

00:59:41.760 inherently,

00:59:42.540 even though it's just

00:59:43.260 selling biscuits

00:59:44.380 and pancakes

00:59:45.560 and things

00:59:46.100 to whomever

00:59:46.580 goes through the door

00:59:47.200 and people seem

00:59:47.640 to love the place,

00:59:49.020 inherently problematic.

00:59:50.520 There's something

00:59:51.200 problematic about

00:59:52.380 the perception,

00:59:54.020 which is not even

00:59:54.700 rooted in anything,

00:59:55.480 of it's old,

00:59:56.860 white,

00:59:57.060 and Southern.

00:59:58.060 Well,

00:59:58.600 what I would say,

00:59:59.740 and I am not

01:00:01.180 an expert in cuisine,

01:00:02.480 clearly,

01:00:03.540 but in my experience,

01:00:06.140 white and black people

01:00:07.560 in the South 0.98

01:00:08.460 eat very,

01:00:09.960 very similar foods.

01:00:11.540 So I've never met

01:00:12.820 anybody of any race

01:00:14.460 in the South

01:00:15.240 who was like,

01:00:15.840 you know what?

01:00:16.500 I'm not really a biscuit

01:00:17.580 guy.

01:00:18.500 You know what?

01:00:19.140 I'm not really into

01:00:21.760 fried catfish.

01:00:23.800 You know what?

01:00:24.340 I'm not really into

01:00:25.520 cobblers and pecan pies

01:00:27.640 and all this stuff.

01:00:28.220 I just,

01:00:28.940 I see people eating

01:00:30.400 very similar foods.

01:00:31.660 I've been into Cracker Barrels

01:00:32.500 all over the Southeast,

01:00:34.000 and my experience

01:00:36.300 would reflect what

01:00:37.520 Congressman Donald

01:00:38.560 just said,

01:00:39.700 which is,

01:00:40.640 most of the people

01:00:41.480 there are just

01:00:42.900 good old-fashioned

01:00:44.320 people.

01:00:45.120 Now,

01:00:46.160 would it surprise me

01:00:47.280 if Cracker Barrel,

01:00:48.340 to your point,

01:00:49.140 to the New York Times,

01:00:50.360 codes,

01:00:50.880 because it's a

01:00:51.640 Southern-based company,

01:00:52.700 as more likely

01:00:54.460 to be eaten in

01:00:55.840 by a Trump voter

01:00:57.660 than,

01:00:58.940 I don't know,

01:00:59.400 I'm trying to think,

01:00:59.960 I don't even know

01:01:00.600 what the equivalent

01:01:02.560 restaurant of

01:01:03.960 liberals would be.

01:01:06.280 Yeah,

01:01:06.540 I would think that,

01:01:07.220 but it's all over the South.

01:01:08.620 I mean,

01:01:08.840 Trump overwhelmingly

01:01:10.140 wins the South.

01:01:11.640 This is what they picked up on

01:01:12.660 is that to,

01:01:13.500 quote,

01:01:13.620 modernize it

01:01:14.780 or to update it

01:01:16.140 is to

01:01:16.720 de-Southernize it.

01:01:19.040 But,

01:01:19.620 that's my issue with it.

01:01:21.260 It is

01:01:22.060 the South.

01:01:23.220 It's like saying,

01:01:23.980 but that's the point.

01:01:24.820 It's everyone's issue with it.

01:01:25.880 That's why there's

01:01:26.300 500,000 tweets.

01:01:28.720 And,

01:01:29.260 this is where I also think,

01:01:32.140 I think it's very similar

01:01:33.140 to Bud Light.

01:01:34.140 You take somebody

01:01:35.120 from New York or LA

01:01:36.200 who would never

01:01:37.280 drink a Bud Light

01:01:38.300 and they say,

01:01:39.240 you know what we should do?

01:01:40.480 We should have

01:01:41.020 trans influencers.

01:01:42.880 Was there any trans person

01:01:44.100 who was not drinking Bud Light

01:01:45.520 because Bud Light

01:01:46.300 wasn't trans enough?

01:01:47.340 Of course not.

01:01:48.460 The reason people

01:01:49.520 go to Cracker Barrel

01:01:50.760 is to get a good

01:01:52.200 home-cooked

01:01:53.240 old-school style

01:01:54.900 Southern meal 0.93

01:01:56.160 that your black grandma 0.98

01:01:58.140 or your black 0.94

01:01:59.520 or your white grandma 0.89

01:02:00.740 might have made for you

01:02:02.140 back in the day.

01:02:03.140 And as some grandmas

01:02:04.420 to this day

01:02:05.160 continue to cook.

01:02:06.900 And so,

01:02:07.280 when you're trying

01:02:08.060 to take away

01:02:09.300 that which made people

01:02:11.360 go to it

01:02:12.020 in the first place,

01:02:13.020 again,

01:02:13.940 I don't understand

01:02:14.760 the marketplace

01:02:15.560 for Cracker Barrel

01:02:16.500 is not to be Applebee's.

01:02:18.180 And that's not a shot

01:02:18.940 at Applebee's,

01:02:20.000 but Applebee's

01:02:20.660 is like the most,

01:02:22.440 we're probably

01:02:24.500 just got a big deal

01:02:25.380 we're about to do

01:02:25.940 with Applebee's

01:02:26.540 and they're like,

01:02:26.940 this is done forever.

01:02:27.880 But I would say

01:02:28.680 like Applebee's

01:02:29.660 is the most generic

01:02:31.320 Americana style food

01:02:33.420 out there.

01:02:34.460 Like what does

01:02:35.060 Applebee's stand for?

01:02:37.180 Nothing, right?

01:02:37.940 This is like kind of,

01:02:38.540 this is generic.

01:02:39.800 This is generic.

01:02:41.620 Whoa.

01:02:42.180 I feel like Applebee's

01:02:43.560 just caught an elbow out there.

01:02:44.540 I'm not trying

01:02:45.420 to take Applebee's out,

01:02:46.760 but like Chili's

01:02:47.520 you would be like,

01:02:48.180 hey, Chili's

01:02:48.840 is Mexican style food.

01:02:50.460 Olive Garden,

01:02:50.900 you'd be like,

01:02:51.420 Olive Garden

01:02:51.920 is Italian style food.

01:02:53.620 I mentioned it earlier.

01:02:54.920 Outback is

01:02:55.580 Australian steakhouse

01:02:57.260 South.

01:02:58.140 Texas Roadhouse.

01:02:59.080 I mean,

01:02:59.320 is it though?

01:03:00.560 Is Outback Australian? 1.00

01:03:02.120 No,

01:03:02.960 it's not at all like that,

01:03:04.120 but you understand

01:03:04.760 the branding concept.

01:03:06.500 The entire branding

01:03:07.640 of Cracker Barrel

01:03:08.440 is Southern style food.

01:03:10.680 There is no competitor

01:03:11.700 for that.

01:03:12.300 There's a lot of competitor

01:03:13.160 for Applebee's.

01:03:15.520 It's not a matter

01:03:16.480 of whether you're going

01:03:17.380 to have cell phone service.

01:03:18.660 It's a matter of

01:03:19.440 who you want to give

01:03:20.620 to provide that cell phone

01:03:22.200 service to you.

01:03:23.100 This is why I'm telling you,

01:03:24.580 really give some thought

01:03:25.400 to this.

01:03:26.040 Pure Talk.

01:03:26.760 That's a cell phone company

01:03:27.980 that I use.

01:03:29.260 It's one that Clay's family

01:03:30.640 is on.

01:03:31.400 It's a company

01:03:31.960 that we both admire.

01:03:33.160 Founded by a veteran,

01:03:34.360 their customer service team

01:03:35.260 is 100% U.S.-based,

01:03:36.680 keeping jobs at home,

01:03:38.080 including many veterans.

01:03:39.560 Pure Talk uses

01:03:40.160 the same towers

01:03:40.980 and same network

01:03:41.860 as the bigger companies,

01:03:42.800 but charges a fraction

01:03:45.340 of the price.

01:03:46.460 For just $25 a month,

01:03:47.700 you can get unlimited

01:03:48.260 talk, text,

01:03:48.960 and plenty of data

01:03:49.760 on America's most

01:03:51.040 dependable 5G network.

01:03:52.600 Just to give you

01:03:53.000 some perspective,

01:03:53.660 the average-sized family

01:03:54.520 of four saves more

01:03:55.360 than $1,000 a year

01:03:56.780 when they switch

01:03:57.580 to Pure Talk.

01:03:58.520 And with Pure Talk's

01:03:59.240 U.S. customer service team,

01:04:00.440 you can switch hassle-free

01:04:01.540 in as little as 10 minutes.

01:04:03.020 You can even keep your phone

01:04:03.940 and your number.

01:04:05.040 So using your cell phone,

01:04:06.620 dial pound 250,

01:04:07.980 say the keywords,

01:04:08.880 Clay and Buck,

01:04:09.420 to make the switch,

01:04:10.140 you'll save an additional

01:04:10.880 50% off your first month.

01:04:12.980 Again,

01:04:13.580 dial pound 250,

01:04:15.320 say Clay and Buck

01:04:16.280 to start saving today.

01:04:17.500 Pure Talk,

01:04:18.360 wireless,

01:04:19.100 by Americans,

01:04:19.880 for Americans.

01:04:20.720 You ain't imagining it.

01:04:22.580 The world has gone insane.

01:04:25.340 Reclaim your sanity

01:04:26.540 with Clay and Buck.

01:04:28.340 Find them on the free

01:04:29.600 iHeartRadio app

01:04:30.700 or wherever you get

01:04:32.040 your podcasts.

01:04:33.120 This is an iHeart Podcast.

01:04:35.680 Guaranteed human.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - August 21, 2025

BONUS： Daily Review with Clay and Buck - Aug 21 2025

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