Daily Review with Clay and Buck - Aug 21 2025

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Daily Review (August 21, 2025)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode focuses on two central issues: the major legal victory for Donald Trump in New York—where a $500 million civil fraud fine was overturned—and the cultural controversy surrounding Cracker Barrel's attempt at rebranding itself. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton dissect these topics with humor and sharp opinions, offering analysis of legal and political developments as well as commentary on "woke" corporate missteps.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Legal Victory in New York

[02:32–15:40; 22:32–36:59]

The News

• New York State’s Appellate Division, First Department, tossed the $500 million civil fraud penalty leveled against Donald Trump by the state’s AG, Letitia James.
• The verdict: unanimous (5–0) in Trump’s favor.

Analysis

• Clay Travis: Predicted the case would be tossed; believes all major New York legal cases against Trump (including E. Jean Carroll and bookkeeping felony charges) will eventually be overturned.
• Buck Sexton: Emphasizes the political nature of the case and questions the logic behind prosecuting someone for paying back loans in full—with interest—and having banks eager to work with them again.

Legal & Political Context

• The case was rooted in Letitia James' accusation that Trump inflated asset values to gain better mortgage rates—a practice banks independently check during the loan process.
• The show argues there was no victim: “He paid all the loans back with interest. The banks said they had no problem with this.” (Buck Sexton, 06:55)
• Travis and Sexton see this as part of coordinated lawfare ahead of the 2024 election, noting all charges so far have failed to damage Trump.

Broader Implications

• The unanimous decision is seen as a win for due process and the rule of law, potentially setting precedent regarding politically motivated prosecutions.
• Clay notes, "We can't allow your politics to become proxy for civil and criminal liability..." (10:14)

Notable Quotes

• Buck: “This was obvious political headhunting... Attorney General of New York State, Tish James, it was disgraceful.” (03:51)
• Clay: “It is crazy. And let me be even clearer... There was no actual victim here.” (05:48)

Trump’s Response [22:32]

• Trump posted a triumphant message on Truth Social, denouncing the “fake New York State Attorney General Letitia James case” as a “political witch hunt... the likes of which no one has ever seen before.”
• Buck reads Trump’s post: “Total victory, all caps... Others were afraid to do business there.” (23:53)

Impact on Trump’s Image

• Hosts compare Trump to “Neo in the Matrix,” remarking that rather than being broken, he emerges stronger. (12:41)
• Clay: "...he has just learned how to move at a different speed and handle attack... in a way that is unprecedented." (12:41)

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2. Abuse of Law & Civil vs. Criminal Standards

[27:37–32:18]

• Discussion of the E. Jean Carroll civil suit: skeptical of the premise that Trump's denial could constitute defamation, especially since the jury in civil court found he didn’t commit rape.
• Civil trials hold a much lower bar (preponderance of evidence) than criminal cases (beyond a reasonable doubt).
• Buck: “The standard the jury has is: Do you think it’s like a 50/50 shot this lady’s telling the truth?... Huge difference.” (31:35)

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3. Precedent and Lawfare Concerns

[10:14–11:18; 12:04–14:37]

• Fear that political targeting through courts could backfire on future political figures in both parties.
• Buck: "What happens when you've thrown everything—and the kitchen sink—and the other guy just grins and keeps coming? That's exactly what Trump did." (12:04)

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4. Letitia James & Political Targeting

[33:24–36:59]

• Playbacks of Letitia James vowing to bring Trump down, highlighting the extraordinary and politicized nature of her campaign.
• Clay: "If she weren't in New York, she already would've lost her job." (34:06)
• A general sentiment is expressed that James should face consequences for “Trump derangement syndrome inside of a courtroom.” (15:10)

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5. Cracker Barrel Rebranding Controversy

[42:45–54:09; 60:03–69:48]

The Rebrand

• Cracker Barrel changed its logo, removed the traditional grandfather image, and updated its interior to be more modern and “photogenic.”
• The hosts (and many listeners) see this as alienating the chain’s older, southern, and conservative customer base.
• The move sparked public backlash and a market cap drop of $100 million in a single day.

Hosts' Perspective

• Clay: “Cracker Barrel is a nostalgic place... designed to evoke fond memories of people who used to eat southern meals like this.” (43:52)
• Buck: “Impressively, calorically dense...” remarks humorously on the hearty, fried southern menu. (47:35)
• Both believe rebranding is pointless and risks repeating Bud Light’s miscalculated marketing missteps.

Callers & Guest Insights

• San Antonio Caller [51:40]: Claims food quality at Cracker Barrel improved with the brand update; Clay is skeptical, suggesting corporate influence.
• Rep. Byron Donalds (Guest) [60:03]: Former Cracker Barrel waiter, now a U.S. Congressman and Florida gubernatorial candidate. He reminisces about the chain’s food and opposes the rebrand:
  • "Cracker Barrel is a staple of the country... so I don't even know why we needed this rebrand. Some things just are what they are." (61:36)
  • "Sometimes you'll get a new CEO who thinks they have to rethink everything to prove their worth." (64:51)
  • He also notes food and customer service were “98% positive” regardless of customer backgrounds, refuting claims that Cracker Barrel is exclusionary. (68:47)

Cultural Commentary

• The hosts discuss how brands alienate customers by seeking to appear “hip” or “woke,” often pushed by CEOs with little connection to customers or the core product.
• Buck: "There's a perception among coastal elites that Cracker Barrel is coded as old, white, and Southern. And therefore inherently... problematic." (69:56)
• Clay: “The marketplace for Cracker Barrel is not to be Applebee’s... The entire branding of Cracker Barrel is Southern style food...” (73:22)

Notable Quotes

• Byron Donalds: “What you really need to do as a chief executive is just make sure that the brand is earning money, make sure the operations are sound... and just let the place cook.” (64:51)
• Clay: “If you didn’t have a southern grandma, you probably shouldn’t be the CEO of Cracker Barrel...” (51:11)

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Memorable Moments and Humor

• Clay compares Trump to the hero Neo from "The Matrix," handling political attacks in slow motion (12:41).
• An on-air apology and joke (“Meow Culpa”) by producer Greg for an inappropriate show-ending audio segment about suicide hotlines and cats (42:11).
• Detailed, somewhat tongue-in-cheek analysis of Cracker Barrel’s menu as "variations of beige" (44:37) and the high-calorie Bloomin’ Onion from Outback Steakhouse (49:20).
• Clay joking about the odds of a caller parroting the corporate Cracker Barrel line exactly (52:31), and Buck’s unfamiliarity with southern food chains (53:42).

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Key Timestamps

• 02:32–15:40; 22:32–36:59 — Trump’s legal victory and its analysis
• 05:48–09:48 — Deeper dive on Trump’s New York cases: legal theories & defamation
• 31:35 — Civil vs. criminal legal standards in the Trump/E. Jean Carroll suit
• 42:11 — Producer Greg’s “Meow Culpa” moment
• 42:45–54:09 — Cracker Barrel rebranding analysis, call-ins, and menu discussion
• 60:03–69:48 — Rep. Byron Donalds’ story as a former Cracker Barrel waiter, rebrand criticism

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Conclusion

This episode blends legal analysis with cultural critique:

• Trump’s full legal vindication in New York is treated as proof of both his resilience and the limits of political “lawfare.”
• The hosts passionately dissect Cracker Barrel’s marketing misfire—warning that losing touch with loyal customers through elite “rebranding” only alienates the base and damages business.
• Both issues are portrayed as parts of America's broader political and cultural divide, with the show emphasizing tradition, common sense, and skepticism of politicized change.

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For listeners seeking a blend of legal deep-dive, political commentary, and culture-war banter, this episode delivers an engaging and opinionated ride.

Transcript

[Lisa Booth]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Clay Travis]

Now. You can stream Fox News Live on the Fox One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen, all from the Fox voices you trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your 7 day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

Visit puretalk.com buck to get your free phone today and to switch to my wireless company. That's PureTalk.com buck America's wireless company. PureTalk is the continued divide between the administration and the Federal Reserve, putting us behind the financial curve again. What does this mean for the value of your savings? Diversifying with gold through Birch Gold Group is a smart play right now. I've been buying gold for years and I do so for peace of mind, knowing that if the bottom falls out, I have something tangible I can depend on. That's all only increasing in value. And Birch Gold makes it incredibly easy for you to diversify into gold, too. Birch Gold will send you a free info kit on gold. Just text my name, Buck, to the number 9898 98. Again, text Buck to 9898 98. Birch Gold Group, the company I trust. Welcome everybody to the Thursday edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show. A lot of news to dive into and we will do that with all of you. We appreciate you hanging out with us, being ready to look at all things that are mattering on this lovely Thursday. We can start with one here. We have a, we can put one on the board for a Clay Travis prediction come true. He feel he's got a little bit of a hot hand right now. He's feeling, feeling pretty smooth, feeling pretty on it. The court of appeals in New York has tossed tossed the $500 million civil fraud fine by AG Tish James. This is breaking news today and I will say this is one where I was Clay called this very early on and was, he was vociferous. He was unwavering. I thought this was possible but not as confident. So I give the full predictive if Both of us 100% agree on something, it's not I, I, I give the full predictive value here. All points awarded to Clay on the prediction on this one because I thought it was kind of a 5050 and he said they're absolutely going to toss it and now this is, this is good. The Appellate Division, first department in New York, credit where it's due, did the obviously right thing. This was completely a completely insane case. Obvious political headhunting. Attorney General of New York State, Tish James was, it was awful what she did. It was disgraceful that she ran promising to prosecute somebody or promising to find somebody, you know, bring suit again civil suit in this case and that they, that they said, I mean the things that came out in this case, they that Trump valued Mar a Lago at $517 million and they said it was $27 million in 2020. Anybody with even a passing the vaguest familiarity with the Palm beach real estate market, you Know, I don't. I don't know what house you're going to get on the water for $27 million in Palm beach these days, Clay, it was the abuse of law in the worst possible fashion. And maybe, look, he's president now, so maybe the appellate court decided they weren't going to continue to poke the dragon. But a good call by you, sir. Take. Take a bow, for sure. And a good moment, actually, for. I know this sounds corny perhaps, but it's true. A good moment for law and order in this country or for the rule of law in this country.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. For people who have forgotten. And I know there are so many different legal proceedings. We've joked kind of about this, but I never would have believed when I went to law school that I would end up just analyzing Trump legal cases for what feels like a career oftentimes because Trump 2.0 has primarily been driven, the resistance has by the judiciary, by the legal branch, and it all started as a part of the 2024 election. So this particular case, and I know there are so many of them that it is hard to keep up, was brought by Letitia James, alleging mortgage fraud. And I'm trying to simplify this a little bit. And she said the mortgage fraud was that Trump inflated the assets that were under his control to obtain. Obtain a lower rate of the mortgage than he otherwise should have. But. And this is why the case was really outlandish from the start. He paid all the loans back, so there was no actual victim here.

[Buck Sexton]

Even worse. Even worse than that, Clay. He paid all the loans back with interest. And the banks said they had no problem with this. They agreed with his. The banks did an independent assessment. They always do.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, this is. Well, anyone who's gotten a mortgage knows it is a giant pain in the butt. The banks do their own assessment. They want their own person to go in there.

[Clay Travis]

Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

The bank said they would be. This was part of the court filings. They would be eager to do business with Trump again.

[Clay Travis]

Yes. So this was an incredibly strained legal theory to begin with because there was no victim. And so the idea that Trump should have to pay back, what, five, over $500 million with interest. Now, she tried to calculate what the rate, in her opinion, should have been for the loans that Trump took out that he ended up paying back, and that the bank said they were very comfortable in the deal. They did, and then argued that that was a fraud perpetrated that the state of New York needed to investigate. Bring civil. Criminal penalties. Civil penalties against and the New York Court of Appeals just said, this is garbage. And here is where I think we are headed. I think all these cases are going to end up getting tossed. I think there are three. Correct me if I'm wrong, but. Because sometimes I get kind of lost in the weeds on some of this, too. There are three New York State trials and. Or legal proceedings of significance. There's probably more than this. One is this one that was just tossed out, the mortgage fraud. The other one was the E. Jean Carroll civil suit relating to allegations of sexual assault. I think that's going to be tossed. I've explained why. And then is it 34 felony counts over bookkeeping fraud. It was 34. Right. Not 43. I can't remember which one of those numbers.

[Buck Sexton]

That sounds right. Yes.

[Clay Travis]

Uh, I think all three of these are gonna get tossed eventually. Uh, the felonies, obviously, is the only one that is criminal in nature. Um, and it is a sham case that is going to be tossed on appeal. The most likely, if you had me rank them to remain, if Trump were gonna lose one of these, it would be the E. Jean Carroll. But I just. At its baseline, again, this goes into the weeds. I don't understand how it's defamation to deny that you raped someone. I mean, that seems. That seems like fair. Fair for Trump to say, right?

[Buck Sexton]

This would mean. This would mean that in any case, by the way, your defense would make you lie. Liable for. Liable for the defense itself, right? I didn't do this thing. Let's have a trial. Oh, we're going to find you guilty. And by the way, because you said you didn't do it, we're also going to sue you because of what you said in court. I mean, I don't understand how it's.

[Clay Travis]

It is crazy. And let me be even clearer on this, because this. We've seen a lawsuit over George Stephanopoulos of this. Trump was actually, in a civil context, found not to have committed rape. That is, the jury found it more likely than not in a civil context that he did not commit a rape. They did find it more likely than not that he had engaged in sexual assault. So he then said, this is where the additional lawsuit and additional damages came. Buck. And after this verdict, he said, well, that's not true. I didn't, you know, rape her. I didn't sexually assault her. And then she's lying about that. And then she sued him again, saying, well, he defamed her based on the ruling that she had gotten. So, again, I just think that case is garbage. We're seeing the Letitia James mortgage case is officially basically from the New York Court of Appeals garbage. And I think all the felony charges are going to get tossed, too. Now, a lot of you may say, why do. I don't even care. Trump's in office. All these things. I do think the court's rulings here matter because the precedent they put in place when they went after Trump. If you happen to be a Republican and live in a blue state, or candidly, if you happen to be in a Democrat and run in a red state, we can't allow your politics to become proxy for civil and criminal liability just based on what you happen to believe. In my opinion, Trump stomped on lawfare.

[Buck Sexton]

The same way that he stomped on MSNBC and CNN and accomplished things that I don't think many of us believed were even possible years ago. In both. In both of those instances, the fact that you had. It was four criminal trials, or four criminal prosecutions, rather, and multiple civil suits, all timed to hit him at the same time. And while he's running for president and that he will emerge from all of that clay, essentially. Now, I know there's still the New York case, but that one, I agree with you. I mean, there's going to be. There's going to be no punishment that they. He's the president. They can't do anything right now, and there's going to be no punishment for it. And I think eventually that's going to be overturned as well. He's going to emerge unscathed from all of this.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

Which is. Which is incredible. And, and it also goes to, I think, the desperation that the Democrats feel right now, because what happens when you've thrown everything in the kitchen sink and the other guy just grins and keeps coming? That's exactly what Trump did. They did everything. They could abuse the system in ways we have never seen before as a country. And Trump is president more popular than he's ever been. His base is more behind him than they've ever been. That's even possible. And what have they got? Gavin Newsom trying to create cool guy memes of himself and posting them online.

[Clay Travis]

It's one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen. I mean, whatever you think of Trump, I don't know that we have ever seen someone take this degree of attack and just keep moving forward and ultimately vanquish everybody who tried to fight against him. I mean, at this point, you're going to like this pop culture reference. It feels like Trump is Neo in the Matrix. Buck. It Feels like he has just learned how to move at a different speed and how to handle attack. For those of you who have seen the movie in a way that is unprecedented and where he can basically turn on his foes and just utterly vanquish them. And look, I do. The one thing I will say is I really admire Trump because there were so many cowards who refused to stand up for Trump that now are showing up and kissing the ring. He's been the COVID for a lot of companies out there that knew that their woke employees were engaging in ridiculous insubordination that undercut the very fabric of the company's culture itself. And he is making so much of American society better because they're using him as the COVID and saying, well, you know, Trump won. We have to do this. They're doing what they know to be right because Trump has given them the COVID to do it. And I just think the Trump story for decades to come is actually going to get more impressive because so many people out there are caught up in the political moment day to day, and they just decided they hate Trump. And as that fades, I think Trump is going to become an even more iconic figure than he is as we speak about him on this day.

[Buck Sexton]

This is a man who at no point during the effort to destroy him, destroy his, his legacy, his reputation, take away his freedom, tried to bankrupt him. I mean, it's 500 million, I think, plus 100 million in interest. Now, Trump has a lot of money, but that hurts anybody. Cash. Okay. When was the last time you heard of a fine for an individual that big, I might add. I mean, how much money could he have possibly made? What would the differential have been with these bank loans if they had even been. There's no way it would have been.

[Clay Travis]

600 million bonkers buck. I mean, they went back in time to the date of the initial loan and decided to create their own loan amount, sorry, loan rate, and then charge him interest on that for. I mean, it's one of the most harebrained legal schemes I've ever seen. And again, it is Trump derangement syndrome inside of a courtroom. And I honestly think Letitia James should be disbarred over some of the legal arguments that she has made and some of the.

[Buck Sexton]

If she, as has been alleged, was involved in mortgage actual clear mortgage fraud herself, she should spend some time in a prison. That should actually happen because she sent other people to prison for that while she was ag. No problem with that. Why shouldn't she go? She'll. She would send Any of you, if you checked, you know, it's my primary residence and it's not, and you got a better rate and all, she would, she would send you to prison, but she doesn't go to prison. But just one more note on Trump Clay. During this whole process, never once did you see this guy. And he's, you know, in the public all the time. He's showing up for the mug shot and he got shot, as we know, in Butler, Pennsylvania. Never once did you see this guy despair. Never once did you see him claim that he's, he's unable to handle all the forces arrayed against him. I mean, there's a real, there's a real lesson on that. I mean, this guy is a force of nature. A lot of what was thrown against him would have been enough to break even some considerable formidable people out there. And he just kept coming. He just kept coming. There's a life lesson in that, you know, Never give up. All right. We spent time yesterday on the program discussing D.C. crime. As you know and I know not that many. You live in D.C. but wherever you are, you need to be prepared. There are home invasions that can happen even in very safe jurisdictions. You just want to make sure that you have the tools you need in your home to protect yourself and your family. This is why we're such big believers in Sabre products. Sabre products which are non lethal, whole range of personal and home defense project project products have safeguarded hundreds of thousands of people's. Their pepper sprays, pepper gels and projectile devices are all made here in the US and my wife Carrie, she prefers having non lethal options. And so we have Saber home defense projectile launchers here because if I'm not around and someone's trying to, you know, break in the door or something happens, she knows that she can defend herself with non lethal options. Act now to protect yourself and your family. Save 15% on Saber's Mega bundle with extra projectiles, magazines and practice targets. Visit sabre radio.com that's s a b r e radio.com or call 844-824-SAFE 844-824-SAVE.

[Clay Travis]

Making America great again isn't just one man, it's many. The Time Team 47 podcast Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Clay Travis]

Now you can stream Fox News Live on the Fox One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen. All from the Fox v. You trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your 7 day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now.

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[Buck Sexton]

A lot of news breaking, a lot of things happening. So thanks for joining us here live and in real time as we are making sense of it all for you. Just dropping, let me see, when did this happen? Yeah, right when we started the show today, right as we came on air. Almost like he teed it up for Clay and Buck Donald Trump on Truth Social in regards to the massive court victory. As Clay just pointed out to me in the commercial break 50 by the appellate court in New York. All the judges saying this entire, let me just be clear, 50 against Trump in New York. Those are judges, they've been, you know, these are judges in a very blue state. These are judges who I'm sure I haven't looked at who appointed them, but some Obama appointees probably there, some Biden appointees or how.

[Clay Travis]

Let me point out this too, by the way, we haven't had the time to read. There are three different opinions among the five judges. So the whole thing is just a cluster. I'm trying to avoid cursing. Yes, it's a cluster, but it is to your point. Yes. I mean, a New York Court of Appeals siding with Trump is. I think they held this for a long time. They didn't want to release it before the election. I mean, this. This timing is no coincidence.

[Buck Sexton]

So Trump has weighed in on Truth Social, and it is a doozy. This is a big truth, not a little truth. Very large. Here we go. I'm going to read some of this to you. Total victory, all caps in the fake New York State Attorney General Letitia James case. I greatly respect the fact that the court had the courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful decision that was hurting business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including interest and penalties, was over $550 million. It was a political witch hunt in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. Case of election interference by the city and state trying to show illegally that I did things that were wrong, when in fact everything I did was absolutely correct and even perfect. Every single dollar was thrown out, even the penalties imposed on us by the corrupt judge, one of the most overturned in history, Arthur Engoron. I wasn't given a jury and during the course of the trial, which lasted a long time, was not given one ruling in my favor by this political hack. But worse than him, if possible, was Letitia James, a corrupt and incompetent Attorney general who only brought this case in order to hurt me politically. She is a Trump deranged lunatic. They made me bond. The outrageous sum, which never happened before, cost me millions of dollars a month. It should have never been allowed to happen. Everyone knew it. Importantly, the vote was 5 to 0. I'm so honored by Justice David Friedman's great words of wisdom, which should be read by everyone. I would also like to thank the court for having the courage to make this decision, et cetera. I mean, Clay, he talks about how.

[Clay Travis]

They should be winding.

[Buck Sexton]

Keeps going.

[Clay Travis]

Trump Post.

[Buck Sexton]

I got less than halfway through it, everybody. I mean, it's. I'll just say this.

[Clay Travis]

He.

[Buck Sexton]

He is laying haymakers on this whole thing. And it is. Now, look, it's. It's a huge win for Trump. There's no question. It's a 600. I think it's right at 500 million plus 100 million, basically, in the everything together. So call it a $600 million, give or take, no matter who you are. $600 million, a lot of money. $600 million you're going to pay for what? Who is this even being paid to? You pay to the state of New York because a bunch of banks with, you know, hundreds of billions on the asset on the balance sheets or whatever, said Trump's a great guy to do business with. We would do it again. This was one of. I think you could actually argue this was the craziest case because I know people say, oh, Jean Carroll, you know, they talk about this. Well, you know, anyone can accuse someone of something from 30 years ago. This is why we actually have a statute of limitations.

[Clay Travis]

Let me point out on the e. Jean Carroll, they changed the statute of limitations to allow Trump to be sued on this.

[Buck Sexton]

The statute of limitations is a very important. I know sometimes people say, oh, but, you know, it feels. No, it's very important. Ok. Because it's unfair to a defendant. And there are, you know, there are places like murder and other, you know, extreme sex crimes and. And treason and things like. There are no statute of limitations statutes. But in general, if someone can accuse you of something from 20 years ago or 30 years ago, like, defending yourself against this is very challenging. Right. This is a very hard thing to do because, you know, for a whole range of reasons and also memories fade and the evidence that's presented. My point is, even with all that, I think that the. I think the Letitia James case against Trump was the most egregious abuse of the law on a. In a legal sense, I know it wasn't criminal, but I think it was. You co signed this one. I think it was the most. You have got to be bleeping kidding me. I cannot believe they are doing this.

[Clay Travis]

Well, yeah. Here's the way I would analyze it. I don't agree with Eugene Carroll's lawsuit, but what she alleged, if it were true, is a crime. The other two, New York and. And remember, it was a civil case. But at least her allegations would, if they occurred, merit significant legal attention. There's no victim in. When you borrow money from a bank. First of all, you're arguing that the bank is a victim here. The bank said they were not a victim and they were paid back in full. And to your point, Buck, does anybody who's ever taken out a loan from a bank feel like the bank isn't adequately represented?

[Buck Sexton]

So. So can we talk about this for a second? Actually, because I did. I think that the mortgage fraud thing, it's a very severe statute. That is. You know, this is just the power imbalance of banks versus individuals. Go to prison for 10 years because you could have gotten a different interest rate if you had checked a few different boxes. You know, it's. I, I think it's. I think this is actually a statute totally apart from Trump and Tish James. I think it's a pretty severe one. Unless it's a systemic. Someone's doing this over and over again. Clearly, there are people who, for pretty minor stuff, they go. They'll serve. I think the average mortgage fraud sentence is like two years in federal prison or something. I mean, you take. You know, people get sent away for this.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, that's at least criminal. This is civil. So they didn't even attempt to charge him with a criminal offense. They just said, you got a loan you shouldn't have gotten, in the opinion of the state of New York. And we are, as a result, going to give the rate, in our opinion, that you should have paid. And the difference between the rate that you should have paid and the rate that you got is going to be a fine to come back to the state of your.

[Buck Sexton]

This is also to suggest that Tish James and her team are better, in retrospect, assessors of real estate value not only than Donald Trump, but the banks who have their own independence, not inspection. What do you call it when someone comes. Is it the assessor or. No, it's the.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, yeah. More a mortgage evaluator.

[Buck Sexton]

The guy who evaluates whatever you want. There's a term for it, but. Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Appraiser. My point, the mortgage appraiser. The appraisal. Appraiser.

[Buck Sexton]

That's the word I'm looking at. Thank you. Appraiser. This is. This is absurd, right? I mean, these are. People looked at this, said, this is a great deal. It would be like if, Clay, if you and I were sitting there and we were. We were buying a car from. From. From Tish James, and we said, this is the price. And she said, that's a great price. And we paid that price. And she says, great, I got a good price on my car. You guys got a car you like. Everyone's happy. And then later, she's like, you know what? I'm going to prosecute you guys. You paid way too little for that car. It's like you agreed to the price of the car. Like, everyone was happy. I don't understand.

[Clay Travis]

It is even crazier than that, Buck, because it's not even about the deal. It's about Trump's politics, because they would have never, ever looked at this if he hadn't got involved in politics. So it was all pre.

[Buck Sexton]

It's all, it's all pretextual. But the fact that this was even broad is, Is madness. But, you know, when you bring up the Cribble versus Seminole Cribble, sorry, criminal versus civil separation, remember, it's a, it's a fit for Everybody. It's a 50%, 51% standard, which is so, so hugely different. The EG and Carol thing, the standard the jury has is. Do you think it's like a 50 better than 50, 50 shot? This lady's telling the truth. On, again, on the sexual assault part, not actually on. On rape. I think there was a distinction that was made in that. In that case about it. Right. So essentially, do you think. Do you think Trump might have grabbed or groped this woman? You know, that's different than did he actually forcibly penetrate this woman? Which I believe that was not what he was found.

[Clay Travis]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

And that's where he went after Stephanopoulos. That wasn't even in the civil trial.

[Clay Travis]

Found to be that they found that he did not.

[Buck Sexton]

He did not do that. Yeah, but, but do you think that maybe he groped this lady in a. And the standard in, in a criminal trial, it would be, guys, are you absolutely. I mean, the real standard, beyond a reasonable doubt, are you absolutely sure that Donald Trump grabbed this woman 30 years ago and should possibly lose his freedom? That's criminal, civil. It's. Hey, do you think he was, you know, grabbing this lady? We don't know, but, like, better than 50. 50. Huge difference.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

And that's why when they, when they change the rules and they use these civil things, they're just hoping to get a jury that doesn't like Trump that goes, yeah, whatever, screw him.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. They were trying to bankrupt him. They were trying to imprison him for life. They were trying to end his political future. And now the shoe is on the other foot. As Trump has said, in the first term, he was the hunted. Now he's the hunter. And I do think it's important to play back. Here is Letitia James bragging in 2023. I'm going to come back to all of you soon with a check for $250 million. Remember, they also tried to ban him from doing business ever again in New York. And my recollection is the Trump sons. The Trump sons were banned from doing business in New York over this. I mean, this was effectively an attempt to force Trump out of New York. And honestly, when this all happened. I remember we talked about it a lot on the show, but I said, this is why I'm never leaving Tennessee. I'm very comfortable living in my red state of Tennessee. People that. I'm not saying I'm going to be perfect, but I don't have to worry about getting attacked like this. This is cut 27. Letitia James bragging about taking Trump's money.

[Lisa Booth]

Listen, I will be honored when I walk into that courtroom on October 2nd. Well, my, my role is civil.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

But.

[Lisa Booth]

I will come back before you soon with a check for $250 million. And to let you know that he is no longer allowed to do business in the state of New York. Yeah, we got a. We've got a special charge to. To show up and stand up for one another.

[Clay Travis]

She's in trouble. She's in real trouble. If she weren't in New York, she already would have lost her job. And I know there's an investigation into her, but with this New York appeals court decision, I think she's in trouble. I haven't forgotten about Alvin Bragg. I know Trump has not either. I know his DOJ is investigating both of these individuals. Again, I think the felonies are going to be tossed eventually on appeal in New York. I think the timing on this is not coincidental. They held this for a year, if I'm not mistaken, to wait till after the election to release this opinion. And I. Again, this is total vindication for Trump, but I think he wants to take the next step and send a message that total vindication for him is not. I mean, he still had to spend millions of dollars in legal fees. He still had to tie up hundreds of millions of dollars. I think he had to get a bond of $150 million or something to even appeal this. I understand why he wants there to be consequences for Letitia James and why he wants there to be consequences for Alvin Bragg. One more cut, Buck. This was Letitia James, before all this happened, going on the View and saying, I'm going to get Trump. Remember, this is unprecedented. Cut 28.

[Buck Sexton]

You also intend to prosecute him after he is out of office. Correct.

[Lisa Booth]

Our investigation currently is civil in nature. It is not criminal.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Lisa Booth]

Our civil suit will continue whether he's president or not. And so after January 20th at 12 o', clock, our investigation will continue. Joy, he cannot pardon himself. What he could do is step down and allow the Vice president, Vice President Pence, to pardon him. Now, it's important to understand he is pardoned from federal crimes, but he is not pardoned from state crimes. Last year, I introduced a bill in the state legislature which would close the pardon loophole so that individuals such as the President of the United States would not evade justice. It's important that we have this check on presidential powers.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

What?

[Clay Travis]

There's so many things I would like to call her that would not be allowed on FCC broadcast. But has she ever commented on Joe Biden's pardons?

[Buck Sexton]

No. She's a horror. She's a horrible person just based on her actions. I mean, what she did. Trump is a father, He's a grandfather, he's an American. He's a patriot. And the glee she has trying to. He's a president and former president, current president. The glee that she takes and the sense of pride she has in trying to destroy somebody over what? All this. All this flowery language he's using about, you know, no one's above the law and everything else. I'm sorry, what's the law that he broke?

[Clay Travis]

What's the.

[Buck Sexton]

What's the bad thing that he did that we need to punish? The law that he broke is being Trump and taking the fight to the left and making Democrats sad at election time. That's the law that he broke.

[Clay Travis]

And honestly having the misfortune to have done it all while having many of his businesses registered in New York, which I think the ultimate consequence of all of this is. A lot of people said, I'm not willing to have my businesses based on in New York where I can be prosecuted if my politics don't end up aligning with whoever is in power there. I think Elon Musk saw this. I think it's why he's moved so much of his assets to Texas. It's why I'm never leaving Tennessee. I imagine it's one reason you're happy to be in Florida, but I think a lot of people out there with New York assets have made that decision. Look, I told you about my trip to Legacy Box headquarters, Chattanooga, Tennessee. My mom's hometown. What a cool experience it was. It was like being in a time capsule because they can take all of your media, 8 millimeter films, VHS tapes, old photographs, and they can digitize them. And they have different parts of their huge facility there in Chattanooga where they are digitizing so many of these different. So many of these different products. In fact, I was talking with Adam, one of the co founders there, and he said, look, we basically are on eBay buying VHS, VCR, VCRs all the time. And he said, we got techs who can put these things back, working together because they're not making more VCRs. And we want to make sure that we can preserve your family's memories. They do incredible work. Right now, before the holidays start, you can get 50 off your order. You get the originals back. It's very easy to use. Go to legacybox.com clay50 off your order. That's legacybox.com clay one more time, legacybox.com clay sometimes all you can do is laugh. And they do a lot of it with the Sunday hang. Join Clay and Buck as they laugh it up in the Clay and Buck podcast feed on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. Some news out there, as we discussed in the first hour, Trump with a big legal win. New York appeals court tosses his $500 million mortgage fraud civil penalty verdict from Attorney General Letitia James. Trump has reacted as you would imagine that Trump has reacted. We've got news that Trump now says we'll have some fun with this probably in the third hour. First of all, DC crime has basically collapsed. Carjacking's down 83%. Robberies down by half. In the nine some odd days since Trump deployed the National Guard and additional resources to help drive down crime. As we are speaking, I believe it has now been you jinx this thing because inevitably it's going to end. But it has been over a week since, since there was a murder in Washington, D.C. they have searched the record books and they cannot find a summer, which is when murder typically peaks. Kids are out of school. There's way more people out and about in the streets. It's usually that time when murders are peaking all over the country. They have not found a summer stretch like this in decades going back to try to find a period of time where there has been no murders occurring. So we're going to get into this maybe in the third hour. But let's first, we're going to get to Cracker Barrel momentarily here. But I teased this as we went to break yesterday. As many of you know, producer Greg dropped the ball. He said we like to end hours and we certainly like to end the show, if you haven't noticed, on an uplifting idea. And producer Greg said, hit this talk back. And immediately it was a guy talking about working on the suicide hotline and trying to get people to not kill themselves. And everybody was just like, well, thanks, producer Greg. We're just going off into the rest of the day in an awful spirit.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, well, to be fair, the jet, the gentleman was saying that people who have cats when they are in a very bad way mentally sometimes what is able to get them through that when they call the suicide help line is, well, I need to take care of my cat.

[Clay Travis]

All that's very fine. But suicide helpline stories should not be the one that we end the show with.

[Buck Sexton]

We did not get fair warning. We thought people, we thought Cat Lane was going to be coming at you and making fun of you. And instead it was like a very earnest and serious talkback. That's what I'm saying.

[Clay Travis]

Because objective I suggested that msnbc, instead of rebranding as Ms. Now, should rebrand as Menopause, the Menopause Network, and that they should spell the paws P A W s with a cat paw to reach out to all of their childless cat ladies that are the base of the MSNBC viewing audience. But producer Greg, after throwing the show off the rails, recorded his own talk back. We have not heard this. To apologize to everyone, here it is.

[Buck Sexton]

Hey, guys, it's producer Greg. Yeah, sorry I kind of led you down the path there on that last talk back yesterday. It was a little grim, but I thought it was an interesting point, especially as someone who owns three cats myself, that women won't kill themselves because they have to feed their cats. Anyway, sorry about that. Meow Culpa. I like the Meow Culpa, though.

[Clay Travis]

Meow Culpa is pretty good.

[Buck Sexton]

I'll give a high paw to Greg on that one.

[Clay Travis]

He also though, even there he's trying to be like, have it both ways. Like, hey, cat people, I've got three cats too. I think there may be a revolution brewing among the cat fanatics out there and. But thanks to producer Greg, so that leads into. So hopefully all of you are still alive. That leads into Cracker Barrel, which is dead because they have decided that they need to rebrand themselves. So I have eaten at Cracker Barrel a lot. During the commercial break, my mom texted me and said, your dad and I used to eat at the very first Cracker Barrel in Lebanon. Lebanon. Tennessee spelled like Lebanon used to stop there going to Tennessee football games. The Southerners are not going to be happy about this. So I don't know what percentage of our audience has ever eaten at a Cracker Barrel. I have eaten at many different Cracker Barrels over the years. The way that I would describe Cracker Barrel is it's basically what your grandma cooked. If you grew up in the south, that is this where I would get.

[Buck Sexton]

Say, as a Yankee, my first introduction to country fried steak, perhaps that would be.

[Clay Travis]

That would be on the. That would be a very. They fry a lot of things at Cracker Barrel, as your grandma in the south would have fried everything. They have great biscuits and gravy. They have. I mean, again, the way that I would.

[Buck Sexton]

How are they for the gluten free community, Clay?

[Clay Travis]

Probably not great.

[Buck Sexton]

Probably not great. That's what I was thinking.

[Clay Travis]

I don't think gluten free New Yorkers are not the base of the Cracker Barrel food pyramid. I think it's fair to say they.

[Buck Sexton]

Have, I feel judged.

[Clay Travis]

They have a country store which has all sorts of things that your grandma would like to buy. I think that's probably a fair way to describe.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm looking at the menu now. A lot of the food is beige.

[Clay Travis]

What does that mean?

[Buck Sexton]

The color? It's just like looking at the menu, they have all the pictures of the food and it's like. It's just like variations of beige.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, it is like breaded things.

[Buck Sexton]

Bread things that are deep fried in bread. Things put between pieces of bread and French fries.

[Clay Travis]

Yes. Like they have cornbread with everything. They have rolls with everything. The bread is very much of a southern staple. So it basically is whatever was super popular to eat in the south in the 40s, the 50s, the 60s, the 70s. I think it's probably fair to say this is that writ large. Now. I think the Cracker Barrel is basically in all 50 states. They're based here in Nashville. They decided, Buck, that they needed to rebrand to get hipper, to get fresher. Now, of all the restaurant chains out there, I can't think of a less hip and a less forward thinking. And I actually think that's the strength of the brand. In other words, the nostalgia is what makes Cracker Barrel exist as a brand. If you want to go to a hip restaurant, you are not going to go to Cracker Barrel. That's that. That's not their brand. So they rebranded. They took the old grandfather off of their logo sitting by the Cracker Barrel and they now just have the words Cracker Barrel written there? The stock. This is crazy. The stock Today has dropped $8 a share. They have taken $100 million off of the market cap. Do we have the audio of the cackling Rachel Maddow looking new CEO of Cracker Barrel? It's as if she is a terrorist trying to destroy the existing track. Like if you created a movie, She's a biscuit terrorist. Clay, if you created a movie villain to destroy a southern restaurant chain, it would look exactly like this woman looks do we have the audio of this woman? I think she was on Good Morning America talking about how everyone loved the.

[Buck Sexton]

We don't have it. Yeah, we will have it in the next second. So I'll introduce it.

[Clay Travis]

So this is, this is just. To me, maybe this would have flown a decade ago, but Cracker Barrel seems to me to have completely bud lighted themselves. And I think they're going to have to fire this CEO. I think they're going to have to acknowledge what I just told you, which is Cracker Barrel is a nostalgic place designed to evoke fond memories of people who used to eat southern meals like this in the past and is not ever going to be something different than it is and in fact should lean even more into the brand that it has created as opposed to trying to be, I don't know, like an orange and brown version of Applebee's. No, no shame for Applebee's out there.

[Buck Sexton]

It is, it is impressively, calorically dense in some cases here, the hash brown casserole shepherd's pie comes in at a lean 1400 calories.

[Clay Travis]

So it is not a place where you go to lose weight. You do not go to Cracker Barrel to lose weight.

[Buck Sexton]

And can I honest question Cracker Barrel versus Olive Garden, which one is, which one do you think has better food? Because I have not been to the Cracker Barrel.

[Clay Travis]

I am an, I'm an expert on chain restaurants because I have eaten at them all often, frequently. I think it just depends on what kind of food you want. I mean, Olive Garden I think is pretty good Italian food in a chain setting, just like I think. And people are going to get all fired up at me. They're either going to agree. It is like, I think chain restaurants in general do a pretty good job. Like, is. Is Outback Steakhouse what an actual Australian steakhouse looks like? No, you know, but you know, you.

[Buck Sexton]

Know that Foster's Australian beer I believe is. Well, first of all, it's not, I don't know if it's sold in Australia, probably is, but I think it's like bottled in New Jersey or something. I mean, it's like, oh, yeah, actually, I'll get to it.

[Clay Travis]

Well, but by the way, this goes both ways because they sell Budweiser as a premium brand in Australia.

[Buck Sexton]

Right.

[Clay Travis]

So like Budweiser is, I don't know, it's. What is the most premium brand?

[Buck Sexton]

It's like, I'm sorry, Fort Worth, Texas is the primary brewing location for Fosters.

[Clay Travis]

You can't find, you can't find an off a Foster's. But guess what? The Bloomin Onion may be the greatest chain restaurant dish ever created. I'll throw it out there. It's unbelievable. If you don't like a Bloomin Onion, I would submit to you. Your taste buds probably don't work.

[Buck Sexton]

I think that was the most calorically dense single menu item across all American restaurants at one point in time. The Bloomin Onion, I think it was something like almost 3,000 calories if you ate one of those. So I would hope it tastes good.

[Clay Travis]

That is amazing. And so I think what's happening here is I just said this on Fox News right before we came on the air. Aisha Hasny, who used to live in your building in New York City to tie everything together, she was hosting for Harris Faulkner. I really think that all of these companies need a director of common sense. And that is someone that actually consumes the product and says, hey, is this something that the base that actually made this company exist is going to support? If you had that Bud Light never happens with Sidney with Dylan Mulvaney. They should go with Sidney Sweeney. The Cracker Barrel new logo. And the remake does not happen like this. You would not have Nike lighting its brand on fire with Colin Kaepernick back in the day. The NBA wouldn't decide to put political slogans on the back of jerseys and Black Lives Matter on the court. Again, just basic common sense. These companies, and this is, this is me getting on a soapbox because it fires me up so much. These companies employ people who have never, ever been fans of the company that they're leading. And they decide that they should make a choice without understanding the base of the company at all.

[Buck Sexton]

You can't run a kitchen if you don't know what your food tastes. Tastes like. You can't be a good chef if you're not putting that wooden spoon up to your mouth and knowing what's going on. You got to eat your own cooking. Whether it's radio or it's running a restaurant or whatever. You got to know the product you're putting out there.

[Clay Travis]

Look, if you didn't have a Southern grandma, you probably shouldn't be the CEO of Cracker Barrel, because if you had a Southern grandma, you would recognize the menu and you would know exactly what the business is. They're trying to evoke the idea of walking into your grandma's kitchen. Right? Can I say grandma?

[Buck Sexton]

Home cooked meals caller Steve in San Antonio, Texas, wants to weigh in on this one. And I think we should let him because he has a different perspective on the Cracker Barrel. What's going on?

[Clay Travis]

Steve, good morning.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

Thank you. I'm in San Antonio. Cracker Barrel has been here a long time. Long, long time. So I've eaten there, you know, now and again for a long, long time. And in recent years, their product took a turn for the worse. You know, I don't know why or exactly what it. What the particulars of that were, but I had pretty much stopped going there. And then I saw something that, that they changed their menu. I forget exactly how they said it. So I went and checked it out and yeah, really did look different. And I saw food coming out that looked different. So I tried it and they improved it like 500% from where it had dropped to. And.

[Clay Travis]

Okay. Thank you for calling in as a Cracker Barrel employee to tell us what you think the, the stock, Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Dismissive. Dismissive of our esteemed callers. Taste buds.

[Clay Travis]

I don't, I don't buy that this guy happens to call in and give the exact corporate line that the CEO.

[Big Three Basketball Announcer]

Wow.

[Clay Travis]

Good Morning America.

[Buck Sexton]

We have a plant in this audience of.

[Clay Travis]

I'm just saying, when you call in with the exact talking points of the corporation, I just question whether you are giving your true opinion. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he. Maybe he just happens to have the exact talking points. We'll play it for you. That the CEO gave this morning on Good Morning America. I just think it's awful. I'm skeptical.

[Buck Sexton]

You come for the Cracker Barrel. You best not miss when you're. When you're talking about Mr. Clay Travis's cracker Barrel here, you better know what you're doing.

[Clay Travis]

The odds. What are the odds that somebody calls in and sounds exactly like what the CEO would want them to sound like?

[Buck Sexton]

Maybe the new country fried steak is just better. Look, I have no dog in this fight. I've never even been to this place. I don't even think I've seen one before. It's not a thing we have in the. In Yankee town in the Northeast. Okay. I don't think there are any cracker guys. Are there cracker barrels up in the Northeast? I don't.

[Clay Travis]

I would bet they have a cracker Barrel somewhere in rural New York. I would bet. It's a good question. How many different states are these in? I would bet the majority of this audience has been to a Cracker Barrel before.

[Buck Sexton]

Wow. There are cracker barrels in New York near major highways.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. Not in New York City, but yeah. Most, most people out there, I would think I would think that they actually. That they actually have probably been.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

There we go.

[Clay Travis]

Well, if you think San Antonio caller was actually organic and he just happens to have the exact same opinion as the CEO when we come back, we will play the CEO this morning saying everybody loves everything that she's doing. It's ironic how that always happens when the CEO goes on television. Everybody agrees with every decision they've made. But I want to tell you about trust and will. Maybe, maybe you were listening to producer Greg's final call at the end of the last show and you were thinking, hey, maybe it's time. Maybe it's time. I gotta go get my Trust And Will done. Trustandwill.com you can get 20% off right now. We're having a funeral for Cracker Barrel. Go ahead and take care of your own funeral. Get your trusted will done. Trustandwill.com is the website. 20% off when you use my name, Clay. Look, everybody needs to do this. If you think your family's going to feud after you're gone, grandmother, grandfather, dad, mom, whoever it is, if you're trying to make your family's life better and you're trying to leave behind less chaos, less division, and you just want what you think is best for the family, why not tell them? Exactly. You don't have to get a lawyer. You can save 20% right now. Trustinwill.com my name, Clay. That's trustandwill.com my name, Clay. Stories of freedom, stories of America. Inspirational stories that unite us all each day. Spend time with Clay and box. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. The reviews and ratings are in and Ice Cube's Big Three is the surprise hit of the summer. And to cap off the season, I Heart presents the the Big 3 Basketball Championship and 8th annual Big 3 All Star Game this coming Sunday, August 24th. Live from Orlando, the remaining two teams fight it out for the Big 3 Championship Dr. J Trophy in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. Don't miss the wild conclusion of Big Three's eighth and most historic season ever. This is the game no one wants to lose and there's no crying in the Big Three. The action starts with the Big Three eighth annual All Star Game. Don't miss All Stars Dwight Howard, Montrez Harrell, MVP Michael Beasley, Lance will make you Dan Stevenson, Jordan Crawford, Greg Monroe, Earl Clark, Nazir Kor and more show you why they are the best three on three basketball players in the world Big Three's exciting all star game plus the crowning of a new Big Three champion. The no holds part action starts Sunday at 2pm Eastern, 11 Pacific only on.

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[Clay Travis]

Now you can stream Fox News live on the Fox One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories. Live as they happen. All from the FOX voices you trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your seven day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now.

[Lisa Booth]

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[Clay Travis]

Didn't expect this, but just saw his tweet. Probably the man who is going to be the next governor at the great state of Florida, Byron Donalds used to work at Cracker Barrel and I'm going to let you tell the story to everybody. Appreciate you calling in. So you come down to the south from New York and you got a job at Cracker Barrel.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

Absolutely. It's good to be with you. I worked at Cracker Barrel in Tallahassee when I was going to college. I was a waiter. I actually was able to become a three star waiter and so that's how high I rose in the ranks. Man, I was a three star. I basically did everything in that store at the one in Tallahassee and then when I moved to Naples, I transferred to the one down in Naples. It's on I75, exit 101. I worked there for about four or five months in Naples before I got.

[Buck Sexton]

My first job at the Naples Cracker Barrel. Congressman. Did they just. Did they have the butler slip you like hundred dollar bills? You know that's a very high, high rent area.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

Listen, even at the Naples Cracker Barrel, it's about biscuits and a hash brown casserole. That's what it's about. Ain't nobody slipping hundreds in there, I promise you that.

[Clay Travis]

So what do you think about the rebrand? So this is actually a brand I was. It's funny, your world and Cracker Barrel collides. I used to work at American Eagle back when I was a teenager. So the whole Sydney Sweeney thing, I felt like that whole controversy was designed for me. When you saw that they're rebranding and changing the logo and everything else. What's your reaction?

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

I hate it. I don't even understand why I needed a rebrand. Cracker Barrel is a staple of, you know, of the country. Everybody comes in there to eat. Doesn't matter who you are. You've come in there, you've had your. Your pancakes and your scrambled eggs and bacon. You made sure you got your biscuits. You might have tried the chicken, the country fried steak or the chicken fried chicken. Look, I'm going through the menu and it's been more than 25 years since I worked there, but I will tell you, it's a staple. So I don't even know why we needed this rebrand. Some things just are what they are. That's Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. I don't even know why they removed that out of the name. And then. And even in the inside, it looks. It looks like what they did is they tried to have it become like a photo. A photo shoot for like Better Homes and Gard. I don't even know what that place looks like. It doesn't look like anything. That is what. Cracker Barrel. What made Cracker Barrel a real staple in the United States.

[Buck Sexton]

Congressman, if I, you know, I am. I am sorry to say I have never, never been to a Cracker Barrel establishment. Clearly.

[Clay Travis]

I know he. Buck is from. You're from New York too. I could. It doesn't surprise me. Like I grew up going to these things all over the country, but I mean, describe Cracker Barrel food to Buck as someone who.

[Buck Sexton]

I was going to say, I mean, this is a gentleman. This is a gentleman who both appreciates the menu and had to people navigate it for many years a long time ago. Congressman. What. As a. As a first timer, if I walked in there, what is like the best of Cracker Barrel? Like, what would I forget about my dietary restrictions? We'll leave that aside.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

Let me help you. If you're coming in for breakfast, you have to get the old timers breakfast. Very simple, straightforward. Couple scrambled eggs, some bacon, some sausage. They don't really do link sausage too much. Most of it's patty sausage. You could get biscuits. You might get toast if you ask for it. But you really just want the biscuits. If you really want to get into it, get the French toast. The French toast is some of the best I've ever had, whether I was serving it or I've eaten French toast somewhere else. That's really good stuff. If you're coming in for dinner, you can't go wrong with the catfish fillets. They're awesome. Fried or grilled is going to be great. If you love fried okra, you can get that. Green beans are always there. Macaroni and cheese is always on point. And real quick for the people who love biscuits, they got to have their sausage gravy. I was never a sausage gravy guy, but a lot of people like it. It's iconic, man. It is great food. No matter what you eat, go there. I'm telling you, when you travel the country, go to Cracker Barrel. Maybe not this new version. Find one of the old ones. We're still designed the old way because the food is fantastic.

[Clay Travis]

Why do you think this happens? Like you are running for governor of Florida. You're in Congress now. You have to talk to people from all different backgrounds all over the state of Florida, all over the country. And as you just said, most people understand Cracker Barrel. It's like old southern cooking. You know what, you're going to get everybody's grandma cooked like that. If you're in the south at all. And it has kind of that down home nostalgic feeling. Why is there such an end? Look, you can connect this with Bud Light. I think you can connect it with lots of things. Why do we let people who never consume the product go out and try to change a brand like this? It seems to happen everywhere.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

I mean, look, I think you sometimes will get a new CEO who thinks they have to rethink everything to prove their worth. What you really need to do as a chief executive is just make sure that the brand is earning money, make sure that the operations are sound, make sure the employees are getting the support that they need. And then, you know, no pun intended, but just let the place cook. Because if it's cooking good food, people will continue to come. So these rebrands, I think sometimes you'll have an executive who thinks they have to leave their mark. And that's really not what you need to be doing. You need to be making sure that everybody's making money. The earning per share has continued to look good. I don't know how much they're spending on this rebrand. Just looking at how some of the responses have been like mine and a lot of other responses. It's not going well, you know, so it's probably going to cost shareholders money. It's. It's pretty unfortunate.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, shifting gears here, we got college football kicking off in Ireland this weekend and other places. And then next weekend, I was actually going to text you about this now I got you on the show. I'll just tell you. I am going to Alabama, Florida State. I have never been to FSU for a game. For those of you don't know, Big Saturday in Tallahassee. One, will you be at the game? Two, what should I know and or go see at Florida State. I think I'm going to take a couple of my kids for that game on opening weekend of college football.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

Number one, I won't be in Tallahassee. I wish I was. I was already scheduled to be in another part of Florida doing an event. So I'm sad I'm a miss the Knowles. But you know, I'm looking forward to seeing how we start this season. To make sure you take your kids to the unconquered statue at the stadium. It's an iconic statue right in front of Doe Campbell. Trust me, it's nothing like it. Three and I'm, and I'm pulling from my nose. I think we're going to rebound from last season. So when that tomahawk chop comes out, let your kids do the tomahawk chop. Let them be a part of it. It's iconic in college football.

[Clay Travis]

Outstanding to throw this.

[Buck Sexton]

I just want to throw this out there I was looking at, looking this up and hat tip. Our friend Sean Davis. Congressman, this may go a little bit to what happened with Cracker Barrel. Bring us back around here for a second. The Cracker Barrel chain. This is the New York Times. Cracker Barrel chain evoking southern style home cooking and hospitality. Long seen as a white coated establishment that aligned with conservative social norms. Oh, oh, okay.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

You see this is what I mean. You get some news. Some new CEO who thinks it's time to do something different now. They're concerned that too many conservatives eat at Cracker Barrel. I got a news flash for this lady. I'm assuming it's a lady now. That's, that's the new.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, it's definitely.

[Buck Sexton]

It's a lady who looks like, looks like she's feeding her five cats while she's watching Ms. Now. Yes.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

Oh boy. All right, News flash for her. This is how you lose customers because go look at your customer base. They're just regular people. They go and they eat good breakfast. A lot of repeats from people who live in the community who swear by Cracker Barrel and now they're gonna somewhere else. I mean this is how you end up losing your company. This is, these are the dumb decisions where people who think they're smarter than everybody else, what you should do is Go be undercover boss and go travel the country before you do these remodels and to see how people are in these restaurants. I worked in a Cracker Barrel for almost four years. Everybody was great. I never felt, you know, I'm a black man. I never felt like, oh, somebody was trying to hold me down because I was serving biscuits in the morning. It was a great.

[Buck Sexton]

It sounds to me, Congressman, like, you disagree with the New York. The New York Times describes it as a, quote, Cracker Barrel, as, quote, a lightning rod for identity politics.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

It's the New York Times. Of course I disagree with them. They're stupid. They don't know what they're talking about. That's why they're all.

[Clay Travis]

But I mean, I do think this is important. You worked as a waiter there, and you said this earlier, people from all different backgrounds come in, and it sounds like you had a really good experience with the patrons and the overall environment of the place when you worked there. Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

What percentage of patrons would you say if you had to just put a percentage on it? We're just, we're, we're. We're friendly and polite folks who were there to have a nice meal, either alone or with their friends or family. Like, what. What would you, what would you put that number at roughly, in your four years of working there? I'm just curious.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

Oh, it's like 98%. Like 98.

[Buck Sexton]

98.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

A good number. You know, every now and again, somebody might get a little rowdy if they didn't get their biscuits.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, that's true of any. That's true of any restaurant. Right? But yeah.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

Yeah, yeah, 98%. Everybody was good. They just. They just want to come in and eat good food. That's what it's about.

[Buck Sexton]

Alrighty, Congressman, anything else you want to announce while we're here? While we got you? I mean, you're already running for governor, right? I'm a Floridian. So can you keep this place? Can you just promise you'll keep this place awesome when you're governor?

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

What I. What I'll tell you is, in Florida, we're going to continue to be the free state of Florida. That will not change. Everything is going great. Proud and honored to have President Trump's endorsement, Rick Scott's endorsement, most of the congressional delegation, we're just going to take our state to a whole nother level, but it will continue to be the free state of Florida.

[Buck Sexton]

Appreciate you, sir. We'll talk to you again soon, especially as that gets closer.

[Clay Travis]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Thanks for making the time for US today, Congressman Donalds.

[Congressman Byron Donalds]

All right, take it easy guys.

[Buck Sexton]

See Clay, never know. You don't have to look that long. You figure, figure it out. This CEO came in. It's because there's this. There's a perception among peop. This is what I think we've unearthed here. And I'm speaking kind of from the outsider perspective. There's a perception among coastal elites that Cracker Barrel is coded as old, white and Southern. And therefore inherently, even though it's just selling biscuits and pancakes and things to.

[Clay Travis]

Whomever goes through the door and people.

[Buck Sexton]

Seem to love the place, inherently problematic. There's something problematic about the perception which is not even rooted in anything of it's for it's old white and Southern.

[Clay Travis]

Well, what I would say, and I am not an expert in cuisine, clearly, but in my experience, white and black people in the south eat very, very similar foods. So I've never met anybody of any race in the south who was like, you know what? I'm not really a biscuit guy. You know what? I'm not really, I'm not really into fried catfish. You know what? I'm not really into cobblers and pecan pies and all this stuff. I just, I see people eating very similar foods. I've been into cracker barrels all over the Southeast and my experience would reflect what Congressman Donald just said, which is most of the people there are just good old fashioned people. Now would it surprise me if Cracker Barrel, to your point for the New York Times, codes, because it's a Southern based company, as more likely to be eaten in by a Trump voter than. I don't know. I'm trying to think. I don't even know what the equivalent restaurant of liberals would be. Yeah, I would think that. But it's all over the South. I mean, so this is what people have picked up on the South.

[Buck Sexton]

This is what they picked up on. Is that to quote, modernize it or to update it is to de. Southernize it.

[Clay Travis]

But that's my issue with it. It is the South. It's like, but this is.

[Buck Sexton]

But that's the point. It's everyone's issue with it. That's why there's 500,000 tweets.

[Clay Travis]

And this is where I also think you, I think it's very similar to Bud Light. You take somebody from New York or LA who would never drink a Bud Light and they say, you know what we should do? We should have trans influencers. Was there any trans person who was not drinking Bud Light because Bud Light wasn't Trans enough? Of course not. The reason people go to Cracker Barrel is to get a good home cooked, old school style Southern meal that your black grandma or your black or your white grandma might have made for you back in the day. And as some grandmas to this day continue to cook. And so when you're trying to take away that which made people go to it in the first place, again, I don't understand. The marketplace for Cracker Barrel is not to be Applebee's, and that's not a shot at Applebee's. But Applebee's is like the most. We're probably just got a big deal we're about to do with Applebee's and they're like, this is done forever. But I would say like, Applebee's is the most generic Americana style food out there. Like, what does Applebee stand for? Nothing, right? It's like kind of. This is generic. This is generic. Whoa.

[Buck Sexton]

Like, I feel like Applebee's just caught.

[Clay Travis]

An eye down there. I. I'm not trying to take Applebee's out, but like Chili's, you would be like, hey, Chili's is Mexican style food. Olive Garden, you'd be like, olive Garden is Italian style food. I mentioned it earlier. Outback is Australian steakhouse, Steakhouse, South Texas roadhouse.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, is it though, is is Outback Australia.

[Clay Travis]

I get it. I know it's not at all like that. But you understand the branding concept. The entire branding of Cracker Barrel is Southern style food. There is no competitor for that. There's a lot of competitor for Applebee's.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

You ain't imagining it. The world has gone insane. Reclaim your sanity with Clay and Buck. Find them on the free iHeartradio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Clay Travis]

Now you can stream Fox News Live on the Fox One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen. All from the Fox voices you trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your 7 day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now.

[Clay Travis]

You want smart political talk without the meltdowns.

[Lisa Booth]

We got you.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm Carol Markowitz.

[Clay Travis]

And I'm Mary Kathryn Ham. We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.

[Buck Sexton]

Normally is about real conversations, thoughtful, try.

[Clay Travis]

To be funny, grounded, and no panic. We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day. Join us every Tuesday and Thursday Normally on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or.

[Lisa Booth]

Wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.