Hour 1 - Trump’s Midas Endorsement Touch

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 – Trump’s Midas Endorsement Touch
Date: May 20, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton break down the dramatic results from six major primary elections held the previous night, spotlighting the continuing dominance of Donald Trump’s influence in Republican politics. The discussion revolves around Trump's “Midas endorsement touch,” featuring analysis of key races (notably Thomas Massie’s loss in Kentucky), broader implications for the GOP, the impact of social media versus real-world voting sentiment, and memorable commentary on the state of polling and political strategy for battleground states. The episode’s tone is spirited, sharp, and candid, with both hosts weighing in on current GOP dynamics and the future for controversial figures.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump's Unwavering Influence on GOP Primaries

• Takeaway: Across the key primaries in Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Idaho, and Oregon, Trump-endorsed candidates overwhelmingly prevailed, reaffirming Trump’s status as the Republican Party’s central figure.
• Clay Travis: "Most Trump areas of the country are still saying we want to elect people who are, who are going to help to advance President Trump's perspective... Trump's power has not faded among his base." (06:50)

2. Thomas Massie’s Upset Loss in Kentucky

• Clay Travis frames the loss: Massie’s defeat by 10 points is seen as a “repudiation” by his own district, signaling voters' preference for more staunchly pro-Trump representatives. (08:30)

  • Trump’s endorsement of Ed Gallrein, a Navy SEAL veteran, was decisive.
  • Voters opted for “Trump’s back 100% of the time” rather than Massie’s relative independence.

• Massie's Position & Fallout:

  • Once considered principled and libertarian (“Mr. Debt Guy”), Massie’s pivot to focus on Epstein conspiracy rhetoric and accusations of shielding pedophiles alienated core voters and the hosts.
  • His parting remarks insinuated his opponent was controlled by Israel, a move both hosts found “gross” and dishonorable.
  • Buck Sexton: “Honestly just makes Massie look like a petty little scumbag. You’re going to say that guy’s in the pocket of Israel? ...It’s just gross, man." (11:41)

3. Voter Wisdom and Accountability

• The Standard of Representation:
  • Clay and Buck underscore the rare nature of incumbent losses and praise Kentucky voters for holding Massie accountable.
  • Clay Travis: “Shouldn’t we hold our representatives responsible for enacting the policies that we favor? ...We hold our football coaches to a higher standard of job performance than we do our politicians.” (13:55)

4. The Reality of Social Media vs. Real-World Outcomes

• On Massie’s Social Media Popularity:
  • Despite a fervent online following, Massie’s electoral loss demonstrates a disconnect between digital sentiment and actual voter behavior.
  • “If you looked at the popularity of Massie on social media, you never would have believed that he could lose by 10 points.” (45:13)
  • Clay suggests social media breeds dissatisfaction and distorts reality.

5. Analysis of Other Key Races

• Georgia:
  • Runoff elections loom for both gubernatorial and Senate nominations; Georgia remains a national battleground.
  • Clay Travis: “Georgia has been... the number one battleground in America it feels like essentially since 2020... Georgia remains maybe the foremost battleground in 2026.” (27:42)
• Alabama:
  • Tommy Tuberville, current Senator, expected to become Alabama’s next governor after winning the GOP nomination. (29:08)
• Oregon:
  • Christine Drazan sets up a rematch with incumbent Tina Kotek in a surprisingly competitive governor’s race.

6. When Trump’s Endorsement Does Not Overrule Voters

• Brian Kemp Case Study:
  • Despite Trump’s opposition, GA Governor Brian Kemp remained popular and overcame Trump’s endorsed challenger, showing that strong incumbents can withstand Trump’s disfavor if local voters approve of their performance. (30:58)
  • “President Trump's endorsements matter a great deal, but it's still up to the individual voter...” (31:53)

7. Dismissal of Polling in Favor of Prediction Markets

• Clay Travis:
  • “Polls are getting increasingly worthless... The prediction markets are going to end polling in America. I think nobody’s going to look at them in the years ahead.” (34:07)

8. Trump, Texas, and the Paxton Endorsement

• Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton in Texas is seen as “the gold standard.”
  • Ken Paxton: “There’s nothing like getting endorsed by President Trump. I think he’s the most significant endorsement in at least my lifetime.” (36:10)

9. Listener Feedback and Reflections on Massie's Fall

• A Kentucky caller (Bill) reflects on Massie’s personal change and suggests his heart was no longer in Congress post-tragedy.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Honestly just makes Massie look like a petty little scumbag. You’re going to say that guy’s in the pocket of Israel? ...It’s just gross, man.”
—Buck Sexton on Massie’s concession comments (11:41)

“President Trump is the most popular politician... if Trump endorses you or opposes you, that is likely going to have a tremendous impact in terms of the midterm elections. Trump’s power has not faded among his base.”
—Clay Travis (06:50)

“We hold our football coaches to a higher standard of job performance than we do our politicians.”
—Clay Travis (13:55)

“I think the prediction markets are going to end polling in America.”
—Clay Travis (34:07)

“There’s nothing like getting endorsed by President Trump. I think he’s the most significant endorsement in at least my lifetime.”
—Ken Paxton (36:10)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:49] – Opening take on primaries; Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, Trump’s endorsements
• [07:47] – Buck’s takedown of Massie’s late-career shift and Epstein fixation
• [11:21] – Massie’s concession speech and controversial comments about Ed Gallrein
• [13:55] – Discussion on voters demanding accountability versus politicians (“football coach” analogy)
• [23:05] – Recap of the night’s biggest races, especially in Georgia and Oregon
• [30:58] – Brian Kemp as “anti-Massie” and limits of Trump’s endorsement power
• [32:28] – Trump’s endorsement affects Texas politics; Paxton conversation
• [34:07] – Critique of the polling industry; prediction markets as the new forecasting tool
• [36:10] – Ken Paxton on the impact of Trump’s endorsement
• [42:50] – Listener call: Reflections on Massie’s change in character
• [45:13] – Analysis of social media’s disconnect from political reality and Massie’s real support

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Episode Flow & Tone

• The discussion is fast-paced, mixing humor, pointed criticism, data, anecdotes, and large-scale political analysis.
• Clay and Buck are direct—critical of media narratives, politicians who veer into conspiracy, and unaccountable leadership.
• The tone is irreverent and confident, with both hosts relishing spirited debates and listener engagement.

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Summary for New Listeners

This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the current Republican landscape and Trump’s near-total grip on the party base. It provides sharp analysis of why candidates win or lose in the Trump era, warns of the pitfalls of social media metrics and polling, and offers unfiltered insight into the character and appeal of political figures—whether they’re rising thanks to Trump, or falling victim to the party’s shifting winds. The hosts emphasize voter awareness and accountability, celebrate engaged constituencies, and welcome spirited debate, making for an engaging and revealing hour of political commentary.

Transcript

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome in Wednesday edition playing Buck got to get the day right off the top. That wouldn't be ideal to swing a mission. I am Clay Travis. He is Buck Sexton and we are with all of you in the wake of six big primaries that happened last night, we're going to dive into the impact there. President Trump speaking right now at the Coast Guard graduation. We will monitor that as well. I had no idea where the Coast Guard was located. New London, Connecticut. Would you have gotten that right? The Coast Guard Academy? Buck, if I quizzed you off the top of the show?

[Buck Sexton]

Well, we would certainly tell the Coast Guard guys that pulled us over when we were trying to go out on a boat last weekend that we know where their academy is. That was unexpected.

[Clay Travis]

We got pulled over.

[Buck Sexton]

We got pulled over for boat speeding. Everybody by the Coast Guard and by the way, we weren't driving just to be clear, but we still had to sit there and all these dudes covered in tats with their sidearms boarded our boat.

[Clay Travis]

It's like, whoa, this is true. And we weren't driving. I, I hadn't even had a drink but I just looked at Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

I was like, what did you do, Clay?

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I, we, we got boated boarded while boating in Miami. So the Coast Guard taking care of us there and I am dressed fancy. I'm gonna change eventually. But you're seeing me in a jacket and a coat. Cause I just got into yelling matches on Piers Morgan show, which probably will go viral over the Thomas Massie and Ed Gallrein result last night, which Glenn Greenwald and others were super fired up about. But ties in directly with what we're going to talk about off the top of this program, which is there were six primaries last night. And I would say the six primaries further illustrated that President Trump is by far the most popular Republican. And ultimately, I think, and maybe some of you listening to us in the 4th congressional district of Kentucky want to weigh in. But Thomas Massie lost by 10 points in his congressional district. People of Kentucky decided they want in the 4th congressional district a representative that is going to have President Trump's back 100% of the time. That was not Thomas Massie. And as a result, I would say we've gotten a clean sweep of President Trump endorsed opponents or supporters. The people that President Trump is opposed to have won Indiana. Most of those state senators are gone who refused to redistrict. In Louisiana, you have a situation where the senator, for the first time since 2012 lost. Julia Letlow is going to be the new senator replacing Bill Cassidy. And last night, Thomas Massie's career, I think representing anyone in the state of Kentucky came to a close. Now, lots of people are Massey fans, lots of people are not. That's why we have elections. And he lost 55 to 45 in the 4th congressional district of Kentucky. And so what I would say in general is most Trump areas of the country are still saying we want to elect people who are, who are going to help to advance President Trump's perspective. To me, Buck, the story of Indiana, the story of Louisiana, and now the story of Kentucky is in Trump country. President Trump is the most popular politician. He's more popular than the state reps, he's more popular than the congresspeople, he's more popular than the senators, he's more popular than the governors. And if Trump endorses you or opposes you, that is likely going to have a tremendous impact in terms of the midterm elections. Trump's power has not faded among his base. That's my takeaway. That was significant in nature. What would your takeaway be?

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I think that Massie's career as a conspiracy minded podcaster begins soon. I think that he's somebody who, who at one point was really positioning himself as the quirky, libertarian, principled guy. I met him some years ago at an event and he was wearing, if memory serves, a pin with the national debt on it that would like electronically update in real time. So he was Mr. Debt Guy. Did you hear anything from him about the debt recently, by the way? He was Mr. Debt Guy but then he became Mr. Epstein Files Guy after not having. You know, I've been talking about Epstein and the need to get transparency and honesty on this, Clay, for years stretching back to before when you and I were even teamed up together ever since the Miami Herald article came out. And I've always said Ann Coulter did as much as anybody and also Mike Cernovich to tell people that there was something really, something smelled really rotten around this whole thing. So I just want to be clear. Massie was a late comer to this. And then Clay, he started to say things like this is. These are. I just had a pull a bunch of quotes from him from, from Massie because I was, I really wanted to have it in front of me. He said, quote, this is the Epstein administration about Donald Trump. Then he said another day he's still in with the Epstein class. And he repeated this is the Epstein administration. We can't avoid justice to avoid embarrassment for powerful men. You will have voted to protect pedophiles if you don't release these files. My party has been taken over by pedophile or taking up for pedophiles. I predict President Trump will begrudgingly sign my beautiful Epstein transparency Act because causing beleaguered princes and ambassadors and ministers and CEOs to be arrested and or resign in total shame. This cover up spans decades and you, Pam Bondi, are responsible for this por. I mean just go on and on and on and on. Ok, how many of. So they released the files.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

How many arrests were made? How many resignations happened? Now I'm not saying that anything other than this guy's promising that this, you know, once the files are out. The files are out.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

What happened? And to say that Trump was somehow tied in with this and protect like to call someone a pedophile protector, I mean that's like, you know, Clay people were getting mad at us. You remember when there was the FBI files thing rather the White House, you know, with the Epstein files. And we were getting emails and message people saying, you know, how, you know, how could you protect Dan Bongino as deputy FBI director? We're like, yeah, you think Dan Bongino is protecting pedophiles?

[Clay Travis]

You're a moron.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't know what else to say to you. He's not protecting pedophiles. Okay. He's A patriot and he's a good guy and he's a husband and a dad. And that was true of a bunch of the people involved in this. And by the way, the people that

[Clay Travis]

go like you're part of the pedophile.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't care what you, I don't care what they say. They're morons. If you want transparency, that's one thing. But if you're going to say that Trump is like in on the cabal or someone else, you're an idiot. So I think it's important that the guy who had really made the biggest name for himself here over all this stuff. You know, there's, they're saying I want transparency and then there's kind of like weaponizing this to attack people that disagree with you or don't lie. And Massey was playing that game. I think he was acting like a jerk separately from that. So on the Epstein thing, I think he got absolutely what he deserved. And then there's the issue of what he says. I mean he said Ed Galrain, Gal Rhein is. He couldn't find him. Wait, do we have that cut actually, guys? Cause I wanted, I wanted to play.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, said he was in 12 Eve.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, play, play this. Play. This is after he loses. Play 12. I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede and it took a while to find Ed Galran in Tel Aviv. I did get to call through though.

[Clay Travis]

I have, I have called and conceded the race.

[Buck Sexton]

We've been honorable the whole time and we're going to stay that way. No, that, that's actually the opposite of honorable. That I really think that's gross. What he did there, saying that El Ed, Ed Gal Ryan, for anyone who does not know, is a decades long veteran and SEAL Team 6 member, a Tier 1 unit and, and honestly just makes Massey look like a petty little scumbag. You're going to say that guy's in the pocket of, he's, he's in the pocket of Israel. The SEAL Team 6 guy, the American from Kentucky's in the pocket of Israel. That's, that's your attack on him. It's just gross, man. So I, I think, I think Massey got absolutely what he deserved. Good riddance.

[Clay Travis]

I 100% would sign off on the fact that it's gross. It's also an insult to the people of Kentucky and I'm going to stand up for people of Kentucky, the voters there. Massie lost by 10 points. A 10 point loss for an incumbent is a repudiation because everybody knew Thomas Massie in that district who shows up and votes, and they said, you aren't representing my interest. And so it's convenient for Massie to come out and say, oh, Israel is the reason why I lost. The reason why you lost is because 55% of the voters in your district decided they like the other guy better. Okay. And so to then come out and say, oh, my opponent's in Tel Aviv, what you're really saying is my constituents aren't smart enough to make reasonable choices for the best representative for them, which is an insult to them. So, again, I tend to try and stand up for the wisdom of voters, for the wisdom of jurors, for the wisdom of regular guys and gals to make reasonable decisions in their lives. And what the voters of Kentucky 4 were saying, in my opinion, is, we want President Trump to be supported 100% of the time by our congressman. Massie argued, I don't want to do that. I'm going to stand up to him on a variety of different issues. I'm only. And then he tried to later pivot and say, well, I'm with him the vast majority of the time on issues. And his voters said, that's not enough. And they introduced. To your point, Buck, nobody knew Ed Gallrein at all. So, of course, you have to spend a lot of money to introduce somebody challenging an incumbent. We rarely have incumbents lose, and a lot of people out there in the audience complain because incumbents win all the time. Shouldn't we hold our representatives responsible for enacting the policies that we favor? I've made this argument all the time, and a lot of people sit back and say, you know what, Clay? You're right on this. We hold our football coaches to a higher standard of job performance than we do our politicians.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, the shorthand of that, Clay, is they're held to a standard of performance that's. Coaches can get fired for being bad at their jobs.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, it's backwards. Should it? In the. In the world of sports, which is really just frivolity and entertainment, if we were going to hold somebody to a higher standard, shouldn't it be the politician? Shouldn't we call it.

[Buck Sexton]

Except for last night, Coach, hold on. Yeah, I know you're watching. I gotta slow. I gotta slow your roll. Except for when the Knicks are the first out of, like, almost 700 teams to come back in the fourth quarter of a basketball game in the playoffs play. That's. That's a near religious experience that I had last. I couldn't Believe that that happened. I was actually texting sports last night.

[Clay Travis]

Yes. So Buck told me he was gonna be watching the Knicks game. Condolences. If you're a Cleveland Cavaliers fan listening to us right now because they had one of the all time playoff collapses in the final six and a half or so minutes of the fourth quarter. But yeah, look, I mean, Massie got fired because his constituents decided he wasn't doing enough to advocate for their interests. And look, Massey has, I'm a marketplace of ideas guy. I don't know Thomas Massie. I don't know Ed Gallrein. If Thomas Massie has a great national appeal, he should run for President in 2028 and see if the Republican Party base wants to support him just like everybody else.

[Buck Sexton]

You know, I would also point out and full credit to our friend Sean Davis, who of the Federalists, because he had a really good tweet analysis on this. I'm going to call it Twitter and tweets for it. I'm never going to be able to get this X post thing down. But anyway, he put out, remember in 2020 that, you know, you had a, I think it was 2020, in the 2020 cycle when he was up, there was criticism of Massey and he was able to withstand some of that because of what his positions actually were, because he was taking principled stands. Then here I'm trying to pull this up. Sorry, as we're, as we're doing this, I'll pull up Sean's tweet for a second here because I thought it was really, really interesting the way that he laid out that a lot. Oh, here we go. It's the top is his top tweet. Why did Massie lose tonight? Massie went on quoting here from Sean, from principled libertarian during COVID to GOP late leadership lapdog under McCarthy to anti Trump Epstein obsessive in 2025 after tweeting about that issue three times in the ten years prior. The nail in the coffin for him was voting against obbb in 2025 because according to Massie, it did too much to secure the border. He went toe to toe with Trump on Covid in 2020 and he still won overwhelmingly. So the point is when Massie the voter, full credit to the voters of Kentucky when Massie was standing on principle and the COVID issue was one of principle.

[Clay Travis]

Yes, he was 100% right on Covid. He, I give him credit. I mean, yes, yeah, well, he was

[Buck Sexton]

right on the COVID issue and they rewarded him. He decided that Trump was like Epstein's, you know, chief protector or something, and voters were like, you know what, you're being kind of an idiot. And they got rid of him.

[Clay Travis]

And by the way, as we get ready to go to break here, he didn't say anything about Epstein the whole time Biden was in office. So if you're one of these people who's obsessed with Epstein and there's a tiny subset of the population, I think you saw that in the elections. It isn't actually reflective very much. That's fine. Why did you say nothing for four years when Biden was in office and then suddenly Trump's back in office and Epstein is the number one issue to you. And again, to your point, Buck, all the files are now out. Nobody got charged, nobody there. There's no evidence of some crazy cabal of people like that are engaging in pedophile rings. People traded on that because it's popular on social media and then there's no evidence of it. And to your point, I don't know a single guy or gal that would protect pedophiles in my entire life like these. This idea that there's people who are going to be protected who are engaging in evil acts with children, it's just not true. It's just not true. And a lot of people have traded on that. And the evidence, you can go look at it. And again, I come back to the people of Kentucky 4 decided Massie wasn't representing them. I love your Covid analogy because he went against Trump then and that was,

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Laugh, learn and hang with the guys. Play it Buck preset on the iHeart app.

[Public Podcast Sponsor]

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in here to Klay and Bucks. We had those big election results last night. We've also got a whole bunch of Trump soundbites covering the, well, the election results certainly, but also Iran and, and a whole range of issues there that we are going to address. Trump was at Joint Base Andrews this morning talking to the press. So we're going to bring that to you momentarily. And we've also he weighed in on Spencer Pratt Clay, Steve Hilton, who is not running for mayor of L. A but running for governor of the great state of California. He'll be with us. And then federal Judge Roy Altman has a book, Israel on Trial. And my understanding is, Clay, that you had to deal with Israel on trial a bit on the Piers Morgan show just before you came on this one and that things got spicy and the people should go check out the exchange whenever it airs.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, Glenn Greenwald and I got into it over Israel, Iran, Massie, everything else. I think people will enjoy it. You know this book, I like throwing elbows. I'm fine with a spirited debate. And yeah, there might have been some mean things even said about me during the course of the Piers Morgan show. But I think that conversation people will enjoy, among many others, and we will have some fun with that. But I want to tell you, look, I've stood behind Israel's right to defend itself. I've traveled to Israel, an American based company that wants to help protect innocent people in Israel, build more bomb shelters, make hospitals more secure, give first responders bulletproof cars. These are all very reasonable things. That's what the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews does. I'VE seen it on the ground. I've worked in a food bank. Our good friend Jesse Kelly even made fun of the fact that I had to wear a hairnet. And trust me, I looked ridiculous in that hairnet. But I did it because I was trying to help people out. You can try to help people out as well by going to pray. IFCJ.org that's pray. IFCJ.org is a nonprofit organization just trying to make the people of Israel safer. And they do that with bomb shelters, with better hospitals, with SAFER Police vehicles. Pray. IFCJ.org that's Prey IFCJ. Welcome back in Clay Travis BUCK SEXTON SHOW we are rolling through the primary result season. I would say this is the first Buck big day of primary results. Six different states going to the polls in Kentucky, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Idaho and Oregon. Congrats to everybody who won. Big story coming out of Georgia. We're going to have runoffs in Georgia when it comes to who is going to be the gubernatorial and the Senate nominees. So we have narrowed it down. Nobody got over 50% dual races coming in. What I think is maybe the perfect battleground for everyone to be following, which is Georgia. And let me make sure that I get all these names right. Mike Collins and Derek Dooley are going to be running off against each other in Georgia about roughly a month from now. Collins got this was super competitive. I don't know how much discussion it has gotten, but I do believe it should get a decent amount. This is how competitive it was. Buck Mike Collins, 40.5% of the vote. Derek Dooley, you heard him on the show Monday, I believe, 30.2% of the vote and Buddy Carter, 25.1% of the vote. So we will see what ends up happening in that race now that it's going to be Collins against Dooley and then in the governor's race. And I know for those of you that are in Georgia that have been following this, I watch the Atlanta Braves almost every day, Buck. It feels like every ad, by and large, had been related to the Republican gubernatorial side. Bert Jones, who is the lieutenant governor, 38.4% of the vote. Rick Jackson, who is a highly wealthy billionaire, 32.5% of the vote. Now those guys are off to run. Democrats have nominated Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, as their candidate to run for the governor's race and also in the Senate. Obviously, Jon Ossoff is going to be the Democrat incumbent. Georgia has been, you know, this basically the number one battleground in America it feels like essentially since 2020, when two Senate races were lost there, gave Democrats control and I would argue directly led to inflation because if one of those seats had gone to Republicans, Biden wouldn't have had a majority in the Senate. He wouldn't have been able to make so many of the decisions that he did. Three different winnable Senate races have been lost and now we'll see what happens on the governor's side. But Georgia remains maybe the foremost battleground in 2026 as we look forward when it comes to significant races up for grabs. I would say along with Michigan, probably as the two most important. If you had to point to states that have the most at stake, I

[Buck Sexton]

would say those two Trump endorsed candidates did really, really well. Also true in Pennsylvania you had in comments like Fitzpatrick, Mackenzie, Perry, they all cruised on through or were just unopposed. So this is still very much Trump's party. By the way, did you mention your

[Clay Travis]

buddy Mr. Tuberville, Tommy Tuberville, Congratulations, friend of the show. He's going to be the next governor of Alabama, apparently.

[Buck Sexton]

Tommy's my friend, you know, I'm the one sitting here giving you the high five, sir.

[Clay Travis]

Clay, it wasn't really uncertain outcome. So I'm sorry to Tommy. I wasn't trying to ignore him. He's going to be the next governor of Alabama. Congratulations on the nomination as the Republican. He'll be in an interesting spot, Buck, where in theory he's going to have the opportunity, like Marcia Blackburn, I believe Will, to pick their Senate replacements because they're leaving the Senate to take over as governor.

[Buck Sexton]

I also think Oregon with Christine Drazen setting up for a rematch with Tina Kotek, who is the incumbent governor there, who's a loon. I mean, you're talking Democrat in Oregon, you're talking Looney Tunes, right? So Dresden, Clay made it competitive in 2022.

[Clay Travis]

So yes, she did.

[Buck Sexton]

This might be more I.

[Clay Travis]

You, you.

[Buck Sexton]

The thing about Oregon and you know we have a substantial listenership in, in the state of Oregon, when you get outside of Portland property and especially as you go east a bit, you get into some very red. You know, it's like a lot of states, you get outside of the major cities or the major city in this case, and it starts to be a whole lot more conservative. So you might be in a place where you have a pretty competitive governor's race there just to the north of California, which would be really interesting. That would be a nice thing to see. So, yeah, I think we've covered the, the big ones here. Georgia is going forward, obviously going to be huge. Pennsylvania going to be really interesting. I mean, the battleground states are called that for a reason. It would be really nice to what you're saying a moment ago to turn around the bizarre kind of self inflicted losing streak we've had for three Senate seats in Georgia, all of which should have gone Republican, all of which actually have gone Democrats in the last couple of cycles need to put a stop to that madness now. So we'll see.

[Clay Travis]

And the governor's race is going to be huge in Georgia because they're going to redraw the state boundaries in the wake of the Supreme Court racial gerrymandering decisions. Brian Kemp, in my opinion, has done a great job. And by the way, let me use Ryan Kemp as the anti Massey. The people of Georgia said we want Brian Kemp to stay as governor even though he disagreed with Trump and Trump endorsed against him. Brian Kemp went out and won, crushed in a rematch. Stacey abrams in that 2022 rematch race for governor of Georgia because people said, no, no, no, we think Brian Kemp has done a great job and we want him to continue as governor even though President Trump didn't endorse him. So ultimately, President Trump's endorsements matter a great deal, but it's still up to the individual voter to sit down and say, wait a minute, do I think that they have done a good job as the, as the representative? And if they have, even if President Trump not getting along with them, Brian Kemp's the perfect example. Trump actively campaigned against him and Kemp smoked Stacey Abrams no matter what, and the chosen Trump candidate in the Republican primary. So again, ultimately, great thing about this is voters decide and a lot of voters decided yesterday in six different states who they think is going to best represent them.

[Buck Sexton]

We got Trump weighing in in the Tex on the Texas race. As we know, he endorsed Paxton and not Cornyn. Did you see, by the way, Thune got a little huffy about this? Thune was a little Thune like over it. He was, yes. Caused some ruffled feathers over at the country club. Spit out their lobster bisque when they found out about this one. But Trump has already started to lay the groundwork for the political pummeling of Talarico. The guy who's like, I just think Jesus says let all the criminals, you know, loot and pillage all of society. That's what Jesus would want. You know, this guy is the worst. Trump also sees that Talarico is the worst. This was this morning at Andrews Air force base play 1 Ken Paxton I think he'll win probably. He'll win very substantially. And I think he'll go on to defeat a very defective candidate. A candidate that believes in six genders and he takes it to Jesus Christ and he's wearing a mask six months ago. Where's a guy. Anybody wearing a mask six months ago doesn't get it. And he's a vegan. He's a vegan in Texas, and you can't get elected as a vegan in Texas. Clay, the big. The big three there, he believes in six genders. He still wears a mask, and he's a vegan. This guy's not getting elected in Texas.

[Clay Travis]

It's really just about Texas.

[Buck Sexton]

You got to run up the scoreboard. You got to just. You got to completely put this thing away in the first quarter.

[Clay Travis]

I. Here's where I would give. Put my money where my mouth is. After this decision, I went and put down money on Texas. Paxton winning in Texas. I like to look. You guys know, I don't know why anybody looks at polls anymore, by the way. Just kind of putting a death knell on the poll industry. Every poll had Massey winning. I didn't see a single poll that said Gall Ryan was going to win the overall marketplace. I went in and looked right after Julia Letlow won in Louisiana, right before Julia Letlo went in one in Louisiana, right after the Indiana results. I got Guy Ryan to win at 4 to 1 on the prediction markets, meaning he was an underdog. I looked at this and I said, this is crazy. By the time. Because I knew the impact of Trump in Kentucky, four by the time that the vote actually was taking place, Gowrine was a substantial favorite to win. And 10 minutes after the polls closed, it was 90% that GHRJ was going to win. Why do I bring all this up? Polls are getting increasingly worthless. If you care about what's likely to happen, this is my advice to you. Go to Poly Market, go to Kalshee. Look at what the odds say. Doesn't mean that they're 100% right, but it's way more reliable to look at where people are putting their money down than it is to look at what a bunch of random pollsters are doing. I think the prediction markets are going to end polling in America. I think nobody's going to look at them in the years ahead. So if you're in the poll business, I think you are finished. The prediction markets are gonna be much more reliable than the actual polling because polling, as Rush told you guys for a long time, first of all, a lot of them are agenda driven, right? There's Republican pollsters, there's Democrat pollsters, and they want to tell you a story. There's very few that are right down the middle just trying to give you an accurate snapshot. The polymarket and Kalshi, the whole point is to give you an accurate snapshot of what's going to happen. Doesn't mean they're going to always be right. But when you get to 90%, they're very rarely wrong because if they're on the wrong side, you make 10 to 1.

[Buck Sexton]

The other direction also, Clay, with all the things that are going on here, Ken Paxton, here he is. This is cut eight. He's saying, guys, I got to tell you, getting endorsed by President Trump like that, hooked on a feeling. He's high on believing. Play 8. There's nothing like getting, getting endorsed by President Trump. I think he's the most significant endorsement in at least my lifetime.

[Public Podcast Sponsor]

If you get his endorsement better than

[Buck Sexton]

he, it's the gold standard. And so, you know, people have a lot of respect for that, especially in the Republican primary.

[Clay Travis]

Did you speak to the president today?

[Buck Sexton]

I sure did, yeah. He called me this morning. He said he didn't say exactly what was going to happen. He just said, I think you're going to like what I'm doing today.

[Clay Travis]

Was that a short conversation? Was it a long conversation?

[Buck Sexton]

No, we talked about it.

[Clay Travis]

Did he tell you why?

[Public Podcast Sponsor]

Yeah, he suggested that he thought I

[Buck Sexton]

was the best candidate. I don't want to get into details about everything he said because it's a private conversation. But, yeah, he thinks I'm the best candidate and that I will actually help him get some of these things done,

[Public Podcast Sponsor]

like the Save America act, which I

[Buck Sexton]

have been promoting since they first passed it in the U.S. house. TRUMP Point here, I'm sorry, rather point here from Paxton. Trump is still the gold standard for endorsement, still Trump's party. There's, I think there's just no question about that going into the midterms, based on what we saw in this primary and really just based on where, whether it's the betting markets, the polls or people in this audience, people who are with us right now listening, and it still Trumps gop. That's where, that's where things stand. There has been no loosening of that grip.

[Clay Travis]

I think that's 100% true. We'll take some of your talk back, some of your calls as we roll through the Wednesday edition of the program.

[Buck Sexton]

But let's rock and stack a bunch of yeah, let's get a bunch of them in here. All right, Take a moment this coming Memorial Day weekend to appreciate the true sentiment and reason behind the holiday. The number of us that fly the American flag is one thing, but honoring the men and women lost in the line of service is really the purpose of this holiday. Memorial Day is a time we acknowledge the legacy of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. We remember and honor their courage. We stop to recognize the responsibility that comes with the freedom that they secured for all of us. It's an opportunity to remember and appreciate the rights we enjoy and and how they came to be in this country by the sacrifice of others. Our friends at Americans for Prosperity take this solemnly. We know you do too, but what about your neighbors and friends? It's time to make sure they do. And Americans for Prosperity has something to help you with that. If you believe we all share responsibility to preserve what makes this country strong, go to afpbuck.com for your free guide on how you can get involved and help with your community. That's afpbuck.com paid for by Americans for Prosperity.

[Clay Travis]

Level up your brain and balance out your day with the right amount of information and entertainment. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Martha Stewart]

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[Buck Sexton]

fitting that another one bites the dust is in fact how we're coming back here in memoriam for Massey's congressional career. It has bitten the dust, it would seem. We got a lot of calls. Greg in Kentucky. Greg, what have you got for us? He literally dropped the second I called for him. That is fantastic. I love the timing. Let's get Bill in Kentucky. We've got a lot of Kentucky callers. Go for it, Bill. I ran for county judge in Kentucky at the same time that Thomas Massie did, and we were. But we both served as county judges at the same time until he ran for Congress. I supported him. He changed. It was a sad deal to see what Thomas has done. And I'm sorry to see him go. I'm glad to see him go, but I really think that. I think he changed after Rhonda passed away. His whole Persona, My wife and myself were talking about that this morning, and then somebody wrote an article about it as how he changed after that time. So I wish him the best, but he doesn't need to be in Congress anymore.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you for the call. I believe we have audio. I think. I think he got tired of being in Congress and he was fine if he would have won. But I think he's going to run in 2028, and he even said it at his defeat celebration. I believe we have audio of him saying president or for dog catcher?

[Buck Sexton]

For president. That.

[Clay Travis]

Listen, here it is.

[Buck Sexton]

What. What happens in 2028.

[Public Podcast Sponsor]

You want.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, you. Oh, you want me to run for Congress again? I don't know what you're talking about. All right, well, you made.

[Clay Travis]

You made a compelling argument. You spoke your piece.

[Buck Sexton]

But I need a medical margarita right now.

[Clay Travis]

And we'll.

[Buck Sexton]

And we'll talk about it later.

[Clay Travis]

So I think he's going to run for president. 2028. Here is what I would say. You know, what the kids like to say these days. Buck touch grass. Isn't it interesting how often, and for those of you who don't know that phrase, it means get off your phones, get outside. Experience life. Increasingly, young kids are aware that they're spending too much time on their phones. And by the way, I'm guilty of this. The job that Buck and I have probably requires us to be on our phones. And what is it fair to say? The 99.9% aisle for what we do is pretty much like we have to live on our phones. But I do think, and I've seen this for my entire career since social media started the Real World and the Social media world is often a very different place. If you looked at the popularity of Massie on social media, you never would have believed that he could lose by 10 points in this congressional district. And I think there is a market for him to run for President of the United States. I think that market is 5 or 10% of the electorate that is overwhelmingly active on social media. If you looked at social media alone, President Trump would have never been elected. And that's not because the President doesn't have a good social media platform. It's just that everything has been arrayed against him on social media. So I would submit that one reason this is my getting on the soapbox perspective. I think one reason why so many people are unhappy in the world is social media because you have constant affirmation or disaffirmation. If that's a word of everything in your pocket at every moment of every day. And if you look at the data, nobody likes Republicans, nobody likes Democrats, everybody's unhappy all day long. I think a big part of it is social media. We come back, we'll take more of your calls and keep hanging with all of you.

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

The lineup reveals coming soon. Cabins are disappearing fast and the prices won't stay this low. Reserve your spot with just 200 [e-mail].