Hour 2 - Builders vs. Bureaucrats

Summary

Summary of "Hour 2 - Builders vs. Bureaucrats" from The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Release Date: March 21, 2025

In the second hour of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve into the ongoing political tensions between influential business figures and bureaucratic establishments. The episode, titled "Builders vs. Bureaucrats," explores themes of oligarchy, media bias, and the portrayal of prominent personalities like Elon Musk and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC).

1. The Attack on Elon Musk and Media Bias

Clay and Buck kick off the discussion by addressing the persistent attacks on Elon Musk by what they describe as the "lunatic left." They express concern over the media's portrayal of Musk, particularly focusing on recent defamatory remarks made by Democrats.

Notable Quote:

• Buck Sexton (02:38): "If you call someone a thief, you are opening yourself up to legal action in a pretty significant way."

The hosts highlight a specific incident where Jamaal Bowman, a former Congressman, labeled Musk as a "thief" and a "Nazi" on CNN, which they argue borders on defamation. They question the intelligence and motives behind such aggressive attacks, emphasizing that such rhetoric undermines public discourse.

2. Oligarchy and Financial Influence in Politics

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the concept of oligarchy within the Democratic Party. Buck references a clip from Batya Ungar-Sargon, who counters the Democrats' narrative of fighting oligarchy by presenting data on the party's reliance on wealthy donors.

Notable Quote:

• Batya Ungar-Sargon (04:06): "65% of Americans making over $500,000 a year today are Democrats. 75% of hedge fund managers who make political donations donate to Democrats..."

Clay and Buck agree that the Democratic establishment is heavily funded by the elite, contradicting the party's stated commitment to combating oligarchy. They argue that this financial dependency fosters policies that favor the wealthy, further entrenching the oligarchic structure.

3. Interview with Sean Parnell: Debunking Fake News

The show features an interview with Sean Parnell, Assistant Undersecretary of Defense at the Pentagon. Parnell addresses a false report by The New York Times claiming that Elon Musk would gain access to sensitive China war plans.

Notable Quote:

• Sean Parnell (23:24): "It was completely fake... articles like this... undermine the secretary's goals and ambitions."

Parnell condemns the fabricated story, highlighting its potential dangers to national security and the Pentagon's strategic objectives. He underscores the importance of accurate journalism and the detrimental effects of misinformation on governmental operations.

4. Builders vs. Bureaucrats: Trump and Musk as Class Traitors

Clay and Buck draw parallels between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, framing them as "class traitors" who challenge the established elite. They contrast these builders—individuals who create and innovate—with bureaucrats who, in their view, impose taxes and regulations on the creative class.

Notable Quote:

• Clay Travis (09:01): "Silicon Valley has been essentially the greatest wealth creation and concentration of wealth creation maybe in human history... Elon is the first one who has really broken from that."

The hosts praise Trump and Musk for their contributions to wealth creation and innovation, positioning them against a backdrop of bureaucratic stagnation. They assert that these leaders understand and support the working class, unlike their Democratic counterparts, who they claim are disconnected from the grassroots.

5. Listener Support for Elon Musk

The episode includes a heartfelt call from a listener named John from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who expresses gratitude towards Elon Musk for his contributions, particularly referencing Musk's role in rescuing astronauts.

Notable Quote:

• John (39:24): "He didn't have to do what he done. He went up there and he rescued our astronauts out of space... I didn't hear one person say to that man, thank you for what you did."

Clay and Buck commend John for his support, reinforcing their stance that Musk deserves recognition for his achievements and contributions to America.

6. Conclusion: Defamation Concerns and Media Accountability

In wrapping up the discussion, Clay and Buck reiterate their concerns about defamatory statements made by public figures like Jamaal Bowman. They question whether media outlets like CNN will face repercussions for such damaging remarks and call for greater accountability in political discourse.

Notable Quote:

• Clay Travis (37:36): "When you accuse someone a thief, you are accusing them of committing a crime... It's just a shame that anybody has to be subjected to such stupid commentary."

The hosts conclude by emphasizing the need for respectful and factual conversations in the media, advocating for a shift away from sensationalism and towards constructive dialogue.

Key Takeaways:

• Elon Musk Under Fire: The episode highlights the aggressive and often unfounded attacks on Elon Musk by certain Democratic figures and media outlets.
• Oligarchy Exposed: Data presented challenges the Democrats' claims of fighting oligarchy, revealing substantial financial support from wealthy individuals and corporations.
• Defamation Risks: The use of extreme labels like "thief" and "Nazi" against public figures poses legal and ethical concerns.
• Builders vs. Bureaucrats: A central theme contrasts innovative business leaders with what the hosts perceive as ineffective and obstructive government bureaucrats.
• Listener Engagement: Positive feedback from listeners underscores the show's connection with its audience, particularly in support of business leaders like Musk.

This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show offers a critical examination of the interplay between business innovation and political bureaucracy, urging listeners to question media narratives and advocate for leaders who support the working class.

Transcript

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[Nate Silver]

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[Nate Silver]

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[Clay Travis]

All right, second hour of Clay and Buck kicks off now. Thanks for being here with us. And we got a lot going on. The war against Elon from the lunatic left continues on. You've got AOC out there now and you know, we talked to Ryan Graduski about this yesterday, Clay. That was my first sense, and I said it on the show after the election that they're gonna try to build AOC up into a national level Democrat figure, a leadership figure, just because of her profile. She's got the right demographic appeal for them. I mean, there's a lot of stuff that comes together for them that would make me think that they would do it. The problem is she's a socialist and she's not very bright. But, you know, then again, they made Joe Biden president somehow, so they can figure out a lot of things, right? But thing you've started to hear more of is they are using Elon as a pivot to get into the class warfare thing. So it's like, yeah, ok, inflation is bad. The price of eggs coming down under Trump, we all know, but was too high. Gas, all these things. But what they really care about is the millionaires and billionaires, right? The old Bernie Sanders routine and oligarchy. Here's Bernie Sanders with the usual stuff saying that they will not accept oligarchy. Play 21 today. We are here to say very loudly and no, we will not accept an oligarchic form of society where a handful.

[Buck Sexton]

Of billionaires run the government. No, we will not accept an authoritarian form of society with a president who undermines the Constitution every day and is working aggressively to take away our freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, yeah, whatever. Okay. The point here though, oligarchy. He's talking about oligarchy again. And the thing that I find so interesting is they're clearly trying to create a handoff. Bernie's too old. They tried this with Biden. They know that they're not going to get their hand caught in that bear trap again. Right? Or mousetrap or whatever. Bear trap with a hand would be really tough. But they, they aren't going to do that again. I think they realize he is, he's in his 80s already, so he's not running four years. 83. He's not running at almost 90. Okay, fine. AOC, though, is supposed to be the beneficiary. It's like Bernie is the elder statesman and the quote, intellectual socialist. AOC is the next gen. They're on this tour. But Batya Unger Sargan, who had that, that great clip on the Bill Maher show recently about how happy we all are that Trump is doing what he's doing and how great things are, the Trump voters have no regrets. Nothing but high fives all around. She pointed out that this whole oligarch thing and the whole Wall street for Republican, it's all crap. It's all lies. This is 18. Listen to, listen or dismantle this. Well done.

[Batya Ungar Sargon]

There is such an irony to Democrats talking about oligarchy because of course, for every one billionaire that backed President Trump, Kamala Harris had two. Nine of the 10 richest counties in America are represented by Democrats. 65% of Americans making over $500,000 a year today are Democrats. 75% of hedge fund managers who make political donations donate to Democrats and 95% of political donations from the top three management consulting firms go to Democrats. Meanwhile, President Trump absolutely crushed with Americans who make under $100,000 a year. The Democrats are the party of the wealthy and Donald Trump is representing the working class because he simply lifted the pro worker elements of the Democrats agenda when they abandoned the working class to cater to their rich base. This is all performance art.

[Buck Sexton]

It's really hard.

[Clay Travis]

True. Isn't that so well done in clay, those stats, I mean, I am familiar with some of that before but if you look at where the money, big, you know, big hedge funds, money goes to Democrats, Government bureaucracy, federal bureaucracy, money all go. All goes to Democrats McKinsey and Bain and these, you know, supposedly elite management consultant firms. Don't get me started on what they really do. Democrats, the establishment elites are overwhelmingly Democrat now. They're trying to pivot into the oligarchy. And we care about the working class.

[Nate Silver]

They don't care.

[Clay Travis]

They don't give a. You know, what about the working class?

[Buck Sexton]

I think social media has exposed how little depth there is behind these talking points. To your point, Kamala spent a billion and a half dollars and had far more wealthy people supporting her in the election of 2024 than supported Trump. I was just out in San Francisco, Buck. Marin county, right across the Golden Gate.

[Clay Travis]

Very pretty colonist, unfortunately, but gorgeous.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, that's what I'm going to. Unbelievably beautiful. I have a friend from law school who lives in Marin county. And we went out, had the kids, we went out and got something to eat. And after I ate dinner there, I went back. I'm a data nerd. I just wanted to know because she said, yeah, everybody around here is a die hard supporter of Kamala Harris. And she said, every now and then I'll see like a Trump bumper sticker. And people are, you're going to love this story, Buck. People are like aghast. So we were out for dinner getting pizza. I had my son, she had a couple of her daughters and one of her daughter's friends was there and, and we were kind of talking and everything else. And she said, oh yeah, you know, Mr. Clay, he's a big Trump supporter. And her daughter is in sixth grade. And her daughter's friend was also in sixth grade, Buck, the daughter's friend looked at me like she thought I was from another planet. I don't think she had ever in her life, this little girl who was living in Marin county, ever seen someone who was a Trump supporter? And my 17 year old, when we got in the car to head back to the hotel, he said, dad, that girl was terrified when she found out that you voted for Donald Trump and were a big Trump supporter. And when you said to her, he's actually a really nice guy. I told her about the milkshake story and I was like, he's a good grandpa. It was as if I were telling her that I was from Mars. And I went and looked at the data. Marin county voted 90 to 10 for Kamala Harris. 90 to 10, Buck. I mean, it's not just that these people are in cults. It's that they really have bought into the idea that we're evil people. Look, we put on Joy Reid. I don't think Joy Reid's evil. I think she's a moron. They really think that we are.

[Clay Travis]

Like, Clay's in a generous mood today. Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, they think that we're Nazi stormtroopers. And, and I. Look, I mean, I. It really, like, I thought about this a lot when I got back to the hotel because these are highly educated people. How can they be so insular that they are not familiar even with the arguments that are being made? And I thought, buck, this tied in because do you know where some of these Tesla dealerships that are now getting firebombed are? Bay Area. Right. And a lot of people there feel somehow as if Twitter, which was certainly based in the Bay Area, and we've talked about this. San Francisco is one of the most beautiful cities in the. In the world. It may be the most beautiful, truly natural geographic city in all of America. Right. Just.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

And they have such incredible wealth there. I think it's the wealthiest city in America on a per capita basis, yet their minds are so closed that they can't even comprehend some of the arguments. And they really have bought the idea that we're all a bunch of Nazi stormtroopers if we vote for Trump. And it really is just kind of staggering because, again, I disagree with a lot of Democrat voters, but I'm not trying to argue that they are truly evil.

[Clay Travis]

Well, you made a point in the last hour that I think is worth hitting again and expanding on a little bit, and that is that Elon is a traitor to his class. And what's really interesting is that who is the original great class traitor in our lifetime in politics? Donald Trump. Yes, of course, he's not supposed to. He's not supposed to care about the border. He's not supposed to. You know, Donald Trump was the billionaire that gets along with and likes the construction workers and wants them to be able to live in a nice house and have a nice wife and a nice family. And they, they. That is a huge problem for the elites and the Donald. And also the Donald Trump didn't have the respect for them. Meaning the New York Times. You know, you show up to Donald Trump, you say, I went to Harvard. He's like, who cares? Am I supposed to care? Why am I supposed to. How'd you get into Harvard? Who care? You know, he. He sees through a lot of the BS Elon is a different kind of traitor to his class in their mind, which is the Silicon Valley. You want to talk about oligarchs, the Silicon Valley, ultra wealthy, ultra high iq, global industry dominating figure. They have all. I mean, look at Google and look at Facebook and look at, you know, I know Facebook started to play the game a little bit, but you look at all. Silicon Valley has been essentially the greatest wealth creation and concentration of wealth creation maybe in human history, if you did it on like a square mile basis. And it has unfortunately filled the country with horrible ideas. It has filled the United States with the most left wing because of their dominance in social media, because of the billions of dollars they've spent on politics in different election cycles going back for decades now. And Elon is the first one who has really broken from that, who's at the absolute top. I mean, he is like the apex of the pyramid. Clay and goes, yeah, that stuff that you guys have been promoted. That's insane. Yeah, you're wrong. It's destroying this country. That allowed you to build Facebook, that allowed you to build Google, that allowed for that massive wealth creation. So he's kind of the. The Trump of the Bay Area, in a sense. Right. Trump did it for the New York Times and Wall street and those elites. Elon has thumbed his nose at the West Coast, Silicon Valley royalty.

[Buck Sexton]

That's, I think, really well said for east versus west coast and the symbiosis between the two. I would also point out, really, a lot of what we're talking about is builders versus bureaucrats, people who create something that didn't exist otherwise. Trump built buildings. Elon has built companies versus the people who really just kind of get involved in what has already been built and use it as their method to continue to make a living. What do Most people in D.C. build other than a continued tax on the people who actually build? And there's a frustration, I think that is what unites Musk and Trump on some level with a lot of the people in middle management that they feel like don't actually create. Trump gets along well with construction workers. Why would that be? Because he understands that they actually create things with their hands. They actually build the buildings that he's trying to put together.

[Clay Travis]

I think without them, you don't have Trump Tower.

[Buck Sexton]

That's right.

[Clay Travis]

He likes Trump Tower. So thank you for the guys building it.

[Buck Sexton]

That's right. And Elon has built his car almost exclusively that he sells in the United States. In the United States. And uniquely, I think, respects the craftsmanship for Rockets or ships or whatever else. They're builders. And a lot of what Democrats represent now is actually the bureaucrats that effectively are taxes, leeches on the builders. And that disconnect is what's motivating a lot of the conflict that's going on right now in the country and why I think Elon is the new target in combination with the fact that they thought he was their guy and now they're having to look around and say, wait a minute, the guy who's done the most to fight climate change is actually a buddy with Trump? Well, yeah. And they actually connect. And it's a logical choice in many ways for what Elon has done.

[Clay Travis]

And isn't it also interesting, Clay, that you see a pattern, a trend here, J.D. vance? I mean, I read Hillbilly Elegy like so many others did over a decade ago when it came out. JD Vance is an incredible American success story.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

That should be inspiring to everybody of any background, race, creed or color to grow. I mean, few things are harder on a young person than having a broken family, an addict, mother. He's now the vice president, United States, and became a multimillionaire on his own and served in the Marine Corps before that. Ok. Yep. The left completely negates all that in their mind because he is the vice president for Donald Trump. Elon Musk, some guy who showed. They try to say that he's. I've read Elon's biography. I know you have, too. He is not a rich kid. Meaning, like he didn't grow up a rich kid. Yeah. His parents, his dad had a little bit of money, but it wasn't. He showed up here and was sleeping on the floor and kind of almost like a weirdo, so devoted to his career. I mean, he was absolutely all in and has created multiple companies employing hundreds of thousands of people and trillions of dollars of wealth creation over the life of those companies. It's incredible what he's done. And they hate him. They hate him. And then you look at who the Democrats hold up. Joe Biden. Joe Biden is a leech. He's a leech.

[Buck Sexton]

Most politicians who are professional politicians are leeches. That's the job. Now, you said earlier, and I think it's true, we need more people who have success in life and then decide to give back to the country.

[Clay Travis]

And there are a lot of huge game changers. Trump Elon. Yeah, the Trump Elon axis. If you're a multibillionaire businessman now, who's better at the game than anybody else? Like, you got to help, you know, whatever that means you've got. It doesn't mean writing big checks and having people at your house in Malibu for cocktail parties. No, it means actually giving of your genius and your time to your country. Right. You know, you want to talk about what the future looks like? AI, drones, tech. This is going to be everything in terms of productivity, in terms of warfare. We need the best. We can't have, you know, the. The. The lazy department of Ed. People running everything. All right, look, we all have memories that we wish we could relive. If you could revisit your favorite memories you recorded on videotape or film, I mean, how much fun would that be? How great would that be for your family? And what if you could replay those memories? Not just once, not just now, but for future generations? Part of your family legacy? Well, if you or a family member are holding on to a box full of old videotapes, now is the time to get them digitally transferred. Because those tapes are going to disintegrate and they're going to be totally useless in time. Legacy Box is who we trust to do this service. Simple and safe. They digitize all of your videotapes, camcorder tapes, film reels, and pictures so they are preserved forever. Co founders Nick Mako and Adam Boslager started this company in their college dorm room over a decade ago. They, by the way, talk about a great American success story. These guys are doing it, like, in their garage. They're the. They're the garage band that made it big. Except they were the Garage Legacy Box guys who made it big. Incredible. And they're such nice guys. So humble. And they employ hundreds of people. They've got a great company, all based in Clay's home state of Tennessee. And they're patriots, too. So go with Legacy Box today. It's a great gift, you know. Got Father's Day coming up. Mother's Day. Is it Mother's Day soon too? I got to remember these things. Go check out Legacy box today. Legacybox.com buck. You'll get 50% off when you go to legacybox.com buck.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Nate Silver]

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[Clay Travis]

All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. We're talking about the way they're hitting Elon like crazy. People. This is cut eight. I just want you to hear. These are the kind of conversations they're having about the richest man in the world, the most impressive CEO in the world over at cnn. Play it.

[Sean Parnell]

This shows again, the American people do not trust Elon Musk. And Elon Musk is incompetent in his position. And how do we know? Because they fired tens of thousands of people. Was challenged in court. The court said the people have to go back. And now the people are coming back. He's incompetent. He's a thief. He's A Nazi and people don't trust him, period.

[Clay Travis]

That's a member of Congress, Jamaal Bowman, who is saying that.

[Buck Sexton]

Former.

[Clay Travis]

A member for. Sorry. Yeah, former. Thank you. Yeah. That's the alarm puller, alarm pole guy, right? Yeah. But Clay, Elon Musk is incompetent. Are we really doing this? We're really doing this. Elon Musk is incompetent thing with Democrats now, he's not the first one or the last one to say it. A lot of them are trying this.

[Buck Sexton]

This is getting close to defamatory comments on CNN because when you say, look, you're allowed to speak hyperbolically. And I don't think Jamal Bowman is smart enough to be intentionally doing this. But when you call someone a thief, you are opening yourself up to legal action in a pretty significant way. I want to tell you about my incredible good, amazing food rolling into the house every single day with good ranchers. Steaks, chicken, hamburgers, wild caught salmon, all coming straight to your home. Buck just had his own package arrived. Every cut of meat without antibiotics, without seed oils, just pure delicious protein. American ranchers raising cattle and chicken, many of them second, third generation. GoodRanchers.com is the website. Get hooked up today. When you use my name clay, you'll save $25 off when you place a good ranchers order website. Good ranchers.com Again, my name Clay to save 25 bucks. Good ranchers.com My name Clay. You're going to love it. Your family's going to love it. Go check it out. Safe, great, affordable food@good ranchers.com My name Clay for 25 bucks off.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back into Clay and Buck. So we're talking about the, the attacks on Elon and also some of what Trump said from the Oval this morning. Well, afternoon, morning, it was pretty close to being one or the other. And it's really interesting to see how Trump is not backing down at all. And one thing, Clay, that, that really did come across substantially is that Trump recognizes when these judges and these Democrats oppose things like getting, getting illegal. Remember, these are not, it's not that he's taking Americans who have joined a gang and just sent them to some foreign prison somewhere. These are non Americans. They are not supposed to be in the country in the first place. They're, they're illegal aliens who are also part of a violent gang that is a designated terrorist organization. They are being sent out of the country and Democrats are going to the mat to make sure they have maximum due process rights. The same Democrats and I mean the same individuals, in some cases in the media and the Democrat Party who had no problem with nonviolent J6Americans rotting away in a D.C. gulag for a year without trial are now really concerned about trend Aragua members. But let's actually get an update here on the Ellen story that was running on the New York Times from Undersecretary of Defense Sean Parnell, who joins us for the first time on the program since he has taken that senior Pentagon role. I feel like. I feel like I should salute Sean, thank you for being with us. And tell us, tell us what you can about what happened with the New York Times saying Elon was going to get all the China war plans.

[Sean Parnell]

It was completely fake. And you want to know what else? We had a heads up from the New York Times reporter, I should say there was five reporters on it, but by one of the reporters the night before that they were planning to write something like that. And this was the angle that they were going to take. And we told them last night that it's not true. Like, what are you doing? That's not true. This is completely fake. Yet they ran with the story anyway. And what's crazy to me, Buck, is that this secretary, Secretary Hegseth, has been working so hard to push peace through strength, to build up our force to work to implement the President's agenda. I've been on the bilateral calls with foreign leaders. I've heard him, I've heard him make the case for peace through strength. But articles like this, that Elon Musk is going to come to the Pentagon and get a super secret Squirrel briefing on war plans with potential China, not only does it undermine the secretary's, you know, what his goals and ambitions are here, which I think is part of the point. It also is. It's dangerous. It's dangerous because many of us took this job, Buck, and I know I speak for the secretary too, because we've got a lot of kids. Our job. I think we've got four years to get this done. You know as well as I do, Buck, the operating environment, the threat environment globally is changing rapidly. We've got to change and evolve our force to meet it. But we, we've got kids that we've got to make sure that they inherit a world that is better than the one that we had, that is more prosperous than one that we had, and it's safer. And articles like that, like this from the New York Times work against that goal. And it just, it just makes you wonder what their motivation is. It's to Me, it's just sickening. They should ret.

[Buck Sexton]

Not only should they retract. Sean, congratulations on the new job, and thank you for the work that you're doing there and for hopping on with us. Don't you think, Sean, that this had to be coming via a leak in some way to the New York Times? And if that occurred, wouldn't that be criminal based on the method that it was distributed? And given the story that's out there about China war plans, what kind of investigation can we expect or should take place here?

[Sean Parnell]

Well, we're still in the early phases of this, so we're still trying to wrap our mind around how something like this could happen. But, yes, certainly it's a leak. In this case, a fake one. So whoever.

[Clay Travis]

Who?

[Sean Parnell]

The two anonymous defense officials. I mean, you sit there and you read the article from the Times, and you wonder if these anonymous defense officials are even real people. I don't know. But thankfully, in this regard, the leak was fake, and we were able to control the narrative. But the fact of the matter is that this. This is a big building where we do nothing but plan, plan, plan for every contingency. And we can't have, you know, anonymous defense officials passing off, you know, what they think might be classified information to reporters who then turn around and publish it. Yeah, that's criminal. And I'll tell you, there have got to be consequences for that. So we're still trying to figure out how we approach this. But, yeah, I'll tell you, this is on all of our minds because this isn't. This is. I mean, politics is behind everything. But what we're dealing with here are global national security issues that could affect the safety of Americans or potentially the safety of Americans. You can't play with that stuff. So, yeah, what I can tell you, we're definitely looking into avenues that we can, you know, investigates a loaded word, but we've got to do something.

[Clay Travis]

Speaking of Sean Parnell, assistant undersecretary of Defense at the Pentagon, formerly, as you know, Sean was a friend of ours here on the Clay and Buck podcast network. And Sean, just give us a sense of what some of the top agenda items are right now. That Secretary of Defense Hegseth and then you working at the Pentagon with the rest of the team there. What are some of the top items that you're trying to do in terms of reform, in terms of transparency, and just war fighting efficiency?

[Sean Parnell]

Yeah, so I think the top priority for us, Buck and Clay, is defense of the homeland. It's been something that both Democrat and Republican regimes over the last 20, 30 years have probably not been as strong as they needed to be on this. But, you know, we're, we are very, very focused on full operational control of the southern border. And that means the cartels not controlling a single square mil of anything. That means stopping the flow of fentanyl into our country. It's the number one cause of death for people in America between 18 and 45. It's absolutely unacceptable. It needed to stop yesterday. I think we're really focused as well on, you know, this process will be slower, but a real focus on the Indo Pacific and deterring China. What looms large over many of these, these BILAC calls. Don't want to go in too deep on what's the substance of the conversations, of course, but the rising tide of the CCP is something that looms large over everything we recognize. It's something that we're going to, that we've got to focus on. It's a challenge for sure. The third, I think, is figuring out a way to increase burden sharing with our allies. You know, the truth is our allies need to do more to both protect their nation and protect, protect the world so that we don't have to, you know, we're always going to be there, we're always going to step up and we're going to do our part. But as I mentioned earlier, the world is changing and evolving rapidly. And if this country, the world's lone superpower, does not change rapidly and evolve with it, bad things will happen. And so those, I think, buck, are the top three priorities for us, I think, you know, operationally, but internally to the force. Like, we're aggressively assessing standards, trying to get a sense of maybe how things changed over the years. We've removed all the caustic and divisive diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense from almost all of our digital platforms. The climate change insanity, all of the electric tanks crap that's done and gone at the Pentagon. We're cutting those programs and reinvesting them into programs that will make us more capable and lethal. So lots of things are happening here at the Pentagon in the first two months. And look, it's going to be pedal to the metal for us for the next four years because we really want it. We really want to change things, and we're not going to waste any time.

[Buck Sexton]

Doing it talking to Sean Parnell. All of that's incredibly important. I know there's been a lot of breaking news. I don't know if you've seen the latest breaking News. Your Pittsburgh Steelers are currently hosting Aaron Rodgers on a quarterback visit, so you get an opportunity to step outside of the world of geopolitics. Right call, wrong call. You've added some wide receiver weapons. You are a big time Pitt Pittsburgh Steeler fan. For people who don't know, should Aaron Rodgers be the next quarterback of the terrible towel waivers?

[Sean Parnell]

Well, let me just tell you this. First of all, I'm excited as a Steelers fan for DK Metcalf. I just am. He's a freaking beast. We need a receiver like him, a number one wide receiver that can be really a deep threat. And he. That guy, that guy is extraordinary. He's an extraordinary athlete. He's going to fit in well in Pittsburgh. Hey, I'm. Whatever. It's Aaron Rodgers. We'll give it a go. I think he. I'm game, right? I'm game to try anything. This is the Steelers, I think, have struggled at quarterback since Ben Roethlisberger left the team. I've got an all of an above strategy on this one here, Clay. Like, it's Aaron Rodgers. He's a Hall of Famer. Let's give it a go, see what we can accomplish.

[Buck Sexton]

Good stuff, Sean. We appreciate you making the time. Buck, we still need to get. I'm in D.C. right now, but we still need to come hang out with you guys at some point. Sean, down the line and make sure we get to get tell your story from over near the Pentagon.

[Sean Parnell]

Oh, for sure. Now that I'm kind of like more settled, we can definitely make that happen. 100%.

[Clay Travis]

Fantastic. Thank you so much, Sean. And maybe, I don't know, Clay says he's never been on an aircraft carrier. You know what I mean? Maybe we got to do some journalism.

[Buck Sexton]

That would be pretty cool.

[Clay Travis]

Get him on a Hilo, get him out to one. I'm just saying that's a good idea.

[Sean Parnell]

We might be able to make that happen too.

[Buck Sexton]

Sounds awesome.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you to Sean Parnell, diehard Steeler fan. And speaking of the Steelers, you can't really get your picks in on the Steelers right now, but you can get your picks in on the NCAA tournament with tons going on right now with prize picks. And I told the team, do we have a tally yet to see how I did, how Buck did in the early goings of the great bracket challenge for a steak dinner. Bet they're up on Clay and Buck dot com. I have not been able to tally them to see who had the best first day of the NCAA tournament, but I do know you can Have a good day every single day of the NCAA tournament and then on into Major League Baseball, which starting soon, Shohei Ohtani's over in Japan. The Dodgers payroll is approximately $8 billion this year. That's an exaggeration. Barely, but they are going to be spending more than anybody else. I think it's actually 400 million and you are going to be able to get your picks in on Major League Baseball, get your picks in on the NBA, but really right now, NCAA tournament and you get 50 bucks when you bet $5. When you make a $5 pick, you get $50 using my name prizepix.com code clay. You can play in Texas, Georgia, California if you've been feeling left out. 13 million people have signed up. Prizepix.com code clay. Get your picks in today. $5 picks gets you $50 in your account pricepix.com use that code clay. Want to be in the know when you're on The Go the Team 47 podcast Trump highlights from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or.

[Clay Travis]

Wherever you get your podcasts.

[Nate Silver]

I'm Nate Silver.

[Maria Konnikova]

And I'm Maria Konikova. We're both journalists and professional poker players. And on our podcast Risky Business, we talk about taking risks in everything from poker to politics.

[Nate Silver]

And we talk about betting. From betting on elections to betting on your favorite basketball team, we've learned a lot about taking risks through our own research and sometimes even our own bets. And we share what we've learned with you.

[Maria Konnikova]

Are you still doing sports betting? I had no idea that you'd wagered over a million dollars for your research.

[Nate Silver]

I bet almost the entirety of the 2022, 23 NBA season, all the regular season, then about half the playoffs. And I learned that, I mean, it's probably what I should have expected, but I learned that it's pretty hard. I went on a huge heater at the start of the NBA season where it was up like 70,000 bucks. I'm like, man, I'm really good at the sports betting stuff. But then, but then things change.

[Maria Konnikova]

Now that March Madness is upon us. We're talking bracket strategies and a whole lot more. Join us and listen to Risky business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay. Travis Buck Sexton Show Appreciate all of you hanging out with us, just talking off air about Crockett Coffee, which is the coffee of the Gulf of America. We're actually doing an advertising campaign where we're going to have people drinking Crockett coffee on the Gulf of America. Since I am going to be living part of the year on the Gulf of America, have a place down in between Destin and Panama city beach on 30A, which is full. You don't need to come there, but you can go to Crockett Coffee.com right now CrockettCoffee.com and you will be able to get hooked up with the best coffee in America, coffee that loves America. And I saw the other best place a little bit hot sometimes on 30 a buck I want to welcome in the Traverse City area. My wife is from Oakland County, Michigan. I had no idea how spectacular northern Michigan is in the summer in particular. I like warm weather until I went up there, got engaged at Mackinac. And we'd also like to be the official coffee of Michigan and the up. Not the Gulf of America necessarily, but we want to be the official coffee of everywhere you want to go in this great country. If you believe in American history, if you believe in innate American goodness, use code book right now and you will get an autographed copy of my most recent book, American Playbook, when you subscribe. And if you haven't checked it out, we're named after Davy Crockett, my home state of Tennessee, explorer, frontiersman, battler in the Alamo. And so we love all of you that are signing up and we're going to be doing an event at some point this spring or summer for all of our subscribers, invite you somewhere to hang out with us. So go sign up, join the [e-mail] Code Book Buck I wanted to go back that clip you played and we could talk about it a little bit maybe in the next hour too. But Jamaal Bowman, formerly the congressman from New York who lost his Democrat opponent in the primary, lost to his Democrat opponent in the primary, is no longer in Congress. When you call somebody a thief and a Nazi, even with the public figure standard of speech allowed, you are moving really close to, to engaging in defamatory action. And I do wonder whether CNN is going to have to issue an apology in some way over this. Because when you accuse you're a thief, when you say someone is a thief, you are accusing them of committing a crime. When you say that they are a Nazi, I mean, that is a pretty specific negative connotation. And Elon Musk has all the money in the world to bring lawsuits over issues such as these. And I wonder what exactly the game Plan is with the way that they are trying to lay this out. Do you think there's any. Do you think Jamaal Bowman is even smart enough to even analyze any of this?

[Clay Travis]

No, he's just saying, I hate him. He's bad, because my team, the Democrats, don't like him. I don't think you could easily sue someone for saying you're a Nazi, because that's a term that Democrats have been throwing around very liberally for a long time. A thief, though, starts to get a little bit more specific. I mean, if you said that somebody is guilty of. Of embezzlement, for example, or corporate fraud. Yeah, that's defamatory, right? Unless. Unless you have a basis for that. If you get specific enough, you know, you can't say someone is like a convicted murderer or convicted molester just because you feel like it. That's defamatory. Elon's not going to waste his time with this stuff. There's too much. There's too much of it going on. It's just a shame that anybody has to be subjected to such stupid commentary. But that's what you get when you watch cnn. I got to say, the stuff going on over there is. It's really. It's. It's really pathetic. It's the very dumb people appearing on that. On that network on a very regular basis.

[Buck Sexton]

You know what's intriguing to me also about Bowman calling Elon a thief and a Nazi is Bowman lost his seat in New York to a large extent because he was too pro Palestinian in the wake of October 7th. So if anybody's actually a Nazi sympathizer, I think it would be someone who was defending the Hamas attacks in any way coming out of Gaza. And so that's Jamaal Bowman. So the irony of him deciding to call Elon a Nazi is he actually got defeated by Democrat primary voters, not Republicans. Democrat primary voters because he was too condemnatory of Israel and their defense in the wake of October 7th.

[Clay Travis]

Let's take John. Do we still have John in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania? John in Pennsylvania. Let's take it.

[John]

Yeah, yeah, I'm here.

[Clay Travis]

You're on the air now. Hey.

[John]

Okay. No, I was sitting here thinking the past couple days about Elon Musk. Mr. Musk. And I haven't heard anyone say thank you to that man for what he done. He didn't have to do what he done. He went up there and he rescued our astronauts out of space. And a year ago, every Democrat wanted a Tesla. Now they're blowing them up. You know, that doesn't make any sense to me. And what really pissed me off is that I didn't hear one person say to that man, thank you for what you did, Mr. Musk. Thank you.

[Buck Sexton]

Great call.

[Clay Travis]

Totally agree.

[Buck Sexton]

I said thank you. To be clear, we say thanks, yes, but you're right to a large extent. I think Elon deserves a great deal of credit and thanks for many Americans. We come back, Department of Education ended. We're going to play you some of the audio of that.

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[Maria Konnikova]

And I'm Maria Konnikova. On our podcast, Risky Business, we talk everything from politics to poker and from.

[Nate Silver]

Betting on elections to betting on your favorite basketball team. Sports bettors need a bit more street smarts, because there's this whole second side to sports betting of how do you actually. How do you get your money down good if people think that you're a winning better. And now that March Madness is upon us, we're talking bracket strategies, odds, how to maybe actually win your office pool. You can listen to Risky business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.