Hour 1 - It's Election Day!

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Hour 1 – It's Election Day!

Date: November 4, 2025
Hosts: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

Hour 1 of this special Election Day episode is dedicated to the high-stakes political contests taking place across the country, with a particular focus on the New York City mayoral race, the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, and the broader implications for national politics. Clay and Buck dig into the strategic voting decisions on the right, the impact of a late Trump endorsement, concerns about socialist-leaning candidates, and the media’s anticipated framing of the results. Throughout, the hosts combine informed analysis with lighthearted moments and listener engagement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Why This Election Day Matters

• Release of Clay's Book ("Balls") – Buck highlights that today is both Election Day and the release of Clay’s new book, encouraging listeners to show support for writers on the right.
  • Buck: "The best way to show appreciation is by buying the copies. Let's get Clay on the bestseller list." (00:57)
• Importance of Down-Ballot Voting – Both hosts urge listeners to vote, emphasizing that attorney general and other local races are highly consequential.
  • Clay: "The down ballot can be hugely important too...it really is likely to come down to a hair's breadth margin in many of these races." (02:31)

2. New York City Mayoral Race Drama

• The Trump Endorsement and Strategic Voting

  • A last-minute Trump endorsement of Andrew Cuomo (over Sliwa) aims to consolidate the anti-Mamdani vote and prevent the socialist candidate, Zoran Mamdani, from winning due to a split opposition.
  • Stephen Miller backs Trump’s call, describing the need to "unite behind the leading candidate."
    • Stephen Miller (clip): "The anti Mamdani vote, which is really the pro New York City vote, the pro America vote, needs to unite behind the leading candidate, and that's Andrew Cuomo." (04:42)

• Division on the Right

  • Some listeners and conservatives bristle at being told to vote for Cuomo over Sliwa, feeling it’s a “lesser of two evils” situation.
  • Clay explains the rationale: Sliwa cannot win, and staying in the race simply divides the anti-socialist vote.
    • Clay: "Sliwa can’t win and all he is doing is helping Mamdani...my concern is that...we will see Mamdani win because the anti Mamdani vote was split..." (05:08)

• Potential Record Turnout

  • Discussion of unusually high voter turnout in New York City and speculation over how many residents might move if a "radical" candidate like Mamdani wins.
    • Clay: "A million people say they're going to leave New York City...I think 100,000 New Yorkers, if Mamdani wins, might say, I'm out. I'm going to Florida. I'm going to Texas. I'm going to Tennessee." (07:27)

• Trump Endorsement Backlash?

  • Debate over whether Trump’s support for Cuomo could actually harm Cuomo, especially among voters strongly opposed to Trump.
    • Van Jones (paraphrased): "I can't think of a worse thing to happen to Cuomo than for Donald Trump to come out and endorse [him]." (09:40)
  • Clay thinks the timing is too late to have a significant negative effect, since much early voting is completed.

3. Examining the Candidates

• Cuomo’s Critique of Mamdani’s Promises

  • Cuomo calls Mamdani’s campaign “TikTok promises”—utopian ideas that, as mayor, he would have no legal power to enact (e.g., rent freeze, free buses, city-owned grocery stores).
    • Cuomo: "The mayor has no ability to freeze anybody's rent...It's all BS. It's all campaign rhetoric." (11:08)
  • Clay and Buck criticize Cuomo’s campaign as lazy, noting that had he fought harder earlier, this outcome might be different.
    • Buck: "He has been not just inept, but lazy, too...He thought he was going to walk away with this." (12:28)

• Concerns About Mamdani and Socialist Policies

  • Discussion of Mamdani’s positions, labeling him a “Democratic Socialist.”
  • Mamdani responds to accusations of communism by referencing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on wealth distribution.
    • Mamdani: "When I say I'm a democratic socialist, I explain it in the words of Dr. King..." (23:53)

• Skepticism About Campaign Promises

  • Buck and Clay assert that Mamdani’s pledges (e.g., cheaper food/housing, free services) show ignorance of market mechanisms, and predict that standards of living will not improve—and may worsen—under such governance.
    • Buck: "If Mamdani gets his way, it's going to drive up costs...He is an ignoramus with a silver tongue." (24:38)

4. National Media and Political Framing

• Anticipation of Media Spin
  • Clay warns that mainstream media like CNN will frame any Democratic victories as a "repudiation of Trump," regardless of context.
    • Clay: "They are going to argue if the results are the Democrats win, as they are favored to win, they're going to argue that this is a massive repudiation of Trump..." (13:42)
  • Buck notes that voting is often about feelings, and the narrative power of “voting against Trump” is overplayed.

5. Broader Electoral Landscape and Listener Engagement

• Other Key Races & Propositions

  • Quick recaps and reminders about gubernatorial battles in Virginia and New Jersey, and ballot initiatives like California’s Proposition 50.
  • Explicit call to action: “Go vote. Down-ballot matters a great deal.” (18:49)

• Callers and Voter Perspectives

  • A Manhattan caller warns about ballot initiatives granting excessive power to New York's mayor over real estate.
    • Caller: "They gotta vote no on all six of those ballots...you have a lunatic mayor...he's going to put a housing project and a homeless shelter in your neighborhood..." (39:13)
  • A Queens caller voices regret at the party being asked to back Cuomo.
    • Caller: "I think we had the president telling us to back Cuomo, who is a worse Democrat than Eric Adams ever was." (40:12)
  • Another caller recounts problems with free public transport policies enabling substance abuse and crime.
    • Caller: "This is what free everything does." (40:43)
  • Buck: "Free everything is a prison for everyone else, actually." (41:14)

6. Policy, Crime, and Quality of Life

• Crime Data in NYC
  • Clay notes that, under Mayor Eric Adams, shootings and murders are at record lows compared to last year, attributing this to a turn away from “defund the police.”
    • Clay: "Thanks to Jessica Tisch's work and the focus of Mayor Eric Adams, there's actually decent numbers coming in on safety...The one thing that [Mamdani] can definitely do is make New York less safe." (25:40)
• Lessons from Policy Experiments
  • The hosts draw a parallel between misguided business policies (like Starbucks’ open-door bathroom policy) and progressive city policies, suggesting both ultimately result in disorder and decline.
    • Buck: "Starbucks did this thing where they said, you don't have to buy anything...they realized, oh, wait, we've made a mistake here. We've just created, effectively, drug use and like, temporary homeless shelters..." (30:51)

7. Changes in American Culture

• Decline in Movie-Going
  • Brief, lighter segment on the collapse of the American cinema as a unified cultural experience; Clay conjectures that sports might now fill this role.
    • Clay: "It used to be such a badge of honor to try to make a movie that could appeal to everyone. And it doesn't even feel as if anyone tries to do that anymore." (34:05)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Strategic Voting in NYC:
  Stephen Miller (04:42): “The anti Mamdani vote, which is really the pro New York City vote, the pro America vote, needs to unite behind the leading candidate, and that's Andrew Cuomo, man, there you go.”

• On Machiavellian Decisions:
  Clay (05:08): “Sliwa can’t win and all he is doing is helping Mamdani...my concern is that...we will see Mamdani win because the anti Mamdani vote was split...”

• On Socialist Campaign Promises:
  Cuomo (as played in a clip, 11:08): “People think [Mamdani]’s going to freeze their rent. No, no, no, no. First of all, the mayor has no ability to freeze anybody's rent...It's all campaign rhetoric. None of it will change anybody's life.”

• On Starbucks Policy as Cautionary Tale:
  Buck (30:51): “Starbucks found this out the hard way...they were like, oh my gosh, we are so scared of racism. And in 2025, beginning of this year, they officially reversed the policy because it was so destructive.”

• On “Free Everything” Philosophy:
  Buck (41:14): "Free everything is a prison for everyone else, actually."

• Listener Input – Policy Impact:
  Caller (40:43): “Homeless drug addicts are smoking fentanyl on an open piece of tinfoil...So this is what free everything does.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Election Stakes & Book Release – 00:57
• Down-Ballot Races Matter – 02:19
• NYC Mayoral Race & Trump Endorsement – 03:14 - 05:03
• Division and Strategy on the Right – 05:03 - 08:12
• Potential Backlash to Trump’s Endorsement – 09:28
• Cuomo vs Mamdani: Campaign Promises Examined – 11:08 - 12:28
• Media Framing Anticipated – 13:42
• Call to Vote Nationwide – 18:49
• Callers on Ballot Measures and Candidate Concerns – 39:13 - 41:14
• Crime Numbers and Public Safety in NYC – 25:40 - 27:35
• Lessons from “Free Everything” Policies – 29:59 - 32:44
• Cultural Change: Decline in Movies and the Rise of Sports – 34:05

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Overall Tone & Style

• Conversational, sardonic, and engaging: The hosts mix sharp political insight with humor and cultural asides, creating a lively and relatable discussion.
• Partisan but self-aware: Strong critique of progressive candidates and policies, but with acknowledgment of the limitations and contradictions on their own side.
• Listener-centered: Direct calls for audience action (voting, buying Clay’s book), plus extensive inclusion of caller perspectives.

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For Listeners Who Missed the Episode

• This hour delivers a blend of serious election analysis and irreverent banter. You’ll get a comprehensive rundown of what's at stake in the 2025 Elections — especially in New York City — as well as how national narratives might be shaped by local outcomes.
• The episode contextualizes strategic voting decisions, exposes perceived myths in progressive policies, and illustrates how headlines and messaging on Election Day can diverge from realities on the ground.
• If you want a sample of right-leaning electoral strategy mixed with culture war discussion and listener interaction, this episode captures all that and more.

Transcript

[iHeart Radio Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

This is the story of the One. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Grainger. Because when a drive belt gets damaged, Grainger makes it easy to find the exact specs for the replacement product he needs. And next day delivery helps ensure he'll have everything in place and running like clockwork. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. Welcome, everybody. Tuesday edition of the Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton show gets going right now. Election day edition, in fact, a day of votes and a day of balls play. Travis's book goes officially on sale today. The title, easy to remember, easy to spell, B, A, L, L, S. And there are in fact two balls of the basketball variety on the COVID Arthur played Travis. Guys, if we want good books coming out from good people on the right, we got to go buy them. Okay? I got to tell you, in the era of podcasting and TV and YouTube and all this stuff, I've got my book coming out in February. February 17th is the day Clay's books out today. I'm just bringing this up though, because the amount of work you do to actually write your book. Clay writes his books. I have written my book, meaning sat there at a computer, not paid somebody else to do it. It's a whole other conversation. Sat there at a computer and did the writing. It is something that I hope people will appreciate on our side of things. And the best way to show appreciation is by buying the copies. Let's get Clay on the bestseller list. Clay will be talking to you more about balls throughout the program. But it is election day and that is going to be of course, our focus today. And we have a whole bunch of things happening all at once. The New York City race is the one that is getting by far the most attention. New Jersey is going to be a squeaker. I think it's going to be tight. Virginia not looking so good for our gubernatorial candidate. Win some Sears not looking so good at this point, but go out, vote. Don't listen to me. What? What do I know? I'm some guy just squawking nonsense on the radio. Go vote.

[Clay Travis]

By the way, also, AG is going to come down potentially in Virginia to a pin pricks difference based on everything we're seeing. So it's important. Yes, we may lose a governor's race, we may lose different aspects, but the down ballot can be hugely important too. So Lieutenant governor is an important job in Virginia. Attorney General, certainly we want you to go vote for. Win some Sears too. But the attorney general race looks like it could be in Virginia, one of the tightest out there to Bucks Point, New Jersey. Governor, Republicans win. If Republicans show up in big numbers today in New Jersey, everybody listening to us on W O R and other stations in New Jersey, if you have not voted, go do it. Go vote everywhere. Because it really is likely to come down to a hair's breadth margin in many of these races.

[Buck Sexton]

We have the biggest last minute, I think, change in the voting situation or in the endorsements around that. We have a Trump endorsement of. Drumroll. Andrew Cuomo in the New York City mayor's race. This is something that Now, Clay, you've been telling our beloved audience that you think that this is the right move. And there have been some New Yorkers who have been calling you from parts of South Brooklyn where they're very upset. They don't like this talk from Clay about voting for the commie or voting for Cuomo, only voting for Sliwa aloud. Clay does not like, does not like the prospects of Sliwa winning this. And so has made the Machiavellian decision to go in favor of a Cuomo as the lesser of two evils. And I do think two evils is the right way to describe those candidates. And we have a whole bunch of reaction to this. Clay, I want you to react. Well, first of all, Stephen Miller, who we know another, a brilliant strategist and senior White House aide and friend of the show, this is cut seven. Here he is saying anti momdani vote. Go vote Cuomo. Play it. As far as New York is concerned, as you've talked about, as we've said, unfortunately, the anti Mamdani vote is being split between Cuomo and Sliwa. And President Trump tonight put out a statement being clear that if you vote for Sliwa, who's polling at about a third of where Cuomo is, you're just throwing your vote away. The anti Mamdani vote, which is really the pro New York City vote, the pro America vote, needs to unite behind the leading candidate, and that's Andrew Cuomo, man, there you go.

[Clay Travis]

Is everybody going to be as angry at Trump and Stephen Miller for telling you on the day before the election what I have been telling you for weeks, which is Sliwa can't win and all he is doing is helping mom Donnie. And we had him on last week and I asked him this directly. I think Curtis Sliwa hates Andrew Cuomo and he has stayed in the race partly out of principle because it is true that Democrats have created this problem, but also, as he told us, because he truly does not see a difference between Mamdani and Cuomo. And so the idea that he would help either of those guys, particularly Cuomo, who I think he probably hates more than he does Mom Donnie, because they have history together, is a decision that, that he made. And my concern is that when we get these results start rolling in tonight, that we will see Momdani not win over 50% of the vote and win because the anti Momdani vote was split between Sliwa and Cuomo. And that's what Trump is telling us now. Buck. It may also be the case based on this turnout, that Mamdani wins over 50% and it wouldn't have mattered anyway. And if that's going to end up happening, then all this was for naught, no matter what. And it would suggest that at least in New York City, being an avowed socialist candidate doesn't put much of a, of a rock on top of your head of expectations. And so your ceiling is maybe higher than people would have anticipated. So this is where we're going to start to see what the results of this, of this race truly are. And I'm up in New York City right now and it's all everybody's talking about. It looks like the New York City mayor's race may set an all time record for most votes.

[Buck Sexton]

I just want to let you know, New Yorkers that I did encourage Clay to walk around and offer to sign copies for anybody who buys balls of his book, but not to hand out flyers about moving to Franklin, Tennessee, that it's too soon. We have to see how this shakes out. He's not allowed to recruit off the streets of New York while he's there in our darkest hour of communists taking over. So he has agreed he will sign the book, but he will not give you flyers on how to move, how to get a U haul set up for Tennessee.

[Clay Travis]

I will say the numbers out there. Did you see this report that a million people say they're going to leave New York City. Now, I think this is a little bit like people who say, I'm going to move to Canada, Trump wins. I doubt that most of them would move, but let's say that 100,000, 10% of the million, I don't think that's crazy. I think 100,000 New Yorkers, if mom Donnie wins, might say, I'm out. I'M going to Florida. I'm going to Texas. I'm going to Tennessee. What did Davy Crockett say? You can go to hell. I'm going to Texas. All time great line crockett coffee.com's Davy Crockett, not Jasmine Crockett. But I think there are some of people will just say New York and go to hell. I'm going to Texas or I'm going to Tennessee or I'm going to they'll.

[Buck Sexton]

Certainly, there certainly will be some outflow, I think, into the tri state, so Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, outside of the urban, the urban bubble that will happen, I don't know in what numbers there have been people snapping up real estate. It's one thing to move to Putnam county. It's another thing to move to Palm beach, right?

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

It's another thing to decide you're going to order Orlando or wherever. So we'll see. I agree. Clay. I don't think, I think people are frustrated. I don't believe that you'll see a large outflow of New Yorkers because I think that most of the New Yorkers who are going to leave, like me, left during COVID I think that that pushed a lot further in this direction than anything we're seeing right now. But we'll see. We'll see the number of people that want to move versus who will move. That is an important distinction as well. I think a lot of people will want to move, but it's hard. You got family, everything else. But tell me this, do you agree with this assessment of Van Jones? Over. This is cut 14 suggesting that the Cuomo endorsement by Trump could, given the political realities of New York, actually hurt Cuomo. Play, play 14. Look, there must have been some kind.

[Clay Travis]

Of handshake deal between Mamdani and Trump for Trump to come out and endorse.

[Buck Sexton]

In New York City a multifaceted endorsement in denomination, non endorsement.

[Clay Travis]

Like I can't think of a worse.

[Caller]

Thing to happen to Cuomo than for.

[Clay Travis]

Donald Trump to come out last night.

[Buck Sexton]

In this town and say what he said. What do you, what do you think of that?

[Clay Travis]

I think it's probably why they waited until now, candidly, because there's a lot of early voting that's already taken place. And I suspect that they said early voting you may juice turnout. I don't think most people on election day are going to be motivated to vote against Trump. I think Trump's calculus is there might be some people out there that haven't decided how they're going to vote and if it's a close race, that this could swing the difference. My concern now is, mom, Donnie seems to be rolling buck and that if he wins over 50%, then all of this was for naught. I mean, to be fair, it wouldn't have mattered if Curtis Levo was in. It wouldn't have mattered how many other candidates were there. Because if he wins over 50%, then the majority of New York voters and a majority of New York voters with a huge turnout, potentially record, are saying, mom, Donnie's our guy. Now, Cuomo, I think, has run a poor campaign, but he's actually pointing out something that is very important. Cut 16. He's saying what Mamdani is promising to people he doesn't even have the power to deliver on. And I do think that that might be beneficial to New York City. Cut 16.

[Zoran Mamdani]

I call them. The TikTok promises that he put forth in the primary. None of them are real. The mayor is going to freeze the rent. People think it means that he's going to freeze their rent. No, no, no, no. First of all, the mayor has no ability to freeze anybody's rent. No legal ability done by an independent board that is term appointed. And then it's only for about 25% of the housing units called the rent stabilized units. So it will never happen. We're going to have a government owned grocery store, one in each borough. We have 16,000 grocery stores. Five grocery stores are not going to make a difference. Free buses. It's not up to the mayor. It's up to the state. State said they're not going to do it. It's all bs. It's all campaign rhetoric. None of it will change anybody's life.

[Clay Travis]

Where was this for the past several months? Cuomo finding an ability to make the case against Mom, Donnie, I get it. Hey, this is the final day, the final hours. But wouldn't this have been helpful back during the primary? Wouldn't this have been helpful in the last several months? I just think if Mamdani wins, it's not only a credit to Mamdani's personal charisma and the fact that a lot of people want to believe in the tooth fairy, so to speak, but it's also a function of how poor of a job Andrew Cuomo has done, defining the absurdity of the Mamdani campaign.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, he has run a terrible campaign. I think there's even been some admission of that from the Cuomo side that he has not done. He has been not just inept, but lazy, too. Certainly in the primary in the Democrat primary. He thought he was going to walk away with this. We've seen this happen before in New York. Remember, AOC took out the number three Democrat in terms of House leadership. I forget the guy's name. That tells you something. But he just figured, I'm going to win. Didn't campaign, didn't show up, didn't care. And now we've got AOC running around saying crazy stuff. Mamdani was also something of a sleeper candidate here, at least in the primary. And when he took out Cuomo, it was because Cuomo was lazy and thought that he was kind of entitled to, to represent the Democrats in the city of New York. It's looking like it's going to be Mandani, but, you know, Cuomo could pull something out here at the very end. Maybe that's my, that's my most hopeful note I can hit on this and I'm not even very hopeful. Clay Cuomo is awful. I'm sorry. I know people want to believe that this would be some huge metaphorical bullet dodged by New York. And no, I think Cuomo is pretty terrible, too. So even if he wins, we got problems, New York, we got problems.

[Clay Travis]

Also important to understand the way media is going to spin this. I'm looking at CNN right now. Their headline is voters deliver Early Report card on Trump Presidency. Even though it's blue state Virginia, even though it's blue state New Jersey, even though it is deep blue New York City. They are going to argue if the results are the Democrats win, as they are favored to win many of these races, they're going to argue that this is a massive repudiation of Trump and that Americans regret the decision that they made a year ago. Just prepare yourselves.

[Buck Sexton]

People vote. Most people vote first and foremost based on how it makes them feel to cast that vote for that person, that party, that candidate. So if you can tap into frustration, resentment, some idea that this is an effort to check or veto or slow down the Trump administration, as absurd as that is, it's again, the tooth fairy syndrome, right?

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

This does nothing. Having a communist mayor in New York does nothing to stop the Trump administration, really. But if people feel like it does, you get Mamdani. We'll see. We'll take your calls on this, too. WOR listeners, light us up. Tell us what you're hearing and seeing. Unplanned pregnancies are scary. When you're not planning something as huge as bringing another life into this world, there's often that, quote, unquote, easier choice that is being pushed on young women, sometimes even by their families or their own partner. And it can be a very tough moment. But that's why there are organizations that are out there right now, as I'm speaking to you, that are saving the lives of tiny babies. This year, Preborn Clinics saved the lives of 67,000 unborn children by offering pregnant women with an unplanned pregnancy another option. Because when a mom to be walks into one of those preborn clinics, she's welcomed with open arms. She's introduced to her baby through an ultrasound and for the first time she sees that life so clearly and is offered so many hope filled choices by preborn and preborn will continue with her for up to two years after the birth of the baby. Providing maternity clothes, diapers, counseling and so much more. Preborn cares for the whole woman, her mind, body and soul, and the precious baby growing inside her. There are hundreds of thousands of mothers to be in this situation. They need your help. As you're closing out this year, think about a deductible tax deductible donation to Preborn, which can be the difference between life and death for a tiny baby in the womb. Using your cell phone, dial pound250 and say the keyword baby. That's pound250, say baby or visit preborn.com buck all gifts are tax deductible. Like I said, Preborn is a five star rated charity. Preborn.com Buck sponsored by Preborn Saving America.

[Clay Travis]

One Thought at a time Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Just to reiterate, Go vote. Go vote.

[Buck Sexton]

Go vote.

[Clay Travis]

Down. Ballot matters a great deal. We talk about New Jersey, we talk about Virginia, we talk about New York City, but there are a lot of different mayor votes that are happening, I believe Cincinnati, Detroit, Prop 50 in California. There are so many different significant elections that are taking place all over the country. And again, we want all of you, if you are listening to us, we would like to have a hundred percent voter rate for all of you that are eligible all over the country. Minneapolis, not that they have great options, but there is an election taking place there as well. Buck, when we were talking about what's going on in New York City, let me play this for you. This is a liberal white woman asked her biggest concerns. This is cut three. Listen.

[Liberal White Woman Caller]

I think what's really important and standing out for me right now is if we can take ourselves like a high level, like not say immigration, not say economy, not say all the hot talking points and just ask ourselves, how are we treating our neighbors? Like how are we treating one another? And is it okay that Yesterday, on Saturday, 42 million of our neighbors no longer can feed themselves? Is it okay that our neighbors are getting taken off the streets by ice? Is it okay that gender affirming care is being taken from young people who really need it to survive? Is it okay that the Supreme Court has now justified racial profiling? That's not how I want to treat my neighbor.

[Buck Sexton]

That is woman is the destruction of Western civilization in one sound bite.

[Clay Travis]

No doubt. And look, we want to have some fun with you notwithstanding that awfulness. And we'll break down what's going on in New York City. But you can play prize picks all over the country. You can play in California, you can play in Texas, you can play in Georgia if you're feeling left out. You can also play in Florida where Buck is. In New York, where I am right now, you can play in roughly 40 states. And right now I'll give you a pick On Thursday you can get hooked up with $50. All you have to do is pick more or less on the projections. If you're right, you could win big. That's prizepix.com use code clay for $50. You can also download the app. It is fantastic. It is a lot of fun. It makes football more fun than it otherwise would be. The NBA, college basketball has started. Whatever sport you love, price picks will make it more fun for you. 40 plus states, 50 bucks. When you use code Clay that's pricepicks.com code Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back into Clay and Buck. Election Day 2025 edition. Big races. New York City mayor, New Jersey governor, Virginia governor and Title 50 or Proposition 50, sorry, Proposition 50 out in California. Not forgetting about that Gavin Newsom just trying to stack the deck before the midterms with a last second redrawing of congressional districts. Just trying to work the refs, just trying to do whatever he can to throw things toward the Democrats no matter how slimy. In fact, the slimier, the more Newsom likes it. You know, he's, this is really how he, how he prefers things to be, I would argue. But let's get back into New York here for a second. We'll talk about those other races and we will give you the latest on all of it and we will have obviously results to discuss with you tomorrow. And at this point, you know what the polls are, the prognostications from across the political class on this stuff. We shall see over in Morning Joe, which I was not watching live. I will let you know. Disappointing, I understand.

[Clay Travis]

I saw your boy Trump teed off on your boy Morning Joe. Did you see ripped how bad his ratings have gotten this morning? I did not. This is like bucks worlds colliding. Yeah. Trump went after Morning Joe, said his ratings have collapsed and that he loved to see it. Something like that.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I think that without me watching, it's probably noticeable. You know, I think that over NBC they're like, what happened to that, that obsessive watcher with that one obsessive watcher we have in Miami beach who was during the election watching so much Morning Joe. But here it is, here he Is Joe Scarborough introducing Mamdani, and I want you to hear how he does it. Play 10. Zoran Mamdani joins us now. The communist joins us now.

[Zoran Mamdani]

How do you respond to that? When somebody comes up to you, say, I can't vote for you because you're a communist?

I said, there are reasons you might not want to vote for me, but let's be honest about my politics. I'm a democratic socialist. No matter how many times President Trump.

[Buck Sexton]

Calls me other ways, you know, I want to keep going with this one. Mamdani also again on this, Democratic socialism, not communism. This is cut 11. Listen to this one. What is the difference between a Democrat.

[Zoran Mamdani]

A democratic socialist, and a communist?

Well, I'm a democratic socialist who's also a Democrat, right? And when I say I'm a democratic socialist, I explain it in the words of Dr. King from decades ago, who said that call it democracy or call it democratic socialism, there must be a better distribution of wealth for all of God's children in this country.

[Washable Sofas Advertiser]

Right?

[Zoran Mamdani]

And what I actually find is that when you're speaking to New Yorkers, they ask you less how you describe your politics and more whether there's room for them in that politics. And New Yorkers are asking me, does your politics have room for my struggle to afford my rent, my childcare, my groceries? And frankly, President Trump ran an entire campaign focusing on the cost of living, focusing on the promise of cheaper groceries. And his inability to do so is now making him increasingly desperate to try and stop campaign that will actually deliver on the same diagnosis that he shared.

[Buck Sexton]

I just want to, I want to go on the record here. What Cuomo said about how Mamdani is not going to make any of these things happen is true. And a year from now, guaranteed, I'm going to guarantee this isn't even a prediction. This is a guarantee. A year from now, you and I, Clay, will be sitting here and saying, hey, guess what? Housing isn't cheaper in New York. Food isn't cheaper in New York. There's no, there's no change to standards of living. If anything, it's going to be more expensive. That's the part of this that people need to understand. If anything, if Mamdani gets his way, it's going to drive up costs because fundamentally, you hear the way this guy talks. He's appealing to emotions, removing accountability for the people that he's appealing to and making promises about things that he fundamentally does not understand. He does not understand the market mechanisms that lead to the price of rent, the price of Food in New York. He is an ignoramus with a silver tongue.

[Clay Travis]

I think that's very well said. I would also point out this morning I was checking out Eric Adams Twitter feed. New York City's current mayor. Clearly, I had a lot of time to do prep, but New York tonight, yesterday announced that they had record low shooting incidents and shooting victims for the first 10 months of the year and in October. So record low and murders have declined by almost half compared to last year. 18 murders in New York City in October compared to 35 last year. Lowest level of shadow shootings and lowest level level of murders. I know Eric Adams is not on the ballot anymore, but the one thing Eric Adams ran on was that he would make New York safer. And certainly the numbers were awful in 2020 and 2021. But thanks to Jessica Tisch's work and the focus of Mayor Eric Adams, there's actually decent numbers coming in on safety. Um, and I think this is starting to happen nationwide because Democrats have just finally repudiated the defund the police narrative. But I do think this is one area, buck, where Mamdani might say, hey, I'm gonna make buses free, and I'm gonna fix your rent, and you're gonna pay a lot less. And as Andrew Cuomo said, you cannot do anything there. The one thing that he can definitely do is make New York less safe. And I am desperately concerned, based on his rhetoric, that that is the one area which is probably the most important when it comes to what your mayor can do, that people of New York are convinced can continue to improve, that Mamdani is likely to make worse. So we can talk about things he can't do, but he could certainly make this city a lot more dangerous than it is right now.

[Buck Sexton]

You see the ways that New York got worse, and it was really an unholy alliance between these nonprofits that exist. They're kind of sort. There's the. I think there's the nyclu, like the. It's a version of the aclu, but it's for New York City. They have these nonprofits that sue on behalf of justice and equity that make it impossible to prosecute people in the city of New York. And I had a friend who was in the prosecutor's office in New York, in the DA's office, who said that one of the things that they'll do is they just. They just keep on flooding the system with. With challenges to process, so that by the time you're actually able to bring cases against people, your resources in the DA's office are depleted. And you have to just pick and choose only the most severe cases. Because even when you have someone who's arrested 30 times, you. You don't have the manpower, the actual manpower, the hours to have somebody show up in court or have somebody deal with him and all that stuff. So the prosecutor's office is a huge problem. Alvin Bragg is a huge problem. And that has been something that New York City has suffered from, I think substantially the numbers go to that. But also with someone like Mamdani, when he says something like, we want to make buses free. Everyone knew right away, remember, Clay, when there was that whole thing of like, oh, there was racism at Starbucks because somebody asked somebody if they actually were buying a cup of coffee or something. And then Starbucks had this policy. This was years and years ago of, all right, you don't even have to buy coffee. You can just use our bathrooms. And you know what happened to everybody? The Starbucks bathrooms became disgusting, ok? They became absolute petri dishes. Of all the, you know, you know, all the gross things that humanity can bring together. Just, you know, on the floor, on the walls. It was disgusting, okay? And anyone who's been in a Starbucks in a major city has seen this and they realized, oh, wait, we've made a mistake here. We've just created, effectively, drug use and like, temporary homeless shelters that Mamdani thinks that a free bus system in the city of New York is going to make people safer because the people who are arguing with, with whether to pay the fare are somehow not now going to be on the bus. They're just going to be on the bus robbing people.

[Clay Travis]

No doubt. And this is also a great example of how you can make a decision that makes people happy on social media. And it's actually the worst decision for your brand because the Starbucks one is a great example. They decided because a couple of black guys were sitting in a Starbucks for too long and said they were forced out because it was racist, that they basically would never, ever force people out of Starbucks again and everybody could use the bathrooms and homeless people just flooded Starbucks. The business collapsed because nobody wants to go into a coffee shop that's filled with vagrants. And to your point, Buck, the buses are just going to get worse because when the weather's bad, homeless people are just going to get on the buses and never get off. They're just going to sit on there all the time. Just. Do you want to be in that filth and refuse?

[Buck Sexton]

Can I just tell you, it was 2018. I looked this up. It was 2018, and Starbucks did this thing where they said, you can. You don't have to. You can be in our facility. So you basically now have created a homeless shelter. Because remember these, when you say homeless, it's not even really. You're talking about people who are in many cases drug addicted or severely mentally ill or a combination thereof, who choose to live on the streets. They do not want to be in a shelter. They choose to live in the streets. And they just go from one sort of place where they can spend time and usually do drugs to another. Starbucks found this out the hard way. Everybody knew this when Starbucks did this, but they were like, oh, my gosh, we are so scared of racism. And in 2018, guess what? In 2025, beginning of this year, they officially reversed the policy because. Because it was so destructive.

[Clay Travis]

And what happened was they had guys at a Philadelphia Starbucks, I think, who were asking to use the bathroom without buying anything. And they basically said, hey, policy is bathrooms are for customers, which is almost policy everywhere, right. In any for profit business. And the guy said, oh, this was because of racism. So then, because they were getting accused of racism, Starbucks just said, anybody can use our bathrooms, including, you know, people who are not customers at all. And the whole business collapsed because they rejected the policy that had worked for decades in order to try to make people happier on social media. And oftentimes the best lesson for controversy is do less, Bud Light, do less, Cracker Barrel, do less. Just don't try and appeal to an audience that is in no way. I mean, when you look at the trans beer issue, when you look at.

[Buck Sexton]

Cracker Barrel, who came up, if it ain't broke, don't fix.

[Clay Travis]

That's a good one.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, that's very good. That's an old, old school.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

I actually learned that one from Beauty and the Beast and it was a play on words because he said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Remember that one?

[Clay Travis]

Oh, yeah, I do that.

[Buck Sexton]

I just go too nerdy for you.

[Clay Travis]

That Beauty and Beast is great. I mean, that was during the Aladdin era. They put together a lot of good.

[Buck Sexton]

Disney was making good movies, making good moves.

[Clay Travis]

Crazy. Just appeal to everybody. Don't.

[Buck Sexton]

I saw. I saw our friend Ben Domenech, who I've known now, again, I like to play this game, so it reminds me how old I am. I think I've known Ben almost 15 years now. Yeah, we started in the business around the same time. There was like a whole crop of us doing stuff at the Blaze. He put out That I think it was the lowest box office receipts over Halloween is usually horror movies. And you know, people get all the lowest box office receipts going into Halloween for that weekend in almost 30 years. And there were no new release, wide release movies. The movie industry is just on its ass. It's which, if you had told me this was possible 20 years ago when movies were the dominant American and global art, like American movies were the dominant global form of entertainment as well as here, here at home. And now it's maybe you get like one new movie every few months on one of your streaming services. That's just okay.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. And it's really disappointing because it's funny you mentioned Beauty and the Beast, but Aladdin, the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and certainly for us when we were kids, the Indiana Jones movie, Star wars, all those things, it used to be such a badge of honor to try to make a movie that could appeal to everyone. And it doesn't even feel as if anyone tries to do that anymore. Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, it used to be. It used to be a cultural touchstone too. You would be like, have you seen.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

Remember when you would say to people, oh, have you seen the latest. Have you seen the Batman movie? Have you seen the Pirates the Caribbean? Have you seen E.T. i mean, you know, whatever it is. And now you don't even have those conversations anymore.

[Clay Travis]

I think it's moved to sports. Buck. You're going to have to come back in hardcore on sports fandom because I think the number of things that people share is actually dwindled. And there's a desperate want to have that connection across, across backgrounds with a shared experience. I really think that's going to happen with the live broadcast.

[Buck Sexton]

Maybe Mamdani can promise that we're going to start making good. Tommy Momdani is like, we're going to start making great movies again too, just because he says so. I mean, maybe at least that would be fun to vote for him. It's not going to happen.

[Clay Travis]

At least it's an aspirational goal that that would make sense for the country. Anti Semitism, speaking of destroying the country is on the rise. It's been for the past couple of years, as you guys know, not just around the world, but right here in this country to Jewish schools, targeted synagogues, threatened silence isn't an option. It's time to take a stand on the side of good against evil. International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, that's the IFCJ is on the front lines providing real help where it's needed most. Giving food shelter to Jewish families that feel under threat. Helping survivors of hate rebuild their lives. And they don't just respond to crisis, they work every day to prevent it. I saw the work that they do with the IFCJ when I was in Israel last year. Your gift of $45 will help support their life saving work by helping provide food, shelter and so much more. Support the ifcj. It's a strong spiritual stand too, on the side of good. So please call 888-488-IFCJ. That's 888488, 4325. You can also go online to IFCJ.org every dollar helps. Don't wait be the difference. That's IFCJ.org 888488 IFCJ patriots radio hosts a couple of regular guys, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[iHeart Radio Announcer]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. I'm gonna talk about it again. Please go buy my book balls. I don't ask for a lot. I'm asking you to help me sell a bunch of ball calls. It's everywhere. We're going to take some of your calls here. Today is book release day. It is in bookstores everywhere. You can buy it on Amazon. Drive me up. I would love to be on the bestseller list. Make the New York Times put me there. I don't know if they ever will. Let's go to some of your calls. Jesse in Manhattan. What you got, Jesse?

[Caller]

Gentlemen, great show. And I voted in New York City today. But I got to tell people there are ballot initiatives, initiatives on that ballot. They gotta vote no on all six of those ballots because three of them, ballots two, three and four, give the mayor all the power to develop real estate in our neighborhoods and we won't be able to stop it. You have a lunatic mayor. He's going to put a housing project and a homeless shelter in your neighborhood. And that's what Mandani would want to do. And I'm just urging everybody to get out there. They're breaking records. They're going to go over 2 million votes today, which would be a record. Well, not really a record, but for the first time maybe in 50 years or something. And I'm really glad people are voting. They got to stop Mandam. He's a communist. But listen, let's face it, this is the fallout from the 65 Immigration Act. Anyone who says just come here legally should wear a dunce cap when they vote today. And, you know, that's just the way it is. No on all six ballots, guys.

[Clay Travis]

Thanks. Jesse in Manhattan, Sean in Queens. What you got for us, Sean?

[Caller]

Hey, what's up, guys? Hopefully Curtis Steeler can pull off a miracle on 34th Street. If not, maybe Cuomo will save the city. But I think we got it wrong as a party, guys. I think we had the president telling us to back Cuomo, who is a worse Democrat than Eric Adams ever was.

[Clay Travis]

I don't disagree.

[Buck Sexton]

I think that's true.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you for the call. I mean, there was one quick one here.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, David in Nantucket. Are you calling us from your schooner? Oh, no.

[Caller]

Hey, guys, just. You don't have to look far. See what free buses do. A couple years ago, I was in Seattle. I saw a local news story. The homeless drug addicts are smoking fentanyl on an open piece of tinfoil. And because they can't do it in the wind, they go on the buses. People were being overcome. An old woman had to get rushed to the hospital because she was overcome with fentanyl fumes. A driver actually got in a crash because he had a reaction to overdose. And they have done nothing. So this is what free everything does.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, yeah. Now, free everything is a prison for everyone else, actually. But that's a whole other part of this conversation. Clay, where are you taking us next, buddy?

[Clay Travis]

Including bus drivers. Buck, can you imagine how awful this is? We'll dive more into Virginia and New Jersey next.

[Buck Sexton]

You know what your customers are doing right this second? The exact same thing.

[Clay Travis]

You are listening to me. Which, let's be honest, is kind of flattering. But my point is, ads on iHeartRadio actually get heard.

[Buck Sexton]

In the car, at the gym, on.

[Clay Travis]

The couch, while people are walking their dogs. Who's a good boy?

[Buck Sexton]

Who's a good boy?

[Clay Travis]

You're a good boy.

[Buck Sexton]

That's right there.

[Clay Travis]

You're a good.

[Buck Sexton]

So why not make the next ad about you?

[Clay Travis]

Get started today. Call 844-844-IHEART or go to iheartadvertising.com. that's 844-844-iheart or iheartadvertising.com.

[iHeart Radio Announcer]

This is an iheart podcast.