Hour 2 - An American Pope!

Summary

Summary of "Hour 2 - An American Pope!" on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Release Date: May 8, 2025

In the second hour of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve into a landmark event in the Catholic Church—the election of the first American Pope, Robert Francis Prevost, who has taken the papal name Pope Leo XIV. The episode not only explores the significance of this unprecedented development but also touches upon other pressing political and social issues, including insights into President Joe Biden's recent appearance on "The View," the shifting dynamics within the U.S. Department of Justice, and the rising threats of ransomware attacks.

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I. Historic Election of the First American Pope

A. Announcement and Initial Reactions

The episode kicks off with Clay Travis announcing the significant news: a new Pope has been elected, marked by the traditional white smoke signaling the conclave's decision. However, the identity of the new Pope remains unclear at that moment.

Clay Travis [01:05]: "We know there is a pope. A new one has been chosen. The white smoke has come out. We don't know which one."

Buck Sexton humorously refers to the betting odds surrounding the papal candidates, emphasizing the unpredictability of the election process.

Buck Sexton [02:01]: "Luis Antonio Tagle is now going head to head with Pietro Perlin. For those of you out there who are curious, they are both still Pietro Peril and big favorite."

B. Details About Pope Robert Francis Prevost

As the conversation unfolds, Buck Sexton reveals that Cardinal Robert Prevost from Chicago has emerged as the unexpected winner, marking a historic first for the United States.

Buck Sexton [12:27]: "Robert Francis Prevost, the first ever United States Pope... an American Pope. This is amazing."

Clay adds depth to this revelation by highlighting Prevost's background and the surprise surrounding his election.

Clay Travis [13:14]: "266 popes so far, not a single one from America. So we got an American Pope, everybody. This is big. This is bigger news than I was expecting today."

C. Implications and Expectations

The hosts discuss the broader implications of having an American Pope, particularly for American Catholics and the global Catholic community. They speculate on how Pope Leo XIV might influence church doctrines and global policies.

Clay Travis [19:28]: "Very exciting for the flock and for the future of the Church. I am looking forward to learning more about this individual and hope that he stays strong with the doctrine of Christ."

Buck Sexton provides additional insights into Prevost's background, noting his academic achievements and his service within the Church.

Buck Sexton [15:29]: "Born in Chicago, went to Villanova where he majored in math before he decided to go into the priesthood. Became a priest in 1982."

D. Political Affiliations and Potential Policy Stances

The discussion shifts to Pope Leo XIV's perceived political leanings and how they might align or clash with contemporary political ideologies. There is mention of his moderate stance and potential influences on issues like gender ideology and LGBTQ rights.

Clay Travis [34:03]: "He is essentially one who thinks that America should operate as a giant refugee camp for the whole world. This is a place where, unfortunately, I think the desire for true social justice and to be kind and to be taking in the poor can swamp the boat and cause problems."

Buck Sexton clarifies misinformation regarding the Pope's political affiliations, emphasizing that Prevost is not a registered Republican but has participated in Republican primaries.

Buck Sexton [35:51]: "He is not a registered Republican as a result. He did, however, vote in the Republican primary several times."

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II. Other Major Topics Discussed

A. Joe Biden on "The View"

Clay and Buck briefly touch upon President Joe Biden's appearance on the daytime talk show "The View," critiquing the platform's influence and Biden's performance.

Clay Travis [03:25]: "We have Joe Biden who has gone on the View because this is I think now is there a more central to the Democrat base show on television than the View?"

They analyze Biden's comments regarding the 2020 election and his reflections on his performance and current administration.

Joe Biden [05:30]: "Yeah. He still got 7 million fewer votes. Yes. Okay. A lot of people didn't show up... He's had the worst hundred days any president's ever had."

B. Ed Martin's Interview and Department of Justice Shifts

The hosts feature an interview with Ed Martin, the interim U.S. Attorney in Washington D.C., discussing his experiences and the challenges he faces within the political landscape. Ed Martin elaborates on President Trump's decision to move him to a different division within the Department of Justice, highlighting issues of governmental weaponization.

Ed Martin [21:30]: "Weaponization is the biggest problem. That's government used against the people... I'm confident that... this president's going to direct us, and I will be in the fray."

Clay and Buck critique Senator Thom Tillis's reasons for not supporting Martin's nomination, focusing on the controversy surrounding the defense of January 6th defendants.

Clay Travis [23:55]: "I actually find Tillis's logic really pretty indefensible."

C. Cybersecurity Threats: Ransomware

Buck Sexton brings attention to the escalating issue of ransomware attacks, explaining how cybercriminals are targeting individuals and businesses alike, and emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity measures.

Buck Sexton [19:40]: "Ransomware activity on the rise. Terms new to you. It's when cyber hackers gain access to your computer or your phone... You can't access the device until you pay up."

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III. Concluding Insights

The episode concludes with Clay and Buck reiterating the monumental nature of electing an American Pope and pondering the future direction of the Catholic Church under Pope Leo XIV. They also reaffirm their commitment to covering ongoing political developments and encourage listener engagement for further discussions.

Clay Travis [29:35]: "We're going to dive deep here into the, into the Pope situation... The first American Pope."

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Notable Quotes

• Clay Travis [01:05]: "We know there is a pope. A new one has been chosen. The white smoke has come out. We don't know which one."

• Buck Sexton [12:27]: "Robert Francis Prevost, the first ever United States Pope... an American Pope. This is amazing."

• Joe Biden [05:30]: "Yeah. He still got 7 million fewer votes. Yes. Okay. A lot of people didn't show up... He's had the worst hundred days any president's ever had."

• Ed Martin [21:30]: "Weaponization is the biggest problem. That's government used against the people... I'm confident that... this president's going to direct us, and I will be in the fray."

• Clay Travis [34:03]: "He is essentially one who thinks that America should operate as a giant refugee camp for the whole world..."

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Conclusion

In "Hour 2 - An American Pope!," Clay Travis and Buck Sexton navigate through an array of significant topics, with the centerpiece being the historic election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American to hold the papacy. The hosts provide insightful commentary on the potential ramifications of this event for both the Catholic Church and global politics, while also addressing pressing domestic issues such as presidential performance critiques and cybersecurity threats. The episode exemplifies the show's commitment to blending timely news analysis with engaging discussions.

Transcript

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[Clay Travis]

All right, second hour of clay and buck kicks off now. We are on Pope name watch. We know there is a pope. A new one has been chosen. The white smoke has come out. We don't know which one. As soon as we know, we will let you know. And Raymond Arroyo of FOX News, who we talked to yesterday, who is an expert in all the papal candidates and is in Vatican City right now, he is going to put down his plate of spaghetti and Amitabh and call into us and tell us exactly what is going on over there. So to all, not just the Catholics listening, but to everybody who's curious about the new pope, we are on it. We are watching. And as soon as word breaks about who that white supreme smoke smoke represents, you will have more from us on that to be sure. Yes. Oh, pointing at me.

[Buck Sexton]

Surging in the gambling markets, Luis Antonio Tagle is now going head to head with Pietro Perlin. For those of you out there who are curious, they are both still Pietro Peril and big favorite. Our boy Pizza Balla is making a little bit of a run now in the third hole, batting not quite cleanup. But everybody else, there's only three people that are really getting any play at all at this point in time. And I am going, some of us.

[Clay Travis]

Are sitting and wondering who will be Vickers Christ on Earth. Others are sitting here looking at whether this is going to play out like the NFL draft. And there'll be some people very disappointed, you know, in not one cardinal is not going to get signed to the deal. He thought it's going to be very sad about it. But different approaches to this papal thing.

[Buck Sexton]

So yes, for sure. So we will supposedly on average for people out there, it takes about 40 minutes after the smoke is officially released for news of who the new Pope is to, to, to, to wind in. So we will see how all that breaks down.

[Clay Travis]

The smoke will clear in about 40 minutes. So we will let you know. Well, it was 40 minutes a while ago. I don't know what the timing is now. We'll let you know as soon as.

[Buck Sexton]

We know we're on it, we're on it.

[Clay Travis]

I promise it will be something to do address here as soon as we can. All right. Now, in the meantime. Oh my. We have Joe Biden who has gone on the View because this is I think now is there a more central to the Democrat base show on television than the View? I'm not sure there is. Morning Joe covered itself in ignominious stupidity in the last and is the audience is tiny. It's amazing is that they pay these people millions of dollars on Morning Joe. Their audience is a fraction, truly a small fraction the size of, of the audience that you are all a part of day in and day out on this show. Yet Starbucks sponsors Morning Joe, not sponsoring us. Well, we got Crockett coffee, but Joe Scarborough. I'm sorry, Joe Biden is on the View and the dollars. You've seen this reporting, I'm sure, Clay, the dollars have dried up for the Biden family business. Oh my, what a shock. You mean that when he's not just able to be a pass through for bribes that people don't actually care to pay Hunter Biden huge sums of money to do nothing? Oh my gosh. This is a shock to no one. But remember the dishonest media, the same media that told you Biden does not, did not have dementia is the media that told you Hunter Biden went to Yale Law School. Maybe people were just paying him because he's so smart. Right? States. But then there's this, Clay. This is cut 30. Biden was asked would he have beaten Trump? I'm sure you're all going to want to hear this one.

[Joe Biden]

Listen, you had previously said that you thought that you would have won. Since then, Donald Trump won all the battleground states and made inroads with almost every major demographic from working class voters to Hispanic men to black men. Knowing what you know now, do you think you would have beat him?

Yeah. He still got 7 million fewer votes. Yes. Okay. A lot of people didn't show up. Number one. Number one. Number two, they're very close. In those, Those toss up states, it was, it wasn't a slam dunk. And so look, I, you know, every time I've been on the show. Which you've been fortunate. I've been fortunate to be on more than once. You. Thanks for having me. Is that we talk. You guys don't focus on as much. And I think it's good polling numbers. But let me put it this way. He's had the worst hundred days any president's ever had.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, that's a fact. Yeah. I mean, delusional, but. But, yeah, that's a fact. Delusional. I would just say this, though, Clay. I actually, I don't know. This is where we. We. I'm not trying to relitigate this. Okay. I think that they were dumb to abandon Biden in favor of Kamala. Even with what happened, I really do believe that. I think Trump still would have won, but I. I think it might have been a little bit tighter. There's also the question of 7 million more votes. 7 million more votes? Really?

[Buck Sexton]

Well, that's, first of all, not Even true in 2024, because Trump got 77 million votes. And I think Kamala got like 75 or 74.8 or something like that, the final numbers. But she got, I guess, quite a lot less votes. I think even Democrats are having a hard time explaining how Joe Biden got 81 million votes in 2020. You notice they don't really talk about rigged elections anymore or 2020 at all. That story just kind of vanished. I think when you look at the Trump era and you compare Biden, let's say 2020 with Obama, 2012 with Trump, 1624. There's only one election in the 21st century that you look at the vote totals and you're like, boy, something's really out of whack here. And it is Biden 2020, a president that was never very popular, suddenly out of nowhere gets 12 million more votes than the best Barack Obama ever did. The only person I think that believes that that was 100% legitimate may be Joe Biden, and that's because his brain doesn't work.

[Clay Travis]

How. How could you. If that is something that everybody had so much faith in, how could you abandon the guy who is still the guy who got by far the most votes of any president in the history of the country? You know what I mean? If you look at this from the Democrat point of view, he is the high watermark, more so than Obama, by far.

[Buck Sexton]

Buck. It's 69 million, I believe, was the most votes that Obama ever got in 2008, Biden got 12 million more than the best Obama ever did in 2020.

[Clay Travis]

Even if you control for population growth, you know, the increase in population since then, I don't know, maybe the illegals. Even if you do all that, that is an enormous. An enormous gap between Biden and Obama, and there was an enormous gap between Biden and Kamala. So. So we are to believe that in the 21st century, Joe Biden is by far the dementia patient, is the most compelling Democrat who has ever run for office by far. That is a hard thing to say out loud and not start to furrow your brow a little bit and go, hmm, really? That's what we're all supposed to believe. So now we get into, you know, Biden and his current position and what he's saying about all this stuff. He's got to do this, this cleanup because no one, no one cares about Biden when he's not able to sell his office, which is what he was doing. He was selling access to his office. And, you know, Biden, when he's trying to explain, how could Trump have beaten Kamala. This is cut 29, Clay. He goes right to sexism.

[FDA Disclaimer Speaker]

Of course, Democrats were feeling optimistic about.

[Buck Sexton]

The vice president's chances, chances of winning the presidency.

[FDA Disclaimer Speaker]

But then election night came, and it.

[Buck Sexton]

Was like 2016 all over again. So why do you think the vice president lost?

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And were you surprised?

[Joe Biden]

I wasn't surprised. Not because I didn't think the vice president was qualified person to be president. She is. She's qualified to be president, United States of America. But I was surprised. I wasn't surprised because went the route of the sexist route, all the whole route. I mean, this is a woman. She's this, she's that. I mean, it really. I. I've never seen quite as successful and a consistent campaign undercutting the notion that a woman couldn't lead the country and a woman of mixed race.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, he's just. He's not. I mean, he's not of sound mind. And you can tell when he's talking about this. It's just blather, Clay. It makes no. What he says makes no sense.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, totally. And, well, by the way, the Pope. We got the Pope buck. And it is a huge upset. Um, Cardinal Robert Prevost elected Pope Leo the 14th. The announcement is now out there. This guy completely off the board in terms of the. The gambling odds. And we need to do quick research. Let's get. Get our bud, Raymond Arroyo up this Is Gardusky just retweeted this. Robert Prevost. I'm gonna look him up because I don't remember him even being widely discussed in the. In the run up to who was going to potentially be the next Pope. So he's coming a little bit off the board. And let's see. I'm just trying to read about it.

[Clay Travis]

Prevost, Pope Leo the 14th. Interesting. I had not. Did we even talk about this guy with Raymond yesterday?

[Buck Sexton]

No, he. Raymond did not even meet him and he came off the board. I mean, I'm looking. You know, I've been following it on the gambling odds. This guy, he's a. Is he from the U.S. i think.

[Clay Travis]

I'm learning about him in real time.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, we're looking. Let's go to break. Let's go to break and tell you everything we're going to get Raymond on. He is from the United States, Buck. According to what I am seeing on social media, this is. Would be the first pope ever for. From the United States. American. This is American Pope Robert Francis Prevost has been announced. Nobody saw that coming. He had a.

[Clay Travis]

He's from Chicago.

[Buck Sexton]

Percent chance. Chicago. Chicago with the Pope.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Out of nowhere, originally from Chicago, serves.

[Clay Travis]

As the head of the church's dicastery for bishops. Powerful position means he oversees a selection of new bishops. Yeah, that's. He's. We got a Chicago guy. So not co. Not Pope Pizza bagel, but Pope Chicago. Very exciting. Look at that. Who would have known?

[Buck Sexton]

69 year old from Chicago seen as a compromise candidate. We have an American Pope. So maybe we're making America great again and also the world great again with an American Pope. This is amazing. So we will talk about this when we come back. But again, breaking news. Robert Francis Prevost, the first ever United States Pope.

[Clay Travis]

That's a big deal. This is a huge deal. 266 popes so far, not a single one from America. So we got an American Pope, everybody. This is big. This is bigger news than I was expecting today.

[Buck Sexton]

No doubt.

[Clay Travis]

And I think this is great news for American. For American Catholics, the Catholic Church, Christian Christianity, more broadly, Western civilization. We'll get into all of that here coming up momentarily. But wow. Leo. Leo the 14th with. With the win on this one and. All right. God bless. Okay. Some folks speculate that we may see something massive on a national scale. The creation of a first ever sovereign wealth fund for the whole country. There are some very informed people who can see what's coming in the markets who believe that our nation has an asset that that could be worth as much as $150 trillion. That asset has been buried on American soil and could be the basis for creating such a fund. This endowment, so to speak, is so large it could pay off our national debt four times over. Why has it been kept secret for so long? Well, thanks to a Supreme Court decision, President Trump could soon release it to the public. Jim Rickards, former adviser of the White House and Federal Reserve, says if you're over 50, this could be your best chance to build lasting wealth from a once in a century event. To hear more of Jim's thinking, go online to birthright2025.com if he's right, it could make President Trump the most popular president in history and help millions of investors retire wealthy. Go to birthright2025.com to get the details free of charge, paid for by Paradigm Press.

[Buck Sexton]

Stories of freedom. Stories of America. Inspirational stories that unite us all. Each day. Spend time with Clay and Buck. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts at Ritual.

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay. Travis Buck Sexton show okay, major breaking news. The first ever American born Pope Robert Francis Prevost. He has taken the name Pope Leo xiv. Born in Chicago, went to Villanova, then the Catholic Theological Union is 69 years old. Born, like I said, I believe in Chicago. Spent the early part of his career working for the Augustinians there. Has been in Peru for some time and again a lot of people scrambling to learn more about this guy because he kind of came out of nowhere. He got a math degree from Villanova in 1977, decided to become a priest and join the Order of St. Augustine in September 1977, and he has been a priest since 1982 and really has kind of come out of nowhere. He was sent to Peru. He also has dual citizenship in Peru as well. And I'm sure that a ton of information is going to be coming out about him, but not much had been talked or discussed about. Let's see the wall Street Journal just had a piece come up about him. 267th Pope and the first from the US as we said in 2000 year history of the Papacy seen as a. This is, I'm reading from the Wall Street Journal. Seen as a unifying figure. After years of fractious ideological tensions between progressive and conservative wings of the Catholic Church, this Gentleman, Leo the 14th, now rarely took outspoken stances on the Church's polarizing issues such as celibacy or same sex couples. It upended conventional wisdom. Like I said, this came out of nowhere. The conventional wisdom had been that someone being elected from the US Was impossible because they did not want someone from America, as powerful as it is, to rise to this level. And so this is seen as a huge upset. 69 years old, relatively young, young for a Pope in some ways, at least in the, in the modern era. And he has been in the Vatican since January of 2023. So this is a major seismic news story even for people that were not necessarily paying a ton of attention to the selection of a Pope. To have the first ever American born Pope selected for a guy from Chicago who went to Villanova to end up as the new Pope is pretty extraordinary. And we will go when we can get him to Roman Arroyo, Raymond Arroyo, who is there in the Vatican City. The Pope right now, speaking in Italian as he is introduced to the entirety of the Catholic world. And Trump has already weighed in, saying congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, just named Pope. It's an honor to realize he's the first American Pope. What excitement. What a great honor for our country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo the 14th. It will be a very meaningful moment. That is Donald Trump weighing in on the major breaking news. First American Pope ever. Buck, you're Catholic. I mean, this is what we'd always heard was that it was never gonna happen. And now out of nowhere, we've got an American Pope.

[Clay Travis]

Very exciting for the flock and for the future of the Church. I am looking forward to learning more about this individual and hope that he stays strong with the doctrine of Christ. All right, what have you got for us?

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Look, we're following the Pope story. Pope Leo the 14th has been chosen. We're following closely. We're trying to get our man on the ground in Rome, Raymond Arroyo, to join us to give us more context, more background on that. But there's also another big story in the last 24 hours that we just want to bring you up to speed with and bring you a particular perspective. We know Ed Martin was up for U.S. attorney in D.C. thom Tillis said he wasn't up for supporting him. We talked about that yesterday. Ed Martin, who is the interim U.S. attorney in Washington D.C. joins us now. Ed, appreciate you making the time. I know it's a lot of breaking news and stuff. Edge.

[Ed Martin]

Yeah, yeah, it's a, it's an exciting time. Well, listen, Clay and Buck, it's great to be on with you guys. I enjoy your program and grateful to talk and especially your great listeners.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you so much. Tell us what, what, what happened here. I mean, just, just lay it straight for us. Tell us what the situation was.

[Ed Martin]

Yeah, the best thing is this. President Trump offered me a chance to do something really great. And for 120 days, that was the term, right? That was the way the law said. And he told me as far back as last summer, he really wanted to make D.C. a safe place and do things to make it safer. So he gave me this job and I've been serving as U.S. attorney. And you know, it's really cool when he said in the Oval Office, you know, Ed's done a great job. He drove crime down 25%. I didn't drive crime down 25%. Donald Trump did by putting me in place where I could do that and I could get our prosecutors focused on it. So, but look, you know, the Senate has an advice and consent role and the senators, and one of them had reasons he didn't want to. And I think the president's assessment was, okay, we're doing the job we're doing. And there's other places I can make a difference. And I, you know, in the next couple hours, I think it'll be. They'll. That'll be clear that I'm not leaving the. I'm not leaving the field of battle. I'm just switching to a different division here. And, And I'm just, look, I'm thrilled. I'm the, I'm, you know, I'm the most blessed guy in the world. It's the greatest city right now, D.C. the president is changing the whole way we see things, and I have a chance to help bring his vision forward. It's been. It's been really. And I'm going to keep doing it.

[Buck Sexton]

The president said in the Oval Office that he was going to be moving you to the Department of Justice. You may not want to tell us specifically about that, but does that square with what you expect to happen? Thanks for coming on with us, by the way.

[Ed Martin]

Yeah, yeah, no, you bet. Of course. I could just tell you this. I'm not going to get ahead of the president, but the thing I care about right now is that we have to fight weaponization of government in this office. If you could see, you know, you guys saw some of the public stuff, but it's like a little bit like an iceberg. You saw about a third of what I've been doing. The other two thirds, you didn't see a. Weaponization is the biggest problem. That's government used against the people. That's the laws being used against the citizens and against our markets and everything else. So I just say this. I'm confident that, you know, Thom Tillis doesn't get to tell this president what to do. This president's going to direct us, and I will be in the fray, and it'll be something related to either department. Well, it'll be Department of Justice in some form, I'll say that. But it'll be great, guys. I mean, and look for your listeners, they're energized folks. You know, you teach them and you work with them. This is an ongoing battle for the future of our country. And we've got a great present to do it, and I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be fun. It's not going to be dull.

[Buck Sexton]

We invited Thom Tillis on to talk with us about why he was choosing not to support your nomination. He said that publicly. And he said something that, as a lawyer, really bothered me, and we talked about it yesterday on the program, and that is that he was upset that you had helped to defend January six defendants. Well, I gave money to help with that defense. I think we wildly over punished January 6th defendants. And whatever you think about that, you should have the best legal representation possible. I actually find Tillis's logic really pretty indefensible. Is that what you understand to have been the difference between being accepted by him or not?

[Ed Martin]

Yeah. Well, look, you guys, you know, you guys are big league ball players, right? I mean, you're, you're, you guys are the New York Yankees. I'm just playing out here in the sticks, double A ball. But I mean, I've seen, I've seen how this thing works. And whatever his answer was, you're right, he talked about that. But as you point out, look, of the weaponization in this country that happened in the last five or six years, there's nothing more galling than the use of the system or legal system against the citizens, including Donald Trump. And when I sat with Senator Tillis, we had a great conversation, very long hour and a half. He had a lot of strong opinions. But one of the things I said to him was, listen, sir, they used 1512, this special charge that was created after Enron. It was perfected by Andrew Weissman, and he tried to use it in the Mueller investigation. And then it was used by Merrick Garland and Susan Monaco. It wasn't used by the line attorneys. It was used by them to target American citizens. And when a bipartisan court, Supreme Court, threw it out, you had hundreds of American citizens who had been held in jail as felons released instantly because they had not done anything wrong. And my point to him was, sir, that's not what our system is supposed to do. That's weaponization against groups. And here's the thing. They didn't do it just to crush Americans. They did that. They did it because they wanted to get Trump if they could. Look, I'm inside, guys. I'm seeing the trail. They laid out the 1512. They forced plea bargains. They got people to get convicted one after another, to say to the judges and say to the courts, the 1512 charge is fine and Donald Trump should be charged, too. And they charged him and only God And a bipartisan Supreme Court stopped us from having to be living with Donald Trump in prison on 1512. So Thom Tillots may be upset about January 6th. I have no. I know enough about victims to know you can't judge how they got to where they feel. But I do. Just think in terms of our system, man. We got to have an American system that is not weaponized against we the people.

[Clay Travis]

And I just, I have, I have to know because we got a lot of, we got a lot of very upset North Carolina voters yesterday with their senator after what happened here. Did he make it clear to you in this meeting that he was going to go to Trump and say that he opposed you taking on this critical role to clean up the weaponization of government right in the heart of where it's happening? I mean, did he, did he say that to you or did he kind of leave it open ended and then later on go to Trump with this?

[Ed Martin]

Yeah, I mean, let me be a little bit respectful of the process, guys. I mean, maybe I don't maybe have a reputation because I'm a, I'm a fighter, but I. Look, it was a long conversation and he had his concerns and I thought we had a path forward to at least let the process play out where there was a vote. You know, I hate when people get away with saying, I'm not going to vote. By the way, let me point to one villain. Chuck Schumer has employed what should be called the Schumer smear. Just like they had the Pelosi had the wraparound, you know, wraparound attack she did. The Schumer smear was to go out and to say someone's anti Semitic like me and to try to drive that and that. And that guy showed himself to be a broken, broken leader and failing and flailing. But. So look, I think Senator Tillis, I don't know why he didn't support me. He did say nice things about my character and about my ability. But ultimately, you know, the Senate's going to do what it's going to do and, and the president's going to have to lead our executive branch and our country.

[Buck Sexton]

So we've got cut 26. I just want to play what the President said to you and let you react because it's pretty cool, the president's praise of you. If we could play cut 26, he's.

[Donald Trump]

A terrific person and he wasn't getting the support from people that I thought, you know, he's done a very good job. Crime is down 25% in D.C. during his period of time. I'm very disappointed in that. But I have so many different things that I'm doing now with the trade. You know, I'm one person. I can only make. Boom. I can only lift that little phone so many times in a day. But we have somebody else that will be great. I just want to say Ed is unbelievable and hopefully we can bring him into, whether it's DOJ or whatever, in some capacity, because really outstanding it was to me. It was disappointing. I'll be honest. I have to be straight. I was disappointed. A lot of people were disappointed. But that's the way it works sometimes, you know, that's the way it works. And he wasn't rejected, but we felt it would be very, it would be hard. And we have somebody else that we'll be announcing over the next two days who's, who's going to be great.

[Clay Travis]

Well, the good news for you, Ed, is Trump has sort of already set a standard here with the guy who was, his national security adviser is now the U.S. ambassador, the United nations, which is also a great gig. So I think, yeah, I think we got something good in your future. You're a fighter. You're doing great things for D.C. and for your country. We appreciate you making the time today, sir, and we look forward to talking to you in whatever the next capacity is. We've got some guesses. We know it's going to be good. Trump's got your back. Thanks for being here.

[Ed Martin]

Always a pleasure, guys. Thanks, Clay. Thanks. Appreciate you.

[Buck Sexton]

That was fantastic, guys.

[Clay Travis]

We're going to dive deep here into the, into the Pope situation. Appreciate Ed Martin being with us, but we're getting obviously a flurry of everything. Light us up with your calls, your emails. Tell us what you think. The first American Pope. And Clay, hopefully we're going to get Raymond Arroyo coming up here.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, from Vatican City, actually. I'm curious. Guy went to Villanova undergrad, grew up in Chicago. I bet some of you know him. 800-282-2882. If you actually know or have spent any time around Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo the 14th, the first ever American Pope. If you're relying on healthcare insurance from the Affordable Care act, there's something better. You should investigate a better solution. Healthcare insurance available now for all Americans. It's called Ease for Everyone. The only group plan any adult in the US Is eligible to join. Compare Ease for Everyone to Obamacare. With a monthly cost as low as $262. You get free unlimited prescriptions with 93% of all drugs covered available at no extra cost, including insulin. Huge savings on brand names. Free unlimited virtual primary care urgent care with just a $30 copay. Generous cash back reimbursements for doctor office visits, emergency room visits and ambulance transportation. You can have affordable health care for as low as $262 a month. Today, visit ease for everyone.com clay that's ease for everyone.com clay paid for by Affordable Benefit Choices. You ain't imagin the world has gone insane. Reclaim your sanity with clay and bun. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts at Ritual.

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show the new American Pope Robert Prevost at Dr. Prevost on Twitter. The first Pope I can remember who actually had a Twitter account and has had a Twitter account since 2011. Pope Leo XIV, an American pope. If you're just joining us, born in Chicago, went to Villanova where he majored in math before he decided to go into the into the priesthood. Became a priest in 1982. We are asking you right now, never had this opportunity. Some of you may have spent time around him. You may have had relationships with him in your Catholic churches over the years. He has been in Peru recently, but born in Chicago, went to Villanova 800-282-2882. Registered Republican, has been critical of J.D. vance and Trump somewhat publicly, although again, how much of this is him trying to stay in the middle and criticize both sides. In other words, if you knew that people knew you were a registered Republican and you were trying to prepare yourself, I don't know. He is seen as very much a moderate who does not have strong political opinions, at least not given yet. Now, to be fair, he's got a lot of power and we will see how exactly he uses that power now because he's 69 years old, if he stays healthy, he's probably got a decade plus to be very influential as the head of the Catholic Church.

[Clay Travis]

Absolutely.

[Buck Sexton]

Did you ever think you would see an American Pope? You're a Catholic. Did you like was that a conversation in churches like, hey, would the pope.

[Clay Travis]

Ever American I've never heard anybody have a conversation before about not only would there be an American Pope, but I haven't heard anyone discuss the need for one rather or talk about it even as something that would be a likelihood. A possibility. I know there are people who are disappointed at some level because they wanted Cardinal Sarah, who is. I've seen some clips of him, and I like what I see. But this Pope, we shall have to see where he is on this. I mean, there's. There's the speaking ex cathedra. Ex cathedra. Church doctrinal issues, and then there's what the Pope will say when he's touring the world and when he's doing, you know, interviews and all of this. And I think that there'll be something of a mix here. I mean, yes, the. The. There are a few areas where the Pope is not going to align, I think, with what I believe and what many of you believe. And he is essentially one who thinks that America should operate as a giant refugee camp for the whole world. This is a place where, unfortunately, I think the desire for true social justice and to be kind and to be taking in the poor can swamp the boat and cause problems. So that's one area where I don't think you're going to see a lot of stuff that would make the right particularly happy. But if he's going to continue on issues of church doctrine, where the church has been, which I think he will, you won't see priests marrying. You won't see any change on the LGBTQ stance and gender identity stuff. So, yeah, that's all I think what we're seeing, based on the tweets and some of the stances that he has taken in the past.

[Buck Sexton]

Let me clean up something. There is a report that he was a registered Republican. Our buddy Ryan Gardusky says Illinois doesn't register voters by party. He's not a registered Republican as a result. He did, however, vote in the Republican primary several times and models as a likely Republican voter. That's similar to Tennessee. Like, we don't have registered parties here. I walk in and say, hey, which primary I want to vote in? So the current new American Pope has voted in Republican primaries historically, according to Ryan Gardusky. That does not make him. I want to clean that up a little bit, because some people are reporting that he's a registered Republican. That does not make him a registered Republican. Now, again, I mentioned his social media account, which you and I pulled up and started to look through. There is criticism of J.D. vance there. There is some suggestions that he is not a huge. A huge fan of Trump. But also during his tenure as a bishop in Peru, he said the promotion of gender ideology is confusing because it seeks to create genders that don't exist. So he is not some, hey, trans right.

[Clay Travis]

That's not going to make you particularly welcome in the modern Democrat Party. Right. If you were to take this into the political realm. Also, the church does not allow gay marriage or will not marry gays. There's a lot of stuff about the Catholic Church that is at clear. Abortion, probably the biggest one. Huge opposition to the Democrats core ethos. And yet a lot of Democrats vote Catholic. I mean, so much so that people like Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden who advance godless and even demonic policies are proud of talking about how they're devout Catholics. Like, really, I find that a mockery of the church. But nonetheless, you have Catholics who will go and tout their both Democrat status and Catholicism at the same time, not understanding that those things are in very clear juxtaposition with each other. And then people always go, what about Republicans and Wall street and the fat cats? That's like the Bernie Sanders flying around on the private jet while he's talking about the oligarchy.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, we'll play, we'll play that when we come back. By the way, Charlie Kirk has published his entire voting history. He has voted in Republican primaries when even when he was not living abroad. He's had different postings. Charlie Kirk says our data shows he's a strong Republican and pro life.

[Clay Travis]

So he has to be pro life to be clear. Charlie's an evangelical. Charlie's not a Catholic. So I wouldn't expect him to know much about Catholic doctrine. Or maybe he does, I don't know. But yeah, being pro life is you cannot be, you cannot be a member of the Catholic clergy and say, yeah, abortion.

[Buck Sexton]

So that's, that's, I think the gender ideology thing. That's a quote from the New York Times. That's a pretty strong state statement of sanity from 2012 that I read. So we'll continue to break this down. Major news. We've got a American Pope and we'll get caught up on the latest, including Joe Biden on the View.

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