Hour 1 - COTUS Tariff Ruling

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Hour 1: COTUS Tariff Ruling

Date: February 20, 2026
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Host: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the breaking Supreme Court ruling invalidating President Trump’s emergency tariffs from April 2025. Clay and Buck analyze the constitutional and political ramifications of the decision, speculate on Trump’s likely response, and explore the broader debates about executive power, trade, and dual citizenship. Interwoven throughout are their trademark blend of analysis and humor, with digressions on Olympic patriotism, bestselling books, and callers’ thoughts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs

[03:06–06:43]

• The Supreme Court delivered a 6–3 decision against President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for imposing broad tariffs, especially those enacted in April 2025.
• Buck quickly summarizes the flurry of media coverage and describes the ruling as “a significant loss for President Trump.”
• Both Buck and Clay point out that they predicted this outcome based on oral arguments.
• Clay describes the core legal issue:

  “It seems the president could say no more steel from China, period … But … you can’t tax them because that’s left to Congress. That is a constitutional power.” [06:22–06:40]

• The panel notes the market largely shrugged off the news, suggesting it was expected.

2. Ramifications and Next Steps

[06:43–09:55]

• Clay raises an important practical question:

  “Do companies actually get money back from the government the government’s taken in?” [08:23–08:29]

• Buck expects Trump to promptly cite a new statutory authority (“almost 100% chance”) for similar tariffs, forcing another legal showdown.
• The biggest practical effect may be companies seeking refunds for tariffs they already paid.

3. Broader Impact on Presidential Powers and Trade Policy

[09:55–12:55]

• Buck and Clay reflect on whether this ruling signals that the Supreme Court will give Trump leeway on upcoming high-stakes cases (gerrymandering, birthright citizenship).
• Clay speculates:

  “It gives themselves leeway here to give Trump some things that are going to make the left go completely insane…” [12:55–13:00]

• Buck highlights the inherently political nature of Supreme Court decisions in a charged era.

4. Birthright Citizenship & Racial Gerrymandering

[12:55–13:59]

• Clay questions whether the Court will support Trump’s restrictive view on birthright citizenship.
• They agree the birthright citizenship case could become the most “foundational and transformational.”
• Buck notes:

  “Justice Roberts is a notoriously political chief justice … he tries to give and take every single general session … of these Supreme Court cases.” [13:59–14:17]

5. Legislative Branch Paralysis & Executive Overreach

[14:17–15:44]

• Buck and Clay argue that Congress, despite having the constitutional power, is too dysfunctional to act on tariffs.
• Clay jokes:

  “Everybody out there has basically determined that Congress can’t do anything.” [15:28]

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6. Humor & Book Rankings: Lighthearted Digression

[15:44–17:46]

• Clay laments that Buck’s book Manufacturing Delusion slipped in Amazon rankings, losing the top spot to a “stripped-down memoir” by a former exotic dancer.
• They mock the bestseller landscape and joke about showing more “sex appeal” on book covers.

7. Listener Calls: Redemption and Olympic Patriotism

[22:21–23:54]

• A caller praises the top-selling “Bunny Xo” memoir, describing her as a survivor and inspiration; Buck and Clay riff on the popularity of redemption stories.

8. Olympic Stories: Citizenship and National Loyalty

[25:03–29:20]

• Clay recounts the story of Alyssa Liu, whose father fled China, rejecting an offer for Alyssa to compete for China (for “millions of dollars”) and choosing to skate for the U.S.—a story of “fighting communism.”
• In stark contrast, Eileen Gu (American-born, Stanford student) switched allegiance to China for the Olympics and lucrative endorsements, while dodging questions about human rights abuses.
• Buck’s take:

  “I don’t think you should be able to just change your citizenship and get to remain an American. Like, if she’s competing for China now, screw her. She should be gone.” [28:05–28:17]

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9. The Dual Citizenship Debate

[29:20–34:18]

• Both hosts strongly oppose dual citizenship, arguing it’s a matter of national loyalty and security.
• Clay remarks:

  “If you’re a citizen of this country, you should be a citizen of America, and that is it.” [29:13–29:19]

• Buck reflects on how dual citizenship is a post-1967 “new phenomenon.”
• Callers add personal perspectives, including voting in U.S. elections from abroad (which Clay calls “outrageous”).

10. Trump’s Tariff Strategy Going Forward

[35:20–38:31]

• Callers and hosts discuss Trump’s imminent tactic: simply re-citing tariffs under alternative statutes, prolonging legal battles.
• Clay draws parallels to executive overreach by both Obama and Biden, using executive action as delay tactics until court rulings arrive.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Buck Sexton on Supreme Court’s intent:

  “I think he sees this as, hey, we’re going to rebuke President Trump. We’re going to establish we are still the law of the land and we aren’t rubber stamping.” [14:06]

• Clay Travis on market impact:

  “Markets haven’t been spooked at all … which means I think the reality here was priced in.” [08:50]

• Caller on “Bunny Xo’s” redemption:

  “She was a domestic violence survivor … She has put that behind her and has made herself a self-made, living her best life.” [22:58–23:18]

• Clay Travis, dual citizenship:

  “This is a very straight … This is an easy issue. You should not be able to have two passports … You get one in Buck’s America.” [44:07–45:10]

• Buck on Eileen Gu:

  "If she’s competing for China now, screw her. She should be gone." [28:17]

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Major Timestamps

• 03:06 – Start of conversation on the Supreme Court striking down Trump’s tariffs.
• 06:43 – Analysis of the court decision, statute interpretation, and what it means for the executive branch.
• 09:55 – Big-picture implications for Trump, upcoming court cases; speculation on Supreme Court motivations.
• 15:44 – Light digression: book rankings humor.
• 25:03 – Positive stories: Olympic medals, Alyssa Liu’s patriotic story.
• 28:05–29:20 – Eileen Gu’s decision and the dual citizenship debate.
• 35:20–38:31 – Callers on the refund issue and what Trump might do next, discussion of executive power and legal tactics.
• 43:38–44:56 – Callers on dual citizenship and absentee voting.

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Podcast’s Tone & Style

• The show balances serious, informed legal and political analysis with humor and pop culture digressions.
• Clay and Buck frequently volley quick, unscripted jokes, especially during lighter segments about bestselling books.
• Hosts are candid in critiquing not only the Supreme Court and Congress, but also the norms surrounding citizenship and patriotism.

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Recap for Listeners

In this episode, Clay and Buck unpack the Supreme Court’s landmark decision limiting Trump’s ability to enact tariffs without congressional approval, explore Trump’s likely counter-moves, and place the ruling in the broader context of executive power and legal precedent. They take strong stances on dual citizenship (spoiler: they’re against it!), share stories of Olympic patriotism and “sellouts,” and keep things lively with listener calls and self-deprecating banter about book rankings.

If you missed the episode, you’ll walk away understanding the legal arguments, the immediate political fallout, and some of the culture-war stakes underlying the news.

Transcript

[Maria]

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[Public Investing Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome in Friday edition. Clay travis, BUCK SEXTON SHOW Sometimes we get things right that aren't necessarily ideal for President Trump. This was one of them. In the early morning hours here, early morning probably about two hours ago, the Supreme Court released an opinion striking down President Trump, Trump's authority to put the tariffs in place that he put in place last April. By the way, just breaking right now, Caroline Levitt says President Trump will hold a press briefing on the Supreme Court's tariff decision at 12:45. I would imagine that we will go to that. But let me give you a little bit of a medley, a montage of the media reporting about two hours ago that the that the tariffs were being struck down by the Supreme Court. This is CUT to We are in breaking news here. Has just got that Supreme Court ruling

[Maria]

in the last hour, six to three,

[Buck Sexton]

shooting down the president's use of IPA tariffs.

[Maria]

The Supreme Court just struck down the bulk of President Trump's tariffs. This is huge news. This is happening as we speak. The president's emergency tariffs are illegal, a

[Buck Sexton]

significant loss for President Trump.

[Clay Travis]

A major slap that the president United States.

[Buck Sexton]

This now strikes down tariffs that are imposed to 80 countries. This is the first time that the

[Maria]

63 conservative court has ruled against President Trump.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay. A couple of months ago, we'll play this among others. We have been telling you on this program that we thought that this would likely be a loss for Trump in the wake of oral arguments here. Was January on the program? Cut one. All right. I'm nervous about this one, Buck. I think the Supreme Court is going to strike down some elements of President Trump. I think this is one where the president's going to get a pushback from the Supreme Court and they are going to have, they're going to have a really complicated situation here. My concern is that they're going to slap him back some on this. We'll see. But I think it could be a major pushback. Okay, so they did as as we had forecast on the program. Stock market, for those of you who care, basically seem to expect that this ruling was going to come down the Dow relatively unmoved, the s and P500 up about 4/10 of a percentage. So Buck, here is the complicated question going forward. I would wager a ton of money. We'll see when he comes at at 12:45 Eastern and has this press conference. I would wager a lot that President Trump will now cite a new statutory authority to allow him to take executive action on tariffs that will then be challenged and go all the way back to the Supreme Court. Supreme Court will be ruling on that. In the meantime, I would say the biggest outcome here is what if at all and this opinion does not focus on it will happen for people who claim tariff refunds arguing that this tariff should not have been able to be put in place and therefore the money should be returned to the companies that have been paying the tariff. That's the biggest question. Your take here as this news came down this morning before we came on the air.

[Clay Travis]

Not, not unexpected at all. And I was going through the decision this morning in some detail. It's an interesting history here, right? The president looks at this 1977 IIPA law and says, well, hold on a second. We have a flood of illegal drugs coming from Canada, Mexico and China. We have massive deficits which create an economic and even maybe national security risk over the long term for the United States. So he's going to take action. And it seemed that in much of the back and forth in the actual decision, the question is the action was not explicit enough in that law. And even though it is explicit that the president could do far more extreme things under this law, it seems the president could say no more steal from China, period. He could do that. He could say you can't give us, you can't import any more steel from China, national security risk. But he can't say again, According to the 6:3 majority here, which included Roberts and Gorsuch and of course Amy Coney Barrett, what you can't do is say there's a 10% tariff now for national security reasons or for emergency reasons that goes into effect, there was a lot of argument over. So you're saying he can do a de minimis thing or an extreme thing, but he can't do, meaning the little tiny regulations around these issues, a massive shutdown of these things, of these imports, of imports coming into the country, but you can't Tax them. They say you can't tax them because that's left to Congress. That is a constitutional power. It is the sort of fundamental, foundational, unfortunately, constitutional power left of the United States Congress. So there's a lot of back and forth over that. I think you're right about the logistics now getting, it's going to get interesting to see. So do companies actually get money back from the government the government's taken in? Is that what's going to happen? Do they all have to go and seek suit individually? Is there some what. What happens now to the large, some hundreds of billions of dollars that have been taken in as a result of this? The markets haven't been spooked at all by it so far, which means I think the reality here was priced in that this was probably going to be the outcome. Neither you nor I surprised by it. One thing I do think is interesting is it completely changes the tariff debate. Meaning what Trump has done has shown that you can in fact impose tariffs. It will not destroy the economy. It will bring in hundreds of billions of dollars of revenue. Every other country does this. Maybe this is something we should think about. It changes the, the tariffs are, you know, lead to trade wars, trade wars lead to real wars. Changes that discussion. I think Clay, going forward, we'll see. It'd be really interesting. If you call this one, I'll be very impressed that Trump just comes out and says, ok, tariffs now under the following authority, everything stays exactly as is. And then he buys himself another. Well, it depends how fast the Supreme Court tries to move on this. But he would buy himself. He'd have to go through the courts. There'd have to be more process. That would be very interesting.

[Buck Sexton]

I think I would bet almost 100% chance that's what he's going to do. And he will basically try to run out the clock on the remainder of his term as it pertains to tariffs. I think your point is a good one. Back in April of last year, everybody told us, oh my goodness, this is going to destroy the economy. We're going to have a recession. Instead, we're sitting at record high stock market prices. The overall, as we said yesterday, mortgage rates have come down, inflation has come down, GDP numbers were not great this morning, but they were great in the fourth quarter. And a large part of the GDP issues was the huge shutdown that we had that went on at the end of last year. I think everything is poised as people are set for record amounts of money back refunds from the government associated with the president's. Big tax cut, lots of people are going to get thousands and thousands of dollars more than they expect, and then they will go spend that money and that will juice the economy to a large extent in the spring and the summer of this year. So to me, President Trump's going to cite different authority, almost 100%. He may even be explicit in that when he comes out in about 30 minutes, talks about it. Here's my big picture analysis and why I thought the Supreme Court would strike down President Trump on tariffs. This actually makes me wonder what they're going to give a yes to Trump on. And some people who are lawyers get upset with me when I talk about the fact that the Supreme Court is clearly cognizant of its political standing. And if they give Trump everything, even if they think that he has a strong legal argument, if they give Trump everything, then they say, oh, it's a rubber stamp for Trump. The Supreme Court has no legitimacy. Notice how all of a sudden MSNBC loves the Supreme Court and loves how much they're willing to stand on principle and everything else. There are many complicated cases that are still before the Supreme Court right now that would be, I think, far more consequential than the tariff ruling. Let me give you a couple of them. What are they going to say about the law as it pertains to racial gerrymanders? I think they're going to strike it down, Buck. I think they're going to say, basically, in this modern era in which we live, the idea of allowing a racial gerrymander is unconstitutional. That could potentially cost Democrats around 20 seats, according to some of the analysis that I have seen of what the impact of that decision would be. Also, birthright citizenship, I would argue maybe the most foundational and transformational of the cases that the Supreme Court is facing right now and waiting to render a verdict on is birthright citizenship. Are they going to slap down Trump's interpretation of birthright citizenship, which says merely being born on the soil of the United States does not make you a citizen? If they're going to make some interesting rulings on those cases, racial gerrymandering and

[Clay Travis]

Supreme Court, you think they've given themselves some leeway here to give Trump some things that are going to make the left go completely insane, I don't think you're wrong. I think John Roberts clearly has that in mind as he goes forward on some of this, as probably does Amy Coney Barrett. And on the birthright citizenship issue, I don't with the exception maybe of Thomas and Alito, I Don't think any of those justices want to give the decision that it is, in fact, not.

[Buck Sexton]

They don't want to take the heat.

[Clay Travis]

I don't think they want to do that. But I think they recognize the alternative is to really open the door to the dissolution of American sovereignty entirely and to create a special category where the violation of law creates a permanent and fantastic benefit.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

Which is, which is a really bad thing for a Supreme Court to do. A really, really bad thing. And so I think that they're, you know, on that one, I do, I do believe that the left is going to be at a, an absolute moment of apoplexia over it, both of those.

[Buck Sexton]

And I'm not saying necessarily that I think he's going to win both of them, but I think they're going to end racial gerrymandering. I expect that that is going to happen. Birthright citizenship, I think, is going to be a close call. And Justice Roberts is a notoriously political chief justice. And, you know, we saw it with Obamacare. We've seen it with a lot of the decisions that he makes. He tries to give and take every single general session that they bring to bear all of these different Supreme Court cases. So I think he sees this as, hey, we're going to rebuke President Trump. We're going to establish that we are still the law of the land and we aren't rubber stamping. And remember, there's been a lot of criticism. I think they got this right on the Supreme Court with all the presidential powers questions. We told you on this program that Trump was going to get presidential powers, but Trump's going to be gone in January of 29th. These powers rulings on executive privilege and power and criminal charges, and all those things are going to extend to every president for the rest of our lives and hopefully for hundreds of years. And so here I think they, I think they wanted to rebuke him. I think they wanted to slap him back. I think he's going to now cite different authority, and we're going to go right back into the legislate, back into the judicial system determining whether or not the president has the authority. Also, Congress could act, it's worth mentioning, but everybody out there basically has determined that Congress can't do anything. But they could say the president has the authority to do these tariffs. They can't pass anything. And, and so I don't have a lot of faith in the legislative branch to actually weigh in on what the Supreme Court said. It is their job to be weighing

[Clay Travis]

in on Yes, I think that is. I think that is accurate, by the way. Manufacturing Delusion is still a bestseller on Amazon, my friends, but we lost a slot yesterday. We dropped down a spot, which is sad. There is a. There is a autobiography of a former exotic dancer who is married to a country music singer that is now the number one book on Amazon in the world, Clay. This is what the world has come to.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't know what to tell you, Jelly Roll. Jelly Roll is a popular guy. I mean, it's tough to go head to head with Jelly Roll's army out there.

[Clay Travis]

It is tough for me to go head to head with a book with a woman called Stripped down where she has part of her thong showing. That is a true story. You should have shown.

[Buck Sexton]

Had a little bit more sex appeal on the COVID I mean, I should

[Clay Travis]

have shown a little leg. I should have shown a little leg.

[Buck Sexton]

Maybe a foot. A lot of feet. People out there. I think it could have made a difference.

[Clay Travis]

Massive tattoo on my shoulder. The point is, I think you should support books that actually have an important message, that have research and that have writing done by a person who cares about writing. So go get Manufacturing Delusion because it's fabulous. It's a bestseller, and it's something that I think you will really appreciate. We want to get on that bestseller list. I do not think I'll be able to defeat the. The former Exotic dancer. Apparently. This book is just taking off. By the way, Meacham, I will tell you, we've smoked Meacham just so you. So thank you for that. Meacham is like, oh, no, what am I going to do? My book isn't selling. Meacham got smoked. But the Exotic Dancer has smoked me so far. I don't know what else to say. So am I bitter about it?

[Buck Sexton]

No.

[Clay Travis]

I'm glad she's having a win. But it does feel a little unfair because I don't get to show Thong on the COVID of my book, because if I did, Clay, who knows? I've been working out. Maybe it would get a little extra love. Maybe people would be like, I'm going to buy this because I feel sorry for him. Get Manufacturing Delusion wherever you can. It is a great book. Go on Amazon now. Let's get that up to the top. Top of the bestseller list again. It's still in the. It's like number five or number six as of this morning. Let's get it up into the top three again, my friends.

[Buck Sexton]

All right.

[Clay Travis]

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[Maria]

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[Public Investing Announcer]

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[Maria]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

All right. Welcome back in to play and Buck Christy in Florida. You love the show but you also also love Bunny Xo. I had never heard of this lady before. She is a massive bestseller for her memoir. Tell me about this. What? What am I missing?

[Caller]

Hey Bug. Hey Clay. I love y' all mail mail carrier listening y' all every day, all day.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you.

[Caller]

And I will be buying your book but and I will say it will be the first book that I have bought on Amazon, by the way.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you.

[Caller]

But Bunny Xo being her past is a very big inspirational story for a lot of people. Her and Jelly Roll both. So. Yes.

[Clay Travis]

Wait, tell me like tell me a little bit about it.

[Buck Sexton]

What?

[Clay Travis]

So she was. She was an exotic dancer, that's all. And now she's married to Jelly Roll. What. What's the. What's the inspiration?

[Caller]

Yes. Well, she's a domestic violence survivor.

[Clay Travis]

Ah.

[Caller]

He was a call girl. She was an exotic dancer. She was. Oh, my gosh, all those things. And she has put that behind her and has made herself a self made, you know, living. Living her best life.

[Clay Travis]

Well, that's great. Well, look, I love. Look, there's nothing. Yeah. So I was gonna say, has she found Jesus? Has she found God? Is this a part of the story, I would assume, given the turnaround?

[Caller]

Absolutely. And a fun fact. You. I know you don't know much about Jelly Roll. He won three Grammys. I don't watch the Grammys. I don't do anything about.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, well, thank you. I did not know that. Clay is like hung out with Jelly Roll. Says he's very nice.

[Buck Sexton]

He's a very nice guy. He was great to my family. We sat next to each other at a WWE wrestling event back in the day. He's a big sports fan. That's all I know about him. But he was super nice to my family when we said next to each other a while back.

[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

Speaking truth and having fun.

[Clay Travis]

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton show. Okay, I got a super positive story. So we talked about tariffs off the top. Yesterday, I watched a bunch of the Winter Olympics. We had the US Women's hockey team win over Canada in overtime, an absolute awesome goal for our women to win 2 to 1. And last night, it's funny, during the commercial break, I asked Buck, hey, did you watch figure skating last night? Laura wanted to. Laura, my wife, wanted to put on figure skating. So I sat and watched figure skating last night with her. And Alyssa Lou won a gold medal in women's figure figure skating, the first one that we have won in 24 years. So both those stories are great. But let me tell you something about the Alyssa Lou story that makes it even more fantastic. Alyssa Lou's dad, Arthur, fled China in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square incident, the clampdown on Democratic protesters in China, and moved to the United States as an actual refugee. Got married, had his daughter. His daughter. They have a bunch of different kids. His daughter becomes an elite figure skater in 2022. Buck China showed up because her dad is Chinese and offered the family millions and millions of dollars if Alyssa would flip from her citizenship in the United States and become a Chinese figure skater. Because they are so committed to fighting communism, Arthur and his daughter Alyssa turned down millions of dollars from Communist China and refused to change her citizenship for purposes of the Olympics. And last night, she won the first gold medal for the United States since, I believe, Sarah Hughes 24 years ago. Sarah Hughes, I think was her name was in the crowd. That was back in 2002. Okay, Buck, contrasting that this story should get way more attention. Eileen Gu is a top skater in the Winter Olympics, has won multiple gold medals, has won a couple of silver medals. This year, she did the exact opposite. She was born and raised in the United States. She's a student at Stanford. She chose, when China offered her millions of dollars to flip her country from the United States, where she was born and raised and where she goes to college, to accept millions of dollars from communist China. She was asked about the Uyghurs concentration camp slave labor, said, I don't really know enough. I'm paraphrasing her to give you an answer on that situation. So she, Eileen Gu, took millions and millions of dollars from China. There are reports that she has now become a Chinese citizen, which we were talking about outside of.

[Maria]

Of.

[Buck Sexton]

Of off air. I don't think you should be able to just change your citizenship and get to remain an American. Like, if she's competing for China now, screw her. She should be gone.

[Clay Travis]

She's a total sellout. I Think your buddy Ines Cantor called her or said it was treason or something. Right. He had very strong words. Or. Ines Cantor, freedom. Isn't that his name?

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, yeah, you're right.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, he spoke out about it. Look, I don't. I don't think that America should allow dual citizenship. So I go even further. Don't. Don't agree with it. Don't think it's okay. Something that comes up, by the way, in background investigations. The truth of the matter is, when push comes to shove, when it comes to giving you access to very sensitive government secrets, they do have concerns over dual citizenship. That actually does come up. So the notion that it isn't an issue or that we don't think about it in that context is. Is. Is a fantasy. And so, yeah, I know a lot of people will be like, but I have, like, my EU passport because of my Irish ancestry. Or I have a. I understand that, and I know that it's legal now. And lucky for you, you can go and travel to the EU or you can go to wherever you have your dual citizenship.

[Buck Sexton]

I disagree with it.

[Clay Travis]

I think you should have. If you're a citizen of this country, you should be a citizen of America, and that is it. Because. Go ahead.

[Buck Sexton]

I think if you represent a foreign country in the Olympics and that requires you to become a citizen of a country you've never been in before, I don't think that you should be able to retain your American citizenship. I mean, I don't think that's a controversial take on Eileen Gu. I mean, she sold out for millions of dollars. And here's the worst part, Buck. I don't even know that she's making that much more money in China than she would make in the United States. She's a young, attractive, highly successful, smart athlete. I tend to think money would follow that no matter where you go. So it feels very political to me. In other words, this is not a situation where, if she were representing, I don't know, Moldova and she decided to go to China, I would say, oh, you know what? She's chasing millions of dollars. That feels more economic in nature, which is also attackable. But this feels very political, too, because I'm not even convinced she would make that much more money. And again, contrasting her choice with Alyssa Lou's choice, I think is that this Alyssa Lou story should be way bigger than it is. Her dad leaving China, coming here. I mean, this is exactly what we want people to do when they come to the United States.

[Clay Travis]

Yes. And of course, you also have some of these Olympic competitors that I don't follow winter. The Winter Olympics release. So I'd never heard of any of these people before. But you have these Olympic competitors, Clay, who have spoken out about how they're uncomfortable with America. Meanwhile, the people that are competing on behalf, including this American who's competing on behalf of China, nothing about China's human rights record or any concerns there at all? No, Everyone. Everyone shuts their trap when it comes to China.

[Buck Sexton]

But we have Americans who was specifically honest about it and said absolutely nothing like just stumbled around it. And she's a. I think she had a perfect score sat, and she goes to Stanford. So when somebody who has a perfect score, sat, goes to Stanford, chooses to represent a different country, and then gets asked about the country and says, I don't really know enough to have an opinion on that, that's a total lie. All right? You are dodging the fact that they're doing a slave labor and you're afraid to address it. You know, there are some people where you would say, okay, I don't think, you know, you don't have the mental capacity to analyze this. If you're a perfect score SAT kid at Stanford, you can analyze what the Uyghur situation is in China. I think you have the mental faculties to do so.

[Clay Travis]

Some, some people. Look, I think that China has been buying off Americans and American commerce for a long time, and the Mideast is now buying off people, too, by the way. The Mideast has figured out that you can throw a lot of money at people under the guise of commerce and, you know, free. Free and fair exchange of goods and services. When you're really buying favoritism and access at the policy level. This is a problem, everybody. China has been doing this for a long time, and they've mostly focused on the corporate side of it, although a lot of individuals obviously benefit at those corporations. But China has wielded the carrots and sticks very aggressively on this issue, and successfully, I might add.

[Buck Sexton]

Right?

[Clay Travis]

This is why you know all about this. Some of the NBA controversies, right? If you say anything bad about, talked about China and you're an NBA player or manager or coach, all of a sudden everyone flips out. But you can say, you know, you can put your hoodie up and say, America is so racist and horrible, and we're all supposed to say, oh, that's just free speech and we're going to keep paying you millions of dollars to watch your games. But the, the truth is, you're seeing this now with the Mideast as well.

[Buck Sexton]

This is.

[Clay Travis]

This is not good. It's not a good situation. And I also.

[Buck Sexton]

The.

[Clay Travis]

All the arguments in favor of dual citizenship are entirely uncompelling to me. It's stuff like easier freedom of travel and, like, more, you know, like, ease of business. I'm like, yeah, okay, but loyalty to a country is a very important thing. You know, Clay, it says.

[Buck Sexton]

It's.

[Clay Travis]

It's the truth here that if you have a Russian national, for example, in this country and they make it back to Russia, they can do anything they want here. If they get back to Russia, they're never being. They're never being sent to face US Justice. I mean, there's. There's real places where the rubber meets the road on this stuff. So I do not understand. And it's only been since 1967. To be clear, this is a relatively new phenomenon. It's not like, you know, the founding fathers weren't like, hey, well, I don't know when passports were first really a thing either. But, you know, the point is, this is a new phenomenon, and it's not one that I think we should just let pass. I don't think people should be able to have two. You can have. If you want to have another passport, that's fine. You're just renouncing your U.S. citizenship. You're a citizen of some other country. Fine. You know, that. That's free and fair association. I do not understand how you claim to be a citizen of both countries. You know, there's some inherent conflict of interest going on there, as far as I can see it. I've never heard a compelling argument otherwise other than. But what about when I want to go on vacation to Italy? Well, you know, get a visa, first of all. You don't even need a visa. But you know what I'm saying.

[Buck Sexton]

You get through the lines faster is the most.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, you get through the lines fast.

[Buck Sexton]

That typically is happening there. But I do think it's. It's interesting that Eileen Gu, in theory, is allowed to be an American and a Chinese citizen, but according to Chinese law, would not be allowed to be a China and American citizen. Right. Like, she can't represent. That's what I'm told. I did research on this. You can't represent China unless you are a Chinese citizen. And typically, China requires that you renounce the citizenship of another country in order to represent them. Now, Eileen Gu has avoided answering the question of whether she has renounced her American citizenship or not. She's been asked. That's my understanding. I Did a bunch of research on this last night. Many of you want to weigh in. We'll take some of your calls. We're also expecting a press conference from the President of the United States here, coming up in a moment. Let's see, who should we go to first here? Let's go to Art in Washington, Georgia. Art, what you got for us?

[Caller]

Hey, guys, you already touched on what I called in about, you know, about the tariff issue. Whereas I was thinking, you know, now that Trump knows what's going on, all he's got to do is look and say, okay, what tariffs are still intact and let's use that authority. Let's go back and we'll redo all of these, and it'll be tough to, you know, tough luck, you know. You know, that's the way it goes, you know, because I'm really concerned that, you know, these countries that have been paying in and now don't have to pay in anymore, they might sue us for that money, dude. And if they do that, what do you think? How do you think that would impact our. Our economy?

[Buck Sexton]

Well, this is what. Thank you for the call. This is what we talked about when we said we thought this would be struck down. The complicated thing is not analyzing the legislative authority and whether the President had it. It is, what do you do if you determine that the answer is no, because then all of the hundreds of billions of dollars of tariffs that have been taken in technically were not legal. And all of those companies that have paid the tariffs are then going to sue and argue that they are entitled to a refund. That process is going to continue to play out. By the way, this is what I was talking about, Brett Kavanaugh's dissent. He specifically said the president could potentially be able to justify all of his tariffs if he had simply cited other authority that is different than the one that he did cite. And Kavanaugh specifically said the Trade Expansion act of 1962, the Trade act of 1974, and the Tariff act of 1930. And here's a direct quote from Justice Kavanaugh's dissent. In essence, the court today concluded the President checked the wrong statutory box by relying on IEEPA rather than another statute to impose these tariffs. Which is why, Buck, I think he is likely to come out and simply say, hey, I'm going to put tariffs on. And now my new authority is as follows. That'll get challenged. Could run out the whole Trump presidency as he keeps jumping from one legislative authority to another to justify the trade acts.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. If we remember Barack Obama, even Trump has never said he does not have this authority. To be clear, Barack Obama, when he, so it's not like he said I can't do this and then he did it. Barack Obama pioneered this new thing of being the president. You say, guys, I need Congress to do this thing. I'm totally not allowed to do it. And then he's like, I got a pen and a phone, I'm just going to do it. I think Biden is flagrantly unconscious.

[Buck Sexton]

Biden is even crazier. One Buck Biden said I can't do this, but I'm going to do it anyway. Just because we're going to build more time in Remember when he, for instance, I think it was the, the student, the student loan, the, the, the, the ability to not pay rent, all those things during COVID he flagrantly knew he didn't have the ability to do it, but just knew it would take a while for the Supreme Court to tell him that. And so he did it, just relying on the more time that it was going to take. And again, I think Trump in some ways can just keep citing different statutory authority and run this thing out for another several years.

[Clay Travis]

Carrie and I are homebodies, that is for sure. If you want a fun party guy, you got to hang out with Clay because I like to throw on the PJs as fast as I can and snuggle up with Ginger and Speed and Carrie on the couch. So Cozy Earth, this is like a brand developed for exactly the lifestyle that I want to lead, which is to be as comfortable as possible all the time. You can go big and get their sheets and bed sets which are super luxurious and soft and they're the softest set of sheets that I've ever slept on. Or you can start small and gear up with their socks made to be so soft you'll want to buy more so you can introduce family and friends to them. What you choose is up to you, but it's going to be comfy, that's for sure. We've got their products all over our home now. You'll be as happy with your Cozy Earth purchases as we are. And your purchase is totally risk free. You get a 100 day money back guarantee in addition to a 10 year warranty. Go online to cozyearth.com use My Name Buck to get a 20% discount on your purchase. And if you get a post purchase survey, please make sure you tell them you heard about Cozy Earth right here on Clay and Buck. One more time. Cozyearth.com is the website. Use the promo code Buck to get your discount on this purchase.

[Buck Sexton]

Geek out with the guys on the Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck Podcast a new episode every Sunday. Find it on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maria]

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[Public Investing Announcer]

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[Maria]

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[Lingokids Announcer]

Are you a parent who feels guilty about screen time?

[Maria]

No.

[Lingokids Announcer]

Well, no not you, sweetheart, but your mommy and daddy do.

[Buck Sexton]

Why?

[Lingokids Announcer]

Because too many apps are filled with AI garbage, inappropriate videos, and random content

[Maria]

like a dancing potato or worse.

[Lingokids Announcer]

That's what parents worry about. We're Lingokids, and we're here to help parents out. Lingokids is the number one entertainment platform for young kids because kids love it and parents can trust it. They want something safe and fun. Yes, fun, but also something that actually

[Buck Sexton]

teaches you big words like fomosynthesis. Fomosynthesis.

[Caller]

Fomosynthesis.

[Lingokids Announcer]

Yeah, close enough. And they want fun songs, videos, and interactive games that help you grow, not

[Buck Sexton]

turn you into a zombie that bites other zombies and then the zombies take over the world and then fly to space and live on the moon and fly in rocket ships on planets with loads of candy.

[Lingokids Announcer]

Yep.

[Caller]

Mango kids.

[Buck Sexton]

Everything kids love.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck Manufacturing Delusion, my friends. It is top 10 right now on Amazon for book sales. Help me catch the bunny. I hear she has an inspiring story. She's at number one. Let's get the buckster in at number two. Okay. Manufacturing Delusion. Buy a copy today. The first week copies are the ones that really matter in rankings and all that fun stuff. It's like a movie opening. So if you haven't gotten your copy, please get your copy. The audiobook. I read it myself. You will love it and it's a great way to learn some cool stuff while you're on the way to work or driving around to do errands, whatever it may be. And with that, I will then take us to Cynthia in Pleasant Grove, Utah, who has called in. What's up, Cynthia?

[Caller]

So I have a twin sister that. That has dual citizenship with Australia. She's been there for 45 years and she's been able to vote online in our elections all that time.

[Buck Sexton]

This is the thing, Cynthia. I'm glad you brought this up. I know people who live in different countries that have now dual citizenship, live in a different country, and go online and vote in American presidential elections.

[Clay Travis]

It's outrageous. Dude, this is. I'm sorry. This is a very straight. This is an easy issue. You should not be able to have two passports. As an American, you either have someone else's passport or an American passport. That's it.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you for the call.

[Clay Travis]

She totally. She's totally agrees with me. She's obviously a very astute and brilliant woman.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, so what I would say for it's because we're going to get emails. It's one thing if you're Assigned. Right. I'm not talking about you. You work at a big company and they have sent you overseas and you are working in a foreign country. You're in the military. You are, you know, an employee of an American company based in Australia. Something like that. I'm talking about when you have chosen, you are a citizen of a new country, you are still technically allowed to be a citizen of the United States and vote online.

[Clay Travis]

Crazy.

[Buck Sexton]

In our presidential Senate congressional election. That's bonkers.

[Clay Travis]

This is a. This is like when people found out that illegals matter for the census and everyone's like, well, that's outrageous. Right? Dual citizenship, when you look into it. No.

[Buck Sexton]

Nope.

[Clay Travis]

You get one in bucks America. You get one because you're either with us or you're with somebody else. That's fine. You want to be in Australia? I love Australia. I've never even been there, but I love them anyway. Be an Australian citizen. Chloe from Omaha, Nebraska, this is B. On the talkbacks. Hit it.

[Maria]

Hey Buck, it's Chloe in Omaha. I was going to wait to buy your book, but I'm not buying the stripper book. So I hit the buy button on Amazon and it'll be here in a couple days. Can't wait to read it.

[Clay Travis]

Well, thank you for buying my book and I support your choice. So there we go. Appreciate it. Get your copy of Manufacturing Delusion. Go check it out. And Clay, who's up next? We have an exciting segment for everybody.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, we got the governor of Indiana, Mike Braun. Among other things. The Chicago Bears are bailing on Chicago reportedly to move to Indiana. Governor wants to talk about it. We'll do that next.

[Maria]

Kids, pets, life. Your sofa sees it all. But with a washable sofa, stains don't stand a chance. All of our sofa collections come with fully machine washable covers and cushions, making cleanup effortless. Liquid and stain resistant fabrics provide extra protection against everyday messes. Plus, with modular designs, you can rearrange your sofa however you like. Perfect for growing families and changing spaces. Starting at just $699, it's time to upgrade to a stress free mess proof sofa. Visit washablesofas.com today and save offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. I used to feel so guilty handing over the tablet just to get things done. We all do. But honestly, I switched to lingokids. The guilt is gone and the kids are obsessed.

[Buck Sexton]

Really?

[Maria]

Do they actually like it? Oh, they love it. It's all games, music lessons and stories. They think they're just playing, but I know they're safe from weird ads and junk.

[Caller]

Mom, look.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm flying into space.

[Maria]

See? They're happy. I'm happy.

[Caller]

Bingo, kids.

[Buck Sexton]

Everything kids love.

[Clay Travis]

If there was a big red button that would just demolish the Internet, I would smash that button with my forehead.

[Buck Sexton]

From the BBC this is the Interface, the show that explores how tech is

[Clay Travis]

rewiring your week and your world.

[Maria]

This isn't about quarterly earnings or about tech reviews.

[Buck Sexton]

It's about what technology is actually doing to your work, your politics, your everyday

[Clay Travis]

life, and all the bizarre ways people are using the Internet.

[Buck Sexton]

Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

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[Maria]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.