Hour 1 - The Essence and Ethics of Journalism

Summary

Summary of "Hour 1 - The Essence and Ethics of Journalism"

Release Date: May 14, 2025
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts

---

Introduction to the Episode

The first hour of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" delves deep into the themes surrounding the essence and ethics of journalism, with Clay and Buck examining current political dynamics, media biases, and the state of American politics. The conversation weaves through critical analysis of Democratic strategies, media complicity, and the overarching impact on public perception.

---

1. Media Complicity and Democratic Strategies

Discussion Points:

• Media's Role in Political Narratives: Clay and Buck argue that the media has become complicit in advancing Democratic agendas, often sidelining objective journalism in favor of partisan storytelling.
• Biden's Mental and Physical Capacity: A significant portion of the discussion centers on President Joe Biden's perceived decline in mental and physical health and how the media has handled these revelations.
• Chuck Schumer's Accountability: The hosts critique Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for his role in supporting Biden despite apparent signs of his decline.

Notable Quotes:

• Clay Travis (05:42): "We have the largest Medicaid cut in front of us. We have the whole federal government. All of this because you lost a presidential election."
• Buck Sexton (06:10): "There are a lot of complicity to go around... it's an information operation; they all knew that Biden couldn't do this."

Insights: Clay and Buck suggest that the media and Democratic leadership were aware of Biden's limitations but chose to maintain support to secure political gains. They emphasize a lack of accountability within the Democratic ranks, proposing that the party is more focused on collective blame rather than addressing individual failings.

---

2. The Media's Transition and Loss of Credibility

Discussion Points:

• Shift in Media Behavior: The hosts observe a trend where even traditionally neutral journalists are increasingly partisan, particularly against Democratic figures.
• Comparison to Historical Media Scandals: Clay draws parallels between current media practices and past events like the O.J. Simpson case, highlighting a pattern of media bias leading to loss of public trust.
• Impact of Media on Public Perception: The discussion underscores how media narratives shape public understanding and political outcomes, often to the detriment of objective truth.

Notable Quotes:

• Clay Travis (11:24): "This is like the OJ book. If I did it, here's how I did it. And it was so appalling that everybody finally, I think, was totally done with, with any belief in OJ's innocence."
• Buck Sexton (12:00): "They were in on the heist. Their fingerprints are all over it, too."

Insights: Clay and Buck argue that the media's failure to uphold journalistic integrity has led to a significant erosion of trust. By prioritizing sensationalism and partisan agendas over factual reporting, the media has alienated a substantial portion of the American populace.

---

3. Accountability and Blame within the Democratic Party

Discussion Points:

• Lack of Individual Accountability: The hosts discuss how Democrats often resort to collective blame, avoiding responsibility for internal failures.
• Information Operation Allegations: They posit that the support for Biden was part of a deliberate strategy to maintain political advantage, despite knowing his limitations.
• Future Implications for the Democratic Party: Clay and Buck speculate on the future of the Democratic Party, suggesting an internal purge and ongoing finger-pointing without genuine resolution.

Notable Quotes:

• Clay Travis (08:04): "They have to go through some internal purge and there's going to be a lot of finger pointing. Generally, this can go one of two ways, because nobody wants to be accountable."
• Buck Sexton (09:30): "It is who the actual president? Who was making most of the major decisions?"

Insights: The conversation highlights a fragmentation within the Democratic Party, where internal conflicts and lack of accountability prevent cohesive strategies and solutions. This fragmentation is portrayed as weakening the party's effectiveness and public image.

---

4. Comparisons with Historical Scandals and Media Practices

Discussion Points:

• Iran-Contra Affair Reference: The podcast briefly touches upon historical political scandals to draw parallels with current events, emphasizing recurring themes of secrecy and political maneuvering.
• Media's Consistent Negative Impact on Political Figures: Clay points out that historically, media retractions and fact-checks have consistently harmed Republican figures more than Democrats, showcasing a bias in media reporting.

Notable Quotes:

• Leon Neyfakh (18:25): "In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency."
• Clay Travis (34:53): "If they were making journalistic errors, they would get some in Trump's favor. But every story that had to be retracted... was deeply negative for Trump."

Insights: By invoking past scandals like Iran-Contra and the O.J. Simpson case, Clay and Buck illustrate the media's tendency to focus on negative aspects of Republican figures while downplaying or ignoring similar issues within the Democratic ranks. This selective reporting is positioned as a tool for political bias.

---

5. The State of Contemporary Journalism

Discussion Points:

• Essence of True Journalism: The hosts debate what true journalism should entail, emphasizing unbiased reporting and holding all sides accountable.
• Evolution of Media Ethics: They discuss how media ethics have deteriorated, with an increasing number of outlets prioritizing ratings and political agendas over factual accuracy.
• Journalistic Responsibilities: Clay and Buck stress the importance of journalists maintaining integrity and the long-term consequences of failing to do so.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (33:05): "Real journalism is you write a story that, but for you, would not have existed."
• Clay Travis (34:53): "The whole point of journalism is that you're supposed to have some professional ethics."

Insights: Clay and Buck argue that the true essence of journalism lies in uncovering stories that might otherwise remain hidden, free from political influence and ethical compromises. They lament the current state of media, where economic and political pressures often override journalistic principles.

---

6. Personal Anecdotes and Light-Hearted Banter

Discussion Points:

• Buck Sexton's Family Life: Buck shares personal stories about being called "unk" by his kids and his struggles with completing grocery shopping tasks, adding a relatable and human element to the discussion.
• Humorous Interactions: The hosts engage in playful banter, discussing everyday challenges and the dynamics of their own relationship, providing listeners with a break from intense political discourse.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (18:48): "Hey, Buck. One of my kids called me an unk the other day."
• Clay Travis (42:15): "Welcome to husband life."

Insights: Interspersed with serious political analysis, Clay and Buck incorporate personal stories and humor, making the podcast more engaging and relatable. This balance helps maintain listener interest and offers a respite from heavy topics.

---

7. Closing Remarks and Future Topics

Discussion Points:

• Upcoming Discussions: The hosts hint at future topics, including Trump’s activities in the Middle East and ongoing political trials, indicating a continuation of their critical examination of current events.
• Encouragement for Listener Engagement: They promote their YouTube channel and encourage listeners to subscribe, emphasizing community engagement and expanding their platform.

Notable Quotes:

• Buck Sexton (16:13): "The Democrats have not become normal. They're still insane."
• Clay Travis (44:00): "You're listening to an iHeart podcast."

Insights: Clay and Buck conclude the episode by reaffirming their commitment to dissecting and challenging the prevailing political narratives. They position themselves as vigilant observers dedicated to exposing biases and advocating for truthful journalism.

---

Conclusion

In this inaugural hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton provide a robust critique of contemporary journalism, emphasizing perceived media biases and the Democratic Party's strategies. Through a blend of political analysis, historical comparisons, and personal anecdotes, the hosts aim to enlighten listeners about the intricate dynamics shaping American politics and media. The episode sets the tone for future discussions, promising continued exploration of ethical journalism and political accountability.

---

Notable Exclusions: All advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content segments have been omitted to focus solely on the substantive discussions related to journalism ethics and political analysis.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast. 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.

[Buck Sexton]

Play when you're bored.

[Clay Travis]

Play today for your chance to win and get daily bonuses when you log in. So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play.

[Buck Sexton]

Experience social gameplay like never before.

[Clay Travis]

Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots.

[Jake Tapper]

Bingo, Slingo, and more.

[Clay Travis]

Live the chumba [e-mail]. no purchase necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law 21 terms and conditions apply.

[Jake Tapper]

You know that feeling when you're about to score 30% off? But they want your number? Ugh. Give them your line 2 number instead. It's a second line on your phone, perfect for nabbing promo codes without inviting spam to your party. Sign up for every discount under the sun, then block the junk texts that follow. You get all the perks, but none of the spammy baggage. More codes, less chaos. Visit line2.com audio or download line2 in the app Store and get your shopping sidekick today. Because the only thing blowing up your phone should be good deals.

[Leon Neyfakh]

In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. It became known as the Iran Contra Affair.

[Clay Travis]

The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do.

[Leon Neyfakh]

To hear the whole story. Listen to Fiasco Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

Hey, Buck. One of my kids called me an unk the other day.

[Clay Travis]

An unk?

[Buck Sexton]

Yep. Slaying, evidently. For not being hip. Being an old dude.

[Clay Travis]

So how do we un unk you?

[Buck Sexton]

Get more people to subscribe to our YouTube channel. At least that's what my kids tell me.

[Clay Travis]

That's simple enough. Just search the Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton show and hit the subscribe button.

[Buck Sexton]

Takes less than 5 seconds to help un me.

[Clay Travis]

Do it for Clay. Do it for freedom. And get great content while you're there. The Clay, Travis and buck Sexton Show YouTube channel.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome in Wednesday Edition. Clay Travis, Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with all of us. We have got a loaded program for you. We'll head into the Trump cabinet at 1:30 with Scott Turner, who is a House and Urban Development Cabinet member. And then at 2:30 we're going to talk about the really kind of interesting ongoing trial I'm not even sure what his official name is now Diddy of Sean Puffy Combs that is currently taking place in New York City. It is not on television. If it were, I think it would be must see television because some of the revelations coming out are damaging personally certainly to Sean Diddy Combs. But is he going to be sentenced to the rest of his life in prison? We'll get into that with Paul Murrow who has been watching that trial. But Buck, here's the reality. The media is ashamed and they are so ashamed that they are actually and embarrassed that they are actually turning into something you never would have thought you would see. That is Democrat attackers. They're actually asking questions of the Democrats out there. And I think this drumbeat is going to continue for some time as the Biden revelations continue to come out. Yesterday we told you that there was a discussion about having to put Biden in a wheelchair and that Biden didn't recognize George Clooney. Chuck Schumer got asked about this. Now remember there was a big New York Times piece that Chuck Schumer was one of the people who finally forced Joe Biden to step down. He went to his house at Rehoboth beach, had a face to face meeting with him. There is some discussion that there might have been an ultimatum given then where Schumer said hey if you don't step down I'm going to go public and say that I think you should step down. You don't have any support inside of the Senate Democratic Caucus by and large. Well he was asked. Chuck Schumer was hey, do you feel some responsibility for lying about Joe Biden's mental and physical condition? And this is what it sounded like. This has gone mega viral. Chuck Schumer not having a good few weeks in the public eye. Listen to cut two.

[Clay Travis]

Building influence to make progress on key priorities. In that same month Biden apparently did not even recognize George Clooney a fundraiser. Were you being straight with the American public? Look, we're just looking forward.

[Buck Sexton]

We're just looking forward is the talking point. Here's another one. This is cnn. Suddenly the journalists have been embarrassed they were in on the COVID up but they are pretending that they were not and they are holding Democrats feet to the fire. Here is Cassie Hunt grilling Chuck Schumer on Biden's mental state. I think this is from a while back next to Biden in The Oval Office February 27, 2024, just a handful of months before the president took that debate stage. I'm interested to know Whether the man that you saw sitting there on that couch on that day, you were in there. You saw him up close and personal. Did you really not have any idea that he was not fit to serve a second?

[Clay Travis]

Casey, we're looking forward. We have the largest Medicaid cut in front of us. We have the whole federal government.

[Buck Sexton]

All of this because you lost a presidential election. And is that not Joe Biden's responsibility for deciding to run again?

[Clay Travis]

We're looking forward.

[Buck Sexton]

That's it.

[Clay Travis]

That's it.

[Buck Sexton]

And then, Buck, this is. I don't think this is going to play very well. Hakeem Jeffries, who is the minority leader in the House, who would be the House speaker if Democrats are able to take back control of the chamber in the midterm, also asked the same questions. Here he is. Cut for.

[Clay Travis]

There's a number of different revelations coming out about President Joe Biden's decline. Recent books. Is it helpful for your caucus for these to come out now? And would you want Biden to campaign for House Democrats? We're not looking backward. We're looking forward at this particular moment in time.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, we're looking forward. Buck is. We're looking forward. Going to suffice. And here's why I do think it's significant. We're in the middle of the big, beautiful bill being worked through right now. Congress. Almost no one is talking about that. Almost everyone is talking about the timing here of this book revelation and Biden.

[Clay Travis]

And Trump's big trip to the Middle east still underway. Huge deals being negotiated, financial deals for this country's economy, peace deals. He met with the new head of Syria, formerly in Al Qaeda, and had a $10 million bounty on his head. But now him and Trump are hanging out chatting. Uh, you know, it's a crazy world we live in.

[Buck Sexton]

Quite a comeback.

[Clay Travis]

Quite a comeback. Not quite a Trump level comeback, but, I mean, that's a pretty big comeback. So we shall see what comes out of all of that. But, yes, Clay, in the meantime, here's what I see happening. The Democrats, I don't think there's a strategy with this, really. I think that they know that they have to go through some internal purge and there's going to be a lot of finger pointing. Generally, this can go one of two ways, because nobody wants to be accountable and nobody wants to be held responsible for this enormous lie. And I want us to be very clear. We know. Clay knows. I know. You know, it was an op, as in an information operation, as in they all knew that Biden couldn't do this. They just figured maybe we can keep the charade going long enough to just squeak out one more win. And no one thought Biden was. Nobody thought Biden was going to do all four years. That I can. I can assure you, like, there's not a single person. I don't even think Biden believed that.

[Buck Sexton]

But I hate to say this book, and I said it before on the air, I'm not sure Biden's going to be alive by the time we get. I hate to say it, but I'm not sure he's going to be alive by the time we get to 2029.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you, Captain Bummer. But, yeah, I just.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, his deterioration not only would have been unable. I just. I don't think he's going to be alive at the next.

[Clay Travis]

I don't want to hand a talking point to the other side, but it is true in any of you who have dealt with older relative lives, or perhaps you've seen this, if you've been fortunate enough to, you know, live into your golden years yourself, aging is not linear. Once you get past, you know, 660, 70, meaning you can have a few years where everything seems like it's pretty much, I think, stable, and then you can decline pretty rapidly because of health issues. Right? So that's one of the arguments that they're trotting out already. I would note that they're saying, oh, but it happened so quickly, like, he was great, and then just in the election year. That's a lie. That's not true. We all knew for all four years. But, Clay, generally the move here is you either scapegoat or you do the we are all to blame. Right? The collective. Which means when. When there's collective blame, nobody is to blame. I know this from the CIA. Like, when it's the institution or the machine or whatever, that's just a way of, you know, remember that guy who came forward after 9, 11. I can't remember. Wasn't him. Richard Clark, who had been the national security adviser. And all the Democrats were like, look at him taking blame for this. I'm like, the guy was on a book tour and he's like, we failed you. It's like, no one actually thought that he failed them, but it was a big pound his chest moment, Right? We failed you means nothing. So there may be that move for the Democrats that I think is the likeliest. And you'll see that even from some of the journos who are going around now making these arguments, because what they wanted to do was the scapegoat. The problem is Biden as the scapegoat doesn't make sense because as you and I have discussed, they should have known and pushed him out earlier. They were in on this. What they want people to believe is that Biden had everybody fooled and that they didn't know until the last minute and in good faith they were just supporting their nominee. The reality is they were in on the heist. Their fingerprints are all over it, too. And so that's why the scapegoat maneuver, which would have been easy, which is Biden is the problem, isn't really working. Because if Biden was the problem, we all knew he had these problems. Why did you go along with it until the debate?

[Buck Sexton]

I'm not sure. By the way, let's grab this audio if you would, boys and girls. I went on with Sean Hannity last night. I'm not sure your boy Tapper is going to come on the show after what I said about him on FOX News last night. And I tagged him. I don't want to run and hide, but we played Sean, did we, the clip of him going after Lara Trump when she said quite succinctly that Biden didn't have the mental or physical capacity to be president. And Tapper said, oh, this is disgraceful. You're going after him because he has a stutter. We played that clip yesterday on the program and I do think there is now a major discussion. It's not only that the media was complicit, it's in the media's profiting on both sides. Yes. I mean, you say, hey, Biden's still the guy and you make money off your advertisers. As soon as Biden's not the guy, you show up with a knife and gut him when he's already basically, well.

[Clay Travis]

This is why I said, and then the oj. This is like the OJ book. If I did it, here's how I did it. And it was so appalling that everybody finally, I think, was totally done with, with any belief in OJ's innocence. If you were dumb enough to think he was innocent up to that point, which very few people were. But I think it was just the grotesque nature of, oh, now you're going to make, make money off of millions.

[Buck Sexton]

Of dollars, probably off of your, your grotesque inadequacy in covering him. Now you say, hey, they're to blame. And now you make money on that side, too.

[Clay Travis]

Well, I think you, you've stumbled onto something that is Critical. And I want everybody. Because Tapper is a very shifty fellow. I have known through his work and we have had exchanges and they have not been friendly for the most part. He's very shifty. And I'm hearing now he's like, oh, well, maybe I could have done more or something. They're going to try to massage this. And he's going to be the poster. The poster boy, so to speak. He's going to be the. Oh, I'm leading back into a new era of objective and neutral journalism. Right. This is the brand play. You take a slap on the wrist and then you come back. No, no, no. No accountability on this. Accountability would mean you don't actually ever believe these people again because when it really mattered, they lied to you when they knew they were lying to you. Right. If somebody, Clay, if somebody, you know, cheats in the stock industry, right. If somebody's engaged in, you get a. You get an industry ban. You look at this issue and the people who were part of the Biden, you know, the Biden cover up, essentially of his dementia, they're all planning to stay in this business forever. And as you point out, even to get rich on it, that's. That's not accountability at all. And I'd also note this. You're hearing about the White House. Oh, the White House covered this up.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. You tweeted this. And it's a really good argument.

[Clay Travis]

Who?

[Buck Sexton]

Yep.

[Clay Travis]

Who?

[Buck Sexton]

Tell us.

[Clay Travis]

I don't want White House aides. This is, again, the thing about collective guilt. I don't want. People were saying in the White House that he was sharp as attack behind closed doors. Name the names. If you won't do that, it's clear. It's because you were in on it and you don't want your coconspirators to.

[Buck Sexton]

Out you name the names. And also the secondary part of this, which I think becomes incredibly important, is who was the actual president? You know, if you actually want to do a deep dive on the lies that were told surrounding Biden, then we also need to be asking the question, okay, if we believe, and I think you and I, and we've asked this question quite a lot on the program, but I would encourage the larger media ecosystem that has suddenly realized what we've been saying for years, Biden didn't have the mental or physical capacity. We asked this question, who's the actual president? Who was making most of the major decisions in 2023 and 2024? Was it Joe Biden? Was it fricking Hunter Biden? Was it chief of staff, advisors, who was the person basically deciding what American policy was? And if you think that that's not an important question, I would submit to you it may be the most important question. Because whatever you think about Trump right now, look at how rapidly he's moving. We need to talk about what he's doing in the Middle East. It has the potential to be revolutionary in a positive way in terms of bringing more peace and prosperity to that region in a way that, I don't know that we've seen an American president who is trying to balance relationships in a positive way with Israel, but also with good faith actors in the Middle East. And there are some trying to marshal those actors on both sides of the Israeli and Arab conflict and find a way to have a more lasting peace in that region. Maybe it is improbable. I'm not sure that it's impossible. And Trump is really, I think, doing a hell of a job right now as he travels around in the Middle East. Could Biden have done any of this? No. Could Kamala have done any of this? No, I don't think so.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, look, I think that this is now where we have to see what the opposition is going to form into. This is where we see what their plan is. But I can assure you they have, they're running a playbook here. They have not all of a sudden become, look at what they did, you know, out of one side of their mouth, it's, oh, maybe we missed this Biden thing. And then you see the dnc, have they voted David Hogg out already? Has that already occurred or is that in process?

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, because he's a white male and it didn't comply with diversity requirements. But I don't know, really, it's because.

[Clay Travis]

He said the Democrat Party doesn't allow guys to, like, go have fun, drink beers and like, chase women or something like that. And I remember we said it, I said, oh, he sounds almost normal. They're like, get out of here. You get out of here.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, it's true. Totally true.

[Clay Travis]

So they're not normal, everybody. The Democrats have not become normal. They're still insane. And their media propagandists have not. All of a sudden, you know, they have not found the light. Ok, so we are onto it. We are not fooled. We'll keep talking about it. Also, Trump's Mideast trip. Every dollar you spend counts. And if there's a way to save nearly a thousand dollars a year, it's worth looking into. Right? Well, PureTalk is there for you. They offer the same nationwide 5G service as you might get from AT&T T Mobile or Verizon, and that's because PureTalk utilizes the same towers and networks. The only difference is that PureTalk charges you much less for similar service. How can they do that? PureTalk doesn't have the same overhead costs. No brick and mortar stores, for example. Right now you can get a brand new Samsung Galaxy from PureTalk for free with a qualifying plan that starts at just $35 a month. Gives you unlimited talk, text, 15 gigs of data and mobile hotspot on America's most dependable 5G network. Switch to PureTalk for $35 a month, cut your cell phone bill in half and get a brand new Samsung Galaxy for free. Dial pound 250, say the keywords Clay and Buck PureTalk's US customer service team can help you switch in as little as 10 minutes. Dial £250, say the keywords clay and Buck to make the switch today.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton Mic drops that never sounded so good. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast Men.

[Unknown]

If you're ready to reclaim your edge, listen up. I used to be held back by constant bathroom trips with multiple wake ups during my sleep and looking for restrooms whenever I was out. Then I discovered Better Man. After just two months, I started experiencing fewer trips to the bathroom, less urge to go, and I even slept through some nights. I feel a noticeable boost in my overall well being, even sexual stamina. It gives me the freedom and confidence to live life on my terms. Better man is clinically tested and trusted by thousands of men over 25 years. Ready to take back control. Ready? Go to be better now.com to order your supply today. That's be better now.com these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Use is directed. Individual results may vary.

[Leon Neyfakh]

In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency.

[Clay Travis]

Did you make a mistake in sending arms to Tehran, sir?

[Buck Sexton]

No.

[Leon Neyfakh]

It became known as the Iran Contra.

[Unknown]

Affair and I'm not taking any more questions. In just a second, I'm going to ask.

[Leon Neyfakh]

I'm Leon Naifak, co creator of Slow Burn. In my podcast Iran Contra, you'll hear all the unbelievable details of a scandal that captivated the nation nearly 40 years ago, but which few of us still remember today.

[Clay Travis]

The things that happened were so Bizarre and insane. I can't begin to tell you. Please do.

[Leon Neyfakh]

To hear the whole story. Listen to Fiasco, Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. And we're gonna talk about Trump in Qatar, or some say Qatar, same thing, you know, you say tomato, I say tomato, you say cut. Qatar, I say cutter. And we'll talk about what he's doing over there. Because there are big moves being made on the world stage and Trump is already, I think, having, he's having a great week, which means the American people are having a great week. The things that he's doing are good for the country. I would just note, I remember there were things when Biden would start to celebrate, they'd be like, yeah, we're just going to pause all deportations for 100 days. Like, well, that's a horrible idea. Like, that's, that's really bad to just not enforce the law, cuz you don't feel like it. Or, hey, we're gonna spend a couple trillion dollars that we don't need to on stuff that's going to end up just pushing inflation through the roof. Right? Like Clay. Those are objectively bad things. Trump is going after objectively good things right now. Trade deals, investment, peace. So much so that I think his critics have a hard time finding, like, do you want there to be a war with Iran or something? Like, what exactly is, is that issue here? But let's just go back to this for one second because, you know, why not? You didn't tell us what you said about Mr. Tapper last night on Fox. I guess we could all go see it, but here is Tapper1 saying when we come back, tell us, but saying that he covered Biden's decline, not enough.

[Buck Sexton]

What do you think of conservatives now criticizing you and the media in general for how President Biden was covered during his administration? I think some of the criticism is fair, to be honest of me. Certainly I'm not going to speak for anybody else, but knowing then what I know now, I look back at my coverage during the Biden years and I did cover some of these issues, but not enough. I look back on it with humility.

[Clay Travis]

Nope, not good enough. Not. Not.

[Buck Sexton]

I will, I will. Can we get the, what I said last night, I shared it on my Twitter account. You can pull it. I'll play it and we'll discuss that as well. When we, when we were one of.

[Clay Travis]

Those things that you say where I look like a two by four is being swung at somebody or it was.

[Buck Sexton]

A little bit aggressive maybe, perhaps, but I didn't want to run and hide from it. So I tagged Tapper on social media. So I'm sure he has seen it and obviously it was on Sean Hannity show, which is kind of a big deal. So. But I'm not trying to hide from it. I think he deserves criticism. I think he should have to apologize to people he treated unfairly, like Lara Trump. Think about your home gutters next time you get caught up in a rainstorm. When's the last time you cleaned them out? When's the last time you got on a ladder and climbed all the way up on top of your house? Clean gutter clears the way for a carefree summer. I've talked about this. My boys play Wiffle ball in the backyard all the time. Our gutters were all clogged. I got up on the roof. Do you know what I found? Tons of wiffle balls in the gutter that were perfect size to be clogging our gutters. You don't know what it's going to be up there. But right now with Leaffilter you can get hooked up 30% off and keep that from happening at your home, whether it's, whether it's leaves or other objects like wiffle balls. And at my house, this is number one gutter protection system in America. Schedule your free Inspection up to 30% off your entire purchase at leaffilter.com clayandbuck that's leafilter.com clayandbuck See representative for warranty details. Welcome back in Clay. Travis BUCK SEXTON show Appreciate all of you hanging out with us as we are rolling through the Wednesday edition of the program. And I wanted to let Buck here last night, his boy Jake Tapper, I tagged him. Team says Tapper has not responded on social media to this. But we played yesterday the Lara Trump attack from Jake Tapper when Lara Trump was saying that Biden didn't have the mental or physical capacity to be president for four years. And Tapper said that's unacceptable and I'm paraphrasing him. This is just a stutter. You should know better and cut her off and didn't allow the interview to continue. And here is what I said about that. Last night, Sean Hannity played that clip on his FOX News television show. He's broadcasting from Saudi Arabia. I know he'll be on on many of the stations that you guys are listening to right now, right after us. But this is what our conversation sounded like last Night, Buck. Get your popcorn. Has he apologized to Laura Trump yet? Because he should, since he's now trying to make millions of dollars off of clear cognitive and physical decline from Joe Biden, which he derided Lara Trump for rightly pointing out in October of 2020. Maybe I missed it. Maybe I missed it, Sean. Maybe Jake has come out and said, hey, you know what? I apologize to Lara Trump. She was 100% right about all this, but I haven't seen it yet. And I think this is so important because you, me, everybody out there who spent the last several years saying what was clear, readily apparent to anybody with a functional brain, that Joe Biden's brain wasn't working. We were all called right wing conspiracist. We were called crazy, deluded, cheap, fake peddling, disinformation and misinformation lunatics. And guess what? We were right about it all. And somehow we all knew. And all these people who spent all day in the White House and spent all this time hanging out didn't know. And by the way, do you think that George Clooney.

[Clay Travis]

They knew.

[Buck Sexton]

Supposedly wasn't recognized. They knew. Do you think he didn't tell Jake Tapper in June that Joe Biden didn't recognize him? I don't buy the fact that that stayed quiet in Hollywood. Come on. They all knew, okay? Said a lot of that yesterday on the program, but now Tapper's definitely seen it and heard it because it's echoed around on social media. But this is, this is the point. It is to me the height of arrogance to not cover on your daily show the clear mental and physical decline of the president as soon as he loses and as soon as he, you don't have to kowtow to him anymore to get the guest that you want. As soon as you know that he can't do anything for you, you come out and talk about all these things that are going on that, that you claim you didn't know about. He, to me, the George Clooney thing, he's buddies with Clooney. There's no way Clooney didn't tell Tapper. Hey, Biden didn't know who I was. He knew all this.

[Clay Travis]

Do you know that Tapper's position is that SEC football should be abolished? It's not.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, that he, he and I are definitely going to, gonna have to take it outside.

[Clay Travis]

I'm completely making that up. And I just want to get you really fired up if he comes on the show. I don't want, I don't want. Nice Clay. I want Mike Pence evading the question. Clay. I don't want, you know, football friendly. Clay. All right, so plus, who knows if he's. If he's even going to come on at this point, because I don't even know what. What would be productive about it.

[Buck Sexton]

I really could say, I do think that if you are claiming that you are trying to speak honestly to the American public when you screw up, you should own it. And I don't. Here's the problem. I don't think this was a screw up. That's the problem. Right? Like, this was intentional. He was trying to preserve his access to guests by not speaking truthfully about what he knew. And. And in the event Kamala won, he didn't want to be cut off from being able to talk to Kamala's team because some of them overlap with Joe Biden's team. And he was seen as Persona non grata in the larger media ecosystem. So he waited until there's no cost at all for speaking truth, and then he began to suddenly speak truth years after those of us who actually bore the cost and were attacked repeatedly for doing so.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, imagine. Imagine if Fauci came out with a book. Now it's like my war against unnecessary lockdowns and masks.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, basically, that's what Randy Weingarten is doing.

[Clay Travis]

A tiny. Of course she is. But a tiny hero's journey through the mess of COVID You know, like, that's basically what the Tapper thing is here. You know, like, when the chips were down, when times were tough, there I was, Fauci saying, live your life. Go outside. Don't double Matt. I mean, at what point is it just too much for anyone to bear? And I think that. I think this might be backfiring more than the two authors others realize. You know, I saw Alex Thompson on Twitter as well, who's trying to tell people like, no, but that's like, out of context. And no, it's. Why are you two, meaning Tapper and Thompson, well positioned to be the ones that are now coming forward? I don't mean you have the sources. Every Democrat journalist has the sources. Why are you the truth tellers that we should be listening to at this point? Which goes to exactly what you're saying. There's no cost now. You guys basically destroyed the credibility of the media brands that we grew up with, with the exception of, you know, Fox Talk Radio. Fox and talk radio. And, you know, I would like a little humility from some of these networks. Like, I think that some of these CNN hosts who spent years. You were banned from cnn. I'm still banned. You are. You know, CNN is like North Korea as far as you are concerned. Not allowed to set foot even a. I said.

[Buck Sexton]

I said that I supported the First Amendment in boobs, and CNN has had me banned for eight years now. I think that there's a lot of worse things that have been said on CNN than that. I wouldn't, obviously, I don't take any of that back because it was hyperbolically pointing out how much committed I am to the idea.

[Clay Travis]

There is some irony, too, in a news network banning you for saying, in part, you like the First Amendment.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, I. I'm not.

[Buck Sexton]

Which now argues that the biggest threat to the First Amendment, ironically enough, of course, is the Trump administration. Right. Like that.

[Clay Travis]

I'll also. I like full disclosure. I mean, you know, Tapper, I will tell you, especially back in the Obama era and early in the Trump era, very sharp elbows on Twitter, very nasty, very quick. I mean, he's famous for sliding into people's direct messages and. And really, you know, going after them, saying things about their career like, not now. So if he comes on, is that stuff all fair game? I mean, do I get to ask him on this show, have you ever called the owner of another media outlet and tried to get a journalist fired because you didn't like his position? Because. Because I have numerous people who tell me that he has done that. Friends of mine hasn't done it to me, but friends of mine have told me in this movement, in this business that he has done that. So do I get to ask him that question on the air, or do we just stick to the book, which is one big pile of lies about how they didn't know?

[Buck Sexton]

Well, look, I mean, I think anytime someone writes a book, the credibility of the author is a huge part of how you receive and respond to the work. And so, and by the way, especially when it's a nonfiction work, we're not talking about some author who may have sorted things in his past, but also be an incredible, talented writer. We've gone through the whole battle of who can be canceled and who can't, over what things people have said or done that have nothing to do with the overall quality of the work itself. And I think, in general, you should judge the art, not the artist, necessarily, although that gets into a really interesting debate. But when it's nonfiction, what you're holding out is you should trust me, uniquely, because I'm writing what it is. Frankly, Buck is a First draft of history. So whatever we think of Jake Tapper 80 years from now, 100 years from now, somebody writing a book about the 2024 presidential election is going to use Tapper's book as a source, presumably because there are people who have gone on the record with him, like David Plouffe, who said, oh, you know, that basically Biden screwed us, even though you. And I think the evidence actually reflects that the longer Kamala was in the race, the worse she would have done. They're all trying to figure out who to blame, and ultimately the whole party, I think, is to blame because there's a lot of complicity to go around.

[Clay Travis]

The whole thing is they got caught. They tried. They tried a caper. They tried a swindle, which was to fool the. Remember, the 2020 election was a swindle hiding Biden in the basement. The social media blackouts of the Hunter Biden laptop story, the shutting down of conservative voices on Covid. Like, there was so much. They rigged 2020, as we have talked about a million times.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

So they rigged. That's the only reason they're able to do it. They thought they could basically rig 2024 again, this time just by getting everybody to go along with this mass delusion. The idea that Biden did not have dementia was a mass delusion that they were trying to enforce on us. It was nonsense, utterly nonsense. So, yeah, man. I mean, I find it. I find it really rich that now we're being told that this is something that we're supposed to accept from the other side. I mean, I think real contrition would be, you know, if you're going to come on conservative shows like this one. Again, we don't know if he's going to show up or not. You know, I don't know. I go back and forth on this one. But Clay wants. Clay wants to. But I just. I'm not sure. Anyway, point is, say, why were you guys right? How was what? You know, if I'm really going to approach this with humility, what was it that made you guys know that this was so clear and that he was not, you know, Clay, why'd you take your side of the bet that there's no way Biden could follow through this like that, to me, would be not. Yeah, we tried so hard, but, you know, we just missed this one a little bit. Sorry. Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

To me, this is always indicative of. Media takes credit for breaking stories. A lot of time that otherwise would have come out. Right. And let me give you an example. When a New superstar player for the New York Knicks signs a contract. Eventually everybody is going to find out about it, but they want to know who the first guy is that's going to have it right. To me, there's some value in having things first, but when the information is going to be widely distributed, that isn't necessarily a big deal. To me, real journalism is you write a story that, but for you, would not have existed. Right. That, to me, is what the essence of journalism should be.

[Clay Travis]

And, you know, I mean, I've never thought of myself as a journalist. I just think it's funny that. And I would never. I don't. I'm not a journalist. I do have ethics, though. It's so funny. The whole point of journalism is that you're supposed to have some professional ethics. And what we've seen is that the people who don't take on that mantle of journalism, in a number of cases, certainly everything in the Trump era, far more willing to look at the facts and come to honest conclusions than the, quote, journalists who are approaching this from some sort of professional, ethical perspective. It's all nonsense. You know, it also reminds me, Clay, of you remember how this was a great. I want to say that I was one of the earlier ones to point this out, but it got a lot. A lot of people figured this out early in Trump's first term. If they were making journalistic errors, they would get some in Trump's favor. But every story that had to be retracted, every single one that had to be walked back or fact checked and updated, was deeply negative for Trump. I mean, clearly negative for Trump. Every single one. So that shows you that incompetence would.

[Buck Sexton]

Run in both directions if there were simple negligence.

[Clay Travis]

And if this thing with Biden wasn't an op, where were the. Show me the one Democrat who, and I'll make it easy. I'll say the beginning of 2024. Show me the one Democrat in the media who came forward and said, guys, Biden can't do this. He's too old. I've seen too much. One. One person, not a single journo, you're going to tell me none of them had access to this information that came out. None of them knew about the George Clooney. I mean, give me a break.

[Buck Sexton]

No, you know, it's interesting, Buck and I don't even remember the guy's name. The one guy was the congressman from Minnesota who ran against Biden. Remember, they had the one guy, he had the event, New Hampshire that nobody showed up for. That's like what was the strong point of his entire campaign? But not only did they cold shouldered him and treated him as an, as an enemy of the state. And here's the other thing I would say you can't claim that you uncovered a huge conspiracy when half of the country was able to see that huge conspiracy and knew it was going on. Like this morning there was a good article in the New York Times. I'll give them credit. We have a massive undersea under ice base in Greenland. Did you know about this? It's like Super Fascinating. We 200 people live there. It was a nuclear war base. They just found it. Okay. That's something a lot of people didn't know. You can read about it when half the nation is like, this guy's got major mental and physical cognition issues. And when you and I talked about it for years to then show up and write a book and say, oh my goodness, this is the COVID up that nobody knew. Well, everybody knew. You just weren't allowed to say it on your side of the, of the aisle. If you get the chance to visit Israel like I did in December, you'll see for yourself how special the country is. Country that embraces the youth as well as respecting the elders, especially those that survived the Holocaust. Eighty years ago, the horror of the Holocaust, the final solution, came to an end. Half of all living Holocaust survivors live in Israel today. Further testimony to just how special the country is. The pain of the past was only intensified by the attacks of October 7th and the subsequent rise of anti Semitism worldwide. The government of Israel does all they can, but so many Israelis today, both old and young, live below the poverty line. There's no safety net. That's why we support the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. The fellowship provides a lifeline in the form of hot meals and boxes full of healthy food. And for only $25, you can help provide a food box. Better yet, $335 will provide hot meals for an entire year. To join us and give, call 888-488 IFCJ. That's 888-488-4325. Or you can go online to IFCJ.org that's IFCJ.org want to be in the know when you're on the go the Team 47 podcast Trump highlights from the.

[Clay Travis]

Week, Sundays at noon Eastern in the.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay and Buck Podcast feedback. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jake Tapper]

You know that feeling when you're about to score 30% off, but they Want your number? Ugh. Give them your line 2 number instead. It's a second line on your phone, perfect for nabbing promo codes without inviting spam to your party. Sign up for every discount under the sun, then block the junk texts that follow. You get all the perks, but none of the spammy baggage. More codes, less chaos. Visit line2.com audio or download line2 in the app Store and get your shopping sidekick today, because the only thing blowing up your phone should be good deals.

[Leon Neyfakh]

In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency.

[Clay Travis]

Did you make a mistake in sending arms to Tehran, sir?

[Buck Sexton]

No.

[Leon Neyfakh]

It became known as the Iran Contra affair.

[Unknown]

And I'm not taking any more questions. In just a second, I'm going to ask.

[Leon Neyfakh]

I'm Leon Naifak, co creator of Slow Burn. In my podcast, Fiasco Iran Contra, you'll hear all the unbelievable details of a scandal that captivated the nation nearly 40 years ago, but which few of us still remember today.

[Clay Travis]

The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do.

[Leon Neyfakh]

To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back into Clay and Buck. And you know, just thinking about this play we're coming up on. I think we'll be doing the show for four years in June here. That's right. Paired up here for four years, which time has flown by. And since starting this show, I have gotten married and had a baby, which is very exciting. You're old hat at these things. You've been married for how long you been married now?

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, man, now I'm going to get blown up. It'll be 21 years in August.

[Clay Travis]

21 years. Got three boys, 21 years. I've been married two years and change. And I got a baby. So, you know, we're, we're coming at this from, you know, we got the old grizzled veteran. We got the new guy on the block with this. But, you know, you don't always give me the heads up that I need on some things. Sometimes you do. But one that I've missed from you, Clay, because I expect you to give me early warning, is that no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, when my wife sends me to the grocery store, I will fail to get the right items. And sometimes she will send me there and the item won't even be there. And Then I am really in a tough place because somehow I'm supposed to still get the item that they're out of stock on, which my wife is amazing at finding out, whatever that would be. Just like with a premonition. So you didn't give me this heads up.

[Buck Sexton]

It is a real problem for husbands everywhere. I am sent with photos on the rare occasion when I need to get something of the product that I'm supposed to get. Because can. Well, we need to talk about this more. Maybe when we come back we can. The amount of variety, I understand it's a great sign of American capitalism. But if you go to get, let's say, cranberry juice, I bet in your average grocery store there are 26 different versions of cranberry juice, right? Like there isn't just like three cranberry juices. There's. I'm not kidding. I bet if you walk into your grocery store and look, I bet there's 26 different types of. And what she will do is I won't be able inevitably to find whatever the specific brand and particular type of thing that I need. I'll return, say it's not there. She'll either ask for a picture of the section to prove that I am unable to find it, or she has then sometimes gone back herself to verify whether or not the product that I was supposed to get is there or not.

[Clay Travis]

I've reached the point now where when she texts me sometimes she will just then text me a couple minutes later, like, just forget it. I'll go get it myself. And then that just ups the ante for me. So then I want to try even harder. But I always fail at the grocery store.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome to husband life.

[Clay Travis]

Made in America means something to us. When you invest 700 billion annually in American companies and the 13 million workers and families they support, you're investing in the success of Main Street. That's money powering growth in manufacturing, tech, energy and innovation. And it starts with private equity backing American ambition. Learn how private equity keeps American businesses.

[Leon Neyfakh]

[e-mail] paid for by the American Investment Council.

[Unknown]

Men, if you're ready to reclaim your edge, listen up. I used to be held back by constant bathroom trips with multiple wake ups during my sleep and looking for restrooms whenever I was out. Then I discovered better man. After just two months, I started experiencing fewer trips to the bathroom, less urge to go, and I even slept through some nights. I feel a noticeable boost in my overall well being, even sexual stamina. It gives me the freedom and confidence to live life on my terms. Better man is clinically tested and trusted by thousands of men over 25 years, ready to take back control. Go to be betternow.com to order your supply today. That's be betternow.com these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Use as directed. Individual results may vary.

[Leon Neyfakh]

In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. It became known as the Iran Contra Affair.

[Clay Travis]

The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you. Please do.

[Leon Neyfakh]

To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.