Hour 1 - Baby Snakes Bite Too

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 - Baby Snakes Bite Too
Date: March 11, 2026
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

This episode delves into the escalating crisis surrounding Iran following recent United States and Israeli military actions, the uncertainty of Iranian leadership, and the broader political ramifications. Clay and Buck analyze military strategies, question who might lead Iran after recent strikes, and evaluate the American political landscape in response to the conflict. They also touch on media narratives and highlight absurdities in public discourse and response.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Iran's Leadership Vacuum and the Fate of Mojtaba Khomeini

• Uncertainty About Survival:
  • Reports swirl around whether Mojtaba Khomeini, the son and presumed successor to Iran's Supreme Leader, is alive or has been critically injured in the recent blast ([00:57], [11:20]).
  • Public appearances have only featured a cardboard cutout, fueling speculation.
• Military and Emotional Calculus:
  • Clay highlights the impossibility of stable leadership driven by vengeance:

    “Would you be likely to work in a positive manner with that country or group ever? ...I would want America to die on a level that ...would burn in my soul for the rest of my life.” ([01:43])

  • Buck describes the regime's intransigence and grim prospects for regime change, stating the "Gaddafi effect" ensures those in power will fight to the end to avoid retribution ([09:26]).

2. US/Israeli Military Actions and the Limits of Air Power

• Overwhelming Force, Uncertain Outcome:
  • The show discusses the effectiveness of US and Israeli aerial superiority, noting that while they've “defanged the snake,” new threats could arise:

    “There are going to be little baby snakes that grow fangs in time after this. ...I don’t see what the alternative is.” – Buck ([06:30])

• Ground Forces’ Absence:
  • Buck explains that without American ground forces or effective allies, long-term change is nearly impossible:

    “If you don’t have a ground force, you can’t force change on the ground. And that is where we are.” ([05:28])

• Regime Change Not the Goal:
  • Administration message is that goal was never regime change, but the practical result is the decimation of Iranian military and leadership ([03:52], [04:59]).

3. Doubts About Public Narrative and Leadership Declarations

• Speculation Over Mojtaba’s Status:
  • Audio clip from Jason Rezaian highlights the confusion:

    “I also wonder if the fact that we haven’t seen him indicates that he might not be alive.” ([12:07])

• Discussion of Shielding and Propaganda:
  • Iranian regime may be using public confusion to protect their leader or create plausible deniability ([07:02], [12:46]).
• Cardboard Cutout Joke:
  • The hosts quip that the cardboard cutout leader is “the opposite of a proof of life” and compare it to criticisms of Biden ([11:35]).

4. Internal US Political Ramifications

• Calls to Declare Victory:
  • Audio clip from Sen. Josh Hawley:

    “We have demonstrated to the world...our overwhelming military superiority...It’s been astounding, it’s been historic. And now it’s time to declare victory.” ([16:49])

  • Both hosts agree that “declaring victory” is a likely endgame and matches public expectations for a short campaign.
• Republican Primary Maneuvering:
  • Clay reads Hawley’s “declare victory” stance as groundwork for an anti-intervention lane in the 2028 GOP primary, distinguishing him from figures like Ted Cruz and aligning with “America First” sentiment ([19:34], [23:58]).
  • Discussion about possible future GOP candidates: Rubio, J.D. Vance, and Ted Cruz.

5. Military Technology and the Changing Nature of Warfare

• Drone Warfare and Future Conflicts:
  • Clay and Buck discuss how the Iran conflict and the Ukraine war have shown a shift toward drone-centric warfare ([34:25]):

    “I think the mechanized nature of this war and future wars is going to be so much different...boots on the ground is going to become much less commonplace.”

  • Buck notes:

    “The American people can handle a lot of drones getting blown out of the sky...[but] the second we have a pilot on video...things change real fast.” ([35:06])

6. Media Distractions and Culture War Absurdities

• Critique of The View & Media Takes:
  • Hosts mock Whoopi Goldberg’s suggestion that the Iran campaign is a distraction from the Epstein file and the “Nancy Guthrie kidnapping,” calling it “nutty as hell” ([27:55], [28:13]):

    “The Kissinger of our era, Whoopi Goldberg ... We didn’t take this into account at the start of the show. Perhaps we need to reassess our analysis.” – Buck ([28:42])

  • Emphasize the disconnect between entertainment media and policy reality, noting that The View’s audience cheers for uninformed takes, and lamenting their own exclusion from major platforms for dissenting but informed perspectives ([29:34]).

7. Listener Feedback and Generational Perspectives

• VIP Emails:
  • Retired military listener “Tony” lauds Buck’s analysis:

    “War is a clash of wills. You cannot defeat an adversary through aerial bombardment only. Historical examples are endless.” ([33:40])

  • Another, “Larry,” ties current events to the Iranian hostage crisis, underlining generational divides in response and patience for conflict ([35:06]).
  • Clay responds:

    “For people who are in their 60s, 70s, who lived through the hostage crisis...it’s different than if you’re 30 today, than if you’re 65.” ([36:13])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the prospect of revenge driving Iranian leadership:

  “I would want America to die on a level that...would burn in my soul for the rest of my life.” – Clay Travis ([01:43])

• On regime resilience and brutality:

  “You have the total blessing of the state to be as vicious and disgusting and tyrannical as they want, as long as it’s serving the interests of the state.” – Buck Sexton ([08:53])

• On regime change skepticism:

  “There is no off ramp for them as far as they see. ...It’s going to be like mowing the grass, but it’s a lot more expensive.” – Buck ([10:40])

• On Iranian leadership confusion:

  “When they have the cardboard cutout of you at the rally...that doesn’t look good.” – Buck ([11:35])

• On Whoopi Goldberg punditry:

  “The Kissinger of our era, Whoopi Goldberg...” – Buck ([28:42]) “All you have to have to do that show is an IQ of 46.” – Clay ([31:13])

• On the changing nature of war:

  “The mechanized nature of this war and future wars is going to be so much different than anything we can comprehend...” – Clay ([34:25])

• On GOP positioning for 2028:

  “Josh Hawley is saying, hey, it’s time to declare victory. This is...trying to brand himself...as the anti-interventionist wing of the Republican Party to potentially lay the groundwork for his presidential ambitions...” – Clay ([19:34], [23:58])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening Analysis on Iran, Leadership Questions: 00:09–03:52
• Military Strategy, Regime Viability: 03:52–07:02
• Cardboard Cutout Mockery, Is Mojtaba Alive? 11:20–13:10
• Jason Rezaian Clip – Leadership Uncertainty: 12:07–12:46
• Josh Hawley: “Time to Declare Victory” 16:49–17:29
• Republican 2028 Primary Maneuvering: 19:34–23:58
• Whoopi Goldberg/Media Critique: 27:35–31:13
• VIP Listener Emails/Generational Context: 33:40–36:13
• On Changing Warfare and Drones: 34:25–35:06

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Summary Takeaways

• The US/Israeli military campaign has severely crippled Iran’s military, but real regime change—if even possible—is not the immediate goal.
• Uncertainty swirls around Iran’s leadership, lending an “endless cycle” quality to any resolution.
• Political reverberations are already being felt in 2028 presidential jockeying, with candidates staking out interventionist and anti-interventionist lanes.
• The hosts argue that victory will likely be declared soon to satisfy both strategic and political timelines.
• Media coverage and public discourse, especially from left-leaning entertainment, often miss or distort deeper realities.
• Listener feedback underscores generational divides in attitudes toward Iran and military engagement.

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This summary provides a comprehensive breakdown for those unfamiliar with the episode, capturing all key themes, arguments, and memorable moments while reflecting the show’s candid, irreverent tone.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.

[B]

Welcome to today's edition of the Clay

[A]

Travis and Buck Sexton show podcast.

[B]

Welcome in. We are rolling into the Wednesday edition from all signs pointing towards Iran continuing. What exactly is going to happen there? We will give you the absolute latest good numbers on inflation, oil and gas price is the number one story I would say right now in at MSNBC and let's see, not the case at CNN or at Fox News. Doing all my reading, getting ready for the show today. What stood out to me is several different things that I want to dive into with Buck here off the top. But there are quotes from President Trump via Axios, a conversation that he had and I grabbed. One of those quotes is not audio but President Trump told Axios anytime I want the war to end, it will end. And Buck, I think that is likely true. And here is to me still the big question that we have been asking since this all started. Who is the acceptable leader for Iran that would allow this situation in Iran to end in some way with the understanding that we would now at least the Iranians would know that at any point in time we could decapitate their leader. If this son of Khomeini is still alive, Moktaba, or however you pronounce his

[A]

name, you gotta say it like that much.

[B]

If he's still alive.

[A]

I like the way you say it.

[B]

I, I'm not an accent guy. I can't do accents. I can do, do my voice and that's pretty much it. So if he's still alive, which I think is very much in question because they're dancing around with cardboard cutouts of him. If you didn't see that as the representation of their new leader, he. Here is what I would say. If he is still alive and if he is able to recover because there are reports that if he is still alive, that he is severely injured and was, was harmed quite a lot in the, in the blast that took place to begin this, this onslaught in Iran. His dad, his son, his wife and his mom were reportedly all killed in the one of those opening attacks. Let me just put this to you Buck, and to all of you out there. Would you be very fond or willing to work in an expeditious and pleasing fashion if a country killed your dad, your mom, your wife and your son, I would submit to you that if he is still alive, it is a non starter that he could be the leader left in charge in Iran because I would not blame him. I would want America to die on a level that frankly or any other country that did this on a level that would burn in my soul for the rest of my life. I think this could actually be worse because it's, you know, you wounded. You didn't kill a terrorist. That doesn't seem ideal. There's. You've done a lot of this study. Terrorists who are wounded and don't die often end up being the most virulent of. Of terrorists in their future years. So I would start with this. Him being in charge is unacceptable. And so I don't know if we have a leader that is acceptable, but I would say if he's alive, he is an unacceptable heir to the Iranian leadership.

[A]

I think that we have seen the total military intelligence and particularly aerial superiority of the United States and Israel on display and substantial. A substantial diminishing of Iranian capability, particularly to make war of any kind outside of its own borders. I am not seeing anything about. There's some other faction or somewhat. Some other group that could theoretically oversee a transition, take over. And so what I think is going to continue to be the case, Clay, is we have our Department of War and Secretary Hegseth and Trump degrading Iranian military capability and taking out senior targets. I do not see how this turns into a different regime at the end of it. And I felt that way the whole time. Now, perhaps that is what was baked in all along. We're being told that regime change was never. The administration is saying regime change was not the goal.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You're taking out all the leadership in this country, and then you're going to have. To your point, perhaps a more virulent leadership coming. Right.

[B]

And just justified, furious. Like, leave aside the politics again, everybody out there, just think if someone you knew killed your mom, your dad, your son, and your wife, would you be likely to work in a. In a positive manner with that country or that group ever? I think the answer is no.

[A]

Yeah, that's obviously the correct assessment on that. So I think we're going to have a declare. Declare victory and cease aerial hostilities moment here within the next couple of weeks. I don't know when exactly. I'm obviously not on the high side, as we used to say. I don't have access to classified or any of that. And if I did, I wouldn't be talking about it here on radio. But my sense is that they're just going to realize the problem with our position on all this. Our military position is that if you can't force. If you don't have a ground force, you can't force change on the ground. And that is where we are. There is no Northern alliance to work with the Kurds. There's not enough of them. They don't want to get, I mean they can't run the whole country. That's a non starter notice. People talked about the Kurds for about 24 hours and until they took out a map and learned the basic demographics. We had that guy who was a military, military adviser in northern Iraq. One of our listeners who wrote in and said, yeah, you're right, yeah, of course I was up there too. I know, I know the mindset of the Kurds with this stuff. They don't want any part of trying to police the rest of Iran. They couldn't do it on top of all that. So I don't see, I don't see the, the way that this ends with a hopeful new future for Iran. I see this as we have defanged the snake, but there are going to be little baby snakes that grow fangs in time after this. That's, that's how I, I don't see what the alternative is.

[B]

There also is the question, and I think this matters too. And I believe we have a cut of this, of other people talking about something that is being speculated quite significantly. It is, is the son actually alive? In other words, is this potentially an opportunity that Iran has taken to try and prevent the new leader from getting killed by actually elevating a leader who's already dead? And there's audio of that. I want to play that in a sec. But Buck, the other part of this is if he is still alive, he may be protected from being able to be attacked because if they have him in a hospital, it's hard to take out someone in a hospital without killing a lot of other people. And then the same media that didn't care when Iran killed 30,000 people is suddenly going to be leading stories with, look at Israel and the United States targeting people in hospitals. Or they got the guy being treated. As you're starting to see, Iran has moved whatever assets they have remaining for, for the state into schools, into residential areas so that when we are attempting to strike these assets, then they immediately cry, oh look, they're just targeting innocents. As if this, this regime has any moral authority at all given the fact that they killed over 30,000 protesters just in the beginning of this year.

[A]

We've seen this in authoritarian Muslim Mideast states for decades where the regime in charge. You have to remember that the regime in charge not only disallows there to be political opposition, they Also recognize if they lose power. I mean, you just Talked about the 30,000 protesters killed in the streets.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You got to think if you are a member of the besieged, which is the ira, which is the Islamic Revolution's militia, if you will, the sort of street militia, street thugs. They had a very similar thing in Syria, I might add, called the shabiha. This is a common thing. You have the military, which you make sure is ideologically committed and radicalized to the overall cause of, you know, Islamism, jihadism. And then below that, you have this paramilitary organization that's meant to know block to block, house to house who's doing what. And they have the total blessing of the state to be as vicious and disgusting and tyrannical as they want, as long as it's serving the interests of the state. Clay, those individuals, you have to always remember this, though. I know we've said there's an amnesty for the irgc. Ok, well, that means that we're saying put down your arms and we won't blow you up. You brought up what happens if someone kills your, you know, your wife, your parents, your kids, all of the above. You're going to forget that. You're going to, if you're now part of the new regime, you're going to say, hey, when you guys killed those 30,000 protesters, you know what, let's let bygones be bygones. No, in fact, the Gaddafi effect is you better stay in power or you may up with a bayonet in a very uncomfortable place, like bad things happen. And so it's zero sum for the people in Iran who have been running the country. You got America killing their leadership and you've got whatever the opposition on the street could be the Iranian street, if you will, if they come into power, they, at a minimum, you got to think you might be going to prison in some hellhole and maybe even worse than that. So my point, Clay, is they'll fight to the very end. There's no off ramp for them as far as they see. And that's not even taking into account the ideological commitment to stopping the crusaders and Jews and all the, you know, death to America, Great Satan stuff. That's just the basic hard, cold, hard political reality of the situation they face. Which is why I was hoping that we would start to see a, oh, wow, there is some kind of door number two here or there is something that they've got planned. No, we're just completely annihilating their military capacity. And then I think we're going to stop and then we might have to do this again. It's going to be like mowing the grass, but it's a lot more expensive and human and monetary costs than mowing the grass.

[B]

And also, again, the question becomes who is even leading Iran? And I think this is the question the new Supreme Leader, who they trotted out with cardboard cutout at the rally, which doesn't suggest that he's actually that health. Help. Help.

[A]

Yeah, that's like the opposite of a

[B]

proof of life when they have the

[A]

cardboard cut out of you at the rally. No, no, that doesn't look good.

[B]

A lot of you also were laughing in the comments. You were saying, hey, maybe we shouldn't criticize Iran that much about showing up with a cardboard cutout since we effectively had a cardboard cutout president for which is fair point. Yeah, very fair point. But here's the Washington Post Jason Rezahan saying what I think is really being contemplated at a significant level. Is this guy even alive? Cut 12.

[C]

I wasn't super surprised by his election. There's been a lot of talk that he might succeed his father when his father died. This, this speculation has been around for more than a decade. I, I also wonder if the fact that we haven't seen him indicates that he might not be alive. I don't think that there's a clear indication that anyone has spoken to him. The president of Iran, Masif, said today that neither he nor anyone else in his government had spoken with the younger Khamenei since he was appointed Supreme Leader on Sunday. So there is still so much confusion around this.

[B]

And Buck, it could be, again, an opportunity to make it seem as if he is the leader when it makes it harder to target the actual leader. And there may be a relatively only handful of people that even know whether he's alive or not. But when you name a new supreme leader and he isn't going to be seen, that definitely raises questions about what his health actually is.

[A]

We'll take your calls on this one. It's getting to the point where I think a lot of people are running out of patience on the plan here, whatever it may be. And I mean people who support Trump, I'm not talking about Trump haters, but maybe. Look, the polling has said this pretty consistently. Clay, as long as this is done this month, people are like, ok, maybe it was necessary. They know they're on a tight. Our team is on a timeline with this and it's a tight timeline. All right, we'll get back to it in a second here.

[B]

The presence of first responders, villages, cities, the, the missiles that continue to rain down, the drones that continue to rain down on Israel. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has been working there for many years. Their entire team is supplying bomb shelters, medical centers, critically needed essential aspects of life as the attacks rain down on Israel. Since we have gone into Iran, I saw for myself they have hospitals in Israel that they have designed. It's really kind of amazing to see they've designed them so that the parking garages can, can be the hospital itself. In other words, they take everybody off the upper floors because of the danger of attack and they relocate everyone. The entire hospital is taking place in the parking garages. Think about how crazy that is to have to do. Uh, that is one of the things that the IFCJ has helped to create. They do tremendous work including the bomb shelters. Just trying to keep regular, everyday innocent people healthy and safe. You can help to support the work that they are doing right now by giving $45 to Rush Life Saving essentials to the vulnerable under fire right now at 888-488 IFCJ. You can also go online and at IFCJ.org we know the organization. I've seen the work that they do. We trust their work. It is invaluable and it saves lives Every single day. Website IFCJ.org that's IFCJ.org.

[A]

Okay, why are we bombing the

[B]

you

[A]

know what out of Iran? What are we doing over there? What caused this to happen? Steve Witkoff, who is a senior Trump Mideast negotiator, he says the file, this is cut nine guys. He says the following about why we had to do this and had to do this. Now hit it.

[D]

Think about what this world would look like if you didn't have Donald Trump as the president. Because in a year, if you had someone who didn't have the courage to do this action, you'd have 30 or 40 nuclear bombs and what would the world look like there? So thank God we have a president and leadership at the helm that takes the, makes these courageous decisions.

[A]

30 or 40 nuclear bombs. If Trump didn't do this now, this is where it gets for a lot of people. We've been hearing that Iran's going to have nukes for a long time. I think Iran wants nukes. I think the mullahs are evil. Like I'm, I'm very aligned with the administration's view of Iran on. I'm just saying, Clay, it becomes a little trickier to sell people on the imminence of this threat, when we've been hearing, and there are clips circulating of Netanyahu talking, we've been hearing, you know, within. Within 60 days, they're going to have within three weeks, within four months, for 20 years we've been hearing this. And this is why. This is why I think Josh, here, let me. The Josh Hawley thing, we can come back. Here's Josh Hawley saying it's time to declare victory and get out of this play 7.

[E]

What is there really that's left to do that we haven't already done? I mean, we have demonstrated to the world and anybody who's watching, by the way, that we have overwhelming military superiority and we know how to use it. We have totally destroyed forever their nuclear program. We have destroyed their ballistic missiles. We have destroyed their navy. I mean, this has been a total success in whatever it's been 11 days. And I thought the president's remarks last night, that he could declare victory today and it would be a 100% victory. I think it's true. I think we ought to say to our heroes, thank you for a job well done. This has been absolutely amazing. It's been astounding, it's been historic. And now it's time to declare victory.

[A]

All right, Clay, I want your take on where Holly is with this when we come back. Because declare victory and stop, you know, and move on is we're here. Holly is a Trump guy. To be clear, he's been a Trump guy all along. So. So this is what you get from somebody who's aligned with the administration. I'm not sure the administration doesn't also feel this way. Trump's saying he can end it anytime. It's gonna end soon. We're making sense of all this together, friends.

[B]

All right.

[A]

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[B]

What have you got?

[A]

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[B]

Hey Buck, one of my kids called me an unk the other day.

[A]

An unk?

[B]

Yep. Slaying evidently. For not being hip, being an old dude.

[A]

So how do we un unk you?

[B]

Get more people to subscribe to our YouTube channel. At least that's what my kids tell me.

[A]

That's simple enough. Just search the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show and hit the subscribe button.

[B]

Takes less than five seconds to help un unk me.

[A]

Do it for Clay, do it for freedom and get great content while you're there. The Clay Travis and buck Sexton Show YouTube channel.

[B]

We were just talking about the Khomeini situation. Mojtaba, his son, whether or not he is alive or not. We're also playing some of the audio for you of Josh Hawley who is saying, hey, let's declare victory. And in this thing there is actually on the prediction markets, Buck, a wager right now. Will Mojtaba, that is the ostensible new leader of Iran, be seen in public by the end of the month? It's basically 50, 50. So for those of you out there, I mean we're still relatively early into March. For those of you out there that are skeptical, I would put myself into this camp about whether or not he is in fact alive. The fact that we may or may not see him for the entire month of March is a sign that something might well be going on that is either he's severely injured or he is not even alive and they're trying to protect from having somebody else get taken out on Josh Hawley. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley's been on this program a lot. I know him. I like him. I think he's going to run for president. Buck. And so I think some of these statements that you're seeing that are occurring out here, you know, you should consider them as almost an early audition for the 2028 primary. And let me explain. So first of all, I think declaring victory and saying, hey, we've gotten everything we need to get done is what is going to happen. I would say at some point in March, I think you And I probably agree. When exactly that will be, I think remains to be seen. But think about the jostling and the jockeying that is going to go on. We don't know what's going to happen. There's a front page article today about Trump increasingly asking people, hey, do you like Marco Rubio or JD Vance better? Setting up. We were talking about this off air, an Apprentice style runoff for who is Trump going to endorse? I think that Trump will play this for everything it's worth and we'll see what happens between J.D. vance and Marco Rubio. I would be stunned beyond belief if Senator Ted Cruz of Texas doesn't run. And increasingly Josh Hawley might well run too. And so I think you can start looking at this and say, okay, what is the lane? What is the lane under which they might run? And I'll give you a couple of takes here on how I see this developing. Ted Cruz sees himself, I think, as the foremost defender of Israel in the Republican Party right now. I mean, leaving aside Lindsey Graham who's just totally out to crazy town on wanting to go to war with everybody. But so Ted Cruz I think sees himself as opposed directly to what I would say is the Ted Cruz, sorry, the, the, the Tucker Carlson JD Vance wing, which I think he's trying to define. It seems clear to me Cruz is going at Tucker Carlson, they're firing back at each other and trying to say Tucker is, is anti Israel and Ted Cruz pro Israel. And so that battleground is happening. I think he sees Elaine there, Josh Hawley, I think sees Elaine as being the completely anti intervention wing of the Republican Party, which is lot of you out there in this group. I don't want to do anything external at all. I want to focus 100% on America. And I would say that, that Marco Rubio and J.D. vance are somewhere in that grouping too. So I do think the story beyond the story here is Josh Hawley is saying, hey, it's time to declare victory. This is Josh Hawley trying to brand himself, I think intelligently as the anti interventionist wing of the Republican Party to potentially lay the groundwork for his presidential ambitions in 28. Do you see that? Like, I think we agree that at some point Trump is going to declare victory. But I think Hawley speaking out in this way is about trying to establish what his lane would be. If he is going to run in 28, he's going to try to pick up the mantle of I am America first. That is my lane. No new wars, everything. I think that's what he'll run on.

[A]

I think you're right about the Hawley political assessment as it pertains to him and his future. I also think he's just concerned about where this goes. If this continues on for the Republican Party. And this may sound hokey corny to some people, but for the country, I think there are concerns about what can happen here if the mission set drags on or if there is a, a lack of clarity about what can be accomplished with what we're willing to do. And that's really the main thing here. Could we, could we bring about regime change in Iran? Absolutely. If we were willing to do things that we absolutely should not do, that would require a lot of American investment and lives and time and effort, nightmarish levels of those things. So we don't want to do that. So since we don't want to do that, since we have a limited goal in this context of military intervention, let's keep it nice and limited. Got to keep this thing tight. Can't let it spill over. And I think that's what Josh Hawley's saying. And I think others are seeing this, too, because if there was some big other part of the plan than just blowing the crap out of all the Iranian military stuff and their leadership, okay, I think we would start to see that by now. I could be wrong. Maybe next week I come on and say, oh, wow, look, I think it's highly, highly unlikely at this point. So that means we all. I think it would also be good to give us some sense as to what the military is the military objective, Clay, just to leave Iran as toothless as a military force as possible. And then how close are we to that? Are we 75% of the way there? Are we more like, you know, 30, 40% of the way there?

[B]

Right.

[A]

But what I think we're probably more like 75%. So that's. That indicates to me that this thing could wrap up soon. But I'm actually with Josh Hawley on the. It should wrap up soon. I mean, the whole declaring victory thing, yeah, we know we won. Obviously they don't even have a military left, but enough is enough.

[B]

President Trump is taking questions right now on the South Lawn of the White House. We will pay attention to that. It's being carried live on every network. He did say earlier, Buck, another quote, war will end soon. This is according to Axios. There is practically nothing left to target,

[A]

which means the mission goes directly to

[B]

the mission has been, has been completed. My concern, my concern we started off the show talking about it is. I don't think we can leave this guy Mojtabi. Mojtabi Khomeini in charge. I, I, I just. And Buck's gonna love my pronunciation.

[A]

You're just not, you're not, you're not Team Mochaba.

[B]

We can't leave Little Mo. We can't leave Little Mo to go full Trump here. We can't leave little Mo in charge because I just. If again, whatever your background is, I just, I believe in vengeance. I believe in anger and revenge. Whatever your background is listening to us right now. If your dad, your mom, your wife, and your son all got killed by someone, would you ever shake hands with them for the rest of your life and work to make the world a better place? No. I bet almost all of you would be hell bent on vengeance for that act being done to your family. I don't, I don't think we're. Leave aside the religion. Leave aside everything else. There's no way this guy is a functional leader that benefits America. He cannot be in charge.

[A]

There is a really important piece of the geopolitical analysis here that we haven't taken into account yet. And I think that's at some level that's just on us. We have to deal with a lot here. We're trying to bring things all together, but Whoopi Goldberg has weighed in on the situation.

[B]

I almost spit my coffee out here.

[A]

She has a take for us here about what's really going on, and, oh, she's tying in Epstein and Nancy Guthrie. This is quite a take, everybody. On the Iran aerial campaign play 13.

[F]

It's just nutty as hell. It's nutty as hell.

[B]

Yeah.

[F]

And you're right. Every day is something new. And it's. You know, I was thinking about it yesterday because I thought, well, okay, why haven't we been talking about Savannah Guthrie and what's going on there? Why have we not been talking about the Epstein file? Because that's still there.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[F]

This is meant to get us so worked up that we are unable to see anything else.

[A]

The Kissinger of our era, Whoopi Goldberg with Clay Trump, is bombing the crap out of Iran so that we're not talking about Nancy Guthrie's kidnapping. We didn't take this into account at the start of the show. Perhaps we need to reassess our analysis.

[B]

I, I look at this, and she is a moron. Right. But I don't think most people look to the star of Ghost, if I remember correctly, and the color Purple as The most savvy political analyst of our time. The fact that the crowd clapped when she said that is, I think, more of an indictment than Whoopi Goldberg's awful decision. And so I can't believe that. That this is real and that ABC News would continue to support this show, which is just political propaganda. And every time we play a clip from the View, we should probably mention that we have both offered to go on the View. It would have been made great sense for your book coming out. For my book coming out. Promotion to an audience that otherwise might not see it. Uh, they won't allow reasonably intelligent people who disagree with them, by and large, to go on because they know that their arguments and their arguers are ultimately not very smart. And I will give credit. Elizabeth Hasselbeck. I don't think we played the Cut. She used to be on the show, if I remember correctly. She lives here in Nashville. Her husband's good football coach, and so I know them and I. She did a great job actually arguing with some of the. Some of the hosts on the show. I think they were talking about the Save Act Buck, and she actually called out the audience and said, how many of you had to provide ID to be able to come watch this show today? And, like, the whole audience raises their hand. I mean, I do think, you know, the idea that it is racist. It. Was it racist of the View to require ID to come watch their show? It's such a ridiculous argument against it. We're going to talk about Tommy Taylor, Bill, Senator, about this in a little

[A]

bit, but I think. I think you're missing the forest for the trees here. Republicans want to talk about the Save America act so that we're not talking about the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping. According to Whoopi Goldberg. That's where we are. That's our big plan.

[B]

I will say the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping is still really weird, and I have still been following, of course, but I

[A]

don't think that Trump is trying to cover it up by starting a war in a foreign country.

[B]

I mean, it's a very sad story, but that's a crazy. Also it's a crazy take because Trump isn't responsible for the Nancy. Nancy Guthrie story. Right. She at least followed it up by saying the Epstein. Epstein file, which is actually something you're hearing some people say on the left, but I haven't heard anybody suggest prior to Whoopi, hey, the reason we went to war is. So we're not talking about the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping. And again, I just come back on the View, Buck they have huge staffs of people pitching them ideas all day long every day. All you have to have to do that show is an IQ of 46. Because they're coming to you on a regular basis saying, hey, here's a take, here's a take. Here's three articles you need to read to be somewhat informed on this. And they won't do the bare minimum. How much prep do you think Whoopi Goldberg does for that show? Six minutes a day. Like she shows up, gets her makeup done, has a conversation with her makeup artist. I guarantee I don't even know if she reads the newspaper. I mean, it's actually an insult to the audience how little she actually spends prepping before she gets paid millions of dollars to go share her opinions. In my always humble opinion, I want to tell you, price picks all 50 states. $5, you get back $50 in all 50 states. It's a great deal. You can play it from Washington all the way down to Florida, from Maine all the way down to Arizona. I think I'm getting the map pretty close there. Wherever you are, across the country, width and breadth, all 50 states. Did you see last night? Some of you did. Our baseball team choked. We got beat by Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Now we got to have Italy beat Mexico in order to advance to the knockout stage. Conference basketball tournaments are going right now. Buck is a die hard college basketball fan. That is underway right now. March Madness. NBA had a player score 83 points last night. You could have gotten a heck of a deal if you had taken the more on Bam. Adebayo. All of that's going on right now. Pricepix.com code clay that is prizepix.com code clay clay. $5 turns into $50. Pricepix.com code Clay.

[A]

A lot of emails, a lot of talkbacks pouring in here, particularly on the Iran situation. VIP email from Tony. Buck, your assessment is spot on. War is a clash of wills. You cannot defeat an adversary through aerial bombardment only. Historical examples are endless. German bombardment of the Brits, Battle of Britain, North Vietnam, massive B52 carpet bombing. Sometimes when civilian casualties occur, it can strengthen resolve. I'm retired now, but I predicted early on this campaign about degrading Iran's capabilities. And it has never been about regime change. If that is an accidental byproduct, so be it. Tony, I agree with you. I think that. I think that's the way the administration feels too. We're opening the door for the Iranians to throw the bums out, but they don't do it, they don't do it. We're just making sure that they can't hit us.

[B]

Let me build on that. By the way, one thing that I do think is changing is the degree to which we can specifically target using drones is changing. Every war advances technology at a rapid scale. And I think what's happened with Ukraine and Russia, if you read about that war now, Buck, they're. They're almost conducting the entire war via drone. Like, you can't even go outside and be seen at all because they will take you out. And I think the mechanized nature of this war and future wars is going to be so much different than anything we can comprehend, that boots on the ground is going to become much less commonplace, period.

[A]

Well, it also is a reminder that the calculation is different when you're sending drones to do this stuff than when you're sending pilots. The American people can handle a lot of drones getting blown out of the sky, and that hasn't even been happening. But I'm saying we can handle a lot of our drone. We lose drones, ok? It's expensive. The second we have a pilot on video who is giving his name, rank and serial number, things change real fast. We feel very different. It's basic human emotion. I think that's very understandable. So that's a big difference in the calculation here. VIP email from Larry. As a member of the Naval Carrier task group during the release of the hostages during the Iranian hostage crisis, I've been waiting for payback for 46 years. President Trump knows he has a timeline and mandates from his base, which is always on his mind to protect Americans and his America first agenda. Larry, I hope that's totally spot on. Again, I'm just voicing the unease that some have with, ok, this is going on. When does it stop? It's Trump's call about when it stops. And he's clearly got his eyes very closely affixed to that.

[B]

I think that's a really astute email, Buck, because I do think there's probably a generational divide. You and I are. We're not born and we're not young enough. Not don't remember the hostage crisis. And so I think for people who are in their 60s, 70s, who live through the hostage crisis, who lived through the bombings that have taken place that Iran has helped to make happen, it's different than if you're 30 today, than if you're 65 today, in terms of what you've experienced of the evilness of the Iranian regime. Younger people don't have as much of a tangible connection to it. Really good emails, but both I think there and we appreciate the VIP emails that we get all the time. We come back, Buck, you've got us off the top. I'm sure we're going to continue to talk about Iran. President Trump, we've got a couple of cuts from him just now as he was outside the White House.

[A]

And another super rich lib, the Starbucks CEO, moving to Florida. Clay talk about it.