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Buck Sexton
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Buck Sexton
Second hour of Clay and Buck kicks off. Second hour of Clay and Buck kicks off right now. Thanks for being here with us, everybody. We have our friend Stephen Yates with us now. We're going to talk China with our friend Steve Yates. But before we dive into that, Steve, first of all, thanks for being here with us. We are very excited that we can announce the next show for the Clay and Buck podcast network. The fabulous, some people are saying the greatest podcast network of all. Podcast Network Nation States with Yates. Gotta say, I love the title. Very catchy. Nation States with Yates dropped the first episode Tuesday night. National security expertise, deep dives, learning about all that stuff. Military, geopolitics, intelligence. All of it coming from our friend Steve Yates. Next episode dropping tonight. You should all go check it out in the Clay and Buck podcast network. And Congratulations to you, Mr. Yates, on your inaugural episode.
Stephen Yates
Well, Buck, thanks to both you and Clay for letting an egghead like me join this august network. I hope that we can basically, basically be a voice of reason and a personal national security advisor to anyone who wants to dial in and figure out what's happening in the world and why it matters to them, not just the White House.
Buck Sexton
We have a lot of national security nerds in this audience. They're going to love this show. So you're going to be inundated. You and all the nerds are going to sit around talking geopolitics, how to fix the Middle east, how to fix Latin America, you name it, all of it. Let's start with China, though, and what's going on right now overseas. The Trump administration, we gave a little bit of a day one overview, read the White House's official statement on it. What is there, Is there anything of note so far, or are we all really just waiting for the real stuff to drop about any possible agreements or takeaways?
Stephen Yates
You know, Buck, I think one of the biggest challenges in Trump world and Trump diplomacy is that there's a lot of pizzazz going in and shaping going in. And you have sort of this powerful personality coming up against a very powerful system. And we have to understand the Communist Party of China as a system. You're not really dealing with a human being at top. And so systems can be transactional, but they're probably not going to do strategic change. So you have the president trying to get them to change strategy on Iran. I don't give them great odds at doing it. I think it's a worthy thing to try to get them to do. But they are completely comfortable being in business with the world's leading state sponsor of terror. And they're still dependent on those resources. But I think the president's doing some transactions that might matter, telling them to open up. He brought big CEOs of big companies that can't do any business in China. Maybe we'll get a little opening on that front. But really I think we've had sort of rhetorical flourishes that pretty much resonate with everything I've heard in US China relations for the better part of 40 years. Just a little bit of an angle one way or the other. And of course the news is voraciously trying to highlight them.
Clay Travis
What so the number one question that comes out of this, and, and I think it's probably number one question in the entire world is what would we do if China invaded Taiwan? So Steve, easy question for you to answer here. Will China invade Taiwan? But do you think yes or no? They, they will. And then if they do, what would the United States do? Because we're dealing with intentional strategic ambiguity on so many different fronts here. What do you think will actually happen and what would we do if they did invade?
Stephen Yates
Well, Clay, I don't like the strategic ambiguity, but you're right that it is sort of a fact of life and almost every administration, every politician adopts it. Bottom line, I don't believe China is likely to invade Taiwan. It's a much, much harder proposition than a lot of analysts will let you think they could attack. They've certainly shown after the Pelosi visit a few years ago that they've switched gears somewhat into a blockade like, but they sort of awoke a sleeping giant in Asia in Japan, which then voted for a Margaret Thatcher like personality that's made no bones about their national interest in freedom of navigation and the demonstration effect of what the United States has been able to do against Chinese equipment in Iran and elsewhere. It has to sink in at real levels of the Chinese military. So I don't think they're really looking to do a big full on invasion in the years to come. And some of what Xi Jinping has been saying this visit sounds like he's trying to sue for peace to wait out the Trump administration.
Buck Sexton
What would be a best case scenario for Trump coming out of this within the realm of realism. Right. We know he's not going to. We know Xi's not going to be like, you know what, we don't need Taiwan. Let it, we'll let it go. Ok? But within the realm of realism, what could Trump get here where you'd have to say, oh, this isn't just both teams declaring victory and going to their respective corners afterward. Trump has actually got some stuff here that really is going to be of benefit to the American people and really is putting America first.
Stephen Yates
Yeah, well, I think the sort of Hippocratic oath goes first. As far as I can tell, he's made no concessions so far. There was some concern about him letting a few more of the most advanced chips go into China, but Secretary Besant has been vocal, saying that, you know, we're leading on the air race and we aim to stay in that lead. We can have a dialogue with the Chinese, but we aim to win. That's the right approach to take. If it gets Chinese to buy more American products, whether it's ag products or other kinds of things, that's a relatively easy net win. And it sounds like that's in the cards. It comes down to making sure they actually do it. Trying to basically get them to rhetorically commit to help nudge Iran in the direction of a deal.
Clay Travis
It can't hurt.
Stephen Yates
I just have low expectations of follow through on that. But really, I think the President going and flexing, they're making clear America is back. We're not in decline. You say you're on the rise, but your economy is kind of struggling a bit. You need access to us, and we're open to talking to you about that. But you have to stop killing our people with fentanyl and you have to stop taking our jobs with unfair trade. And we'll talk to you about rebalancing. I think that's the level set the President going for, and that's far better than all of his predecessors have done in dealing with China
Clay Travis
straight of Hormuzz long term, if, if this situation with Iran isn't resolved and gas prices remain high and essentially the Strait of Hormuz is closed, I, I think generally speaking, you would probably say long term, it can't remain closed. There will be a solution at some point, but let's pretend, let's pretend it's going to stay closed for some time. Who is harmed more by that, the United States or China? And why?
Stephen Yates
Well, the United States takes some impact because we're part of global markets, but by far we have an advantage relative to almost all others. If people just look at maritime satellite traffic, you'll see a caravan of vessels coming to the United States. We've become basically the global gas station. And so in many, many ways, What President Trump has done is he's forced a change in this flow and it will get people, including perhaps the Chinese, who intimate they might buy more from the United States. And that's sort of a flip on depend relationships. That is kind of what happens. China is in a difficult spot by this. So are some of our friends who are very dependent on oil. But we need them to transition, to buy from safer sources, too. So we have durability. We have options that others don't. But if people tune into Nation States with Yates tonight, I'll go through a whole episode where I talk about how President Trump can and should end major military options really soon. And I firmly believe they must and can get the strait back in operation soon.
Buck Sexton
I love that he's promo in the podcast like a pro without me. I was about to be like, well, tonight with Nation States with Yates, which everyone here listening should go check out because you will know more after you've listened to Steve's show about China than anyone else, any other show out there, I guarantee it. As I said, Steve could do the whole show in Mandarin afterwards, maybe for, you know, the dissident Chinese audience. We got to start blasting it via some, some of Elon's gear over there. But, but back to, back to what we're actually seeing here, Steve, and what's happening in this meeting so far. The promise not to arm Iran. Iran, as I understand it, and some of this, you know, is my sort of older knowledge about how these things work in the Middle East. But I think it's probably still the same. It gets its things that go bang for the most part from Russia, China, North Korea, actually the Turks. Give them some stuff. Is China really willing, you think, to stop giving them some of the dual use and military, military grade technology that we want them to, or is that just happy talk from Xi Jinping?
Stephen Yates
Well, to a degree, it's a little less material from a Chinese side because it hasn't performed well. And so even, even if Iran is in desperate need of resupply, what they're getting they already know is inferior. And that's definitely not the best that China can provide. And China's not going to provide its best. It wants that for itself and for the Indo Pacific region, Asia, rather than sending it to the Middle East. So at this point, China's a little bit hurt by this. They're not getting the oil that they want. They're not going to get the sales on the illicit military side that they've had before. And it's a really Bad advertisement for China Inc. If you want to stand up to big bad Uncle Sam, because that isn't working for them.
Buck Sexton
Them.
Clay Travis
I know you and Buck took a trip to Taiwan, but I hope you're going to address this in your podcast, a part of the Clay and Buck Podcast Network, which all of you should go subscribe to and make sure that you do not miss, because I think you will enjoy it.
Buck Sexton
What's the name of that podcast again? Clay Nation States with Yates.
Clay Travis
Nation States with Yates. You can't fail. Go subscribe to the Clay and Buck podcast. Okay. You took Buck to Taiwan. I think that we have not talked about enough in this country, especially as AI growth has continued to accelerate. How much? The entire economic success of the country right now depends on access to microchips and the semiconductors that are produced overwhelmingly in Taiwan. How long would it take for us to be a semiconductor chip independent if we started, and I know we've started a little bit, they're building new factories here. This really significantly concerns me because we solved a lot of our energy independence when it came to oil and gas with Drill Baby Drill, we now produce more oil and gas in this country than ever before than any other country I believe, in the world. Do we have the ability to do that with semiconductors? And if so, how long would it take and what kind of investment will we need to see Clay?
Stephen Yates
There's a fancy initiative out of the State Department which I wouldn't usually praise, but in this case I think it's good guys doing good things. It's called PAX Silica, which is sort of a fancy way of talking about the countries that are an absolute lead on technology and manufacturing with real, responsible, transparent approaches to these technologies, working together to make sure we have clean supply chains and that we don't have leakages to irresponsible actors like China. That alternative network combined dwarfs any potential that China has as long as we work together. It's sort of a modern, better version of what we used to call the G7 in the cold War. An institution that still exists, but is largely irrelevant at this point. But this Pax Silica is sort of a tech 7 or 8 or 12. What they're, what they're at now, that is the way of the future. I think that transition is reasonably already ahead of China. That's why they're desperate to get these Nvidia leading chips. They can't compete with us unless they get our R and D and our chips. And I like to believe, although I won't bank My life on it that our tech industries have wised up to the idea that you can't get in bed with these guys without them taking your shirt and your chips. And so they are working on these alternative paths. I think within a short number of years, we've got great capability. But I also say, Clay, I don't think we're going to come to the point where we have to worry about Taiwan, Japan and others being a part of this. The supply chain that is the power of the world and even China depends on being able to have access to it. And so it would be a suicide pact for them to go after it. Can never bet this commies won't be suicidal, but so far I think they've been short of that.
Buck Sexton
What do you think? If there's anything, Steve, just last, last quick one here. If you had any word of caution or where, where would you think Xi might try to get a little, a little too cute with Trump? And you'd want to tell Big T, hey, watch out for him on this or don't let him box you into
Clay Travis
a corner on that.
Buck Sexton
What would it be?
Stephen Yates
Number one, I just say, always speak in English. Don't adopt the way the Chinese talk about things. Every leader that engages with China tries to mirror some form of rhetorical empathy. You end up giving a formulation that can and will be used against you. And they first and foremost want to do that on Taiwan. There's no reason to back down on that as long as America stays consistent. Common sense and says, look, you hit Taiwan, you're basically crushing global markets within 2 to 12 hours. None of us can stand by, abide by that. This is not an internal political issue. And just like Iran can't have a nuclear weapon, you can't do this to our markets. You do that, you lay down that marker, we're in good shape. That, I think, is the number one area I think Trump's good on, rebalancing economically, the military side, reviving America's capability, focusing on adapting technology to modern warfare. We're on the right track on those fronts.
Buck Sexton
Stephen Yates, everybody. Go check out Nation States with Yates. New episode, Drop of the Night. First one from this week. No more about what's going on in geopolitics than any of your friends. And that's coming from me. I know what I'm talking about. Go listen to Steve. Show Steve. Thank you so much.
Stephen Yates
Thank you both. Take care.
Buck Sexton
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Clay Travis
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Buck Sexton
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Clay Travis
Preset clay and buck on the iHeart app.
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Clay Travis
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Clay Travis
Travis Buck Sexton Show Bragging on that podcast network we were just talking about off the air, there's a lot of demand for deep dives from people who are very knowledgeable in specific subject areas. And that's one of the areas that I think we are serving well in that podcast network. If you're out there and you hear Steve Yates and you think, boy, I learned a lot during that last 15 minutes, I would like to know more with greater depth than maybe you just get in the glib general news look,
Buck Sexton
I'll just say this Clay Because I've been, I've been doing this now, it'll be 15 years in June. I've been doing media. I know every national security analyst and their work who goes on Fox and cnn. And I think Steve Yates is the smartest and most in depth national security analyst I've come across in 15 years. That's why he is on our podcast. And that is just the truth. I know all the ones who go on Fox. I know all the ones who go on cnn. Steve is absolutely top tier. So go listen to him.
Clay Travis
Yeah, no, I mean, so I think you will really enjoy that you can add it to your repertoire so that you are more knowledgeable by far than the average person would be when it comes to those particular areas that I think frankly are not covered very well. When we come back, Buck there. Well, first of all, yeah, we've got Senator Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania in the third hour. But Kamala Harris has weighed in on the Electoral College, on the decision about whether Puerto rico or Washington D.C. should become states, and on whether the Supreme Court should be packed. If you are wondering maybe Clay and Buck are exaggerating when they say what might happen if Democrats take back control of the White House and the Senate, I don't think we are. And we will talk about that when we return and the significance of all of that that will be coming your direction here shortly. In the meantime, I want to tell you all about our friends at Super Sure. Howard Mackler has built along with his partners a great American business that is trying to do something that solves a big problem, particularly for many of you out there that have small businesses growing into medium sized businesses, maybe even large businesses. How many different insurance companies do you work with and how confusing and complicated does that become on a day to day basis? Super sure can change all that. One broker for all your business insurance needs, backed by a team that works with you year round, not just at renewal. They'll also do something that's kind of important. They will tell you exactly what. These contracts stay translate the legal jargon. Go to super sure.comclay that's super sure.com/clay. Welcome back in. Is this Shaft? This is the Shaft music, isn't it?
Buck Sexton
Is that.
Clay Travis
No.
Buck Sexton
Burn Baby Burn is what this Disco Inferno.
Clay Travis
Oh yeah. Disco Inferno. Clay, I thought this was the Shaft music. We haven't played this in a long time.
Buck Sexton
You know what I mean? You gotta like, you gotta leave the music to me. Sometimes you stay with the most of the time the sports ball, you know what I mean? Unless Taylor Swift is on the 90s.
Clay Travis
The 90s and Taylor.
Buck Sexton
Taylor Swift.
Clay Travis
I'm pretty good at pretty good.
Buck Sexton
Wait, but. But do you ever. Do you ever think about whenever we hear that song? We're gonna get into Kamala in a second. I gotta just jump in with this. You remember Ghostbusters when Lewis Tully, played by the fantastic Rick Moranis, a big comedic actor of particularly of the 80s. And he has the beautiful blonde come up to him and they're playing Burn Baby Burn in the background. And he says that he doesn't invite friends, only clients so he can do a tax write off for the party. And then he says who brought the dog? And the like the goblin thing like jumps out of the closet. It's great.
Clay Travis
What is Rick Moranis his best role on the spot. I think it's that.
Buck Sexton
I mean his biggest franchise was definitely Honey I Shrunk the Kids.
Clay Travis
I think Honey I struck the Kids.
Buck Sexton
Which, which was. Which was huge 80s movie. Huge. Huge. And then he also did. Was he Little Shop of Horror, Little Shop Whores. Was he in like a movie, a football. Some kind of like a kids football movie. I can't remember what it's called. You know what I mean? He's like a coach or something. Little Giants. Little Giants. Isn't that right? No.
Clay Travis
Oh, yeah.
Buck Sexton
Maybe.
Clay Travis
I don't know. I. This is going to. People are going to be. I don't think I've seen Little Giants.
Buck Sexton
I am. Right. Yeah. Look at me with the sports ball reference.
Clay Travis
Is he still alive?
Buck Sexton
Oh, Rick. I used to play tennis with him. Yeah, he's great.
Clay Travis
Okay, good. Great.
Buck Sexton
Yeah,
Clay Travis
I was nervous.
Buck Sexton
He's actually. I think. I think he's actually been cast in something coming up. I think. I think they're gonna bring. I think they might be either. I forget, they're either bringing back Honey I Shrunk the Kids or something. So you know how they've had the Ghostbusters nostalgia. You've seen Ghostbusters movies which you really enjoyed. The. The non. All female Ghostbuster. All. They've been pretty good.
Clay Travis
I thought that was.
Buck Sexton
No, the all female Ghostbuster was trash. But the other thing, the more recent one was pretty good. It was fun. That. The one that they brought back. I forget. Paul Rudd's in it, I think. Right, that one.
Clay Travis
He was in Spaceballs as well. For those of us who remember that illustrious film.
Buck Sexton
Oh, oh, that's right. Spaceballs. I had forgotten about. About his work in Spaceballs. But the. The who brought the dog is only excelled in Ghostbusters. Lore by the doorman who goes a bear in his apartment and then the thing runs through the lobby. You remember that Anyway, that I've seen
Clay Travis
Ghostbusters holds up really, really well. And speaking of I went last night. We'll get to Kamal at the top of the next. Next.
Buck Sexton
Kamala will still be.
Clay Travis
Kamala will still be combo will still be good at the top of next hour. The I went to go see the new Nate Bargazi movie the Breadwinner. Last night they had the premiere in Nashville at a movie theater. He said he used to go to Hollywood 27. For those of you know, Nashville was kind of a big movie theater that opened probably around like 95, something like that. We would go there in high school. It was a huge movie theater near downtown Nashville. Breadwinner. And I was thinking about this because and it's interesting we brought up like Honey, I Shrunk the kids. Rick Moranis, Ghostbusters. It's a PG movie. They don't. That is not animated. They almost have stopped making. Think about this for a minute. For the larger culture out there. They almost have stopped making PG movies that are live action. That is not a Pixar movie, not a Disney movie, not some sort of definite children's movie. This show. And I was texting with Nate last night about it. This movie. He basically is gambling here. And Sony, I think who's distributing it has. Has the much bigger gamble. But there. There is still a market for parents to take kids. The whole family can go. I went and saw it last night. It is a 1980s era PG movie. Now it's not Goonies, which is one of the greatest movies to ever been made. But it is a movie that you can take your 7 and 8 year old to and you can sit and watch it with them. And I guarantee you you will not leave concerned about something that they saw in the movie and that you will all of you be able to laugh at it. I don't know if there is still a huge marketplace out there because again, so much of streaming has changed things. Every niche is served. And so we don't go as much after big colossal audiences as we did in the 80s and 90s. I still think there's probably a market for this.
Buck Sexton
And I think you guys coming back Spaceballs too. I thought Honey, I shrunk the kids on Rick Moranis is coming back in Spaceballs 2, which I think actually could be really good. So Spaceballs 2 coming soon to a. Well, I don't know how soon, but it will be coming to a theater near you. The other movie thing that we haven't talked about yet, but it is getting a lot of attention online, and people feel very passionately about this because it has to do. It's a Christopher Nolan project. And Christopher Nolan is, I think, a wildly overrated director, I will tell you. Wildly overrated. I think he has made a few very good movies, which were really two of the Batman movies he did. Those are very, very good movies. I enjoyed them. I think they're pretty awesome. And, you know, they certainly answered the mail. They certainly got it done as superhero films. The third one was the one with Bait, you know, was good. It was kind of. The whole thing was a little preposterous, though, actually, even for superhero stuff. Put that aside, though. I think some of his other stuff, really, I. I never met anybody who could explain what Inception was. Really. It's just a lot of slow motion nonsense. It's. The whole thing is absurd. Okay, Inception is not a good movie. Get mad at me. Me. I'm right. You're wrong. Inception is not a good movie. He's making the Odyssey. And there have been some choices made in the. Have you seen this Clay? This is getting a lot of people.
Clay Travis
I was talking about it last night with Laura. We were watching. Waiting for the Nate Bargazi movie to start. I was saying, hey, have you seen some of the casting decisions that Christopher Nolan has made in the Odyssey? This is what we were talking about as we were sitting in the theater before the movie started.
Buck Sexton
And. And the two things that have gotten the most attention are Helen of Troy. And this has been confirmed, I believe is. Has been cast as a. I think. I think she's from Africa. I don't think she's African.
Clay Travis
I think that's right.
Buck Sexton
A. A black actress is Helen of Troy. Some people are just sort of saying, you know, so we're doing this thing that Netflix always does where, remember Troy, Greeks. It's a part of the world. It's historical. This is a little bit like casting, which really happened. A black female as a Viking king in a Netflix show that I watched.
Clay Travis
Yeah.
Buck Sexton
So it's supposed to be the 8 hundreds in what is basically Denmark and Sweden. And there's a black woman who's in charge of all the white guys. That's a little. It takes you out of. It kind of breaks the fourth wall. It takes you out of the realm of suspending your disbelief a little bit.
Clay Travis
It.
Buck Sexton
But the other one that's getting even more attention. What do you think about this one?
Clay Travis
It's crazy. Is this confirmed to be true? 100%.
Buck Sexton
This one is not confirmed yet. Okay, so it could be a massive troll camp, trolling campaign, I think. But they're saying that Achilles renowned as the greatest warrior of the ancient world. Right. And I think people looking back at the movie Troy with Brad Pitt, it. That's a great movie. I think we were. I think Roman Helmet Guy is his handle on Twitter.
Stephen Yates
He.
Buck Sexton
I think I got to give him credit for this. He was saying we got a little spoiled for a while. It was either Roman Helmet Guy or Matt Walsh, who are probably related because they're both like bearded, smart, grumpy guys that like, appreciate the classics in history. But we had Braveheart, Troy, master and commander. We had all these epics coming out about.
Clay Travis
Forget that. I think that's what actually snowed Troy under is it happened so close to Gladiator. And Gladiator was such a perfect epic that people. Yes.
Buck Sexton
And this insight, whether it was Matt Walsh or Roman Helmet Guy, I totally agree with it. I think we got a little spoiled for a while where we just. People were making these epics and they're basically perfect movies. I mean, they're phenomenally well done, incredibly well. You know, I put Last the Mohicans, which is a little earlier, but I put that in that category of like a historic epic. I mean, there's some of these movies. Some of you put Mel Gibson's the Patriot in that category. You know, you know, if you want to kind of go more modern, Saving Private Ryan. But these movies that are truly epic in scope and that are amazing and stand the test of time. Troy, I think they were all made in about a 10 to 15 year span. Troy is definitely in that category. Clay the Odyssey now has. If you're wondering why we're talking about this, I don't know. Elliot Page, formerly. Right. Isn't that the name? No. Is it Elliot? Is that right?
Clay Travis
Yeah. Elliot now used to be Ellen Page.
Buck Sexton
Used to be Ellen Page. Clay just dead, named Ellen Page. Elliot Page, who's a trans actor now or actress who says he's a man
Clay Travis
or whatever Ellen Page was in became famous as a girl comedic. Juno was a pretty good movie. I remember it. She got pregnant as a teenager. Right. That was the entire conceit. And then Ellen Page decided, no, no, no. I'm actually a dude and is now Elliot Page now Ellen Page. Laura, my wife was saying, I didn't look at that. She's like 5 foot tall, weighs like a hundred pounds. I mean, it's tiny. And they are saying that they have put. Put him, her, her, him, whichever you want to say in as Achilles, who is one of the greatest warriors of all time, and this is the world in which we now live.
Buck Sexton
If this could be. Juno got a lot of criticism as a movie Clay, because she had the baby.
Clay Travis
That's right. That's what I remember.
Buck Sexton
People were super angry because she should have aborted the baby because it was an unwanted pregnancy. What do you mean? You actually had. What do you mean? You brought life into the world. What do you mean? You made the right choice. So the leftist, the ghoulish left, very angry about Juno because she had the baby in the movie. You're not supposed to do that, you know, not according to the left. So now she's Achilles, though, as she's trans, or that's what they're all saying. If this is the case, this movie is toast. However, it's very interesting. The rules for getting an Oscar. Yeah. Are crazy.
Clay Travis
Yes.
Buck Sexton
And I'm wondering, you know, can we. Can we page, like, doj Harmeet Dylan over in Civil Rights or whatever? Why are the Oscars allowed to have these rules? I don't understand. We know that we can't do this in college admissions anymore. Why can the Oscars say. And a lot of you are like, buck, who cares about the Oscars? You know?
Stephen Yates
Yes.
Buck Sexton
But also, we can't just seed all of culture to the other side. We did that for a long time, guys, by the way. And, you know, we got Obama and eight years of. Of socialist craziness. So let's not just like, let the other side have all the movies, all the books, all the magazines, all the Internet, all the news. Let's actually fight back on this stuff a little bit here and there. Why should the Oscars be able to have straight up racial quotas for people to be able to win an award for a movie? I don't understand how that's even legal.
Clay Travis
I agree with you. I think it should be looked into, by the way. And so if this is true, we don't know if it's 100% true. Braveheart, by the way. Buck, 1995, Gladiator 2000, Troy 2004. I think that thesis is 100%. I think Gladiator was so good in particular that it. If Troy came out in 2020, I think people would have been far more impressed by it than they were by it coming out in 2004 because it was so close to that epic, incredible film. But no, look, this is something that I Deeply believe in. I put my own money behind it, obviously. I started outkick. I'm working on starting a new media company now as well. You have to win culture, you have to matter in culture. You can't just seed it. You can't just say, well, I don't know why you even care about this. You know, there's people who will get upset when they're. When sports is in the news with politics, when culture is in the news with politics. It's like when I started doing sports Talk radio, Buck, 20 some odd years ago, whatever the heck it was. Now there were guys that would call in and say, just give me the scores. Why don't you just give me the scores? I'm like, well, I mean, the scores are easy to find. What matters is the context, the conversation that surrounds the scores. Basic facts are, are out there now. Sometimes they're hard to find. But you win with culture. Politics is downstream of culture. That's one of the most true things that I think has ever been said. The culture shift, I'm optimistic, has become significant. I think Nate Bargazzi's movie the Breadwinner being made. I think the fact that the most popular comedian in America right now is a clean comedian is evidence of there being a desperate desire for something that people can share together. I think one reason sports has gotten popular, new ratings highs, Buck, is because there is a desperate demand in this streaming age for still big events that we all come together and experience together. And so I think culture matters in that context in a massive way.
Buck Sexton
I think Bergazzi and there are others who aren't as clean as his comedy is, but there are others who are actually doing, truly doing comedy now, whereas we've gotten used to, particularly the late night host. Leftists are leftist commentators who make fun of people, that's what, who make fun of Republicans. That's actually what they are. They're not comedians. They are leftist political commentators who make fun of Trump and people who vote for Trump. Nate Borgazzi is a comedian. Anyone can go to his shows and they will laugh because it is funny and it is meant for everyone. And that's actually the way it should be. It should be meant to make people laugh, not to be a constant lecture by dimwits who are reading off of a prompter. All right, when we talk about the people of Israel, we're talking about people connected to a promise. It's a promise made by God, one he's never broken and one that continues even today. And that matters, especially when the Israeli population has been subjected to ongoing missile and drone attacks, let alone the terror they experienced by Hamas several years ago. It's a call for all of us to respond and show our support. The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews are the nonprofit organization that's built a bridge of support between Christians following the word of God and the Jewish population in need. IFCJ are on the ground in Israel. Their team delivers food, cares for the vulnerable, and remind those who serve that they're not alone. Join us in praying for peace in the Middle east, throughout Israel and beyond. Visit this website prayifcj.org that's prayifcj.org Miss
Clay Travis
the show while you're on the go, wind down your day with the Daily Review podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or
Buck Sexton
wherever you get your podcasts.
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Clay Travis
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Welcome back in Clay, TRAVIS BUCK SEXTON SHOW Appreciate all of you. As we are rolling through the Thursday edition of the program, we've been talking a lot about what's going on in Beijing. It is right now around 2 in the morning. First full day in Beijing seems to have gone well. Stock market moving to record highs. We're going to Talk with Dave McCormick, senator from Pennsylvania, one of the ultimate battleground states. When we come back next hour, I'm going to play you. Kamala talking about expanding the Supreme Court, about adding statehood for Puerto rico and Washington, D.C. so Democrats could add four senators and also the idea of abolishing the Electoral College. All of that we're going to play for you at the top of the next hour. But James in Texas has been waiting for a while. He's got a take on Iran. What you got for us, James?
Buck Sexton
Hey guys, 1 want your own thoughts on this? One of the early things, President Trump, who I voted three times for, said with the war with Iran was he wanted to fix what president in the past have always kicked down the road. I want your guys thoughts on if we make a deal that leaves the IRGC in control of Iran. Didn't we just kick the ball down the road?
Clay Travis
Yes. Thank you for the call. Buck has talked about the mowing the grass strategy. I think we're going to be in the mowing the grass world with Iran if the same leadership, the irs, gc, remains in control, just with new figureheads. I don't think there's any doubt. I don't think there's any way to escape that. That would be the ultimate reality. But if we've also taken away their ability to ever have nuclear weapons, well, then that is obviously a very significant outcome as well. We will discuss that in the third hour. When we return, we'll ask Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania what he thinks about that. What's going on on the ground. And again, Kamala floats incredibly radical policies. I think she's gonna be the nominee in 28. Buck thinks I'm crazy. We'll discuss next.
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Buck Sexton
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Com.
This episode centers on China, U.S. foreign policy, and the strategic complexities facing the Trump administration after its latest high-profile engagement with Beijing. Clay, Buck, and their guest Stephen Yates discuss China’s ambitions, the U.S. response, and possible scenarios regarding Taiwan, global oil, semiconductor dependency, and the art of diplomatic negotiation. Also woven in are critiques of American culture and Hollywood, plus industry insights from the newly launched "Nation States with Yates" podcast.
(02:47–04:04)
"An egghead like me join this august network [...] be a voice of reason and a personal national security advisor to anyone who wants to dial in."
— Stephen Yates (03:47)
(04:04–08:41)
"You’re not really dealing with a human being at top. And so systems can be transactional, but they’re probably not going to do strategic change." (04:37)
(05:46–07:22)
(07:22–09:14)
(09:14–10:47)
(10:47–12:41)
"Even if Iran is in desperate need of resupply, what they’re getting they already know is inferior... China’s not going to provide its best." (11:56)
(13:00–15:39)
(15:39–16:52)
(27:49–39:06)
"You’re not really dealing with a human being at the top... systems can be transactional, but they’re probably not going to do strategic change." (04:37)
"I don’t think they’re really looking to do a big full-on invasion in the years to come. And some of what Xi Jinping has been saying this visit sounds like he’s trying to sue for peace to wait out the Trump administration." (06:22)
"That alternative network combined dwarfs any potential that China has as long as we work together... they can’t compete with us unless they get our R&D and our chips." (14:00–14:43)
"Always speak in English. Don’t adopt the way the Chinese talk about things... You end up giving a formulation that can and will be used against you." (15:59)
"Politics is downstream of culture. That’s one of the most true things that I think has ever been said. The culture shift, I’m optimistic, has become significant." (38:24)
This episode is essential for anyone interested in how the Trump administration’s foreign policy intersects with strategic ambiguity, evolving U.S.–China tech races, the ongoing relevance of Taiwan, and why the battle for American culture—and Hollywood’s transformation—matters for politics and society alike. With accessible expert analysis and sharp wit, Clay, Buck, and Stephen Yates deliver insight that transcends headlines.