Hour 1 - Go Thank an Oil Man

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 – Go Thank an Oil Man

Date: March 12, 2026
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the current geopolitical turmoil centered on Iran, its effect on global oil markets, and the domestic political response in the US—particularly regarding energy independence. Clay and Buck examine how the media (across the political spectrum) frames the oil price surge, critique partisan narratives, and dissect recent criticisms of military spending on troop meals. There’s also praise for unlikely political voices showing unexpected backbone, and direct engagement with listeners who’ve served in the armed forces.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Iran Crisis and Oil Price Surge

• The hosts start by detailing the instability in Iran, notably the crisis with Mojtaba Khamenei (dubbed “Little Mo”), who is incapacitated after an airstrike ([03:01]).
• Iranian efforts to disrupt the global oil market are a core concern, as two tankers are attacked and set ablaze in the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil prices to spike ([03:30]).
• Both Clay and Buck agree the Iranian play is to attempt an “environmental and economic catastrophe to get this to stop,” but they believe it will only provoke a harsher US response ([04:40], [05:13]).
• Oil price timeline: Prior to the current tensions — ~$65/barrel; peaked at $120 in early days, now hovering around $90 ([05:13]).
• Strategic petroleum reserves are being tapped (President Trump initiating the release of 180M barrels out of a 400M global release). Delivery into the market takes weeks ([05:50], [07:20] Trump quote).

Notable Quote:

“Essentially, the next person who raises their hand in Iran and says, ‘I’m going to continue the Islamic revolution in this country…’ probably going to get blown up.”
– Buck Sexton, [03:01]

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2. Political Narratives and Oil Market Coverage

• Clay points out a perceived hypocrisy, noting news outlets like MSNBC and CNN ignored a year and a half of falling gas prices but are hyper-focused now that prices rise for one week ([08:09]).

Notable Quote:

“For a year and a half, gas prices came down—not one mention of it. For the one week they’ve gone back up—oh my goodness, this is a story we have to cover.”
– Clay Travis, [09:33]

• Criticism of media business models: Fox is “honest” about its right-of-center opinions and is driven by ad revenue and breadth of audience, whereas NYT and WaPo are subscription-driven and cater to a narrower worldview ([10:16]).
• Clay celebrates Fox News for their transparency, in contrast to networks that “pretend they’re just journalists” ([11:45]).

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3. Energy Independence and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

• The Biden administration is criticized via guest Chris Wright (Energy Secretary), who argues SPR releases under Biden were for political (midterm) purposes, not genuine emergencies ([12:54], [13:41]).
• Pointed message: America’s self-sufficiency in oil is the real defense against hostile energy shocks ([13:53]).

Notable Quote:

“You want to know why grocery prices aren’t skyrocketing? Go thank an oil man.”
– Clay Travis, [14:05]

• Historical perspective on American energy, contrasting the current “energy superpower” status with past vulnerability (oil shocks, WWII gas rationing, the Gulf War) ([14:05]).

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4. Unlikely Political Consensus—John Fetterman’s Hawkish Iran Stance

• Rare bipartisan moment: praise for Democrat John Fetterman, who openly called for eliminating Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new leader ([17:45], [18:37]).

Notable Quote:

“They should kill him, too.”
– John Fetterman, [18:37]

• Hosts are surprised and give credit, calling Fetterman "the best Democrat senator on the scene right now" ([19:50], [20:11]).

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5. Critique of Attacks on Military Food Spending

• Buck and Clay mock recent partisan attacks on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for military food spending (citing headlines about millions spent on ribeye and lobster for troops) ([23:37], [24:30]).
• Both hosts emphasize that feeding soldiers well is the least a grateful nation can do.

Notable Quote:

“We’re the richest country in the history of the world. We can’t feed our military well? ... The elitism is just dripping from these libs on this issue.”
– Clay Travis, [25:32]

Notable Quote:

“Feeding your troops well … is the number one way to ensure that your troops are the best at their jobs. … An army marches on its stomach.”
– Buck Sexton quoting Napoleon, [31:46], [32:00]

• Clay references his own family’s military history and how special meals boosted morale in previous wars, reinforcing that this tradition is both justified and valuable ([33:16]).

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6. Listener Calls: Military Perspective on Food and Morale

• Multiple callers (former submariners, military spouses) confirm that surf and turf meals have long been part of service life, especially for grueling submarine duty ([35:39]-[37:59]).

  • “Part of the recruitment they talked to us about was submarine duty was very arduous, but the food was excellent.” (Caller Jeff, [37:09])
  • Spouses reiterate that good food is a small consolation for months away from home ([37:59]).

• Caller Chris in Ohio offers a rhetorical counter to Democrat critics, asking if they’d remove such meals from SNAP benefits if they feel strongly ([38:38]).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [03:01] Buck Sexton: “The next person who raises their hand in Iran and says, ‘I’m going to continue the Islamic revolution…’ probably going to get blown up.”
• [07:20] Donald Trump (audio): "We had a deal at $25. Think of that, $25 a barrel... And the Democrats turned it down."
• [09:33] Clay Travis: “For the one week they’ve gone back up — oh my goodness, this is a story we have to cover.”
• [12:54] Chris Wright (Energy Sec., guest): “The Biden administration drained almost 300 million barrels out, mostly to lower gasoline prices for a midterm election... That's not what the SPRO is about.”
• [14:05] Clay Travis: “Go thank an oil man.”
• [18:37] John Fetterman (audio): “They should kill him, too.”
• [31:57] Clay Travis/Buck Sexton: “An army marches on its stomach.” (Napoleon reference)

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Important Timestamps

• [03:01] Iran succession crisis and airstrike impact on leadership (“Little Mo” story begins)
• [05:13] Details on oil prices skyrocketing after Strait of Hormuz tanker attacks
• [07:20] Trump on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Democrats’ prior decisions
• [12:54] Energy Sec. Chris Wright on Biden’s SPR maneuvering
• [14:05] American energy independence—comparison with WWII and Gulf War
• [17:45] John Fetterman’s hawkish comments about Iran
• [24:30] Discussion on military meal budgets—debunking anti-Hegseth narrative
• [25:32] Ethical case for feeding troops well
• [31:57] Historical and practical importance of feeding soldiers (“an army marches on its stomach”)
• [35:39] Callers (military veterans and spouses) describe meal traditions and morale benefits

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Tone & Style

Clay and Buck maintain a conversational, irreverent style, blending humor, sarcasm, and pop culture references (“Office Space,” Napoleon) with policy critique. The episode moves briskly from macro-level geopolitical analysis to hands-on, relatable stories from service members, creating both an informative and engaging listen.

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Summary Takeaways

• The geopolitical crisis in Iran is a major factor in recent oil price surges, with direct consequences for Americans at the pump.
• US energy independence and the ability to absorb oil shocks are celebrated, with special credit given to domestic oil and gas workers.
• Media coverage of gas prices is critiqued as selectively partisan.
• The military spending “scandal” about food is dismissed as misplaced outrage; rewarding the military with good meals is defended as both tradition and necessity.
• Listener stories confirm long-standing military food practices, adding authenticity and emotional resonance.
• An unusual bipartisan moment features Democrat John Fetterman taking a hard line on Iran, earning surprising, if tongue-in-cheek, praise from the hosts.

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For listeners or readers seeking clarity on this moment in global and energy politics—as well as the intersection of media, military tradition, and partisan narratives—this episode delivers insight, wit, and the voices of real Americans who serve.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I think it actually is going to make President Trump angrier and I think it's actually going to result in a worse outcome for Iran than if they allowed the oil to transit without issues at all. And I'm pulling up to check the oil price as we speak right now, because it has been probably the number one story that is out there, and it's hanging right around $90 a barrel. And you say, okay, Clay, where does that Compare? Is around $65, if I remember correctly, before this war started, and now it's right around $90. It went all the way up to $120 Sunday in the opening hours of the, of the, the market, beginning with danger and fear. And so then it crashed all the way back down to like 75. It's come back up to around 90. It's bounced around a lot. And I think the question is, how safe is the Strait of Hormuz, and what does that mean for overall pricing of oil and gas? Now, President Trump has released, I think it's 180 million barrels is what I saw from the strategic reserve. There's 400 million worldwide being released. My understanding, Buck, is that that takes a couple of weeks to actually come into the marketplace as a whole, because it takes a while for all of those, all those barrels of oil to reach the marketplace.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I stand corrected on that one. Chuck Schumer said do it, and Trump's actually doing it. Now, the Democrats are going to hit him for having to do that. But the oil shock seems severe enough that some effort to soften the blow is a blow to your wallets, essentially, is. Is underway. So there you go, Chuck Schumer giving some, some good advice to his opposition. Hey, Clay, even a broken clock, you know, so I'll, I'll take the L on that one. Trump's doing it. This is cut 17 on gas prices. Trump last night at Joint Base Andrews hit it. Timeline on when you're planning to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a timeline of when that could happen.

[Donald Trump]

I'm going to be doing it very quickly, and then we'll fill it up. We'll fill up our reserves. You know, if you remember, I filled them up and then I had a deal to go at the highest level, a level that's never been, and Schumer and the Democrats for $25. And it was turned down. You remember that, Peter? Almost before your time, but not quite, but it was. We had a deal at $25. Think of that, $25 a barrel. And the Democrats turned it down. We were going to fill. We're going to tap it out like it's never been, but they turned that down and now it's a lot higher.

[Clay Travis]

Clay, Trump, of course, Saying Democrats had no foresight on this issue. Not a surprise, but there's enough of a jolt to the oil markets that there's serious and immediate action being taken to stabilize things.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, look, and I think this is where the average American is going to feel to the extent we do anything going on with Iran is in oil and gas prices. And I would just point out that two years of oil and gas prices coming down by and large was not a story that is almost. I watch these television broadcast of the news almost every, for at least three hours every day while I'm talking to all of you. I have never seen CNN or MSNBC do a story on, boy, President Trump has really brought down gas prices during his tenure in office. Never seen a story about gas prices going down for a year and a half and now gas prices have gone up for a week and it's the lead story on MSNBC and cnn. And by the way, Buck, it vanished when oil and gas prices went back down to 75. Now they've come back up to 90. We're back to covering oil and gas prices again. And they put the picture of the oil and gas prices in the corner of the screen. Right now the talk talking point on CNN is oil and gas prices and talking point on MSNBC is oil and gas prices. So I do think when it's a good story, right, for the year and a half that the prices came down, not one mention of it for the one week they've gone back up. Oh my goodness. This is a story that we have to cover.

[Clay Travis]

Well, as we know, journalism in America has fully morphed into it's not about what you should know. It's about telling the audience what they want to know.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

What they want to hear, what they want to watch. And that's certainly the case over at, at cnn, at msnbc, at Ms. Now it's the case at Fox too. I don't live in some delusional world. I mean, Fox is going to have a right of center point of view. But there's more, there's so much more honesty about that. I mean, their primetime lineup are opinion hosts. CNN still pretends, CNN still pretends that they're just journalists. Oh, just Anderson Cooper could vote either way. Who knows? Does he love Trump? Does he hate Trump? Oil prices important today, unimportant yesterday. I wonder why.

[Buck Sexton]

I also think this is important and I think it has been under discussed and it continues to be under discussed. You can criticize Fox and you can criticize them. You know, they have 66% of the news audience, whatever the heck it is, 60% on any given day. Bigger than MSNBC and CNN combined. Their entire business is based on advertising. So their audience responds to things and they cover it. That used to be the overarching way that everybody made money. Now the New York Times makes money. Washington Post makes money off subscriptions. And that's a very different business model because subscribers want to be told that their worldview is correct. When you're pegged to advertising, you're trying to reach the biggest possible audience because that's how you get paid. We get paid based on advertising. So the bigger the audience is, the more money this show makes. We're not making money off subscriptions. The New York Times subscription changes the calculus of how the business is run. And I was just looking. This just came across the line, Buck. New York Times, this stunned me. Has doubled the number of journalists that employs in the last 10 years. They have 2300 journalists now. Doubled what they had just 10 years ago. And that's to serve subscribers. It's not to provide the best possible outcome to. To the media ecosystem.

[Clay Travis]

I also, though, think that there's. And this has been the case for a long time. This has been an argument that I've been making since before I was in media. There's a fundamental honesty with Fox News that. Which. Which I think is part of why the audience is so durable, Sticky, if you will. I mean, stays with Fox Watch. There's a fundamental honesty about. Yeah, of course, like the opening model. Like, Jesse Waters isn't sitting there. Like, I don't have any opinions. I'm just. I'm just presenting the objective news. Like, that's insane. These other channels have been doing this game of we're just. We're just news.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

By the way, same thing with ABC News and these other things. Same thing with those. They're just lying. They're just lying to people. And eventually the lies got to be too much. But back to the oil price situation. I think, Clay, again, this is going to be relatively short term, and as long as that's the case, it will be fine. Here's Energy Secretary Chris Wright, though, we've had him on the show. Very interesting guy. This is cut 18. He's saying, look, the Biden administration was playing all kinds of politics with this and not even using it for. This is an emergency situation. They were just using it to try to. To try to goose the numbers to look better. Play 18.

[Chris Wright]

Give about 415 million barrels in storage right now. Very unfortunately The Biden administration drained almost 300 million barrels out, mostly to lower gasoline prices for a midterm election without disruptions in energy flows. That's not what the SPRO is about. The SPRO is about this. When we have short term disruptions in flows to replace those flows. But Dana, we will see, simultaneously sell this oil in the near term when it's needed and buy long term oil, meaning, say 12 months down the road and we'll pull out 170 million barrels and we'll put back in 200 million barrels in the next year. So we'll actually have more oil in our SPR a year from now than we do today. That's the responsible way to use it.

[Clay Travis]

There you go again.

[Buck Sexton]

And what I think is so important about this is the only reason this isn't a major huge transformative danger for us is because we actually produce so much more oil because we're the energy

[Clay Travis]

superpower of the world. You want, you want to know why your grocery prices aren't skyrocketing and there aren't oil lines? Go thank an oil man. Go thank somebody who works for Texaco or whatever. I mean, that's, you know, because in

[Buck Sexton]

the 1970s, for those of you who lived through it, we were able to be held hostage effectively, both literally in the sense of what happened with Iran, with our, with our embassy there, but they were able to hold us hostage. Those of you who remember lining up and having difficulty getting oil and gas. Heck, Buck, I'm reading right now, I love reading about World War II. You know that during World War II, Americans were restricted to 4 gallons of gas a week, so people barely drove anywhere because of the huge shortage and the amount of gas, oil and gas we needed in order to fight that war. At least they were in Iowa, where I'm reading about. Anyway, I love all of this, but the reason we now have energy independence is because we have unleashed the full economic spirit, capitalistic success of our oil and gas industry in a way that frankly didn't exist in the, in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. For those of you who remember the first Gulf War, this is an utterly different era. And I want to tell you, as we come up on the era that we all experience, the 25th anniversary of 911 tunnel, the Towers is having an incredible part of trying to make sure that we all remember everything that happened on September 11, 2001, going back 25 years ago. I'm going to be participating in a bunch of different events to help raise money and awareness for this event. And Tunnel the Towers is committed to helping veterans achieve stability and independence. And we believe no veteran should ever be left behind. And that is what Tunnel the Towers is working on every single day. Join us in donating $11 a month and help. You can even give car or land or other things that you may have as assets and you want to give back to those who have been putting their lives on the line to help keep us safe. Whether it's soldiers, whether it's first responders, whether it is law enforcement, they're taking care of everybody. Frank Siller's organization does phenomenal work. I'm going to be with them later this month down in South Florida for a big fundraising event that they're doing, and I'm going to be with them later in the year helping to raise money and helping to raise awareness as we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice on 9 11, 25 years ago today. 25 years ago now. Coming up, head to t2t.org that's t the number two t.org t2t.org making America great again isn't just one man, it's many. The Team 47 podcast Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Podcast Sponsor/Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay. Travis Buck Sexton show. Most Democrats have been crazy on Iran. Reflexively opposite opposed to anything going on there. I gotta give him credit, John Fetterman, who is the sanest Democrat on the planet. He's coming under fire right now because he decided to speak out and say that we need to take out Mojtaba Khomeini AKA Little Mo. This was on Fox News, and this is John Fetterman saying, no, like, this guy can't be allowed to become the ruler of. Of Iran. Listen, you said that you are confident the world is better after the death of Iran's supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khamenei. But his son is.

[Clay Travis]

Kill every last member of their leadership.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, his son is now in charge, and he's considered even more of a hardliner.

[Clay Travis]

They should kill him, too.

[Podcast Sponsor/Announcer]

He hasn't been able to produce a

[Clay Travis]

video or seen in public at all. Why? Why? Maybe they're seriously injured. It could be very hard to just sit down and even do a video and have them put that out. So hopefully he is significantly wounded. And if he does recover, you know, I do absolutely support having Israel to just eliminate him.

[Buck Sexton]

All right. By the way, that was News Nation. Elizabeth Vargas asking that question. I think I said Fox News. Buck, we mentioned this yesterday. I think Fetterman's right. Mom, dad, wife, and son all killed in. In an attack. Maybe the one that. That Mojtaba survived.

[Clay Travis]

I don't see any way this guy's a forever jihadist. This is. There's no way we're gonna be able to work with him. But can I just say, I really get a little bit of a. Of a tingle here of Office Space, the movie, when the guy goes through hypnosis and he just. After being kind of like a schlub who's like. And, like, getting ordered around, he's like, I'm just gonna do whatever I want. He turns into, like, this cool, confident guy. And that's the rest of the rest of the movie. He's just. And he got. Damn, it feels good to be a gangster going in the background. It's like, that's what happened to Fetterman.

[Buck Sexton]

It's crazy.

[Clay Travis]

He's, you know, the guy. I mean, look, I know he had a serious medical issue, but he's. He's the best Democrat senator. He's the best Democrat senator on the scene right now. I think, by far. I don't know who else would be in that conversation. So credit where it's due. I mean, I was. I'm shocked. But credit where it's due.

[Buck Sexton]

We got this one wrong. I thought that he would be an awful senator. We campaigned against him on the show. I mean, Dr. Oz ran against him. For those of you who remember, he was basically unable to talk back in 2022. He's recovered. He seems to be in better shape. And he's the sanest Democrat in the country by far.

[Clay Travis]

It's amazing stuff. You never know. For those of us who have purchased gold as an investment, let me tell you, it feels good. You've gotten in on gold. I take physical possession of the gold that I purchase. Like actually gold that you can hold in your hand, you can store in your safe. But others like to put gold in their IRA or 401k and they like to see how gold is doing over time with those monthly statements with their balance. Either way, gold grows in value because gold has always been a store of value. Up 65% last year. And because of all the money printing going on and the big debt that we have, gold's going to continue to go up in the future. Gold has consistently grown up 700% since 2006. Forward thinking Americans know that gold is good and Birch Gold Group is there for you. Birch Gold Group can help you convert an IRA or 401k into an IRA and gold. They can also send physical gold to your house. I just got some from Birch Gold Group. Text Buck to 9898 98. Text Buck to 98 98, 98. So we were talking about how the Democrats are trying to pounce on this. Democrats pounce. They always say Republicans pound. Now I feel self conscious about it. I'm saying Democrats pounce, but they are leveraging the very short term so far because it's been a few days spike in gas prices to be like, oh my gosh, the sky is falling. I thought they wanted us to use less gas, Clay. I thought they wanted more gas. I thought climate change was going to kill us all. What happened to these people? This is the thing. This is how you know you're dealing with a Democrat with a leftist. There's just no accountability. There's no accountability. They can say anything, change their mind the next day, contradict themselves in the same sentence. And if you try to point this out, they just scream at you more loudly. You know, they just get more like unhinged. So it's very difficult. People say, you know, how do you convince the Democrats in your life? I'm like, I don't know, I'm a. Unless they seem reasonable. And then they're already halfway there because they're reasonable. Unless they seem reasonable, just don't waste your time. So here's one thing that's going on. They're trying to make a big deal, the gas prices. Another thing that's going on. I couldn't believe the story. I was actually going to send out a fiery tweet on this one. But I got, I think speed was like, you know, biting my ankle or something, so I got distracted. But I was going to send out a fiery tweet on this one, Clay, this story that, like Pete Hegseth as Secretary of War. By the way, they're going to make fun of us all for calling the Secretary of War. If they, if the Democrats win back the presidency, they're going to go back to calling it Secretary of Defense, I guarantee you.

[Buck Sexton]

By the way, I actually may change the name to Secretary of Peace. Like, they just might.

[Clay Travis]

I just felt my estrogen level rise.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm just telling you. Actually, they might jump right over Secretary of Defense and go to Secretary of Peace in response to Sec.

[Clay Travis]

You actually sounded like Brian Stelter there for a minute as you said those words.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm just telling you, I'm trying to prepare people for what might happen if. If Democrats get back in power.

[Clay Travis]

Imagine the people. Yeah, it's just a good cry.

[Buck Sexton]

He just needed a good cry.

[Clay Travis]

He did a good cry. I remember Covid. I was crying. It was so sad. Okay, so.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

But back to Secretary of warhexe. So they said that he spent millions and millions of dollars on food. And then they went and circled the food items that seem like they're, you know, extravagant to them. And you have people like Paul Bagala, who has honestly just always been one of these people who is only around because he's been around so long. Like, I've never heard any impressive analysis from this guy. I don't know him. It's not personal, but I just. Not an impressive guy. But he's comes from that Clinton era of tv, where it's like, if you're willing to show up and, you know, put on a blue blazer and, you know, squawk at people you can get on tv. Here he is talking about this, and he's going up against Scott Jennings. So you have an idea of how that's going to go play it. That's not important. You know what's important? He has spent $15 million in one

[Buck Sexton]

month for ribeye steaks, 6.9 million for

[Clay Travis]

lobster tail, $225 million for. For furniture. He spent more in the month of September than most countries on earth spend in their defense. Do you believe for himself. Lobster tails.

[Buck Sexton]

Do you believe our troops are eating. Mrs. Do you believe the Secretary of Defense is personally eating all the lobster?

[Clay Travis]

Well, he can't eat. Oh, really?

[Buck Sexton]

The troops are getting lobster frequently in theater. God. Troops who are going to. Oh, my God.

[Clay Travis]

Great.

[Buck Sexton]

Meal.

[Podcast Sponsor/Announcer]

You know that.

[Buck Sexton]

Get lobster. You are so killed over this. You're going to kill over this. Internet.

[Clay Travis]

Do something. I'm going to, I'm going to, I'm going to raise my hand here because I used to eat in military facilities overseas in Iraq, in a war zone. And yes, they do have ribeye steak. Yes, they do have. Once a week or a couple times a month, they'll have like surf and turf night and have some lobster tails or it. There's two parts of this clay. On the one hand, is Paul Bagala really that stupid that he like a million dollars of ribeye? You. You couldn't eat. Pete Hegseth could eat ribeye three meals a day.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

For the next 300 years. Okay. And he wouldn't eat $18 million of ribeye or whatever it is. It's obviously for the troops. But the other side of this is, notice how quickly Democrats. And look, there are Democrats, you know, who serve and there are Democrats who are pro military, and I have to. But Democrats in elected office, Democrats in media, they are so quick to dismiss, to cast aside. It's like, what are we supposed to feed our troops? Gruel? The troops don't deserve a ribeye steak once or twice a week like the. The troops. We're the richest country in the history of the world. We can't feed our military well. We're only supposed to give them spam in a can. Like, the elitism is just dripping from these libs on this issue.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. And look, I would submit that political consultants are a lot like coaches who happen to get good quarterbacks. They make them look good. Right. So Paul begat whatever you think of Bill Clinton. He made his entire career off being an advisor, if I remember correctly, to Bill Clinton. Bill Clinton's a really good politician. So whatever political consultants surround him, they get to. He. They get to be burnished by his success. Right. And a lot of this is, I think, proximity to someone who is talented. Same thing, by the way, for President Trump. He's a uniquely talented political figure. And so the political consultants around him, do they help? Certainly. But are they basking in the reflective glow of his political ascendancy and success? Yes, 100%. This is such a moronic take. If you told me, hey, what are you going to get upset about that our government is spending money on feeding troops? Well, is the 4 billionth thing that I would point to and say, let's investigate this. And on to Scott Jennings credit here, Buck. They actually went and the troops are posting how excited they were to get a surf and turf meal. So there's evidence of them eating steak and lobster and being so excited that they had a special meal and were being rewarded for the hard work that they put in. I mean there's actual tangible evidence of this. And to your point, basic math, it's impossible for anybody to spend this much money on food for themselves for his fucking family. I mean this is, this is such a dumb argument. And by the way, it's been. They to the credit of people who are actually journalists, they went back and looked and the spending is very similar no matter who the president is because the troops get rewarded sometimes with great meals.

[Clay Travis]

Look, I'll tell you this. The, the food in the, the food in some of the major FOBs in, in Iraq and in Afghanistan, it was good. And, and darn right it should be good.

[Buck Sexton]

You were there. Isn't it the least you could do? That's exactly my care of people who were in danger of dying. Like feeding a war zone.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, yeah, we had people, the people who were running, even the ones who were like me, who were basically fobbits, I mean, who were stuck on the base most of the time or you know, some were all the time. I got to get off. But point is, you know, you had to run and do duck and covers because of the incoming mortar rounds in different places that are like, I think we can afford to give like decent ribeye. I don't think we have to give cat food to our soldiers, thank you very much. But the contempt, the sort of, the ugh. We have to, we have to feed these soldiers in uniform with, with ribeye and occasionally some seafood. Like can you imagine? Like I just this. But this is where you see how Democrats feel about it. Democrats think they're like, don't we pay for their MREs? They should just eat MREs all the time. Well, they don't give.

[Podcast Sponsor/Announcer]

They don't care.

[Buck Sexton]

How about the same people were defending illegal immigrants, getting taxpayer funded four star hotel rooms. Not citizens. Not putting their lives on the line coming here and taking our actual tax dollars. Oh, it's. This is just what America has to do. We have to be generous. We have to give everybody four star hotel rooms and unlimited WI fi and let anybody in the world who wants to come here know this. And then meanwhile. But we can't feed our soldiers. Well. And to try to make this a line of political attack. I, I think this really does blow up on them. And I think Pete Hegseth, I mean, you know how sometimes the Counterpunch is more successful than the punch. If the Secretary of War, his team are listening, I think this is a unbelievable opportunity for a counterpunch that could flatten the people who are criticizing him over this.

[Clay Travis]

I gotta tell you, the things that Hegseth has done and said in office, they want to come after him so badly, but they realize that the arguments that they would have to make. He's saying things like, let's focus on lethality. Let's have a military that does the mission, that doesn't get bogged down in identity politics and isn't sitting around giving people lectures on how you have to like, you know, do transgender surgery with taxpayer dollars or you're a bad person. All this stuff that was going on, by the way, going on the CIA, going on in the intel community too. Democrats hate what he's doing, but they don't really want to go out there and say, you know, what we really need for. We know we really need for, you know, the SEAL teams to function better. We need more trans seals. We need more chicks, actually, who can't do two pull ups joining the seals and seeing how that helps for their operational readiness. They can't actually make these arguments publicly. And so that's why Pete, I think just by doing what he does, Secretary Warheadseth is spiking the football in the faces of the hard left in this country, day in and day out. And they don't really know what. But that's why they're so desperate to hit him. That's why they're saying $18 million of lobster till frozen seafood for our troops. You have a problem with this? I couldn't believe it. I mean, they're not paying butlers to feed them caviar. I mean, you know, it's food. Soldiers should have excellent food. If anything, I'd probably get pissed off. I felt like the food wasn't good enough.

[Buck Sexton]

Right. And I mean, feeding your troops well, for those of us who are military historians, is the number one way to ensure that your troops are the best at their jobs. Right.

[Clay Travis]

Like Napoleon, that an army marches on its stomach.

[Buck Sexton]

I think that's exactly right. That's the quote.

[Podcast Sponsor/Announcer]

Boom.

[Buck Sexton]

That's a good. That's a good quote.

[Clay Travis]

Napoleon Bonaparte himself comes from, by the way.

[Buck Sexton]

I also think this is their frustration. I bet you would sign off on this. We know a lot of These guys trump J.D. vance, Rubio, Hegseth. I would argue that quad is. Leave aside the politics, I would argue that quad. Quad is the smartest quad that we have had in positions of leadership in any of our lives. Again, Trump, J.D. vance, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth. I think that is an incredibly intelligent group. And one of the challenges they have is they're also very good at communication. So the attacks on them often don't land and frankly are downright moronic. Much like our boy Eric Swalwell, who we were talking about on the flip side as being one of the dumbest politicians that is out there in America today. Right now, you got us going to break Buck. We'll take some of your talk backs. We got some funny ones. A bunch of people wanting to weigh in callers. By the way, some of you may be soldiers who've been serving and actually have eaten the, the steak and the, the lobster. If anybody out there has had the steak and lobster meal, you can call in, let us know.

[Clay Travis]

I remember, I remember my grandfather. He didn't, you know, when he especially got older, he would talk about, he's on the USS Bataan in World War II, which is one of these converted carriers, kind of like a short carrier, if you will. And I remember him talking about how when they would go into port and they would get some actual, like, fresh stuff and just like what a morale boost it was for these guys. And they're out at sea, they got Japanese kamikazes flying at them. They're taking, you know, machine gun fire across the deck, all this stuff. I think that, I think we should get them ribeyes when we can. Like, I think that's a pretty. I think America can afford to feed its soldiers well. Wow, Democrats on this one. It was pretty astonishing. One of the great benefits of being a homeowner is having a yard. I grew up in Manhattan surrounded by buildings and concrete, so the city parks were our yard. But now that I live in Miami and have a home, Carrie and I love making that home ours and love the outdoors. If you're a homeowner, you have the same ability and get the same gratification when it comes to yards. The life hack here is an online company called Fast Growing Trees. It's America's largest, most trusted online nursery. If you're thinking about planting new trees in your yard this spring or shrubs and shrubs and flowers, Fast Growing Trees will send you the very best. Fast Growing Trees. Online nursery gives you the size, scale, and most importantly, the knowledge of many of the best horticulturalists in the nation. They have over 2 million happy customers and that number is growing by the day. Everything you order is backed by their alive and thrive guarantee. That's how well they've nurtured your new trees and plants. Fast growingtrees.com Perfect this spring, use my name, Buck as your promo code to get an additional 50 off. Fast growingtrees.com My name Buck for 20 off.

[Buck Sexton]

Sometimes all you can do is laugh and they do a lot of it with the Sunday hang. Join Clay and Buck as they laugh it up in the Clay and Buck podcast feed on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back in Clay. TRAVIS BUCK SEXTON SHOW A lot of callers want to weigh in variety of different topics that we've talked about so far. Let's go into some of these calls. Let me go to Matthew down in Gadsden, Alabama. You were on submarines and you can refer to the impact of a nice surf and turf meal. What was that experience like?

[Caller]

Yes, sir. I mean, you know, you spending a three month patrol out at sea just under the water doing circles and you know, you get a good meal, lobster and steak. We had surf and turf in the middle of patrol. You know, it's something different help morale. I mean, you had a submarine than you did on a ship anyway. But it was, you know, something to still keep morale going.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you for the call. Buck and I were just talking about off air. There are a lot of jobs out there in the military that are tough. I think being under the water for months at a time, I could not the people who can get on submarines and do that job, I would lose it.

[Clay Travis]

I would Submariners, I think is one of the toughest things to sign up for. Just psychologically. I think they do additional testing before you can get down there for long periods of time. That would be a, that would be a challenging one. And it's amazing too, you know, the nuclear, nuclear submarines. We have part of the nuclear triad among our very most impressive weapons, period. Yes, among the most important strategically. And just also it's incredible what they can do. They can stay underwater for so long, they can fire so much nuclear missile firepower if they decide to. I mean, it's crazy what they can do.

[Buck Sexton]

So, Jeff in Dover, Florida, also a former submariner. Jeff, what do you remember about that experience? And a lot of people weighing in on the fact that they were getting steak and lobster long before Pete Hegseth was secretary of war.

[Caller]

Yeah, I was on submarines from 80s up until the 90s. And part of the recruitment they talked to us about was submarine duty was very arduous, but the food was excellent and you can even look in any like Navy website. I mean, this goes back to World War II where, you know, they serve submariners the quality of food and it's known as some of the best food in the military because it's a very arduous duty. You know, we were underwater 70 some days at a time. I was fast attack sub. And to have that, to have that, it just felt so nice to have a really good meal. And that was part of what they told us, hey, you get the best food in the military. And it was surf and turf.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you for the call and thank you for the service. Colleen in upstate New York. Colleen, fire away.

[Caller]

Hi. I just wanted to reiterate what the last two callers said. My husband spent 25 years serving on submarines and he missed birthdays, he missed high school graduations, he missed all sorts of stuff. So I think the least we can do for these, these men and I guess in the future women would be to feed them well. So I get tired of people making a big fuss about it.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you for the call.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, they're not giving out like Rolls Royces and diamond encrusted, you know, watches here. We're talking about good food for the people who are keeping the country safe. It's a, it's a bare minimum obligation.

[Buck Sexton]

Chris in Ohio has a point. Chris, what you got for us?

[Caller]

Yeah, if the Dems have a problem with a good meal for the military, would they be willing to eliminate lobster and steak off the SNAP benefits card or better yet, only send MREs out to snap recipients across the country just like the. Mr. Just like the military gets when they're at war?

[Buck Sexton]

I think that's a good argument. Like I said, people staying in four star hotels on our taxpayer dime who were illegal immigrants and Democrats saying we had an obligation to do that. I think most of you out there saying, hey, if we're going to be spending money feeding the military, well, that's an expense that actually makes sense from a tax perspective. When we come back, Bill O'Reilly will join us, friend of the program, longtime media legend. That's next on Clay and Buck.