Hour 2 - Etch A Sketch Politicians

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 – Etch A Sketch Politicians

Air Date: October 10, 2025
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (iHeartPodcasts)

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Episode Overview

In this hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton scrutinize the evasive, noncommittal rhetoric of key Democratic politicians in Virginia, branding them “Etch A Sketch politicians” who erase and redraw their stances to suit audiences. The episode follows up on primary political debates in Virginia, confronts the controversy involving Jay Jones, and features an interview with current Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares about his race and the explosive allegations against Jones. Frequent themes include political accountability, culture war flashpoints (such as transgender policies in schools), crime, and the candidacy of Abigail Spanberger.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Letitia James and Mortgage Loan Integrity

[01:30 – 04:30]

• Clay Travis references a Twitter thread by attorney Eric Pacific about classifying homes for mortgage purposes, noting the significance of the case involving Letitia James.
• The discussion centers around financial misrepresentation: claiming a rental property as a second home to receive favorable loan terms.
• Insight: “You buy a house, say it’s a second home, immediately rent it out, tell your insurer it’s owner occupied, and then report rental income on your taxes. That’s not a misunderstanding, that’s a pattern.” – (Eric Pacific paraphrased by Clay Travis, [03:50])
• Theme: If a top legal official misrepresents documents, it’s likely intentional rather than error.

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2. Virginia Gubernatorial Debate: Avoiding Direct Answers

[05:39 – 09:57]

• Focus on debate performance by Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger, specifically her refusal to directly answer a yes/no question on transgender students in sports and bathrooms.
• Buck Sexton expresses frustration with political evasions, asserting such ambiguity is strategic orthodoxy for the Democratic Party.

Notable Moment:

• Moderator asks: “Should transgender girls who are biological males be allowed to use girls bathrooms and play on girls sports teams? You have 60 seconds.”
  Spanberger’s answer is described as evasive and circular, emphasizing local decision-making and refusing a straight answer multiple times despite persistent follow-up ([06:18 – 09:10]).
• Buck's Insight:

  “Spanberger is pretending to be something she’s not. Or rather she’s making sure that no one knows what she is... She is a Democrat. Democrats have to say trans dudes have to be able to go in to your daughter, your wife, etc’s locker room and bathroom under law. Ok. It’s a civil rights issue. That is what Democrats as a party mandate. This is orthodoxy.” – [09:18]

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3. The Jay Jones Controversy

[11:14 – 13:33]

• Discussion about Jay Jones, Democratic nominee for Virginia Attorney General, and his past text messages wishing harm on political opponents' children.
• Abigail Spanberger refuses to rescind her endorsement of Jones, dodging a direct yes/no when pressed by debate moderators.

Memorable Quote:

• Buck Sexton:

  "She’s an Etch A Sketch politician. Well, whatever you want it to be. Well, I’ll say whatever I need to say in the moment so that people don’t know what I actually believe." ([12:36])

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4. Debate Highlights: Winsome Sears Calls Out Evasion

[19:36 – 21:52]

• Winsome Sears, current Republican Lieutenant Governor, calls out Spanberger for speaking in empty platitudes and refusing accountability.
• Key exchange:

  Winsome Sears: “You don’t even know what you’re saying.” ([19:56])

  • Buck and Clay praise Sears for confronting Spanberger’s evasive debate style directly.
• Sears presses Spanberger to explicitly denounce Jones’s texts and demand his withdrawal.

Most Impactful Moment:

• Winsome Sears:

  “I would not say that. So that’s why I’m wondering why my opponent won’t say, beyond ‘it’s abhorrent and disgusting’, why she won’t say it is not okay and that he must leave the race because Jay Jones advocated the murder, Abigail. The murder of a man... What if he said it about your two children, your three children? Is that when you would say he should get out of the race?” ([20:31])

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5. Interview: VA Attorney General Jason Miyares

[23:32 – 37:35]

• Attorney General Miyares expresses deep concern over Jay Jones’s “vile” text messages and shares his own connection to those targeted.
• Miyares stresses the difference between ideological disagreement and wishing harm upon opponents’ families.
• Recounts his record on fighting crime, reducing Virginia’s murder rate, battling the opioid crisis, and supporting law enforcement.

Highlight Quote:

• Jason Miyares:

  “I have never found a difference of opinion in politics, philosophy or religion to be cause to withdraw from a friend... My job is to be the people’s protector of everyone. That’s such a different mindset from someone who says I would like to see my political opponents have two bullets in their head.” ([27:03])

On Law Enforcement:

• Detailed record of targeting violent repeat offenders, achieving dramatic crime reductions in Virginia.
• “Virginia is now the number one state in the entire country in the overall drop of addiction deaths, from this record high... huge drop in reduction in violent crime.” ([35:33])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Clay Travis [14:14]:
  “Biden got into office as a moderate, and then... you saw that he actually was going to govern as a far left wing insane person. Virginia, that’s what your decision is basically about. Are you supporting sanity or not?”
• Buck Sexton [18:37]:
  About Spinberger: “Supposed to be a mediocre cipher. Somebody you can put whatever you want... She is trying to fool people. She’s being dishonest about who she is.”
• Winsome Sears [21:14]:
  “Would it take him pulling the trigger? Is that what would do it? And then you would say he needs to get out of the race?”
• Jason Miyares [25:34]:
  “Imagine somebody saying this about a friend of yours and their family... this wasn’t some hypothetical... at the ages of Todd’s children, they were 2 and 5 years old.”
• Buck Sexton [35:08]:
  “What have you done as Attorney General that has had real impact that you’re proud of, that has shown the kind of law enforcement focus...”

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Key Timestamps

• [01:30 – 04:30]: Mortgage fraud, Letitia James segment.
• [05:39 – 10:09]: Spanberger’s evasiveness in VA gubernatorial debate on transgender issues.
• [11:14 – 13:33]: Jay Jones controversy, Spanberger refuses to disavow.
• [19:36 – 21:52]: Winsome Sears calls out debate evasions and presses Spanberger.
• [23:32 – 37:35]: Jason Miyares interview—reaction to Jay Jones, record as AG, views on political violence.

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Summary & Takeaway

This episode illustrates the dynamic between politicians who “run out the clock” to avoid controversy—exemplified by Abigail Spanberger—and those who confront them on principle. Clay and Buck stress the importance of directness and accountability, especially as debate moderators and opponents (notably Winsome Sears) demand clear stances and action on pressing ethical issues. The interview with Jason Miyares broadens the ethical debate by emphasizing leadership standards, his tangible impact as Attorney General, and his condemnation of rhetoric that promotes violent political retribution. Throughout the hour, the hosts maintain their signature blend of outrage, sarcasm, and calls to action for their Virginia audience.

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Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

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[Leon Neyfak]

Was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked why Benghazi?

[Ted Cruz]

The truth became a web of lies.

[Leon Neyfak]

From prologue projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

[Jason Miyares]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Leon Neyfak]

Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

I'm Ben Ferguson.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Ted Cruz. Three times a week we do our podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Clay Travis]

Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.

[Ted Cruz]

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.

[Clay Travis]

And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.

[Ted Cruz]

We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.

[Clay Travis]

So download Verdict with Ted Cruz now, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck SEXTON show we are tracking down all of the big stories out there. At the bottom of the hour, Jason Mearez, who is the attorney general of the state of Virginia running for reelection about three weeks against a guy who frankly has done some, said some pretty awful things. We will get into all of that with him. And then in the third hour, we're going to be joined by our friend Jack Carr, who is one of the most successful fiction writers in America right now. And he's got a brand new book out. We will discuss that with him. But I was reading this book and I want to make sure that I get this and I probably am mispronouncing this guy's name, but his name is Eric Pacific. And again, I apologize if I mispronounce that. He is a attorney and he has a good thread that I was reading during the most recent commercial break. And I just want to hit this because it goes directly to what we were talking about with Letitia James. And he says, not trying to make a political point here, I Spent years as a mortgage banker at Quicken Loans. Now Rocket Mortgage, the number one mortgage lender in the country before I ever went to law school. Here's the deal. How you classify a property as a primary, secondary or investment home changes everything about the loan. The down payment, the interest rate, the underwriting, all of it. Primary or secondary homes can get by with as little, he says, as 3 to 10% down. Investment properties usually require 25% or more. So if you're a brand new real estate investor with limited cash, there's a big incentive to call something a, quote, second home instead of an investment property. But that's why lenders make you sign a second home rider and a separate document where you specifically promise you'll use it as a second residence, not rent it out. You also assert like nine times in the application process it will be owner occupied. Could this kind of thing ever be an honest mistake? I doubt it. The facts, at least as reported, look pretty bad. You buy a house, say it's a second home, immediately rent it out, tell your insurer it's owner occupied, and, and then report rental income on your taxes. That's not a misunderstanding, that's a pattern. Um, and it just continues. Again, the wild part is she's a lawyer. She's the Attorney General of New York. She's prosecuted the former president for similar financial representations. You'd think someone with that background would fully understand what those documents say and what it means to misstate intent on a loan. And it's going to be a tough case for her to defend unless she's able to present additional information. In the meantime, lots of financial and life lessons in the story for all of us. I just thought that was interesting. That's someone who deals all the time, as I'm sure many of you out there have in the mortgage industry. Again, reiterating what we have said, which is this is not something that would have been likely to have occurred as an error, particularly not someone who is the chief law enforcement officer of the state of New York. Okay, so that a little bit of a bow on that discussion for all of you. Now, last night in Virginia, Buck, I was watching this early this morning when I got up. I know you were watching. I saw some of it last night. I want to play a couple of these cuts, and some of them are a bit long, but I think it's important for you guys to hear exactly how long these answers are because it's, it speaks to an unwillingness to answer direct questions. And I actually give credit to the Debate moderators who were asking questions and then doing something crazy when they're not answered. Following up. Hey, this is kind of a yes or no question. So let's play this one. It's a bit long. This is Abigail Spanberger.

[Buck Sexton]

Why don't we play it and we can stop it? Did they do the whole thing or they have it in multiple clips? Because we could probably stop start this one because it's really. You want to hear the whole thing?

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, we'll stop started, but this is the long one. This is Buck. Just a couple of minutes here. This is her repeatedly refusing to say if men should be allowed to compete in girl sports and use girls locker rooms. This is that first one.

[Ted Cruz]

Cut seven, focusing on a K through 12 school system. Should transgender girls who are biological males be allowed to use girls bathrooms and play on girls sports teams? You have 60 seconds.

[Podcast Announcer]

I'm a mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools and nothing is more important to me than their safety and their experience in schools. I'm also a former federal agent and I work to investigate crimes against children. And so nothing is more important to me than the safety of all of our children. And that work in part has earned me the endorsement of Virginia's Police Benevolent Association. Issues related to what's happening in our schools in each individual community. I think it's important that we have parents and teachers and administrators making decisions about their individual schools, not politicians. And if we are talking about the safety of our children, I would ask why my opponent continues to support efforts to defund public safety, an effort carried on continually by this administration.

[Ted Cruz]

Once again, the question was, should transgender girls who are biological males be allowed to use girls bathrooms and play on girls sports teams in K through 12? You have 15 seconds. To clarify.

[Podcast Announcer]

In cases across Virginia, I think it's incumbent upon parents and educators and administrators in each local community to make decisions locally.

[Winsome Sears]

That's what this is about.

[Podcast Announcer]

Ms. Earl Sears there should never be in locker room.

[Winsome Sears]

Oh, goodness. We finally have her saying that. But you voted for that.

[Podcast Announcer]

You were just intruding on time here.

[Ted Cruz]

We're trying. This is Ms. Spanberger's time. I have a follow up question for Ms. Spanberger. Would you rescind the youngin administration policy requiring boys and girls to use bathrooms aligning with their biological sex? You have 30 seconds.

[Podcast Announcer]

My priority would be to ensure that local communities, importantly parents and teachers, educators, are able to work together to meet the unique needs of each school and each community. And that is important. And I say that as a mother of three daughters In Virginia public schools.

[Winsome Sears]

Exactly.

[Podcast Announcer]

And as someone who used to investigate crimes against children, the way that we keep our children safe is by ensuring they are safe in schools, which includes funding, law enforcement and public safety.

[Ted Cruz]

But, Ms. Fanberger, the question was, should the young. Would you rescind the youngin administration policy requiring boys and girls to use bathrooms aligning with their biological sex? You have 15 seconds to clarify that question. Yes.

[Podcast Announcer]

And my answer is that in each local community, decisions should be made between parents and educators and teachers in each community. It shouldn't be dictated by.

[Ted Cruz]

Please don't interrupt.

[Leon Neyfak]

You're.

[Ted Cruz]

We're coming to you next.

[Podcast Announcer]

Okay.

[Clay Travis]

Okay. Block. This is devastating.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. Because this is where the Democrat party is right now. Spanberger is pretending to be something she's not. Or rather she's making sure that no one knows what she is. That's the whole game here. She is a Democrat. Democrats have to say trans dudes have to be able to go in to your daughter, your, your wife, et cetera's locker room and bathroom under law. Ok. It's a civil rights issue. That is what Democrats as a party mandate. This is orthodoxy. You are not allowed to deviate from this. But she is playing this game of, well, it's about the communities and there should be conversations. And next she's going to say, this is a daughter.

[Clay Travis]

I'm a mother of three, and I like girls that are in school, public schools. It's the.

[Buck Sexton]

It sound the most circular, nonsense, evasion imaginable on a debate stage.

[Clay Travis]

If you're listening to us in Virginia and you have not gotten out and voted for win some Sears, I don't know, frankly what you're doing in your. And you should. I appreciate the fact that all of you are listening to us in Virginia. If you are not out voting for winsome Sears right now, I would submit to you that you need a check because I think people may have gotten a little bit, little bit happy with the Trump win. They got Glenn Youngkin there. Uh, let me play this two buck because this Jay Jones character who's running and we're gonna talk with the current attorney general of Virginia, Jason Miares, about this in just a moment at the bottom of the hour. But this was another devastating moment from this debate. And again, listen to the questioners. I give them credit for going back and saying, hey, you know, the question is really just a yes or no. It's not a complicated question. They also ask why she hasn't asked Jay Jones to drop out of the race based on frankly, awful text Messages wishing death on the children of his political opponents. Here's cut nine.

[Podcast Announcer]

I didn't hear an answer there on the endorsement issue, so I want to just make sure. Will you continue to endorse Jay Jones to be the next Attorney General of Virginia? And were you aware of these text messages before they Release? You have 30 seconds. In fact, it appears that it was the. Those who released the text messages and held them for years, so the public was unaware who had knowledge of these text messages for many hours. I learned these text messages the day that they came out, and I denounced them as soon as I learned of them.

[Winsome Sears]

She denounces murder.

[Podcast Announcer]

Importantly, at this point, as we move forward, the. The voters now have this information, information that was withheld for them. You're running presumably for coronavirus reasons, but the voters now have the information, and it is up to voters to make an individual choice based on this information. Ms. Member, I understand what you're saying about the voters, but for you yourself, do you still continue to endorse Jay Jones? 15 seconds, yes or no? I. We are all running our individual races. I believe my opponent has said that about her lieutenant governor nominee, and it's upstairs person to make their own decision. I am running my race to serve Virginia, and that is what I intend to do.

[Clay Travis]

She is an.

[Jason Miyares]

Oh, sorry.

[Buck Sexton]

She's an Etch A Sketch politician. Well, whatever you want it to be. Well, I'll say whatever I need to say in the moment so that people don't know what I actually believe. Here's what everybody should know. She is a Democrat. She will do the will of the Democrat Party when she is in power in that state. That is very obvious. Everything in the meantime is an evasion so that people who don't pay much attention, who rely on TV commercials for who they're going to vote for, and. You know, the whole game here, Clay, is to fool voters. Enough voters that once she's in power, oh, she knows the answers, or she has answers to all these questions, she's just not going to answer them with anyone paying attention until it's too late. Once the voters have had their say and she has pulled off the swindle, then you'll see that she is all about the LGBTQIA agenda and trans rights and trannies in the bathroom with your. With your wives and your daughters and everything else.

[Clay Travis]

The whole thing, it's not dissimilar to the way they ran Biden. Biden got into office as a moderate, and then he got there and you saw that he actually was going to govern as a far left wing insane person. Virginia, that's what your decision is basically about. Are you supporting sanity or not? We got another good cut. Maybe we'll play it when we come back because Winsome Sears, I thought really kind of delivered a frankly knockout punch if people were actually paying attention to this debate. And we haven't played that yet, but it's one more.

[Buck Sexton]

Let's hold that one. I like that. I'll tee that one up in a second for sure.

[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

Stories of America.

[Clay Travis]

Inspirational stories that unite us all each day. Spend time with Clay and Buck. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Leon Neyfak]

Was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked why Benghazi?

[Ted Cruz]

The truth became a web of lies.

[Leon Neyfak]

It's almost a dirty word, one that connotes conspiracy theory.

[Winsome Sears]

Will we ever get the truth about the Benghazi massacre?

[Leon Neyfak]

Bad faith, political warfare, and frankly, bullshit.

[Jason Miyares]

We kill the ambassador just to cover something up. You put two and two together.

[Leon Neyfak]

Was it an overblown distraction or a sinister conspiracy?

[Clay Travis]

Benghazi is a Rosetta Stone for everything that's been going on for the last 20 years.

[Leon Neyfak]

I'm Leon Neyfak from Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

[Jason Miyares]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Clay Travis]

Yes, that's right. Lock her up.

[Leon Neyfak]

Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

I'm Ben Ferguson.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Ted Cruz. Three times a week we do our podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Clay Travis]

Nationwide. We have millions of listeners.

[Ted Cruz]

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.

[Clay Travis]

And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.

[Ted Cruz]

We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.

[Clay Travis]

So download Verdict with Ted Cruz now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, welcome back in to play in Buck. We were talking about that Virginia governor's race debate and how Spanberger was just running in circles. Really? One of the most absurd debate performances for somebody who does not have, you know, late stage elderly person cognitive dementia. One of the most Absurd performances I've ever seen. And it's like I said all along. That's why whatever her name is, whatever her politics are, she's just supposed to be a mediocre cipher. You know, somebody you can put whatever you want. Oh, does she stand for this? I don't know. She seems nice. She's got kids or something. Who cares? She is trying to fool people. She's being dishonest about who she is. And Winsome Sears was not having it on that debate stage. The lieutenant governor, the current lieutenant governor here, she is pointing out what needed to be pointed out. Play 10.

[Podcast Announcer]

It is extraordinarily important that we have transparency and that there is a clear market in order to be enforced because it is in the absence of an open and clear and extraordinarily transparent market that law enforcement is not able.

[Winsome Sears]

Don't even know what you're saying.

[Ted Cruz]

Ms. Spanberg, your time is up.

[Buck Sexton]

You heard that? She said you don't even know what you're saying, which is absolutely correct. Clay, she is just babbling. It's just words coming out of Spanberger's mouth that have no actual meaning beyond trying to run the clock out so people can't figure out she's a Democrat like all the rest.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, and there's another good one here that I thought was also that you don't even know what you're saying. This is also cut nine. We have time for this one too. Listen to this one, Buck. Because I thought this was Winsome Sears at her best last night in the debate. Listen.

[Winsome Sears]

Well, I think as everybody knows, I'm a Christian. I'm a Christian before, I'm a Republican and I'm required to forgive people. And it's hard sometimes when somebody has abused you, etc, but it's something you must do because not to forgive is almost like if someone said you drink poison thinking that it's going to affect the other person. And I want to live a decent life and I don't want to have. Not have peace in my life. And so I, as I've said before, I would not say that. So that's why I'm wondering why my opponent won't say, beyond its abhorrent and disgusting, why she won't say it is not okay and that he must leave the race because Jay Jones advocated the murder, Abigail. The murder of a man, a former speaker, as well as his children who were two years, two and five years old. You have little girls. Would it take him pulling the trigger? Is that what would do it? And then you would say he needs to get out of the race? Abigail, you have nothing to say? Abigail, what if he said it about your two children, your three children? Is that when you would say he should get out of the race? Abigail, you're running to be governor.

[Clay Travis]

I thought that was really good. If you watch that video, Abigail Spanberger just looks like a sociopath, staring straight ahead, refusing to look at Winsome Sears. If you're going to say all the time, I've got three daughters, I've got three daughters, they're in public school like she said, as if she were a robot. Why not have to address the fact that the attorney general nominee for Democrats wanted the kids of the Virginia speaker of the House to die to teach a lesson to the mom and dad because he said they were raising fascists. We'll ask this question for Jason Miar is next.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Appreciate all of you. We are joined now by the current Attorney General of Virginia, Jason Mearez, who is right now in the midst of a very close race against Jay Jones, who is the Democrat nominee. We were just playing a lot of cuts from the governor's debate last night, Jason, which I'm assuming that you watched in in full. And for people out there who have not heard, I jotted down a lot of the awful things that J. Jones said and we'll run through them. But can you believe that he's still Running for the Office of Attorney General, based on the stories that are out there right now about calling for someone's kids who was the Virginia speaker of the House to die, to send them a message saying they're being raised as fascists. I mean, it's truly vile and reprehensible. And I was kind of stunned that anybody would say it, much less somebody who's running to be the chief law enforcement officer of a state.

[Jason Miyares]

Yeah, I mean, I gotta admit, as Attorney General, your job, your number one job, is to stop violence. I can't imagine someone running for this position has advocated for it. And, you know, part of why this has been so surreal for me is I previously, prior to being Attorney General, I served in the General assembly in Virginia with Jay and Todd. Todd Gilbert. Todd is a personal friend of mine. In fact, during session, me, him and another legislators would get an Airbnb. He was my roommate during session. He's a personal friend. I know Jennifer. So does Jay Jones. I mean, Jennifer Gilbert would come to the Assembly. Jennifer Gilbert would bring her children. You would see them running down the hall or on the House floor. So this wasn't some hypothetical. Part of what makes this so startling to me was the fact that at the ages of Todd's children, when he sent these text messages was they were 2 and 5 years old.

[Leon Neyfak]

Yeah.

[Jason Miyares]

And I gotta tell you, when this first broke, you know, my team was all like, you've got to get a statement out. And I said, just stop. I need some time to process this. Because just imagine this. Politics aside, imagine somebody saying this about a friend of yours and their family. Imagine how you would feel. And so the idea that he would say this about someone he knows, someone he's worked with, children that he has met, I think has just made this at a different level. That has just astonished me. And, you know, it seems like you are seeing a few Democrats outside of Virginia that clearly have indicated he. They can't vote for him. But as far as right now, the political class in Virginia right now is saying, these are horrible texts. He needs to be held accountable. But they don't say what accountability looks like. I think Virginia voters are going to hold them accountable for sure.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, Mr. Attorney General Miyares, I got to ask the moment where on the debate stage, and we played it for this audience just a few minutes ago, where the Lieutenant Governor asked Abigail Spanberger if she still endorses Jay Jones for Attorney General, how can you have somebody who is hoping to be governor who can't even say that the Attorney General from her or the would be attorney General from her party has her full endorsement. It just seems like this is a, should be a non starter.

[Jason Miyares]

Well, it's clear, it's clear. That's where we are now. And just to remind people that Abigail Spamberger had asked for Ralph Northam's resignation as governor, the previous Governor, over a 30 year old yearbook photo. But to your point, I mean, I think there should be a question asked of every elected Democrat or even elected official on either side of the aisle in Virginia. If someone was applying for a job to work in your office and it came during their vetting that they had sent these and expressed these sentiments and had actually wished or they hoped a two and five year old child would die in their mother's arm, would you still hire them? Well then the extra question, if the answer is no, then why would you vote to elevate this person to be literally the top prosecutor in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia? And it just shows and just for your listeners to realize the background like what, what set Jay Jones on this path is he was very upset that Todd Gilbert had said nice words in memory of a moderate Democrat that served in the assembly that had passed away. He was angry that Todd was saying something nice about a member of and his response was that he wanted to be able to pit on the graves of his political opponents. I mean, think about that where you're coming from and for your listeners. You know, I keep a sign of my office in Richmond. It's one of my favorite quotes from Thomas Jefferson and it is this. I have never found a difference of opinion in politics, philosophy or religion to be caused to withdrawal from a friend. It's just a reminder for me and my job that I may disagree with you politically. I'm not going to withdraw my friendship for you. I had met with victims. I had never once asked a victim of a crime whether they ever voted for me, what part of the year. I don't care. My job is to be the people's protector of everyone. That's such a different mindset of someone who says I would like to see a, you know, my political opponents have two bullets in their head. And when he's texted by his colleague, Jay, you're literally saying you're hoping that Jennifer Gilbert's children die in her arms. Your response is yes, because it is only through change that pain, through pain that change occurs. Well, that is an incredibly dark worldview to think that you have to inflict pain on individuals to somehow achieve a political objective that is the, you know, we have some chapters in our history, obviously as our country, but we settled a long time ago. We don't, we don't settle our differences with bullets. We settle them at the ballot box and that's a sign of a vibrant democracy. And so it's a I do think this election now in Virginia is not about right versus left. It's about right versus wrong. It's about a basic standard of decency. And candidly it's just nationwide, what is the signal that can you say anything you want about your opposition, even saying you hope violence against their family and there not be a political price? And I think I trust Virginians are going to get it right. But I think the stakes here for the larger nation is a sobering one.

[Clay Travis]

Let me hit you with some of those quotes. You mentioned them a little bit. I am reading from the New York Times, which actually managed to cover it today. At one point J. Jones, as you said, remarked that he would quote, piss on the graves of Republican delegates when they died. He went on to say that if he had two bullets and a gun and his choice was to shoot Adolf Hitler, the former Cambodian dictator Pol Pot, or Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican, that he would shoot Mr. Gilbert twice. And he said, spoiler, put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people, you know, and he receives both bullets every time. He also said that he hoped that Jennifer Gilbert's children would die and he didn't back down. He said, yes, I've told you this before, only when people feel pain personally do they move on policies. He then said, I mean, do I think Todd, who was the speaker of the House and Jennifer, his wife are evil and that they're breeding little fascist. Yes. I mean this is vile, vile things that J. Jones is saying. So are you surprised you mentioned that there are some Democrats out of the state that are saying, even Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said, yeah, I would have trouble voting for for Jay Jones. He's the Democrat governor of Kentucky. Are you surprised that Virginians in the Democrat Party so far are staying rock ribbed behind Jay Jones given what he, what he did, what we know that he said?

[Jason Miyares]

Yeah, I mean I am surprised. I candidly am very surprised. But I do think that there has been a disconnect between the political leadership and where everyday Virginians are. Obviously it's something I am hearing about constantly when I am out talking to individuals. But think about this as well. What this also tells me that about my opponent is that he's never actually met with real Mothers that have actually lost their children to violence. I have, I have met the moms of murdered victims, and I could tell you that right now there is no cry like the cry of a mother that has lost her child. There's nothing like it. It is. It is soul searing. And once you've actually experienced that, you. You can't even imagine that on your. On anybody, you know, even if they're your political enemy. But it just shows that he is a. He's. He's not prepared. He's obviously reckless with his. His judgment, and he has a worldview that is. Is completely incompatible with this office, period. And don't forget, it also has come out that he apparently told another colleague that as far as, you know, police violence, that he said, if you could get rid of qualified immunity to sue police personally and maybe if some cops died and actually they would change their behavior. And so you've seen the Fraternal Order Police and a host of other law enforcement organizations also have come out. You had a group of sheriffs and commonwealth attorneys in Virginia say that he should not stay in the race. So you've seen law enforcement has come out quite forcefully saying, we don't want him to be the top prosecutor in the state, period. And so you have seen, I think, not surprisingly, an enormous amount of courage from our law enforcement heroes that have come out quite fortunately, a lot of which are apolitical. The Virginia State Police association, which normally rarely ever delves into anything slightly political, has come out quite forcefully about these remarks, because the hardest thing for me is attending the end of watch funerals for officers that have died in the line of duty. That is by far the most difficult moment that you ever have as a public official. You realize it's the hardest job in America. And you just sit back and you think, I can't imagine. Not that I think we'd ever attend, but somebody who actually has wished. Because when you talk to these family members and they talk about the job and the burden of the badge and what it means to carry the shield every day. And earlier this year, I attended the End of Watch with Officer Cameron Girvin, Officer Christopher Reese. They died February 22nd of this year. Two officers in Virginia beach gunned down in the line of duty. You know, you talk to those family, you know, Cameron left behind a wife who had just found out she was pregnant with a baby girl. I mean, you. You get those stories, you meet these law enforcement guardians, and you realize what Jay Jones has said, this world view of violence against individuals to advance agenda is so outside of the normal frameworks, I think he's disqualified himself from the job.

[Buck Sexton]

Attorney General Miaris, could you just tell everybody with the couple of minutes we have left, what have you done as Attorney General that has had real impact that you're proud of, that has shown the kind of law enforcement focus in the. I love Virginia. It's a state that, it's like a top five in terms of time spent state for me. I would say so. I'm. I have family in Charlottesville. I'm very, very fond of Virginia. Tell everybody what you've been doing in your state.

[Jason Miyares]

Yeah, well, listen, when I came in the office, Virginia had a murder rate at a 20 year high, violent crime rate at a 30 year high, the highest levels of addiction deaths ever recorded. And I had this novel idea, Clay, I said, I'm going to, I'm going to work with law enforcement, not work against them. We also saw that we had unacceptable violence. Our murder rate was driven by violence in certain areas of the state, certain of our localities, we saw that 5% of felons were committing over 50% of the violent felonies. So we went after these repeat violent offenders, by a way, a lot of which are in the narcotics trade. City of Roanoke alone, for example, 0.12% of the population of the city of roanoke, that's 1/5 of 1%, were committing over 30% of the homicides. So we went after this small subset of repeat violent offenders, we investigated them, we indicted, we prosecuted them and the murder rates dropped dramatically. City of Roanoke, 62% drop in our murder rate. We've had a double digit drop in our violent crime rate. Our ceasefire cities, this huge reduction. More people are alive today. We prosecuted and got enough fentanyl off the streets that would have killed 7 million Virginians. Record settlements against some of the opioid manufacturers that has gone to treatment. So Virginia is not top 10, we're not top five. We are now the number one state in the entire country. And the overall drop in of addiction deaths, from this record high of addiction deaths to this number one in the country in the drop, huge drop in reduction or violent crime. I say as Attorney General, I'm the people's protector, I protect all Virginians, whether they're Republican, Democrat or Independents, we're proud of that record. I said, Virginian safety has been my mission from day one. That's what I'm asking Virginians to rehire me to continue to do that good work and definitely don't hire somebody to be the top prosecutor who a has never been a prosecutor in his life, B has a legislative voting record of voting against police and against victims and C literally has advocated for violence against his political opponents and said he hopes to see their children die. He's simply unfit and disqualified for this office.

[Buck Sexton]

Attorney General Meares, appreciate what you've done, sir. And we know our audience is going to get out there in your state, those who are listening, who live there, and and help you pull this one over the finish line.

[Jason Miyares]

Thanks so much. Sure. Yeah. Stanwithjason.com Stanwithjason.com thanks so much for having me, Clay. Great to be with you.

[Buck Sexton]

Absolutely. All right, look, I've taken on a lot of writing lately and I'm having a lot of fun doing it. It's work, but it's work that can benefit you a lot because when I'm not on the radio, I've been creating a weekly E newsletter and we've called it Money and Power and the reasons are obvious. If you subscribe, you'll see for yourself. It's a one of a kind opportunity, I think, designed to help ordinary people capitalize on the huge wealth explosion that's being created by what I call the Manhattan Project too. I've combined the information that I have with access to people in D.C. who make the decisions, titans of industry all across the country, and of course Wall street expertise to bring you ideas that can level the playing field so everyday folks like you can finally get a fair shot in the markets. All the details can be [e-mail] right now. Join our movement today. Get 82% off. You'll be so glad you did. Go check it out. Insider2025.com paid for by Paradigm Press.

[Clay Travis]

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

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[Leon Neyfak]

Was making a podcast about Benghazi, nine times out of ten they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes, or just asked why Benghazi?

[Jason Miyares]

The truth became a web of lies.

[Leon Neyfak]

It's almost a dirty word, one that connotes conspiracy theory.

[Winsome Sears]

Will we ever get the truth about the Benghazi massacre?

[Leon Neyfak]

Bad faith, political warfare, and frankly, bullshit.

[Jason Miyares]

We kill the ambassador just to cover something up. You put two and two together.

[Leon Neyfak]

Was it an overblown distraction or a sinister conspiracy?

[Clay Travis]

Benghazi is a Rosetta Stone for everything that's been going on for the last 20 years.

[Leon Neyfak]

I'm Leon Nefak from Prologue Projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

[Jason Miyares]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Clay Travis]

Yes, that's right.

[Ted Cruz]

Lock her up.

[Leon Neyfak]

Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

I'm Ben Ferguson.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Ted Cruz. Three times a week we do our podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Clay Travis]

Nationwide. We have millions of listeners.

[Ted Cruz]

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.

[Clay Travis]

And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.

[Ted Cruz]

We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.

[Clay Travis]

So download Verdict with Ted Cruz now, wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, welcome back in to Clay Ann Bach. Let's get to some VIP emails and some phone calls and some Crockett Coffee. To do that, you go to crockett coffee.com you subscribe to and you get a signed copy of Clay's American Playbook, when you use code book before the other book comes out. And then it's just that, that deal, I guess, you know, Lara's gonna have to find somewhere else for the last few copies, Clay, so don't. Don't make Laura go down to the local library, okay? Subscribe. Use code book. Get a signed copy of American Playbook.

[Clay Travis]

We are leaving, going into a new house. So I do not believe Laura Travis is traveling with these books, so they are going to be gone. So in time for the new book, go get signed up. Use code book. And they are leaving, and there are dwindling amounts, and they're not leaving the house. So this is your last chance to get the book, American Playbook, which was super valuable.

[Buck Sexton]

You need to understand that, too.

[Clay Travis]

Infinite value.

[Buck Sexton]

Infinite value. You just can get a free copy before Clay decides to give them away to. To Goodwill. So get them signed, get them sent to you. So here we go. VIP email from Tony. Just cast my ballot for Sears. The polling worker said there's been a steady line every day of early voting. Well, I'm glad you went out there and cast your ballot. Thank you for doing this. Virginia needs to stay red. My friends, it's up to you. Up to you to tell your friends, tell your family to get out there. VIP email from Brian Clay. Her attitude, meaning Letitia James laws are for thee, not for me. My attitude. When the law breaks the law, there is no law. I think that's well said. Yeah, that's where things are. So coming up, we got Jack Carr in the next hour. We've also got. I don't know, Clay, you know, do you want what you get? You tell everybody about some sports things. You tell me.

[Clay Travis]

Well, there's a good story out there. Trump did not win the Nobel Peace Prize, but the woman who did win the Nobel Peace Prize dedicated her award to Trump. We can dive into that a bit again. The 20 hostages scheduled to be released on Monday. And we will discuss all of that when we come back.

[Buck Sexton]

We've also got Jimmy Kimmel saying there's no such thing as antifa.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, it's not.

[Buck Sexton]

Doesn't exist.

[Jason Miyares]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

Doesn't exist. He says.

[Clay Travis]

That's weird.

[Buck Sexton]

How does he know about antifa if it doesn't exist?

[Clay Travis]

Clay, it's a great question. Like Bigfoot, I guess. When we come back, we'll break it down for you.

[Leon Neyfak]

What I told people I was making a podcast about Benghazi. Nine times out of ten, they called me a masochist, rolled their eyes or just asked why.

[Ted Cruz]

Benghazi, the truth became a web of.

[Leon Neyfak]

Lies from prologue projects and Pushkin Industries. This is Fiasco Benghazi.

[Jason Miyares]

What difference at this point does it make?

[Leon Neyfak]

Listen to Fiasco Benghazi on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

I'm Ben Ferguson.

[Ted Cruz]

And I'm Ted Cruz. Three times a week, we do our podcast, Verdict with Ted Cruz.

[Clay Travis]

Nationwide, we have millions of listeners.

[Ted Cruz]

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we break down the news and bring you behind the scenes inside the White House, inside the Senate, inside the United States Supreme Court.

[Clay Travis]

And we cover the stories that you're not getting anywhere else.

[Ted Cruz]

We arm you with the facts to be able to know and advocate for the truth with your friends and family.

[Clay Travis]

So download Verdict with Ted Cruz now. Wherever you get your podcasts.

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