Hour 1 - China Trade War

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show: Episode Summary Episode Title: Hour 1 - China Trade War
Release Date: April 9, 2025

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Introduction: A New Milestone for Buck Sexton (00:00 - 02:00)

The episode kicks off with a personal touch as Clay Travis congratulates Buck Sexton on the imminent arrival of his child. The hosts engage in a light-hearted discussion about Buck potentially becoming a father on the day of the episode's release or the following day. Buck humorously downplays his excitement about birthdays, sharing, “I barely remember my own birthday. So I'm not the guy to ask about birthday stuff” (00:32).

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Main Topic: The Ongoing China Trade War (02:00 - 32:36)

Current State of Trade Relations (02:00 - 04:00)

Clay Travis delves into the escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, highlighting the recent tariff hikes. He explains, “We have elevated our overall tariffs on China to over 100%, China has responded by increasing the tariffs on the United States, I believe roughly to 80%” (02:41). This tit-for-tat strategy is central to the ongoing trade war, with both nations seeking to exert economic pressure on each other.

Economic Impact and Analysis (04:00 - 09:00)

Buck Sexton provides a nuanced perspective, framing the situation as a fundamental "China trade war." He ties the current tensions back to former President Trump's initial stance, stating, “Trump has said enough is enough. As it pertains to China” (03:38). The discussion emphasizes China's export-driven economy and significant trade surplus with the U.S., suggesting that the economic pain is more acutely felt in China due to its reliance on exports.

Notable Quote:

Kevin O'Leary, a prominent guest, advocates for aggressive tariff measures:
“I'm advocating 400% tariffs in China are not enough. I want Qi on an airplane to Washington to level the playing field” (09:44).

Buck responds by tempering O'Leary’s stance, noting the need for strategic negotiations rather than extreme measures that could be perceived as unreasonable.

Audience Engagement: Tariffs and Global Economics (06:00 - 08:50)

Victor Davis Hanson poses a compelling question about the efficacy of tariffs, challenging the notion that they are inherently destructive. He asks, “If tariffs are so destructive of their economies, why is China booming?” (06:01). This prompts Clay and Buck to explore the rationale behind various countries maintaining tariffs despite apparent economic growth, ultimately reinforcing the idea that the U.S. is uniquely burdened by being the sole proponent of free trade.

Notable Quote:

Buck Sexton reflects on the U.S. unique position:
“We're the only ones. And when it comes to being outliers, you know, we're also the country that's supposed to pay the rest of the world's bills” (06:59).

Critique of Free Trade and China’s Economic Strategies (12:00 - 16:00)

Clay challenges the assumption that engaging with China through platforms like sports will lead to democratic reforms, citing the redrafting of movies to avoid depicting China negatively. He remarks, “They remade the entire movie because initially China invaded us” (13:12), illustrating how China influences global media to shape perceptions.

Buck adds to the critique by highlighting the rampant intellectual property theft and cyber-espionage emanating from China, emphasizing the severity by comparing it to Cold War-era adversaries.

Notable Quote:

Buck Sexton on intellectual property theft:
“The theft of intellectual property that's been going on for decades. It's worse than what the KGB was able to do during the height of the Cold War” (13:47).

Expert Insights and Future Discussions (25:00 - 32:36)

As the discussion progresses, Clay and Buck anticipate deeper analyses with upcoming guest Art Laffer, a renowned economist known for the Laffer Curve. They plan to dissect the macroeconomic implications of the trade war and explore potential resolutions.

Buck underscores the strategic disadvantage the U.S. faces due to limited access to China’s vast market, pointing out, “China will take whatever that we show up in China with to operate and any, anything from like some new scrub brush to clean your dishes all the way up to some high end AI” (28:07).

Clay concurs, affirming the necessity of addressing the generational trade imbalance with China and the broader implications for U.S. economic sovereignty.

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Personal Segment: Buck Sexton on Fatherhood (18:57 - 36:54)

Interspersed with the heavy discussion on trade, the hosts return to Buck’s forthcoming fatherhood. Buck shares his preparations, mentioning, “I shared with you my, my little air mattress and my, my, you know, packable sleeping bag. I'm ready to go, baby” (19:16). Clay humorously compares Buck’s impending experience to being a novice soldier entering battle, highlighting the unpredictable nature of childbirth.

Notable Quote:

Jesse Kelly, a friend and colleague, offers Buck fatherhood advice:
“You need to take care of yourself. You come first right now” (34:50).

Buck and Clay share anecdotes and humorous exchanges about the realities of being new parents, emphasizing the unpredictability and immense responsibility that comes with raising a child.

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Conclusion: Wrapping Up the Debate and Personal Chats (32:36 - End)

As the episode nears its conclusion, Clay and Buck summarize their stance on the China Trade War, reiterating the need for strategic negotiation and acknowledgment of China’s dominant economic position. They express optimism about upcoming discussions with experts like Art Laffer, aiming to provide listeners with deeper economic insights.

Buck wraps up the personal segment by lightening the mood, joking about the anticipated challenges of fatherhood and the lack of preparedness despite the advice received. The episode ends on a personal note, blending serious economic discourse with relatable life events, showcasing the hosts' ability to balance heavy topics with personal anecdotes.

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Key Takeaways:

• Trade Dynamics: The U.S.-China trade war remains a pivotal issue, with significant tariffs imposed by both nations. The economic implications are complex, affecting global markets and international relations.
• Strategic Negotiations: There is a consensus that dealing with close allies like Japan, South Korea, and Australia should be streamlined to focus efforts on the larger challenge posed by China.
• Intellectual Property Concerns: Persistent issues of IP theft and cyber-espionage by China exacerbate tensions, necessitating robust protective measures from the U.S.
• Personal Insights: Buck Sexton’s impending fatherhood offers a glimpse into the personal lives of the hosts, providing a balanced narrative alongside the economic discussions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (03:38): “Trump has said enough is enough. As it pertains to China.”
• Kevin O'Leary (09:44): “I'm advocating 400% tariffs in China are not enough. I want Qi on an airplane to Washington to level the playing field.”
• Victor Davis Hanson (06:01): “If tariffs are so destructive of their economies, why is China booming?”
• Buck Sexton (06:59): “We're the only ones... we're also the country that's supposed to pay the rest of the world's bills.”
• Buck Sexton (13:47): “The theft of intellectual property that's been going on for decades... worse than what the KGB was able to do.”

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Timestamp Reference:

<a name="timestamp"></a> Approximately labeled by minute:second in the transcript for accurate referencing.

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This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show successfully intertwines in-depth economic analysis with personal storytelling, providing listeners with both informative and relatable content. The discussion on the China Trade War remains particularly insightful, offering multiple perspectives on the complexities of international trade relations in the modern economy.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

Welcome in Wednesday Edition. Clay Travis, Buck Sexton show this one could be Buck becomes a dad today. He is here with us on potential birthday. We'll see. Could be tomorrow. Do you have a FA obviously the, the labor process plays in here, but do you have a, a preference? April 9, April 10 does carry. Is there any sort of cosmological connection here in any way? I have no idea. I'm not plugged in.

[Buck Sexton]

I barely remember my own birthday. So I'm not the guy to ask about birthday stuff. But yeah, I anything in April sounds nice.

[Clay Travis]

So this is a big day all around. We are continuing the trade wars since we now are CNBC and Fox Business all rolled into one. Stock market flat as we begin the show today, basically unmoved by and large across the financial landscape. The s and P500 up a tiny amount as I speak to you, the Dow down a tiny amount. Not much movement going on there. There is, however, a lot of movement going on in what essentially is boiling down to the United States versus China. I would expect, Buck, and I'm curious if you co sign on this, that countries like Japan and South Korea and Australia and England and even much of Europe are going to get resolved the new trade deals relatively quickly in the grand scheme of things, that is over the next few weeks. And I think those will be beneficial to the United States. I don't think they'll be transformative. The real battle here as we stare down what's coming is the United States versus China and how does this situation resolve itself and how long does it take to resolve itself? As we elevated our overall tariffs on China to over 100%, China has responded by increasing the tariffs on the United States, I believe roughly to 80%. Now, given the fact that China has much more of an export based economy, particularly in relationship to the United States, than the United States does in relationship to China, the pain in general should be felt on China more than it's felt on the United States. That's the negotiating leverage that Trump is that Trump is banking on. If there are brilliant people out there who want to disagree with that, you're welcome to call in 800-282-2882. But China is to a large extent an export focused economy and they have built a huge trade surplus against the United States. Now there are certainly complicating factors. I believe China has something like $5 trillion in United States bonds, which is it's probably trump card on some level, pardon the pun from them. What would happen if they start to liquidate a substantial amount of their, of their treasury, some suggesting that's already potentially occurring and that might be what's impacting the bond, the bond market in general. Again, these are high level discussions of exactly what is going to be done. But so far China and the United States staring at each other, not blinking. Would you co sign on most of that analysis? Do you think I'm missing anything from your perspective? Buck?

[Buck Sexton]

No, I think that this is ultimately actually about a China trade war. I mean that's really what the which if you think about it in that context, it also makes a lot of sense when you look back to the first Trump term. And this I think would have been the phase that he entered in 2020 had things gone differently. I think this was always in his mind. The first phase was just waking people up to what China was doing, which is truly the greatest theft over decades not just of wealth, but of intellectual property, which obviously is wealth in the modern economy and all kinds of bad faith efforts and undermining a lot of US Hegemony wherever they can. So Trump has said enough is enough. As it pertains to China. I do think we'll get deals with the other countries in place. And you know, Apollo Global Management's CEO for those who don't know, Apollo Global Management is it's a big time finance outfit. I think they're private equity guys. So you know, they buy huge companies, they, they turn them around, they sell them, stuff like that. But here is the CEO of that company who is I think saying something again, this is somebody who manages billions and billions of dollars and has to be right or else he loses his job and he's coming out and saying we need a reset.

[Kevin O'Leary]

This is cut to us is the second freest trading market in the world financially after Japan and is the freest trading market in the world considering non tariff barriers. Why is that written in stone? Why shouldn't we be the 10th or the 20th? The policies that have been in place since the end of World War II are not fit for today.

[Clay Travis]

I think that's well said. And Buck, I've got a couple of more here that I thought were well said that I sent in to our producer Greg because I thought some of you out there, I understand this is complicated and probably a lot of you don't sit around on a regular basis thinking about say tariffs like you might think about taxes or economic growth or, or any other number of issues that have been well discussed and debated for decades in the United States. Here's Victor Davis Hansen asking a question I thought, Buck, that we have asked, if tariffs are so awful, how come so many countries have tariffs in the first place? Why do these exist? I thought this was well said by him. This is cut 3.

[Victor Davis Hanson]

China has prohibitive tariffs. So does Vietnam. So does Mexico, so does Europe. So do a lot of countries, so does India. But if tariffs are so destructive of their economies, why is China booming? How did India become an economic powerhouse when it has these exorbitant tariffs on American imports? How did Vietnam, of all places, become such a different country even though it has these prohibitive tariffs? Why isn't Germany before its energy problems, why wasn't it a wreck? It's. It's got tariffs on almost everything that we send them. How is the EU even functioning with these tariffs? I thought tariffs destroyed an economy, but they seem to like them and they're angry that they're no longer asymmetrical. Apparently our people who are tariffing us think tariffs improve their economy.

[Clay Travis]

I thought that's well said.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, this is what we've been saying and we never get it. I never hear an answer to this. People just say, tariffs are a tax. Tariffs are borne by the consumers. Tariffs are bad. Tariffs led to the Great Depression. They shout all this stuff, and I say, why does every other country have tariffs? Yeah, we're the only ones. And when it comes to being outliers, you know, we're also the country that's supposed to pay the rest of the world's bills. We're also the country that's supposed to be the rest of the world's policemen and the world's giant, world's biggest refugee camp with a wide open border. Right. There are a number of areas in which the United States is expected to bear a burden that other countries are not. Well, are we bearing the burden of being the only free trade country in the world? I totally agree. When Elon says we should get to zero tariffs across the board. Yes, that is the goal. That would be fantastic. It would be so much better. It's a bit like saying, you know, wouldn't it be nice if we could get rid of nuclear weapons? Sure. When everybody else that we're worried about gets rid of their nuclear weapons. We can get rid of nuclear weapons too. Right. Why would they keep them but we get rid of them? That's what we've been doing, essentially on an economic front with tariffs. And I still have not heard any. The answers you might hear about this, Clay, are something like, oh, the French want to protect their wine and their cheese or something. You Know, that's very dismissive of it, but. Well, no, no, it's. This is on American automobiles. This is on a lot. Yeah, this is on. You know, we're talking about the EU now and people are saying, all right, well, Canada, I saw this. I'm saying Canada's dairy tariffs don't actually go into effect if you hit. Until you hit a certain level. Well, why have them at all? If free trade is so good, why have them at all? Right. Well, at some level, it must be because you're protecting your own industry because you recognize that wealth generation comes from the exchange and the creation and exchange of goods and services. It's not just we keep printing money to buy stuff from everybody else. There's a lot of that going on here.

[Clay Travis]

Also. Where the companies are based matters. I mean, I would bet that the reason the Chinese dairy industry is, I mean, sorry, the Canadian dairy industry is protected is because they don't want America to be sourcing every element of the dairy, the dairy there. Right. And so where the companies are based is foundationally very important. Really, this is going to boil down to the extent that it has not already into US versus China. And I've heard some people out there say that their criticism is actually that we should just go full bore after China, after and not focus on other countries as much. This is, let's get, try to get Mr. Wonderful on. I think we had him on recently, meaning in the last year or so, if I'm not mistaken. But this was on cnn. I thought this was really well said. He said we should put a 400% tariff on China because they're cheaters on the global marketplace.

[Kevin O'Leary]

Listen, to cut four speaker 104% tariffs in China are not enough. I'm advocating 400%. I do business in China. They don't play by the rules. They've been in the WTO for decades. They have never abided by any of the rules they agreed to when they came in for decades. They cheat, they steal, they steal ip. I can't litigate in their courts. Never has an administrator.

[Buck Sexton]

400% terror.

[Kevin O'Leary]

I want Qi on an airplane to Washington to level the playing field. This is not about tariffs anymore. It's time to squeeze Chinese heads into the wall. And now.

[Clay Travis]

Man, that is aggressive, Buck. But I do think he's saying what a lot of American businessmen believe but aren't willing to say because they work with China. I was actually a little bit surprised because I can't, I can't imagine that the business he does with China is going to be helped by those comments. But this is what you have to do. Sometimes you have to speak out against your own interests because you recognize the larger interest is important.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I wonder how much business he's really doing in China currently. That's point one on that. And point two, Mr. Wonderful. Kevin O'Leary likes to get sound bites that make their way across the Internet ecosystem and other shows like this one. I mean a 400% tariff, you know, at some point if we push too hard on China, I know you could say it's a negotiation tactic, but we don't want to seem completely insane. Right. Because they're. What we want is for them to improve their behavior. We don't actually just want to extend a single finger in their direction and say that's the way it's going to be going forward. Right. We would like to see China. In fact, China's entrance into the WTO was premised on them changing their behavior. Right. This is the.

[Clay Travis]

Which this is. Well said. Continue.

[Buck Sexton]

Not that we want to be in a trade war. This is what China has decided to do. China has. And you look at the Belt and Road initiative. It's, it's like a mix of communism, authoritarianism, mercantilism. China has been rapacious when it comes to trade globally and has not become any more liberal as it has become a whole lot more wealthy. China is a, was a desperately poor country really up until the 1980s. And people forget that the biggest famine in the history of the world occurred in China right around 1960 in world history. OK. Tens of millions of people starved to death in that country. I think people. Now we all think of China as a billion people and, and a huge economy and robotics and AI clay. China has done this in the last 40 years.

[Clay Travis]

What I think is important about what you said is because I've heard this argument for sports for a long time. Well, if we go take our basketball to China, if we take the Olympics to China, they're going to start to play by our rules. We will see them democratize. We will see them join more the Western world. Actually that hasn't happened at all. In fact, they've tried to impact the Western world with Chinese values. And I think you can see this in a big way. We've talked about this before, but I think it's very important. You know how there's no bad Asian guys in movies anymore. Every bad think about this. Like every James Bond movie, every Mission Impossible, the bad guys are always people with kind of a Russian ish accent and if you go back and you study it. Do you remember when they remade the. The great movie Red Dawn?

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, of course.

[Clay Travis]

They remade the entire movie because initially China invaded us and then in order to get the movie released in the time they had to go back in. This is crazy. But they did this. They digitally altered the entire Chinese army to make it North Korea that invaded the United States because Warner Brothers, I believe, who was distributing the film or Paramount, was too afraid of angering China by having China be the bad guys in a movie. And one of the threats they just made, Buck, is we're not going to let American movies come into China anymore.

[Buck Sexton]

It's Clay. The theft of intellectual property that's been going on for decades. It's worse than what the KGB was able to do during the height of the Cold War because at least we have cyber attacks going on all the time based in China, stealing our most sensitive technology. Most we have, our universities are penetrated by Chinese agents all over the place. Everybody knows this, The FBI knows this. But there's all this sensitivity around actually treating a particular nationality as a wellspring of adversaries, which unfortunately is the case with China currently. And some people have just decided in our government that enough is enough, that this is not the way it is supposed to or it should continue on. So this is the where the friction is, right? This is not going to be easy or perfect. It's only been a few days. I think people need to strap in. It's. This is not going to get easier anytime soon. I don't see Trump backing off the China part of it. I do hope that as the deals with Japan and South Korea and the EU get ironed out and there's a normalization there, everyone realizes, ok, now we really have to focus on the big challenge and there'll be a clarity about what that really is. But once again, Trump, even if he's a little sometimes rough on the execution in the early stages of something, on the big issues, on the big think, he tends to nail it. All right, look, for every gun owner in this audience today, I gotta tell you, you should make yourself a member of the United States Concealed Carry Association. This is all about protecting your rights to defend yourself legally. If you end up in court. Often, it's not just about what you did, it's how it's interpreted. That's why Clay and I are both members of uscca and we're happy to welcome them as our newest sponsor on this program. Go download United States Concealed Carry Association's free guide. You can do that before you become a member. It provides tangible information, practical information. Their Concealed Carry and Family Defense Guide walks you through what to do before, during and after a self defense incident. Mental prep legal insights step by step training. This guide lays the foundation in fact, legal defense is provided to those members needing it after rightfully defending themselves and their family. Following uscca's instructive tips I remember when I did my concealed carry class guys down here in Florida, the guy told me that of two of his students who had had to use their weapons to defend themselves in recent years, both initially faced charges. Both initially faced charges. I mean that's, this is what can happen. And then the charges eventually were dismissed. But you've got to go with the security and safety of knowing your rights and having someone who will have your back if you lawfully defend yourself when it comes to your legal expenses. Go to go online to uscca.combuck to get your free guide today. That's uscca.com buck you can also find this information on clayandbuck.com right under the sponsors tab.

[Clay Travis]

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Mic drops. That never sounded so good. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. Just quick update of where we're going here before we dive back into tariffs, which is on everybody's mind. I think it's clear that this for a lot of people seems like, and I don't mean today or the market price tomorrow, but this whole gambit of tariffs is like a roll of the dice of the Trump administration that will determine a lot. If this works, it's incredible. If it sort of works okay, fine. If it fails, it's going to cause problems for the administration on other issues because of the, I think loss of political capital. So we'll see. But we're going to be joined here, by the way. I still have total faith it's going to be fine. Everyone should relax. But Art Laffer, Dr. Art Laffer, will be with us talking about all this stuff. You know, the Laffer curve guy knows economics. And then Julie Kelly will be with us. And you know, maybe we should invite Mr. Wonderful on too, because he was, he was fired up before. Let's, I'm sure he, he likes a microphone. I'm sure he'll come join us. He's, he's a very fun guy. Pure talk will save you money on your cell phone service without having to sacrifice any quality. Look, I know this myself because on the top right of My phone, it says, says PureTalk because it is my cell phone service provider. PureTalk services on America's most dependable 5G network. And their customer service team is awesome. They're all US Based. They're right here. They're really there to help you. They're super good at what they do best in the business. PureTalk only charges $25 a month for unlimited talk text and 5 gigs of data on America's most dependable 5G network. Compare that to your current monthly cell phone bill and calculate savings. You could save $600 or more every year. And with Pure Talks US customer service team, you can switch hassle free in as little as 10 minutes. So all you got to do to get this started is using your cell phone, dial £250, say the keywords Clay and Buck. You can make that switch today. You'll save an additional 50% off your first month. Again, dial £250, say Clay and Buck to start saving Pure Talk Wireless by Americans for America.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton SHOW I saw, Buck, that you put up on social media and asked for advice and it's just you've been flooded with new dad advice when I sticking. Yeah. Are you sticking to taking your own bed and blowing it up? Is this like you're all in on.

[Buck Sexton]

This move I shared with you my, my little air mattress and my, my, you know, packable sleeping bag. I'm ready to go, baby.

[Clay Travis]

Did anybody say anything in your request for new dad advice that you found to be particularly helpful in going through and looking at some of the mentions?

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, it, it's all, it's all helpful. Mostly it's just about, by the way, Clay is now, now that I'm getting ready for liftoff here later today tonight, he's telling me like the, you know, what to really expect. And it's starting to feel a little bit like I'm new at like the trench in World War I. And he's telling me, you know what it's going to be like the first time we go up and over. I'm like, whoa, this is going to be, this is going to be real.

[Clay Travis]

Can't tell anybody who hasn't had a kid what having a kid is like because it's so much. There is no, like, people say and you guys have a dog and that, you know, is, is nice, but it is nothing or cats or whatever else. It's nice. I mean, people, people who say, like, I'm getting a dog so we can be ready to have a Baby, that's like saying, you know, I went for a walk so I could prepare for the hundred mile ultra marathon. Right? Like you're really not getting like, yes, there is elements of having a dog that teach you some measure of responsibility, but dogs are pretty self functional and babies are not for a while. So the, the process is, is, is very much different.

[Buck Sexton]

We have to keep Ginger as much as my beautiful wife has to groom her all the time. Our Australian labradoodle is very fluffy and very pretty. We have to keep her from finding like raccoon or cat poop in the park and rolling around in it. So I recognize there are different challenges when you have a dog versus when you have a child. So that's something else that we have to. I have no idea why she does that by the way. Otherwise we think. I think she's very smart. Like she's, the dog is very emotionally in tune with a lot of things going on. But then she's like, oh, mud. Let me just roll around in mud and be filthy and smelly. So, you know, who knows?

[Clay Travis]

No, it is, it is, it is going to be fun. It's going to be interesting for you and Carrie and you're going to be ecstatic. And. But again, I just don't think for anybody out there who's had that first child, I just don't think you can really prepare now when you have second or third or fourth, like you've been through it, you know exactly what to kind of. But, but I think it's going to be, first of all, you don't really know you're getting. It's a little bit different because you don't have the panic of the dad. Where like for our first, I was like, at 3am Laura just came in and she's like, I think my water just broke. And it was like two weeks early. And I'm like, oh, wow. Like, you know, okay, it's, it's go time. And then you're panicked and you're running and get in the car and bags and everything else. Like the third one was induced for us. At least you have like the non frenzied preparation, which I do think is helpful because you can be like, okay, now we're gonna go, you know, fill the car up with this and then we're gonna drive in. Like, I think that's a good, good way to go.

[Buck Sexton]

A lot of people told me to bring comfortable clothing and shoes, which is all that I own, snacks and an iPhone charger. So I said, don't worry I've got all the, this, this I have covered.

[Clay Travis]

IPhone charger is big. I think figuring out with her how do you want to handle in laws and also her parents because it's, you know, like, when are you going to call them and let them know? Because they could be at the air, they could be at the, the waiting room for hours and hours. Like, that's a, I'm sure there's a lot of grandparents out there that know, hey, the process has started, but you don't know what time you're going to get to the hospital. Some people want mom there. I don't think dad's usually there, but some people might want mom, some people might not. Like these are a lot of things that I think the women have to decide because we're of secondary importance. Also. I, I, I think you will find it even funnier on the, on the humor side once you have had a baby. The idea that Mayor Pete and his male partner got their picture taken in the delivery bed holding a baby is going, you're going to be like, this is the most, this is the crazy. Like neither one of them had anything to do with it. Mom's doing all the work. We don't even know who birthed their baby. And then the two of them climbed into a bed, a hospital bed together to hold the baby and have a picture taken is one of the weirdest things that any political figure has done in my opinion, in the modern era. Right. Like, what in the world were they thinking, hey, let's go get in a hospital bed. Which neither of you used and neither of you had any necessity to use to have a picture taken with a baby that neither of you had. Like you're gonna like. I think again, because the first photo of the baby, everything else with, with Mom.

[Buck Sexton]

Did you see Jesse Kelly gave me, who has, Jesse has two boys, I think, right? He's got two boys. He gave me very helpful advice. He said, make sure that the focus is on you, that you're hydrated, that carries there to support you because you're going to be going through a lot. You know, it's very. And what's funny is that some people thought he was being serious because of Jesse humor. And I had to be like, no, no, no, he's kidding, he's kidding. He knows.

[Clay Travis]

Were people mean to him after he said that?

[Buck Sexton]

I saw, of course, of course I.

[Clay Travis]

Actually saw Matt Walsh said to, for you to bring headphones. So the yelling didn't influence, didn't.

[Buck Sexton]

Doesn't disturb my sleep. Yeah. That I can sleep through the bird. Yes. Thank you, Matt Walsh, for the very. Matt has six kids. My friend Matthew Marsden, who's a podcaster, who is also an actor. He was in, like, Black Hawk down and some other. Some other great stuff. He's got, I think, nine kids, which is. That may be the record for same woman. Yes. Oh, yes.

[Clay Travis]

That. Yeah. Like, I don't know.

[Buck Sexton]

Not an Elon.

[Clay Travis]

Not an Elon situation.

[Buck Sexton]

As much as we love Elon, Elon's a little non traditional on this front. Clay, do you want to tell everybody the economy's not going to employ. Wait, no. First, talk backs on dad advice. We'll take some of those, because a lot of you have dad advice, so. But by the way, not dad advice. Like, I'm gonna. I know how to throw the baseball to him. I'm gonna teach him how to shoot and how to fish, and I know how to do all that. I mean, like, get me through the next 90 days, guys. Okay? I'm going into. I'm going into battle here. I don't need to. You don't tell somebody who's going up and over the first time, hey, here's how you survive on your fourth tour. I need that. I'm fine with. I need to get through the next 90 days. So that kind of dad advice on the talkbacks or on the phones. And now, Clay, solve the global economic problems that we face.

[Clay Travis]

Look, so here's what I would say on a positive level. By and large, Monday, Tuesday, and now Wednesday, the stock market has stabilized and does not appear to be, you know, moving like a gyroscope as much as it was on Thursday and Friday. Now, I know on Monday, there were rumors that kind of sent the stock market a flutter. Tuesday and Wednesday has been calmer in terms of the overall movements. I think what Wall street is becoming aware of. So here's my. Here would be my advice. Not that the Trump team's gonna ask me for economic advice in any way, but what I would do is I would start to roll out new agreements, and I would get a deal done with South Korea. I would get a deal done with Japan. I would get a deal done with England. I would get a deal done with Australia. Typical American allies. Go ahead and get those deals done and start checking them off the proverbial list and go on and move down that list. Because many of these countries that we put tariffs on, I think we put tariffs on Angola, for instance, like the Angola trade relationship. Somebody can look it up in the New York studio. The country is not wealthy enough to have a massive trade relationship with the United States in any kind of substantial way. Whatever we do with Angola is not going to move global markets in any way. So I think you get allies done. I think you do small countries. I think you get all those done, wrapped up, make a deal of each of them. And then I think if I were, if I were Trump, if I were advising Trump, I would tell him to just acknowledge what is, I think the fundamental truth here. This is about China. And we're trying to reset a generational trade imbalance that has artificially inflated China's economy and hurt ours. And really, that is where this global trade battle is really going to play itself out. And, and I think that's the story here because you pointed out some of these places we should have no tariff fights with because we're relatively even in trade relationship. But China is the big deal. It's the one that as, as Kevin O'Leary said, Mr. Second Biggest Market.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, it's the second. I'm sorry, it's the largest. Well, yeah, the largest market and the second biggest economy in the world. So think about this. We are operating at a huge disadvantage when it comes to access to the now largest in terms of population. I know we're the largest in terms of consumer spending. So, you know, largest is a little bit of a, of a tricky word there. But, you know, like 1.2 billion people in China and we don't have very good access at all. And in fact, the access that we have, and I do think this was an important point that Kevin O'Leary made. I've made, I've made it many times myself. The access that we have in some ways backfires on us because China will take whatever that we show up in China with to operate and any, anything from like some new, you know, new scrub brush to clean your dishes all the way up to some high end AI. They'll, they'll, if they, if it's on Chinese territory, territory, they will get access to that ip. They will copy it, they will mass produce it, they will sell it back to us. I mean, you know, so this is a huge problem, Clay. I mean, here's just a small example. When I was in. You've never been to China, right? No, I don't think I'll ever go.

[Clay Travis]

At this point with the relationships where they are.

[Buck Sexton]

No, I wouldn't. I don't want to get that call from you in Beijing. I hope I'd be high on your, High on your list, right?

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

Who. I saw this thing online. Who would you call if you're in some third world hellhole prison? Like who? Like who are your top calls? Your top three calls? I hope I'd make the list because I'd help you out. I'd call the big guy. He'd be like Clay Travis, great sports fan. Got to get him out of Trump.

[Clay Travis]

In office for the next four years. Yeah, you're good. Between he and the FBI and. And Hegseth we got pretty good relate Rubio. We got pretty good relationships in the government.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. After the cash would make a call and you'd be. You'd be on. On the next flight home, I think. But, but I remember from when I was in China. This is just. This is a surreal thing. There were stores and I went into one where there. It looks like a Rolex store. Basically. Like it's made and it's all fake and it's all very hot and it's very high end fakes. The kind of fakes where you have to. You'd have to take apart the watch to know that it's fake. Some people would be able to see with the laser etching on the inside, on the sort of inside of the bezel. I mean there's a few but it is like very high. And the point being that they're. They have like billion dollar factories making fake Rolexes which is one of the most recognizable and valuable brands on the planet. A Rolex is effectively like cash anywhere in the world. You can say if you have a, if you have a sub. Submariner, which is what the watch is called. I know Submariners, which are. You know, you're under.

[Clay Travis]

I totally would have said Submariner. I didn't know that was the way it was pronounced.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. No Rolex. Everyone says Submariner. So you know submariners, you take it up with Rolex. I don't want to tell you call Hans Wilsdorf, but founder of Rolex. It's actually amazing story.

[Clay Travis]

That's an incredible name. Drop your buddy. We had an awesome dinner in Miami. I'm fascinated by. I've never had a good watch in my life. But your buddy is in the watch business that we went out to dinner with and I was fascinated by all the stories he had about different watches.

[Buck Sexton]

Windvintage.com is his site. He's got really cool stuff. I've got a bunch of watches that I've purchased from him. So the watch thing is. But anyway, the watch thing is fascinating to me. But the, the fact is that China does this so openly is my point. Like, yes, you have guys in Times Square who are selling fake hats, you know, fake Fendi bags and stuff like that, but they're not supposed to do it. It's counterfeit goods. And we actually do police that at some level. In China they just do this stuff and they do this with everything and we do nothing in response. And in a world increasingly where, as we've said, the military is really a function of, in the future it's going to be a function of machinery and industrial output. All right. I think Naval Ravikant, brilliant guy, he basically said if you can't produce drones at scale in the future, you will be at the whim of whoever can. That is the world we are heading into. Not in 50 years, in like five. So, you know, it's, there's a lot of moving pieces with this stuff. And I just think that, I think you're right. You know, the messaging of this we can, you know, we can critique a little bit or say, I wish it was a little bit different here or there. But Clay, I still think on the 30,000 foot level, he's right on this one. I still think on, I truly believe on the 30,000 foot level, on the macro level, Trump sees something that needs to be addressed and fixed.

[Clay Travis]

I think it's 100% right. And we'll talk about this with Art Laffer, who is one of the most brilliant economists anywhere in the world. I mean, his history of, of being right on so many of these issues we will break down and, and discuss with him. In the meantime, it's a good time. Last night, Buck, I was watching my Atlanta Braves. They took down the Philadelphia Eagle, Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia Phillies. It felt like a, it felt like a postseason game already. Maybe because the Braves can't win any games and they were sitting at 1 and 8. But if you're an NBA fan, Luka Doncic returning to, to Dallas for the first time since they traded him. If you're an NHL fan with the postseason of Echin just set all time record, most goals ever scored. There are a lot of sports going on. The Masters is this weekend going to be a lot of fun. I know many of you are going to kick your feet up and end up with what I call a good tradition, the master's nap. On a Sunday where it's like all the birds are chirping and they're all speaking softly and maybe had a little bit extra to eat for, for, for Sunday dinner. I'm telling you, it's going to be a great weekend for sports. And if you love all of that, prize picks can make it even better. 13 million downloads. 40 states including California, Texas, Georgia. If you've been feeling left out, Florida, you can play all over the country. And right now you get $50 instantly when you play with the code CLAY. Pricepicks.com code CLAY when you play $5 and it's super easy to do, you just pick more or less on your favorite athletes. You get back $50 instantly when you play $5. That's win or lose 50 bucks just for signing up and playing $5. Prize picks run your game must be present in certain states. Prizepix.com for all of the details. Again, the Masters going on this weekend. If you love golf, you'll love prize picks. Go check it out. Prizepix.com Code Clay want to be in the know when you're on The Go the Team 47 podcast Trump highlights from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jesse Kelly]

Hey Buck, it's Jesse. And first and foremost I wanted to congratulate you and Carrie on your baby. That's one. But two, most importantly, I wanted to remind you, you need to take care of yourself. You come first right now. When she's in labor, you get some rest, go home and get a good night's sleep. That way you can be rested after the baby comes. Let Carrie handle that portion of it. It's her job anyway. 2 When it comes to staying up after the the baby is born, you have a job. That job. Well, it's kind of a job. You have to talk to Clay all day, so it's more like torture. But you have a job. You have to earn a living. Let Carrie do all of the baby work. She'll thank you for it. Take care, buddy.

[Buck Sexton]

That is our good friend Jesse Kelly, 6 to 9 Eastern on Premier Networks. Great radio host and buddy of ours with exactly the advice, Clay that I should follow if I want to be asking for single dad advice in the next couple of years. So yeah, no, he's kidding everybody. Before you start free. He did this to me on Twitter and people were freaking out. He's joking. Jesse likes to make jokes. Don't worry, I would, I would crawl over broken glass to help Carrie in the next. Well, in general. But Certainly the next 48 hours best.

[Clay Travis]

Result for you is to be unnoticed. It's like a kid at an adult party, you know, if the kid just doesn't cause any trouble, then it's like a successful performance for the kid at the adult party. That's like you in the birthing room. Just don't do anything that causes you to be a major distraction. I remember Laura wasn't that happy when I was like, the WI fi is not working very well here. Like, are you sure this is is the right know when you're sitting over, Clay's tweeting up a storm from the delivery. Why does the WI password have to be so hard?

[Buck Sexton]

Can we get Laura? I want Laura to give a talk back on what Clay was like in the delivery room.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, that's a good idea. Let me go check.