Hour 1 - AOC Whiffs Big Time

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 - AOC Whiffs Big Time
Date: February 16, 2026
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton

Episode Overview

In this President's Day episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton dive into the recent performances of Democratic politicians Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Governor Gretchen Whitmer at the Munich Security Conference. With sharp criticism, humor, and a focus on credential gaps in national security, the hosts highlight what they perceive as a lack of preparedness and basic knowledge among rising progressive political figures. The discussion broadens into commentary on identity politics, media echo chambers, and how modern politicians function more as influencers than statesmen. Memorable moments include a mashup of AOC’s answer with the infamous “Miss South Carolina” pageant response, and candid speculation on the Democratic vice-presidential race for 2028.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

President’s Day & Work Ethic in Media

• Buck announces the show is live on President’s Day, contrasting their work schedule to those who get the federal holiday off.
• Only about 20% of private industry gets the day off (03:19–03:21).

AOC at the Munich Security Conference

On Defending Taiwan Against China (05:54–06:41)

• AOC is asked if the U.S. should commit troops to defend Taiwan if China attacks. Her answer is described as meandering, lacking clarity or commitment.
• Buck and Clay mock the vagueness and incoherence of her response, comparing it to a student unprepared for a law school cold call.
• Quote (Buck, 06:41):
  “It’s law school class and AOC got called on by the professor, and not only did she fail to do the reading, she doesn’t know what case they’re talking about.”
• Clay notes that for a congresswoman of roughly eight years, AOC should easily be able to field such a basic foreign policy question, offering a concise, hypothetical answer she could have used (07:44–09:21).

Comparison to Infamous Miss South Carolina Moment (20:38–22:23)

• Producers play a mash-up of AOC’s answer on Taiwan and Miss South Carolina’s infamous “maps” response from the 2007 pageant.
• Clay: “To me, this kind of answer is disqualifying." (08:05)
• The hosts emphasize the similarity in lack of preparedness and coherence.

On Western Culture and “Whiteness” (10:59–14:43)

• AOC criticizes Marco Rubio’s defense of Western civilization; misstates the origins of cowboys, overlooking the role of Spanish influence.
• Clay points out the irony and error, noting Mexican heritage’s Spanish roots, as evidenced by the Spanish language in Mexico (12:02–12:04).
• AOC claims “whiteness is an imaginary thing,” provoking Buck to ask, “So what is blackness? … If you start saying things like jazz music, basketball, that’s African American, that's black American culture.” (13:47–14:09)
• Buck and Clay argue AOC falls back on identity politics, oversimplifying history and culture.

Gretchen Whitmer at the Munich Security Conference

• Whitmer is called out for lacking substantive knowledge on Ukraine when asked about U.S. objectives in the war (27:02–27:31).
• Quote (Whitmer, 27:09):
  “The two that I am on the panel with are much more steeped in foreign policy than a governor is. But … I do think Ukraine’s independence, keeping their landmass and having the support of all the allies, is the goal from my vantage point.”
• Buck notes that at least Whitmer admits her limitations, in contrast to AOC who “acts like she’s really smart while knowing nothing.” (27:31–27:59)
• The hosts underline that Whitmer should have prepared “crib notes” before attending an international conference on foreign policy (29:21–31:34).

Commentary on Identity Politics and Media Coverage

• Clay and Buck argue that contemporary Democrats are so beholden to the oppressor/oppressed paradigm that it blocks critical thinking and historical perspective (14:43–15:51).
• They debate the reach and echo chambers of different media (36:47–37:43), suggesting viewers of left-leaning networks are shielded from their own side’s embarrassments.

Politicians as Social Media Influencers

• Buck notes that many modern politicians function more as “influencers” than serious policymakers, with voters caring more about image and style than substance (35:50–36:47).
• Quote (Buck, 35:50):
  “Politicians now are increasingly … social media influencers. They’re characters, they are entities online more than anything else.”

The 2028 Democrat Vice Presidential Race

• The hosts speculate that Whitmer and AOC are top contenders for a future Democrat VP spot, with Whitmer seen as more likely due to Michigan’s strategic importance (25:00–26:21).

Media & Corporate Ownership Sidebar

• Clay, likened to a “birdwatcher” of media mergers, offers an update on CNN’s potential sale or realignment, musing on how it might affect editorial direction (38:24–40:07).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Clay Travis (08:05):
  “To me, this kind of answer is disqualifying. … What we should do if China invades Taiwan is one of the constant hypotheticals that has existed for basically two, three generations.”
• Buck Sexton (13:47):
  "Let’s play this game for a second though. So what is blackness? Just to be clear, what is black culture? Anyone? … That’s African American. That’s black American culture."
• AOC (13:13):
  “Whiteness is an imaginary thing. Being German is real. Being Italian is real…”
• Clay Travis (14:43):
  “Identity politics has so overtaken the Democrat Party that they cannot look at anything outside the prism of colonizer and colonized… it destroys their ability to think.”
• Mash-up, AOC & Miss South Carolina (21:00–22:23):
  Stark audio comparison highlighting similar incoherence.
• Buck Sexton (35:50):
  “They’ve always been influencers. But now they’re social media influencers…so a lot of these things just come into: do you like the way someone looks? Do you like the way they sound?”
• Buck Sexton likening Clay’s media knowledge to a birdwatcher hobby (39:32–40:07).

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Key Timestamps

• AOC’s Taiwan Non-Answer: 05:54–06:41
• Critique of AOC’s Answer: 06:41–09:21
• Identity Politics Discussion: 13:13–15:51
• Rubio’s Defense of Western Civilization: 05:19–13:13
• AOC/Cowboys and Mexico Misstatement: 10:59–12:12
• AOC & Miss South Carolina Mash-up: 20:38–22:23
• Whitmer’s Noncommittal Ukraine Answer: 27:07–27:31
• Comparing Media Echo Chambers: 36:47–38:24
• Politicians as Influencers: 35:50–36:47
• Media Ownership Sidebar: 38:24–40:07

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Tone and Style

The dialogue is energetic, irreverent, and peppered with sarcasm. Clay and Buck blend political punditry with pop-culture references and direct ridicule, especially when critiquing the communication skills of AOC and Whitmer.

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Takeaway for Listeners

This episode focuses on what Clay and Buck see as “whiffs” by rising Democratic figures when confronted with basic foreign policy questions, using these moments to illustrate a broader critique of the state of left-leaning politics and media. The hosts argue that image and identity have overtaken substance—leaving politicians vulnerable when asked to demonstrate concrete knowledge. For their audience, especially those outside the usual echo chambers, the episode is designed to both inform and amuse.

Transcript

[Buck Sexton]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

20%.

[Buck Sexton]

You nailed it. Between 19 to 24 depending on the year, but about 20%. So 80% of the private industry is still working today. But it's called a federal holiday. We didn't get it. So, you know, perhaps this year I will take off Juneteenth, in fact, which is also.

[Clay Travis]

We don't get. We don't get Juneteenth MLK Day. We're live Columbus Day, and we're live on President's Day, if I'm not mistaken, and also a lot of times the Friday after Thanksgiving. So we are, I think it's fair to say in the media world probably working way more days than the vast majority of people are.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, one day we'll be on that Rachel Maddow one day a week, $30 million a year gig. But in the meantime, it's a good gig. In the meantime, we're here to bring you all the news. And for those of you who are in that fortunate 25%, you can kick back, relax all three hours. You can also take this time to get your copy of Manufacturing Delusion, which comes out tomorrow. Officially, my friends, how the left uses brainwashing, indoctrination of propaganda against you. Run up those numbers. Go to clayandbuck.com if you want, or go to Amazon or wherever you get your books. We need a lot of books sold. People are saying things like, no one reads anymore. Let's prove them wrong. Let's prove them wrong. Conservatives, people listen to this show. We read. So go check that out. Speaking of people who don't read, this is a perfect transition, I might say. AOC and Gretchen Whitmer at the Munich Security Conference. No Doubt two women who are going to be running probably along with Kamala, which. We don't need to talk about that right now. It's sad. Probably going to be running for president, and that means that they need to burnish their national security credentials. Now, I will say Clay and I pre. Show had the discussion. Do we get into Rubio's speech, which was truly magnificent, the best secretary of state speech I have heard, or certainly that I. I know.

[Clay Travis]

I just.

[Buck Sexton]

Just watched it, but. But that I can remember, it was phenomenal. It addressed a lot of things. The defense of Western civilization, the ties between America and Europe, the bond that goes far beyond just a treaty or obligation of statute. This is something that is much deeper. We'll talk about that. But, Clay, let's start with this. AOC asked some questions about some things. I want to start with her. Should the US Defend. This is cut eight. Should the US Defend Taiwan if China goes for it? Play eight.

[Clay Travis]

Would.

[Guest/Panelist]

And should the US Actually commit US Troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move? You know, I think that this is such a. You know, I think that this is a. This is, of course, a very longstanding policy of the United States. And I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, it's law school class, and AOC got called on by the professor, and not only did she fail to do the reading, she doesn't know what case they're talking about.

[Clay Travis]

It's worse than that, Buck. It's like she doesn't know that there is a legislative, executive, and judicial branch of the United States government. Um, this sounded like, if you remember, the mega viral answer, the Iraq from Miss South Carolina back in the day that went. Maybe we can grab that and. And interspice them, because I think that would be a fun take. To me, this kind of answer is disqualifying. And you might say, okay, Clay, what do you mean by that? AOC has been in Congress now, Buck, for what, eight years, basically? Didn't she get elected back in 2018? Ish, if I'm not mistaken. So I think she's been in Congress for around eight years. That's my. That's my recollection of her career. What we should do if China invades Taiwan is one of the constant hypotheticals that has existed for basically two, three generations where people have Answered here is an easy answer that AOC could give if she had in any way a functional brain. Right now, I am a congresswoman. I don't dictate foreign policy. But I think it's important that we maintain our longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity. Maybe one day down the line, if I remember sitting behind the Resolute desk, I'll have to reconcile what strategic ambiguity actually means. But today is not that day. Next question. I just did it off the top of my head. You and I are not eight year congresspeople. We are not professional politicians. You probably know way more about this by far than most professional politicians do because you just came back from Taiwan. But to be this poor at responding to a question that is not in any way difficult. Buck, if, if she had been asked, hey, there is a major issue right now on the border between India and Pakistan. Where should the border actually be drawn based on the inherent tensions that have existed in that region since the 1940s? What parallels should the line be? AOC like some questions you get asked and you could say, okay, like I understand why there's not a definitive answer there. This is not one of those. It's one of the most basic questions of rudimentary knowledge that anyone in American politics should be able to answer just immediately without even any difficulty whatsoever.

[Buck Sexton]

I would, I would even raise the ante and do what you just did. It's even worse than that, Clay, because usually AOC knows what answer her audience wants to hear because she has come across this before. She doesn't even know which side of this she's supposed to be.

[Clay Travis]

Well, that's partly true for her side, right?

[Buck Sexton]

So usually it would be, you know, if it's anything having to do with Israel, take the anti Israel side. And that's what, that's what her team wants. That's what the left, that's what the commies want. Anti Israel. That's what AOC has to do, right? There are some issues where it just falls into this bucket. Is it white people and brown people? Anywhere in the world, any issue, gotta favor the brown people. That's just what her audience demands. That's what her supporters expect. And then you sit here, you go, ok, on this one, she doesn't even know what side of it her supporters want her to be on. So it's yes, there's the lack of knowledge, the lack of information, that's clear. But beyond that there is, she hasn't even thought about this enough to know what rote answer she's supposed to give this. And I'm.

[Clay Travis]

But I was going to say this ties in directly to your point, Buck. When she answered about Rubio saying, hey, there's a history of Europe even founded in the cowboys and how they came to exist. This ties in with that buck, where her default is just white people bad, brown, black people good. And that's going to be the metric under which I try to answer any question, but it just exposes her. Listen to this, Buck. Cut six. Talking about cowboys.

[Guest/Panelist]

Rubio's speech was a pure appeal to Western culture. My favorite part was when he said that American cowboys came from Spain.

[Buck Sexton]

I thought that.

[Guest/Panelist]

I believe the Mexicans and descendants of African enslaved peoples would like to have a word on that.

[Buck Sexton]

She doesn't know. To be clear, that wasn't a misstatement. She doesn't know that there were no horses, nor was there any domestication of animals in the Americas, with the exception, as I pointed out on Twitter, of llamas by the Incas in South America. There was no. There were no horses. There were no cows that were domesticated in North America or at least in the, you know, 50 states or 48 states of America and Mexico and Clay. She doesn't know that the natives got their horses from the Spanish conquistadors. She doesn't know, it seems that Mexicans are descendants of Spaniards.

[Clay Travis]

That's why they speak Spanish.

[Buck Sexton]

There's a reason for. I was going to say there's a reason for en espanol in Mexico. They're not speaking Aztec down there.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, right. I also think her opening criticism. We've got one more cut from her. And I do think the disconnect in the average intellectual heft between Marco Rubio and AOC is, I don't know, 30, 40 IQ points, potentially, in terms of their ability to communicate and understand larger issues. Yes. Marco Rubio defended Western civilization because Western civilization is the foundation of all basically human progress throughout the past thousand years, 2,000 years, however far back you want to go. And this is also tying in to your point with she just kind of falls back on this identity politics clap trap, which is a camouflage for morons from having to actually engage on an intellectual level with complicated ideas where she says, again, brown and black people heroes. Whiteness is imaginary. I don't even know what that means. Cut seven.

[Guest/Panelist]

There's a very big difference between whiteness and national, like your actual culture. Right. Whiteness is an imaginary thing. Being German is real. Being Italian is real, you know, being English. These are rich cultural heritages that are based on values and they are so much a part of what make our cultures and our societies what they are.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay, let's play this game for a second, though. So what is blackness? Just to be clear, what is black culture? Anyone? To play this game for a second? If you start saying things like, you know, jazz music, you know, I don't know, you know, basketball. That's African American. That's black American culture.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

So to her point, how is it any different? I'm pretty sure that the people of Mozambique think of themselves as living a different culture and different life than people who grew up in the suburbs of Philly or Chicago or in the city center. Pretty sure. So what exactly is her point? Somebody who talks about black and brown people are all the time. Oh, that's right. Brown people, Peruvians and people from Malaysia. Very similar culture. Very similar. Well, they're. Are they all brown? They're brown. So what is brownness? What are black and brown people? In her context? This is what's so.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, I think it's also funny, Buck. She says Western civilization isn't a thing, and then she goes and says British, German and Italian cultures are real and they should be proud. Like, she isn't even capable of maintaining a coherent line of thought because, and I do think this is important, identity politics has so overtaken the Democrat Party that they cannot look at anything outside the prism of colonizer and colonized. It so overtakes oppressor and oppressed. It so overtakes their mind and destroys their ability to think that they can't, cannot even acknowledge or understand historical context. As a result, we'll have some fun with this. We'll open up phone lines. I don't think we have any guests. Like Buck said, we are working when a lot of people are not, even though the vast majority of you in the private sector are working. A lot of public employees out today. 800-282-2882. Is that phone number. You can grab the iHeart app and you can give us talkbacks. We had a Great Week on YouTube. Want to encourage you to continue to interact there. Go subscribe. Impressive numbers starting to pop on a lot of the video version of this audio. And a reminder, we are now on satellite radio, channel123. So if you're on the road for some reason, driving back President's Day, and you're moving through different parts of the country, then you can grab us on channel 123, noon Eastern, Monday through Friday, all over the country, and I would imagine, indeed around many parts of the world. But I want to tell you right now. It's President's Day and Prize Picks is available in all 50 states including California, Texas, Florida and Georgia. You can download the Price Picks app today. Use my name Clay as the code. You get $50 instantly in lineups when you play $5. Code Clay on price Picks right now. Great company. They have had tremendous success. You guys love playing this super easy. All you have to do is pick more or less for two or more athletes in the sport of your choice. You can play in California, you can play in Texas, you can play, you can in Georgia, all over the country. Download the Prize Picks app today. My name Clay is the code $50 instantly in lineups when you play $5. That's code clay on price picks for 50 bucks in lineups when you play $five win or lose $50 in lineups pricepix.com code clay.

[Buck Sexton]

You ain't imagining it.

[Clay Travis]

The world has gone insane. Reclaim your sanity with Clay and bus find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Guest/Panelist]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Let's have some fun with this. It is in fact a holiday we have. Our talented team has mixed and matched AOC with and this is great 2007 Ms. South Carolina. Do we know Buck? What happened to 2007 Ms. South Carolina? I may have to grock it to find out where she is now. But for those of you who have forgotten, this was viral Buck in the earliest days of social media like this.

[Buck Sexton]

Is rock like such as oh yes.

[Clay Travis]

Oh yeah. We have now mixed AOC and I would encourage producer Greg to do a video version of this and share it on social media because I think it will do well. Here is Ms. South Carolina asked about Iraq and here is now a mix AOC asked about what should happen with Taiwan and China. Enjoy.

[Guest/Panelist]

Recent polls have shown a fifth of.

[Buck Sexton]

Americans can't locate the US on a world map. Why do you think this is?

[Guest/Panelist]

I personally believe that US Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps. You know I think that this is such a. You know I think that and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and the Iraq everywhere like Such as. And this is a. This is, of course, a very long standing policy of the United States. I believe that they should. Our education over here in the US should help the US or should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for our children. And I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you very much. That is very well done. That is very well done. Her name, by the way, Buck. Caitlin Upton. She was Miss Teen USA and she went on to Appalachian State University. Go apsu. Um, and she is now married with two kids. Oh, sorry. She got divorced. Um, well, anyway, that, that is. That is where she has now gone.

[Buck Sexton]

Really.

[Clay Travis]

She married a personal trainer. They got divorced a couple of years later. So I'm sorry. Maybe Caitlyn's listening right now.

[Buck Sexton]

Maybe, maybe she went for the abs over the character. You know what I'm saying? That's a mistake, ladies. It's a mistake. Take it from a guy with more character than abs.

[Clay Travis]

Maybe, maybe she should be in Congress. Maybe that's the lesson we should take here. Because AOC has been in Congress eight years and sounds like Ms. South Carolina from 20 2007.

[Buck Sexton]

Someone could break into your home any day. That's just the reality of it. Not trying to scare you, but we just want to be prepared, right? You got to get ready now for that moment. If and when it comes, what are.

[Clay Travis]

You going to do?

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

I would just say SEC football.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't really. It's a Monday. We're going right for it.

[Clay Travis]

Wow. I don't think you have to go specifically to the coaching staff. I think SEC football probably get, you.

[Buck Sexton]

Know, you think you know a guy and then out of nowhere kicking the kick in the shins. All right, yeah, fine. SEC football. Fair point. Now, now Gretchen Whitmer's over there. And we all. We all know why she's there, right? She's. You gotta think. I actually think she may be in the best. It's funny, actually, isn't it, because these are two women. If you were asking me, and I guess we can do this now. Bet on the 28 Democrat VP it I. These two women would be my. The top of my list and maybe even the number one, number two slot. I need a woman for the ticket. I don't think you can have a woman on top of the ticket because they've tried that a few times and they've lost. So I think they're going to get away from that. I think it probably is going to be Gavin Newsom could be wrong on that. But no matter who it is at the top, unless it's one of these two, but I don't think that's going to happen. I think Gretchen Whitmer is very likely as a Democrat vp. And actually, this would be interesting. Who do you think right now is aoc if you had to place a bet, AOC or Whitmer for vp? Forget about who the president is vp. Which one do you think has the better shot? I have to say, realistically, it's Whitmer.

[Clay Travis]

I agree with you. For me, because Michigan is. Must win. There's no. There's no world in which Democrats win in 2028 without winning Michigan. They have to. I mean, they. Look, they have to win Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, probably all three. But they cannot without me. I think they should have picked Shapiro or Whitmer in 28 if Kamala weren't a moron.

[Buck Sexton]

If we were going to sell our souls and try to help the bad guys win. And they hired me and they said, who should? I would say same. Clay feels the same way. Michigan. You got to win Michigan. And more than ever, probably for the Democrats going forward, they got to win Michigan and Gretchen Whitmer, I think, could help deliver that for them. That all that all is is going toward this, though, which is she's over there because she has to create this perception that she's more than a state governor, that she could be on the national stage. And here is how that went for her. Let's listen to Governor. Governor Whitmer weighing in on national security abroad on Ukraine. What does victory look like? Ambassador? No, please.

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I'd love to. I'd love to hear your answer.

[Guest/Panelist]

It is the two.

[Clay Travis]

The two that I am on the panel with are much more steeped in foreign policy than a governor is. But, you know, I do think that Ukraine's independence, keeping their. Their landmass and having the support of.

[Guest/Panelist]

Of all the allies, I think is.

[Clay Travis]

Is the goal from my vantage point. Go ahead, Ambassador.

[Buck Sexton]

Do a better job. Now, can I say something? She at least knows that she knows nothing and was willing to kind of so much. The AOC thing was like, no, I'm really smart. I'm really smart. I don't know anything, but I'm smart. And everyone's like, no, you're not. This one, at least she's willing to be like, I know nothing. But I will say this, Clay, she should know more than this. You work in politics. You should have more to say than that. And you want to be president.

[Clay Travis]

You traveled to Munich for a foreign policy conference. It's not like she got hit on Meet the Press. And the first question was, hey, how do we get Grand Rapids booming again? Just picking a random Michigan region right in area which the governor should know. And then the next question was, where exactly should the line be drawn when it comes to Ukraine and Russia trying to develop a peace accord? When you. And she's sitting, doing an interview in Lansing, when you travel to a foreign policy conference, it doesn't seem ridiculous to me that you could do a bare minimum of foreign policy research, because otherwise you could just say, hey, I'm so busy being governor right now, I don't have time to travel to Europe and sit on a foreign policy panel. And also, again, I come back to there are some conflicts which are not very well known or very well covered. And that could be a complicated question to answer. Answering a question as an American politician in 2026 about Ukraine as in Russia, as Whitmer was asked, and about Taiwan and China, as AOC was asked, probably, Buck, if I were doing prep. Let's pretend that you and I were sitting around and we were thinking, hey, what might you get answered in Munich At a foreign policy conference. As a American, I would think Those are number one and number two most likely questions. Maybe about Naito, maybe about the U.N. you know, like, I can think of other three and four, but I would argue that's one and two most likely to be asked.

[Buck Sexton]

This isn't like, hey, weigh in on the Rohingya crisis and the border dispute between Bangladesh, Bangladesh and Myan, Myanmar. No, this is like, that's really vague. Very few people even know about that as a thing unless you work in international diplomacy or something. Although it is a real thing, it's pretty nasty. Point is what you said, which is this is the absolute top of the list. Like, ok, I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna lean into this. So when I went into the football game, the big one, that I don't even know if I'm allowed to say what it's called on radio because there's all these rules, but I think I can. I can say the Super Bowl. I think I can mention it. Right?

[Clay Travis]

They're trying. They always try to protect the use of the phrase super bowl, which means everybody's like, when you watch the big game, whatever, it's a Super Bowl.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, it's. It's a. There' first amendment right that the NFL should step off anyway because you can refer to things when you're talking about things that are going on in the world without their say so. That's pretty. It's pretty annoying that they have that weird policy. And the Oscars does kind of the same thing too. Like, how dare you? You know, it's like. But usually that's with video. Point being, Clay, you gave me some, some crib notes so that I could go in there with all the other dads and moms with their kids. It was like a child friendly Super Bowl. So it was basically just like romper room. It was like people just on tricycles ramming each other.

[Clay Travis]

I gave everybody out there for people who for. I gave you, like two points that you could make to seem like you were sophisticated, and then you just withdraw and you've demonstrated enough conversant knowledge on football.

[Buck Sexton]

So I'm just saying I deployed those points and it was like I was welcome in the football tribe for the day. It was like, yeah, that's right. You know, yeah. As people thought. Because they didn't know. They don't know who I am. These are like friends of friends mostly. It wasn't my super bowl party, so I, I seem like normal with foreign policy. It's the same thing you get prepped by your team, you know what the main things are you're going to say, you say those things, and everyone feels AOC and, and Whitmer couldn't even do that. They couldn't even pretend to know who the QBs are. Clay.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, and I would also point out Whitmer, to your point, at least, laughed off her ignorance. And a lot of people will give you a pass if you just say, hey, there's a lot of people who know way more about that than I do. AOCs in Congress, there are constant hearings about what should happen if Taiwan is invaded by China. This is not. I mean, she is in the federal government, which would be called upon to respond. Again, I gave you an answer which is just, hey, I'm a congresswoman right now. I don't dictate foreign policy. I think it's important to maintain our policy of strategic ambiguity. Maybe somewhere down the line, if I'm sitting behind the Resolute desk and we get President aoc and then I will have to make a determination on that. As a factual matter, I hope not, because I hope that China never invades Taiwan and we don't have to deal with the international implications of that incident.

[Buck Sexton]

Boom.

[Clay Travis]

That's an answer, Buck. I didn't need to get prepped. I'm not in Munich. But if you go to a foreign policy event, you or I, even if we were super busy with our other jobs, could get briefed for one hour on the 10 biggest global flashpoints in America and. And be able to hand handle any question on those incidents. It's just indicative of not doing a bare minimum of homework and also not being very. It makes me think that all they do, and I think there is a great deal of this, is just memorize answers. And I think that's going to become increasingly exposed in the modern era when all that matters is authenticity. We were just talking about this off air. Trump creates Every single week three stories that 10 years ago would have destroyed any other politician, Right? Every single week, he says three things and everybody loses their mind. And they last about 24 hours because people understand that Trump is a bull in a China shop and they have come to accept the good with the bad, for better or worse. Right? And the funny part about this is, obviously the people with the worst Trump derangement syndrome still believe. Oh, this time. This time we got him. He's definitely done the unbelievable at every time. It's like Lucy with the football. They come running up, they're Charlie Brown football gets moved around, they fall on their back and they're staring up at the sky. And Trump just gets more powerful. It's because as long as you fulfill the expectations that you have set, most people are willing to accept what you are. And I just look at AOC and Whitmer and I say they're supposed to be the adults in the room. These were not adults in the room conversations. And if you think you're going to be vp, I think AOC is going to run for president. I think Gretchen Whitmer is going to run for president. I think these guys are going to get exposed because they haven't done the bare minimum of homework. Now, the scary thing, Buck, is you could maybe argue none of this matters. You and I are talking about it. But if you like AOC or you're a Democrat, you just frankly don't care about the fact that they don't even have functional abilities to answer a question. Also, AOC screwed up the equator with Venezuela, which I'm, I'm more. Did you see this?

[Buck Sexton]

I'm sorry, I didn't know. I didn't see this.

[Clay Travis]

We could grab the audio of that. She said, you can't just go to countries that are below the equator and do whatever you want to them. Venezuela is above the equator. Now, I, I actually am willing to give a little bit more of a pass on that, but it goes into the identity politics thing in her mind. Right. If she had just said Latin America, like that is the right answer. But she decided to try to claim that she knew where the equator was and didn't understand that.

[Buck Sexton]

She leaned into sixth grade social studies and came up, came up snake eyes on that one. That's, that's too bad. I think that unfortunately, one of the byproducts of social media as increasingly a dominant form of communication and all the different platforms together is that politicians now are increasingly. They're influencers.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, they're social media. They've always been influencers. But I'm saying they're social media influencers. They're, they're characters, they are entities online more than anything else. And so a lot of these things just come into. Do you like the way someone looks? Do you like the way they sound? Do you like their general style and the kinds of things that they say? If they're an abject moron with a history of terrible decision making? And I don't know that, that, that a lot of people really care, I think that that's increasingly what we're heading toward. You know, it used to, didn't used to be like they would have, you know, you go back to like, I don't know, the 1880s or something. People would do the, the politician would do the train stop tour and go to some places and give some speeches. But you really, you know, you read the speech in the newspaper and you read what the party platform was and you kind of just went from there. Now it's like, I like that guy, he seems nice. So I'm gonna vote for him.

[Clay Travis]

Here's, here's a good question for you. What percentage of this audience is active on social media?

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, I think if you include Facebook, 80, 80 to 90%.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, you think that high with, with, with, with Facebook?

[Buck Sexton]

Yes. I think we probably have more Facebook people than anything else by far. I think Twitter is less than 5% or X is less than 5%. I think TikTok is less than 1%. And what else am I missing? Instagram is probably like 30, 40%, I would say of our, of our people are on Instagram.

[Clay Travis]

So my point on this is our audience is going to hear these AOC answers. Is anybody who watches MSNBC going to ever hear these AOC answers? Is anybody who watches CNN ever going to hear these AOC answers? Are they going to penetrate into. I'm not on Facebook personally, but I understand that they've kind of pivoted Facebook more back towards, hey, here's the kid, grandkid photos and less politics. I, I, I mean, I have, I.

[Buck Sexton]

Think those channels play View it as, they view it as a betrayal, actually. If you show your home team looking dumb, they get mad at you. It doesn't matter that it's news. It doesn't matter. The other side's talking about it. I think if you're an Ms. Now viewer, I love saying it because I had to change the channel because the brand is such trash. If you're a CNN viewer, which they're going to start, I mean, they're just going to be selling Swarovski crystals on that thing all day. Just give it time. If, if you look at what their expectations are with the audience, truth that is bothersome to their audience results in anger at the host and ratings going down, no question.

[Clay Travis]

I, by the way, we, you know, I know you make fun of how much I care about this. CNN is going to be either independent or it's going to be purchased by Paramount. And there's now talk that all of the Warner Brothers universe, which is hbo, which is cnn, all these different things may be swiveling back towards Paramount buying them, which is significant because Larry and David Ellison, who are prominent in the Paramount world, are not that I almost cursed, are not bonkers, right? They're not crazy, they're not insane. And I do wonder what CNN might look like if they had owners who were just normal. And so that's going to be maybe decided in the next six months or so, even as CNN has lost two thirds of its audience in the last several years. But that's one to kind of put a pin in and think about where things might be headed there.

[Buck Sexton]

Have you ever come across a really serious, intense bird watcher who can be like, oh, that's a double crested cormorant, or that's like a ruby throated warbler or something?

[Clay Travis]

I know that bird people are crazy in terms of their interest in bird feeders and everything else. I've never known an actual Die Hard.

[Buck Sexton]

Because my dad was one a while, but I've come across some that are truly like, next level and how detailed. You're like a bird watcher of corporate media, mergers and acquisitions. I don't know anybody who follows this stuff as closely. You have like a freakish level of knowledge of the latest board vote on whether these companies are going to. I don't know anyone who follows this stuff. I love it, but I'm just saying, you're like the weird guy with the big binoculars. Just like, oh my gosh, can you.

[Clay Travis]

Believe this new offer?

[Buck Sexton]

A speckled house finch. It's like, dude, it's 100 yards away. How could you even see that without your binoculars? I can smell them. You know, they're like that. They're intense. All right, big week ahead. My book comes out tomorrow.

[Clay Travis]

Yay.

[Buck Sexton]

In bookstores nationwide. Manufacturing Delusion.

[Clay Travis]

Get your copy.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Sexton telling it like it is. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

In closing up the first hour here on President's Day. When we come back we got a couple of stuff stories that are interesting. Buck was texting with me about this curling controversy. We'll have some fun with that. Obama has got a lot of thoughts and I'll play the latest for you on Nancy Guthrie as there now is a suggestion, according to an email sent to tmz that Nancy Guthrie may have been taken across the border into Mexico. As that story now enters its third week of uncertainty, all that headed that in the direction of hour number two. We appreciate all of you. Thanks for hanging out with us as we roll on the Monday edition of the show.

[Buck Sexton]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.