Hour 1 - Special Election Results

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show: Hour 1 - Special Election Results (April 2, 2025)

Hosted by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" delves into the latest developments in news, politics, and current events with a blend of intelligence and humor. In the April 2, 2025 episode titled "Special Election Results," Clay and Buck dissect the outcomes of recent special elections, analyze the shifting dynamics within the Republican and Democratic parties, and explore broader political implications shaping the American landscape.

---

1. Introduction and Election Overview

The episode kicks off with Clay Travis extending warm greetings to listeners, particularly addressing fellow Floridians. Highlighting his personal ties to Florida, including property ownership on the Gulf of America, Clay sets the stage for an in-depth discussion on the recent special election outcomes.

---

2. Analysis of Special Election Results

a. Florida's Triumphs

Clay and Buck express optimism over the Republican victories in Florida’s 1st and 6th congressional districts. Both districts, known as strongholds, saw significant wins:

• 1st District: Randy Fine secured a solid margin, reinforcing Republican dominance.
• 6th District: Jimmy Petronas also emerged victorious, albeit with a narrower margin than anticipated.

Buck projects confidence in Petronas's future, stating, "Petronas is a strong candidate and he is. He's going to win. We're projecting a win for him." (02:31), emphasizing that despite a less overwhelming margin, the Republican turnout remained commendable.

b. Wisconsin's Mixed Outcomes

Contrasting the successes in Florida, the results from Wisconsin presented a more complex picture:

• The Republican Party did not clinch the open state Supreme Court seat.
• However, a significant ballot initiative on voter ID was approved, indicating a potential shift in voter sentiment.
• Buck notes, "We did not win the open Supreme Court, state supreme Court seat there, but there was a ballot initiative on id, voter id, and that did get approved. So, you know, it's, it's mixed." (03:19)

This mixed outcome signals challenges ahead for Republicans in Wisconsin, potentially leading to the loss of two congressional seats.

---

3. Republican Strategies and Future Outlook

a. Trump's Influence and "Liberation Day"

Following the election results, Trump is actively engaging his base on Truth Social, launching initiatives like "Liberation Day." Clay remarks on its unexpected traction, pondering whether it could become a federal holiday: "This is, is this going to be Trump's first new federal holiday that he tries to declare if this goes as well as he's hoping." (01:30)

b. Fiscal Policies and Economic Impact

The discussion shifts to recent budget cuts affecting key health institutions like HHS, NIH, and CDC. Buck posits that certain budgetary decisions influenced inflation rates, asserting, "I don’t think we would have gotten above 4 or 5% inflation. I really mean this." (05:07) He credits the special elections in Georgia for preventing more aggressive spending that could have exacerbated inflation under Biden's administration.

---

4. Democratic Party Challenges

a. Declining Approval Ratings

The episode highlights alarming polls from Quinnipiac University showing a steep decline in Democratic approval:

• Overall disapproval of Democrats in Congress stands at 68%, with approval only at 21%—the lowest on record.
• Among Democratic voters, 49% disapprove of their party in Congress, while only 40% approve. Buck emphatically states, "Horrible, horrible, horrible." (23:02)

b. Internal Infighting and Leadership Issues

Clay and Buck delve into the internal strife plaguing the Democratic Party:

• Leadership Vacuum: High-profile figures like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are criticized for lacking a cohesive vision to counter Republican strategies. Buck notes, "Neither one of them have any particular vision to be able to not only tell Democrats where they should go, but really point out where Trump is wrong." (32:11)
• Obama's Alleged Meddling: Referencing a column by Maureen Dowd, Clay discusses reports that Barack Obama worked behind the scenes to undermine Kamala Harris's candidacy. Clay questions, "Do you buy this? Do you think Obama's meddling might have actually helped Trump substantially?" (26:04)
• Shift in Policy Focus: With abortion no longer a unifying issue post-Roe v. Wade overturn, Democrats are pivoting towards class warfare and healthcare, though Buck remains skeptical about the effectiveness of such strategies. "They’re going to try to run the abortion playbook again in '26. And I think it’s going to fail," (35:49)

c. Future Leadership Prospects

The conversation touches upon potential leaders within the party:

• Gavin Newsom: Despite vulnerabilities, Newsom is seen as a sophisticated speaker who might navigate the party out of its current turmoil.
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC): While influential, there are concerns about her depth and long-term viability as a leader.

Buck forecasts, "I think Gavin Newsom is a real liar. Gavin Newsom recognizes that the Democrat Party is lost in the wilderness in a way that many others are not willing to admit. And he's trying to lead them out of the wilderness," (32:24)

---

5. Polling Insights

Buck underscores the significance of voter turnout in special elections, noting that Democrats tend to have a more committed base that turns out reliably. "If you live in a left-wing state, abortion is very prominent and easy to get. If you live in a right-wing state, it's more difficult, but you can still travel to other states." (35:41)

These dynamics highlight the partisan divide and the challenges Republicans face in mobilizing their voters outside of major election cycles.

---

6. Media and Tech Developments

a. TikTok Acquisition Battle

A notable segment covers the competitive race to acquire TikTok:

• Oracle vs. Amazon: Originally anticipated that Oracle would lead the acquisition of TikTok's American operations, Amazon entered the fray, raising questions about potential outcomes.
• Buck speculates, "This could get kind of interesting, I would say." (17:19)

b. AI Promotions by Oracle

Clay and Buck also touch upon Oracle's promotion of AI capabilities:

• Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is touted as a cost-effective solution for AI workloads, offering significant savings compared to other cloud providers.
• Clay mentions a special offer from Oracle to cut cloud bills by half, highlighting its appeal to businesses looking to leverage AI without exorbitant costs.

---

7. Personal Anecdotes and Humor

Throughout the episode, Clay and Buck intersperse personal stories and humorous exchanges to maintain an engaging tone:

• Gym Experiences: They share amusing observations about gym attire and workout environments, adding a relatable dimension to the discussion.
• Fatherhood and Fitness: Clay discusses preparing for fatherhood and his fitness journey, while Buck humorously responds to listener emails about personal preferences and congratulations on upcoming parenthood.

---

8. Conclusion and Future Outlook

As the episode draws to a close, Clay and Buck reflect on the implications of the special election results:

• Republican Momentum: While not flawless, the GOP's performance in Florida serves as a positive indicator for future elections.
• Democratic Decline: The party faces significant challenges, both in terms of internal cohesion and public approval, necessitating strategic overhauls.

Buck optimistically anticipates potential Republican gains in the Senate and underscores the importance of strategic campaigning moving forward. Meanwhile, the Democrats grapple with redefining their core messages and leadership to reclaim voter trust.

This episode of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" offers a comprehensive analysis of the current political climate, shedding light on the strategic maneuvers, challenges, and future trajectories of both major parties in the United States.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton on Petronas’s Win: "Petronas is a strong candidate and he is. He's going to win. We're projecting a win for him." (02:31)
• Clay Travis on Special Elections: "Overall, I think it was a good day yesterday for Republicans. Not, not a perfect day." (05:07)
• Buck Sexton on Democratic Voter Base: "The 25% of the Democrat party diehards are going to vote no matter what." (04:50)
• Nate Silver on Democratic Approval: "Among all voters disapprove 68%. And look at the approved number, just 21%, even lower than the Democratic Party at large." (23:02)
• Buck Sexton on Party Messages: "Neither one of them have any particular vision to be able to not only tell Democrats where they should go, but really point out where Trump is wrong." (32:11)

Note: Timestamps correspond to the transcript provided.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

Ch Ch. Chumba looking for excitement? Chumba Casino is here.

[Buck Sexton]

Play anytime. Play anywhere.

[Clay Travis]

Play on the train. Play at the store. Play at home. Play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win and get daily bonuses when you log in.

[Jake Tapper]

So what are you waiting for?

[Clay Travis]

Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play.

[Buck Sexton]

Experience social gameplay like never before.

[Kamala Harris]

Go to Chumba Casino right now to.

[Buck Sexton]

Play hundreds of games, including online slots, bingo, Slingo and more.

[Kamala Harris]

Live the chumba [e-mail] no purchase necessary.

[Clay Travis]

Vgw group void where prohibited by law.

[Buck Sexton]

21 plus terms and conditions.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome everybody, to the Wednesday edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show. And there's a lot going on. Victory in Florida. Just want to take a moment here with my fellow Floridians listening. And Clay is like a half Floridian. I know that Tennessee doesn't want to give up one of their favorite sons, but Clay does have property on the Gulf of America.

[Buck Sexton]

It's true.

[Clay Travis]

And spends a fair amount of time in Florida. Big wins in, in the state of Florida, the first and six congressional districts. We thought that was going to happen. You know, Randy Fine came through. Jimmy Petronas came through. All good there. Not as awesome up in Wisconsin. Maybe a bit of a Wisconsin wake up call, but something of a, of a mixed bag. We did not win the open Supreme Court, state supreme Court seat there, but there was a ballot initiative on id, voter id, and that did get approved. So, you know, it's, it's mixed. It wasn't what we wanted. Certainly now we're going to probably drop two congressional seats from the Republican column in Wisconsin, but we'll get more into that. Trump sharing out on truth social. It's Liberation Day in America. He's really going all in on this. I mean, this is, is this going to be Trump's first new federal holiday that he tries to declare if this goes as well as he's hoping. Liberation Day is something that I had not expected to get as much attention from. And we also got cuts at hhs, nih, cdc, which we should certainly discuss, and then some other stories that are going to get into the mix here. But Clay, I would, I would start with what is your feeling about the elections that occurred yesterday? I mean, they're, they're doing here. Here's Jake Tapper. I said this would happen. They're saying, okay, well, he's winning big, but it's not as big a win. This is over at CNN Play Cut 2.

[Buck Sexton]

Petronas is a Strong candidate and he is. He's going to win. We're projecting a win for him. But Dana, it's not a 35 point win that it should be in ruby red panhandle Florida.

[Clay Travis]

You're exactly right. And it is the whole question of the margins, Jake. That is what Democrats have been looking at all night. Clay. I mean this is look, they're looking for silver linings for their audience there now they're trying to. Which Wisconsin is clearly get. Oh man. Over at msnbc, Wisconsin is the story of the day. No question. But everyone knew that Petronas was going to win. He won by a whole bunch. Randy. Fine one by a solid margin. I think Republicans showed up. It's an off election cycle. It's tough to get people that excited in a super red district to come out in huge numbers.

[Buck Sexton]

Look, Democrats outperform Republicans in special elections across the board. And this is why I think Republicans need to look at the data. I think frankly this is why they pulled Stefanik. I think that's why they pulled her UN ambassadorship, because they knew that in her district in New York based on the numbers in Florida, that people were just not going to show up on the same level. And it doesn't really surprise me. I think what it means is the 25% of the Democrat party diehards are going to vote no matter what. And that happens basically nationwide. And there are a lot more casual, I would say busy Republican voters that show up for the big events but don't show up for the primary season. And I think that that is well understood at this point. To me, winning by 15 points in the Florida six, when you're outspent five six to one, winning in Florida one by 15 or 16 points even though you're outspent there to me is a, is a pretty solid sign. But I think we need to avoid special elections. Sometimes you can't help it but buck the kick in the teeth. In 2020. The thing, the reason I think we got to 9% inflation was not because Biden got elected president. It's because Georgia in double special elections gave Joe Biden the Senate majority.

[Clay Travis]

We lost three should win Republican Senate seats in Georgia, three in one state over the course of a couple of election cycles. So yeah, that was a disaster and one that cost the country, truly cost the country trillions of dollars.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't think we would have gotten above 4 or 5% inflation. I really mean this. If Georgia had had one of those two races go to the Republican Party because there was enough opposition to Biden's agenda that there would have had to be some moderation. And let me just say this too. If Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema, but Joe Manchin in particular hadn't put the stop gap on it. Remember, Biden wanted to spend $5 trillion. I'm not saying Manchin was perfect. I think he got it wrong with the build back better bill. I think, uh, the Inflation Adjustment Reduction act that actually increased inflation was a bad decision. But Biden would have blown inflation into the 15 or 16% category if he had been allowed to spend like he wanted to spend. But he never would have been allowed to do that if we had won the special elections in Georgia.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. So it's. Overall, Overall, I think it was a, it was a good day yesterday for Republicans. Not, not a perfect day. And I do have to remind everybody the numbers for the Democrats continue to go down. And the Democrats, Clay and I were talking about this. We actually just. Kerry was with us. We did a gym workout, south beach, you know, working on our pecs, our delts.

[Buck Sexton]

This is the. I've never seen so many people in a gym. This was not us wearing less clothes to work out. I've never been in a gym. It was like we were at a. It was like a swim party. The girls were basically just working out in their bikinis. I've never seen anything.

[Clay Travis]

It's like, it's like a lingerie show in the gym every day. Yes, it is. This is. I've never. I, I grew up in New York City. I went to the gym there. I've never seen anything like it in my life. And here it's, it's quite a show.

[Buck Sexton]

I was not in my lingerie, in case anybody wonders.

[Jake Tapper]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, even the guys aren't wearing very much. A lot of very skimpy tank tops on the guys showing.

[Buck Sexton]

Your brother. Your brother walked by and I was.

[Clay Travis]

Like, he's a tank top guy.

[Buck Sexton]

Top workout. I got a full T shirt on. I felt like I was dressed like I was in a burqa.

[Clay Travis]

But, you know, we were, we were walking here, walking back and just talking about what we're going to get into on the show and how. I'm a little surprised. Are you a little surprised, too? I'm a little surprised that the, the tacking toward the center. It's not just that they're, they're slow to do it or I think they're unwilling to do it. I think the Democrats are done. And I don't mean on everything, obviously. Look Kamala got a lot of votes and she was a horrible candidate. We didn't win by that much. In some ways, Wisconsin might be a good wake up call for everybody that we're talking about fine margins. Yes, Trump won. Ran the table and won the election, and it was awesome and fantastic. But he's not going to. Well, we don't think he's going to be the guy running the next time around. And the parties are neck and neck still with as crazy as Democrats are. So are you surprised about the lack of. I mean, moderation, lack of sanity?

[Buck Sexton]

Yes. Because right after the election we said, you have two options when you get your ass kicked. One is you can say, oh, you know, and I think it works for sports, too. You can say, hey, we had an awful game plan. We got to go back and figure out a way to win. What Democrats have gone with is not. We had an awful game plan. They've gone with. Our message wasn't heard well enough by the American voter, and I think that's completely wrong. They spent a billion and a half dollars on Kamala Harris in roughly 90 days. And everybody knew Kamala Harris's message. It was just an awful message.

[Clay Travis]

Can I offer some additional context on this? Given the astonishing lie that the Democrats were all in on that Joe Biden was fine, that there weren't even more defections to the Republican Party, I think goes to the strength of the hive mind and the collectivists. Keep in mind, everybody, if you were a Democrat who voted for Biden in 2020 and you were a reasonable, rational person this time around, not only should you be appalled at his performance, they should have been appalled at the fact that it was hidden by the. And all the books are coming out.

[Buck Sexton]

Now, which we told you they would.

[Clay Travis]

Of course.

[Buck Sexton]

We told you the truth would be told as soon as the election was over. And now everybody, including Jake Tapper, who claimed that it was hilarious, got a book about how decrepit Biden was. But, yeah, look, I think what you have to take in is there is a committed cadre of 25% of Americans who truly believe that Trump is Hitler and they are going to show up for every special election with the idea being that they believe they have to save the country.

[Clay Travis]

This is like the Democrat Bolsheviks.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, these are people. Very interesting little historical note. Back in the early days of the Soviet. What was the Russian and Soviet revolution, there were the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. The Bolsheviks. Their name is supposed to be majoritarian. They never had popular support, even among the collectivists. They called themselves that to fool people. The hard left in this country does not have popular support, but they have been able to infiltrate and control institutions to include the DNC and the Democrat Party in recent election cycles. So their ideas don't actually have to be. Their ideas weren't popular during COVID when they were freaking everybody out and shutting everything down, but they did it anyway in a lot of places that didn't want it to happen.

[Buck Sexton]

There's good. I thought your analogy yesterday is going to also, I said by 2027 they're going to be talking about how unique of a candidate Trump is and that he doesn't have coattails. And it's not Trump. Sorry, it's not the Republican Party's great message. It's just Trump is a uniquely talented candidate. Obama was the same way in that there. I would argue Trump has better coattails than Obama does. But they're going to try to argue, hey, look, Trump, we're going to, we're going to crush you guys in 2026. I don't think they can take back the Senate. In fact, I think Republicans just looking at the map actually have a really good chance to add one or two seats. I think that's very reasonable. But if they take back the House, they're going to argue after 2026, hey, we're winning 2028. Trump is a uniquely talented candidate. They're going to go from he's Hitler to actually, you know what, he's an incredible candidate. And they're going to argue that J.D. vance or whomever the candidate is, does not have the same cachet and appeal and won't turn out those non traditional voters. And it is true in 2020 and 2024, there were a lot of people who showed up at the polls that I think Democrats thought were not going to show up at the polls.

[Clay Travis]

Well, I do believe with Trump maga, it is a movement and because his VP does represent the next generation, JD Vance of leadership and is not. Remember, Democrats did something very weird. They had Hillary beaten by Obama, Obama for eight years and then they tried to kind of trot out Hillary as the, you know, the plan B, the second option here. Oh, but she should be the president. Now. There was, I know she was Obama's secretary of State, which didn't go so well. Go check out what happened in Benghazi, among other things. But there was no, oh, she's being, you know, prepared. Yeah, she's the success. There was no sense that she was Obama's successor within Obama ism, if you will. It wasn't like he was, she was, oh, I'm a part of the Obama movement. She's like, I'm a famous politician because my husband was a famous politician and now it's my turn. And it didn't play very well. I think with JD and also with a number of people who are just going to be powerful going forward in the Republican Party who are of the younger generation. The narrative arc is they were there with Trump and they, you know, honed their skills. You know, his tutelage is what will allow them to take going forward. So I think there's a little bit of a better shot there.

[Buck Sexton]

No doubt. We just got the gym. Buck has gotten back in shape. One way he's gotten back in shape is by using chalk. Our buddy Seaton down in Texas built a great American company All Natural gives you energy to be able to put a lot of vitality into your workout. In fact, they have the male vitality stack formulated to give you more energy and it can increase your testosterone levels by as much as 20% in just three months time.

[Clay Travis]

I was impressed by Clay's cold plunge abilities.

[Nate Silver]

Today.

[Clay Travis]

I'm just going to tell you, Clay hops into that cold plunge like a champ. His name could be Sven Olafsson or something.

[Buck Sexton]

I want to get a cold plunge. In fact, Laura, my wife, obviously thought it was crazy. We're, we're building a new house. And she was like, what do you want? I was like, I want a cold plunge. We did this cold plunge thing at the, at the gym. We did it out in Colorado at the, at the Strawberry Springs. It's awesome.

[Clay Travis]

There are those cold shock proteins, my friends. It's all about the chemistry. Which brings us back to chalk, which is you need to have the right stuff internally for energy, drive, focus and building the future and physique that you want. That's where chalk comes in.

[Buck Sexton]

No doubt. Check it out right now. Choq.com you can get a 20% increase in your body's natural testosterone. Use my name Clay. Massive discount on any subscription for life. You can cancel at any time. No penalties, no worries at all. That is chalk.com my name Clay. Massive discount on any subscription for life. That's chalk.com C-H O Q.com My name C L-A Y Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton. Mic drops. That never sounded so good. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Maria Konnikova]

AI is rewriting the business playbook with productivity boosts. And faster decision making coming to every industry. If you're not thinking about AI, you can bet your competition is. This is not where you want to drop the ball, but AI requires a lot of compute power and with most cloud platforms, the cost for your AI workloads can spiral. That is, unless you're running on OCI Oracle Cloud Infrastructure this was the cloud built for AI, a blazing, fast, enterprise grade platform for your infrastructure, database, apps and all your AI workloads. OCI costs 50% less than other major hyperscalers for compute, 70% less for storage, and 80% less for networking. Thousands of businesses have already scored with oci, including Vodafone, Thomson Reuters and Suno AI. Now the ball's in your court.

[Clay Travis]

Right now, Oracle can cut your current cloud bill in half if you move to OCI. Minimum financial commitment and other terms apply. Offer ends March 31st. See if your company qualifies for this Special [e-mail] Clay and Buck that's oracle.com Clay and Buck hello, it is Ryan.

[Charlemagne]

And we could all use an extra bright spot in our day, couldn't we? Just to make up for things like sitting in traffic, doing the dishes, counting your steps. You know, all the mundane stuff. That is why I'm such a big fan of Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has all your favorite social casino style games that you can play for free, anytime, anywhere with daily bonuses. So sign up [e-mail] that's chumbacasino.com no.

[Clay Travis]

Purchase necessary vgw group void where prohibited.

[Buck Sexton]

By law 21 + terms and conditions apply.

[Jake Tapper]

I'm Nate Silver.

[Kamala Harris]

And I'm Maria Konnikova. We're both journalists and professional poker players. And on our podcast Risky Business, we talk about taking risks in everything from poker to politics.

[Jake Tapper]

And we talk about betting from betting on elections to betting on your favorite basketball team. We've learned a lot about taking risks through our own research and sometimes even our own bets. And we share what we've learned with you.

[Kamala Harris]

Are you still doing sports betting? I had no idea that you'd wagered over a million dollars for your research.

[Jake Tapper]

Research I bet almost the entirety of the 2022, 23 NBA season, all the regular season and about half the playoffs. And I learned that, I mean, it's probably what I should have expected, but I learned that it's pretty hard. I went on a huge heater at the start of the NBA season where it was up like 70,000 bucks. I'm like, man, I'm really good at the sports betting stuff. But then, but then things change now.

[Kamala Harris]

That March madness is upon us. We're talking bracket strategies and a whole lot more. Join us and listen to Risky business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. Bit of news that has just popped. TikTok, Buck, your favorite TikTok dance app.

[Clay Travis]

Probably my favorite app.

[Buck Sexton]

I'd still like to see the after the iHeart app.

[Clay Travis]

Excuse me, the iHeart app number one. But I like the TikTok.

[Buck Sexton]

I would still like to see the hidden burned potentially never to found again. Buck learning TikTok dances by himself and.

[Clay Travis]

His Covid buried with all the vaccine data from COVID too. They're never going to be seen, never by the light of day.

[Buck Sexton]

This is just breaking news. New York Times reports we've been talking a lot about what the future of TikTok was going to be. Trump gave them a reprieve from what was supposed to be the shutdown soon after his election. Amazon, Amazon. Jeff Bezos is Amazon just living down the street. Bezos with his multi hundred million dollar mansion.

[Clay Travis]

He does have more than one house from what I understand. But yes he does.

[Buck Sexton]

Florida is home now.

[Clay Travis]

I believe it is home base.

[Buck Sexton]

And I think he grew up in Miami, right? Did he grow up. I think Bezos grew up in Miami and has returned to his homeland. But Amazon has made a last minute bid to acquire TikTok ahead of the upcoming April deadline. Now the talk had been that Oracle, which is obviously a high tech company, that is Larry Ellison's province. If I remember and remember Larry Ellison's son, this is all gets very incestuous, is trying right now to buy Paramount, the CBS company and all of those assets. David Ellison and then now TikTok was the expectation that Oracle was going to buy the. This is the American assets. And now Amazon, which is a what, $2 trillion company, suddenly parachutes in. This could get kind of interesting, I would say.

[Clay Travis]

I think there's been tremendous upside from whatever day trading you're doing. You know, more than the CNBC anchors or whatever that I watch about this stuff. Like you could be, I mean you do this show, you a sports show. I actually do one of those shows with like the stock ticker at the bottom.

[Buck Sexton]

I love, I love media companies, businesses, everything else. I feel like I kind of know them. Um, and this is going to be super interesting to see exactly how all of this is going to play out because Bezos has cozied up to Trump in a pretty significant way. In fact, Trump told me when I was on Air Force One with him that he really liked Bezos, that he was a good guy. Is the play all along from Bezos? Hey, we're going to swoop in at the last minute, try to get TikTok. Does he see something that Oracle's doing? How does all of this play out? You love TikTok. I mean, if you. My boys love YouTube and TikTok, that's where they spend their time. My kids.

[Clay Travis]

You know, I was just. I was out with a friend. Carrie and I were out with a couple that are good friends of ours and they had their. Their 10 year old. And I told Clay this, and for a moment there, we're sitting, we're watching the Miami Open tennis, you know, because I love tennis, as you know, and we're watching it and the 10 year old sitting next to me on one side carries the other. And I look at him and I go, you know, hey, you know, I ask, have you seen the movies that I. When I was 10 years old, I could recite every line from Back to the Future, right? I mean, there are just some of these. He hasn't seen any of them. And then I was like, well, what do you, what TV shows do you like? And I grew up, I was watching, obviously, Thundercats. Right? Thundercats. Amazing Thundercats. Ho. And. And Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all the stuff.

[Buck Sexton]

G.I. joe.

[Clay Travis]

G.I. joe, G.I. joe. Back when, you know, patriotism and kicking ass were considered fine for Americans. Clay, he hasn't seen any of them. And there's no shows that he watches. You know what he watches? YouTube. And Mr. Beast, I told, I was just like, what?

[Buck Sexton]

I told you. I played in that charity poker tournament with Ted Cruz. Mr. Beast was there. My kids were more impressed that I met Mr. Beast than anybody that I've ever met. Sports, politics, they met. They met the President. They were more impressed that I knew Mr. Beast.

[Clay Travis]

Even bearded Ted Cruz. Even bearded, bearded Ted Cruz. Wow, that's like the best version. Nearly 18 months after Hamas terrorized Israelis, the need for security essentials and support for first responders is still critical. The country continually prepares their defense with the resources they need, as they should. But first responders and private citizens need to be fully supported as well. That's where our partners at the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews have come through. Thanks to your generosity, IFCJ has continued to support the people of Israel, providing bomb shelters, security, armored security vehicles and ambulances, along with firefighting equipment, flak jackets, life saving material as Israel continues to stare down threats in the region and terrorists that seek its destruction. We stand with the people of Israel today. We ask you to do the same. Please go to supportifcj.org to make a donation. That's supportifcj.org or call 888-488-IFCJ. All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. Let's enjoy the slow motion collapse and infighting of the Democrat Party for a second, shall we? This is, this is like the, the dessert section of this hour. This is where we just get to have a little bit of fun. I told you already, Wisconsin didn't win that Supreme Court, state supreme Court seat. A little disappointing, but we knew it was going to be very tough off cycle. Democrats get their crazies out in the off cycle. We got to work more on this. Okay. We did win those Republican congressional seats in Florida, though. So that was the most. Well, maybe we'll say, we'll say it's even. Okay. It's like two congressional seats in Wisconsin we probably lost, but we kept two in, in, in the Florida. Maybe Wisconsin was a little more important. Whatever. Let's talk about Democrats and how they hate each other. Well, first off, they're upset. The newest, the newest rating for Democrats in Congress. Specifically, here's CNN's version. Here's CNN's bootleg Ryan Kardusky, Harry Enten, who is telling everybody, listen to what the congressional rating is for Democrats. Now play three Holy Toledo voters views.

[Nate Silver]

Of the Democrats in Congress. Among all voters disapprove 68%. And look at the approved number, just 21%, even lower than the Democratic Party at large. This is the lowest on record for Democrats according to Quinnipiac University polling. You think these numbers are bad? Let's go to this side of the screen. We'll look how Democratic voters feel.

[Clay Travis]

Get this.

[Nate Silver]

The plurality of Democratic voters disapprove of Democrats in Congress at 49% and just 40% approve.

[Buck Sexton]

Horrible, horrible, horrible.

[Nate Silver]

My goodness gracious. You just can't get worse than these numbers.

[Clay Travis]

Democrats are about as popular as stubbing your toe. So the nail comes off. It's pretty rough right now.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. Look. And they're going to try to take momentum from the special elections. As we started off this show talking about the fact that Trump won those districts, the first and the sixth fixed by 35ish points in the 2024 election. But what you really have to dive into is turnout. And turnout was and is on these special elections a fraction of how many people show up for presidential elections and how many people show up for midterms, to be frank. And the real challenge here is Democrats can be wildly unpopular. And that's what happens when you take a lot of positions that are in fact wildly unpopular. But the problem for the House is There's only around 25 seats that are actually swingable at this point. Both parties have done such a job gerrymandering the states that they control that there aren't very many toss up seats. So I think the likelihood of either party being able to win more than four or five in any direction is actually highly, highly unlikely. And again, I, I said I think Democrats are going to lose Senate seats.

[Clay Travis]

I think, wasn't it Maureen Dowd just put out a column that the Democrat party is in a coma? I think that was the title, which is feels pretty apt that we've been saying something very similar here because it is and they know it and they're trying to figure out what to do because like any party that is overtaken by radicals, moderation isn't really possible for them right now because moderation would mean expelling the 20% ideologically who have been calling the shots and making demands. This is like the trans stuff. This is like the open borders, we are one world, let all the illegals in stuff. I mean really unpopular nationally policies. 20% of Democrats aren't just for it. They are all in on it and would feel betrayed unless you continue to push for that. So that's one thing I think is really interesting. There's also the infighting that's going on with who's going to be in charge of the Democrat Party going forward. I just saw this, Clay. I thought this was really interesting. NBC political reporter Jonathan Allen here claiming that Obama worked behind the scenes to derail Kamala. Yeah, in 2024. Listen to this.

[Maureen Dowd]

President Obama absolutely did not think that Joe Biden should continue according to our sources close to President Obama. And he also didn't want Kamala Harris to be the replacement for Bide. You didn't think that she was the best choice for Democrats. And he worked really behind the scenes for a long time to try to have a mini primary or an open convention or mini primary leading to an open convention. Did not have faith in her ability to win the election. So. And as it turned out, she didn't win, but he was really working against her.

[Clay Travis]

Two things, Clay. One, do you buy this? Two, do you think Obama's meddling might have actually helped Trump substantially because of the behind the scenes shenanigans to undermine Kamala when she was supposed to ascend.

[Buck Sexton]

So I have thought for a long time that basically Barack Obama ghost wrote George Clooney's op ed in the New York Times. And I think the New York Times editorial board knows it too. Because just think about this. Why would they really feature George Clooney and his political opinion as some incredibly important statement? George Clooney's never been a politician. He's never been, to my knowledge, a particularly perceptive figure in Democrat politics. Trump.

[Clay Travis]

And I agree, he's not even a very good actor. Trump and I aligned on this one big time.

[Buck Sexton]

You had Trump don't even think he's a movie star in any way. I think all. I think that George Clooney's op ed was 100% ghostwritten by Barack Obama.

[Clay Travis]

But. But here's the thing. Obama is not. This. This actually lines up for me in so many ways. Obama is not a tactician of politics beyond pushing himself and, you know, thinking that he's God, basically. He. He is not a political strategist of any whatsoever. Based on what the Democrat Party, I think, descended into under his tenure for eight years, remember, led to Trump. Trump. He made fun of Trump at that dinner. And Trump then became president. Like you think about the Obama story arc, he was good at getting himself elected. He was not good at leading a party. Remember, people say, oh, well, Obamacare. There were a few things that happened. Obama came in after a recession that was actually decades in the making. It's a whole other story. We don't have time to get into it now, but didn't get anything done on immigration, didn't get anything done on climate change, which are the two other primary issues that he wanted to work on. But also, what was his plan bringing this into this conversation about Kamala, Derailing Kamala.

[Buck Sexton]

Who was the better option he wanted. That's the thing on the George Clooney op ed. He wanted a mini primary.

[Clay Travis]

But. But think about who would have been in that. It would have been Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom. Like, think about.

[Buck Sexton]

Do you know who was mentioned that you've said could rise up as the 2028 candidate?

[Clay Travis]

Westmore.

[Buck Sexton]

Westmore, Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

I keep George.

[Buck Sexton]

George Clooney specifically mentioned him there, I think so. I think you're right about the crazy town perspectives that so many Democrats have adopted if they have a history. And remember, in particular, Kamala got raked over the coals, as she should have, for saying, I support transgender surgeries for illegal immigrants. That's why I think that they're. The Democrats are going to have to find someone like Trump who is a non traditional candidate that doesn't have crazy town opinions that are public. Remember, that can recalibrate and redefine the entire party. The first time that I took note of Trump as a candidate was when he said the Iraq war was a disaster. Basically, I'm paraphrasing him. Nobody else at that point in time was willing to criticize the decision to go to the Iraq war because so many Republican politicians supported it. Trump wasn't a Republican politician at the time.

[Clay Travis]

It wasn't even just Republicans. It was Democrats too, which was including Hillary Clinton. I was going to say a big part of why Hillary was able to. Oh, sorry. Obama was able to outflank Hillary was. Obama was like, look, you voted for that disaster.

[Buck Sexton]

That's right.

[Clay Travis]

And Hillary was, you know, Hillary. So she wasn't exactly great at ingratiating herself.

[Buck Sexton]

The party has to be blown up, I think in the Democrats.

[Clay Travis]

Well, this is on the Breakfast Club. Very, very popular show on the mornings on iHeart. Charlemagne spoke about how he thinks. And this is a guy with a big audience. A lot of Democrats listen to him. The Democrat, you know, top candidates and Kamala and everybody, you know, they go on this show and Mr. The God was saying that everybody needs to be primaried and thrown out of office in the Democrat leadership. Now play four.

[Hakeem Jeffries]

Who's supposed to be the leaders? Well, in Congress, you've got two people. The first one is this guy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

[Nate Silver]

In America, we don't have a king.

[Clay Travis]

We don't have a monarch, we don't have a dictator.

[Hakeem Jeffries]

Yeah, I'm not feeling too inspired by business casual Morpheus. Okay. And Payless, Obama's counterpart in the Senate, he's somehow even less inspiring.

[Clay Travis]

It's going to affect beer, most of it.

[Nate Silver]

Corona here comes from Mexico. It's going to affect your guac because what is guacamole made of, avocados?

[Hakeem Jeffries]

Truma is not the man with a plan to fight Trump. He ain't the man with a plan for a good Cinco de Mayo. It's not my job to say that any particular candidates need to be primaried and thrown out of office. But Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schuman need to be primaried and thrown out of office.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, I think he's right insofar as the party needs a total shakeup. I agree with his assessment. This is what, you know, that there's some. You know that there's a lot of truth being thrown around when people who have been fighters on the right for a long time are saying the same things about the Democrat Party that honest Democrats are saying about the Democrat Party, which is what's going on right now. They need new leadership. Chuck Schumer is not going anywhere, though, because of the purse strings. He's a huge fundraising operation. Hakeem Jeffries, I don't think he's actually going to stay in Democrat leadership for very long, but I keep they there. So much of the Democrat hopes and dreams rest on AOC's shoulders right now.

[Buck Sexton]

I think that he's right about Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer. Neither one of them have any particular vision to be able to not only tell Democrats where they should go, but really point out where Trump is wrong.

[Clay Travis]

Schumer is there. Mitch McConnell, he's just a fundraising purse strings institution in the Senate.

[Buck Sexton]

I think he'll be gone in 2028 when his. I think he'll say, hey, I'm not going to run again. We'll have a new leadership. I think he's going to be in real trouble if I'm right and they lose seats in 2026 because then it's hard to make up as many seats as they would need to make up to take back control of the Senate. He wouldn't have any possibility of getting to the majority. But this is where I think Gavin Newsom, as much as I think he is an unabashed liar, even by political politician standards, Gavin Newsom is a real liar. Gavin Newsom, I think, recognizes that the Democrat Party is lost in the wilderness in a way that many others are not willing to admit. And he's trying to lead them out of the wilderness, including this ridiculous perspective where he's finally decided to take on the idea that men should be able to compete in women's sports. He called it completely unfair. Now, he's previously said the exact opposite of that and I think it leaves him vulnerable. But Democrats don't care. They will nominate him. I think the question is, if he were the nominee, would he be able to be defined in a way like Kamala was? I think he's a more sophisticated, better speaker than Kamala, is, better than Schumer, better than Hakeem Jeffries. I think you're right about aoc, and I think that she would, unfortunately for her, get exposed because I don't know that she's got a lot of depth. But I think she does understand narrative Cycle.

[Clay Travis]

I also believe that there is a frustration again, the Democrats who know how to win elections in different districts and states who, you know, the Democrat consultants who get paid the big bucks to swindle just enough of the voters that the, the Democrat who's from Wisconsin or Michigan or Pennsylvania is like, I'm a, I'm a maverick Democrat. Right. Like that stuff. They can't rely on the abortion issue the way that they were planning on it. I remember there were people who were saying, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Republicans will never win another election. Yes, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, Republicans are going to get beat. And now I knew that wasn't true. And that first election, that first midterm afterwards, you know, there was the sort of the, some of the Jan.6 hangover stuff with the insurrection. And then there was in the states, I think they were, they're able to basically just lie to people and say abortion is going to be illegal in, you know, New Mexico or, you know, abortion is going to be illegal in New York or it's like never going to happen. They're not going to change anything. And so that issue is off the table for them as a major nationwide mobilization because anybody who's up for grabs gonna say, look, I know what the deal is in my state. I know what the law is in my state. And that's, that's where it is. Like, they're not. So what really are the Democrats gonna run on? I'm telling you, they're gonna pivot big time to class warfare stuff and healthcare. And I think that's really interesting because how does their pivot to healthcare in advance of the midterms play in with the whole conversation that's going to be happening around Luigi Mangione, the healthcare assassin? Allegedly. Right.

[Buck Sexton]

It's a very good.

[Clay Travis]

Because they're going to try to be like, oh, we're the ones that care about people and everything else. And there's going to be lunatic left wing Democrats who are out there saying, we love Luigi as they have been.

[Buck Sexton]

I think they're going to try to run the abortion playbook again in 26. And I think it's going to fail. This is my thought, because the average person, they oversold fear. I think to a lot of people out there, the reality is if you live in a left wing state, abortion is very prominent and easy to get. If you live in a right wing state, it's more difficult, but you can still travel to other states. I don't think the average mom and grandma of 14 and 15 year old girls that might have bought in in 2022 and clearly did to the idea that Republicans are going to be dragging your daughters or granddaughters by their hair.

[Clay Travis]

The fear campaign. They were able to pull it one time and now that it did not affect this presidential election, nobody was talking about abortion in a way that except for that lady who's like, I'm a political analyst.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, look. And they tried aggressively, Buck. Remember the police officer dragging the woman out of the car like trying to. It didn't work and I think it's not going to work in 26 again. Look, major League Baseball season off to a fast start. Unless you are a fan of my Atlanta Braves which have started off the season. Oh and six not ideal NBA headed to the playoffs and coming up this weekend, the Final Four. You got Duke, you got going up against Houston, you got Florida, you got Auburn. Awesome. All set up. And if you haven't already downloaded the Prize Picks app on your phone, do it today. It'll make watching the games much more fun. All you have to do is pick more or less for any athlete. You can deposit easily with MasterCard, Visa, Discover. You can do it in California. You can do it in Texas. You can do it in Georgia. If you're feeling left out. 40 states out there, it's super easy to follow. All you have to do to get 50 bucks is go to prizepix.com my name clay that's C L A Y prizepix.com my Name Clay Clay play $5, you get $50. All you have to do is just plug my name in pricepix.com code Clay want to be in the Know when you're on the go the Team 47 podcast Trump highlights from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jake Tapper]

I'm Nate Silver.

[Kamala Harris]

And I'm Maria Konnikova. We're both journalists and professional poker players. And on our podcast Risky Business, we talk about taking risks in everything from poker to politics.

[Jake Tapper]

And we talk about betting. From betting on elections to betting on your favorite basketball team, we've learned a lot about taking risks through our own research and sometimes even our own bets. And we share what we've learned with you.

[Kamala Harris]

Are you still doing sports betting? I had no idea that you'd wagered over a million dollars for your research.

[Jake Tapper]

I bet almost the entirety of the 202223 NBA season, all the regular season and about half the playoffs. And I learned That. I mean, it's probably what I should have expected, but I learned that it's pretty hard. I went on a huge heater at the start of the NBA season where it was up like 70,000 bucks. I'm like, man, I'm really good at the sports betting stuff. But then, but then, things change.

[Kamala Harris]

Now that March Madness is upon us, we're talking bracket strategies and a whole lot more. Join us and listen to Risky business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Quick turn. Couple of stories again that we will discuss. Tariffs being announced in detail later today by President Trump and also Nashville school shooter, Covenant Manifesto writings out final report. We'll hit some of that. Couple of great emails. Allison, love what you do, but you're both slacking on Elon and Tesla. You both need to go out, buy at least two cybertrucks, post videos. It's the least all wealthy conservatives can do, especially if you make a living talking about politics. P.S. clay is blinded by boobs. Sydney Sweeney does not have the face for Snow White.

[Clay Travis]

I'm taking multiple shots here.

[Buck Sexton]

Allison, you're totally wrong. I don't love the cyber truck. The SUV I'm very intrigued by. I just don't really like the look of the cybertruck, personally. Like the look of Sydney Sweeney. I think she would have made a billion dollars buck according to Holly. Your new picture's awesome. Proud of you for getting in shape. Prayers for you and Carrie for a safe delivery of the baby. Thanks to you and Clay for being my daytime dose of sanity humor. Crazy times one week from today. Yeah, you theoretically could come sooner, but you will be a dad.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, it's very exciting stuff. Carrie and I, we got the strollers and bassinets and I don't even know what these things are called. All kinds of baby paraphernalia all over the house, which we're very excited about. And the good news is it'll be easier for me to move up and down the stairs with it because, yeah, I've. I've trimmed down quite a bit thanks to Dane Anderson, my trainer, for getting that going. And, yeah, it's been fantastic. So we're going to come back in here. We got more stories for you and more VIP emails and talkbacks. Oh, my. Oh, let's talk about Val Kilmer, too.

[Buck Sexton]

Rest in peace.

[Clay Travis]

Next hour, we'll talk about it.