Hour 2 - Elephant in the Room is Age

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 – Elephant in the Room is Age
Date: July 13, 2026
Podcast Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton (iHeartPodcasts)
Guest: Ryan Girdusky

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Main Theme & Purpose

Hour 2 of this episode focuses on the increasing impact of age and health on the functionality of the U.S. Senate, the consequences for government effectiveness, and the broader topics of race relations, media coverage of crime, and American patriotism. The episode delivers candid commentary and analysis of breaking political news—including the unexpected death of Senator Lindsey Graham, the diminishing ranks of Senate Republicans, and the implications for legislative progress. The hosts also discuss data on interracial crime and the media’s narrative, introducing guest Ryan Girdusky to deep-dive into the effects of media “wokeness” and electoral consequences in the context of current Senate vacancies and replacements.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Impact of Age and Health on the Senate

• Lindsey Graham’s Sudden Death ([01:58])

  • Graham died unexpectedly after a brief illness (heart attack/aortic rupture), setting off a scramble to fill his seat.
  • His sister Darlene, appointed as caretaker until the special election, is likely a placeholder.

• Mitch McConnell’s Health Struggles ([03:00])

  • At 84, McConnell is stepping down in January after recent treatment for pneumonia following a collapse.
  • Kentucky’s next senator, Andy Barr, has already won the Republican primary but won’t take office until January.
  • Quote: “Our government is frozen... there are at least three Republican senators who are stepping down. We don't have a senator right now from South Carolina. We don't have a senator from Kentucky who is capable of passing a vote... JD Vance can break the tie, 50-50. But to a large extent, our government is frozen.” (Clay Travis, [04:53])

• Government Functionality in Jeopardy

  • With slim Senate margins and aging/capacitated senators, legislative gridlock is expected.

• The Broader Problem: Aging Politicians ([05:22])

  • Lack of term or age limits “on the back end,” meaning no upper age threshold for officials—an issue for both parties.
  • Quote: “When you’re in your 70s and 80s, health-related concerns can emerge rapidly... Our government [is] being led... in basically a 50/50 fashion... we’re now in a really, really tough position as it pertains to trying to get anything passed in the Senate.” (Clay Travis, [06:04])

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2. South Carolina’s Political Shuffle

• Race for Graham’s Seat ([07:30])

  • Names floated as potential contenders: Russell Fry, Ralph Norman, Pamela Evatt, Mark Lynch, Trey Gowdy, Nancy Mace, Nikki Haley, and Treasury Secretary Scott Besant.

• Process Overview

  • Darlene Graham is expected to serve until a special election, with a rapid Republican primary to attach a permanent successor.

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3. Media Narratives, Crime Statistics & Race

• Interracial Crime Data & Media Bias ([08:30])

  • Discussion of a graphic from “End Wokeness” highlighting discrepancies between media coverage and actual justice statistics of interracial violence.
  • Quote: “White on black violence is one tenth of black on white violence ... Black on white crime: 547,948. White on black crime: 59,778... What does the media cover?” (Clay Travis, [13:12])
  • The narrative: Media amplifies rare white-on-black crime while ignoring far more numerous black-on-black, white-on-white, or black-on-white crimes.
  • Observation: Race relations have deteriorated, not improved, since 2010, with media coverage and “wokeness” bearing the blame.

• Aspirational Take on Crime Rates

  • Quote: “If the entire nation had the murder rate that exists among the Asian community... murder would almost not exist in this country. That seems like an aspirational goal.” (Clay Travis, [16:45])
  • Asserts that crime solutions would require more stringent law enforcement, particularly targeting violent offenders in black communities.

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4. The “Great Awokening” & Media’s Role (with Ryan Girdusky)

Segment with Ryan Girdusky begins at [24:28]

• Increased “Wokeness” Post-2014
  • Ryan references Zach Goldberg’s research, noting an explosion in the use of terms like “whiteness,” “racism,” and “blackness” in the media after 2014.
  • Quote: “It is a complete hockey stick... in 2% of all New York Times articles in one year, [these terms] covered race.” (Ryan Girdusky, [25:13])
  • Per capita, black Americans are statistically far more represented in violent crime statistics than whites, something the media does not accurately convey according to the speakers.

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5. Implications of Senate Vacancies and Replacements

• Darlene Graham as Placeholder ([26:52])

  • Girdusky: She’s not expected to run for the Senate, will likely vote in line with Republicans.
  • Shouldn’t be too hard to get key Trump appointees through if she’s seated quickly.

• Effect on Susan Collins and Maine Politics ([29:33])

  • New developments could impact Collins’ odds; much depends on whom the Democrats field as a replacement for Graham Platner after his exit following scandal.
  • Quote: “Susan Collins has won every county in the state. She is enormously popular... even being a Republican, she's still more popular than the president by close to 20 points.” (Ryan Girdusky, [31:29])

• Electoral Fallout from Platner’s Scandal

  • Democrats risk being tainted by association with Platner.
  • Some voters may defect or abstain if the new Democratic nominee is seen as too far left or “betrays” the Platner base.

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6. Broader Social Trends & Data

• Alzheimer’s Trends ([34:07])
  • Girdusky shares his podcast is covering interesting new data: Rates of seniors developing Alzheimer’s are shrinking yearly.
  • Depression in middle age is a top risk factor after genetics.

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7. Callers & Audience Questions

• On the Tyler Robinson Trial ([38:17])

  • Ron from Georgia is convinced Robinson was guilty, dismisses conspiracy theories—highlights strong evidence and confession.

• Tariff Money and Social Security ([40:18])

  • Clay delivers a detailed but accessible explanation that federal money is fungible, and tariff revenue is generally absorbed into the general budget.

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8. Societal Confidence and Patriotism (Preview for Next Hour)

• Declining Pride in America ([21:08], [41:22])
  • Clay sets up an extended discussion for later: Why has pride in the country and its history collapsed among young people?
  • Teases a look at data from the Wall Street Journal about falling patriotism.

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Notable Quotes

• On Government Gridlock:
  “To a large extent, our government is frozen... we're now in a really, really tough position as it pertains to trying to get anything passed in the Senate.” — Clay Travis ([04:53])

• On Age & Term Limits:
  “We do not have term limits or age requirements on the back end for our government.” — Clay Travis ([05:47])

• On Media & Race Crime Data:
  “Black on white crime, 547,948. White on black crime, 59,778. What does the media cover?” — Clay Travis ([13:12])

• On Crime Rate Goals:
  “If the entire nation had the murder rate that exists among the Asian community... murder would almost not exist in this country.” — Clay Travis ([16:45])

• On "Wokeness" in the Media:
  “It is a complete hockey stick [in coverage]... 2% of all New York Times articles in one year, [mention] race.” — Ryan Girdusky ([25:13])

• On Susan Collins’ Endurance:
  “Susan Collins has won every county in the state. She is enormously popular... she's still more popular than the president by close to 20 points.” — Ryan Girdusky ([31:29])

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:58] — Initial rundown of Graham’s death, McConnell’s health, and Senate vacancies
• [05:22] — Discussion of aging politicians and lack of age limits
• [08:30] — Media coverage of racial violence and actual crime statistics
• [13:12] — Interracial crime figures and their misrepresentation by media
• [16:45] — Aspirational crime rates and comments on Asian-American crime statistics
• [24:28] — Introduction of Ryan Girdusky; the “Great Awokening” and media bias
• [26:52] — Senate replacement process following Graham’s death
• [29:33] — Susan Collins’ chances and Democratic strategy after Platner
• [34:07] — Health data: Declining Alzheimer’s and factors influencing it
• [38:17] — Caller Ron discusses high-profile murder trial and evidence
• [40:18] — Clay explains complexity of government revenue allocation
• [41:22] — Clay previews discussion on declining American pride and patriotism

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Tone and Language

• Candid, conversational, and direct, with Clay often injecting humor and pointed critiques of both political parties and the media.
• Data-focused, especially with Girdusky’s contributions, but opinionated and personal.
• Retains a sense of urgency and skepticism regarding past and future political developments.

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Summary Takeaways

• The Senate is facing a historic level of dysfunction due to unexpected deaths, aging leadership, and razor-thin margins.
• Narrative manipulation by the media, particularly on race and crime, is a central grievance—argued to have worsened societal tensions and distorted public perception.
• Discussions blend real-time political analysis, audience engagement, and longer-term cultural trends, previewing a larger exploration of waning patriotism.

For those who missed the episode, this hour is a wide-ranging, high-paced analysis of the pressures facing American democracy—inside the halls of government and in the broader cultural psyche—delivered in the signature energetic, no-holds-barred style of Clay and Buck.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We are rolling through our number two Monday edition of Clay and Buck. Buck is traveling. We will be together in New York City tomorrow taking care of a lot of good growth strategies for the program. And we will update you on some of that then. Okay. Several different stories that we are tracking. Lindsey Graham unexpectedly dies on Sunday. We become aware that he had a brief and sudden illness is the initial report that he then dies of a heart attack and aortic rupture. A report out there from Harris Faulkner that we just aired. And then President Trump followed up with saying it publicly at 4pm Eastern today in South Carolina. Governor of South Carolina Henry McMaster expected to announce that Lindsey Graham's sister Darlene will fill out the remainder of his time before they have a special election to pick a new senator for South Carolina. Lindsey Graham had just won the primary last month. And so there is going to be a short, rapid battle to see who is the next senator from South Carolina, as many people will likely be tossing their name into that hat. And it could be a very rapid primary to pick a new nominee. And then the election in November would lead to a new senator being sworn in in January. January, presumably. And some of you may be more experts on South Carolina law than I am, but again, Lindsay Graham had recently won the primary and they are going to have a special election. I will look up some of the names and think about where that could go. There is some talk that Treasury SE Secretary Scott Besant is potentially going to toss his name into the mix in the Senate. He is from South Carolina. He has done a very good job as treasury secretary. I don't know that that is going to be the case, but there are lots of people right now saying that they would like for him to potentially put his name into the mix in South Carolina. I will look up in real time what the prediction markets are telling us about who the next senator of South Carolina may be, but we are tracking that story. I'll let you know that answer here in a minute. Mitch McConnell, a proof of Life. There has been discussion, a lot of you asking, where is Mitch McConnell been? He posted a photo his staff did alongside of his wife with the front page of the Washington Post there with him saying that he was receiving treatment, that he had passed out for a short period of time, that he then got pneumonia and he is 84 years old. He is going to be stepping down in January. There is a race that Andy Barr has already won the Republican primary in the state of Kentucky. Andy Barr will be the next senator from the state of Kentucky, but he will not be sworn in until January. There has been a lot of questions about what was going on with Mitch McConnell's health. All of this means that we are going to be in a position where it is very, very difficult to pass anything. As I have told you, there are at least three Republican senators who are stepping down. We don't have a senator right now from South Carolina. We don't have a senator from Kentucky who is capable of passing a vote already. The margin was slim. JD Vance can break the tie, 50 50. But to a large extent, our government is frozen. Now every time we have a big picture conversation about this, a Lot of people get very uncomfortable with the reality that our government and the people who represent us in that government are often very old. We do not have term limits or age requirements on the back end for our government. President Trump just turned 80. He's doing very well. Joe Biden, not so well, certainly Mitch McConnell not very well. This is a Democrat and Republican issue. Dianne Feinstein on the Democrat side served. She had no idea what was going on. There are a lot of people who refuse to leave their positions in the government. And when you're in your 70s and 80s, health related concerns can emerge rapidly. Like we just saw with Lindsey Graham, who by the way, at 71 years old, I would think to a large extent, lots of people thought he was very healthy. But it is the chance that it is the case that when you get into your 70s and 80s, your odds of having health related concerns emerge rapidly. That you have no idea might be an issue does become more and more of a significant threat. And our government being led as it is in basically a 5050 fashion, we're now in a really, really tough position as it pertains to trying to get anything passed in the Senate or trying to get anything passed at all in in how this is all going to shake out. Right now there are a bunch of names that are being talked about in South Carolina. I said that I would mention several of them. Russell Fry, Ralph Norman, Pamela Evatt, Mark Lynch, Trey Gowdy, Nancy May Scott, be Nikki Haley. There are a lot of different names connected to South Carolina in the Republican Party that could decide to put their name into this Republican primary. So that is the latest there on the Strait of Hormuz situation. I mentioned this. Trump says that he's going to put a US Navy blockade back in place and that he, meaning the United States government is now going to bring to bear a 20% tax on goods in the Strait of Hormuz. And that that would mean that we are going to establish basically that we have complete and total control over everything related to the this. So that is something to, to pay attention to. And I've been talking about the fact that I think that so much of this you just heard a caller as we finished the last hour going on like a filibuster about how he didn't believe that Tyler Robinson killed Charlie Kirk. And bunch of you want to weigh in on that. I'll take some of your calls. We're also scheduled to be joined by Ryan GY at the bottom of this hour. I mentioned I'm going to talk A little bit in the third hour. I'm going to go old school with you here. If you watch on video, you're going to see that I have a bunch of newspapers always laying out on, on my desk. I'm going to dive into a question about how important is patriotism to you and how proud are you of United States history. This is from the Wall Street Journal in the third hour of the program. I'm fired up about this, so just a little bit of a preview of the fact that, that I'm going to talk about that some when we go forward. But I did want to mention something else that is out there circulating in the cosmos that I saw from my friend End Wokeness. And I shared it over the weekend. And I do think it's worth having a discussion about because I thought it was so well said. We spend a lot of time in this country. Indeed, this Wall Street Journal article has a question about, hey, are we a place that is where people are judged by the color of their skin or the content of their character? And we flipped 60, 40 people said content of character is more important than color of skin. Now that was in 2010. Now as we spe, as I speak to you in 2026, it's now 60, 40, the other direction. So race relations were getting better and better and better. And I think most of you out there nodding along saying, yeah, I kind of agree with that. And then starting around the time that Obama was in his second term and we started with the Ferguson lies, right? The Michael Brown Brown, hands up, don't shoot. Leading all through the George Floyd Covid insanity. Around that time, everything flipped. And I think it was social media. But I also think this is a really good graphic from End Wokeness that he shared. And I shared it with all of you. And I'm hitting retweet on that right now. So if you want to go see it at Clay Travis, you can go see it on my Twitter feed. Interracial violence narrative versus reality. And I'm seeing a lot of these stories because they had some of those Patriot Front guys that I actually think should be investigated because a part of me thinks the Southern Poverty Law center is paying for them like they were paying for all the KKK back in the day. Interracial violence, reality versus the way the media covers it. And you really need to see this graphic. But we will share it from Clay and Buck too. But black violence against white people, first of all, most racial. Most violence is by members of your own racial group. That is if you are black, you are likely to be murdered by someone who is black. If you are white, you're likely to be murdered by somebody who is white. If in fact, it's as every woman who watches Lifetime knows, sometimes it's your husband. Every woman is secretly afraid that her husband's going to kill her. That's basically the entire Lifetime television network base of viewership. If you're Hispanic, you're most likely to be killed by somebody who's Hispanic. If you're Asian, you're most likely to be killed by somebody who's Asian.

[Caller (Ron)]

Right?

[Clay Travis]

But in the rare event when race is different, right? White versus black, Asian versus Hispanic, whatever it might be, do you know that white on black violence is one tenth of black on white violence? In other words, if you want to focus on racial violence and you want to say, hey, all I care about is black people hurting white people or white people hurting black people. Black. This is justice statistics. Black on white crime, 547,948. White on black crime, 59,778. What does the media cover? I was looking at this graphic and I'm wondering, why has racial relationship gotten worse since 2010 or 2012? White people are 10 times as likely, according to this graphic, to be victims of black violence. Black people harming white people than white people are to harm black people. What percentage of the American public do you think knows that? The only thing the media covers. First of all, if you're black and you commit a violent crime against another black person, the media mostly doesn't cover it. Very common in Chicago, black on black violence. New York City, Washington D.C. big city violence, overwhelmingly black on black. It doesn't even get a blip of coverage because it's so common. White person is even alleged to have done something to a black person. It leads the news forever. I'll give you an example. This awful story of the high school kid that got stabbed down in Texas. Black kid, 35 years in prison, stabs Austin Metcalfe, white track athlete, no defense. Really. Jury says, hey, you're gonna go to prison for 35 years. That doesn't seem like enough to me. He's eligible for parole after 17 years. I think I was out of town when all that was happening. Buck talked about it quite a lot, got some coverage because it was teenagers. Texas, there was. Oh, there was an allegation that it was a racial defense. Right. Imagine how that story would have been covered if a white kid had stabbed to death a black kid at a track meet. You would have been unable to escape it. The media isn't giving you an accurate impression of what's actually going on. And I think the tangible result is that race relations have actually gotten way worse because in the identity politics worldview, black people, a lot of them think that white people are killing them all the time. They think police George Floyd is happening every day because of the way the media covers it. It's inescapable. And I actually think race relations would be way better if we actually talked about what the data shows, who actually is committing murder, who's actually being murdered and how do we make the murder rate overall lower. This is an example of the way the media covers this story. And I give in wokeness credit. I'll talk about this some with Ryan Gardusky is completely not representative of what's actually happening in the country. And in fact, if we wanted. Look, you give me a magic wand. You know what I wish I could create? The entire nation has the same murder rate as Asian murder rates in general. Asian people don't get murdered. Their data least violent ethnic group by far. If the entire nation. I think it's an aspirational goal. I think it's something we should aspire to do. If the entire nation had the murder rate that exists among the Asian community in the United States, murder would almost not exist in this country. That seems like an aspirational goal. If we want to solve the murder rate in the country, what it's going to mean is we're going to have to put a lot more black guys who overwhelmingly are committing murder in prison. And we're going to have to protect a lot more innocent black families from having their kids killed by violent black predators. That's the reality. Yet nobody wants to have the conversation based on the actual data. In fact, the media lies and it's how Joe Biden ends up saying the biggest threat the nation faces is white supremacy. Remember when he said that? It's one of the craziest arguments in the history of the presidency. I want to tell you super sure can make a huge difference for you if you're a small business owner. If you have 25 or more employees, if you're part of the management structure for a small business, do you have the right insurance or not? You may well not know at all. And you could make a huge difference if you went to super sure.com right now and use my name Clay, you could save a bundle as part of this process. You can get hooked up right now at Super sure get go right now to this website. Super Sure.com use my name Clay to see why growing businesses are moving beyond traditional brokers. Super Sure.com Clay they can save you a ton. Paid for by Super Sure Insurance Agency, llc, a licensed insurance agency. If you truly care, pass along this common sense to family and friends.

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in we will be joined by Ryan Gardusky at the bottom of the hour. We're going to Dive into the question and can anything get passed in the Senate now with the situation with 84 year old Mitch McConnell's health and with Lindsey Graham passing, as he did over the weekend, and what Lindsey Graham's legacy is and beyond all of that and more, we're also, I'm giving you a little bit of a preview, gonna dive into the big question. Why are so few people proud of the United States and proud to be United States citizens? Why is it collapsing for younger people and what are the long term consequences of this? We will discuss all of that and more. But I want to tell you, if you're out there right now and you are like me and you got a young kid in your family and you may be thinking to yourself, hey, I don't know that I want to get him a cell phone yet. I've got an 11 year old. But we want to be able to stay in touch with him. Sometimes when he's walking around in the neighborhood or he's playing with his friends. Friends, we use rapid radios to do that. And Rapid Radios has a lot of value. You can use it with elderly people in your family. You can use it as a protection in the event that you lose power. Last winter, so many people in my hometown of Nashville were without power. These rapid radios last for five days and they will find whatever network they can to allow you to communicate. You don't have to pay pay a monthly fee. There's one annual renewal fee and right now you can get an incredible offer. When you go to rapidradios.com bundle you can buy two radios and get one completely free. Big family buy four, you get two free. Every bundle includes a full year of service and free shipping. Keep your family connected the easy [e-mail] bundle. That's rapidradios.com bundle bundle. Welcome back in Clay and Buck. We are rolling through the Monday edition of the program. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. Joined now by our friend Ryan Girdusky who is a part of the Clay and Buck Podcast network and he is working through a huge variety of different topics on a day to day basis. Ryan, let's I was just talking. I want to start with this. You're getting a little bit of a curveball. I don't know that you even expect this, but I know you're a data guy. There was a viral tweet from End Wokeness talking about race and crime and which races interracially commit crimes. And I was just talking about it. We've seen like the Wall Street Journal had a poll that came out and said Most people about 2010, 60, 40, believed that Americans were primarily being judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. A little bit over a decade later, it's now flipped, and people believe that racism is a way bigger story. Does it feel to you like the media, largely in the way that they have covered things, starting with Ferguson, has created way more division among the races and also not accurately reflected what the data on crime truly shows?

[Caller (Ron)]

Yeah, there's. There's a.

[Ryan Girdusky]

There's a data analyst named Zach Goldberg. He was from the University of Atlanta. Brilliant, brilliant guy. We've had him on the podcast before. Highly autistic, but brilliant. And he. He chronicled something called. Called the Great Awokening. I think he actually coined the term. And what he did was he looked at terms like the term like whiteness, racism, blackness, you know, white hierarchy, all those words that you kind of didn't hear much of before 2014. And he just chronicled all the major newspapers in this country and major television networks, news networks, and how often they said them before or after 2014 and 2013. And it is a complete hockey stick. It just explodes across there to the point where I think, like, one of those terms was used, like, in 2% of all new York Times articles in one given year, which, if you think of the. Everything covered in the Times, from the earthquakes in Venezuela to sports, it's quite a number of things for 2% to be covering race. And that certainly added to it. And then the complete misunderstanding and misrepresentation of race and crime by raw numbers. Whites obviously commit more crimes because there's more white people, but per capita, it's. Blacks in America have a comical level of, you know, crime as far as white. The violent crime in this country goes.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so I was just talking about that. Now let's go into the situation in the wake of Lindsey Graham's death. Reports are that Darlene, his sister, is going to be elevated. There's going to be a primary there. I'm sure you saw Mitch McConnell. What I'm saying is, basically, unfortunately, it looked like a proof of life hostage photo where he's 84 years old, and he's showing that he has, like, the sports page from the Washington Post from that day, because otherwise people would say, like, that's not real. And so, like, they just. If you look at that photo, they just kind of draped the sports section on his lap in that photo. And I mean, it's crazy that this is where we Are. But given the fact that we only had a 53, 47 situation in the. In there in the first place, how difficult is it going to be to get anything passed, including potentially ag. Todd Blanche? Anything else out there, based on what you're seeing from the day?

[Ryan Girdusky]

Well, I think they're going to be able to put his sister and fairly quickly. She doesn't seem like she. I mean, she's given very little media interviews, so I don't think she has the intention of running for a full term. I think it's just the rest of the year. So if they get her in fairly quickly and she'll probably just vote with the Republicans in my guess, I don't imagine she's going to have, you know, an independent voice all of a sudden. She's not going to turn into Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins. I think it'll be fairly easy to get Todd Blanche in there, which is probably one of the most important appointments, aside from the judges, that we could do right now. Remember, McConnell, in the last year or so has been more of a side for President Trump than he's been an active supporter of a lot of his agenda. So I don't think McConnell not being there is going to stop much as long as they can get Graham's sister in as fast as possible.

[Clay Travis]

Graham Platner out there's been a huge topic over the last several weeks now. They're going to have some sort.

[Ryan Girdusky]

I've listened to the show all your beliefs that there was a bag of money waiting for him.

[Clay Travis]

I still think that the only thing that explains his dropping out is that he got paid off. I mean, just being honest with you, I would never. What's that?

[Ryan Girdusky]

I know you are. I know you're being honest.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, no, I would never. What else is he going to do? Sometimes people drop out, they say, hey, it's not your time. You're going to have an opportunity to run again. Grant Platner is going to go back to being a mostly unsuccessful oyster farmer that only has one customer, his mom. It's not as if he goes to another, like, oh, okay, I'm not gonna run for the Senate. I'll be CEO of this company. I will go and raise my eight kids. Right. Like, I've got a really fulfilling life elsewhere. Like, is he gonna go back to posting on Reddit forums and, like, just kind of being a. A ne' er do well? Like, I don't see why he would give this up.

[Ryan Girdusky]

Go back to being an active socialist, you know, communist revolutionary. I don't remember, he's from an enormously wealthy family. He doesn't really need to work. Like, we discovered that the one guy, the guy who helped, who helped get Grand Planner to run was the heir to the Toys R Us fortune. So, I mean, it is a lot of times these revolutionaries come from very, very well.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Ryan Girdusky]

Upbringings.

[Clay Travis]

So what, what do you think this does to the odds? I was reading that rapid fire replacements like this. I think there's been, there haven't been very many. I think they said there's been nine in recent, recent history. Two of them have gone on to win even notwithstanding. Does this help hurt? What would you assess, how would you assess Susan Collins odds now?

[Ryan Girdusky]

Well, Susan Collins is actually performing right now better in the polling than she had previously. When Graham Platner had first announced before, obviously the scandals had. But when Graham Platner had first announced, she was substantially in these polls. Now she's basically tied with everybody across every single possible opponent that she has. It really, I think depends on which Democrat the Democrats end up nominating to change out Platner. I think a number of them will have the problem that they're going to have the stench Platner on them because they were out there vocally supporting Platner even after the first list of allegations came out from the New York Times. So I think they're going to have that problem kind of around their neck. And Susan Collins has been very quiet. She's been, you know, steady as always. And there's a reason she's very, very strong. I talked to some people in Maine and I asked them what is Susan Collins appeal in that state? And they said basically, if you want anything done for your constituent services, no matter where you live in the state, you go to Susan Collins. And she's always delivered. And I think that right now she's trying to prove that and prove that she is the steady hand that's always been there.

[Clay Travis]

Do you think it's going to be effective at all? The argument, hey, this is a KAMALA Joe Biden 2.0, that they're trying to get rid of Platner because really they see he can't win, not because they're actually concerned about any of these sexual harassment allegations, sexual assault allegations, the Nazi tattoo, all of the things that obviously have stacked up against him. Do you think that is just a function of, of the electability issues and will that actually matter? Because I've said on the show, you, you point out, you've been listening like, look, they could basically run anyone as long as he's anti Trump or she is anti Trump, 47, 48% of Maine voters are going to show up and pull the lever for them. Does the nominate? How much does the nominee even matter at this point?

[Ryan Girdusky]

It matters for someone like Susan. Remember, Susan Collins is for most of the time that she has run, Susan Collins has won every county in the state. She is enormously popular in that state. Even today, even with opinion polling, she's even being a Republican, she's still more popular than the president by close to 20 points. And people do not have a negative opinion overall about her that she's this controversial figure. I think the question is if they pick somebody who is too toxic, too closely aligned to the far left of that state, it will beg questions out of people like Angus King. Angus King is the independent co senator with Susan Cosby. Remember, Maine has not elected a Democrat to the Senate it in decades and decades and decades. I think that it will also come into question is how much money are they going to pour in resources in Maine versus having to spend it in Michigan if they elect a far left nominee? And North Carolina, there's only so many resources out there. You know, Sarah Gideon, when she ran with tens of millions of more dollars, she only won two counties against Susan Collins. And that was Susan's closest election that she ever had. So I think that a big question will come to that. And then the question for Graham Platner voters is if they pick someone who's more moderate, do they just sit out the election, say you deserve, you deserve everything you're getting. That former Joy Reid, the former MSNBC host said if they pick anybody who doesn't speak out against AIPAC from the moment they're running, go vote for Susan Collins. So there's a lot of defection within the Democratic Party where they thought they were going to get, you know, grand planner was going to be a revolutionary figure, almost like Bernie himself and they feel even slightly betrayed. Don't underestimate the fact that some will, will, you know, hold their noses and either vote for Susan Collins or not vote at all.

[Clay Travis]

Last question for you. We have an acting Attorney general and interim Attorney general as Pam Bondi is down. Todd Blanche was elevated there. Now is they need to get him. Go ahead and get him confirmed. How difficult do you think that's going to be?

[Ryan Girdusky]

I mean he doesn't see I haven't overwhelmingly following it, but 53 votes. I imagine unless there's something remarkably controversial him, he'll probably pick up better men too. And I Don't think it'd be that hard to do.

[Clay Travis]

What else should we know from your perspective that you're paying attention to from a data perspective? We encourage everybody to go subscribe. Your show is doing gangbusters. I think a lot of people are very interested in the data under undergirding so many of these stories.

[Ryan Girdusky]

Well, the story I have today is actually, but it's very, very interesting. The percentage of senior citizens who are developing Alzheimer's is actually shrinking in every single year. So the whole breakdown of why it's shrinking, how it's shrinking, and now we have all this new information of every decade of your life. What will make you more or less likely to develop Alzheimer's if you are middle aged? The number one cause of having Alzheimer's, aside from genetics, is if you are depressed in your middle age. So things that happen that happen decades before that affect that. It's a really interesting episode. And then the following episode we're going to be talking about the abolishing of pregnancy, property taxes across the states and all the states looking to do that.

[Clay Travis]

Awesome. That sounds super interesting. Ryan. Keep up the good work. We appreciate the time. I want to tell all of you out there, if you love to eat steak as much as I love to eat steak, and if you like fresh meat that is born and raised here in the good old United States, that can make a tremendous difference for you to get signed up for Good Ranchers family run company. Ben and his wife Corley, they are doing phenomenal work. It all comes right here in the United States. Good fresh meat for all of you. This month they're celebrating all 50 states with $50 off your first order. Just visit Good Ranchers and use my name Clay and you get $50 off everything. Ben and his wife Corley, they founded this company. They got four young kids. They wanted to be able to give their kids fresh food that is no antibiotics, no added hormones. Right here from the USA from American Ranchers. It's great product. We eat it all the time in the Travis household. You are going to love it. Great value. Good ranchers.com My name Clay. That's good. Ranchers.com Code Clay for 50 bucks off. Miss the show. While you're on the go, wind down your day with the daily review podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

Life gets busy and sometimes it feels like you're running on empty, especially spiritually. That's why intouch.org can be such a refreshing place to pause for a moment. When you need a little encouragement, you can watch messages from Dr. Charles Stanley that speak right to what you might be facing. If you only have a minute, there are quick devotionals that help you refocus and reconnect with God's truth. And when you want to dig deeper, you'll find resources that meet you exactly where you are in your walk with Him. It's simple, it's uplifting, and it's available anytime you need a spiritual reset. So if you're feeling stretched thin or just want to stay grounded in your faith throughout the week, take a moment to explore everything waiting for [e-mail] it might just be the encouragement your day needs.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Clay Travis]

Mom, can I have Lingokids? Dad, Lingokids, please.

[Buck Sexton]

When did we become the Lingokids house?

[Clay Travis]

No idea. Last week it was dinosaurs. This week it's Lingokids.

[Buck Sexton]

Why Lingokids?

[Clay Travis]

Because it's the best thing ever. We can play games with astronauts, wild animals and superheroes.

With more than 4,000 interactive games, songs

[Commercial Announcer]

and shows, LingoKids is the number one entertainment platform for young kids.

[Clay Travis]

So no dinosaurs and dinosaurs.

[Buck Sexton]

Lingokids everything kids love. Download it for free.

[Commercial Announcer]

The first ever X Games League championship is going down live. And New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action sports. A season's worth of competition coming down to one final weekend. Watch 7-24-26 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 or stream on the ESPN app, X Games, YouTube, Kick, Roku sports channel and Amazon. The championship starts July 24. Don't miss the moment it becomes history.

[Clay Travis]

Ron in Augusta, Georgia. What you got for me Ron?

[Caller (Ron)]

Yeah guys, look, I was listening and watched the trial pre trial with Tyler Robinson.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Caller (Ron)]

There's no doubt in my mind that that guy done it. And as far as the ballistics that first got it called about it, World War II weapon. He didn't use a World War II around to assassinate him. This I've loaded ammunition all my life. You can go anything down from 100 range to 220 grain bullet. We don't. They even come out and said that the bullet was so disfigured they couldn't match it to the gun. We don't know that he. That in that line of sight he didn't hit something and it was a ricochet that done Charlie in. So this whole BS about, you know, the conspiracy.

[Clay Travis]

You watch, you watch. I appreciate your call, Ron. You watched that. The hearings, as I encourage everybody to go do. And in your mind there's plenty of evidence. You don't have any, any doubt Tyler Robinson did it?

[Caller (Ron)]

Well, just with his lover. He, in that interview on two occasions, accumulated two or three hours of testimony on his part. It was, it was. The guy had admitted to him that he had done it. I mean, not, not, you know, ghostly or, you know, around about way, but he admitted to doing it and he admitted remorse and broke down to crime. Yep. This. I think it was just that. Look, I don't get a chance to talk to intelligent people very often, but just let me ask you a question. If it's possible, can you take tariff money that the government takes in from tariffs and put it into a Social Security account? I'll just, I'll hang up and listen. I know you guys are short.

[Clay Travis]

That's a wide. Thank you for the call. That's a wide range. First of all, that's so complicated. I could spend the next hour talking about the case. Because the tariff cases, basically, many of them are not considered to be legal by the Supreme Court. Some are considered to be legal. So some of the dollars that are being brought in are just a part of the United States budget. In theory. Many of the dollars that come in through tariffs are being reallocated out to pay for a wide variety of different aspects of the government. I suppose they could be directed, but again, money is very fungible. By which I mean, do you know if your $10 that you pay in taxes is going to one particular part of the government? Probably not, right? By and large, your money is going into the larger budget. And knowing where exactly your dollars go is becoming very difficult. I did want to mention this big lawsuit. Twelve states are suing to block the Paramount Mount Warner Brothers merger. And the AG of California has said that's unlawful. There are some reports that this might blow up in the face of the state of California. I saw where Semaphore had reported that one of the nuclear options, so to speak, in this engagement is that Paramount could pull all of its movie production out of the state of California and say we're going to move on. That is going to be really intriguing to watch. And I want to tell you this as we go to break, we're going to come back And I'm going to dive into this Wall Street Journal report, patriotism, history and how I see they're all connected. But one of the things I've been getting asked a lot over the years is people have said, hey, Clay, how do I find a lawyer that I can trust? With all of the insurance agencies and all the big companies out there having tons of lawyers that they're paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to, and I'm doing something about it. I am starting my own plaintiff's law firm. I want you guys to go check it out. Clay travislaw.com you know, I'm working on a new media company, working on a lot of new things with Clay and Buck. We have put together a really good team of lawyers. No matter what you might need. Clay travislaw.com, you go there, you go to that website, you put in what you are looking for and we've got a team of lawyers that we will help respond for you. Again, if you need somebody to fight back against the big states, the big companies that are coming after you, that's what this law firm is designed to do. Clay Travis law dot com. Go check it out. Clay Travis law dot com. Put it in. Never know when you're going to need a lawyer. Something like that. I'm there for you. @clay travislaw.com we come back the importance of history and teaching it in the

[Buck Sexton]

US Our podcast version of the Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton show is proud to be supported by Grand Canyon University, an affordable, private, nonprofit Christian university based in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. At gcu, programs are built to move at the speed of relevance with practical skills, career readiness and opportunity for every

[Clay Travis]

learner grounded in Christian truth, GCU works to empower the next generation to lead with integrity, serve with purpose and help transform their communities, building a future that matters. Find your purpose at gcu. Private Christian affordable nonprofit. Visit gcu. Edu to learn more.

[Commercial Announcer]

Real value shows up in reliability. You don't have to second guess. Like a set of Firestone all season tires, they're designed to deliver confidence, inspiring wet weather traction and a quieter ride. No matter the road. Season after season, Firestone all season tires for durability you can count on, just like people count on you. Firestone all always dependable since 1900.

[Clay Travis]

Mom, can I have Lingokids? Dad, Lingokids, please.

[Buck Sexton]

When did we become the Lingokids house?

[Clay Travis]

No idea. Last week it was dinosaurs. This week it's Lingokids.

[Buck Sexton]

Why Lingokids?

[Clay Travis]

Because it's the best thing ever. We can play games with astronauts, wild animals and superheroes.

With more than 4,000 interactive games, songs

[Commercial Announcer]

and shows, LingoKids is the number one

[Clay Travis]

entertainment platform for young kids.

So no dinosaurs and dinosaurs.

[Buck Sexton]

Everything kids love, download it for free.

[Commercial Announcer]

The first ever X Games League championship is going down live, and New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action sports, a season's worth of competition coming down to one final weekend. Watch July 24 through 26 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN to or stream on the ESPN app, X Games, YouTube, Kick Roku sports channel and Amazon. The championship starts July 24. Don't miss the moment it becomes history.