Hour 1 - Trump's Economy

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 - Trump's Economy
Date: September 5, 2025
Hosts: Clay Travis, Buck Sexton
Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the state of the U.S. economy under the Trump administration, the lingering effects of Biden-era inflation, the dynamics and politics of tariffs, and a range of hot-button cultural and political topics. Clay and Buck combine economic analysis, reflections on political leadership, listener interaction, and commentary on current cultural debates—including J.K. Rowling vs. Malcolm Gladwell and the shifting landscape of sports, streaming, and American cities. The duo's conversational, humorous tone runs throughout, offering both hard-hitting opinions and lighter moments.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Economy: Recovery, Inflation, and Politics

Timestamps: 01:18–05:35

• Job Report & Outlook:
  • Hiring in August stalled with about 22,000 new jobs; mild summer slowdown but Buck advises against panicking.
    • Buck: "No panickings, Clay allowed. We have a no panickings policy." [02:30]
• Inflation’s Lingering Effects:
  • Clay criticizes Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s late action, emphasizing that inflation increases create a “new normal” for prices that don't revert:
    • “Once prices go up, they are inflated and the new normal becomes whatever those prices are. The best you can do is try to get back to normalcy.” [03:44]
  • Everyday examples: Meals at fast food with his kids cost far more than before; people’s mental price calculators are askew.
• Political Ramifications:
  • Buck: While the economy is strong, Democrats will attempt to pin any negative perceptions on Trump. Tariff issues are looming at the Supreme Court, with potential for policy upheaval:
    • "Are we really... going to give it back to these countries? It's crazy." [05:23]
  • Clay: Voters have a "lingering hangover" from the sharp inflation under Biden, causing a persistent sense of unease and potential political fallout.

2. Tariffs & Legal Uncertainty

Timestamps: 05:35–05:57, 40:00–41:43

• Tariffs in Court:
  • Buck updates listeners about a court challenge to Trump-era tariffs, mentioning the unprecedented scale ($1 trillion+) and the logistical/policy mess if tariffs are ruled unconstitutional.
• Listener Reaction (Flea Treatment Prices):
  • A caller complains about rising prices linked to tariffs. Clay responds with data suggesting overall inflation is down to 2.5% from the Biden-era peak, but acknowledges that embedded costs from the prior inflation are permanent:
    • “What Biden did never gets erased. It is a cost that is now embedded for all time.” [41:35]

3. Cultural Battles: J.K. Rowling, Malcolm Gladwell, and Cancel Culture

Timestamps: 05:57–16:28

• Gladwell’s Stance and Rowling’s Retort:
  • Discussed Gladwell’s admission of cowardice in the trans-sports debate and J.K. Rowling’s blunt criticism that he’s a “weather vane” rather than a genuine ally.
    • Rowling’s quote cited by Clay:
      "He hasn’t changed. He merely sensed a shift in what is acceptable to say ... He isn’t an ally, he’s a weather vane." [07:16]
• Cultural Courage:
  • Clay: Rowling had “no reason” to stick her neck out but did because of her principles; he encourages parents to get kids reading, especially in an “AI era”:
    • “If I can give any advice on education at all, it’s get your kids to read ... having the ability to distinguish truth from fiction ... may become the most important skill set.” [08:48]
• Advertising/Media as Choke Points:
  • Acknowledge how left-wing dominance in advertising and marketing allows suppression of dissenting (especially conservative) voices.
• Gladwell vs. Rowling Personal Dynamic:
  • Both are iconic in their genres; possible that Rowling’s criticism is based on personal knowledge of Gladwell’s true character:
    • “This feels to me like she knows or has felt for some time that he’s a fraud.” [11:19]
  • Buck: Confirms this dynamic and recalls similar observations from journalists like Matt Taibbi and Glenn Greenwald.

4. Building Parallel Conservative Institutions

Timestamps: 16:28–21:04

• Economic Countermeasures:
  • Clay emphasizes the need for conservatives to create businesses immune to leftist de-platforming, citing his own project, Crockett Coffee, as an example.
    • “We have to construct businesses that are going to stand the test of time and stand for what you believe in.” [16:41]

5. Listener Interaction: Sports Streaming Woes & Urban Flight

Timestamps: 22:33–29:27

• NFL on Streaming:

  • A caller expresses frustration with NFL games being scattered across multiple streaming services.
  • Clay: Finds the streaming landscape overly complicated—not saving money or improving service compared to cable; parents now need their kids to operate the controls.
    • “They sold us on this idea that when cable vanished, it would save you money, right? ... They’re charging us more and giving us less.” [24:32]

• Blue States and Cities Debate:

  • Callers and hosts debate abandoning left-run states/cities versus staying to fight.
  • Buck: Warns that total abandonment cedes power and allows Democrats to lock up electoral advantages.
    • "It’s like ceding your fortresses ... and then wondering why you can’t win the war." [26:27]
  • Clay: Agrees but sympathizes with those exhausted by blue-state policies.

6. Politics Meets Pop Culture: White House UFC and Generational Shifts

Timestamps: 27:44–32:57

• UFC on the White House Lawn:

  • Hosts are amused (and divided) over news that Trump plans to host a UFC fight on White House grounds, seeing it as a play for young, male voters.
  • Buck: Cautions that this blurs the entertainment/politics line and could set a precedent for future presidents.
    • “The line between entertainment and politics... is essentially obliterated already.” [29:33]

• Powdered Wigs & Baldness Tangent:

  • Buck and Clay riff on historical trends (including powdered wigs due to syphilis) and Michael Jordan’s fashion influence, weaving in playful banter about male pattern baldness and cultural icons.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Inflation:

  • Clay Travis: “The challenge is prices never come back down, ever. This is the pernicious nature of inflation.” [03:44]

• On Cultural Courage:

  • Clay Travis: “J.K. Rowling, I never would have expected that a British lady who wrote books about sorcerers and wizards ... would ever be the savage that she is in the world of consumer culture and political opinion.” [14:28]

• On Parallel Conservative Businesses:

  • Clay Travis: “We have to construct businesses that are going to stand the test of time and actually stand for what you believe in. This is why we created Crockett Coffee...” [16:41]

• On Streaming Frustration:

  • Clay Travis: “I want to have one remote control that is automatically allowing me to watch whatever I want to watch under the sun. And when I have to go log in to multiple different devices... I don’t feel like we’re saving money. I don’t feel like we’re benefiting.” [24:32]

• On Abandoning Blue Cities:

  • Buck Sexton: “It’s like ceding your fortresses ... and then wondering why you can’t win the war.” [26:27]

• On Pop Culture & Politics Colliding:

  • Buck Sexton: “The line between entertainment and politics... is essentially obliterated already. Maybe, but it’s going to get even more linked together.” [29:33]

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Important Timestamps for Key Segments

• Main Economic Analysis: 01:18–05:35
• Tariffs & Legal Worry: 05:35–05:57; revisit at 40:00–41:43
• Rowling vs. Gladwell & Culture Wars: 05:57–16:28
• Parallel Conservative Economy: 16:28–21:04
• Listener Calls (Streaming, Cities, NFL): 22:33–29:27
• UFC at the White House, Pop Culture: 27:44–32:57

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Tone & Style

The episode is energetic, humorous, and at times irreverent, with seamless movement between deeply serious economic/political topics and lighter, culture-oriented riffing. Clay and Buck’s banter and relatable anecdotes (from Chick-fil-A runs to Michael Jordan trivia) make for accessible, engaging listening.

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This summary captures the episode’s main points, highlights standout moments and quotes, and provides references for major discussion sections, offering a comprehensive guide for those who haven’t heard the show.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Clay Travis]

Now you can stream Fox News Live on the Fox One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen, all from the FOX voices you trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your 7 day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now. Welcome everybody, to the Friday edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. We are racked and stacked on this Friday. That's right. It is time, my friends, to dive into all of it. It is September, so no more afternoon nap time because it's summer, everybody. We got a. We got a nation to save. We got a world to solve. We got things to do and we're doing it right now. Florida Surgeon General Joseph Doctor, real doctor, not a Jill Biden doctor. Dr. Joseph Ladapo will be with us to talk about Florida's vaccine mandate situation. It's a little more complicated than some of what the headline suggests. And we want to hear from the man himself, Dr. Latapo, Florida surgeon General and I think somebody that you may very well see somewhere in the Trump administration over the course of the four years. We'll see. We can ask him about that. Our buddy Dinesh d' Souza has another film, that Dragon's Prophecy. He'll talk to us about that in the third hour. Remember yesterday I said they don't make good films anymore? Well, there are some independent films. Conservative filmmakers out there are doing cool stuff. So we'll talk to Dinesh about his movie. Just in the realm of we gotta cover it because it's out and news Today, not a whole lot to say about it. You got hiring stalled, US economy out of 22,000 jobs in August. A little bit of a summer slowdown, but no big deal. Don't panic. It's all going to be fine. No panickings, Clay allowed. We have a no panickings policy. I might have to get a no panic in sign. Whenever we talk about the economy, you Certainly don't panic. Mr. Mr. Clay over there telling everybody when the market was getting shellacked earlier this year, don't, don't run for the lifeboats. Stay on the icon of the seas or whatever your preferred vessel is and you'll be fine. So, Clay, do you see anything? I got something else we're going to dive into in a second. But just your quick reaction to jobs report, where the economy's heading right now, how it's all looking.

[Clay Travis]

Jerome Powell was late again and they're going to cut rates in September. He was wrong in allowing the overall entry, the overall inflation rate to get to 9.1, sorry, 1% during Biden. And I think the biggest issue that Trump faces in terms of sort of vibe, for lack of a better way to describe it, is people are still angry because prices went up so fast under Biden. I mean, to me, that is a lot of people are out there and they're saying, well, prices haven't come back down. And I think the challenge is prices never come back down, ever. This is the pernicious nature of inflation. Once prices go up, they are inflated and the new normal becomes whatever those prices are. The best you can do is try to get back to normalcy. And we are back to normalcy. But trust me, I've been saying this for years. Every time I go through a fast food restaurant, drive through with my kids, Chick Fil A is usually our preferred place. The amount of money that it costs me makes me shake my head. It doesn't feel right. And people have sort of internal calculators in their head for what something should cost. Coffee in the morning, a trip to a fast food restaurant with your kids, a pizza. And all of it is wildly out of sorts with what it should have been if Biden hadn't gotten elected and screwed up everything. So I think there's a lingering hangover effect, for lack of a better way of describing it, for the massive run up in inflation that we saw. And it's going to take years for people to recognize that things start to feel normal again. Does that make sense? And so I think that's going to.

[Buck Sexton]

Be going on, even if what you say, and I think what you say on this is, is correct, even if it's economically true, it can still be politically a problem. Right. It is Trump's economy now. So the Democrats are going to try to pounce on this. They don't care that Biden, it's like blaming that, like Republicans will get blamed when the debt's $37 trillion. But when it was $36.5 trillion, Democrats had no problem.

[Clay Travis]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, there's going to be some of that gamesmanship going on here. But bottom line is I think the economy's still very strong, going to better places. And I am, I am optimistic. Although I will say we didn't discuss this. The Trump team looking at tariffs, or rather the Supreme Court is supposed to look at tariffs, Trump team had an appeals decision that went against them. And now there's the possibility that this tariff stuff may be undone by judges saying the president doesn't have the authority. That's a mess. That's a mess. So I don't know what that's going to do. But this is in the. Are we really, we really want to see what happens if almost a trillion dollars in collected money, what are we going to do? Give it back to these countries? It's crazy. So we'll see. Two other stories, by the way, that are high up on the radar for us just to put a pin in them. The mayor of D.C. it's like I told you all from the beginning, kind of likes Trump's crime crackdown. Kind of likes it. We got a story on that one, a scoop on that. And the U.S. is deploying 10 fighter jets, jets to Puerto Rico, I think, to maybe blow up more cartel drug ships, which is they're, they're serious about this. And Pete Hegset, the secretary of defense, spoke directly about it. But Clay had had to go to this one. We had quite a robust discussion yesterday about Malcolm Gladwell. And we discussed that he has come out and said, and he admitted that he was too cowardly to say the truth. That's not saying that he believed it. And now has learned more. New facts of facts have come in. He just said, look, I'm too much of a, I was too much of a wimp about trans men competing against women in sports. And I said to you, well, do we give credit, Clay, or do we have to look at this as pure opportunism? Right. J.K. rowling, who you and I both hold in high regard, the Harry Potter author wrote this about the situation. I want to get Clay's reaction. Gladwell's career wouldn't have been destroyed if he spoke out against the glaring unfairness, not to mention dangers, of allowing men to compete in women's sports. He'd have faced the loss of approval from the cultural elite and received activist blowback. And even that wouldn't have come with the tsunami of death and rape threats women face when they speak out. Non famous people, mostly women, girls and gay people, have genuinely had their careers and lives destroyed for saying what Gladwell was too pusillanimous to say, and he didn't lift a finger in their defense. She goes on and on. He hasn't changed. He merely sensed a shift in what is acceptable to say and feels safe to align himself with the new consensus excusing his previous behavior. He isn't an ally, he's a weather Vanessa Clay off the top rope.

[Clay Travis]

We talked about this, I believe, with Vin Shapiro, and I think one of the most challenging things out there is when do you give grace and when do you not? And I, I love J.K. rowling because as we said and have said for some time, she had no reason to need to do this. She is publishing royalty. She could have after she wrote the Harry Potter books, which are fantastic. My 10 year old is reading them now. I bet a lot of your kids and grandkids may have not been readers. And if they do become readers later in life, it's often because you get them started at an early age with the gift of learning what books can bring to their lives. And you and I were both huge readers at young ages. I would say if I can give any advice on education at all, it's get your kids to read. I think it's going to become even more important in an AI era where having the ability to distinguish truth from fiction and real from fake is going to become maybe the most important skill set that a child can have and that a young adult can have. And I would say that exists now. Look, I lived this and all I can tell you is I don't think the full story on the power of the left to take over advertising, marketing and recognize it as a area that they can control and dominate all discourse.

[Buck Sexton]

It's a cultural and economic choke point. A huge one.

[Clay Travis]

I don't think most people even still understand it. And so I live this. I told you guys, uh, I was, I had a multimillion dollar fanduel which you would think would be about beer.

[Buck Sexton]

Drinking sports fans, but apparently they're about transgender guys, you know, smashing volleyballs into girls faces. But Clay, what do you think about this assessment from J.K. rowling? Because she kind of, she kind of ripped Gladwell's face off with this one, let's be honest. I mean she went, she went for the jugular here. She was not messing around.

[Clay Travis]

Well, I think it's particularly interesting because I would see them as in many ways contemporaries by which I mean I would bet J.K. rowling is basically the best selling fiction author of her generation.

[Buck Sexton]

I think she's the first author billionaire from actual works created as an author. I think she is that has that title.

[Clay Travis]

And I would submit you said Michael Lewis, but I would bet Malcolm Gladwell has so has sold more copies of nonfiction books than almost anybody of his generation. Certainly he's worth, I would bet, hundreds of millions of dollars because of his books. When I read this, you sent it to me this morning. I hadn't seen it yet. It actually to me read as she knows that he's a fraud on a personal level.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, yes. We didn't talk about this beforehand, but I think she knows stuff. Go ahead. So I don't mean to cut, I just thunder. But you're right.

[Clay Travis]

When, when sometimes if you see a particular venom from people in public life, it's because, hey, I'm not going there fully about what I know about you, but I'm not going to give you grace because I know you're full of it. I've never met Malcolm Gladwell. I have no relationship with him. I have no knowledge of him on a personal level. I've enjoyed several of his books. That's my full scope. I've never met J.K. rowling. I don't know anything about her. I find it hard to believe that the two of them, given their prominence in the writing communities, would not have crossed paths and or be in some way knowledgeable of each other's personal as well as professional lives. And so this feels to me like she knows or has felt for some time that he's a fraud. Different in public than in private because it's such a takedown to me. It doesn't read as someone just has a different political opinion than me. It reads as this guy's a total fraud who is truly a weather vane and you can't trust him. And she's basically coming after him for that reason. So I think it's bigger than the disagreement.

[Buck Sexton]

Right. So that I, the thing that I totally agree with here in your assessment is that she, she was on a panel or saw him with someone on a Panel. I mean, I even saw Matt Taibbi, who was a man solidly of the left as a writer, but because he has approached things with some journalistic objectivity and, and honesty, he has found himself in agreement with the right more and more. A little bit like Glenn Greenwald, for example. Like Glenn is. I completely disagree with him on some things, Israel being one of them. But when you talk about First Amendment and free speech stuff and government transparency, he agrees with a lot of people on the right about a lot of stuff and the deep state. But Taibi also went after Gladwell, which I thought was interesting for, for basically calling Matt Taibbi a racist. So, so the, the, the knives are out a bit here. It was interesting to see. By the way, to your point, I checked this out. Michael Lewis has sold about 10 million copies, which is for an author, you know.

[Clay Travis]

Unbelievable.

[Buck Sexton]

That's. That's a lot. Gladwell has sold almost 25 million, so.

[Clay Travis]

A lot.

[Buck Sexton]

The guy sold a lot of books.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

So, yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Do you get me? I. They definitely. And by the way, sometimes this stuff happens behind the scenes, where whatever you think about both you and me, I've never been an anonymous source, like I tell you, basically, for better or worse. Exactly what I think.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

There are people like Glad. I'm saying I don't think J.K. rowling is tiptoeing up to anything. I think she's saying exactly what she believes to be true. Sometimes people like Gladwell are very political behind the scenes, and they're pulling levers and they're trying to say, oh, I didn't have any idea that was going to happen, really. Everybody knows these people. Who are they? Present one way, face to face, but then you find out you've been getting stabbed in the back by them secretly sort of in the.

[Buck Sexton]

It's called working in the media. It's called working in the media, Clay. Yes.

[Clay Travis]

So to me, I read this and I thought, she's not giving him grace because she knows he is unworthy of receiving grace. And, and so I read that, and I got to tell you, J.K. rowling, I never would have expected that a British lady who wrote books about sorcerers and wizards and, you know, child. Children's fantasy would ever be the savage that she is in the world of, of. Of consumer culture and political opinion. But, my goodness, I love her. I'd love to meet her at some point, have her on the show. I think that would be amazing.

[Buck Sexton]

We'll reach out. I mean, she's a billionaire, so her time is probably Pretty valuable. We'll try. Uh, but I would say Trump's a billionaire, he calls it. He hangs out with us. So maybe, maybe JK will call in. I would say, though, she sees what this brain virus, which, and I don't mean just transgenderism, I mean the brain virus of, of forced lying and forced falsification in society. She sees what it's doing to the uk and I think it makes her deeply sad for her home country because it's winning over there. You see, it's a different context. Everyone here, we still are on the air. Trump is in charge. Conservatism is ascendant right now, or the right. Let's just say the right is ascendant in this country, in this moment in the uk, it's turning into a route, a route against free speech, a route against secure borders, a route against basic truth. And I think she's very concerned because she sees that that's happening.

[Clay Travis]

I think that's 100% right. And honestly, if you read her books, which I have and which I would encourage you to buy for your kids and grandkids, much of the book, honestly, is focused with what happens when freedom of speech vanishes, when the media can't be trusted. I mean, if you read this in the context in which she is living in England, she addressed this as part of her books in a fairly substantial way.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Caller / Listener]

Making America great again isn't just one man, it's many. The Team 47 podcast 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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[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.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. A lot of people weighing in and discussing so many of these different topics. I think what is compelling here is, and this is where I think there needs to be a real commitment going forward. And Elon Musk has started to file these lawsuits and those of you who listen to Rush went through this for a long time. There has never been an equivalent attempt to shut down moneymaking ability on the left like the left tried to shut down moneymaking ability on the right. And we have to construct businesses like Crockett Coffee. I mean, this is the way to protect yourself. You have to construct businesses that are going to stand the test of time and and actually stand for what you believe in. This is why we created Crockett Coffee, why we're working on additional businesses, why I think it's so important. The so called conservative space, which is really just America is awesome and capitalism is good, why we need to create these spaces. And that's what we're trying to do directly. I mean, Crockett Coffee, if you love America, it should be the coffee that you drink, that you buy for your friends. We're up on Amazon now. You can find us everywhere. You use code book right now and you can try out the coffee for yourself. Please go give us reviews on Amazon. I'm told that that is important. We want to be everywhere. We want to be supporting as a flagship for freedom, not only on this program, but also buying ads elsewhere and building a great indestructible force for the innate goodness of American life. And that requires supporting companies that love you as much as we can.

[Buck Sexton]

AI is a big deal, as you know. And leadership in AI is going to mean leadership in economics and even national security in the future. This is why the Trump administration is absolutely dead set on making sure that we gain and maintain a lead over rivals like China, India and Russia when it comes to artificial intelligence. It's a crucial tool for America, for our future. And this administration, President Trump, is preparing an estimated trillion plus dollars investment and bringing in multiple partners to do it. It's what I call Manhattan Project 2. And it's to take back our lead in the AI arms race. It could trigger a handful of US companies to skyrocket and it could happen as soon as October 15th. I break it all down in a brand new interview that you've got to watch. Check it out and see all the details. We're taking this one off air, so to speak. The website is offair25. Go watch this interview today off air25.com paid for by Paradigm Press. All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. Got a lot of talkbacks, a lot of emails. Let's have a discussion about it, my friends. Remember, the talkback is on the iHeartRadio app. All you should have that app on your phone. That is fantastic. And you can go to the Clay and Buck page and you press the microphone and you can send us a talkback. You can also call in live, you know, old school. We like that too. And you know the phone number 800-282-2882. Let's take a WJNO listener. This is Talk Back a Rob from Florida.

[Rob (Caller)]

Hey, Clay and Buck. This is Rob from West Palm. I know that Buck will be following Mr. Pickles this weekend. But, Clay, I have a question for you. Is it right for the NFL to give out all of these games to these different streaming services? You have to watch one game on YouTube, one game on Paramount and another streaming service. I don't think it's right on us, but I appreciate.

[Clay Travis]

First. First of all, I bet that huge majorities of you listening right now watched last night the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Dallas Cowboys. But two thirds of our prize picks. Week one pick, Saquon Barkley. Touchdown, as Buck likes to call him. Sequan got the touchdown for us.

[Buck Sexton]

And Sequan always comes through for me, as does Mr. Pickles.

[Clay Travis]

Mr. Pickles was on the field last night. George Pickens, for those of you who missed when Buck tried to give out a Price picks pick when I was out and said George Pickles instead of George Pickens. And then we got the over the more on yardage for CD Lamb. So if Josh Allen passes for more than one and a half touchdowns, which I think he will on Sunday night, four to one. Boom. Winner to start the season. Good start. All right, so I hope you guys used price picks code. Clay, I don't know if you're like this, Buck, I am getting. I know I'm getting to be somewhat of a grumpy old man. I want to have one remote control that is automatically allowing me to watch whatever I want to watch under the sun. And when I have to go log in to multiple different devices, multiple different streaming services, they sold us on this idea that when cable vanished, it would save you money, right? But now, I don't know how many things you subscribe to. Buck, just off the top of my head, and I've got three boys, and I think my wife subscribes to every subscription service on the planet. I have Netflix. We have in the household. Netflix, Amazon, Peacock, whatever. The other Paramount. We have Amazon Prime. I don't think we have Apple tv. I think that's the only one we haven't subscribed yet. Plus, I still have Comcast. And so I sit down and one of the things I have to do now is yell for one of my kids to be like, hey, can. How do I get the game? Can you just figure out how to put the game on, please? And they know how to do it because they're.

[Buck Sexton]

Unc. Just has to wave the white flag in front of the kids.

[Clay Travis]

I. So I agree with our. Our talkback guy there. It has gotten way too complicated. And it's not just sports. It's just streaming in general. I don't feel like we're saving money. I don't feel like we're benefiting. They're charging us more and giving us less. And moreover, it is not an ease of product issue. So I bet most of you out there agree with me, to say nothing of the fact that if you just go streaming, you're like a minute behind the actual game. So I have buddies texting me sometimes a minute ahead, two or three plays ahead, I can follow on an app the like Scorecast and be behind. So anyway, I'm fired up about this. We got a lot of talk backs. This is Neil in North Carolina talking. Let's see. BB hey guys.

[Neil (Caller)]

Neil, North Carolina, I just wanted to say I agree with Clay completely. I think it's time for everyone who's even a little bit sane to abandon these moronic, idiot Democrat run cities and states, let them make their bad decisions and burn so that we can come back later and rebuild something that they destroyed.

[Clay Travis]

Look, this is not an arguing buck. WOR listeners are not happy, not happy with me, some of them, although some of them agree with me when I say you just got to let the Democrats stew in their stupidity and we're trying to fight so hard to save them from themselves when they're making the.

[Buck Sexton]

Choices that what ends up happening. First of all, Neil is calling in from North Carolina, which is very on the edge as a red state. Ok, it's, I know, I know Trump is, has made it solidly red, but North Carolina is not exactly a sure thing for, for the, you know, for the rest of our time as a red state. So that's part one of this. Ok, so you got problems in North Carolina that you got to deal with, politically speaking. I'm just saying I love North Carolina, but you got a lot of Democrats there. And then the other part of this, Clay, is allowing consolidation of Democrat control completely unopposed in cities and even worse in blue states. Just mean it's like, it's like ceding your fortresses or your castles to the other side and then wondering why you can't win the war. Why, why do Democrats, why are they able to be as insane as they are? Well, a big part of it is they flip California blue and now they start out with a state with 40 million people in it voting entirely blue in national elections. So I hate to say it, but, you know, it's a little bit like saying just keep dropping back and punting. Eventually, Clay, you're going to get tackled.

[Clay Travis]

For a safety that is A analogy, by the way. This is pretty cool. We're talking about culture, by the way.

[Buck Sexton]

Can I say Clay thought Clay watched me doing that one. He's like, he was watching a hippopotamus on a unicycle. He's like, is he going to say he's running a Pixel 6? Like, what's going to happen here?

[Clay Travis]

I didn't know how that was going to end. A there they are saying, this is going to be so cool. The, you know, the ufc literally, this just dropped as we were talking about culture and the impact Trump is having. The UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House. You know, they are now firming up the details of this. They're doing the weigh ins at the Lincoln Memorial. They are going to have a huge. On the steps of the Lincoln. Buck is going to lose it. Ufc. This is according to the Hill. They are going to do weigh ins for the UFC fight at the Lincoln Memorial. In the fight's going to be in June of 2026. Fireworks, light shows fire weigh ins at the Lincoln Memorial. Fan activity spread out across the National Mall for what may be the most secure sporting event in the history of maybe American sports. And the octagon cage is going to be on the South Lawn. I just, I understand some of you out there say, hey, this is crazy. What young men, generations of young men are going to see this and be. They're going to vote Republican for the next 20 years. They're going to be like, this is awesome. This is incredible. And I understand some of you out there, including potentially Buck Sexton himself, are going to say, this is, this is ridiculous. I'm telling you, I think it's kind of genius.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay, I'm willing to let this one play out. I would say that's where I am to see what we're going for here. Because keep in mind, there will be a time at which there's a Democrat president again. And now we're kicking the door wide open for, you know, Taylor Swift on the, on the White House lawn, you know, concert as part. I mean, just this is going to. The line between entertainment and politics, I think is, is essentially obliterated already. Maybe, but it's going to get even more linked together and unfortunately there are a lot of annoying celebrities on the left. So just, just get ready for that. It's going to happen down the line. I'm just saying there's a precedent here. I'm not saying anything bad about the UFC idea here. Could be amazing, could be great. But the other side is going to do this stuff at some point too. I hope that Clay's right in that this will have long term political implications for us. I'm not quite as sure. I just feel like at the weigh in, maybe they should dress, you know, like powdered wigs and. And breeches, you know, Thomas Jefferson and. And George Washington style or something like that. The whole history of powdered wigs. Do you know about. This is like a really. This is kind of a weird. But. But you know why they started wearing powdered wigs?

[Clay Travis]

They.

[Buck Sexton]

Because there was so much baldness because of. There was. What's the venereal disease that cause syphilis? I think. Yeah. Causes baldness. And so a lot of men started wearing powdered wigs as a way of covering up the baldness they had from long term syphilis. And then it just became a fashion. Now if I'm. If I just read that on the Internet and that's wrong, let me know. But I believe that is in fact the case, which is. I mean, you know, you'll never look at those powdered wigs the same way. You're like, wow, that's how that happened.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, well, syphilis eventually made you insane. So that's a tough one to deal with back then.

[Buck Sexton]

It's not that everybody who wore a powdered wig had syphilis, but it's that it became fashionable, I believe in France first, but it be. Of course. But it became fashionable because you had enough men who were wearing these things to cover up their baldness that they turned it into a trend.

[Clay Travis]

One of my favorite. So this is also a baldness trend that became popular. Michael Jordan made shaving bald head. Right. How popular was Michael Jordan? For those of you out there that do not remember this, Michael Jordan had really bad balding. And so he could have gone old school. Like black man with like half an afro, which was not a good look, I think. Sorry, bald black men. But who may still have. I don't even think anybody has the half the afro. You know, that's the receding hairline line. He shaved his head bald because he was going bald. Hey, LeBron maybe would have been a good move, by the way. And it was so popular. Michael Jordan was that guys with full heads of hair started to shave off all of their hair so they could have a bald head like Michael Jordan. Think about how amazing that is. This guy made male pattern baldness the preferred choice. Jesse Kelly, you just need. He needs to be the Michael Jordan of.

[Buck Sexton]

I knew Jesse Kelly all seven feet of them were about to get thrown into the bus by players.

[Clay Travis]

Also a tall balding man, much like Michael Jordan. Maybe if he just went full shaved head dome, he could for white men do for bald men what Michael Jordan did for black men, which was black guys who had otherwise perfect hair decided to take it off. Because Jordan's male pattern baldness of going bald. That's how cool Michael Jordan was. He made baldness cool.

[Buck Sexton]

Michael Jordan's coolness is the memory for me Other than being a long suffering Knicks fan who just watched all of our hopes and dreams get ripped ripped from us by Michael Jordan time and time again. Usually in the Eastern Conference NBA finals, but in John Starks. Just couldn't get it done for me. I'm such a John Starks fan. Just couldn't get it done. I remember that the Air Jordans were so, such a cultural icon. And I always wanted. And they would come out with a new one every year. And I played basketball in grammar school. I was not a good basketball player. You don't have to send me all of your, like I played D1 basketball. Like I played like 8th grade basketball. Okay. But I remember in those years if you showed up clay to my little Catholic school and you didn't have the new Air Jordans. Oh yeah, people were going to. Like people are going to. You had to have them. If you didn't have them, it's like you weren't a serious basketball player even at age 13 or 14. And of course my dad was very thrifty. And so we would go into Foot Locker and his favorite thing to ask the staff was what's on sale? And we go to like the sale bin and I would show up with like neon pink, neon green, like off brand basketball sneakers. Cause we had to get the, you know, the, the off brand variety. Yeah. Fortunately I had a decent jump shot.

[Clay Travis]

But Michael Jordan still out. So one of my favorite stats, Michael Jordan's Air Jordan sneakers still outsell every current NBA player combined. That's how popular Jordan is. He also went from the short short era. Remember when everybody used to wear the like the, what's the, the, the, the ball huggers.

[Buck Sexton]

The John Stockton back in the day.

[Clay Travis]

The John Stockton's short shorts. Then they went to the big baggy shorts. Now the short shorts are starting to come back. I don't know you young kids out there, young boys. Like I don't know how they wear them. My son's one of them. By the way. My wife texted me. She says I am responsible for all of Our streaming services for cable. This is probably true because I said the point of the emailer initially or the talk backer, you have to have all of these different services, and I just layer them on. By the way, you just got recently married. Buck, suggestion. Don't do what I did when we forgot our Amazon prime subscription and just say, just open a new account. You know, it doesn't matter how much time it takes. That is not a. That is not a smart argument to make. But that's trying to track down your passwords. I don't know how many different accounts we have for a lot of these.

[Buck Sexton]

I love how Clay also just throws. You know, Clay's very 20 years. So you just got married. It's like, Clay, it's been almost three years, buddy. That's just very, like, Buck just got married yesterday. It's like, I'm going on year three here. But yes, yes, indeed, that is.

[Clay Travis]

That's still.

[Buck Sexton]

I've learned a lot.

[Clay Travis]

You're a new. You're a newlywed in the mind of a. I've learned a lot.

[Buck Sexton]

But as. As I tweeted this morning, you know what wifey had to do? Had to ask me to get something off the top shelf or no better feeling as a man. I just come over there, I just stretch out my deltoid, just reach up there, grab it for her, you know, all five foot three of her standing there, and I'm just like, I got you, honey. I can get that thing off the high shelf for you. Feel like a man.

[Clay Travis]

Also, though, have you had the situation where because she is small, she just assumes that you can reach up and get anything? And you're like, that's actually on the ceiling.

[Buck Sexton]

And then I am. And then I am sadness because I'm like, honey, I need a stool too for that. And she's like, wow, I thought you could get that one, too. It hurts.

[Clay Travis]

Does hurt. Look, many dedicated first responders out there, service members like Austin Reese, have paid a huge price for the safety and freedom we all enjoy. Austin served three deployments to Iraq, spending 13 years with the Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit. He learned to skydive on the job, became a military free fall instructor. But in what was thought to be a routine jump, something went terribly wrong, and Austin hit the ground at 65 miles an hour. In that moment, his life changed forever. He suffered immensely, even though he survived that accident. In fact, he had a spinal cord injury that left him paralyzed. Thanks to the generosity of friends like you, Tunnel, the towers gave Austin a specially adapted smart home to enable him to rebuild his life after an unimaginable hardship. You helped Austin restore his dignity, independence and hope for the future. And in doing so, he you honored his service in the most meaningful way. Help heroes like Austin Join us in donating $11 a month to tunnel the towers at t2t.org that's t the number two t.org Geek out with the guys.

[Caller / Listener]

On the Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck Podcast a new episode every Sunday. Find it on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[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.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show Rolling through the Friday edition of the program. I don't know if we mentioned, by the way, the Surgeon General of the state of Florida, Dr. Latipo, made a lot of news with his decisions on vaccines. He's going to join us in the next hour at 1:30 to have a discussion about that. We already talked with Dr. Sapphire. Was it earlier this week, a couple of days ago, about that story as well. And then in the third hour, Dinesh D' Souza will join us at 2:30 has a new movie that he has made. So that is where we are headed. You can talk back. And we have got a ton of you jumping in and, and giving us feedback on a variety of different topics. Let's go to CC in Toledo, Ohio. He's talking about the issue which is looming out there, which is cost of goods. Cece.

[Caller / Listener]

Yeah.

[Caller]

But not only is the problem Biden. I'm a little irritated with Trump right now and I'm a huge supporter of his. But even my local Walmart is jacking the prices of stuff up because of the tariffs right now and the cost. And it's getting to the point where it's ridiculous. The price of flea treatment for my cat just doubled in the past week. It's just, it's getting outrageous and he needs to do something.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay, Clay, how's your, how's your cat flea treatment coming along?

[Clay Travis]

I don't get me started on these stupid cats.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay's cats. Well, I swear I'm at Clay's house and I see a cat, I'm like, which one's that? He's like, I don't even know. I don't even know. I can't even believe they're still here.

[Clay Travis]

They leave, they flee the house every now and then. And I'm like, I don't care if they come back. I mean, they have torn up everything in the house. The data. I appreciate that feedback. The data. I think what he's reflecting does not actually suggest that there has been, I mean, look, the most recent numbers on tariffs and on inflation, we're talking about around a 2 1/2% inflation rate. Ish. It was 9.1 during Biden. I can't speak. Speak to what flea powder cost or how the price of flea powder has changed. But the overall prices at Walmart have not changed substantially. And overall grocery prices have not gone up substantially. Gas is actually down, but the embedded cost of goods is not coming back down. That's the pernicious nature of inflation. What Biden did never gets erased. It is a cost that is now embedded for all time. And people unfortunately are going to be grappling with Biden's economic failures for years and years to come. Beyond the Trump term.

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

This is an iHeart podcast.