Hour 1 - This Will Make You Smile

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 - This Will Make You Smile
Date: August 20, 2025
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts
Hosts: Clay Travis & Buck Sexton

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Episode Overview

In this lively and humor-tinged hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton dig into a bombshell New York Times report revealing a dramatic shift in voter registration trends in the United States. The hosts dissect evidence that Democrats are hemorrhaging registered voters across nearly every state with party registration, leading to profound implications for the political landscape post-2024. The conversation moves naturally from the data’s specifics to the larger cultural and political ramifications, including the evolving identity of the Democratic Party, the rise of outsider political candidates, and what these changes mean for future elections.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Thanks & Opening Remarks

• Clay thanks the Young Republicans of Hamilton County, Chattanooga, for a great event and notes an expanding listenership.
• Mentions upcoming guest Heather McDonald to discuss crime trends.

2. New York Times Bombshell: Democrats Bleeding Voters

• Clay reacts to a surprising New York Times feature highlighting that in 30 states with party registration, Democrats have lost ground to Republicans—by approximately 4.5 million voters since 2020.
  • “The party is bleeding support beyond the ballot box. A new analysis shows.”—(NYT summary, relayed by Clay, 03:46)
• Buck is delighted, calling the article a joy to read and significant for its stark data and tone.
• They analyze the collapse of the “voter registration industrial complex” long used by Democrats and how it’s failing especially among Latino and younger voters.
  • “Our scam isn’t working the way that it used to.”—Buck (07:50)

3. Culture Shift and Demographics

• Clay points out that being called a Democrat is now used as an insult among young men and college fraternity culture.
• The largest Republican shifts are happening among men under 30 and those 65 and older.
  • “My 14 year old… told me… all my friends cannot wait to be 18 so we can vote against Democrats in 2028.”—Clay (12:33)
• Hispanic, Black, and Asian voters are also moving Republican, with Clay emphasizing this is due to cultural—especially gender and masculinity—alignments.

4. Analysis of Key States & National Trends

• Buck highlights Miami-Dade flipping from a 200,000 Democratic registration advantage to a Republican surge post-Trump.
• Other states (North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Arizona) showing sharp Democratic declines.
  • “I don’t know how this article could be worse for Democrats right now. There was not a single silver lining.”—Buck (15:51)

5. Democratic Party Identity Crisis

• The hosts argue there are no “moderate Democrats” of consequence left, especially as evidenced in places like West Virginia and Nevada.
  • “You can’t be a Democrat and be pro-gun and pro-life. They used to pull that off in some places. It doesn’t exist really anymore.”—Buck (22:29)
• Buck and Clay suggest Democrats refuse to admit voters are rejecting their platform, blaming communication rather than substance.
• Clay posits that unless Democrats find a “truth teller” or centrist, their radical drift will continue (“double, triple, quadruple down on crazy”—10:21).

6. Turnout Myths & the 2024 Election

• Clay debunks the myth that higher turnout always favors Democrats, citing 2024 data that shows Trump’s margin would have grown with full participation.
  • “If every eligible American had voted, Trump would have won by more.”—Clay (25:13)

7. Media & Messaging: Trump’s Impact

• Buck frames the fall of major liberal media (CNN, MSNBC, NYT, Washington Post) as a direct result of Trump’s presidency and victory, citing rebranding (e.g., MSNBC to “Ms. Now”).
  • “He has crushed the fake media. He has burned their villages and heard the lamentations of their women.”—Buck (31:24)

8. Searching for a Democratic Savior: Scarborough, Newsom & Others

• Joking speculation that MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough—formerly a Republican, now a critical centrist—might make a run for President, likening him to Gavin Newsom.
  • “Joe Scarborough should run for president as a Democrat. And I think he sees Gavin Newsom, and I think he’s a little jelly. And I think he’s considering it.”—Buck (32:33)
• Discusses need for Democrats to “put the Left in timeout” to win nationally, but doubts if figures like Newsom have the will or ability to do so.
  • “You got to put crazy in the corner. And you got to say, like, I’m shutting the door on you loons.”—Clay (37:39)
• Mentions the possibility of true outsiders or celebrities (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Mark Cuban) trying to be the Democratic “Trump.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the NYT Article & Democrat Troubles:

• “This is inject it straight into my veins, take this data and put it right into the heart of the American populace. This is great stuff.”—Buck Sexton (06:53)
• "It's a five alarm fire for Democrats. For us, we are roasting marshmallows and enjoying all of this."—Buck Sexton (09:28)

On the Cultural Moment:

• “It’s basically an insult to call someone a Democrat if you’re a young man.”—Clay Travis (05:44)
• “Asian, Hispanic and black voters are increasingly moving towards the Republican side because culturally they are more male than they are Democrat and that men are saying we're done with the craziness.”—Clay (13:39)

On Democratic Party Leadership & Identity:

• “You can’t be a Democrat and be pro-gun and pro-life. They used to pull that off in some places. It doesn’t exist really anymore.”—Buck Sexton (22:29)
• “If you are unwilling to acknowledge that everybody’s hearing your message and rejecting it... is there a truth teller on that side... or do they have to lose again in order to recognize that their message is being heard and rejected?”—Clay Travis (28:23)

On Potential Democratic Candidates:

• “Joe Scarborough should run for president as a Democrat. And I think he sees Gavin Newsom, and I think he’s a little jelly.”—Buck Sexton (32:33)
• “You got to put crazy in the corner. And you got to say, like, I'm shutting the door on you loons.”—Clay Travis (37:39)

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Key Timestamps

• 02:05 – Clay’s opening remarks and shoutout to Tennessee event; preview of discussion
• 03:22 – Introduction of the New York Times voter registration article and analysis
• 06:44 – Frat culture and the negative connotation of being a “Democrat” among young men
• 09:28 – “Five alarm fire” for Democrats and shifting demographics
• 13:22 – The Travis household teen perspective; generational shifts
• 16:29 – Nevada and West Virginia as models of Democratic decline
• 22:29 – Buck’s take on demise of the “moderate Democrat”
• 25:13 – Turnout myth shattered; 2024 election implications
• 31:24 – Buck jokes that Trump has “burned their villages” referencing media collapse
• 32:33 – Discussion of Joe Scarborough as a potential Democratic candidate
• 37:39 – On taming the Democratic Party’s far-left activists
• 39:11 – Speculation on outsider Democrat candidates in 2028 and beyond

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Tone & Delivery

• Language: Conversational, irreverent, direct; richly sprinkled with humor and pop culture references.
• Chemistry: Clay & Buck riff with high energy, finishing each other’s thoughts and teasing out bold speculation while rooting their arguments in data and media trends.
• Approach: Confident and combative; the hosts delight in highlighting Democratic woes and speculate freely about the future of American politics.

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For Listeners

This episode offers a big-picture look at why Democratic Party registration is slipping and why Clay & Buck believe “the vibe shift” in America could define future elections. If you want to understand why Republicans feel optimistic and why Democrats face a profound identity crisis, these forty-ish minutes are required listening—or, with this summary, required reading.

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome in Wednesday edition Clay Travis Buck Sexton show had an awesome time speaking to the young Republicans of Hamilton county that is Chattanooga last night visited with our friends Legacy Box. Toured their incredible facility. Maybe talk a little bit more about that later but just wanted to off the top. Thanks to everybody out there who was listening in that area. Had a great time meeting with all of you and there are a lot more of you every Single day that are joining team Clay and Buck, Team Sanity, Team Republican. You could probably feel it. We will talk with Heather McDonald, by the way, next hour about the latest on the crime situation. D.C. in particular. But what exactly is happening when it comes to violent crime in this country? What does the data show us? Heather McDonald's one of the top experts in the country, so we will discuss that. But Buck, this is one of those days where it pays off to be me. Where you start off your morning with a nice Crockett coffee. Sitting down in front of the newspaper selection, opening it up. Usually the New York Times not exactly renowned for its positive stories relating to the Republican Party.

[Buck Sexton]

Can I just say, drinking Crockett Clay is like putting on the leather bib before you get the X ray at the dentist. Like, if you're drinking Crockett, the communist New York Times doesn't infiltrate you the same way.

[Clay Travis]

No doubt. And by the way, I just want. I do it so you don't have to. This is me taking the.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean lead, not leather, sorry, leather. Lead bib. Lead bib.

[Clay Travis]

I was thinking, what does the leather do? But I was the leather with Crockett connection. I thought I might be missing something. I. I do it so most of you do not have to. But this is a headline in the New York Times today. And I'm looking at what the headline is in the digital right now. Because sometimes it's different than the newspaper headline. Digital, not a positive headline. Democrats flashing red alert. What? The voter registration data shows subheading. And there's a big graphical accompaniment story for this. The party is bleeding support beyond the ballot box. A new analysis shows. This is a big article. This is the feature for the New York Times. And listen to this. Open Buck, you don't hear opens like these. And I thought it was interesting because the Sunday New York Times basically wrote an entire editorial on behalf of the paper saying, yeah, Clay and Buck were basically right about everything on Covid. And. And basically write about everything on crime. And maybe we should have been smarter about the way we covered it. That's basically what the New York Times said in their editorial. Here's the open. The Democrat Party is hemorrhaging voters long before they even go to the polls. Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans. And in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections, often by a lot, that four year swing towards Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters. A deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from. And then Buck, there is a graphic showing you Democrats losing ground in all 30 states while Republicans are gaining ground ground. And again, one more paragraph here just to contextualize. So you know what Democrats are reading this morning? The stampede away from the Democrat Party is occurring in battleground states, the bluest states and the reddest states, too, according to voter registration data analyzed by the New York Times. And the data comes from a nonpartisan data factory. So this is interesting when you think about, Buck, what is going on in the larger country. I feel like I've seen it for a while because the Democrat party, it's basically an insult to call someone a Democrat if you're a young man. We made jokes about this when I fraternities. Instead of making jokes about your mom with the banners outside of the house this fall or saying their opponents vote Democrat, the culture has shifted in a major way.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes. Now if you're at the frat house and some guy swings and misses, you say you swing that wiffle ball bat like Democrat. It's not good. It's not good.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

And this whole article, though, look, the data in this, I'm going to tell you this right now, this article is a joy. It is a joy to read. I read it more than once. That's how much. And this is a New York Times, a big piece from the New York Times. This is inject it straight into my veins, take this data and put it right into the heart of the American populace. This is great stuff. Some of the things I pulled from this in the specifics, the long and the short of it, as you laid out, is party registration, which Democrats are used to having an advantage. And, and one of the reasons why they didn't really detail this in the article is Democrats have been running this voter registration industrial complex that is a non they use nonprofits. So tax advantaged here. Ok. They're using nonprofits in order to get people to sign up and vote, but they do it in a way that they know they're going to get more Democrats. Right. So it's oh, we're just to get out the vote effort. Right. And you've seen celebrities doing this in the past and stuff, but it's always wink, wink, think we're going to do this in, you know, in Philadelphia, in New York, in Los Angeles. Like they're doing it in places where they figure we're going to overwhelmingly be registering Democrats to vote. Well, the problem is now they can't count play on just a blanket registration effort in these areas. Especially when they're going after, let's say Latino voters, they can't count on it benefiting Democrats. So they're going. Hold on a second. Our scam isn't working the way that it used to. Miami Dade county, for example, the number of active Republican voters zoomed past Democrats after Trump became the Republican nominee. As recently as November 2020, my home county of Miami Dade, Clay, Democrats had a 200,000 in one county. 200,000 registered voter advantage. Yeah, there are, you know, most counties don't even have, you know, the 200,000 voters. I mean, you see this North Carolina state records show the Democrat Advantage There was 400,000 in 2020. It's now basically, you know, more or less a tie that they've got 17,000 voters. I mean, that's like not, not going to make a huge difference. So this is five alarm fire. Time for. Is that the most alarms for a fire? I think it is, right? This is four alarm fire. Five alarm fire. We got a lot of firefighters. You guys can write it in and tell us.

[Clay Travis]

I think it's five alarm, right?

[Buck Sexton]

I think it's five alarm, right.

[Clay Travis]

I think that you're right.

[Buck Sexton]

That's a big scary fire. Yeah, this is a big scary fire for Democrats. For us, we are roasting marshmallows and enjoying all of this. This is fantastic. And it goes to everything we talk about, as you said, the anti masculine, anti white misjudging, the Latino misjudging, the young black male vote. I mean they, they are in freefall. And the great thing is, Clay, there's no signs of it stopping. It just keeps getting worse. And they won't change their messaging. They keep pushing for, let's have, you know, 200 pound guys playing on the women's athletics team in high school.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. And I do think this is so, by the way, one bit of news on this 30 states. You might be saying, okay, what happened in the other 20 states? The other 20 states don't have party official registration. So in my state of Tennessee, for instance, you walk in on a primary and pick which side you want to vote in. So there isn't official party registration. Some places have registered Democrats, some places have registered Republicans. 20 states do not. So they only have a 30 state data set. But this, to me, buck, it corresponds with all 50 states moved. Redder. If all 30 states are hemorrhaging Democrats such that the New York Times is writing about it and adding Republicans, it is a sign of a profound cultural shift. And I think the numbers are actually going to get worse. And this is why we had this conversation. In the wake of losing in 2024, Democrats had a real choice. Do we look ourselves in the mirror and say, boy, voters by and large rejected us, or do they say this is just a sign that our message is not getting through? Those are the only two paths, right? The first one is hard because it requires you to say, boy, this is on us. The second one, you put it on the voters. I think we've gotten a result so far. Six months after Trump won, Democrats have decided their message just didn't get through. And they have as a result, doubled, tripled, quadrupled down on crazy. And they're saying, well, they're ignoring the fact that Kamala outspent Trump. They're ignoring the fact that voters, I believe, heard, listened, analyzed and rejected the arguments being made by the Democrat Party and overwhelmingly chose the Republican Party instead. And here's what I think is particularly ominous, Buck. I think there are two things that are particularly ominous about this data. One, the two most Republican groups in the 2024 election were men under 30, women and men over 65. I bet that has never happened in the history of this country. And I think a lot of people are still not recognizing it, which means that the data as kids are getting younger instead of working in Democrat favor is actually working against them. And I'll come into the Travis household and give you an example on this. My 14 year old blew my mind because I, I'm, I can't believe that I'm going to have two grown adult sons by the next election. He told me right after 2024, dad, all my friends cannot wait to be 18 so we can vote against Democrats in 2028. These are 14 year old boys that will be 18. This is right now rising ninth graders. And there's a lot of these kids, they are overwhelmingly indexing Republican just like their older brothers did. Just like is happening out there. So I think the numbers are getting worse. That's point one for younger. Two and this is really transformative. And I know a lot of you out there are part of this group. Asian, Hispanic and black voters are increasingly moving towards the Republican side because culturally they are more male than they are Democrat and that men are men are saying we're done with the craziness. So I think both of those things are huge. Not only now, but looking forward and.

[Buck Sexton]

Just from a pure power perspective, the, the general belief is that after a presidential election, especially a tightly contested, hotly contested one, oh Republicans, or rather the party in Power Republicans in this case will get smackdown in the midterms and just also the overall political trend because when you're in power, it's easy for people to say you're not doing a good enough job of this and you messed that up. And you know, to be the political complainers tends to work right that the opposition party gets to say you're not delivering, you're not. And we've gotten used to that as our, as our framework for politics in this country, certainly at the national level. Well, here's the. And let me add that happened in 2016, 2017, going into that 2018 midterms. It was Trump hasn't delivered. They hadn't built the wall, they hadn't done this and that. And they were able to get substantial gains in 2018 in the house. And the Democrats were really fired up obviously about 2020. You could tell already by that midterm clay, that's not happening this time. And this is what I think is so concerning to the Democrats and so amazing for the rest of us is that they're not seeing the general, the general prevailing trends post this election are not ok. Democrats are going to snap back. Democrats are going to counterattack here. It's getting worse for them. Yeah, Trump's been president for seven months and things are getting better for Trump and worse for Democrats right away in all the numbers and all the metrics that they can see. I mean, here's one we didn't mention this battleground states, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania. Democrats are losing support in all of those states and continuing to bleed support based on voter regis. Remember, not all states have voter registration. What is it? It's like, what is it?

[Clay Travis]

30. 30 out of 30 out of 50. So I'm not, I'm not a register of anything in my state.

[Buck Sexton]

So, so 20 do not $30 all based on those 30 states, though you can look at Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, really important states. Democrats are still losing support when it comes to voter registration in those places. And they're also losing support when you look at voter switches, people that were Democrats and come to Republican side or Republicans who go in the other direction, more Democrats are leaving the Democrat Party. I don't know how this article could be worse for Democrats right now. There was not a single silver lining and anywhere, anywhere, full stop. It was a total. Oh, it was a delicious nightmare for them. I loved everything.

[Clay Travis]

By the way, one state that I think is not getting enough attention that is emblematic of this maybe more than most. Nevada. In Nevada, Democrats suffered the steepest percentage point plunge of any state other than West Virginia. West Virginia is pretty red place. Nevada swung massively to the Republican Party. I think there's an argument that Nevada is really teed up to become rock ribbed red.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I have a theory on West Virginia. Actually, let me come back into I have a theory. I think that West Virginia data is much more important even than the article suggests. We'll come back into this in a second. Look, there's only so many hours in the day where you can be thinking about what can I do for my long term financial health. But the benefits are worth it and you need to take a long term view. A long term plan. This isn't about day trading. Getting, getting in, getting out, making quick decisions like that. That's generally not a good idea for most folks and you don't have the time for that. What about something that makes sense over the long term? Maybe the longest term? I mean something that has had value for as long as there have been economies. Gold. The value of gold in just the last year has gone up about 40%. And central banks around the world are buying gold to back their currencies. And there's continued erosion of fiat currencies, including here at home, unfortunately because of all the spending and all the debt. This is why gold as a portion of your portfolio makes sense. Birch Gold Group makes owning physical gold very easy. They can convert an existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered IRA with physical gold. So if you got an old job and you got some 401k sitting around, you know, maybe you got, you know, 10 grand, 50 grand, whatever it is in that 401k, you're not doing much with it. Converting that into gold can make a lot of sense. Also you can just buy gold and keep it. And I have done that. And guess what? The gold that I've bought is worth a lot more now. Text my Name Buck to 989898 and Birch Gold will send you a free info kit on Gold. Again text Buck to 989898 to get started with Birch Gold Group today.

[Clay Travis]

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 this Labor Day.

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back into Clay and Buff. We're looking at these really interesting trends on party registration which are a, a great thing for the Republicans. And I would just say this, Clay, you said that the, the trend, the trend for the Democrat Party is terrible in Nevada, which is obviously an important swing state and the only place it's been worse was West Virginia. And I think that's because the increasingly people see the Joe Biden Blue Dog gun toting Democrat mythology as just that. I mean this is, there's no such thing as a moderate Democrat really anymore, not of any significance. They carry no weight in the party and nobody cares what they think in the Democrat Party. So I think that that's why you're seeing, you know, the numbers in West Virginia just going through the roof for Republicans and particularly in this last election. But Trump won 70 to 30 in West Virginia this last time around and that's only going to continue as well because you can't be a Democrat and be pro gun and pro life. They used to pull that off in some places. It doesn't exist really anymore.

[Clay Travis]

We'll talk more about this because I do think it's profound and I think a lot of Democrats are waking up this morning reading their morning New York Times and saying, my goodness, the country is a lot different than New York and la. Identity theft happens to tens of millions of people every year. Cyber thieves hack into a company database and steal your info. They snatch names, addresses, birth dates, even Social Security numbers. Lately it's been happening to a lot of airlines. So if you've flown anywhere in the last year, you might be at risk. It's important to understand how cybercrime and identity theft are affecting our lives. Your you can protect yourself with Lifelock's identity theft protection. If you become a victim of identity theft, a dedicated US based restoration specialist at Lifelock will help you fix it, guaranteed or your money back. Become a Lifelock member, if you haven't already. Join now. Save 40% off your first year with promo code Clay. Call 1-800-LIFELOCK. You can also go online to lifelock.com My name Clay. As the promo code for 40% off. That's lifelock.com promo code Clay. Welcome back in Clay. Travis Buck Sexton show appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We are talking about the challenge that Democrats suddenly find themselves in the midst of. As the New York Times is saying, hey, this is, this is a mess for you guys. And one of the, I would say big issues associated with this going forward. I wanted to come back to it is Democrats are unwilling to recognize that their message was heard and basically universally rejected by voters in all 50 states. So my question for you, Buck, is now that, let me say this, that doesn't mean that Democrats may not win in Virginia, doesn't mean that Democrats may not win in New Jersey, doesn't even mean next year Democrats might not have a chance to take back the House. Right. The trend lines can all be moving against them and turnout can still be significant. But I wanted to hit this because I think it's so important. For a long time you heard, oh, turnout favors Democrats, turnout favors Democrats. How many times have you guys heard that? The Data on the 2024 election actually shows that if every eligible American had voted, Trump would have won by more. Let me repeat that because I think it has not come through. Trump's margin in the popular vote would have become more substantial if everybody who didn't vote actually had gone out and voted well.

[Buck Sexton]

And the talking point about if I, if everyone voted, Democrats would win by more. This was a little bit like their selective love of the popular vote, particularly in the Bush Gore contest and then Hillary Trump, which is, we know that's not the contest you're running, so it doesn't matter, right? I mean, if, if, if, if you're playing first one to 21, you can't say, well, the 10 minute, the 10 minute quarter has ended, so I win. Like, you've got to set the rules and then you've got to see where things go. But they say this and they've been telling themselves this for a long time. And I think because of the dominance that they had in the broad spectrum legacy media, they were able to convince themselves of this. And, and, and really with COVID you got to see, this is why I think Covid is, is, was such an important moment for the country. I mean, I still think about it, I'm still angry about it, by the way, legitimately, I get, I get ticked off when I think about things that happened during COVID that Democrats did to us. And then a lot of Republicans were too cowardly to stop, I might add. But that was the Democrat Party unleashed unrestrained. That was what they really are, which is, you shut up, we're going to lie to you, we're going to kick you off the Internet, we're going to use government force to lock you in your homes, we're going to use government force to shut down your people, we're going to do all these things and we're going to Be unrepentant about it when it all is shown that it was wrong, unnecessary and, and just destructive. And then we're going to keep telling you, well, you know, you still have to say that a man can become a woman. Then we're going to keep telling you, you still have to say that unrestricted open borders aren't a bad thing for the country or for any country, for that matter. They decided that they were going to go for it and put themselves in a position where they could dictate what reality was. And they were wrong. And now they're seeing the pushback, the counterattack, and everything that needs to happen is happening.

[Clay Travis]

I think two things tie in with this, too. One, I think Trump has become a much more sophisticated politician. I think that his group that surrounds him, his, his aides, his cabinet, I think they are smarter. I think they are more reflective of the country and where the country stands. And I think Trump has taken advantage of the reflective, reflexive, anti Trump sentiment to actually just start taking positions that are 80 or 90% popular to see whether Democrats, D.C. crime is a good example. Men and women, sports are actually willing to continue to argue against him. And so far they have been. Here is the question that I have for you, Buck, and I also have this question for everybody writ large out there. If you are unwilling to acknowledge that everybody's hearing your message and rejecting it, which is what is happening so far with the Democrat Party, is there a truth teller on that side of the ledger that is going to emerge to redefine what the Democrat Party is? Or do they have to lose again in order to recognize that their message is being heard and rejected? Because I'll give you an example, Buck, some people are going to say we're just not being left wing enough. That could be the lesson to some of these people from Mamdani. Right. It is, hey, basically, let's just become communist. That's what has to motivate the base.

[Buck Sexton]

The real Democrat Party has never been tried.

[Clay Travis]

Yes, basically, right. Or, or is someone going to emerge who is somewhat of a centrist now, Gavin Newsom, look at you.

[Buck Sexton]

Look at you. This is the next. Go ahead, go ahead.

[Clay Travis]

Gavin Newsom has tried to flirt with centrism by saying, never the right thing, but that he hears the right argument. Remember when he was on with Sean Ryan, he said, I. What's your voice? I hear you.

[Buck Sexton]

It's like, yeah, it's like I'm hearing, I'm hearing what you're saying. I'm getting what you're putting down. And the wind through my hair is speaking to all of us.

[Clay Travis]

I'm hearing what you're saying is an amazing line because you don't actually say anything like, of course you're. Unless you're, Unless you're deaf. Of course you hear what I say. It doesn't mean that you actually agree with it. So that's his line. And you know who's actually making fun now of Gavin Newsom? This is a guy who I think has seen the tea leaves and he will blow in whatever direction the wind is blowing. Joe Scarborough, who just last year was telling us this was the best version of Biden he'd ever seen, now says Gavin Newsom's a total fake. Listen to this.

[Joe Scarborough]

The Democrats are trying to find their footing and it's quite embarrassing, actually. I mean, Gavin Newsom, I mean, have you seen what he's doing online? And say, just take a deep breath. Don't try to turn the ship 180 degrees and 1. They don't know what to do. I have a good idea. Instead of trying to make school. Donald Trump talking to the camera about affordability, why try to drag Muhammad Ali in the ring when you got Chuck Wepner standing right in front of you? Wepner's a bleeder. He's a bleeder. You want him.

[Buck Sexton]

So why are you going.

[Joe Scarborough]

I'm going after Arnold.

[Buck Sexton]

No, you're not.

[Joe Scarborough]

You're not running against Donald Trump. Go after Tweedledee or Tweedledum.

[Buck Sexton]

Who is.

[Clay Travis]

This is a low level boxer. But what, what? I think it's a very low level boxer from, like, somebody look it up. But the Muhammad Ali as Trump is funny because suddenly Trump is a great politician and he's a great boxer. In the analogies from. He's.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, he has kicked.

[Clay Travis]

He's kicked their tactician out there.

[Buck Sexton]

He's kicked their asses. I mean, they've had, they've had to accept Trump. Trump has kicked their. Trump has completely plowed the Democrat Party under Clay. We didn't even talk about it because of all the big news with Russia and all the things going on there. MSNBC has had to change its name. This is real, everybody. This is not the Onion. MSNBC is now going to be called Ms. Now, which honestly sounds like a channel dedicated to, you know, unmarried middle aged women who drink a lot of wine and read those novels that are, you know, by the front register or something at the grocery store. Like, Ms. Now. I mean, is this about, like, women's health? Like, what are we talking about, Clay? He has destroyed cnn. He has destroyed msnbc. The New York Times will never gain back, nor the Washington Post, whatever credibility that they used to have. He has crushed the fake media. He has burned their villages and heard the lamentations of their women. So, yes, they have to accept this. But I have a wild idea for you. I have a wild idea for you. You ready for this one?

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm putting on my clay Travis hat right now. Hey, look at me. I love SEC football and I make wild predictions that sometimes come true. I'm putting on my clay hat. Joe Scarborough's media career is going nowhere. Joe Scarborough should run for president as a Democrat. And I think he sees Gavin Newsom, and I think he's a little jelly. And I think he's considering it. I think he's considering it.

[Clay Travis]

I don't think that. That this is. I. This is a good.

[Buck Sexton]

I put on my clay.

[Clay Travis]

I think this is a good. I think this is a good take. I actually, I mean, Joe Scarborough used to be a Republican. He now is redefining himself. He called out Democrats for being against more police in dc. He's got the Ms. Now, the MSNBC base that likes him right there on the most popular show other than Maddow. He's obviously in the communication business. We know that he has no core belief, but that actually might benefit him if all the core beliefs of the Democrat Party are wrong. It's easier for someone without core beliefs to take over the party.

[Buck Sexton]

He's perfect, actually. And this is why Joe Biden was perfect for Democrats in 2020. Because he was old, people were scared. He didn't have to show up for anything. And he was able to be the. He was. The pretext of the old Democrat Party still exists. Now we know what happened. He was a dementia puppet. And you got AOC policies with a Joe Biden facade, right? And it was truly a facade because it was like, you know, the marionette, like, hey, here I am, everybody. I'm talking. And so that was what worked for them then. What would work for them now is a slick, grinning Gavin Newsom or Joe Scarborough type, soulless but smooth individual who can. Who is good on the stump, who knows how to debate, who knows how to do the. The oleaginous thing up there. Word of the day. And I think. I think Scarborough and actually Gavin. I think Scarborough and Newsom are the same creature. That's what I released. And I think Gavin Newsom and Joe Scarborough are such egomaniacs that they have what it takes to say absolutely anything to Win a Democrat primary. That's what I, that's what, that's where I see it. And you know, this would be an opportunity. I'm telling you. He would, it would, he would be, do very well in a primary. Remember msnbc, there's a, they have a strong minority and a strong female black viewership for, from within the, you know, the news cohorts, the news industry. And so they, they know him, they would like him, they would support him. I mean, I think, I think Scarborough running is not as, not a people always. You say on the right that Tucker was going to run, which I don't think that's going to happen. I think Tucker likes what he's doing now. But I, the Scarborough thing, you don't think it's crazy?

[Clay Travis]

No, I don't.

[Buck Sexton]

I put my clay hat on. And you agree?

[Clay Travis]

Well, I've been arguing for some time that it might take somebody outside of the Democrat Party and I think in the wake of Trump's success, there will be, I think multiple non traditional politicians who run on the Democrats.

[Buck Sexton]

You need star power to win a Democrat primary. Now, it used, you can't replicate the brand creation of other Democrats that have, you know, Biden, the guy's been in politics longer than you and I have been alive.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

And so that name recognition is effectively similar to the, you know, the celebrity status. Right. You're not going to get somebody who comes up now who doesn't have star power and wins a Democrat primary. This is again why I think AOC is certainly a vice president in waiting. And I think that that's where the Democrats are heading.

[Clay Travis]

Well, the reason I like the Scarborough Angle, Right. The outsider is this is my art, this is assertion. In order to win, a Democrat has to put the left wing in basically timeout. They have to lecture the left wing and say this party is not, this party doesn't exist just for trans people. This party doesn't exist just for people who believe that America is fundamentally awful and that American history is something to be ashamed of.

[Buck Sexton]

I think Joe Scarborough or Gavin Newsom, I mean this is, they're, they're the same, they're the same lane for the Democrats. Right. A guy with, who's smooth on the air, he's got good hair and is going to say whatever he has to say to make everybody play ball long enough that he can actually get power. And I think that the case from the Newsom Scarborough side of things is I don't care what you blue haired, you know, communist freaks.

[Clay Travis]

Yes, actually.

[Buck Sexton]

And again, we mean purple hair, not old people. Like people that dye their hair blue. I don't care what you communist freaks want. If you don't let me run this show a little bit, Trump and MAGA are just going to keep stealing your lunch for the next decade.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I think that's right. I also think some of the Democrats are too much of cowards to try to put what is a great phrase from Dirty Dancing, Nobody puts baby in the corner. You got to put crazy in the corner. And you got to say, like, I'm shutting the door on you loons. You can show up and vote. Whatever. You're not going to drive the party anymore. I think a lot of professional politicians are afraid of that because they're afraid of that party element coming back, the progressive wing in power. Whereas Joe Scarborough, what the heck does he care? He's got a television contract. He's got money. I don't know that Gavin Newsom is willing to truly burn the ships because if it doesn't work in 28, he might need those people in 32.

[Buck Sexton]

I just. One last thing. I know we got to get to a break with just Clay. You know this, you know this beast, you know this animal very well. The, the, the media personality who. We've all seen this playing out over decades. When you're at that stage at Scarborough's, at the guy's worth millions and millions of tens of millions of dollars. Probably at this point, he's a very wealthy guy. Okay. He's been doing TV a long time. His relevance is dropping immensely by being at msnbc. How do you become relevant again? Money doesn't really matter to you at that point very much. How do you become relevant again? You run.

[Clay Travis]

And also you've been embarrassed because you were the guy who said Biden was at his best. You need to change the story and you have to do something radical sometimes that's 100% true.

[Buck Sexton]

Because, because, because all you care. It's all ego driven and to change the story. I mean, look at, look, dude, look at Trump. Obama made fun of Trump at a dinner and the world changed.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. So, you know, I think that's right. I don't. I think the Scarborough idea is actually a good one. I think there will be other people. Dwayne the Rock Johnson, Mark Cuban. And I'm not signing on to any of these guys, but I think a lot of people will believe that they can be the Democrat version of Trump. Ali Dwyer and her three sons lost their hero, Steven, serving our country in the United States army. Was Steven's calling. Flying helicopters was his passion. Sadly, Stephen died in a Blackhawk helicopter crash over the Mediterranean Sea. He was awarded several medals including the Bronze Star. Ally says Stephen will always be the love of her life and her boy's real life superhero that they're proud to call their Daddy. Thanks to friends like you. Tunnel the Towers helped this family with a mortgage free home, giving them security and hope in their darkest hours. Tunnel the Towers provides mortgage free homes for families of our country's fallen heroes and builds specially adapted smart homes for severely injured heroes. The foundation is also committed to eradicating homelessness among our veterans and helping our nation keep its vow to never forget 911 help more families like the Dwyers. Join us in donating $11 a month to tunnel the [e-mail] that's tthenumber2t.org want to be in the Know when you're on The Go the Team 47 podcast drop 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.

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[Big Three Basketball Promo Announcer]

The reviews and ratings are in and Ice Cube's Big Three is the surprise hit of the summer. And to cap off the season, iHeart presents the Big 3 Basketball Championship and 8th Annual Big 3 All Star Game this coming Sunday, August 24th. Live from Orlando, the remaining two teams fight it out for the Big 3 Championship Dr. J Trophy in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. Don't miss the wild conclusion of Big Three's eighth and most historic season ever. This is the game no one wants to lose and there's no crying in the Big three. The action starts with the Big Three eighth annual All Star Game. Don't miss All Stars Dwight Howard, Montrez Harrell, MVP Michael Beasley, Lance will make you Dan Stevenson, Jordan Crawford, Greg Monroe, Earl Clark, Nasir Kor and more show you why they are the best three on three basketball players in the world. Big three's exciting all star game plus the crowning of a new big three champion. The no holds part action starts Sunday at 2pm Eastern, 11 Pacific only on CBS.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Hey there. I'm Mary Kathryn Hamm.

[Carol Markowitz]

And I'm Carol Markowitz. We've been in political media for a long time.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little insane.

[Carol Markowitz]

That's why we started Normalely a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling and with a healthy dose of humor.

[Carol Markowitz]

We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

So if you're into common sense, sanity, and some occasional sass, you're our kind of people. Catch new episodes of normally every Tuesday.

[Carol Markowitz]

And Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, we're closing up for the hour. The hour. Clay Buckle. Be back in a second with everybody here. We actually Talked to Heather McDonald about the D.C. crime situation. Heather McDonald's is always fantastic on the realities, the truth of crime and how to stop it. What's really going on? Quick VIP email Clay from from John Chuck Wepner, whose nickname was the Bayonne Bleeder, was the guy that almost beat Ali from nowhere. And the movie Rocky was about very. Is that true? I, I, I know nothing, so this could be it.

[Clay Travis]

Also a bad analogy by by Scarborough, because that guy's a pretty good boxer too.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, that's also it is a bad analogy. Is that true, guys? We need to fact check it. Get the grock out. Fact check this one.

[Clay Travis]

We'll be right back.

[Big Three Playoffs Announcer]

Aha presents the Big three playoffs this Sunday. The remaining four teams battle to make the championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. This reaction starts with the Big three Monster Energy celebrity game. Then Dwight Howard and his Ellie Riot take on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J Chicago Triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas Power, who will make it to the Big Three championship. The no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3pm Eastern, 12 Pacific only on.

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

You want smart political talk without the meltdowns? We got you.

[Carol Markowitz]

I'm Carol Markowitz.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

And I'm Mary Kathryn Hamm. We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.

[Carol Markowitz]

Normale Ly is about real conversations, thoughtful, try to be funny, grounded and no panic.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day.

[Carol Markowitz]

Join us every Tuesday and Thursday Normally.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.