Hour 2 - Cuba Takeover?

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 - Cuba Takeover?

Date: February 27, 2026
Host: iHeartPodcasts (Clay Travis & Buck Sexton)

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Episode Overview

The second hour of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" focuses on major political stories swirling around the upcoming Texas primary, the continuing fallout and conspiracy discourse surrounding the Epstein files, and a headline-grabbing suggestion by former President Trump—floating the idea of a "friendly takeover" of Cuba. Clay and Buck mix pointed political analysis, humor, and robust listener engagement to unpack these topics, all while addressing listener frustrations and speculation in the current political climate.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Texas Primary and Media Coverage

• Clay opens with news that President Trump is headed to Texas ahead of a major primary (00:02).
• The hosts highlight their outreach to Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat candidate, contrasting themselves with "racist" media bias (00:55).
• Main point: Ensuring fairness and equal media platform for all candidates, regardless of party or identity.

2. Epstein Files and Political Weaponization

• Callers express frustration with endless Epstein discussion. Some accuse the hosts and others of "covering up for pedophiles" (04:13).
• Buck and Clay rebut with legal, rational arguments: most named in connections were of age, the onus is on alleged victims to come forward (05:05–07:38).
• The hosts stress the absence of new incriminating evidence and criticize what they see as both political theater and conspiracy-driven narratives (07:36–09:15).
• They discuss how Democrats are using the Clinton depositions as a precedent to call for Trump and Melania to testify, framing it as a strictly political maneuver rather than a pursuit of justice (10:25–12:15).

Notable Quote:

"Calling random people pedophiles is not a way to actually catch pedophiles, just like calling people racist is not a way to actually address racism." – Buck Sexton (09:20)

3. Listener Engagement – Calls and Talkbacks

• Several lively listener call-ins:
  • Calls for political activism regarding the SAVE Act, with hosts expressing skepticism about Senate prospects (02:21–03:32).
  • A frustrated caller about Epstein "cover up" gets a lengthy, fact-based response (04:13–07:38).
  • Listener emails reinforce host's skepticism about the Epstein files controversy, framing it as manufactured drama rather than revealing evidence (17:07).
• Clay and Buck appreciate listener passion, but challenge listeners to consider evidence and political realities over conspiracy or outrage.

4. Trump's "Friendly Takeover" of Cuba

• Clay chuckles over Trump's comments suggesting a potential U.S. "friendly takeover" of Cuba (19:11–20:43).
• Trump remarks:

"Maybe we'll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba." (19:55)

• Buck gives historical context: impending Supreme Court decision about US business assets seized in Cuba; would allowing US corporations to reclaim assets help foster capitalism and curtail foreign (Russian/Chinese) influence? (20:43).
• Discussion extends to Cuban-American communities, political implications of territorial status, and prospects for Cuban real estate development (21:30–24:43).

Notable Quote:

"The left in this country always has this bizarre sympathy for far left regimes, no matter how oppressive and no matter how failed." – Clay Travis (22:42)

5. Geopolitical Ripple Effects

• The discussion then branches into how Venezuela’s collapse impacts Cuba, and parallels the “friendly takeover” rhetoric with recent U.S. actions against Iran.
• Buck and Clay clarify the distinction between military strikes and war, contextualizing intervention rhetoric regarding Cuba and Iran (25:31).
• Anticipate forthcoming guest (Deborah Lee) to discuss Iran in the next hour.

6. Audience Questions and Reactions

• Callers inquire about political consequences: If Cuba became a U.S. territory or state, would it shift U.S. politics? Buck and Clay dismiss the likelihood of statehood but discuss how Cuban-Americans generally vote Republican (30:31–31:30).
• A caller raises the issue of restitution for nationalized business assets—can bankrupt Cuba realistically compensate U.S. firms? Hosts suggest real estate itself may be the sought-after asset (33:15–34:36).
• Multiple talkbacks voice fatigue and skepticism over Epstein discussions.

“I am totally sick of Epstein. I feel bad for the victims, but it’s just, it’s gonna go nowhere. It’s a big nothing burger. And I’m sick of people saying that if you aren’t into it, you’re a pedophile.” (Caller, 35:24)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Epstein Speculation:

  "Throwing around things like 'pedo protector' or even just calling someone a pedo without any basis… is just the most pathetic and gross attack on a person you can possibly make." – Clay Travis (08:57)

• On Political Weaponization:

  "President Trump is being attacked by Democrats who are not operating in good faith… It is just Epstein and his and his awfulness being used as a lever to attack President Trump." – Buck Sexton (11:08)

• On Conspiracism:

  "There is no smoking gun in the files. It might have been removed from the files. Sure… But I can't do anything about that. Neither can Clay, neither can Trump." – Buck Sexton (17:07)

• On Cuba Takeover:

  "We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba." – Donald Trump (19:55)

• On Future Geopolitics:

  "If we can do this with pressure and smart maneuvering and not, you know, a marine expeditionary force landing on the beach, that’s great." – Buck Sexton (22:42)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Texas Primary and Jasmine Crockett Outreach: 00:02–02:20
• SAVE Act and Senate Filibuster Discussion: 02:21–03:36
• Epstein Coverup Allegations and Host Rebuttal: 04:13–08:57
• Political Weaponization of Epstein Files: 10:25–12:15
• Trump on Bill Clinton Deposition: 13:31–13:39
• Audience Email on Epstein Files: 17:07
• Trump Suggests Cuba Takeover: 19:11–20:43 / 19:55 (Trump quote)
• Supreme Court & Cuba Asset Recovery Discussion: 20:43–22:42
• Real Estate and Cuban-American Politics: 22:42–24:43 / 30:31–31:38
• Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran – Geopolitical Overlap: 25:31–27:32
• Listener Calls – Asset Restitution/Epstein Fatigue: 33:15–36:05

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Episode Flow and Tone

The discussion is lively, direct, and often peppered with humor and incredulity at both the state of political discourse (especially regarding Epstein) and the practicalities of proposed policies (e.g., a "friendly" Cuba takeover). The hosts openly critique both left-wing media and the conspiracy tendencies within their own audience, positioning themselves as rational, fact-based conservatives willing to say uncomfortable truths.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode captures a moment where big political narratives—the Texas primary, ongoing allegations and frustrations over the Epstein case, and Trump's dramatic foreign policy proposals—collide in entertaining and sometimes exasperated debate. If you want succinct, skeptical takes on these ongoing sagas—with some speculative fun about Cuba's future—Clay and Buck give both context and critique, balancing listener engagement with pointed political commentary.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an I Heart podcast.

[Buck Sexton]

Guaranteed human with verbo care. Help is always ready before, during and after your stay. We've planned for the plot twists, so support is always available because a great trip starts with peace of mind. Welcome in our number two. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us as we are rolling through the Friday edition of the program. Continue to take your calls and your talks. President Trump just stopped to talk with the media on his way to the helicopter. He is headed to the state of Texas to have a rally in advance of the big primary happening in Texas on Tuesday. Yesterday, we took a lot of calls from Texans who are voting for Jasmine Crockett in the Democrat primary. Today I will announce that we have, unlike Stephen Colbert, actually offered Jasmine Crockett an opportunity to come on this program and explain to all of you why she would be the best choice for Texas voters. We will see whether or not she is willing to come on. But unlike the awful racist Stephen Colbert who tried to rig the Texas Democrat primary in favor of the white man, Buck and I are offering a proud black woman an opportunity to convince all of you why she is the perfect voice for Texas. We will see if she accepts our offer. We have been talking about the fact that we have a press conference, a sorry deposition going on right now of former President Clinton relating to Epstein. President Trump just weighed in on that. And again, there are a lot of news stories out there. And, and we will dive into his comments shortly as we're going to be grabbing those. But again, big primary going on in Texas. Let's see. This is Hurley in Lincoln, Nebraska. Many different talkbacks on KFAB in Omaha. Let's listen to Cut J before you

[Caller]

guys waste another day talking about fluff that none of us can do anything about. Get your listeners to call their senators and to call John Thune and to tell them to get the SAVE act passed now. Do something that can actually save America for a change.

[Buck Sexton]

For a change.

[Clay Travis]

I like that idea. Except it still isn't going to happen because Thune's not going to do it because they're not going to get rid of the filibuster. They're not going to pass the SAVE Act.

[Buck Sexton]

I think the SAVE act should be passed. I do, too.

[Clay Travis]

Do you think, do you think there's any realistic prospect for it to be passed? Absolutely not.

[Buck Sexton]

So they're not going to do away with it. Look, right now in the Senate, unless you can get 60 votes, nothing happens. And so unless you can get 60 votes, unless they do away with the filibuster which they're not willing to do.

[Clay Travis]

That's what we'd have to. We'd have to call Thune and say, thune, get rid of the filibuster for the SAVE Act. Because otherwise they'll just say, with the filibuster, it's not happening. And so we go back to square one. Not. Not to put a damper on things. I appreciate the gentleman's spirit, but you're saying do something. We can actually do something about that. Doesn't really count for the SAVE act, but we'll try.

[Buck Sexton]

We can reach out to Thune and let him know that we think he should actually pass this bill.

[Clay Travis]

He will not come on the show, ladies and gentlemen. Just so you know, we have invited him multiple times. He will not come on this program.

[Buck Sexton]

He declined to come on, which is kind of a straight up.

[Clay Travis]

Straight up. No, not coming on. What's that all about?

[Buck Sexton]

Interesting.

[Clay Travis]

We're so nice. I think he's scared of clay. I think he's scared to get pensed by clay.

[Buck Sexton]

It could be true. Let's see here. Is it Taller Talar from San Diego, Furious. Stop covering up for pedophiles. All right? Or pedophiles. Here's cut K. This is the last day I can ever listen to your show because I can't believe.

[Caller]

I can't believe you're part of this whole cover up.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, nothing happened.

[Caller]

Really? Go look at the damn files.

[Buck Sexton]

Stop talking dumb and covering up before these pedophiles.

[Caller]

Unless you're one too.

[Clay Travis]

What does that even mean when we say nothing happened? I went, did she not?

[Caller]

Whatever.

[Clay Travis]

The lady's name is. A lady, right?

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, I think so.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, it sounded like a lady. I mean, you never know these days. I said, Jeffrey Epstein is dead because he was facing the rest of his life in prison for being a pedophile and for having child sexual abuse material. Huge amounts of it. I mean, he was going to prison for the rest of his life. No. No if, ands or buts. He's a bad guy. We all get that. He's a bad guy. She's saying covering up for pedophiles. Who?

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, who is covering?

[Clay Travis]

Who are we covering up for who? I just want to know the name. And by the way, anyone says, oh, but why don't you look into. Why won't the victims. The victims in some cases. You sit. Here you go. Okay, well, victim of what exactly? Were you of age or are you underage? There's a big distinction that is made in law and should be made in the discourse about this as well. Who did, who violated any of the victims that we don't know about? They should tell us. If they're not willing to tell us, what are we supposed to make of that?

[Buck Sexton]

Clay No, I, look, I, I do not know and have never met anyone that would cover up any sort of crime against a child. I haven't, I haven't ever met anyone that would do that in my own life. I don't know Pam Bondi personally. We do know President Trump pretty well. J.D. vance pretty well. Marco Rubio pretty well. A lot of people in the Pete Hegseth, a lot of people in that administration, they would crawl over broken glass to prosecute people who are in any way engaging in crimes against children. Dan Bongino, Cash Patel, whoever you want to name there. So if you're alleging that there are child sex crimes that have occurred and people are being protected, then the people who are doing the protecting are also guilty of crimes. That's not true. That's not happening. And I understand people get fired up because there has been frankly, a lot of people who've made a lot of money arguing that there's a huge child sex ring and Jeffrey Epstein was leading it and all these famous people are involved. Even with all these emails coming out, the, what has been shown clearly is that Epstein used attractive women to engage in opportunities to build a network for business for his own benefit. I don't think there's any doubt about that. But what has not been shown is that there was some sort of illicit trade going on in underage women. Most of the women mentioned in any relation to Epstein were of age. And if they have evidence of crimes, they have the ability to go forward and make their allegations publicly.

[Clay Travis]

They actually, they have the obligation, they

[Buck Sexton]

have the obligation, obligation to do so. They have been paid again, hundreds of millions of dollars in, in settlement money from the Epstein and from banks. People say, again, I, I want to reiterate, NDAs do not are not enforceable here. You're not going to see somebody lose whatever money they already got. They have an obligation to speak and tell us who committed crimes against them or who they saw committing crimes. Even if they weren't the, the actual victim, they won't do it. And so again, what is actually going on here, Democrats have recognized that they can attack President Trump over this and they are going to attack President Trump all the way through the rest of the year because they believe they get political benefit from it. But I'm asking you to just Think about it. Just rationally think about this for a minute. Trump's DOJ is who charged Jeffrey Epstein in 2019. Joe Biden's department of justice had all of this, all of this information, and they didn't do anything for four years. And now Democrats are trying to attack Trump over the Epstein files. Use your brains. It doesn't add up.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, also, I would just say the throwing around things like pedo protector or even just calling someone a pedo without any basis whatsoever. It's just the most pathetic and gross attack on a person you can possibly make.

[Buck Sexton]

It's the new race.

[Clay Travis]

Like calling someone a rapist, I mean.

[Buck Sexton]

Or racist.

[Clay Travis]

Or racist. Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Those words have lost their. Their pop because they've been so overused. Calling random people pedophiles is not a way to actually catch pedophiles, just like calling people racist is not a way to actually address racism. And so, again, I think you have to work through this. President Trump is being attacked by Democrats who are not operating in good faith. Here's what I think, too, Buck. I think Bill and Hillary Clinton being deposed, I think is setting the table. I'm just going to tell you where I think this is going to go. Republicans, I mean, sorry, Democrats, are going to start arguing we need to have President Trump and Melania under oath talking about the Epstein files, too. So, of course, for those of you out there who are like, oh, they're going to get Hillary. Oh, they're going to get Bill Clinton. This is going to end it. Actually flip it. If Democrats take back control of the House, they're going to demand that President Trump and Melania testify under oath about Epstein, just like Bill and Hillary Clinton.

[Clay Travis]

They're already. They're already doing this. This is, this is cut four. This is Ro Khanna out of California in Congress. Play 4.

[Caller]

A new precedent has been set in America today. Before this, we had the Trump rule. Trump defied, as all of you know, a congressional subpoena with the January 6 committee. He said presidents don't have to testify. Now we have the Clinton rule, which is that presidents and their families have to testify when Congress issues a subpoena. And that means that Donald Trump needs to come before our committee and explain what he knew about Epstein and explain why we have not had a full release of the documents.

[Buck Sexton]

There you go where it's headed. So expect that as we get closer to the midterms now, they are going to argue we've got to have President Trump under oath. Why won't he go under oath? We got to have Melania under oath. Why will she not go under oath again? I think they are playing Democrats are chess. It has nothing to do, nothing whatsoever to do with the Epstein case at all. It is just Epstein and his and his awfulness being used as a lever to attack President Trump. And a lot of Trump supporters are playing into this. And I just think you need to understand what's actually going on. Do you really believe, do you really believe that Democrats who didn't say a word for four years when Biden was in office are really desperately concerned about justice relating to Epstein in any way? Of course not. They are just, they see it as an opportunity to attack President Trump and try to keep him from being able to have success going forward.

[Clay Travis]

We can talk. Trump just spoke. We'll get to some of those sound bites here in a second. We'll hear, let's bring this up right into the news cycle and then we can leave the kind of Epstein conspiracy theorizing and oh, God, it's just, honestly, it's just exhausting at this point. I don't know what else to say about it. There's it, you know, we sit here, there's a big portion of MAGA that wants to talk about this and only this. And if you don't talk about this, you're covering up for pedophiles. And then there are a lot of other people who are like, you know, I'm trying to live my life here and there's other things going on and none of this is going to amount to anything anyway of any meaning in terms of this document release. So that's, this is what we're stuck in the middle of. And too many Republican politicians, Clay, are scared of their own voters to just tell them, this is the deal, guys, this is where it is now, ok? They're just, they just don't want to deal with the heat.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, they're afraid of the heat. Is this Ali, is this Bill, is this Trump talking about Bill Clinton right now? Is that cut 26 or is this a different cut? Here is Trump just now. There's a little bit of audio issue in the background because he's about to get on a helicopter. But here is President Trump talking about Bill Clinton under, under the deposition. Cut 26.

[Donald Trump]

I don't like seeing him depose. They certainly went after me a lot more than that.

[Clay Travis]

I don't like

[Buck Sexton]

so Trump saying, if you couldn't hear that, I don't like seeing him depose. But they certainly went after me a lot more than that why do you think President Trump doesn't. President Trump's smart enough to see this. He knows that Bill and Hillary Clinton, that Democrats, the reason why they voted to allow Bill and Hillary Clinton to be opposed is they don't have anything to lose. What do they care about Bill and Hillary Clinton now they want to set the precedent that now President Trump and Melania have to go under oath and be deposed. How do you think MSNBC is going to cover that? How do you think it's going to be covered by CNN again? I'm just telling you exactly where this is going. It's not going to a place where people are getting prosecuted. It's going to be political 100% from here on out.

[Clay Travis]

I also would need an explanation, Clay, and I really do want to move past this. So I promise you, for any of you who are as exasperated and frustrated with this as I am, remember, Republicans are making us talk about this insofar as they've got a, you know, a former first lady and Secretary of State and almost president, sorry, Hillary, almost president. And they got Bill Clinton as well now two term president. This is what they're being, this is what Congress is spending time doing. So that's why we're on it. But I just want to know the people that are so frustrated with this. So somehow there are those out there who think that Donald Trump is a great American hero, a patriot, a guy who took a bullet for his country, a guy who's trying to save the country, a man who has been able to defeat tremendous evil of the deep state, go down the list, all this stuff, but he's covering up for pedos. That's a moronic position to hold. Ok? You cannot believe those two things simultaneously. You cannot believe that somebody is awesome, but does this one horrible thing that would undermine everything else about them. That's just not a thing. So keep that in mind as we're going through this stuff and people are saying, well, Trump is still what Trump is. Trump is covering up for, for. You think Trump would cover up for Bill Gates or Bill Clinton or you think Trump would risk his presidency or, you know, I mean, come on, it's crazy.

[Buck Sexton]

But that is where we are. And I do think you're right, unfortunately, Buck, that a lot of Republicans in office and a lot of media are afraid to tell people this because they're like, it's going to blow back on me. This is the truth. We tell you the truth here. Sometimes it makes people uncomfortable.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. And if you're mad, be mad at Clay, it's the weekend. I'm looking forward to catching up on some much needed rest following nonstop book promotion. Lucky for me, I've got Cozy Earth sheets, blankets, hoodies and sweats to snuggle up in. We love Cozy Earth products in the Sexton household. The sheets, they are the real deal. Crafted from premium bamboo viscose. I hope I said that one right. Which means they're not only incredibly soft. I feel them. They feel very soft, but naturally temperature regulating. They only get softer over time. Wash them hundreds of times and they're as soft as ever. They're fantastic. 10 year warranty on those sheets. By the way. Cozy Earth backs their sheets up with a 100 night sleep trial and a 10 year warranty. Zero risk in trying them for yourself. Go to cozyearth.com use my name Buck as your promo code to get up to 20% off your next purchase. That's cozyearth.com promo code buck to get that 20% off.

[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 I Hard radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck. We have a great email here from Joe. He writes Buck. It's one of our VIPs. I feel your frustration with the whole debacle regarding the Epstein files. While true, he was working schemes within elite circles and a dirt bag. Any smoking guns, if they ever existed, were long since removed and the resulting mess is just theatrics at this point. Conspiracies sell more than the mundane. Innuendo is easier to push than facts. Love the book by the way. Manufacturing Delusion, which you should all get copies of. Keep up the good work, Joe. A native Miami. And Joe, I knew you were smart before you even told me that you liked the book. Yes, yes. What you are saying is the reality. Ok? There is no smoking gun in the files. It might have been removed from the files. Sure, that. That we can all talk about. But I can't do anything about that. Neither can Clay, neither can Trump. There's no smoking gun, guys. There's nothing else that they're going to do.

[Buck Sexton]

Positive story. We come back, President Trump said we might just take over Cuba.

[Clay Travis]

That nicely done. Like very nice. Maybe Cuba will be like como esta? Come take over please. My cell phone service is with Pure Talk. It's been that way for years when I transferred from one of the bigger wireless companies. Let me tell you, I never looked back for a company with no retail stores. They have great customer service. The team's 100% US based and available 24.7PureTalk operates on the same towers and network as one of the most recognized wireless providers. So my nationwide 5G service is most likely the same as yours, just as good, maybe better. For $25 a month, PureTalk gives you unlimited talk, text and plenty of data. Why spend more money than you need? You keep your number, keep your phone. There's no contract, no cancellation fee either. Just dial £250, say the keywords Clay and Buck. You'll get 50% off your first month. Again, dial £250, say Clay and Buck make the switch to Pure Talk today. It's so quick, so easy to save you a bunch of money from your current phone. Just dial that £250, say clay and Bucks.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay Travis BUCK SEXTON SHOW okay, was it yesterday, Buck, that I said we should just go take Cuba out once and for all, make it a default American territory in communism. In the island of Cuba. On the island of Cuba and, and bring sanity just off the southern shore of the United States. Well, President Trump, in answering questions on his way to the helicopter to head to the airplane to fly down to Texas, he weighed in on the decision surrounding Cuba and he said maybe we'll just have a friendly takeover of Cuba. Cut 27.

[Donald Trump]

The Cuban government is talking with us. They're in a big scale of trouble, as you know. They have no money, they have no anything right now, but they're talking with us and maybe we'll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. We could very well end up having a friendly takeover of Cuba. What about the boats? After many, many years, we've had a lot of years of dealing with Cuba. I've been hearing about Cuba since I'm a little boy. But they're in big trouble and we could very well, something could, I think very positive for the people that were expelled or worse from Cuba that live here. You know, we have people living here that want to go back to Cuba and they're very happy with what's going on.

[Buck Sexton]

So there is Buck and you're in South Florida. So you understand the Cuban expat community better than than most. And I know we have a huge listenership in the Cuban community. And by the way, this could be Marco Rubio basically fulfilling the, the dream of pretty much every young kid raised in Cuba whose parents and grandparents had a had a life in Cuba before there is a Supreme Court case. The timing on this is very interesting. There is A Supreme Court case pending right now that has to do with US Assets that were seized by the Cuban government when the communist revolution began. Reports are, and I know a lot of people probably have not spent much time on this, that in 1959 90% of Cuban business assets were owned by, by U.S. related entities. So there is an argument, and we'll see what the Supreme Court says about this, that the biggest victims from a, from a business perspective were all U. S based corporations and that we should allow U.S. corporations to go back into Cuba, get their assets back and try to allow capitalism to exist in, in, in the country. And I would be in favor of that. It would end the danger of China or Russia or North Korea or whoever, Iran who, whatever foreign interest bear ill design to the United States from them being able to have close proximity to the United States. It would tie in with the so called Donro doctrine, which is really just a modification and extension of the Monroe Doctrine, that the United States controls this hemisphere. Um, I just think it's a no brainer. What's your take on this? There's about eight and a half million people who live in Cuba. Millions. What do you think? What's the Cuban population in the United States? Cuban born or Cuban descent? 5,6 million probably. At least. I would think, Clay, you look at

[Clay Travis]

these beaches, unspoiled, beautiful. The real estate, I'm telling you, could be amazing. We get Trump Havana, big gold, beautiful building right outside Havana on the beach. Going to be a whole new world for Cuba. They're going to love it. Some people are saying they're going to love it. Yeah, of course, this would be great. And I think, you know, the arguments against this are rather the arguments against a future of, of liberty and, and you know, decency in government for the Cuban people are effectively pathetic. I mean the left in this country always has a weird, it's not unknowable, or rather we understand why, but always has this bizarre sympathy for far left regimes, no matter how oppressive and no matter how failed. Because there's a lot of stuff that in the ethos at least of the Cuban communist regime appeals to leftists in America. That's just the truth. So in fact some of the, you know, there have been really aggressive efforts by, you know, by the, the Cuban government even to try to run, you know, information operations and things in, in this country too. So look, I, I think that if we can do this, if we can do this with pressure and smart maneuvering and not, you know, a marine expeditionary force landing on the beach is great. And I think Trump and Rubio know that that's, that's a bit of a red line. And especially because we're going to be talking about whether we're going to go to war. People, by the way, say go to war the round. It would probably be more airstrikes and we were doing airstrikes. We had a no fly zone in Iraq for years and years in between wars there where we would, you know, blow a plane out of the sky or do things here and there. So the difference between strikes and war is meaningful despite people who are like,

[Buck Sexton]

oh my God, we're going to go to war.

[Clay Travis]

It's not that simple in Iran. But with Cuba, we got to see what happens with Venezuela too. We haven't heard a lot about where that stands now from the Trump administration. These things do take some time. But yeah, of course Cuba, it should be a great country. It should be a real asset in the Caribbean to the whole hemisphere instead of this totalitarian dictatorship and economic backwater and basket case, which is what it is. And they've like, I like to say they've run the experiment and it has failed. The people that are in charge in Cuba are incompetent, corrupt thugs and there's no reason that they're being charged other than they have the guns. So let's see if that can change.

[Buck Sexton]

I also think this is the, it's been under discussed that maybe the biggest impact immediately of Venezuela was cutting off the supply of oil to Cuba and creating an opportunity to have, quote, unquote, a friendly takeover in Cuba, more so than in Venezuela. Let me also say, Buck, I think this is important because you're now seeing the same arguments that were made before we struck Iran. And those arguments are, oh my goodness, we'll go to your point. We're going to be going to war. The danger is going to be huge, paramount. All of these different things. Why didn't that happen when we took out Iran in the so called, was it 12 day war before Iran? Iran has no ability to actually push back in any kind of significant way. And if they had, they would have done that back in the time of the first attack, June of last year. The challenge with Iran, as I see it, is who takes over? Because I do think if we really let Iran have it, the Ayatollah's ability to maintain control in Iran is significantly curtailed. And we're going to talk, by the way, with Deborah Lee about Iran at the top of the next hour and see what she thinks on the timings and everything else associated with it. And you were in Iraq, Buck. And the challenge I think that is there is when you wipe out a whole cadre of leadership, you end up with a void. And in that void it's a real time of uncertainty as to who is going to rise to power. And so I'm less concerned with the strike on Iran and more concerned with the implications, the ripple effect that spreads out from, from the attack on Iran. And so what happens if we end up in this sort of power vacuum style situation?

[Clay Travis]

All very true. All very true. So we'll see what the situation is as it plays out in Cuba. And we haven't really gotten much more on that boat that got shot up. I don't.

[Buck Sexton]

Super weird story. Yes. 24 foot boat with it somehow got a bunch of Americans on it. Got a.

[Clay Travis]

Well, you know, the Cuban government is saying that it was meant to be a, a they're calling it a terrorist incursion. So essentially their claim is that that was some sort of covert operation insertion. Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

My response to that would be in general, do we feel like the Cuban government is in any way competent enough to stop us from a covert drop into Cuba if we wanted people and would they come on a 24 foot boat from the Florida Keys in order,

[Clay Travis]

what are 10 people going to do on a speedboat, I mean, or whatever it is, 15, something like that? How is that going to work?

[Buck Sexton]

No, it doesn't. None of this adds up. So we'll see what ends up happening there. In the meantime, we got a brand new Advertiser, Erie Home. 50 year old company specializing in making sure the roofs on your house are in excellent shape. The work they do not easy. Any job that requires ladders, heavy lifting. Working on roofs through the four seasons, no easy task. But Erie Home is eager to make sure your roof is protected and that it protects your most expensive. Purchase your home. Have your roof inspected by Erie Home today. They will do it free of charge using a 25 point inspection they've developed over their last 50 years in business. If your roof needs replacement, Erie Home offers all kinds of options, including the use of newer metal materials made to mimic the look of the roof you're likely already have. These metal materials are expected to make sure that your roof lasts two to three times longer than traditional shingles. That new roof from Erie Home will come with a 50 year transferable warranty. So if you sell your home, you're providing even more value in the selling process. Imagine what it would be like to have a 50 year warranty on your roof. Schedule your free [e-mail] Clay Today, get up to 50% off the installation. That's E R I E Home.com Clay Stories of Freedom, stories of America, inspirational stories that unite us all. Each day. Spend time with Clay and box find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back into Clay and Buck. Thanks for calling in, thanks for writing in, and we have a lot to get to here, my friend. Let's start. Let's take some live calls because we can get to the talkbacks later. Diane in Rhode island wants to chat.

[Caller]

Good afternoon, Clay and Buck, longtime listener, first time caller, talking about Cuba and having a friendly takeover. If there are 8 million Cubans, wouldn't we be concerned? They vote Democrat and all of a sudden completely take over the Senate and the Congress and we wouldn't have any more conservative leaders.

[Clay Travis]

Well, we're not trying to make Cuba a state.

[Buck Sexton]

That would. Yeah, that would require Cuba to be a state. I think it would be more likely to be a territory, something akin to Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, others. I also don't know, Buck, you may have a better read than me. Certainly many of you out there.

[Clay Travis]

By the way, Cubans actually vote great down here. Just, just to be clear, everybody, Cubans are on our team.

[Buck Sexton]

So what I'm saying is I don't know how Cubans that are still in Cuba would vote, but the Cubans that are in the United states are probably, what, 75, 25 voting?

[Clay Travis]

I wouldn't say it's that high, but I think it's pretty 60, 40. I mean, I'd have to look, but it's, it's. They're solidly Republican voters in South Florida.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes. So I don't know how that would translate to Diane's point. Even if they were a state, I don't have a sense for what the politics of people left in Cuba.

[Clay Travis]

Let me tell you, to Cuban Americans, commie is a real insult like that. They don't play with that stuff. They do not like the commies. Jim, in upstate New York. What's going on, Jim?

[Caller]

Good day, my. Good day, my friends. I'm glad to be able to talk to you because a couple of days ago you guys are talking about how Obamacare has destroyed our health care, right?

[Clay Travis]

Well, it's raised the cost extraordinarily, which is funny because it's supposed to be the Affordable Care Act.

[Caller]

Well, the whole concept of it was to destroy the health care so that they could have single payer what government run garbage. That's why for me to go to my doctor's office and get an echo gram is going to cost me $500 because Medicare won't cover it. Because Obama got involved with something he shouldn't have fixed because it wasn't broken.

[Clay Travis]

Well, I think you're right about the long time, long term implications of it. So thank you. So I think we're all on the

[Buck Sexton]

same page, but we're, we've been fed up, I mean just about the broken health care system. I mean there's about 50 different things we could walk through and talk about health care including I think most significantly, we spend way more than everybody else. And yet our longevity, that is the lifespan of the average American is nowhere near the best. Right. So if you're, if health care is so valuable, then how come we're not getting better health care results? Jerry in Wisconsin. Jerry, what you got for us fellas?

[Caller]

I want to say on this Cuba point, when you look at the court decision that's related to that, this issue, all those assets are the vast majority that exist in the United states held in 1950s and companies did, they're long gone. The hotels, the nightclubs, the car dealers, the fruit plantations, that stuff was run into the ground a long time ago. So that court case becomes about is Cuba and there's parallels to Venezuela here too. Is Cuba going to be in a position to financially compensate these companies because these assets are for the most part gone. And so how exactly does a broken, bankrupt Cuba with the level of their problems compensate these countries? And I think that, you know, these efforts, whether you're talking about Cuba or Venezuela or even Gaza, this is a massive privatization effort by the administration. And I really think they really need to be clear to the public about their intentions, how they see the logistics, logistics of all this happening and what the cost would be to the American people Because it's not going to be private companies that are going to be putting up all the capital to accomplish all this. Thanks.

[Buck Sexton]

I actually thank you for the call. I actually think the American companies might well want back the real estate assets because yes, you're right, much of Cuba has crumbled into decrepitude. But tearing down old, broken down hotels is actually something, I mean, Buck, where you are in Miami, this is happening all the time and those have been assets that were used much better and you know, kept up to date much more. But you're going through all of South Florida right now, the land is so valuable that everything's being torn down. So I can't speak for the corporations based on what the Supreme Court ruling would be, but you're right, Cuba doesn't have a lot of money. I think they might want the asset back. They might want the physical real estate back associated with that. I think we've got Cut M M

[Clay Travis]

is now finally ready to go. Hit it. I am totally sick of Epstein. I feel bad for the victims, but it's just, it's gonna go nowhere. It's a big nothing burger. And I'm sick of people saying that if you aren't into it, you're a pedophile. That's just so ignorant. And I just wish this would all go away. It's nothing but political football.

[Buck Sexton]

I agree with Lori Arlo up in Minneapolis. Cut in also has this to say.

[Caller]

Morning, men.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I think the Epstein files are

[Caller]

probably the greatest psyop of all. Looking at the vibe right down to mega. Not sure how we pull this back together.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't think he's wrong. I think there's a they have recognized a vulnerability. They are not interested in the truth truth. They're just trying to exploit a situation based on seeing it as a way to divide Republicans. That's the Democrat perspective, I think, beyond a shadow of a doubt. When we come back, Deborah Lee. She's going to talk with us about Iran. What's going to happen, what should happen, what should we be prepared for? We will discuss that next. More of your talkbacks and more of your calls as well. Final hour of the week, speaking truth and having fun. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.

[Clay Travis]

This is an Iheart podcast. Guaranteed human.