Hour 1 - Platner Primary Precedent

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 - Platner Primary Precedent
Date: July 9, 2026
Host: Clay Travis & Buck Sexton
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

---

Episode Overview

This episode focuses almost entirely on the stunning resignation of Graham Platner, the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, in the wake of sexual assault allegations. Clay and Buck not only dissect the immediate political fallout but frame Platner’s withdrawal as part of a broader pattern within the Democratic Party—namely, party elites overruling voters, and the media double standards regarding scandal. Through pointed commentary, personal reflection, and not a little humor, the hosts consider what this means for party democracy, the power of mere accusations, and the evolving standards in American political life.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Graham Platner’s Withdrawal: A Repeat of Democratic Party Top-Down Control

• Clay and Buck open the episode (01:56) discussing the late-breaking news: Graham Platner, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee for Maine, is suspending his campaign amid sexual assault allegations. His departure invalidates the votes of 156,000 Democrats.
  • “This is the Democrat Party doing what they do... If we had an honest assessed media, more than just us would be pointing out, well, wait a minute, Joe Biden won the Democrat primary and then they decided he couldn't win. So they invalidated... votes... and replaced him with Kamala Harris.” — Clay Travis [02:30]
• They compare this to previous party maneuvers, such as superdelegates handing the 2016 nomination to Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders.
  • “Bernie was going to Bernie. They just couldn't have a socialist be the Democrat nominee... so the superdelegates gave it to Hillary.” — Buck Sexton [03:47]

---

2. The Power of Allegations: Standing Firm vs. Withdrawing

• Questioning Platner’s choice: Both hosts are critical of Platner for not sticking it out. They argue that backing down gives credence to unproven allegations and sets a dangerous precedent.
  • “If somebody ever accuses me of something that I really didn't do, it is going to make me double, triple, quadruple, quintuple down. I would refuse to drop out... To me, this is actually incredible cowardice from Graham Platner...” — Clay Travis [04:10]
  • They reference Supreme Court Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas as men who fought through allegations and prevailed.
    • “Imagine you are Brett Kavanaugh and you decide, 'Oh, I just can't take the heat.' Democrats for the next fifty years would have just been saying, we stopped a rapist from getting... But he fought through it. Now he's on the Supreme Court.” — Clay Travis [06:32]
• Broader concern: Withdrawing over allegations, the hosts warn, establishes that mere accusations are enough to derail candidates, regardless of evidence.
  • “When you drop out, you actually set the precedent that accusations that are denied are enough to derail candidacies.” — Buck Sexton [08:07]

---

3. Platner’s Perspective: Party Abandonment and Losing Campaign Resources

• Platner’s own words (recorded statement): He claims that the party is using the allegations as a pretext to pull necessary campaign resources and funding.
  • “Those in power... are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all of the things that we need to run a campaign. We are going to lose our ability to fundraise. We are going to lose our ability to access voter data...” — Graham Platner [09:14]
• Clay and Buck debate whether this claim is accurate, suggesting that party support is a function of power and viability, not necessarily of innocence or guilt.

---

4. Democratic Party and Actual Voter Will

• Party disregarding primary results:
  • “Democrats have proven that they don't actually care at all about the will of their voters. And so the entire argument of democracy is on the ballot and all of that is a total lie.” — Buck Sexton [11:26]
  • Clay compares Platner’s situation to sports, saying losing is part of competition; why treat it as disaster?
    • “If he loses to Susan Collins... he’s viable going forward. I don’t buy that these voters would suddenly walk away from him.” — Clay Travis [13:43]
• Cynical view of voter loyalty: They joke that “47% of voters” in deep-blue states would vote for anyone not named Trump.
  • “I think you could almost put Adolf Hitler on the ballot in Maine and 47%... would show up because he's not Trump.” — Clay Travis [13:43]

---

5. Media and Liberal Hypocrisy: The Ongoing Double Standard

• The hosts play a montage of media and liberal commentators excusing or downplaying Platner’s flaws.
  • “Nazi tattoo, sexual assault. Nobody's perfect.” — Clay Travis (sarcastically) [21:12]
  • “Who among us hasn't gotten a Nazi tattoo? Who among us hasn't been accused multiple times of sexual assault? Just a normal guy.” — Buck Sexton [21:20]
• They highlight that when elections are close, partisan support overrides all objections—any “imperfect” candidate is rationalized if it means keeping a seat.
  • “If this race had been close on Labor Day, all the people jumping off the bandwagon right now would have come right back on the bandwagon and said what they are saying now." — Buck Sexton [21:28]

---

6. Why No Criminal Charges? Critique of Extended Statute of Limitations

• The hosts ask why Platner hasn't been criminally charged, considering Maine extended its sexual assault statute of limitations to 20 years.
  • “If he raped this woman, then he should be charged with rape in Maine as a crime facing years in prison.” — Clay Travis [24:53]
  • Buck points out how insane it is to try to prove a negative about an alleged incident from two decades prior.
    • “A 20 year statute of limitations on sexual assault is absolutely insane. Think about all the places you've traveled in the last 20 years...” — Buck Sexton [24:53]

---

7. Democratic “Vetting” and Search for a Replacement

• As the odds of Democrats taking the seat spiked with Platner’s departure (per betting markets), the hosts speculate on who will be parachuted in.
  • “If you get selected by July 27, this is not even that hard of a race. You’re getting hand picked to be the nominee and you only have to run a three month, 100 days. It’s basically the same thing as Kamala all over again.” — Buck Sexton [26:33]
• They agree that Janet Mills, the former governor, is the most likely and "safe" choice—being already vetted and having no risk of new sexual assault allegations.

---

8. Democratic Scandals: Clinton, Biden, and Media Treatment

• Clay and Buck reference the numerous sexual misconduct allegations against Democratic figures (Clinton, Biden), contrasting media reactions with Republican scandals.
  • “The Joe Biden sexual assault claim was very, very, you know, legitimate... it was a one day story on page 820 of the New York Times. And then it just vanished.” — Buck Sexton [31:04]
  • “Democrats had no problem with any of it, which is what I was going to say.” — Clay Travis [34:38]
  • They recall the term “bimbo eruptions” coined by Clinton staffers to collectively dismiss accusers.

---

9. Setting Precedent: The Dangers of Unproven Accusations Ending Careers

• Both hosts express concern for due process and the growing expectation that politicians step aside upon mere accusation.
  • “The idea that somebody says you did something to me and everybody just accepts that it's true and you can't do politics.” — Buck Sexton [35:45]
  • This, they contend, could be weaponized against anyone.

---

10. Humorous/Notable Listener Interactions

• Listener Interactions:
  • A listener, Tim from North Carolina, jokes, “I guess this is what happens when socialists run out of other people’s money.” [40:16]
  • Light banter with a Lutheran school teacher about Clay’s travel advice: buying new clothes at your destination instead of checking bags. Clay counters with, “You can legitimately go to Old Navy in a decent size town and buy new outfits for cheaper than it costs for you to check a bag.” — Clay Travis [41:48]

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “This is the Democrat Party doing what they do... if we had an honest assessed media... pointing out, well, wait a minute, Joe Biden won the Democrat primary and then... they invalidated... votes... and replaced him with Kamala Harris.” — Clay Travis [02:30]
• “If somebody ever accuses me of something that I really didn't do, it is going to make me double, triple, quadruple, quintuple down... This is actually incredible cowardice from Graham Platner.” — Clay Travis [04:10]
• “Nazi tattoo, sexual assault. Nobody's perfect.” — Clay Travis (sarcastically) [21:12]
• “A 20 year statute of limitations on sexual assault is absolutely insane... Now somebody could say that person raped me... you'd have to prove you didn't.” — Buck Sexton [24:53]
• “I think you could almost put Adolf Hitler on the ballot in Maine and 47% of Maine voters would show up because he's not Trump.” — Clay Travis [13:43]
• “If this race had been close on Labor Day, all the people jumping off the bandwagon right now would have come right back on.” — Buck Sexton [21:28]

---

Timeline of Major Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:56 | Introduction to Platner dropping out; initial analysis | | 03:47 - 04:10 | Superdelegates and 2016 DNC/Bernie Sanders precedent | | 04:10 - 06:32 | Discussing cowardice vs. standing ground on false allegations | | 05:49 | Platner’s resignation statement (audio clip) | | 08:07 - 09:14 | The precedent of allegations causing withdrawals | | 09:14 | Platner: “They’re taking away all our campaign resources…” (audio clip) | | 10:01 | Clay & Buck debate whether Platner’s exit was strategic or cowardly | | 13:43 | Electoral realities; ‘broken brain’ voter loyalty analogy | | 19:16 | Media hypocrisy montage | | 21:12 | “Nobody’s perfect” sarcasm, excusing Platner | | 24:53 | Statute of limitations, why Platner hasn't been charged | | 26:33 | Who replaces Platner? Forecasting Democratic Party moves | | 30:38 - 34:38 | Recapping historic Democratic sexual misconduct scandals (Clinton, Biden) | | 35:45 | Dangers of presuming guilt from accusations | | 40:16 | Listener call: fundraising and "running out of other people's money" joke | | 41:48 | Clay’s controversial travel/clothing advice banter |

---

Episode Tone & Language

• Tone: Sharp, irreverent, skeptical of media and Democratic establishment, skeptical of “cancel culture,” supportive of due process, and often darkly humorous.
• Language: Direct, combative, occasionally sarcastic, with both hosts comfortable referencing political machinations, legal concepts, and cultural trends.

---

Summary

This episode captures Clay and Buck’s signature blend of political analysis, cultural commentary, and irreverent banter, dissecting Graham Platner’s resignation not just as a local scandal but as a case study in party control, media bias, and the new politics of accusation. Drawing parallels from Kavanaugh to Clinton, the hosts make a forceful—if opinionated—argument that the modern Democratic Party subordinates the will of its voters and deploys double standards to protect its own while destroying opponents. Their focus on the precedent set by Platner’s withdrawal—namely, that mere allegations can end a political career—echoes throughout, forming the backbone of a conversation about power, integrity, and America’s “broken brain” partisanship.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[In Touch Ministries Announcer]

Guaranteed Human life gets busy and it's easy to feel a little worn down spiritually. That's why intouch.org is such a helpful place to stop and breathe for a moment. You can watch messages from Dr. Charles Stanley, read a quick devotional, or find resources that speak to what you're dealing with right now. It's simple, it's encouraging, and it's always there when you need it. Take a minute today and check out

[BBC Podcast Host]

intouch.org the United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

And so on the Global Story podcast from the BBC. We're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe.

[Clay Travis]

We have this ability to export our story and a lot of people have bought it. I feel like the American dream is alive, but not well.

[BBC Podcast Host]

From the BBC, it's the United States at 250.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or find us on YouTube, America is the

[Fox Sports Announcer]

stage for the biggest World cup ever. And Fox is your home for it all.

[Buck Sexton]

None bigger than this one.

[Fox Sports Announcer]

48 countries, 16 cities, one golden dream. The biggest stars, the biggest games, the biggest moments. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, June 11 through July 19 on fo.

[X Games/ESPN Announcer]

The best skaters, BMX riders and moto athletes in the world don't compete in leagues until now. The X Games League championship is live From New Orleans, July 24th through 26th. Three days of elite action sports, plus performances from Metro Boomin, Jid Subtronics and bunt watch on ABC ESPN and ESPN2 stream on the ESPN app, Roku Kick, Amazon and X Games YouTube. The inaugural champion gets crowned this July.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome in Thursday edition Clay and Buck. We got a ton of different stories to dive into with you. Iran. Iran strikes return. The Tyler Robinson hearing is ongoing, but we begin with the news that happened yesterday evening. Graham Platner, Maine Senate nominee for the Democrat Party. We've talked a lot about all of his travails, all of the scandals that have followed him. Well, in an 11 minute recorded statement which was loaded with a lot of different attacks on a variety of different people, he has dropped out of the the nomination that he won. 156,000 thousand people voted for him. Uh, and now they are going to have a convention of sorts to pick a nominee to replace Graham Platner to run against Susan Collins in Maine. Buck, my biggest takeaway, I would say I have two. And I'm curious what your biggest takeaways and where we go from Here first. This is the Democrat Party doing what they do. And if we had an honest assessed media, more than just us would be pointing out, well, wait a minute, Joe Biden won the Democrat primary and then they decided he couldn't win. So they invalidated the votes of tens of millions of Democrat primary voters and replaced him with Kamala Harris. And now 156,000 people just last month voted for Graham Platner. And now they have canceled all those out in favor of grand Democrat poobahs. Who will a few hundred of them be able to decide who the nominee is? Now that is kind of just.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, don't, don't. I want you to get to point two, but don't forget, Clay, about the superdelegates who stole the nomination from Bernie Sanders himself in 2016. Bernie was going to Bernie. They just couldn't have a socialist be the Democrat nominee because if too many people figure out the Democrats are socialists, the whole game is up. So the super delegates gave it to

[Buck Sexton]

Hillary, Just the super delegates. When they actually got into hacking the emails, the entire DNC rigged it for Hillary. So I mean, super anti Democratic. And Bernie has a right to be angry about that. Cause I think he would have been the nominee Otherwise back in 2016. Second part on this. And I bet you sign off on this too, Buck. I don't care whether Graham Platner wins the Senate race. Obviously I disagree with him on almost every issue. I can't. And I bet I, I almost guarantee that you will sign off on this too. If somebody ever accuses me of something that I really didn't do, it is going to make me double, triple, quadruple, quintuple down. I would refuse to drop out of anything that if somebody were saying, oh, Clay Travis did X or Y, and I never did it. To me, this is actually incredible cowardice from Graham Platner because to me now he's branded. I know he said, oh, I didn't do it. To me, he's basically admitting that he actually did commit sexual assault. Because if you accuse me of sexual assault, the last thing I'm ever doing is letting you try to drag my name into the mud by giving the credence of your allegations such that I drop out. So those are the two big takeaways that I have.

[Clay Travis]

But he is pointing the finger at a lot of other people. Here he is cut one. Suspending his campaign. The oyster farmer once again, I suppose. Play one.

[Graham Platner (Recorded Statement)]

Amy and I struggled about getting into this last summer, right around this time of year, we Sat down and we looked at each other and we said, if we believe in the kind of politics we think that we do, we have to do this. Over the past couple days, really yesterday and today, we have had to have that exact same conversation. We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be made. And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I, I, I actually think, I think for Graham Platner, this is the, the wrong move.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

And you and I saw this the same way. So, look, I, I also thought he would push through because he was just days away from being the nominee. I'm going to tell you again from his perspective. And now the deal is done, so who cares? I, I think this was a mistake because of exactly what you said. I think that now you go out a loser, a loser that people think of as a guy who wouldn't stand up for himself. You know, imagine for a second if when the crazy allegations against. Now these are not crazy allegations to be. There is that distinction which we made yesterday, to be clear. But imagine you are Brett Kavanaugh and you decide, oh, I just can't take the heat. Yeah, Democrats for the next 50 years would have just been saying, we stopped a rapist from getting. By the way, he wasn't even, I mean, well, the first woman didn't even accuse him of rape. Wasn't even clear what she was accusing him of other than like some trying

[Buck Sexton]

to make out with her inappropriately sexual assault. Even if everything she said was true,

[Clay Travis]

even, even if what she said had been true about him, I don't, There wouldn't have even been an arrest. To me, the whole thing was insane. And then they came up with later allegations which were from objectively and obviously even crazier. People point here being Clay, he fought through it. Now he's on the Supreme Court. And now any person of conscience, discernment and reason is like, yeah, because they tried to hit on him and it didn't work.

[Buck Sexton]

Clarence Thomas, too, same thing.

[In Touch Ministries Announcer]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Well, the stuff against him was even,

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, was even more ridiculous.

[Clay Travis]

It was like someone, he said something that was a naughty joke. I mean, that's not even. Give me a break.

[Buck Sexton]

I do think, Buck, this is also important, though, beyond Platner or Kavanaugh or Hegseth or whoever you want to point to when you drop out, you actually set the precedent that accusations that are denied are enough to derail candidacies. And the voters have shown whether it was with President Trump, whether it was with a ton of different Biden People just shook it off that if you deny it and if you credibly push back against it, that they will give the benefit of the doubt. It seems to me the voters are actually more forgiving of false accusations or even just accusations themselves than the media establishment is.

[Clay Travis]

So this is the, this is the Platner point of view on this. He's essentially saying that he would continue in this battle, if you will, but they're taking all of his ammunition away. They're making it impossible for him to fight so that he has no choice. This is also from his social media post. This is cut three Play it.

[Graham Platner (Recorded Statement)]

Those in power who have the ability to do so are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all of the things that we need to run a campaign. We are going to lose our ability to fundraise. We are going to lose our ability to access voter data. We are going to lose all of the things that any campaign needs on the basic level simply to function. Larger organizations, the national level party, the bigger donor networks, they have all committed to spending no money in this race if I'm in it. They would rather see Susan Collins win than have me be the next senator from Maine.

[Clay Travis]

Clay, I, I think this is his, I think at the very end there, that is the assessment that's incorrect from his perspective. I think if he had made it to where he's the guy, they would have to, they would have to coalesce around, you know what an allegation is not, is not proof. He says he's an innocent man, blah blah blah, Donald Trump, blah blah blah, other people. And I do not believe they would have just. Clay. I believe the latest polling showed Platner even still ahead of Janet Mills.

[Buck Sexton]

Of Mills or Collins. You mean if they were running head to head the governor, he would still beat the governor right now?

[Clay Travis]

No, that he was better than the Dem against Collins. He is in a better position.

[Buck Sexton]

You said Janet Mills, I thought the former, who was the other Democrat governor I think of, of Maine that he ran against. So I was. He would still. Here, here's what I would say. He would still be the pick even I think if they went to vote today, he would beat Janet Mills in the Democrat primary and he's still basically head to head with Susan Collins in the general.

[BBC Podcast Host]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

So like the way this thing is set up.

[Clay Travis]

But what I'm saying, what I'm saying is what I saw was that he's actually a better matchup for Collins even still than his likeliest replacement.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I don't this is going to turn into a mess. And where I agree with you 100% on is if he were competitive in Labor Day, right when it, when really the midterms start, all the people who said we're never going to support him would quietly find ways to funnel money to him because all they care about is power and they don't care who comes to power. And so all of this, I just think it's a fundamental miscalculation. I think it's a further sign. You talked about it in the dnc, the Hillary, Bernie, in the Kamala Biden, and now in the Graham Platner situation. Democrats have proven that they don't actually care at all about the will of their voters. And so the entire argument of democracy is on the ballot and all of that is a total lie. Let me also say this, Buck. I don't understand why so many politicians treat losing as akin to death. Maybe it's because I come from the world of sports. One guy who competes, loses every time another guy goes up against him, right? Ufc, boxing match. One team loses, the other team wins. Losing is a part of competition. So for Graham Platner, I would just come back to this. If he loses to Susan, Susan Collins, and he loses by five or six points, let's say Susan Collins wins 52, 48, 53, 47, something like that, he's viable going forward. He can say, hey, you know what, I've got to be a better person. I've got all these different issues, but voters have ultimately come out and made a decision. I think voters would not really turn away from him. I just, I don't buy that. The same people who showed up last month, 156,000 of them that gave him like 72% of the overall primary vote, I don't buy that they're suddenly going to walk away from him. I think you could almost put Adolf Hitler on the ballot in Maine and 47% of Maine voters would show up because he's not Trump. They would be like, well, you know, the guy's got a Nazi tattoo, the guy's a Nazi, but at least he's not Trump. 47% of people, at least in Maine are so broken brain that they're just gonna vote straight Democrat tact ticket. You made a good point the other day, too. There is no down ballot concerns. Right? Unlike nationwide, when they bumped Joe Biden off, they were concerned about the Senate, they were concerned about the House. And if he didn't get enough support that there was going to be overall down ballot Considerations that doesn't exist in Maine. So I just think this is Democrats being diabolical and I actually think Graham Platner made a poor decision.

[Clay Travis]

We'll see. By the way, yes, there are some polls that show that it would, it was better for Platner to be. To stay at some. That I've seen some show Mills is better. But the point is here, if you are Platner, I think you, I think you stay in and, and you don't, you don't do this. I don't know, it's all over.

[Buck Sexton]

Maybe this is also a part of it. Like to me, if you lose, you just go back to your normal life. And if you like your normal life, you're good. Was he gonna go be an oyster farmer and sell his oysters back to mommy's restaurant? I just, I feel like this whole thing is absurd on many different levels.

[In Touch Ministries Announcer]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

I think that it also shows you how desperate the Democrats are to find anyone who is just a normal dude, a normal white dude to run anywhere. This is really hard for them.

[Buck Sexton]

One little bit of news, two hours ago at least he has not officially signed the papers. It's now Thursday. What if he just totally flipped? What if he just didn't sign the papers? Like I'm just saying, like you can say, hey, it can just come out and put another video out and say, you know what, after this outpouring of support, I've changed my mind. I'm staying in. Like it could turn into even more of a clown show. It's what he should do. I don't think he'll do it. But according to this report, he has not signed the papers to officially drop his. Maybe the check hasn't cleared yet to official because I think there's probably a payoff that went on too here candidly.

[Clay Travis]

Yep, we'll see. Everyone likes a deal and our friends at Rapid Radios have a great one going on right now. You can get two or more Rapid Radios when you make a purchase with their bundling plan. Rapid Radios operate just like walkie talkies but with nationwide range. Push a button and talk instantly over thousands of miles. With crystal clear audio. They're 100% private with 256 bit encryption so no one can listen in. They're small and durable and operate on battery power that can last up to five days. Rapid Radios are great for when your cell phone service is out or you're in a dead zone. You don't sign a contract with Rapid Radios. There are no monthly fees, just a reasonable annual renewal fee right now. Go to rapidradios.com bundle when you buy two radios, you get one completely free. You need a few more. Hey, guess what? Buy four radios, get to free. Every bundle includes a full year of service and free shipping. Go to rapidradios.com bundle that's rapidradios.com bundle laugh, learn.

[Buck Sexton]

Hang with the guys right there. When you need them most, Clay and

[Clay Travis]

Buck, just preset them on the iHeart app.

[In Touch Ministries Announcer]

Life gets busy, and sometimes it feels like you're running on empty, especially spiritually. That's why In Touch.org can be such a refreshing place to pause for a moment when you need a little encouragement. You can watch messages from Dr. Charles Stanley that speak right to what you might be facing. If you only have a minute, there are quick devotionals that help you refocus and reconnect with God's truth. And when you want to dig deeper, you'll find resources that meet you exactly where you are in your walk with Him. It's simple, it's uplifting, and it's available anytime you need a spiritual reset. So if you're feeling stretched thin or just want to stay grounded in your faith throughout the week, take a moment to explore everything waiting for [e-mail] it might just be the encouragement your day needs.

[BBC Podcast Host]

The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

And so on the Global Story podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe.

[Clay Travis]

We have this ability to export our story and a lot of people I bought it. I feel like the American dream is alive, but not well.

[BBC Podcast Host]

From the BBC, it's the United States at 250.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or Find us on YouTube, America is the

[Fox Sports Announcer]

stage for the biggest World cup ever. And Fox is your home for it all.

[Buck Sexton]

None bigger than this one.

[Fox Sports Announcer]

48 countries, 16 cities. One golden dream. The biggest stars. The biggest games. The biggest moments. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, June 11 through July 19 on Fox.

[X Games/ESPN Announcer]

The first ever X Games League Championship is going down live, and New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action sports. A season's worth of competition coming down to one one final weekend. Watch July 24 through 26 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, or stream on the ESPN app, X Games, YouTube, Kick Roku sports channel and Amazon. The championship starts July 24. Don't miss the moment. It becomes history.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in here to Klay and Buck. You know we had to sit here and talk about how Graham Platner has said he's out of that main Senate race. It's going to be a very interesting competitive race. At least it was going to be. We'll see what happens now. We'll see what happens. But then there's also. Also, Clay, all of these people in the media who I think still claim that they are paragons of virtue and honesty and speaking truth to power without fear or favor, sir. But they kind of just say whatever they have to say in order to make sure a Democrat wins. That's actually what happens. That's actually how it goes. Here's a montage of libs talking about how a little Nazi tattoo, a little sexual assault allegation, or a few and other things, no big deal. Play it.

[Fox Sports Announcer]

I don't give a.

[Buck Sexton]

If somebody had a toxic relationship. Toxic relationships and tattoos and all of this talk about Susan Collins, he could

[X Games/ESPN Announcer]

be a hundred times more up than he is.

[Buck Sexton]

He'd never be as up as what

[X Games/ESPN Announcer]

we got in Washington now anyway.

[Graham Platner (Recorded Statement)]

I don't get bothered by it as much.

[In Touch Ministries Announcer]

None of it.

[Buck Sexton]

He's someone who had a drinking problem, was a marine.

[Clay Travis]

Graham Planner is popular even though he is flawed. He is a flawed man, just like I'm a flawed man. And this is the key. Everybody is flawed at some level. No one's perfect. All politicians have baggage.

[Buck Sexton]

That's my kind of man. I would vote for Platinum. Graham clearly made a mistake, and I've been on CNN saying that. What I appreciated about him is he owned that mistake. You is disqualifying is having a senator in Maine who just does Donald Trump's bidding.

[Fox Sports Announcer]

I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that Graham Platner is the next senator from the state of Maine.

[Buck Sexton]

If I lived in Maine, I would hold my nose and I would pull that lever and I would vote for him.

[X Games/ESPN Announcer]

His imperfections are imperfections that we can all identify with.

[Buck Sexton]

Grant Platner is no Nazi. I don't think that he's a racist in any way.

[Clay Travis]

Hey, Clay, you hear that? Nobody's perfect. They went full nobody's perfect on Grant Platter. Nazi tattoo, sexual assault. Nobody's perfect.

[Buck Sexton]

Nobody's perfect. Who among us hasn't gotten a Nazi tattoo? Who among us hasn't been accused multiple times of sexual assault? Just a normal guy. Uh, but I do think what that reflects, Buck, is what we just said in the open, which is if this race had been close on Labor Day, all the people jumping off the bandwagon right now would have come right back on the bandwagon and said what they are saying now. Here's another question for you. Why is he not being charged with rape?

[Clay Travis]

Like might be statute limitations.

[Buck Sexton]

Get away with statute of limitations on in the blue cities in the wake of me too, I'll look up this. I haven't heard anybody talk about it at all. It was only a few years ago. We're not talking about 20 years ago.

[Clay Travis]

Oh yeah, I don't know, it might not be enough evidence. You know, maybe.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, that would be something I'd be concerned about if I was platter to point out why I would have stayed in the race. Look, symbolism can be a strong way to express how you feel on a particular topic. The IFCJ recognizes the value of a symbol and the connection it can quietly convey to like minded individuals. On the 250th anniversary of our nation, they have a brand new flag pin that includes our flag and Israel's. Two countries that embrace personal freedoms. One of the many similarities our two nations have. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, a United States based nonprofit has been helping those in Israel for decades. The flag pen is yours for free when you go online to flagpenifcj.org that's flagpen ifcj.org One more time flagpenifcj.org welcome back in Clay and Buck. All right, I'm gonna build on the question we were just talking about doing the break, doing research here. This again, some of you are gonna say, well what do you care about this story? I think that the precedent of when you are accused of a crime you have to drop out. We just automatically presume that it's correct. If I were Graham Platner or I were Graham Platner's lawyer, he is accused of sexual assault in Maine in 2021. So that is five years ago. Uh, they extended the statute of limitations as I thought they did in Maine on sexual assault in 2019 to 20 years. If he raped this woman, then he should be charged with rape in Maine as a crime facing years in prison. Buck, now you and I were talking off air. A 20 year statute of limitations on sexual assault is absolutely insane. Think about all the places you've traveled in the last 20 years trying to prove anything on what did you do on a random night in 2006? In September of 2006. Right now somebody could say that person raped me. And you have to prove you didn't rape someone in September of 2006. I mean I could barely Tell you where I was In September of 2006, you'd have to go back and work pretty hard. Most of you would, too, to even know what city you were in, what state you were in in September. And I'm using September of 2006 because technically it would still be within the statute of limitations. But if you are him, don't I. I just. All of this is crazy to me. I don't get it. Now, Buck, maybe there are other more significant stories that are going to come out that are even worse than what's already out there. And that is really a part of this story. And so we're not operating with full knowledge, but based on what's out there right now, I would have come out and said, hey, they should charge me if they think I committed a rape. I'll talk to police officers. I didn't do it, and I'm staying in this race. What I mean, there's. It feels like there's something here that isn't adding up. With all of the way this is playing out, they

[Clay Travis]

must have been able to have some kind of conversation with him. Well, he said that they were going to pull all this funding and everything, but I wonder if there was more to it than even just that. You said there could be other stuff that comes out. But I have to say I do believe this is now a fait accompli. This is a done deal. He's out. And now I have to. I have to think, is this a more competitive Senate seat?

[Buck Sexton]

We're sitting there according to the marketplace. You and I pay attention to the cowshi and polymarket odds on who is going to be elected. And as soon as Graham Platner dropped out, the odds of Democrats winning surged. Now, you and I may see this differently than the larger marketplaces, but we'll wait and see who ends up being the nominee. Uh, and by nominee, I mean handpicked choice of the Democrat Party. There are now a bunch of people who have thrown their names in the hat because, Buck, if you get selected by July 27, this is not even that hard of a race.

[X Games/ESPN Announcer]

Right?

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, usually you have to run for a Senate seat for over a year. Here you're getting hand picked to be the nominee and you only have to run a three month, you know, 100 days. It's basically the same thing as Kamala all over again. And if you win, you're a senator for six years and you only have to campaign for 100 days. Here is what I would say, given all of this stuff in Graham Platner's background. What are the odds they pick somebody who also has awful things in his background or her background? This is why I would go with Janet Mills if I was them. She's old. She's 80 years old. She's basically Susan Collins age.

[Clay Travis]

There's not going to be any sexual assault allegations against her.

[Buck Sexton]

For sure. I will. I will make a huge donation to charity if Janet Mills gets nominated and then she's immediately accused of rape, so. But she's already the governor. You would think every negative thing that could be said about her is already out there. She's been vetted. Because it would be really funny, honestly, if they picked a new guy or gal and then that person also had another, another Nazi tattoo. Be amazing.

[Clay Travis]

But think about this. The voters of Maine. We're skipping past this. The Democrat primary voters of Maine wanted this guy instead of the governor.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

So what does that tell you about how great she actually is as a candidate?

[Buck Sexton]

I think what it tells you is actually something significant. There's media and there is real people standards for behavior. And I'll use Trump as an example. When Trump said on the vid, on the tape, grab her by the willow, I think most people were like, ah, I wish he hadn't said that. But it was a joke. And also it sounds like something Trump might have said. But Buck, I always think this analogy is amazing. Billy Bush got fired for not being angry enough about the joke. He couldn't stay on the Today show. By media standards of behavior, Trump got elected president, Buck. His wife left him in New York City.

[Clay Travis]

But it was a moral. It was a moral panic. The same thing, the same kind of moral panic you had with BLM where you had cops and FBI agents taking a knee and all this stuff and people just. There's all this pressure around society and social media amplifies this and spreads it so rapidly. These mass hysterias, dare I say, these manufactured delusions, shameless plug are all over the place. And I think that, that, that played out with the, with the Me too thing as well. Because, you know, the people who were being protected in the Me Too, or rather the people that should have, were basically big Democrats and big Democrat donors who had gotten away with stuff for a long time. That was what was never. And then it was, are you think about it, who, who were the big takedowns of me too, who actually did bad stuff? It was obviously Harvey Weinstein. It was. I mean, Charlie Rose got me to.

[Buck Sexton]

I forgot about that.

[Clay Travis]

Right. You know, he did Matt Lauer Got me. These are all super rich, super connected Democrats. And who is the huge Republican they tried to meet you Trump over. First of all, the tape, which is saying something on a tape to a guy is not, you know, they wanted to make it a huge thing. It's not a huge thing. Okay. And the other thing is they tried to say a lot of stuff about Trump that I think people just flatly did not believe, but they weren't able to get anybody. They tried to Kavanaugh. That was really sort of a peak. Me too. Moment was a lie. They lied. So that was the thing. They weaponized the whole thing for political purposes very quickly and hope that nobody remembered that. The people that really did the bad stuff and there was bad stuff were Democrats, basically all of them.

[Buck Sexton]

By the way, they let Joe Biden totally skate on really one of the most significant, not to mention Bill Clinton. Now that was pretty. The Juanita Broderick stuff. Now that was 1990.

[Clay Travis]

He was accused of rape too. People forget this. People always want to talk about the Monica thing. He was accused of sexual assault on the record by a woman. That was a real thing that, that knew him, that had contact with him and everything.

[Buck Sexton]

But the Joe Biden accusation was from an employee right on his Senate staff. Pretty credible. I mean, she went on, she had told her mom. She went. I think her mom went on Larry King and talked about it. If you remember that back in the day. Now, it was a long time ago, but the Joe Biden sexual assault claim was very, very, you know, legitimate, at least in the context of supporting evidence. And it was a one day story on page 820 of the New York Times. And then it just vanished.

[Clay Travis]

Well, also, if you know anything about Bill Clinton's history, I mean, he is a probably a sex addict or close to it and was an absolutely just absurd and grotesque philandering maniac while the governor of Arkansas and then, and then while president as well. So it's pretty easy to think that he might have gotten too handsy and maybe a whole lot more with a woman at any point in time.

[Buck Sexton]

Right?

[Clay Travis]

They tried.

[Buck Sexton]

It's not as if to your point, the guy was a faithful husband for every other story and then one comes out and you say, I don't know, that doesn't sound like the pattern that might have been applied there. And of course we had. I mean, he lost his law license and it went all the way. Who was the woman who accused him of exposing herself back in the day? There were a lot of women. And even to the point Where James Carville, remember, they coined the James Carville and George Stepanopoulos. Now, George Stephanopoulos is supposed to be like the moral arbiter for ABC News. Paula Jones, but they called it she was the one who said that he exposed himself while he was.

[Clay Travis]

KATHLEEN Willie, I mean, I can give, by the way, here we go. Juanita Broadrick. She alleged that Clinton raped her in a hotel room in 1978 while he was Arkansas attorney general. Everybody, the highest law enforcement official in the state. And she's saying he raped her. And that was that's one thing that came up. This was detailed in a 1999 Dateline NBC interview. KATHLEEN Willie, was it Wiley or Willie? I feel like it's Willie. It was Willie. Okay.

[Buck Sexton]

Catherine yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Kathleen Willey, former White House volunteer. She accused Clinton of groping her, fondling her breasts and forcing her head to his crotch in the oval office in 1993. Independent counsel found some inconsistencies in her statement. Clinton denied the claims. That's from Wikipedia. Take that for what it's worth. Paula Jones, former Arkansas state employee that

[Buck Sexton]

went away to the Supreme Court, if I remember, Buck over whether the president had immunity to civil lawsuits during the, if I remember correctly, during the course of the presidency. And I think it was a maybe Scalia wrote the dissent saying this is likely to be used against president civil lawsuits and you should be able to postpone it till after you're in the presidency, which actually looks quite prescient now and then.

[Clay Travis]

Did you know about Leslie Milwee? I didn't know about this woman. I was I was quite young at the time. Clay, you know, was a much more seasoned elder statesman during these periods of the 90s. That Leslie Millie, a former television reporter, she accused Clinton of assaulting her multiple times back in 1980 when he was governor. So the whole slew of women named on the record detailed everything, you know, and then, of course, with Paula Jones, and that led to Monica Lewinsky, Monica Winski. That was all true, obviously, and the dress and the whole thing. But Democrats had no problem with any of it.

[Buck Sexton]

CLAY yes, correct.

[Clay Travis]

No problem with any of it, which

[Buck Sexton]

is what I was going to say. James Carville and George Stephanopoulos actually coined the phrase, if some of you remember it, to prepare for this bimbo eruptions.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

Do you remember that phrase? They tried to immediately say all of these are crazy stories, like there's no legitimacy to them. And every time one of them would bubble up, they would say, well, we got another bimbo eruption. I mean, which is, you know, that Sounds like, by the way, a good name for a fantasy football team out there. But bimbo or a band bimbo. Eruptions was George Stephanopoulos, James Carville's term for what to expect as it pertained to this. So, yes, nobody has clean hands on this. I do think the precedent being set of in any way. Hey, what do you mean nobody.

[Clay Travis]

What do you mean nobody has clean heads on this? A lot of people have clean hands on this. What are we talking?

[Buck Sexton]

No, I mean, I'm saying on the Democrat party side, nobody has. Yeah, nobody has clean hands.

[Clay Travis]

No, but like I think, I think Kavanaugh has totally clean hands, 100%.

[Buck Sexton]

I think, you know these guys. I think you and I have clean hands. I would defend, like I have said from the get go, like this shouldn't be for Democrat, Republican, independent. The idea that somebody says you did something to me and everybody just accepts that it's true and you can't do politics.

[Clay Travis]

You're thinking about this too much like a defense attorney. I think, I think some of our listeners right now, Clay, are like, aren't we just happy that this, that this jerk Platner got kicked out?

[Buck Sexton]

I wish he was still running.

[Clay Travis]

The next thing I was going to say is, I think the answer to that is it actually would have been better if he had stayed in.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I mean, he was the nominee selected. I think politically are. Yes, politically. I think Democrats are dodging the responsibility that their election created, which is they picked a bad candidate and I think he should run and I think he should be their nominee. Look, sometimes you need more energy than your body's naturally providing. We got a great life hack here. Chalk Choq for the guys out there. I love. I've talked about this buck. I'm trying to keep up with my 15 year old son. It's going to be 16 in September. He had football practice early this morning. Getting up every morning at 6am lifting all the time and he's starting to bench press quite a bit of weight. And I just said flat out, my wife said, are you really going to be competing with your 15 year old son like this? I was like, he can't be the strongest man in the house when he's not even a man. But so I'm out there, I'm lifting like crazy, trying to do everything that I can and chalk is out there. If you got a son in your house like I do, maybe you got a younger member of the family and you're saying, hey, you may be stronger than me one day, but not yet. Not yet. Chalk can help out. Get a subscription today. Use my name clay for a $99 bonus product. Lit powder. Chalk.com is the number and by the way, Female Vitality stack too. Check it out. Chalk.com, 99 bonus product. The lit Powder. You're going to love it. It'll give you more energy in your workouts, help you be stronger, also bump your Testosterone. It's awesome. Chalk.com promo code Clay that's C H O Q My name C L, A Y Looking for normal in a world of crazy? Clay and buck have your back.

[In Touch Ministries Announcer]

Life gets busy, and sometimes it feels like you're running on empty, especially spiritually. That's why intouch.org can be such a refreshing place to pause for a moment when you need a little encouragement. You can watch messages from Dr. Charles Stanley that speak right to what you might be facing. If you only have a minute, there are quick devotionals that help you refocus and reconnect with God's truth. And when you want to dig deeper, you'll find resources that meet you exactly where you are in your walk with Him. It's simple, it's uplifting, and it's available anytime you need a spiritual reset. So if you're feeling stretched thin or just want to stay grounded in your faith throughout the week, take a moment to explore everything waiting for [e-mail] it might just be the encouragement your day needs.

[BBC Podcast Host]

The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

And so on the Global Story Podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe.

[Clay Travis]

We have this ability to export our story, and a lot of people have bought it. I feel like the American Dream is alive, but not well.

[BBC Podcast Host]

From the BBC, it's the United States at 250.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or find us on YouTube.

[Fox Sports Announcer]

America is the stage for the biggest World cup ever, and FOX is your home for it all.

[Buck Sexton]

None bigger than this one.

[Fox Sports Announcer]

48 countries, 16 cities, one golden dream. The biggest stars, the biggest games. The biggest moments. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, June 11 through July 19 on Fox.

[X Games/ESPN Announcer]

The first ever X Games League championship is going down live, and New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action sports. A season's worth of competition coming down to one final weekend. Watch July 24 through 26 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, or stream on the ESPN app, X Games, YouTube, Kick Roku sports channel and Amazon. The championship starts July 24. Don't miss the moment. It becomes history.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck. We will take some calls, some talk facts and all of that good stuff. Podcast listener Tim from North Carolina. Let's start with him. F, please. You know, thinking of Platner's main reason for dropping out, that he can't fundraise and all of his funds are being pulled. I guess this is what happens when socialists run out of other people's money.

[Buck Sexton]

It is very funny, Buck. I don't even buy that he wasn't going to be able to raise funds again if he were close in September. And he would be because 47% or whatever the math is of people are going to go go vote straight Democrat, particularly in Maine, people would have started raising money for him again. And I do think it's funny that he hasn't dropped out any of the. Any of this so far. By the way, we've got one talk back. Will you play the lady who's upset at me for saying, just go buy new clothes. Let's have some fun with this? We were giving travel tips and one of the. One of you was upset. Who is that? It's in the talkbacks. I mean, it's. I think it's Talkback B or Talk Back A. One of the top of the talkback list,

[Fox Sports Announcer]

Clay.

[Clay Travis]

It must be nice to have enough money to be able to do that. Some of us who were Lutheran school teachers who chose to serve others didn't make enough money to just fly and then buy new clothes each time when you're there for the weekend or whatever.

[Buck Sexton]

Don't fly that often.

[Clay Travis]

Because of that, I usually end up having to drive.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay. I don't think people understand how cheap clothes are. It costs $50 to check a bag on many airlines now for $50, you can go to Old Navy and buy like four outfits. I went on the website yesterday. T shirts. There are $3.99. You can legitimately go to Old Navy in a decent size town and buy new outfits for cheaper than it costs for you to check a bag. One bag. I think it's $50, $75, like a hundred dollars. It's crazy what they charge to check bags now. Clothes are cheaper than you think. Just fired away. Thanks for doing your Lutheran work.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

All right.

[Buck Sexton]

When we come back. That's very happy.

[Clay Travis]

Clay's a big.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

He's.

[Clay Travis]

Clay loves the Lutheran. Big fan of the Lutherans. They're beautiful people, those Lutherans.

[Buck Sexton]

Beautiful. You want to talk Iran again? It's like Groundhog Day when we come back here on playback.

[BBC Podcast Host]

The United States is about to mark its 250th anniversary.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

And so on the Global Story podcast from the BBC, we're telling surprising tales of American influence on the world stage and in ordinary people's lives all across the globe.

[Clay Travis]

We have this ability to export our story and a lot of people I bought it. I feel like the American dream is alive, but not well.

[BBC Podcast Host]

From the BBC, it's the United States at 250.

[BBC Podcast Co-Host]

Listen wherever you get your podcasts or Find us on YouTube.

[Fox Sports Announcer]

America is the stage for the biggest World cup ever. And Fox is your home for it all.

[Buck Sexton]

None bigger than this one.

[Fox Sports Announcer]

48 countries, 16 cities, one golden dream. The biggest stars, the biggest games, the biggest moments. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, June 11 through July 19 on Fox.

[X Games/ESPN Announcer]

The first ever X Games League championship is going down live. And New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action sports. A season's worth of competition coming down to one final weekend. Watch July 24 through 26 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. Or stream on the ESPN app, X Games, YouTube, Kick Roku sports channel and Amazon. The championship starts July 24. Don't miss the moment it becomes history.

[BBC Podcast Host]

This is Bethenny Frankel from Just Be Dating with Bethenny Frankel. Okay ladies, I know you've all heard of GLP1 drugs and everyone seems to be doing them. They are all the rage quite honestly, but they're not quite the all natural solution we might hope for and there's a lot of mixed results out there. If you're looking for an all natural way to slim down, get energized and sharpen your focus, then you need to hear more about metabolism. Ignite by Veracity Loving a GLP alternative for people. Veracity is revolutionizing health by tackling the root cause of weight gain. Without the needles, it is not a GLP1 product. Visit VeracityHealth Co and use the code iHeart for up to 65% off your order order today. This plant based product results in an 85% reduction in hunger, helps with blood pressure regulation and overall gut health, and is clinically proven to help you lose on average £9 in 90 days. That website for up to 65% off your order is VeracityHealth Co promo code iheartra.