Hour 1 - Cuomo's Stepping Stone to the Presidency

Summary

Summary of "Hour 1 - Cuomo's Stepping Stone to the Presidency"

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show delves deep into the resurgence of Andrew Cuomo within the Democratic ranks, analyzing his strategic maneuvers aimed at revitalizing his political career and setting the stage for a potential presidential bid. Hosted by Premiere Networks and released on March 3, 2025, this episode offers a comprehensive discussion on Cuomo's ambitions, past controversies, and the broader implications for the Democratic Party.

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1. Introduction to Cuomo's Political Comeback

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton open the episode by addressing the recent political landscape, highlighting Andrew Cuomo's attempts to re-establish himself as a significant figure within the Democratic Party. They express skepticism about Cuomo's capabilities and intentions, setting the tone for a critical examination of his strategies.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (00:28): "What that means for Trump's peace efforts to end the Ukraine war. We've also got... the governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, signed an executive order mandating that state and local law enforcement will cooperate with ICE."

2. Cuomo’s Strategy: From Mayor to President

The hosts discuss Cuomo's plan to first secure the mayoralty of New York City before launching a presidential campaign. They argue that Cuomo views the mayoral position as a "stepping stone" to national prominence, leveraging the office to build a robust political platform.

Notable Quotes:

• Clay Travis (04:01): "New York City's mayorship is a stepping stone to allow him to be back at the upper echelon of Democrat politics."
• Buck Sexton (07:12): "Generally, historically speaking, it has been a lot easier to use the governorship of New York to run for president."

3. Historical Context: Governors Becoming Presidents

Clay and Buck delve into historical precedents, discussing the success rate of New York governors ascending to the U.S. Presidency. They examine figures like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Grover Cleveland, questioning whether Cuomo can emulate their trajectories.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (07:34): "Four former governors have become President. Teddy Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland, Franklin Roosevelt, and Martin Van Buren."
• Clay Travis (08:02): "If he just does a, you know, I think you give de Blasio an F for mayor of New York. I think you give Adams a D."

4. Critique of Cuomo’s Past Policies and Leadership

A significant portion of the discussion focuses on Cuomo’s tenure as Governor of New York, particularly his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his stance on policing. The hosts criticize his decisions, such as the aggressive use of ventilators and policies like "defund the police," arguing that these choices had detrimental effects on New York City.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (03:20): "He was a monstrous and idiotic dictator. And I want to make it my life's mission... to make sure he does not become president."
• Clay Travis (22:36): "As far as they're concerned, as long as you were obedient to Foushee, you bear no responsibility for anything that happened during COVID."

5. Public Reception and Polling Insights

The hosts analyze recent polling data, highlighting Cuomo's current standing in the mayoral race and his support base. They express confidence that Cuomo will win the mayoralty, despite his controversial past, and discuss the implications of his potential dominance within the Democratic Party.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (18:19): "Cuomo is, as of the most recent polling I can find, he is not even a candidate yet and he is at 38%."
• Clay Travis (18:36): "Yeah, he's going to win."

6. Implications for the Democratic Party

Clay and Buck explore how Cuomo's resurgence could influence the broader Democratic Party. They speculate that Cuomo's leadership could steer the party more towards centrist policies, especially concerning crime and public safety, contrasting with the current progressive trajectory.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (10:18): "The Democrats as a party have not actually embraced that, but he realizes that's his pathway on a policy level in New York."
• Clay Travis (13:21): "This is a Trumpian move by Andrew Cuomo to just refuse to allow his allies to end him and just keep plowing ahead no matter what."

7. Challenges and Opposition

Despite their confidence in Cuomo's plans, the hosts acknowledge potential obstacles, including opposition from within the Democratic Party and the lingering effects of Cuomo's past controversies. They discuss how Cuomo might navigate these challenges to secure his desired political trajectory.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (25:55): "Cuomo has got an awful record. My concern is Kamala did, too, and she almost won."
• Clay Travis (26:13): "If Andrew Cuomo doesn't win the Democrat nomination in June, he's going to have way more money than everybody else."

8. Future Outlook: Presidential Ambitions

Concluding the discussion, Clay and Buck contemplate Cuomo's potential presidential ambitions. They consider whether he will align with former President Trump to position himself as a moderate alternative or position himself in opposition. The hosts predict that Cuomo is setting the groundwork for a formidable national campaign.

Notable Quotes:

• Clay Travis (37:09): "What he said is repetitive of his old self. He is not going to change."
• Buck Sexton (38:00): "But I also believe that a lot of the Democrat after action thinking on this is all they had to do was have a normal primary, have Biden step down after term one because he was obviously too old, and they would have been in a much better place."

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Conclusion

This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show presents a critical analysis of Andrew Cuomo's strategic steps towards reclaiming political influence and potentially seeking higher office. The hosts argue that Cuomo's maneuvers are calculated moves within the Democratic Party's evolving dynamics, emphasizing his focus on crime reduction and public safety as cornerstone policies. While acknowledging Cuomo's controversial past, Clay and Buck remain skeptical about his ability to lead effectively on a national stage, urging listeners to remain vigilant about the implications of his political resurgence.

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Note: Advertisements, promotional segments, and non-content sections from the transcript have been excluded to focus solely on the substantive discussions pertaining to Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic Party.

Transcript

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

Terms and conditions apply welcome in everybody to the Monday edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. We have so much planned to dive into. Very exciting show lined up here. We've got the aftermath of Friday's Oval Office showdown with Trump, Vance and Zelensky. The media that is anti Trump, at least in full freakout mode over the weekend, was in the gym this morning, Clay, and on the, on the anti Trump channels, just one former lightweight national security official after another saying that what Trump did is ruined America for the future. We'll see about that. We'll discuss though, what that means for Trump's peace efforts to end the Ukraine war. We've also got and we've asked him if he could join us to tell us more details. But the governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, signed an executive order mandating that state and local law enforcement will cooperate with ice. That's right. State and local in Virginia are going to be helping with the enforcement of the law and deportations. Our friend, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It's amazing to say that out loud. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is directing the civilian workforce of DoD to respond to the Elon Doge. What would you say you did here last week? Email or over the last week? And then we've got a just astonishing but not surprising response from the mayor of Boston to a person who went on a stabbing spree and law enforcement had to use lethal force to stop him. We will bring you all of that and more. But Clay, as I sit here in South Florida with so many Floridians basking in the incredible Florida late February, early March weather that we've had, I can't help but see that there is someone rising in the Democrat ranks right now rising up in terms of his national media profile and I think you laid out, and I would agree this is someone who thinks he will be the mayor of New York and then will run for president. That is the plan for Andrew Cuomo. But let's start with Cut two here. This is what he says. Because I was in New York, as many of you recall, you were listening to the show back then. I was in New York during COVID I have some thoughts on this, but the would be governor and leader of the Democrat Party if he gets his way. Andrew Cuomo had this to say.

[Andrew Cuomo]

On top of it all, we faced Covid, which was an historic life and death challenge. And we had it first and worst with no warning. We were on our own and we were pushed to our limits, but we got through it together.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, he was absolutely horrible. I know you were following it as a Tennessee and and recognized how terrible he was, but I can tell you as a New Yorker, this is the guy who thought that shutting bars down early and requiring you as a bar or restaurant owner under the law to make people order food while they had their cocktail was going to help stop the spread of COVID He was a monstrous and idiotic dictator. And I want to make it my life's mission, to the degree that I can, to make sure he does not become president. And I don't think he should be the mayor of New York, but that one may be an order too tall for me.

[Clay Travis]

So he's going to be the mayor of New York, and it's going to happen fast. The primary, I was looking this up. The primary's in June, Buck. So all of this has been super brilliant and strategic by him. He's going to now sprint for basically a hundred days. March, April, May, and then boom, the vote's going to happen. He's going to be the Democrat mayor. And unless you think that there's going to be a Republican or an independent running as a Republican, which Eric Adams has talked about, unless you think that's going to be a viable alternative. Andrew Cuomo is going to be the mayor of New York City, and he will be elected in November of this year. And when he is elected mayor of New York City, he is going to spend about six months or nine months trying to get New York City back up and running. And then he is going to pivot and say that he is being asked to run for the to be the contra to the Republican revolution. And he's going to run. And let me hit you with something, Buck, that is crazy. And I know this frustrates you. I think that he is going to claim vindication on all of his leadership as soon as he is elected mayor of New York City. I had my challenges. I'm speaking as Cuomo, but the people of New York assessed me they understand that I paid a penalty based on. Remember he said basically he's not a sexual harasser, he's just Italian. That they gave him a pass, that they allowed him to come back. And he is going to be running in Iowa and in New Hampshire and in all those early states by the beginning of 2027. This is. He doesn't want to be mayor of New York City. Let me make this clear. New York City is a stepping stone to where he wants to be. You don't go from governor of New York to back to mayor of New York City because you just desperately want to be the mayor of New York City. New York City's mayorship is a stepping stone to allow him to be back at the upper echelon of Democrat politics. And you know what's crazy? I think it's going to put him there. So prepare yourselves. Cuomo has paid no price for being one of the worst governors alongside of Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer of any state during COVID All of these people just pretend that that. And there were virtually no discussion about Tim Walls's failures during COVID I know all of you who live in Minnesota, Michigan, California and New York and are listening to me right now feel this. No one lost their job over screwing up Covid. There were no consequences. And he is going to just put that in the background. The fact that he sent all those people to the nursing homes. He got more punishment for touching a security guard on her like hip and on her stomach supposedly than he did for thousands of people being dead in New York because of his failed leadership. Because of all the kids having to wear masks because you had to get a Covid shot. If you lived in New York to go to friggin McDonald's. None of that's going to matter, Buck. He's going to claim vindication and he's going to be running for President of the United States within a year.

[Buck Sexton]

Generally, historically speaking, it has been a lot easier to use the governorship of New York to run for president. Which makes sense, right? Running a whole state. Even more. More important than even running the largest city in the country. Four former New York state governors have become president. Clay, can you give me one?

[Clay Travis]

Four former. Well, was FDR ever the president?

[Buck Sexton]

That was that. That was the one that you thought I would clear that would delay him there. There's a few other. No, but that's legit to put you on the spot. Let me see. The four former governors have become President.

[Clay Travis]

Teddy Roosevelt, Was he ever the governor.

[Buck Sexton]

Of New York, Grover Cleveland, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Van Buren. That, that's the bonus round one.

[Clay Travis]

If I pulled Martin Van Buren, I would just leave like the show for the day. I'd be like, I just pulled Martin Van Buren, former President, New York. If I had nailed all four, no that would ever be able to question me historically ever again.

[Buck Sexton]

That would be the three pointer to retire on for sure. But so there have been a number of presidents who have been governor of New York and gone on to be or rather another governors who have gone on to be president. Much trickier when you look at somebody who had just the mayor, just the mayorship. Michael Bloomberg didn't happen. Rudy Giuliani didn't happen. John Lindsay back in 1972. Let me see who else Adlai Stevenson had, Robert Wagner, who had been the mayor back in the, in the 50s, 60s era. In the 50s, I think Vice president. So there are a number who have done it. Here's the, here's what's different. I think Clay about this right now. I've never seen a Democrat field so wide open. And it is, it's anybody's ball game right now to seize the leadership of the Democrat Party because there is no leadership of the Democrats party. It's, it's true on the media side, it's true on the political side. And Cuomo, this is cut three. He knows that one thing that New Yorkers are any sane New Yorker now, unfortunately, I always say about 20% of the country is unreachable. Right? 20% of the country, you know, trans, you know, trans in kids and, you know, pink hair and climate change is an existential threat. You can't, you can't even have a conversation with them in New York. It may be more like 40 or 50% New York City. I mean, but there are still some New Yorkers who are sane. And crime is the issue that the sane New Yorkers are just fed up on because it got so good and then they gave it away, rather Bill de Blasio gave it away. So here's Cuomo saying they're going to fight crime in America's biggest city. Cut three.

[Andrew Cuomo]

We must attack the crime problem after politicians have been minimizing the need for police and cutting funding. We must acknowledge the simple truth that they are just plain wrong, deadly wrong. They set us back and we must now return to actually fighting crime.

[Buck Sexton]

You know, the Democrats as a party have not actually embraced that, but he realizes that's his pathway on a policy level in New York. Just take the, take the you know, the dangerous drug addicts throwing people in front of trains and stabbing people in the. In the subways. Take them out of the equation, put them in incarcerated situations, and the people of New York will love you forever. I mean, that's really. He's learning the most obvious lessons from the recent past of New York City. So I guess credit where it's due on that, if he were to become mayor, he would. I think he actually would try to clean things up. Not quite as well as Giuliani did, but make it better than what we've seen.

[Clay Travis]

All of his announcement video was not about New York City. It was about being President of the United States. I just want to impress upon all of you that the mayoral office is a total stepping stone. And even Buck, his argument there, to be fair, if he comes in and crime goes down more in New York City, if people start feeling more safer getting on the subway, he's going to argue that he cleaned up America's biggest city and he can clean up the problems of the United States, too. I'm just telling you, he is. It is all so readily apparent to me what the game plan is here, right down to not announcing till March. Buck. I mean, I actually, I got to give him credit. I think it's really smart. He's not going to give himself very much time to take punches. This primary is going to be here in June. Everybody's on spring break. Everybody's watching March Madness. You know, April and May weather starts to get good in New York. Boom, you're into June. He's not ever going to take a punch. I really don't think, Buck.

[Buck Sexton]

You know, there's also a common tactic. I think it's very effective, a common strategy, really, among politicians to find their historical analog and to say that they walk in the footsteps of right or something along those lines. For Republicans, until Trump, it was Reagan. Every. Every Republican who wanted to be president, United States, from, you know, from the 1990s on until Donald Trump came along, it was just one big homage to Reagan. If you look at Democrats, things have been a little bit different. But I think that Cuomo, historically, is going to reach back to the greatness of the one and only fdr. I think that's now greatness. I put in quotes there. But I'm just saying the Italian American governor of New York who comes in with big programs to fix big problems, yes, he was a socialist, but put that aside for a second. He. He's more reasonable. An FDR Democrat has a ring to it that this Democrat party could rally around an Obama era. Democrat I think is a bigger challenge for them because it's too hard left.

[Clay Travis]

I can't help but respect it. Not because I agree with him, but this is a Trumpian move by Andrew Cuomo to just refuse to allow his allies to end him and just keep plowing ahead no matter what. This is the angle they see to making him president. I think one reason he got taken out Buck and I said this back in the day was because I think he would have challenged Biden. I think that in 2020, 2024 in the primary season, I think the Biden team knew that Cuomo was gearing up to come after them and try to force him into a competitive primary. And I think that's one reason they unleashed the hounds. For lack of a better way to describe it, on Andrew Cuomo. Like I think that was a hit ordered from the Biden team.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show I know the New Yorkers out there. You're pulling your hairs out in war in Syracuse, in Albany, all over the state of New York over this Andrew Cuomo comeback. But I think a lot of you are also quietly nodding along. It's not about the mayor's race. He is trying to set himself up as a Democrat alternative. Even that entire announcement, he was trending towards the middle. We got to get crime down. We got to get control of our, our city streets. All of those things are basically national in terms of their scope because I think he's looking and he says Andrew Cuomo is, I mean, sorry, Gavin Newsom is a total mess right now after the LA wildfires. There's no one out there. Gretchen Whitmer is going to run. Josh Shapiro is going to run. But they don't have, frankly, anywhere near the recognition in name that Andrew Cuomo has. And I think he sees this as his opportunity to seize the initiative on the comeback. Remember, Gretchen Whitmer is term limited out in 26. Josh Shapiro has to win a reelection battle in 26. And remember, Trump just won Pennsylvania and Dave McCormick just won the Senate race. So maybe there is a Republican who could rise up and actually give Shapiro a run. Cuomo is going to run, going to win mayor of New York City. This is not going to be a close race. And once he wins, Buck, he's right back into the centrality of the national election. Now, to me the question is, would he cooperate with Trump because he wants to appear moderate or would he decide that he wants to be the antagonist for Trump? I think on some level it will be a function of how popular Trump is. Is Trump worthy of fighting with once you get through the midterms because he can't run for reelection, or does he work with him and try to just be a moderate? This is where we're headed. Prepare yourselves.

[Buck Sexton]

Cuomo is, as of the most recent polling I can find, he is not even a candidate yet and he is at 38%. And his closest competition is a New York assemblyman named Zoran Mamadani, who has 12%.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, he's going to win.

[Buck Sexton]

Mayor Eric Adams, the actual mayor, is at 10%, which is an astonishingly bad number for the actual sitting mayor. But unfortunately, I know he said some nice things about him because of the immigration truth that he's spoken. He's been a bad mayor. He didn't do the job.

[Clay Travis]

Also, he's lost a lot of black support. And Andrew Cuomo has had black leadership in New York City as part of this rollout coming up and endorsing him. You don't need to pay $100 a month just to get a free phone from a cell phone. Wireless carrier. Pure Toxic says no to inflated prices. No to cell phone service plans. Too many gimmicks and gotchas. With a qualifying plan, you can choose an iPhone 14 or Samsung Galaxy that's on Pure Talk. You can say yes. For premium Service, get your iPhone 14 or Samsung Galaxy, no cost to you. Qualifying plan by violent. By dialing £250 saying the keywords Clay and Buck. My kids are on PureTalk. My family is on Pure Talk. Yours can be, too. And you can save a bundle like I am. Dial pound two.50, say Clay and Buck for your iPhone or Galaxy with a qualifying purchase. That's £2 5 0, say Clay and Buck. £250.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. We said we'd take some. Take some calls on this Cuomo situation in New York. And we will remember if you live in Oklahoma, if you live in Washington state, you know, if you live anywhere across the country, country. Cuomo is very clearly thinking he's going to walk in the steps of FDR and become governor of New York, then president of New York, with a little way stop in between as mayor of New York. I think usually it's mayor to governor, but hey, Cuomo is going to do it a little different. So this is a move that all people who are wondering what's going on, the Democrat Party, I think, must pay attention to. All right, Lieutenant, we got Lieutenant Dan in Long island calling in on this one. Let's take it.

[Lieutenant Dan]

There's so much to discuss with Cuomo. It's hysterical. During the COVID thing, he came up with a plan that if you sit at table five at a wedding, you can only dance in a nine by nine grid with the number five in it because you could dance with the people he already been breathing on. He was so radical, it was hysterical. But more importantly, this is the man who once proudly announced he would never cooperate with ice. There were a bunch of thugs. We're kicking him out of New York and who proudly passed the criminal justice reform bail, AKA the no bail law that has radicalized New York to an extent where you can't arrest anybody for anything. He proudly passed it. He passed it twice. He can't run from that, no matter how much he wants to ignore it. The people in New York, they'll vote for anything with a D after its last name, Stanley. But he has no national, in my opinion, no future nationally because of his own words and deeds.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, thank you, Lieutenant Dan, for calling in on this. I'll remind everybody, Clay, that here he is. This is a Cuomo flashback to May of 2021. Remember when defund the police all of a sudden became very fashionable among Democrats.

[Andrew Cuomo]

Play four different schools of thought. You want to say, oh, no, which do you think is the no brainer? Is it a no brainer to put more police or is it a no brainer to say defund the police? You know, they're both legitimate schools of thought.

[Buck Sexton]

Legitimate schools of thought. Defund the police. Now here's my. I don't see it as clear cut as Lieutenant Dan does at the national level for a few reasons, but one of them would be Clay. I think that he's just going to say on the COVID issue, he's going to say, I follow the experts and let us through a difficult time. I'm not a health expert. We've learned a lot of lessons.

[Clay Travis]

And by the way, before we even get to any more, I was. What Democrat has paid a price for being wrong on everything with COVID None. Not one.

[Buck Sexton]

Yep.

[Clay Travis]

Not one. So sorry to cut you off. I.

[Buck Sexton]

No, no, it's fine. I think that's. I agree. Defund the police is politically more toxic than what anyone did during COVID But he wasn't a huge defund the police. You know, he was. I think if I'm being honest now, I'm being a little too, a little too charitable to Cuomo, who I think is a. Is a monster and was horrible in a lot of ways during COVID But on the deep fund police thing, he was clearly just trying to avoid getting smacked down by that wave when it was happening. I don't think he's ever really been in his heart, he was never actually a defund the police guy. Look at what he said. He said it's a legitimate school of thought.

[Clay Travis]

Thought also, Kamala bailed out the looters.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes. And she became the nominee.

[Clay Travis]

Smollett was a victim of A hate crime. Like the idea. I understand. I wish that our caller was right, that there were consequences.

[Buck Sexton]

Can I also say, you know, Kamala lost, Clay, but she was the worst candidate I've ever seen in my life for. For the presidency at a time of the Biden administration in absolute freefall, and she still got 70 million something votes, everybody. So just, we got to keep it real.

[Clay Travis]

She came within 230,000 votes of being president.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

That's how much Trump won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan combined. By. If Kamala had swept those three, she would have won 270 to 268. So thank all of you in the Big Ten states that didn't allow that to happen. But even a truly awful candidate, maybe the dumbest person to ever run as a major party nominee ever. And yet, to your point, Buck, 75 million people showed up to vote for her, and she came somewhat close to being elected. And her background, I think, is even worse than Cuomo's. When you leave aside Covid.

[Buck Sexton]

Let's talk about this with Joe in Brooklyn. Joe, you listen to us on W R. What's going on?

[Joe]

Gentlemen, good afternoon.

[Nate]

Thanks for letting me. I.

[Joe]

Listen, I didn't even think about him running for president. But I'm with you, Clay. It's. It's unbelievable. It's disgusting. It's. This guy would be a horrible mayor. When I saw it, the news with him running for mayor, I was. I worked for the city, and I just retired a little bit ago. I worked for. During COVID He was awful, awful, sitting up there with his muscle shirts dictating everything. And listen, it's not the same thing as Chicago, but I do agree with you guys. New Yorkers be stupid enough to vote for him, just like Chicago voted for Brandon Johnson. And I'm so happy you guys brought up that point about Kamala just now, because everyone, you know, listen, I'm a Trump. I love Trump, and I love what he's doing. But 75 million people still showed up and voted for Kamala. And you don't hear that much. All you hear is landslide and mandate. But he didn't really win by that many votes, when you think about it.

[Buck Sexton]

And, yeah, that's just the math, Joe. That's just the math. It really is. Those are the numbers. So we want to remind everybody of that, because if you can get 75 million people to vote for Kamala, you can get 75 million people in the Democrat side to vote for anybody.

[Clay Travis]

You don't have to have been a successful Democrat politician by any stretch. Of the measure in order to be able to turn out an audience potentially enough to elect you president. So that's. I agree with all of you that Cuomo's got an awful record. My concern is Kamala did, too, and she almost won.

[Buck Sexton]

And I'm just going to point this out, too. Cuomo, anybody who knows, look, I was a New Yorker for over 30 years, okay? And I followed New York politics pretty closely. And anyone who knows, first of all, yeah, of course, he's a Nepo baby. His dad, Mario Cuomo, we get. We get all that, right? But so we're all Kennedys. You know, you go down the list. I mean, there's been. There's been a lot of that going on where people have a parent in politics, and all of a sudden, you know, Hillary ran because she. Of who she was married to. Now, with all that said, Cuomo has been in the rough and tumble world of New York politics a long time. He was savvy enough to get out before, I think, Clay, if they had forced him out of the governor's mansion with a vote, it would have been the first time ever, and it would have really made it much harder for him because he resigned. He is in a much stronger position to come back and try to make this comeback happen.

[Clay Travis]

And he.

[Buck Sexton]

He's considered a. He's considered to be, like, mean as a snake, okay? He's a mean guy. This is well known. And he plays very dirty, and he never forgets a slight.

[Clay Travis]

Or.

[Buck Sexton]

Or anybody is. He's perfect for the Democrats, is what I'm saying. In a lot of ways, actually, this is. We've been talking about, who are the Democrats going to have to turn to? They can turn to somebody who presents as a competent alpha male type. I'm not saying he is. I'm saying he presents that way, right? He said, you know, Barack Obama gave a great speech and got everyone, you know, all fired up. Doesn't mean he was good as president, but he was able to. Different people had different skill sets. He comes across as somebody who can lead because this is all he's been doing his whole life. And if he just does a, you know, I think. I think you give de Blasio an F for mayor of New York. I think you give Adams a D. I think if Cuomo comes out and gets a gentleman's B minus, they're going to think he's the second coming and this becomes the launchpad.

[Clay Travis]

That's right. Maria in. And the reason we're laying this out is, to your point, Nationwide, you need to understand what's coming. Cause a lot of you out there might say, I don't care who the mayor of New York City is. You should, because this is about rehabilitating Andrew Cuomo and allowing him, you know, he would raise a lot of money. He'd have a big war chest. He's going to be a viable candidate. He's going to win mayor. This is all very strategic. This is all very planned. And then that is the position from which he will run for president. Maria up in Westchester, what do you think?

[Maria]

Well, do we all remember when Cuomo said that America was never that great? And now in the speech about New York, he said, oh, New York was on his own. No, Trump was there. Trump gave us the Javits center, he gave us the ship Comfort, but we didn't want to use it. And I think Adrian Adams has a good chance to be mayor because she's bulletproof. She's a black woman. She's going to get the church, the black churches. She's going to. She supports defund the police and no bail laws. So we're going to be in a mess anyway. But she's got a good chance, I think, over Cuomo.

[Clay Travis]

I appreciate the call. I will be stunned beyond belief. You can clip this. If Andrew Cuomo doesn't win the Democrat nomination in June, he's going to have way more money than everybody else. To your point, on the black vote, it actually is going to be somewhat split. Eric Adams is losing support there. There are now black voters who are lining up behind Cuomo because some black leaders, seeing the way the wind is blowing, are getting behind Andrew Cuomo. And I will point out this too. Again, nobody pays a price for Covid. Do you know what we did with all those ventilators that Andrew Cuomo insisted.

[Buck Sexton]

That trash, trash, heat.

[Clay Travis]

We sold them for scrap. All of us got 5%, 5 cents back on the taxpayer dollar. None of them were necessary. And Trump was right about how they weren't going to be necessary.

[Buck Sexton]

I was watching the press conferences up there. He's like, we need a million ventilators. Let me show you what a ventilator looks like. This is a ventilator. It turned out that the ventilators were because of the way that they were being used as really a first line and too early line of defense. They killed thousands of people. The only person that I know personally, I know one person who died not with COVID but from COVID And I'm born and raised in New York City. I knew One person personally who died from COVID And it was a person who was put on a ventilator in the first wave very early, you know, March of 2020. And he was on the ventilator for almost a month. And finally it was too much. They were rushing people onto these ventilators. The health establishment doesn't even want to talk about this, but it was worst in New York and the tri state area. Thousands of people died who would probably still be alive if there had not been this absolute panic to throw all these people on ventilators, giving them. There were other ways to help their breathing, even just putting people on their stomach to breathe, or all these things that could have been done. And there's been no accountability for that either. But Cuomo was the ventilator king for a while. And I remember watching those press conferences when everything was shut down. He was horrifying during COVID He was absolutely horrifying.

[Clay Travis]

And.

[Buck Sexton]

But to Clay's point, and I think it's essential, Democrats don't care. They, they were under orders from Foushee. As far as they're concerned, as long as you were obedient to Foushee, you bear no responsibility for anything that happened during COVID That was true in Michigan, true in California, true in New York.

[Clay Travis]

There were 25% of us that were right. You and me, a lot of our listeners, there were 50% who went along because they were ashamed of drawing too much attention to themselves. And there were 25% who were wrong on everything. Democrats are overwhelmingly represented in the 75% that went along or were wrong. They now want to pretend that Covid never happened because otherwise they would have to examine all of the failures that they embraced. They just went, it's five years. We're coming up on the five year anniversary. Buck. I think the most consequential thing that happened in the 21st century, other than 9 11, is our response to Covid. And people just want to pretend if they were on the wrong side there, that they never supported masking, that they never supported shutting down schools, they, that they didn't fail. And so for the Democrat Party, they just pretend that Covid never happened. And the second part of that is, well, what could you have known? What do you expect us to have done? That is their argument. Cuomo is, I'm telling you, he's not going to pay a price at all for having been wrong on everything with COVID with Democrat voters.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't know how many of you can relate to this, but last year I woke up one day and I realized that I just put on way too much weight way too quickly. Heaviest I'd ever been by almost £30. And I was like, this is crazy. I need to do something about it. So I got on this past summer a whole regimen. And part of my regimen has included chalk, which I have here in my hand. You can see I take chalks daily. It says right here, chalk Daily, the natural choice for men. Boost free and total testosterone. We're all chemistry sets walking around, believe it or not. You gotta have the right chemistry, the right hormonal health in order to be at your best, have the energy you need to build lean muscle mass, to maintain lean muscle mass. So it's really important that, yes, you get your diet and exercise dialed in, but also that you have the proper supplementation. And that's where chalk comes in. Chalk Daily is fantastic, but there's also the entire male vitality stack, which is a set of supplements that can do so much for your overall health, wellbeing, and for the guys out there, this means testosterone boosting can be up to 20% in three months time. Chalk is fantastic. It's part of my daily regimen. I am down almost £40 and I'm telling you, this is going to give you a little extra boost, really help you out. They are top class products. I have a fantastic online trainer who I have to check in with, I have to log my meals, do all that stuff. We could talk about that another time. And I said, go on Chalk's website and tell me if these are the kind of supplements I should be taking. He said, absolutely. Gave me a whole list of them and they are now part of my daily regimen. Go to chalk.com, chalk.com use my name Buck for that massive March 2025 discount on any subscription for life. I mean, you can cancel your subscription at any time without penalty, but once you feel the effects and you see how this is going for you, you're going to love chalk. Go to chalk choq.com use my name Buck for a massive discount on any subscription for life.

[Clay Travis]

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton telling it like it is. Find them on the free I hard radio app or wherever you get your podcast. You can now win up to a thousand times your money on prize picks. It's the best way to get real money sports action. Join over 10 million users and sign up today. Win real money this basketball season when you run your game on prize picks. And they invented the flex play, which means you can still cash out. If your lineup isn't perfect, you can double your money even if one of your picks doesn't hit. Prize picks puts their members first so all withdrawals are fast, safe and secure. When my picks hit, I can get my money in as quick as 15 minutes. And they now offer MasterCard for quick and easy deposits into your account. This sports season. Prize picks best way to win real money this basketball season. Download the app today. Use my name Clay to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. Again, that's code. Clay to get $50 instantly after you Play your first $5 lineup. Prize picks run your game. Welcome back in Clay. Travis Buck Sexton show Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. You know what I'm drinking right now? Crockett Coffee. Long weekend, busy week. March Madness is here. Condolences to the Alabama Crimson Tide fans out there. One of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen. Jemima Shaq rising up, draining a three pointer right at the buzzers. Millions of Alabama fans crumbled to their knees. It's a glorious day. Maybe you need a little bit of a pick me up on Monday because you had a big weekend with March Madness now being here. Go get hooked up right [e-mail] use code book. You get an autographed copy of my book, my most recent book, and it will be on your way as part of your subscription. That is crockettcoffee.com also some fabulous gear. Lots of awesome things out there for you to be able to dive into. Nate, in Georgia, you say there's no way that Cuomo will be the nominee. Why?

[Nate]

Well, I think you'll win New York, but there's no way that he's going to be even a candidate in the grand election. He's going to, he's not even going to make it past the primary because the Democrat Party has realized New York politics, California politics, they don't play anymore. They had a trip for four years with Biden and when they couldn't get, you know, liberal extremist common law elected, they realized New York and California are out of touch and we gotta go back to the days of, of Clinton and.

[Clay Travis]

Interesting argument. I think it requires actual rationality. Here's what I think Democrats are gonna say, Buck, and we'll talk about this when we come back. You sign on or don't sign on. I think they're actually gonna start saying Trump, Trump was a unique political star.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

And that Republicans can't produce the audience without him.

[Buck Sexton]

I think that's also true. I think they view this as going to be a whole different universe. I don't think they're worried about J.D. vance the same way they're worried about Trump in 28. And I also think that they look at Barack Obama, eight years Chicago politics, running the table, running the country. So it's very easy to get in the mindset right now. But I also believe that a lot of the Democrat after action thinking on this is all they had to do was have a normal primary, have Biden step down after term one because he was obviously too old, and they would have been in a much better place. They screwed that up. But that doesn't mean they don't think they could do it the next time.