Verdict with Ted Cruz - BONUS： The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show - Daily Review Podcast

00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.

00:00:02.400 Guaranteed human.

00:00:04.240 Welcome in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show.

00:00:08.280 I hope all of you are having a fabulous Tuesday news coming as it often does during the Trump

00:00:15.260 regime at a rapid fashion.

00:00:17.820 We will dive into all of it here momentarily.

00:00:21.200 Reminder, Trump is also speaking tonight in front of a joint session of Congress, a usual

00:00:28.940 state of the union, although I think in the year after the election, it's not officially

00:00:33.040 called the state of the union, but that is what will be going on tonight and many will

00:00:38.460 be watching to see what the president says.

00:00:41.260 Let me give you a little bit of a roadmap where we're headed.

00:00:43.500 Senate Majority Leader John Thune going to be on with us at the bottom of this hour.

00:00:49.380 Every single Democrat senator voted against men being prohibited from playing in women's

00:00:58.840 sports.

00:00:59.340 In other words, they support men who identify as women being able to compete in women's

00:01:04.940 sports.

00:01:05.520 Every single Democrat senator.

00:01:09.160 It's crazy.

00:01:09.960 Our friend Bill O'Reilly will join us at the top of the next hour.

00:01:14.360 That is where we are headed.

00:01:15.820 But Buck, the biggest news that is out there in the last hour, Zelensky has decided to bend

00:01:23.180 the knee to Donald Trump and beg for peace.

00:01:27.040 Let me read a little bit of what he said.

00:01:31.340 I would like this is Zelensky's Twitter account.

00:01:34.420 I would like to reiterate Ukraine's commitment to peace.

00:01:38.260 None of us wants an endless war.

00:01:40.600 Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace

00:01:47.220 closer.

00:01:47.740 Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. 0.99

00:01:50.740 My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that

00:01:57.380 lasts.

00:01:58.440 We value how much America has done.

00:02:01.060 Our meeting in Washington at the White House on Friday did not go that way.

00:02:05.720 It was supposed to be.

00:02:07.140 Regrettable that it happened this way.

00:02:09.360 It's time to make things right.

00:02:10.960 We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive regarding the agreement on

00:02:16.560 minerals and security.

00:02:18.160 Ukraine is ready to sign at any time and in any convenient format.

00:02:23.420 We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees.

00:02:29.480 And I truly hope it will work effectively.

00:02:33.280 All right.

00:02:33.940 Friday, the blow up Tuesday, the apology again, that statement a little bit longer.

00:02:39.420 Buck, what do you think people should take from this situation that we are currently in with

00:02:47.420 Ukraine and where do we go from here?

00:02:50.040 Well, Trump is doing what he does, which is a non-traditional approach to try to solve

00:02:56.020 problems.

00:02:57.300 And I think that the people who have at every step of the every step of the way questioned

00:03:03.820 him, undermined him, said he's crazy, said he's a dictator, are doing what they always

00:03:07.880 do, which is more of that.

00:03:09.140 When you look at what has already occurred, it does seem to be that Trump is using the

00:03:15.300 leverage that he should use on issues that matter to get us to a better resolution.

00:03:20.800 All that really counts.

00:03:22.800 And this is contra the diplomacy, State Department, foreign policy consensus mindset.

00:03:29.860 All that really matters is the results, right?

00:03:32.800 All that really matters is when something happens in response to a decision, an action, an agreement

00:03:38.980 that Trump has taken.

00:03:41.020 How we get there, I think, is far less important.

00:03:46.320 And so, yes, was it a little bit of a surprise to see that dust up in the Oval Office?

00:03:50.880 Sure.

00:03:51.180 Do I think that Zelensky was the one who instigated it largely?

00:03:54.260 Yes, I do.

00:03:54.920 And now are we back in a place where Zelensky is saying all the things that we wanted to

00:04:00.320 hear from him the first time around?

00:04:02.420 Yes.

00:04:03.380 So that, to me, indicates that Trump is on the right track.

00:04:07.300 I also think that this is forced out into public view that the people who just are all 0.89

00:04:13.340 about the Ukrainian fight and don't ever go beyond Ukraine is the good guy, Russia is 0.95

00:04:19.740 the bad guy, are being forced to justify in public what exactly is your plan?

00:04:24.920 If this war goes on for another five years, in what way is Ukraine in a better position

00:04:31.240 then than they are in now?

00:04:33.360 Russia has more men, more materiel, more North Korean troops, I might add, pouring in.

00:04:39.120 Russia has allies who are working directly in this fight, and we refuse to do that.

00:04:44.020 That is our red line.

00:04:45.360 So how is Ukraine going to be in a better position other than losing a lot of our money and a lot

00:04:51.020 of their men?

00:04:52.100 They don't have an answer to this.

00:04:53.420 Trump knows that.

00:04:54.240 So we're trying to get to where we are with the deal now.

00:04:56.920 Clay, if the negotiations were to break down because what Putin wants is just so unthinkable,

00:05:03.960 is so beyond the pale, well, at least we would know that, right?

00:05:08.120 At least then we could have a conversation. 0.80

00:05:09.960 OK, Putin really is being crazier than anticipated on this.

00:05:14.560 So maybe he does need to suffer the consequences a little bit more or whatever.

00:05:19.260 But right now, there's no reason to believe that the option that the Ukraine hardliners want

00:05:26.940 to take is better.

00:05:27.900 Look, where we are right now, and my wife has been fired up about this, so she will not

00:05:35.560 stop talking about it.

00:05:36.960 I do think that the United States has has created much of this mess, meaning the invasion, the

00:05:46.660 battles over territory.

00:05:48.080 And all that's happening now is Trump is trying to clean up the mess, right?

00:05:52.920 You go back to the agreement when Ukraine gave up their nukes.

00:05:57.240 There was some form of protection agreement entered into and Ukraine took it as the United

00:06:06.200 States won't let Russia invade us.

00:06:08.200 Obviously, Obama did not take it that way.

00:06:11.240 Biden did not take it that way.

00:06:13.860 Russia has for a long time not wanted NATO on its border.

00:06:19.020 We have continued to expand NATO to Russia's border.

00:06:23.180 And I think this war is actually a result of much of the failure of American policy, both

00:06:31.300 as it pertains to Ukraine and to Russia, significantly, Buck, none of which Trump was

00:06:37.440 involved in remotely.

00:06:38.840 So he is now in this mess where he is trying to end up in a situation where he's trying to

00:06:48.440 put this all back right.

00:06:50.780 And so the United States is not blameless here.

00:06:54.740 We want to be saying, oh, Slava, Ukraine, Ukraine is the hero and Russia is the villain. 0.99

00:07:00.800 America's not coming to this situation with clean hands. 0.99

00:07:04.660 We have in many ways created, I believe, a total mess.

00:07:10.060 And now Trump is trying to clean it up.

00:07:12.160 And so I hope that we can get a ceasefire here and that people can stop dying.

00:07:18.240 My concern, Buck, is now we're moving into, OK, what does a negotiated peace look like?

00:07:24.480 What does a ceasefire look like?

00:07:26.240 It seems to me, and I'm curious if you would agree with this, that to a large extent, wherever

00:07:31.440 the lines are drawn now, where the stalemate has basically come to exist, it feels to me

00:07:38.660 like Russia is going to get a large percentage of those eastern parts of Ukraine.

00:07:46.400 Where exactly that line is drawn will be a huge debate.

00:07:51.240 And then I hope that Russia doesn't decide to invade again.

00:07:56.160 I don't think it will happen with Trump in office.

00:07:58.140 But my concern is if Kamala Harris or Gavin Newsom or whomever, the Andrew Cuomo, if one

00:08:07.340 of those guys or gals were to win in 2028, I think Putin would go right back to invading

00:08:13.200 again because I'm not sure he would respect the Democrats as he has shown he did not respect

00:08:18.240 Obama and as he has shown he did not respect Biden.

00:08:22.740 There are some there's some very fundamental questions here that I think Trump sees properly.

00:08:28.380 And one of them is, do we care enough?

00:08:32.060 Do we as Americans care enough about who's in control of 25 percent or so, 15, 20 percent

00:08:40.460 of Ukraine that we're willing to lose American soldiers and and spend billions, perhaps even

00:08:47.860 trillions of dollars, never mind the possibility of a nuclear nuclear exchange, which is the

00:08:53.300 euphemism, of course, we use for nuking each other's militaries in the theater, which would 0.61

00:08:57.920 be horrifying.

00:08:59.660 Do we are we willing to do those things?

00:09:01.660 No, we're not.

00:09:02.900 And so at some level, this is all just, I think, a recognition that there's going to be

00:09:11.100 an ability that Russia has in its sphere of influence here or to expand its sphere of

00:09:16.440 influence here because it's not a NATO country and because we don't want to do their fighting

00:09:21.260 for them.

00:09:22.580 And so there are limitations on what we're willing to do.

00:09:26.340 There are also limitations on the time frame in which we're willing to continue doing what

00:09:30.960 we are already doing in terms of the money and material and training and everything else

00:09:36.520 that we have been giving them.

00:09:38.300 This is a messy situation.

00:09:40.780 It's terrible how much life has been lost here.

00:09:43.860 You brought up Clay, and this is true, you go back to the, you know, the Maidan and

00:09:48.960 Yanukovych and the efforts to figure out who's going to be in charge of Ukraine stretching

00:09:58.160 back now over a decade, the West backing one side, Russia backing another.

00:10:03.660 You know, we've been playing with this as some kind of a proxy territory for much longer

00:10:08.920 than there have even been bullets flying over there.

00:10:12.020 So to get this thing to be no longer a festering sore, but to be in a position where there's

00:10:19.840 an agreement going forward, you know, as far as the Russians are concerned, look at the

00:10:24.660 dismemberment that the Soviet Union suffered into all these different countries and all these

00:10:28.980 breakaway republics.

00:10:29.920 For them, the notion that the map is now and forever going to remain the map is laughable,

00:10:38.140 clearly.

00:10:39.180 And they very much feel that way, and that's why they've been willing to go to this extent.

00:10:43.620 And you'll notice that no one even talks anymore about how Putin's going to be overthrown

00:10:46.960 or all this. 0.98

00:10:47.480 People said moronic stuff. 0.96

00:10:49.780 And I mean U.S. senators. 0.99

00:10:51.120 I don't have to name them.

00:10:52.080 I could name them.

00:10:52.720 In the very beginning of this conflict, delusional about how we'd be able to defeat the Russian 0.99

00:10:59.600 war machine in this theater without actually engaging U.S. military forces in the process.

00:11:05.300 So we just want this whole thing to end.

00:11:07.820 I think there's tremendous frustration with it.

00:11:09.280 I think it also, Clay, comes out of fighting in multiple decades-long counterinsurgency GWAT

00:11:17.080 wars in the Mideast that, what did we get?

00:11:19.640 What did we get in Afghanistan exactly?

00:11:22.620 That's a really tough one to answer.

00:11:24.540 What did we get in Iraq?

00:11:26.940 Maybe even, isn't it funny, Afghanistan was the good war. 1.00

00:11:29.700 We basically got nothing.

00:11:30.980 We ended up killing bin Laden in Pakistan, everybody. 1.00

00:11:33.560 So, you know, we didn't really get very much for our Afghanistan efforts, did we?

00:11:37.380 And then you look at Iraq, and, you know, it's marginal right now that it's better now 1.00

00:11:44.920 than it was under Saddam Hussein.

00:11:46.180 I mean, so there's been a lot of reason for us to see what's going on with U.S.

00:11:50.660 foreign policy and military interventions and say, have we learned the lesson, Clay?

00:11:55.480 And I think that's Trump's fundamental guiding principle on this.

00:11:59.280 Have we learned the lesson?

00:12:01.320 Do you think we have?

00:12:02.460 I'm not sure that we have.

00:12:03.860 I'm worried that we haven't, actually.

00:12:05.540 I think that's a very good point.

00:12:06.500 Yes, I think that, unfortunately, there are a lot of people still who think, oh, no, you

00:12:10.840 don't understand, we could do this, and they, you know, I don't know if they've just been

00:12:14.640 playing too much Call of Duty, or I don't get it.

00:12:17.480 I don't know why they would think that this is going to be something that we want to get

00:12:20.580 deeper or more involved in.

00:12:23.080 I do not care who is in charge of Crimea, meaning I do not care enough that I want to sacrifice

00:12:29.280 a single American or any American interest for Crimea, for Donbass, for Luhansk, and Donetsk,

00:12:35.500 and these places.

00:12:36.120 I do not care.

00:12:37.680 Now, that doesn't mean I don't care about the suffering of the people there.

00:12:40.160 I do.

00:12:40.380 But, Clay, I care about the suffering of the people in South Sudan as well, which is going

00:12:43.820 through yet another mass genocide situation in slow motion.

00:12:47.820 But we're not about to land troops there either.

00:12:50.620 Here's, do you agree with me on a positive side?

00:12:53.180 If we can get a ceasefire, I actually feel like Vladimir Putin will not invade Ukraine

00:12:57.880 further while Trump is in office.

00:13:00.040 Do you agree with that, that he respects Trump enough that he won't do it?

00:13:04.240 Yeah, I do.

00:13:04.800 I think that he recognizes that Trump is willing to upset the apple cart.

00:13:10.480 You don't want to tick him off.

00:13:12.180 No one even thought Biden was leading the country, so who cares?

00:13:14.900 It doesn't matter what he says.

00:13:16.680 So the concern is not necessarily the next three years.

00:13:20.260 It's, again, what you and I have been talking about, and I think it's something that everybody

00:13:23.640 out there needs to realize.

00:13:25.000 You can believe that Trump is amazing and doing phenomenal things, and we do.

00:13:29.320 Guys, four years is not enough to fix a lot of what ails the United States.

00:13:35.940 We've got to stick and stack several different wins together, one after the other, and that's

00:13:42.040 why I'm already kind of focused on what happens in 26 next year and what happens in 28, because

00:13:47.180 as enjoyable as every single day is with Trump in office right now, it's a date certain when

00:13:52.740 it comes to a close, and a lot of our enemies out there are going to be sitting around hoping

00:13:57.940 that they can get President Kamala Harris or President Gavin Newsom or President Andrew

00:14:02.380 Cuomo, whoever the Democrats are going to elevate to run.

00:14:06.580 And we've got to stack together a lot of different wins because the problems we have are so substantial.

00:14:12.940 You just heard Clay say it, and it's true.

00:14:15.300 Trump can't fix all of our problems.

00:14:17.060 He's doing great stuff, but there's a lot that is still going to be very challenging over

00:14:22.300 these next four years and are going to be problems for years to come.

00:14:25.580 The debt is very high, maybe even top of that list.

00:14:28.700 So what can you do in the meantime?

00:14:31.180 You've got dollars that are evaporating through inflation day in and day out.

00:14:36.160 And there's nothing that you can do about that, but you can do something to protect

00:14:39.300 the value of your dollars.

00:14:41.760 That's where gold comes in.

00:14:43.460 Gold is a hedge against this kind of persistent inflation.

00:14:48.040 And the good news is you can own gold and have it safely stored in your savings account

00:14:52.020 401k or both.

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00:15:00.260 When you talk with the people at Birch Gold, they'll offer you a copy of a new study on how

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00:15:08.660 To get your free copy, along with Birch Gold's information kit, text my name, Buck, to the

00:15:13.420 number 98-9898 or go online to birchgold.com slash Buck.

00:15:18.440 Again, text my name, B-U-C-K, to 98-9898 or go online to birchgold.com slash Buck.

00:15:27.780 Saving America, one thought at a time.

00:15:32.620 Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.

00:15:35.320 Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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00:16:10.940 Welcome back in.

00:16:11.980 Clay Travis, Buck Sexton Show.

00:16:14.340 We got a lot to talk about with this man, the Senate Majority Leader from South Dakota, John Thune.

00:16:20.000 Appreciate him joining us right now.

00:16:21.800 A big night on Capitol Hill with Trump addressing Congress.

00:16:25.960 We'll get to that in a moment.

00:16:27.140 But, Senator, appreciate you making the time.

00:16:29.220 I wanted to start with this.

00:16:31.040 I still can't believe this is real.

00:16:33.220 Every single Democrat senator opposed a bill that would keep men from competing in women's sports.

00:16:43.100 That is, every Democrat senator that voted.

00:16:47.080 Can you believe this has become a political issue?

00:16:50.320 And given the fact that 79% of Americans agree men should play men's sports, women should play women, including 67% of Democrats, what in the world are Democrats thinking on this bill?

00:17:04.320 Right.

00:17:04.920 Well, good question, guys.

00:17:07.020 I mean, it's mind-blowing to me that this has become a political issue where the Democrats are so tethered to their, I guess, transgender, ideological, political base that they're willing to throw common sense out the window.

00:17:23.340 I mean, this is just, to me, almost incomprehensible that we're even having this conversation.

00:17:28.860 It's, you know, having biological males as the opponents of young women is both fundamentally unfair and it's potentially dangerous, honestly.

00:17:39.380 And so, you know, Coach Tuberville, Tommy Tuberville, the senator from Alabama, led this on the floor.

00:17:45.720 We had a vote on it last night, and you are correct.

00:17:47.940 Every single Democrat to the person voted against it.

00:17:51.860 And it's an 80-20 issue, as you point out, with the American people.

00:17:55.140 So I just, it's, I can't explain it.

00:17:58.140 I'm, I'm, I think they did, there was no lesson learned from the election.

00:18:01.220 I think it's common sense issues like this that the, that the American people expect their leaders to act on, and they, they just block voted against it.

00:18:11.440 What can you say?

00:18:12.620 Senator Thune, when they vote against it, though, are they claiming publicly?

00:18:18.220 I'm just wondering, because this has just happened, and it's hard to believe that they just did this for a lot of us.

00:18:22.520 But, I guess, if you've been paying attention to Democrats, insanity is not new to them.

00:18:26.600 But are they saying there's some problem in the text of the bill, or some procedural, or are they openly just saying, we think dudes should be able to play against ladies, and that's the way it should be?

00:18:38.520 Yeah, I mean, I think that's really, honestly, the substance of it.

00:18:41.100 I, I, you know, I, you could say that the, the bill could be changed this year or that way, but it's, there's, it's really very straightforward.

00:18:47.400 And, you know, I mean, and there was a day when Democrats would have been, you know, quick to defend Title IX, and, and here we are.

00:18:55.260 But, you know, I mean, this is, again, I had a, I mentioned this on the floor yesterday, but I had a business professor in graduate school who used to say some things are just intuitively obvious.

00:19:07.700 And, and I think this is one of those things that's intuitively obvious to people.

00:19:11.100 And I, you know, something I obviously feel strongly about, I'm a, as a father of two women who played sports, and, you know, one of whom is in our high school and college hall of fame.

00:19:20.440 I just, I can't imagine a world where you would have guys competing against women and taking away opportunities, not only to excel in their, in their field and their sport, but also for college scholarships and things that, this has serious downstream consequences.

00:19:36.280 And, and, but the Democrats, on a substance level, on a political level, seem to have made a decision that they would rather defend, again, an ideology that is completely out of step with the American people.

00:19:50.300 We're talking to Senator John Thune.

00:19:53.380 Explain to us, because I'm curious myself, I don't know, why a majority of senators voting for this, which Republicans have, and which marshaled itself last night,

00:20:05.020 is not enough to make this a law.

00:20:08.200 The House passed it.

00:20:09.280 Only two, I believe, Democrats voted for it in the House, by the way.

00:20:13.460 Zero senators in the, voted for this on the Democrat side.

00:20:18.860 But you needed to get to 60.

00:20:20.840 Why?

00:20:21.480 Explain that for our audience.

00:20:23.480 Yeah, I know it's hard.

00:20:24.580 It's an inside baseball thing here.

00:20:26.140 It's, it's unique to the United States Senate, but under, under our rules in the Senate, and this is kind of the system that the founders handed us,

00:20:33.740 it takes a super majority to do almost anything consequential.

00:20:38.560 And, and this is, so it's 60 votes in the Senate is required to move legislation with very few exceptions.

00:20:45.540 And one of the things we're working on right now, and you've probably heard, your, your listeners have probably heard too,

00:20:50.560 the president talk about budget reconciliation.

00:20:52.680 When you have unified control of the government, in other words, the House, the Senate, and the White House,

00:20:57.340 there are things you can do at 51 votes in the Senate that you otherwise wouldn't be able to do through a procedure that is,

00:21:03.240 again, unique to the Senate.

00:21:04.300 But on most issues, and this is an issue where, you know, again, it's a, it's a bill that we put in front of the Senate.

00:21:11.540 And this, honestly, this was just a motion to proceed to the bill.

00:21:15.520 This wasn't even the, this was just to get on it, just to debate it.

00:21:18.980 They voted against even having to debate about it.

00:21:21.020 And, and that takes 60 as well.

00:21:23.320 So it's a 60 vote threshold.

00:21:24.500 And I know that's for most Americans, everybody's like, well, isn't 51 a majority in the Senate?

00:21:29.380 The answer is yes.

00:21:30.500 But the rules of the Senate and the history and heritage of the Senate is such that it requires a super majority on most legislation.

00:21:38.040 So what can you hopefully get done through that reconciliation process as some of the top agenda items?

00:21:45.640 We've seen this, this slew of executive orders coming out from Trump.

00:21:50.140 A lot of them we've been talking about here on the show.

00:21:52.140 We think they're doing great things.

00:21:54.340 Of course, we all also know that executive orders can be overturned by the next administration if, in fact, it's a Democrat.

00:22:01.320 So legislation matters.

00:22:04.140 And we don't have a super majority.

00:22:06.600 So, Senator Thune, you're the majority leader.

00:22:08.540 What are some of the top things you're hoping can get through the Senate, the House,

00:22:12.280 and get signed by the president using that reconciliation process?

00:22:15.780 It's a long list, and we are going to do everything we can and push the limits of what's allowable.

00:22:23.720 You know, there are limitations on how it can be used, but the Democrats expanded the scope of reconciliation.

00:22:31.060 They passed two major, major, you know, $3 trillion worth of new spending in two reconciliation bills when they had unified control of the government,

00:22:40.460 when they had House, Senate, White House.

00:22:41.740 So they've given us a template for how to do it.

00:22:44.460 Obviously, we have a very different agenda than what they wanted to do, but we're united.

00:22:48.480 We want to enact all of President Trump's priorities as quickly as possible, and that deals with the border, securing the border.

00:22:53.800 It's bolstering our national defense.

00:22:55.800 It's restoring American energy dominance and preventing a $4 trillion tax increase at the end of the year on the American people.

00:23:02.020 So, you know, we believe, and I say Republicans believe, and I think the president does too, and hopefully the House will get there,

00:23:09.580 to make these tax cuts permanent so we don't have to go back and deal with it again down the road.

00:23:16.320 But we're here, and the Senate's ready to enact as much of the president's agenda as we can through budget reconciliation,

00:23:22.700 and that entails all the things I just mentioned.

00:23:26.420 And I hope that as we work through this process, we will be as aggressive as we possibly can to use that opportunity

00:23:34.860 at a 51-vote threshold in the Senate as opposed to 60 to get as much of the president's agenda done as possible.

00:23:40.980 So what's the time frame to get that done?

00:23:43.400 We've heard a variety of different aspects out there.

00:23:46.000 I heard early, hey, we hope to get this done by Easter.

00:23:48.660 When do you think these bills in particular dealing with tax cuts and the budget will be complete as you look at the calendar?

00:23:57.300 I think Easter's probably ambitious, I would say, but I think that as we look at kind of the May time frame,

00:24:04.400 obviously we've got a deadline week after next, March 14th.

00:24:07.880 We've got to deal with all the crap the Democrats left us, all the pileup of spending.

00:24:12.660 They didn't do any spending bills last year, and so we're up against this deadline, 0.95

00:24:15.720 and we've got to fund the government or the government shuts down.

00:24:17.860 So that's the immediate concern.

00:24:19.560 But then the reconciliation bill starts with a budget resolution.

00:24:23.020 Both the House and Senate have to pass the same one.

00:24:25.620 And right now we've passed budget resolutions, but they're different.

00:24:28.320 But we'll align those, and then we will both act on it.

00:24:32.920 And then that creates, that unlocks reconciliation.

00:24:35.580 But reconciliation is another separate big piece of legislation.

00:24:40.580 And so it's really kind of a two-step process, and it takes some time.

00:24:43.380 And these are complicated issues.

00:24:44.700 I mean, the president wants some things done in tax policy.

00:24:47.600 We've got a lot of senators and House members who want to see things done in tax policy

00:24:51.260 that are different than what's in front of us in terms of just a strict extension of the current bill

00:24:56.940 or the current tax policy.

00:24:58.460 But there are all these things as we move through and these moving parts.

00:25:02.660 And ultimately, I tell people when they ask me, can you do this, can you do that,

00:25:06.540 that in the end it really comes down to the two numbers that matter, 218 and 51.

00:25:11.080 You've got to have 218 in the House.

00:25:12.620 You've got to have a simple majority there.

00:25:14.420 And even under reconciliation, you still have to have 51 votes in the Senate.

00:25:17.700 So that's the math of it.

00:25:20.000 And as we think through what we can do and can't do, it's a function of trying to figure out

00:25:25.680 how do we get this thing in a shape, whatever this bill looks like,

00:25:30.700 that it can secure the necessary 218 in the House and 51 in the Senate.

00:25:35.040 We're talking to Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

00:25:37.420 What do you expect tonight?

00:25:38.860 Let's shift gears to Trump's address tonight.

00:25:41.660 What do you expect to hear from the president?

00:25:43.540 What should our listeners expect to hear?

00:25:46.180 And what sort of reception do you expect to see from Democrats?

00:25:50.020 I was reading this morning that they're planning all sorts, potentially,

00:25:53.580 of outrageous and outlandish disruptions during the midst of this speech, potentially.

00:25:59.800 What do you expect?

00:26:01.380 Yeah, I mean, I think they will.

00:26:02.860 The Democrats are, I mean, they're still in the stages of grief.

00:26:08.420 And they're really, they're trying to find a message.

00:26:13.000 They're trying to get some traction with something.

00:26:15.280 And so far, all it is, is whatever he's for, I'm going to be against.

00:26:18.940 I think that, you know, Democrats right now are afflicted with a really,

00:26:22.300 really bad case of Trump derangement syndrome.

00:26:24.740 And so my assumption is that when they come tonight, they're going to try and be disruptive.

00:26:29.780 And but, you know, at the end of the day, I think the American people, that's not what they want to see.

00:26:35.080 I don't think they want to see a bunch of lefty ideologues who can't even bring themselves to vote to keep boys out of girls sports,

00:26:44.420 you know, creating a ruckus and disruptive to the president of the United States,

00:26:48.820 who I think will be there to talk about after four years of, you know, rising costs,

00:26:53.300 lawlessness at the southern border, weakening of America on the world stage.

00:26:57.220 You know, you'll be talking about turning the page and getting our country back on track.

00:27:00.640 And I think it's a the president has a great opportunity to present to the American people how things are going to be in his second term

00:27:06.560 and what his priorities are relative to the last four years under Biden.

00:27:10.060 And you can just look already at what they've done at the southern border.

00:27:12.820 I mean, the top issue in the last election and this administration has been returning order in a short amount of time.

00:27:19.160 Think about the month of February.

00:27:20.860 There were fewer than 9000 crossings at the southern border under Trump.

00:27:25.120 That was a typical day under under Biden.

00:27:28.560 I mean, this is this is how dramatically things have changed already as a result of President Trump's leadership.

00:27:35.540 And we want to be good partners for him and do as much as we can to to get his agenda across the finish line,

00:27:42.020 which is why we worked really hard to get his cabinet confirmed as quickly as possible.

00:27:46.260 So it's I expect he you know, he got a decisive mandate from the American people in November.

00:27:51.200 And I think he's going to be talking about not only what he's already done,

00:27:55.580 but what he's going to do in the four years he has available to him to to really change the direction of this country in a way that gets it back on track.

00:28:03.940 Majority Leader Thune, appreciate you making the time for us on Clay and Buck.

00:28:06.840 We'll talk to you again soon.

00:28:08.480 Thanks. Thanks, Clay. Thanks, Buck. Talk to you. Bye now.

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00:29:28.060 Making America great again isn't just one man.

00:29:31.680 It's many.

00:29:32.680 The Team 47 Podcast.

00:29:35.200 Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck Podcast Feed.

00:29:38.680 Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:29:42.840 We are joined by Uncle Bill.

00:29:44.880 Very exciting.

00:29:45.860 Bill O'Reilly, best-selling author and commentator.

00:29:49.440 No spin news.

00:29:50.440 Go check out what he's got there.

00:29:52.560 And also many, many bestsellers.

00:29:55.640 Too many to read off on radio.

00:29:57.160 But the last one was Confronting the Presidents, and you all know the Killing Series very well.

00:30:03.040 He's also got the Three Americans Tour on, kicking off March 30th in Long Island.

00:30:09.280 So, Bill, tell us, let's jump into this, actually, because this was news to Clay and to me.

00:30:13.340 It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun.

00:30:15.380 You, Stephen A., and Chris Cuomo all under one roof, all talking to the folks.

00:30:22.120 What's going on?

00:30:22.740 Yeah, you guys got to get out.

00:30:24.540 I got tickets for you if you want to make the trek up to Long Island.

00:30:29.160 It's an experiment.

00:30:30.500 It's my production company.

00:30:31.940 And as you may know, I produced the history tour with Donald Trump, the Dennis Miller O'Reilly shows.

00:30:38.580 We got a big operation that does live stuff.

00:30:41.460 And I said, you know, I wonder if we could put three really different guys together on stage and draw a crowd that is dissimilar.

00:30:55.120 Because today, everybody's talking to the choir, you know.

00:30:59.080 And so I put this tour together.

00:31:02.460 It's going to be a blast.

00:31:03.920 I mean, the show's going to be fabulous.

00:31:05.300 And we'll have heavy security, so brawls break out in the audience.

00:31:10.920 We'll be able to get that under control fast.

00:31:13.620 But I'm looking forward to it.

00:31:15.240 You guys may have seen Stephen A. and Cuomo and me on News Nation.

00:31:20.580 We will be on tonight on the pre-Trump speech.

00:31:25.080 So it's a good crew.

00:31:26.760 Those guys are, you know, I see it differently than they do.

00:31:30.080 But we all have a sense of humor, and we're respectful.

00:31:34.440 Bill, appreciate you coming on.

00:31:37.340 I'm super intrigued to see how this conversation goes.

00:31:41.000 I'm curious on this.

00:31:42.680 How would you assess Stephen A.'s motivations?

00:31:46.120 Because for much of his career, he was a straight sports guy.

00:31:50.700 And not to say that he didn't have interest elsewhere, but he didn't really step aggressively into the political arena.

00:31:57.220 I would say he's been on with me.

00:32:00.140 We've done some conversations.

00:32:01.700 Last couple of years, suddenly that has changed substantially.

00:32:06.040 Now, maybe you can say, hey, 2024 is just kind of impossible to avoid the political arena.

00:32:11.580 But to a large extent, he had tried to avoid it.

00:32:14.160 Why do you think he's changed?

00:32:16.020 Yeah, Terry Bradshaw avoids it.

00:32:18.920 So, you know, look, he's 57 years old.

00:32:22.500 He's a very, very smart guy.

00:32:24.620 Anyway, he's at the top of the heap for sports.

00:32:28.280 How many, you know, Cleveland Cavalier games can you call?

00:32:32.120 I mean, so I think you get a little bored with it.

00:32:36.180 Yeah.

00:32:36.320 And he has an opportunity to get into public affairs, public policy, because he's so recognizable and articulate.

00:32:45.760 And he's taken advantage of that.

00:32:47.140 And this happened before.

00:32:50.160 People have, you know, melded sports with news.

00:32:55.060 And I think it's a smart move on his part.

00:32:58.740 And he's so articulate that now the Washington Post and all these people are going, well, maybe Stephen will run for president.

00:33:05.240 Because the Democratic Party don't have anybody, doesn't have anybody to run for president in four years.

00:33:11.320 Or maybe it'll be Stephen A.

00:33:12.660 And I told him on the air, I said, that's because of Trump.

00:33:16.920 Trump opened up the presidency for everybody.

00:33:21.060 And so Stephen A.'s got a lot of traction with all this.

00:33:25.180 And we'll see what he's got on March 30th, you know, because he's coming up against me.

00:33:30.080 Bill, if I could direct your attention here for a second, I'm really curious what your take is on all this tariff stuff.

00:33:38.000 We haven't really dove into it yet today on the show.

00:33:42.420 I mean, we mentioned at the top, but we haven't really done our full segment on it.

00:33:45.200 So just by way of prepping everybody for what you're going to say, you got Justin Trudeau, who's talking tough and saying that Trump wants to take over all of Canada, destroy their economy.

00:33:56.440 The Mexico tariffs, China tariffs, Canada tariffs, all this stuff.

00:34:00.500 What do you make of this whole thing?

00:34:02.040 Because I think it's tough to keep up with a lot of the arguments and a lot of the specifics.

00:34:08.220 Well, I know exactly what's going on because on January 2nd, I sat in a cabinet meeting with President Trump and six advisors.

00:34:17.400 And they discussed tariffs, so I know what's going on there.

00:34:21.960 It's risky.

00:34:22.720 In stock markets down significantly, people don't really understand what tariffs are.

00:34:31.940 With Mexico, you're basically saying you better knock it off or we're going to break your economy. 1.00

00:34:36.540 And I understand that and I support that.

00:34:38.700 Kind of a little bit different.

00:34:40.280 I'm not sure what the ire is.

00:34:44.140 Now, in the cabinet meeting that I attended, and that was at President Trump's invitation, there wasn't a clear definition of why Canada and certain EU countries are going to be punished by tariffs.

00:35:02.940 The overarching is that all of these countries take advantage of the United States economically, which is true.

00:35:10.320 So we buy a lot more gear from them than they buy from us, and their governments make it difficult for us to sell American products in a lot of these countries.

00:35:25.620 That really torques Trump off.

00:35:28.840 He wants that to go away.

00:35:30.400 But in the meantime, he risks higher prices, and that'll be a disaster for him if that happens.

00:35:37.920 And, you know, the trade wars, the retaliation.

00:35:41.640 Little Justin Trudeau is out strutting around tonight, today, about what we're going to do X, Y, and Z.

00:35:47.900 I expect this will all calm down.

00:35:50.740 But there is damage being done to the economy now, and I believe President Trump knows that.

00:35:59.220 He's a gambler.

00:36:00.400 He wants better deals, but you've got to watch this on an almost hourly basis.

00:36:07.100 Bill, I agree with you on tariffs.

00:36:09.880 We'll get into that a little bit on the show.

00:36:12.400 But how would you analyze what happened Friday with Zelensky?

00:36:17.920 You've known Trump for a long time.

00:36:19.940 I would even bet that sometimes you may have gotten a little bit heated with President Trump yourself over different perspectives that you guys may have gotten, you know, crosswise on a little bit.

00:36:32.960 One thing Trump always shows is the guy doesn't hold a grudge, which is so rare in politics, it almost doesn't exist.

00:36:40.040 What is going on here?

00:36:41.600 What was your takeaway from Friday and the subsequent reactions to that?

00:36:46.800 Okay.

00:36:47.520 So, again, I'm right in the middle of this because I know exactly what's happening here.

00:36:53.320 And you're correct.

00:36:54.140 I mean, when I criticize President Trump, I get a caller at Tech.

00:36:59.040 I got a call in the middle of a football game at Tottenham Stadium in London in October, and he was actually yelling at me.

00:37:06.280 And I said, do you realize 80,000 people are hearing this call?

00:37:09.520 Because I had the phone on speaker because I'm in a stadium watching the Jets play the Vikings, and he's yelling at me.

00:37:18.320 I don't care if you're unfair, you know, that kind of thing.

00:37:21.140 But, you know, a week later, then he's seeking my counsel.

00:37:24.700 And you're right.

00:37:25.820 He's not a vindictive man when it's policy.

00:37:29.440 When it gets personal, though, watch out.

00:37:33.560 Now, Zelensky has not crossed into the personal realm.

00:37:37.400 So don't be surprised if tonight some deal is announced or a few days from now, and then the big Z will be the greatest guy.

00:37:47.480 Because that's what Trump does.

00:37:49.320 If he wins and you give him what he wants, then you are the greatest guy.

00:37:53.740 And we've seen it time and time and time again.

00:37:56.020 Now, Zelensky, he's immature.

00:37:57.820 That's number one.

00:37:58.800 Everybody listening to Clay and Buck has got to know that.

00:38:02.080 He's immature.

00:38:03.740 And by that I mean that he doesn't – he's not able to control his emotions.

00:38:09.660 And if you're not able to control your emotions, you're immature.

00:38:12.500 So he walks into the White House, and he's all set to sign this deal.

00:38:17.680 He had breakfast with 11 senators at the Hay-Adams Hotel in D.C.

00:38:22.040 I knew about that.

00:38:23.480 And this which drove me crazy when the story broke and these pundits go out and said it was a setup.

00:38:28.440 Remember that?

00:38:29.660 Yeah.

00:38:30.200 I knew that was a lie.

00:38:31.700 And I knew that anybody doing any research on that would have found out what I found out, that there was a big breakfast, 11 senators, Republicans and Democrats.

00:38:45.900 And it was, look, just go along with Donald Trump.

00:38:50.320 Do not challenge him, particularly in front of the press.

00:38:54.360 That was the advice.

00:38:55.140 But every single senator gave him the same advice, and he didn't take it because he got emotional.

00:39:02.900 And I understand that.

00:39:04.360 His country is suffering.

00:39:05.960 I believe that Zelensky wants to do well by his country. 0.97

00:39:09.660 I don't believe he's a corrupt midget or whatever they call him. 1.00

00:39:12.160 I don't believe that. 0.67

00:39:12.820 But I don't think he's at the status right now where he understands the big picture.

00:39:20.460 He's immature, and he will not accept the fact that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia.

00:39:28.380 Period.

00:39:29.780 They cannot win.

00:39:31.500 No matter how many billions of dollars we send them, an EU sends them, they can't win.

00:39:37.900 So you want this to go on ad infinitum?

00:39:41.340 Then you strut around.

00:39:43.140 You want to settle it?

00:39:44.520 You're going to have to give up a little bit of territory, maybe 8%, 9% of your country.

00:39:49.640 Bill, can I ask you, because I think this is really important.

00:39:52.820 The people that, you know, you've articulated this well.

00:39:55.780 Clay and I have talked about this.

00:39:57.220 We, you, me, Clay, we all see this in the same way, which is, I think, just reality-based.

00:40:02.660 The opposition to this, is it just opposition to Trump getting a win?

00:40:08.840 Is it just the emotions of supporting Ukraine and putting the little flag on your Facebook page is too exciting for people to give up?

00:40:15.680 Because it seems to me if Ukraine can't win, and if we don't want to keep paying for this for years ad infinitum, as you say, what is the alternative to what Trump is trying to accomplish right now?

00:40:25.780 Look, when you see a guy like Murphy, the senator, go out and say what he said about Trump as, you know, part of the Kremlin or whatever, Ukraine has nothing to do with that.

00:40:37.580 Murphy is going out saying, this is what Murphy is saying.

00:40:43.280 I want to destroy Donald Trump, and I'm going to use anything and everything to try to do that.

00:40:49.680 Murphy doesn't know anything about Ukraine. 0.94

00:40:51.180 He has no solution to it.

00:40:53.860 I mean, if Murphy sat across from me, do you guys know what would happen?

00:40:59.560 Remember Barney Frank?

00:41:01.800 Oh, yeah.

00:41:02.240 Okay.

00:41:02.960 I do.

00:41:03.920 All right.

00:41:04.680 I mean, it would take me three minutes to reduce him to a puddle because he doesn't know anything, but he uses this, and so do many others, to try to destroy Trump.

00:41:20.340 Not about Ukraine.

00:41:22.140 It's about getting Trump.

00:41:23.680 I mean, that is just so cynical, even for Democrats.

00:41:26.040 You've got people just in a meat grinder, dying in huge numbers on both sides.

00:41:30.580 You've got to call Murphy up, get him on tomorrow, and see what the solution is.

00:41:33.120 Come on.

00:41:33.960 You're right about this.

00:41:35.340 Of course he won't come on.

00:41:36.300 Of course he won't.

00:41:37.340 Come on.

00:41:37.720 None of these guys will come on and actually answer questions because, to your point, we would slice and dice them to such an extent that they would be done.

00:41:45.880 And you don't even have to think about it.

00:41:46.980 All you have to do is ask one question.

00:41:49.180 What's the alternative?

00:41:50.660 How would you settle this?

00:41:53.000 And it's Democrats.

00:41:54.460 And that Dana Cash on CNN, I used to respect her.

00:41:57.400 She's the one that put him on.

00:42:00.180 And she didn't even ask him that question.

00:42:03.660 By the way, Bill.

00:42:04.940 CNN is going down a drain.

00:42:06.400 That's why nobody watches it.

00:42:08.560 No, they have totally and completely collapsed.

00:42:11.060 Question for you that has nothing to do with all the serious things.

00:42:14.220 You mentioned that you were over in London watching a football game.

00:42:17.620 I've done that, too.

00:42:18.440 Pretty fun.

00:42:19.400 Actual American football, not soccer.

00:42:22.240 Where should Aaron Rodgers go?

00:42:24.520 What if he called you for advice instead of President Trump?

00:42:27.660 What would you tell him to do?

00:42:29.040 There's talk that he's going to go to the Giants now.

00:42:32.040 Nah, he's not going to the Giants.

00:42:33.960 He's through in New York.

00:42:36.040 If I were Mr. Rodgers, who does have some skills left, you've got to go to a team that can protect you.

00:42:45.380 And I probably would look at some of the West Coast teams.

00:42:50.920 He lives in Malibu, which is not a great place to live right now unless you have giant fire retardants. 1.00

00:42:58.160 Yes.

00:42:58.960 But I would probably go to Vegas because Brady owns it, part of it.

00:43:06.500 That's where I'd probably go.

00:43:07.680 So you take a couple of guys with you from the Jets, receivers, and you pray that the Raider offensive line can keep you upstanding.

00:43:19.520 You know, you've got four seconds to throw the ball.

00:43:22.320 He can't move.

00:43:23.700 You need four seconds.

00:43:24.960 If he gets four, he can throw it.

00:43:26.940 So that's probably what I would do.

00:43:29.420 Bill, I'm actually really curious to hear how this thing goes.

00:43:32.260 We'll have to get you on with Stephen A. and Chris Cuomo to hear how it all goes when you guys get together.

00:43:39.480 It sounds super interesting.

00:43:41.040 Is the tour going to do some extra cities, or is it just out in Long Island?

00:43:45.200 I might do it.

00:43:47.020 We've got to see how this works.

00:43:48.800 I'm shooting it, so I'll send you some clips.

00:43:53.740 We've got a three-camera shoot on it.

00:43:56.000 And I've got to see, because we're all very busy.

00:44:01.380 And, you know, look, I'm 95 years old.

00:44:04.460 I mean, how long can I do this for a country business?

00:44:08.500 But if it goes really well, then I'll do some other cities.

00:44:13.920 But it just depends on how it shakes.

00:44:16.700 So, again, it's March 30th, Sunday afternoon, 3, because there will be old people coming to see me, 0.72

00:44:22.760 and I don't want to keep them up too late.

00:44:23.920 And I promise this will be one of the best shows that you have ever seen.

00:44:30.820 It's better than Taylor Swift.

00:44:33.380 Okay?

00:44:34.720 I would be there, Bill, but I'm expecting a baby within days of the event,

00:44:38.220 so I think I've got to hunker down.

00:44:40.720 But Clay has no excuse, and he loves Long Island.

00:44:43.920 I've got to be honest with you, Bill.

00:44:45.260 I like you, but I think I'd rather go see Taylor Swift.

00:44:48.520 Oh, you're out of your mind. 1.00

00:44:50.200 You're crazy. 1.00

00:44:51.500 This is so much better. 0.99

00:44:52.860 And, you know, I may sing.

00:44:55.260 I may wobble a few tunes.

00:44:59.080 And I'm glad you're having the baby, because my kids, best thing I've ever done,

00:45:05.060 my son just got into Georgetown.

00:45:07.560 Awesome.

00:45:08.220 Congrats.

00:45:08.860 In this program.

00:45:10.320 He's going to be president someday.

00:45:13.380 We would not be surprised.

00:45:16.180 Is he also 6'7"?

00:45:18.600 Because that helps in politics.

00:45:19.860 He's 6'5", he's a lacrosse player, but the most important thing, he's honest and he's

00:45:26.940 kind.

00:45:28.420 And his personality is not at all like mine, which makes him one lucky guy.

00:45:34.080 Bill O'Reilly, everybody.

00:45:35.360 Bill, thank you so much as always.

00:45:36.920 Let's talk again before the event and make sure everybody, we've got a big Long Island

00:45:40.640 listenership.

00:45:41.620 Let's make sure we get a lot of folks out there, because then Clay's going to make you go to

00:45:44.620 Nashville, and, you know, we're going to take this thing on the road.

00:45:48.100 Thanks.

00:45:48.340 For sure.

00:45:49.080 Appreciate it.

00:45:50.020 Bye.

00:45:51.000 That's Bill O'Reilly.

00:45:52.180 You know, if you want to get a really good education, he mentioned that his son's going

00:45:57.100 to be at Georgetown, but you don't have to go to an Ivy League institution or an elite

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00:46:42.920 The Team 47 Podcast.

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00:47:20.420 Listen to the Honest Talk Podcast on iHeartRadio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

00:47:24.460 All right.

00:47:26.480 So welcome back to Clay and Buck.

00:47:27.920 We had mentioned this.

00:47:30.280 We'll just spend a couple minutes on this.

00:47:31.980 Then we're going to get into the tariffs and the big news.

00:47:33.680 But I just I think it is interesting because we both watch this show because our wives like 1.00

00:47:38.060 the show and it's good enough that we enjoy it, too.

00:47:40.760 White Lotus on HBO.

00:47:43.400 And there was a scene where these three you can tell there are three women of means in 1.00

00:47:50.760 there.

00:47:52.000 I'd say they're all about 45 ish.

00:47:54.600 Right.

00:47:54.860 Maybe I think that's about 45.

00:47:57.140 And they figure out while they're in this five star resort in Thailand, which is where

00:48:03.360 the whole show is set.

00:48:04.500 And they figure out.

00:48:05.500 Wait a second.

00:48:06.580 One's from L.A.

00:48:07.440 One's from New York.

00:48:08.180 One is from Austin, Texas.

00:48:09.700 Now, Texas, obviously, red, but Austin, you never know.

00:48:13.600 This is how the exchange goes.

00:48:15.240 Play it.

00:48:15.760 I didn't know you went to church.

00:48:17.560 Oh, yeah.

00:48:18.980 We go every Sunday.

00:48:21.580 Yeah.

00:48:22.100 Ever since we moved to Austin.

00:48:23.820 Is it like a real Texan church, like with Bible thumpers? 1.00

00:48:28.320 Well, the people are more conservative than like L.A. people or like New York.

00:48:35.580 Is that weird for you?

00:48:37.600 Why would it be weird?

00:48:38.540 I don't know if I was just around a bunch of Texans who voted for Trump.

00:48:42.340 I guess I'd just feel a little alienated.

00:48:45.160 They're nice people.

00:48:46.700 Really good families.

00:48:48.380 Cool.

00:48:48.860 But do you ever talk politics with them?

00:48:50.780 Sometimes.

00:48:51.880 I'm going to get awkward?

00:48:53.240 Why would it?

00:48:54.320 Because.

00:48:55.460 Wait.

00:48:56.220 Are you a Republican?

00:48:57.820 No.

00:48:58.940 Oh.

00:48:59.660 Okay.

00:49:00.320 I'm an independent.

00:49:02.180 But Dave is an independent.

00:49:05.880 Mm-hmm.

00:49:06.820 Since when?

00:49:07.620 You didn't vote for Trump, though, did you?

00:49:12.500 Are we really going to talk about Trump tonight?

00:49:15.780 I just love this whole scene, Buck.

00:49:18.020 Like, I have had versions of that.

00:49:20.740 Like, that is exactly how it goes.

00:49:22.840 The libs keep digging in, digging a little more.

00:49:25.680 They're a little outraged, but they want that reassurance.

00:49:28.180 Wait, wait, wait.

00:49:29.300 I've been, I mean, I've been on first dates where it was like that, except it was, wait,

00:49:33.820 you work, you work for Glenn Beck?

00:49:36.240 Like, that Glenn Beck?

00:49:38.200 What do you, do you like guns?

00:49:39.760 And I'm like, yes, that's Glenn Beck, and I love guns.

00:49:41.980 And that was the end.

00:49:42.720 There was no second date.

00:49:44.380 I bet there are hundreds of thousands of people out there listening to us right now, maybe

00:49:50.420 even millions, that have had a conversation that is very similar to that, because 12 million

00:49:58.020 more people voted for Trump in 2024 than 2016.

00:50:02.540 A lot of people have come on board the Trump train, and I think women in particular probably

00:50:08.220 are responding to that, because you got the LA, and let me say this, Buck, this is why

00:50:13.720 I think this is significant.

00:50:14.980 This is probably the most popular show for entertainment people in LA and New York.

00:50:21.300 Would you guess, like, everybody in the entertainment industry in those two cities watching this

00:50:25.220 show, and they aren't playing, now, Austin, Texas, not the, I think a lot of you out there

00:50:30.300 are like, Austin, you know.

00:50:31.860 She should have been from Dallas or Houston. 0.99

00:50:34.240 Austin would be, that would throw you off, yeah.

00:50:36.900 But, again, the vibe read is not perfect, but what I thought was interesting is, and there's

00:50:42.660 a later scene where the women are talking about this other woman, and they're, like, gossiping

00:50:48.100 about her.

00:50:48.500 How in the world could she be voting Trump? 1.00

00:50:50.060 Now, they're not playing the Trump voter as the cheap laughs, stupid, redneck, unintelligent 1.00

00:50:58.560 moron. 1.00

00:50:58.680 They're not going Tom Hanks from SNL. 1.00

00:51:01.440 That's right.

00:51:01.960 Where he really, he really just, it was unfunny and took cheap shots, and they're not even, 0.95

00:51:07.100 it's just pathetic, because the cheap shots don't even land, and it just showed that he's 0.89

00:51:11.740 living in some alternate political reality. 0.97

00:51:14.160 But, no, that's what's so interesting, is the Trump voter woman, if you watch this scene,

00:51:18.780 and, you know, all through the women are, like, you know, they're very attractive, they're 1.00

00:51:21.880 very well-dressed, right?

00:51:22.780 So, there's no...

00:51:23.200 They're wealthy.

00:51:23.940 They're very successful, educated women. 0.76

00:51:26.620 But the Trump voter is the most, at least in this exchange, now there's more episodes 0.98

00:51:31.160 to come, and for all we know, she could have, like, a pill addiction and be crazy. 1.00

00:51:34.180 You know, this is what happens on the show.

00:51:34.880 And, by the way, she could end up being the killer. 0.99

00:51:36.480 They could still make her, you know, the awful, deranged Trump supporter. 1.00

00:51:40.280 But, they nailed the dynamic of Democrats, for a long time now, think, in any social

00:51:50.000 situation, in any, whether you're in the workplace, whether you're at a, you know, a

00:51:55.060 friend's barbecue, a cocktail party, if they are surprised to find a Trump voter or a Republican,

00:52:01.300 which, same thing now, but in the midst, they think that they're allowed to take some kind

00:52:06.520 of umbrage and put you through some interrogation, whereas on the other side, it's like, yeah,

00:52:11.800 you voted for Kamala.

00:52:12.820 Like, sorry, you don't have good judgment, but enjoy your burger.

00:52:15.460 Like, we don't care.

00:52:16.420 Yeah, that's right.

00:52:17.560 That's right.

00:52:18.080 And this reminds me of Adam Carolla, and I guarantee you there's a lot of our listeners

00:52:22.400 in California right now that are nodding along in a big way.

00:52:26.880 What I found, and Carolla mentioned this on the air with us, Buck, is that there are a

00:52:32.680 lot of people who are working on shows, the grips, the camera guys, the set builders, who

00:52:39.940 will come up and say privately, like, man, thank you for what you're saying.

00:52:45.020 Like, you nailed it, right?

00:52:46.220 Like, in other words, the people standing in front of the camera oftentimes are more outspoken

00:52:52.400 politically on the left.

00:52:53.640 A lot of the people that put these shows on that make them physically possible are actually

00:52:59.640 Trump supporters.

00:53:00.540 And the other thing about this is, increasingly, Buck, a lot of people who stand in front of

00:53:07.860 the camera are still kind of hiding, but they're also starting to take, like, that half step

00:53:15.220 out where, we mentioned this with, like, comedians.

00:53:18.160 There are a lot of comedians out there that are Trump-supporting comedians.

00:53:22.880 A lot of the people that you watch and like.

00:53:25.180 But they don't really want, and I get it.

00:53:26.920 If my job was to talk to 100% of people and make them laugh, I wouldn't want to come out

00:53:33.040 stridently, necessarily, on one political side of the equation or not, if I had everybody.

00:53:38.820 This is my argument with Michael Jordan back in the day.

00:53:41.580 Republicans buy sneakers, too.

00:53:43.320 Why were you not political?

00:53:44.600 Like, I'm a great basketball player.

00:53:46.480 Why would I want 50% of the population to like me less as a basketball player because of my

00:53:52.700 politics?

00:53:53.140 It doesn't make any sense to me.

00:53:55.280 But I do think this is a super popular show, and it is indicative of a major vibe shift.

00:54:01.660 And I don't know how many of you watch it, but I guarantee you, if you're in New York City

00:54:06.200 or L.A. media entertainment circles, this is probably the show that they watch more than

00:54:12.760 any other.

00:54:13.880 And it struck me on Sunday.

00:54:15.500 It struck Buck, too.

00:54:16.400 We wanted to play that for you, even if you don't watch it, as what the vibe shift can feel like.

00:54:20.860 You know, five years ago, or maybe even two years ago, maybe even six months ago, the

00:54:28.200 Trump voter in a pop culture context on an HBO show would have been, you know, yeah, like,

00:54:35.380 I don't know anything, but I just love America and have my flag.

00:54:39.620 You know, it would have been mockery.

00:54:41.620 It would have been much more likely to be, oh, aren't they their right to be outraged that

00:54:47.580 this woman voted for Trump or that, you know, we're led to believe she voted for Trump.

00:54:50.920 Whereas now, what it exposed a little more was these libs, these left wingers, are living

00:54:59.380 in this delusion where they don't realize that more than half the country voted for Trump,

00:55:04.520 and they probably know a lot of people who voted for Trump.

00:55:07.060 Not only that, too.

00:55:08.440 Some of you out there always say, well, I don't know why you watch a show.

00:55:11.480 Like, I watch lots of shows where people might hate my politics, because I think I can appreciate

00:55:18.900 somebody's talent in something while also recognizing that they may not have the same opinion as me.

00:55:25.440 I don't presume that everybody is going to think the exact same as me.

00:55:29.500 Doesn't mean I can't like a movie or a television show or a sport, for that matter.

00:55:35.700 But I do think that this is emblematic of a recognition that there are a lot of people

00:55:44.040 like you and me, Buck, out there.

00:55:45.380 And I bet there's a ton of women who love White Lotus, too, that almost, in fact, I go into

00:55:50.820 my mentions, I bet you've had a conversation almost identical to what those three women just 0.99

00:55:55.840 had.

00:55:56.380 At some point over the last eight years, I think huge majorities of the women listening to 0.79

00:56:02.180 us right now, who voted Trump, have had a conversation like that with their girlfriends.

00:56:07.040 I think more women than men. 1.00

00:56:09.460 Speaking of women who drink too much Chardonnay, Justin Trudeau.

00:56:14.340 Here he is.

00:56:15.300 That is an amazing transition.

00:56:16.900 Thank you.

00:56:17.640 Here he is on the tariff issue.

00:56:20.360 He was in Ottawa, Canada today.

00:56:24.160 And he's very upset.

00:56:27.000 He is not having a good one here.

00:56:29.560 Very upset with the tariffs.

00:56:30.820 And this is what he says is going to happen.

00:56:32.520 Play one.

00:56:34.100 They've chosen to launch a trade war that will, first and foremost, harm American families.

00:56:40.220 They've chosen to sabotage their own agenda that was supposed to usher in a new golden

00:56:45.840 age for the United States.

00:56:48.340 And they've chosen to undermine the incredible work we've done together to tackle the scourge

00:56:54.760 that is fentanyl, a drug that must be wiped from the face of the earth.

00:56:58.640 So on that point, let me be crystal clear.

00:57:02.020 There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today.

00:57:11.860 Clay, how much of what's going on?

00:57:14.840 Bill O'Reilly mentioned this earlier in the hour.

00:57:17.100 It's a great interview.

00:57:17.680 Go back and listen if you missed it on the Klan Buck podcast.

00:57:19.880 How much of this?

00:57:21.320 We know Mexico, there's very real national security, fentanyl, economic, a whole range

00:57:27.540 of issues that the tariffs touch on there that we, you know, that's its own set of things.

00:57:33.260 With Canada, how much of this is just Trump wants to give Justin Trudeau a wedgie and push

00:57:38.480 him into the locker in front of everybody?

00:57:40.220 You know, I wonder how much of this is driven by just teaching Trudeau a lesson.

00:57:43.920 I think it's an interesting question.

00:57:46.420 The tariff debate in general is a difficult one because I don't know where the end goal

00:57:54.960 actually rests, Buck.

00:57:56.580 Whereas I can tell you, hey, Trump definitely wants a ceasefire in Ukraine and he wants there 1.00

00:58:02.580 to be peace there and he wants peace in the Middle East.

00:58:05.100 What is the sweet spot on the tariff?

00:58:07.460 I don't have an answer on that, right?

00:58:09.400 I don't have a direct answer.

00:58:10.800 Obviously, big picture, it is we need to manufacture more goods in the United States.

00:58:15.840 We need more jobs in the United States.

00:58:17.460 I understand that.

00:58:18.760 But in terms of practical impact, what is the sweet spot where he would say, hey, you

00:58:24.500 know what?

00:58:24.900 This is where we're getting the balance that we want.

00:58:27.740 I don't know it.

00:58:29.140 And so I think that is the more challenging aspect of this.

00:58:32.300 I do think that Trump feels that Canada and Mexico have taken advantage of the United

00:58:38.820 States in trade agreements for some time.

00:58:41.680 And I do think he's accurate about that and that we have bled to a large extent a lot of

00:58:46.140 our manufacturing jobs as a result.

00:58:48.320 I think he's correct about that.

00:58:49.580 And that Mexico is not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl, which is killing 100,000

00:58:57.040 people a year in the United States.

00:58:58.860 All of those things true.

00:58:59.920 China facilitating that as well.

00:59:01.800 But what does success look like there?

00:59:05.480 Success in Ukraine is no more people dying.

00:59:08.540 Success in the Middle East is no more war.

00:59:12.160 What is success on tariffs?

00:59:13.700 I don't know the answer to that.

00:59:14.920 More of success is nobody crossing illegally, which we got.

00:59:17.740 I think what Trump wants ultimately is reciprocity from these countries because there are a lot

00:59:25.760 of tariffs that they have against U.S. goods.

00:59:29.720 And this is where people in this argument, you know, where I understand we're told by the

00:59:36.120 the economic expert industrial complex that tariffs are attacks and tariffs are bad and

00:59:43.120 tariffs can't won't help us.

00:59:44.720 Right.

00:59:44.900 There's still, I think, a pretty broad sense of that going on.

00:59:49.500 And yet, why does why does China have all these tariffs against U.S. goods?

00:59:53.840 Why does Canada have all these tariffs?

00:59:55.160 Why does the EU have all these tariffs against U.S. goods?

00:59:57.800 If it's so manifestly not advantageous to have tariffs, why do these countries have them

01:00:04.780 against us?

01:00:05.980 And, Clay, I think that also leads to what Trump wants is for them not to do that.

01:00:10.640 And so by saying and this is a little bit like the trade war issue with China from the

01:00:14.600 first Trump administration, people kept saying, oh, no, he's going to start a trade war with

01:00:18.820 China.

01:00:19.440 Anybody who understood the U.S.-China trade situation would tell you we were already in a trade

01:00:25.020 war.

01:00:25.320 It's just they were fighting it and we were getting the short end of the stick.

01:00:30.700 So, you know, instead of a one-way trade war, all of a sudden it turned into both people

01:00:35.380 were playing hardball.

01:00:36.640 So I think that's just his baseline mentality on this.

01:00:39.640 But it might get a little rocky here, everyone.

01:00:43.740 And I went yesterday.

01:00:44.940 I couldn't find any eggs in the grocery store.

01:00:46.820 Have you had that yet?

01:00:49.500 I'm probably not going to shock you, Buck, but I do not do a great deal of shopping for

01:00:53.800 the Travis family when it comes to groceries.

01:00:56.600 When was the last time?

01:00:57.660 When was the last time Laura sent you solo to the grocery store for more than one or two

01:01:03.200 things?

01:01:03.840 Yeah.

01:01:04.840 Like 15 years ago.

01:01:09.120 I mean, like I've gone to buy diapers.

01:01:11.340 I've gone to buy like, I mean, she sends me with pictures of things that I need to buy

01:01:16.720 on an individual basis, but I don't think I've been to the grocery store and like filled

01:01:22.080 an entire grocery cart in like maybe in our entire marriage.

01:01:27.560 I don't know, but certainly in like 15 years.

01:01:29.920 Oh man, this is, this is good stuff.

01:01:32.600 All right.

01:01:33.300 A week from tomorrow, I'm doing something exciting with my dad appearing online in a conversation

01:01:38.220 you don't want to miss is as far more to do with my father's expertise than mine, but

01:01:42.280 you're going to find it really interesting and you could benefit big time.

01:01:45.340 Look, I grew up in New York cities.

01:01:46.860 You know, my dad made his living researching and predicting the stock market.

01:01:50.460 He was good at it too.

01:01:51.680 In his line of work, you're a hero.

01:01:53.160 If your predictions don't come or if your predictions come true, if they don't, you got

01:01:57.240 a fair amount of additional homework to do and some explaining.

01:01:59.440 But thankfully dad was right on the big ones.

01:02:02.260 All that to say next Wednesday, I'm hosting that video seminar with my dad where he'll make

01:02:06.120 another big forecast on the markets.

01:02:08.220 Write this date down March 12th at 11 a.m.

01:02:10.780 Eastern 8 a.m.

01:02:11.660 on the West Coast.

01:02:12.740 It'll be online in video form and super easy for you to register free of charge online.

01:02:17.640 Modesty aside, my dad created credit, quite a name for himself on Wall Street with his

01:02:21.280 biggest prediction back in 87 when he called the crash in advance by 11 days.

01:02:27.180 He also called the crash for his clients in 2009.

01:02:30.560 These predictions are too numerous to get into in all the details right now.

01:02:33.700 So go register for the upcoming conversation on March 12th on online and you'll see it's

01:02:40.680 just an hour before this program starts that day to sign up for the free event.

01:02:44.800 It's a free event to sign up.

01:02:46.000 Go to disruption 2025 dot com.

01:02:49.020 That's disruption 2025 dot com.

01:02:52.260 Paid for by Paradigm Press.

01:02:54.860 News you can count on and some laughs to Clay Travis at Buck Sexton.

01:03:00.900 Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

01:03:05.580 This is an iHeart podcast.

01:03:07.980 Guaranteed human.

01:03:08.900 Please join me next time.

01:03:10.120 See you next time.

01:03:11.100 Bye.

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01:03:18.640 Bye.

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01:03:37.600 Bye.

Verdict with Ted Cruz - March 04, 2025

BONUS： The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show - Daily Review Podcast

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