Buck Brief - Is This Major Anti-Trump Foe Finally Finished?

Summary

Summary of "Buck Brief - Is This Major Anti-Trump Foe Finally Finished?"

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show aired an episode on April 22, 2025, titled "Buck Brief - Is This Major Anti-Trump Foe Finally Finished?" hosted by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. The episode delved into significant political developments, focusing primarily on the Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, and broader discussions surrounding Democratic leadership, economic concerns, and political strategies in the Trump era.

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1. Letitia James and Allegations of Mortgage Fraud

The episode commenced with a conversation featuring Marc Simone from 710 WOR, discussing recent allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James. Simone highlighted that James is under scrutiny for mortgage fraud, having received a criminal referral based on credible investigations.

• Marc Simone (00:45): "If they're real, she committed mortgage fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, all sorts of criminal stuff."

Buck Sexton expressed skepticism about media silence on the matter, suggesting that James faces significant legal troubles if the allegations hold true.

• Buck Sexton (01:26): "She has a huge problem. And it's the hypocrisy Democrats are famous for."

Clay Travis emphasized the gravity of the charges, comparing them to common white-collar crimes that often result in convictions.

• Clay Travis (05:50): "If the documents are correct... it's an absolute definite conviction."

2. Historical Context of New York Attorney Generals

The hosts provided a historical perspective, noting a pattern of New York Attorney Generals encountering legal issues, effectively labeling the office as "cursed."

• Clay Travis (01:56): "The Attorney general's office in New York has some kind of curse on it... Elliot Spitzer, Dennis Vaco, Andrew Cuomo..."

This context was used to underscore the seriousness of James's situation and the likelihood of her stepping down or facing conviction.

3. Critique of Democratic Hypocrisy and Leadership

Travis and Sexton criticized Democratic leaders for perceived hypocrisy and lack of effective leadership. They cited examples such as the prosecution of Allen Weisselberg under District Attorney Alvin Bragg, labeling it as politically motivated.

• Buck Sexton (04:40): "This is treated as a felony... this is treated as a felony."

• Clay Travis (04:19): "... the same thing. It was the awful DA here in New York, Alvin Bragg."

The discussion extended to Governor Andrew Cuomo, whom they labeled as one of the worst governors in New York's history due to various controversial policies and decisions.

• Buck Sexton (07:37): "I think, like, Pataki was pretty good. I think there were some pretty decent New York governors back in the day, right?"

• Clay Travis (08:00): "He was excellent. We had an economic boom under Pataki... Cuomo just went out of his way to do unbelievably stupid things."

4. Economic Concerns and Market Outlook

The hosts transitioned to economic topics, addressing persistent inflation and its impact on the value of the dollar. They advocated for investing in gold as a hedge against inflation, referencing current gold prices nearing all-time highs.

• Buck Sexton (04:40): (Advertisement segment promoting Birch Gold Group)

Clay Travis offered a bullish outlook on the stock market despite current volatility, attributing potential recovery to Trump’s strategies.

• Clay Travis (11:28): "If you got a well run four, okay, 401k, it's the 4060 model... you're going to end up with all these stocks at a discount."

5. Recession Predictions and Economic Expertise

The conversation touched upon varying economic forecasts, mentioning Larry Summers' prediction of an impending recession and Paul Krugman's staunch warnings.

• Clay Travis (12:13): "I am totally reassured when I saw Paul Krugman say this is the worst thing ever because he is the ultimate reverse barometer."

Buck Sexton criticized economists like Krugman and Jim Cramer for their pessimistic or impractical market advice.

• Buck Sexton (12:30): "They know how to campaign, but they're salesmen. They'll make all the wrong decisions."

6. Democratic Political Miscalculations

The hosts discussed Democratic strategies, particularly their handling of high-profile cases like Abrego Garcia, labeling them as political miscalculations driven by anti-Trump sentiments rather than rational policy considerations.

• Clay Travis (14:08): "They should have admitted that this guy is a bad guy... instead, this is crazy."

They also criticized Democrats for their lack of focus on other pressing issues, such as the Gaza hostages.

7. Leadership Vacuum within the Democratic Party

Travis and Sexton expressed concerns over the Democratic Party's fragmented leadership, highlighting figures like AOC and Bernie Sanders as the primary voices amidst a lack of cohesive leadership.

• Clay Travis (16:29): "There is no leader. So AOC and Bernie are the ones out there making all the noise."

Buck Sexton echoed this sentiment, suggesting that Democratic leadership is ineffective and lacks charisma.

8. Dismissal of Non-Issues and Media Distractions

The episode addressed the spread of misinformation and frivolous news stories, such as the unfounded claims regarding Pete Hegseth, which were quickly dismissed by the White House.

• Clay Travis (17:34): "This story is going to get buried underneath all of that... It's not an issue for anybody."

9. Support for Israel and Final Remarks

Concluding the episode, Buck Sexton promoted support for Israel through the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, emphasizing the ongoing security threats faced by Israel.

• Buck Sexton (18:32): (Call to action promoting support for Israel)

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Notable Quotes:

• Clay Travis (01:56): "The Attorney general's office in New York has some kind of curse on it..."

• Buck Sexton (07:37): "I think, like, Pataki was pretty good... back in the day."

• Clay Travis (11:28): "Come back in June, July, the stock market will be at 50,000."

• Buck Sexton (16:29): "There is no leader. So AOC and Bernie are the ones out there making all the noise."

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Conclusion

The episode provided a critical examination of Democratic leadership and strategies, intertwined with significant political scandals and economic discussions. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton presented a narrative highlighting alleged hypocrisies within the Democratic Party, questioned the efficacy of its leadership, and advocated for conservative solutions in the face of economic uncertainties. The conversation underscored ongoing tensions in American politics, especially concerning anti-Trump dynamics and the future direction of Democratic strategies.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the Buck Sexton show podcast. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[B]

All right, everybody. Mr. New York joins us now. Marc Simone of 710 WOR, the Mark Simone Show, 10am Eastern. Go check it out. The Mark Simone Podcast. Fantastic, Mark, fascinating to see. Last week you get this big story, which you can, you can lay out some of the details for everybody here in a moment on the Attorney General of New York, Letitia James, getting a referral over mortgage fraud. And just crickets chirping all weekend about this from most of the media, like nobody's supposed to care about this. What do you think? Is she in trouble? How big a deal is this gonna be?

[A]

Well, I assume the documents are correct because the guy that did the investigation, he himself had been in prison for white collar crime. He knew where to look, what to find. It was turned over to the feds. They've looked at it. I don't think they would have made the criminal referral unless they absolutely verified that these documents are real. And if they're real, she committed mortgage fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, all sorts of criminal stuff. And it's not like the Trump charges. You know, the thing he was charged with, nobody in history had ever been charged with. But with this stuff, many people have been convicted of this. It's a common crime. And she's got a huge problem. And it's the hypocrisy Democrats are famous for.

[B]

Yeah. I have to wonder if, if she is charged, which it feels like I don't know how you can, assuming the facts are correct, she has to be charged because what she's done is illegal. Other people go to prison for this routinely. This is not something that is usually treated as a, as a minor issue. This is treated as a felony. And if she is charged, Mark, does she have to step down as Attorney general? Is there any world in which she tries to fight through and keep that position? What do you think?

[A]

Well, it is New York. I guess you could govern from a prison cell. You know, this Attorney general's office in New York has some kind of curse on it. Something like four out of the last five attorney generals ended up with criminal problems. Elliot Spitzer, Dennis, I think his name was Vaco. Bribery from, I think it was carding companies. Andrew Cuomo got in trouble while everybody that's been in that office ends up with a criminal problem or two. So there's a curse on the office also. I mean, there's A couple of different cases. She's just a couple of different charges. The one in New York City, she'll get one of these crazy New York judges, these Trump hating judges. That might help. But the one in Virginia she's got a real problem with and there's no way out of it. She declared it her primary residence, which if not true, is a crime. If it is true, she's committed election fraud in New York because our law requires her to live in New York. So I know she's hinted that the defense will be, she didn't do this. A representative did the whole thing for her. But under the law, you have to, when you sign it, there's a box, you got to check that you've read it and everything it is 100% true. And if you, and if you want to claim a representative did it. Remember, Donald Trump said that, and they said that is not a valid defense.

[B]

Well, you know, also, I like to remind everybody of this because, you know, apart from Letitia James and the stuff with Trump and what she may have done here, you know, allegedly, I tend to think that the. Some of the mortgage fraud statutes are particularly harsh and I think can be overly harsh based on what the actual crime is. But put that aside for a moment. She has brought this, or rather her office has brought this against other people. People have gone to prison on her watch for this. And to give a sense as to how merciful or not she is as a prosecutor when there are politics involved, didn't she send, what was it, Allen Weisselberg to Rikers island for what was it not reporting, like company use of a car or something? It was, it was some pretty Mickey Mouse tax stuff. And Trump's one of Trump's accountants for the Trump Corporation. He went to prison for a while, didn't he?

[A]

Yeah, he's actually the cfo. It wasn't her. It was the same thing. It was the awful DA here in New York, Alvin Bragg.

[B]

Oh, it was Bragg. That's right. Yeah.

[A]

Weisselberg had been using a car and driver. I guess if you're supposed to put it on your income tax. The funniest thing in the world is Alvin Bragg has a car and driver paid for by the taxpayers. I guarantee you he didn't put that on his income tax evidence every day. Showed up with a car and a driver to prosecute this guy for using a car and a driver. Again, the hypocrisy Democrats are famous for.

[B]

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[A]

If the documents are correct, and I assume they are, because the guy that did the research is pretty good. And again, the government wouldn't have brought the charges without verifying the documents. And if that's the case, it's an absolute definite conviction. And knowing Donald Trump, he'll pardon her just to be gracious about it, but get that conviction and maybe he'll hold off on the pardon, but maybe on the way out he'll pardon her.

[B]

So he'll keep her from going to prison, but he'll allow. Yeah, I mean I could, I could see something like that maybe happening. Is Andrew Cuomo really going to be the mayor of New York City? Is that really going to happen? This guy Cuomo making this comeback and it's just remarkable that this is even a conversation, but it looks like a very real one.

[A]

It's very early in the race. The only reason he's in the lead, he's got the name recognition and people I don't think are aware of his track record. He did like 12 of the stupidest things ever in history as governor. Obviously the nursing home thing, he's the guy that pushed and got through this. No bail, no jail, single handedly causing the crime wave. He changed Our whole parole board. He put 12 left wing wackos who let every criminal out. They've, they've already let out 43 cop killers. He's the same thing as Gavin Newsom. They're both very similar. They're great salesmen. They'll give you a great press conference. They look good, they'll give you a great speech. They know how to campaign, but they're salesmen. They're not executives, they're not managers. Great salesmen. Put them in office, they'll make all the wrong decisions. Cuomo is the guy that picked Kathy Hochul for us. He's the guy that closed our nuclear plant. Plant. Taking away 25% of our energy. It's a long, long list of incredibly stupid things he did. Sending the people with the virus into the nursing home. Gotta be this dumbest thing ever, any elected official has ever done.

[B]

Is Andrew Cuomo, in your estimation, Mark, the worst governor of New York state that you can remember? Like, would you put him in the worst spot?

[A]

Yeah, I think so.

[B]

Right? I mean, you just made a pretty compelling case. I would think that he's gotta be up there. I know there's, you know, but you know, Pataki was pretty good. I think there were. So there have been some pretty decent New York governors back in the day, right?

[A]

He was excellent. We had an economic boom under Pataki. Mario Cuomo wasn't the greatest, but he kind of knew his limitations and stuck to the speeches and didn't do a lot of crazy things. Cuomo just went out of his way to do unbelievably stupid things. He's the guy. The congestion pricing through and again, the no bail, no jail single. He single handedly caused this crime wave.

[B]

Yeah, Spitzer was a dirtbag, but, you know, he didn't last too long. What happens with, what has happened actually with Mayor Eric Adams now that it looks like he's coming? I know he is running, right? So the mayor of America's largest city plans to stick around if he can for another term. They've had the federal criminal charges dropped against him. Which is fascinating that Democrats were complaining about this. Right. Just gives you a sense where they are, right? They're like, how dare you take this like, prominent black Democrat and not try to put him in prison for nonsense. But anyway, how would you, how would you assess? I know it's not good, but why is it not good? Why did this guy fail so badly as mayor that his approval rating is, is like down where the Democrat Party nationally is? It's rough.

[A]

Well, Even more so. He's just a salesman. He's not a manager. He just, he's a good talker. He's cute, he's charming. He's got incredible suits. That's it. You put him in office, you make all the wrong decisions. The people he picked originally to run things are, one by one, they all got indicted, arrested, they're all on trial now. I'll give him credit. In the last few months, he picked a police commissioner, very, very wealthy, totally incorruptible, who's cleaned house, gotten rid of all the corruption. He picked a deputy mayor who is one of the top, top guys of the Giuliani administration. So right now we're in better shape. He couldn't get the Democratic nomination. He's running as an independent. Sounds crazy, but John Lindsay did that for his second term and it worked. It got him reelected.

[B]

Let's talk Trump for a moment here. Broaden this out to everything on the national scale. You know, as you and I are talking, market had kind of a rough day again today. But, you know, markets go up, they go down. But there's certainly a bit of unease on the street about how this is all gonna shake out with tariffs. Where do you think we stand with this? There's a 90 day pause underway for, like, EU and basically allied countries, you know, non China countries. We got this 90 day pause that's in effect. Are you feeling really good about this? And, you know, to anybody who tells you, oh, Mark, I'm worried about, you know, I'm worried about my investments or my retirement or my business. What level of confidence do you feel like you can calm them or tell them it's all going to work out? Trump knows what he's doing. When I first came across this story, I had to read it twice. You'll hear why in a moment. For over 160 years, an asset worth $150 trillion has been buried on American soil. This endowment, so to speak, is so large it could pay off our national debt four times over. Why has it been kept secret for so long? Well, thanks to a Supreme Court decision, President Trump could soon release it to the public. Jim Rickards, former advisor to the White House and Federal Reserve, says if you're over 50, this could be your best chance to build lasting wealth from a once in a century event. This story may be published as soon as May 3rd. To watch Jim's interview, go online to birthright2025.com if he's right, it could make President Trump the most popular president in history. And help millions of investors retire wealthy. Go to birthright2025.com to get the details free of charge, paid for by Paradigm Press.

[A]

Oh, I've seen him do this a million times. He'll go so far out on the limb. You hear the branch cracking. It's. He doesn't flinch, he doesn't get afraid. I know it looks bad, it looks chaotic. Just close your eyes for about two months, three months, Come back in June, July, the stock market will be at 50,000. Everything will be fine. If you got a well run four, okay, 401k, it's the 4060 model. Only 40% is in stocks. And if it's a really well run 401k, it should be. They're buying right now. So you're going to end up with all these stocks at a discount. It's only going to help your 401k.

[B]

So what do you think when you see Larry Summers? You know, he's saying there's going to be a recession and now we're heading into recession.

[A]

Well, I am totally reassured when I saw Paul Krugman say this is the worst thing ever because he is the ultimate reverse barometer. I would definitely use him and all those economist eggheads, definitely, if they're against it, it's gotta be good.

[B]

I think certainly with Paul Krugman, he has been, he has been so consistently wrong and really absurdly wrong on all matters affecting the economy that you probably could run a pretty successful reverse Krugman hedge fund. You know, there is the reverse Kramer fund that's out there. So people, people who don't have a lot of faith in Jim Cramer, they just go against whatever he says. I don't know how it's done over the years, but it is a thing.

[A]

Well, in Kramer's defense, that show he does, you got to pick 20 stocks a day. It's impossible. You'd be lucky if you could find three great stocks in six months. Picking 20 a day. You're going to be wrong a lot.

[B]

Yeah, there you go. I mean, it is, it's entertainment, right? I don't know. I wouldn't, I wouldn't get my stock picks off of a TV screen in general. But I also am somebody who believes, you know, the Buffett approach, you know, slow, slow and steady wins the race over a long period of time. Invest in things you understand, invest in businesses that make sense to you. You know, stay away from the fast, quick buck artist stuff. I think if you, if you have the patience and the stomach for it, it's definitely, definitely the way to go. What do you think about the Democrats going all in on this? Abrego Garcia, right? This is the guy who is, I don't even know. Do we have to say alleged when the courts have already said he is an MS.13 member? I don't even know what the legality is of that. Courts have already said this. So he's the MS.13 member who's now in the Sikot prison in El Salvador. And Democrats, there's, you know, all weekend you got senators flying down there. I think you have more members of Congress. What do you think they think they can accomplish with this? Why have they turned this guy into such a symbol?

[A]

Well, Gavin Newsom is right. He said over the weekend you've all become sheeps. He's talking to the Democrats. You're just sheep. Whatever Trump does, you give a knee jerk reaction, he sends you off on some crazy thing and you got it all wrong and then you look ridiculous. They made it, they made a huge tactical error here. They should have admitted that this guy is a bad guy, that he's a gang member. They should have admitted that and made the argument that even if he is a gang member, he's got to have a hearing. Just fighting for rights to have a hearing. That should have been the argument. Instead, this is crazy. The guy goes down there to show you the horrible conditions he's in. Meantime we see him and he's in the Sheraton sitting at the bar by the pool. And most people are watching this thinking, that's a nice shirt. Where'd he get that shirt? He looked fine to me. And again, Democrats, I haven't heard them ever mention the hostages, the Gaza hostages. They're not even looking for them, not even concerned. This guy, they're going crazy trying to get this guy back. Try that with the hostages.

[B]

Do you think that some of this political miscalculation on the Democrat side, whether it's about Abrego Garcia or any number of things right now, I think they know enough not to really rally behind this. This kid in, in Texas who stabbed the other kid. Right? You've seen a little bit of this, but not a lot of New York Times coverage of this or in favor, his name is Carmelo Anthony's. The alleged murder of his, of his schoolmate or, you know, high school classmate down in Texas. But there's clearly political miscalculation that's going on on the Democrat side. Do you think that that is because of the leadership vacuum or would it be the same Even if you had, I don't. I mean, one, who's calling the shots and two, if they're calling them, why are things so messed up?

[A]

Because the Trump hatred is just totally out of control. They're absolutely rabid with incredible Trump hatred. They can't even. Normally, with this Garcia thing, you'd stop and say, let me look over the trials, let me go through the transcript, let me look at the evidence. They're just so busy with this Trump hatred or this story, whatever story. They just go insane with the Trump hatred. They can't even stop and think rationally about which side they should be on. They just, whatever Trump's doing, they're just the opposite.

[B]

Who do you think is the most powerful Democrat in the country right now?

[A]

I hate to say it, but there is. There is no leader. So AOC and Bernie are the ones out there making all the noise.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Everybody's ears. So right now they are JB Pritzker trying to be that guy, but it just looks like a bad Ralph crammed. And I mean, yeah, he.

[B]

I really think that that guy. It's remarkable, given the advantages that he has had in life, how uncharismatic as a politician he really is. You know, you would, you would think that he would pull it together a little bit more, you know, a little more. A little more Gavin Newsom, a little less Ralph Gramden. But I'm just, I'm curious to see how, how it plays out on the Democrat side of things, because right now everything's looking like it's going to continue to just be the Trump show. And they're kind of in the cheap seats, you know, throwing popcorn that nobody ever, no one really cares about. Real quick, you know, there's been a bunch of noise about Pete Hexeth, the Secretary of Defense. Do you, do you think. You know, I know Pete. Pete's a friend of mine. Do you think there's any there there? The White House has already come out and said, nah, that's trash. It's fake news. What do you make of it?

[A]

Yeah, it's a total non story. You know, the Democrats got so upset when they heard the Pope died because they had been planning for this to be Pete Hegseth signal chat week. The Pope took over everything. There's going to be funeral arrangement. The funeral.

[B]

The.

[A]

They'll never. This story is going to get buried underneath all of that. There's nobody sitting around the kitchen table talking about a signal chat. It's not an issue for anybody.

[B]

Yeah, I think that's right. Mark People can go listen to your podcast if they go to 710 wr.com best place to get it or just.

[A]

Go to the Iheart app. Actually Apple. Any place you get podcasts you'll find.

[B]

Right wherever you get your podcast. Marc Simone Show Whenever I want a little bit of a little bit of throwback to New York, I listen to Mark show in the mornings. He does a great job. Reminds me of home, which he still thinks I'm going to move back to one day. And my mom keeps telling me he says we'll all be back. I don't know. It's. I do miss, I do miss my NYC sometimes. But listen to Mr. New York Mark Simone. Mark, thanks for making the time. Great to see you.

[A]

Love it. Thanks for having me.

[B]

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