Hour 2 - President Trump's Tariff Pause

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Hour 2: President Trump's Tariff Pause Release Date: April 9, 2025

In this engaging episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve deep into the latest developments in international trade, focusing on President Trump's recent decision to adjust tariffs, particularly targeting China. The discussion features insights from renowned economist Dr. Art Laffer and perspectives from guest Julie Kelly, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the current economic landscape.

---

1. Introduction to Tariff Developments

The episode kicks off with Clay Travis introducing the primary topic: President Trump's strategic pause on tariffs, especially those imposed on China. This decision comes amidst ongoing tariff wars, recession fears, and persistent inflation, factors contributing to gold reaching all-time highs.

---

2. In-Depth Analysis with Dr. Art Laffer

a. Economic Perspective on Tariff Strategy Dr. Art Laffer, a respected economist known for the Laffer Curve, joins Clay and Buck to discuss the implications of Trump's tariff policies. Laffer commends Trump’s economic strategies, highlighting his administration's accomplishments such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and Operation Warp Speed.

• Notable Quote [02:30]:

  Dr. Art Laffer: "Donald Trump is an extraordinarily competent president. In my view, he was the single best first-term president in US history."

b. The Goal Behind Tariffs Laffer explains that Trump's tariffs are a tactical move to encourage other countries to negotiate free trade agreements by leveraging access to the US market.

• Notable Quote [03:15]:

  Dr. Art Laffer: "He is using the threats of tariffs and the actual imposition of tariffs to get these other countries to come and negotiate free trade deals with us."

c. Addressing China’s Trade Practices When questioned about China's aggressive trade stance, Laffer asserts that China falls into the same category of "cheating" as other nations and emphasizes the importance of integrating China into free trade groups to foster better economic relationships.

• Notable Quote [06:06]:

  Dr. Art Laffer: "China is potentially our best trading partner in the world long term. We need to get China into the free trade group."

---

3. Trade Imbalance and Economic Growth

a. Understanding Trade Deficits Laffer challenges conventional notions by advocating that trade deficits can be beneficial, citing historical examples of the US economy's growth fueled by trade imbalances.

• Notable Quote [10:04]:

  Dr. Art Laffer: "Trade deficits are great. We built our country from 1640 until 1870 on trade deficits, importing capital that fueled our economic ascent."

b. Capital Investment from Trade Deficits He explains that a trade deficit allows the US to attract foreign capital, which is essential for sustaining economic growth and investment.

---

4. Stock Market Reactions and Economic Sentiments

a. Immediate Market Response Travis highlights the stock market's positive reaction to Trump's tariff adjustments, noting significant gains across major indices.

• Notable Quote [26:29]:

  Clay Travis: "The Dow is up 2,400 points, the NASDAQ nearly 9%, and the S&P 500 up 7%."

b. Interpretation of Market Movements The hosts discuss how these market movements reflect investor confidence in Trump's strategies to isolate China and renegotiate trade terms.

---

5. Guest Insight: Julie Kelly on Judicial Challenges

a. Judicial Actions Against Trump’s Policies Julie Kelly, known from her Declassified Substack, provides a critical view of federal judges, particularly Judge Boasberg, who she argues are undermining Trump's administration by pushing agendas that counter presidential directives.

• Notable Quote [28:49]:

  Julie Kelly: "Judge Boasberg is trying to overturn the results of the 2024 election and sabotage Donald Trump's agenda, despite the Supreme Court vacating his temporary restraining orders."

b. Defiance Within the Administrative State Kelly points out the resistance from various government agencies and judicial figures against Trump's policies, emphasizing the challenges faced in enforcing immigration laws and maintaining transparency.

• Notable Quote [36:21]:

  Julie Kelly: "These government agencies don't belong to them; they belong to the people. Their defiance is a major obstacle to Trump's reforms."

---

6. Personal Anecdotes and Light-Hearted Moments

a. Buck Sexton’s Upcoming Parenthood Buck Sexton shares personal news about expecting a baby, prompting camaraderie and humorous exchanges about the complexities of fatherhood.

• Notable Quote [24:37]:

  Buck Sexton: "I'm increasing GDP," referring humorously to the economic impact of his upcoming child.

b. Listener Interaction The hosts read a talkback message from Buck’s wife, Julie Kelly, who offers heartfelt congratulations and playful advice for Buck during the delivery.

---

7. Closing Thoughts and Future Outlook

Clay and Buck wrap up the episode by reiterating their confidence in Trump's trade strategies and anticipating further developments in the US-China trade relations. They emphasize the importance of staying informed and strategic in navigating the evolving economic landscape.

---

Conclusion

This episode provides a nuanced exploration of President Trump's tariff policies, the intricate dynamics of US-China trade relations, and the broader economic implications. With expert insights from Dr. Art Laffer and critical perspectives from Julie Kelly, listeners gain a well-rounded understanding of the current state of international trade and its impact on the US economy.

---

Notable Quotes Summary:

• Dr. Art Laffer [02:30]: Commends Trump's economic competence and achievements as president.
• Dr. Art Laffer [06:06]: Advocates for integrating China into free trade agreements.
• Clay Travis [26:29]: Reports significant gains in major stock indices following tariff announcements.
• Julie Kelly [28:49]: Criticizes Judge Boasberg's actions against Trump's administration.
• Buck Sexton [24:37]: Jokes about increasing GDP by having a child.

---

This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the episode, providing a clear and comprehensive overview for those who haven't tuned in.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

Don't get suckered into the same old free phone game by Big Wireless. There's a better way. Pure Talk, our sponsor offering a free brand new Samsung Galaxy A26 with a qualifying plan, $35 a month unlimited talk text, 15 gigs of data with a mobile hotspot, all on America's most dependable 5G network. Go to PureTalk.com Clay to claim your free Samsung Galaxy with a qualifying plan. PureTalk Wireless by Americans for Americans.

[Buck Sexton]

Tariff wars, recession fears and stubborn inflation. No wonder gold has been hitting all time highs. Take control and safeguard your savings. That's why so many Americans today are turning to Birch Gold Group. They've helped tens of thousands of people convert an existing IRA or 401k into an IRA in physical gold. To learn how to own physical gold in a tax sheltered account, text my name Buck Do 989898 Birch Gold will send you a free no obligation info kit. Text B U C K to 9,898 98 today.

[Clay Travis]

Hello, it is Ryan and we could all use an extra bright spot in our day, couldn't we? Just to make up for things like sitting in traffic, doing the dishes, counting your steps. You know, all the mundane stuff. That is why I'm such a big fan of Chumba Casino. Chumba Casino has all your favorite social casino style games that you can play for free, anytime, anywhere with daily bonuses. So sign up [e-mail] that's chumbacasino.com no purchase necessary.

[Art Laffer]

VGW Group void. We're prohibited by law 21 + terms and conditions apply.

[Clay Travis]

Stay connected and stay productive with Rapid Radios. Business owners trust Rapid Radios for instant reliable team communication with nationwide LTE coverage. Push to talk convenience and room for up to 200 units on one feed. Keeping connected has never been easier. 100% private, no subscriptions, no hassle.

[Buck Sexton]

Visit rapidradios.com to save up to 60% and get free UPS shipping from Michigan. Use code RADIO25 for an extra $25 off and a free EMP protection bag. Order [e-mail] Second hour of clay Ann Buck kicks off now. There's a op ed in the Wall Street Journal. A win win Exit Strategy for Trump on Tariffs written by Art Laffer and Stephen Moore. Dr. Art Laffer joins us now. Renowned economist. Guy came up with that whole laugher curve thing. Brilliant man. He is with us. Thanks for being here Art. Appreciate you.

[Art Laffer]

My pleasure, My pleasure. It's really fun being with you guys by the way.

[Buck Sexton]

Love it so you're an upbeat, you're a brilliant guy and an upbeat guy and we need that today given what we're, what we're seeing, what we're seeing out there. You're not a catastrophist, you're not a doom and gloom guy. Let's just start with, with this. When people are telling you I am concerned about what's happening right now in the markets, what do you say to them? What's your overall feeling? I want to get into the win, win strategy from your piece. But first off, an opportunity to tell everybody, don't panic.

[Art Laffer]

Well, I'm panicking when they tell me that. I screaming and hollering, I'm down the floor crying. I said it's the end of the world, it's the end. No, no, I, you know, Donald Trump is an extraordinarily competent president. In my view he was the single best first term president. Now I'm just talking about economics now, just economics. The single best first term president in US History. If you look at the Tax Cuts and Jobs act, it was wonderful. If you look at Operation Warp Speed, unbelievable. Energy independence, the rollback of the Chevron decision, you know, all of these things there. I mean, it was just unbelievable what he did in his first term and he is in his second term now. And you know, he's competent, he's got all the skills, he's very knowledgeable in the subject. And I believe this is me, I believe that he is using the threats of tariffs and the actual imposition of tariffs to get these other countries to come and negotiate free trade deals with us. They are far more protectionist than we are. We are as a, as a country, US probably the lowest tariff, the lowest protectionist country, a major country in the world. There may be something like Sark or Jersey or Guernsey or something like Monaco or something like that. But of the big countries, we by far the least protectionist. And how do you get these other countries to come to the table and negotiate getting rid of their tariffs and you know, you've got to threaten them with access to the US market. And so that's what he's doing. I believe now you're going to talk to Trump and you got to talk to him because he knows far better what he's doing than I do and I'm no source of special knowledge, but knowing him and knowing all the trade stuff I do, I cannot believe that he would do anything that would really hurt America in the long run by having a trade war.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so let's dive into this. Dr. Laffer, Art Laffer. We appreciate you coming on. Every time we come on and talk economics with you, the audience loves it because you're way smarter about this stuff than we are. Big picture here. It seems to me, and I read your Wall Street Journal editorial, it's Posted linked@clay&buck.com encourage people to go check that out. It seems to me that Trump is talking about two different things in many ways as it pertains to a trade war. One, and I think Buck and I are in agreement with you. To the extent that we can eliminate as many tariffs as possible on free trading countries, that's a great thing because it allows even competition, it allows even movement of goods with less cost. But China is cheating on the global stage. And to a large extent, aren't there kind of two different goals? Because if we eliminated all tariffs with China, wouldn't that in some way reward them even more for their cheating? Do you see this as, you know, let's say the European Union, Australia, Great Britain, China, I mean, sorry, Japan, South Korea, those are kind of fair trade partners in general. And then you've got China. That's in an entirely different universe. Are we really talking about two different policy perspectives? How would you analyze that? When it comes to trade relationships, I.

[Art Laffer]

Would say that the two of you are wrong. China is right in the same category with all the others cheating. I don't know what the heck cheating means. If they gave us all their products free of charge, so we got high quality products at low cost, would you hate them then and want to bomb them? I mean, when you look at it from a customer standpoint, when you go to a store, do you sell them? Please sell me above retail. I want, I want you to charge me the most you possibly can for this product. No, no, we'd like to give it to you. No, I mean, China is potentially our best trading partner in the world long term. And I really think that we need to get China into the, into the free trade group. And if you really think about it for a moment, do you like your customers, your clients and your clientele? Of course you do. You know, the one way of guaranteeing hostilities will occur is not trading with the country. When you're trading with one, you're a customer, they're a customer. And it leads to friendships, it leads to great prosperity, and it leads to eliminating war art, can you tell us.

[Buck Sexton]

Why do all these, so many of these other countries have and have had long standing tariffs? And why does China have so many and such Aggressive tariffs.

[Art Laffer]

Well, let me tell you why is because these little countries, I say little Germany, these types of just teeny tiny little countries do, you know, they talk to our trade officials and say, you know, we've got to put this on for political reason, blah blah, blah, blah blah. And the US says go ahead please, it's okay, do it. You know, it doesn't really affect us very much. And over the years this has built up to being a really travesty. They now have way more protection, every single one of them. It's not just one one off with one tariff, it's accumulated. And now they have all these. For example, I mean can you imagine there are 250% tariffs in Canada against Wisconsin dairy products. What I mean how did that come about? I'm sure it came about with some deal with some president and some prime minister of Canada. You know, we've got to do this. I'll lose the election if I don't do it. And they get this one off exemption. And all of this has built up and now Trump is trying to get rid of it and quite correctly. So I mean we need to get rid of their tariffs, their quotas, their non tariff barriers. They're hurting us and they're hurting them.

[Buck Sexton]

But so why can't China figure out that its tariffs are hurting it?

[Art Laffer]

I think it will. I mean if you remember, I mean I was the first American to go to China in 1970. In October of 1970 I went with George Shultz and John Ehrlich when we did the pre Kissinger trap. And then they had 100% tariffs. They had no trade with the outside world. They were called the hermit kingdom. And you know, they opened up their trade. They saw how the trade, by lowering their trade barriers, by entering into trade, it created the greatest economic growth miracle in modern history. The Chinese growth from 1970 to let's say five years ago was just a phenomenal period for China. More people were removed from poverty than in the entire history of humanity, 190,000 years. So it's really, I think China will understand this and I think China will in due course enter into a free trade agreement with the US as well. And it will be wonderful when that happens.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so, so let's go into this China relationship in particular because you say you see it as, as similar to the EU and the other countries that I laid out. What is an ideal relationship from your perspective look like with China when it comes to trade? Because it is going to be the case that if we had for instance Zero tariffs at all. China's going to be exporting, I think 400 billion is the number that I saw. Something like that. The trade imbalance is seismic. We're going to be buying more Chinese goods then China is going to be buying American goods. Is that trade imbalance in any way an issue from your perspective and how would you rectify it? What is. In other words, let's pretend that you, Art Laffer, were given a magic wand and you got to solve it. What would your answer be now?

[Art Laffer]

Would you mind tell me how much it bothers you for foreigners wanting to invest in the US because they think we're the greatest country in the world? Let's imagine we cut taxes, cut regulations, had stable prices. No, regulate all the correct policies. Everyone would want to invest in the United States. How do foreigners generate a dollar cash flow to buy US Located assets? There are only two ways they can do that. They've got to sell more goods to us and they've got to buy less goods from us. That's the only way they can generate that dollar cash flow to invest in the United States of America. And that's the most wonderful thing. We built our country from 1640 until 1870 on trade deficits. We imported all of this capital from Europe, primarily Britain and Holland, and used it with our labor and with our raw materials. And we became the preeminent economic force on planet Earth because of capital investments, which is a US Trade deficit. Trade deficits are great. I mean, let me ask you, which would you rather have capital lined up on our borders trying to get into our country, are trying to get out of our country? You know, if we bring a factory back from Mexico into the United States and bring all those machines and all that production equipment by coming across the Mexican US Border, that's a Mexican export and Mexican trade surplus. It's a US Import and a US Trade deficit. It's also a US Capital surplus and a Mexican capital deficit. Trade deficits are how we bring our capital back to the US And I think we should have trade deficits. And China thinks that we're the best country in the world and they want to invest all their capital in the U.S. god bless them. And.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay, so I need, I need some help here. Square in the circle for a second. So if, if, if trade, trade deficits are good and all tariffs are bad and self defeating. What, what? And so trade imbalance is a good thing. We want trade imbalance. Do you like what Trump is doing or are you trying to tell him to not do any of this?

[Art Laffer]

No, no, I like. I'm the biggest fan. I'm his biggest fan. I think he's negotiating, and I think he's negotiating to get them to reduce their tariffs against us, which are far larger than our tariffs and trade barriers are against them. And I think he brings them to the table. What is it, 60, 70 countries are coming to negotiate? What are they coming to negotiate? We will cut our tariffs dramatically. Please just allow us access to your market. And I think that's just the wonderful thing for Trump to do. And I think he's going to be very successful at it. It scares the living hell out of me, by the way. I'm a wuss. I'm not a negotiator. I'm not a guy like Trump. Trump knows how to negotiate and he loves doing it, and he's really successful at it. But my belief is that Trump, deep down, is a free trader all the way. And I think he just really wants to get them to come here and lower tariffs on their products by a lot. And he did this in the first term, by the way. The Japanese trade deal was great for lowering tariffs. The USMCA was wonderful for lowering tariffs and barriers. The Korean deal he did, the one he did with Brazil, the one he did with Colombia, all resulted in better trade relationships with these countries. And that's what I think he's trying to do. Now, he can tell you otherwise, and he may well be not doing this, but I really have full trust in him that he's doing the right thing. And I feel very comfortable.

[Clay Travis]

Let me ask you this. A lot of people listening in the Midwest, J.D. vance obviously wrote his book Hillbilly Elegy, which is bestseller. I'm sure you read it. Buck and I have read it. What. What is the answer for people who feel like the jobs have been hollowed out in the industrial Midwest? For people listening to us in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, that got used to having those jobs that were going to pay so well to produce American goods, Is that an issue?

[Art Laffer]

I want you to tell the audience where the two of you are located.

[Clay Travis]

I'm in Nashville, Tennessee.

[Art Laffer]

Okay, I'm in Nashville, too, now. Why am I in Nashville? We are the lowest tax state in the nation. And earning income is a lot more fun with lower taxes, lower regulations. We have no death tax. We have no gift tax. We have no unearned cap tax. We have no income tax. We have one of the lowest property taxes in the nation. We have the best spending. We have the best public services. We don't have a manufacturing problem in Tennessee. All these auto companies are coming in here in floods. The problem with manufacturing is Detroit. It's Michigan, it's Ohio, it's Pennsylvania, it's Wisconsin, it's Illinois. These places are pits. They're anti production, anti prosperity places and they're driving all the business out. It's not China. It's the governments of these states that have made it absolutely intolerable. Can you imagine opening up a factory in Detroit, Michigan today, where property taxes are in some places up to 50%, 15% on that for the state income tax, the death tax, the union. It's a horrible place. Our problem is with the states that have the manufacturing and they are repelling that manufacturing en masse. And that's the problem. It's not the competition from abroad. And if you don't believe me, just look at Tennessee and how we're doing in Texas and Florida. All of us are doing well, except for those horribly run states.

[Buck Sexton]

All right. Dr. Art Laffer, appreciate your perspective today, sir. Thank you very much.

[Art Laffer]

Hey, it's my pleasure. And anytime, by the way. It's fun being with you guys and I love watching you all the time. You guys are spectacular and I'm really proud you're in Tennessee.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you. I need to. We need to get dinner sometime.

[Art Laffer]

Anytime you want. Just give me a call and it's done. And I'll even pay for it if. As long as it's at McDonald's.

[Buck Sexton]

All right.

[Clay Travis]

I appreciate it, Dr. Laver.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you so much. All right. There's no shortage of ways your online identity can wind up in the wrong hands. But when it happens, your life is turned upside down. Cyber thieves open bogus accounts in your name and rack up huge bills. Before you discover the problem. It's important to understand how cybercrime and identity theft are affecting our lives. Your best defense is Lifelock's online identity theft protection. Their 247 systems monitor millions of data points a second for risks to your online identity. If you do become a victim of identity theft, a dedicated US based Lifelock restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Easy. To help protect yourself with LifeLock, join now. Save 40% off your first year with My Name Buck as your promo code, call 1-800-LIFELOCK or go online to lifelock.com and use promo code BUCK for 40 off terms apply.

[Clay Travis]

You don't know what you don't know, right?

[Buck Sexton]

But you could.

[Clay Travis]

On the Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck podcast for the next four years, maybe more, the name of the game is efficiency and doing more while spending less. And I'm not talking about our government private sector desperate to cut unnecessary expenses while still building better products and services and beat the competition.

[Buck Sexton]

Over 41,000 businesses are doing just that because they upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle NetSuite is the number one Cloud ERP bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR into one efficient suite instead of you paying for multiple Systems.

[Clay Travis]

And with NetSuite's AI helping you automate manual tasks, you can free up your most important people to work on strategy, not spreadsheets. NetSuite gives you insights and recommendations in real time. Whether your company's earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you find efficiency across the entire business. Speaking of which, download the CFO's Guide to AI Efficiency at netsuite.com Clay Guide is free to you at netsuite.com Clay let's get you started towards more efficiency and more success one more time. N e t s U-I-T e.com Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

AI is rewriting the business playbook with productivity boosts and faster decision making coming to every industry. If you're not thinking about AI, you can bet your competition is this is not where you want to drop the ball, but AI requires a lot of compute power and with most cloud platforms, the cost for your AI workloads can spiral. That is, unless you're running on OCI Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. This was the cloud built for AI, a blazing, fast enterprise grade platform for your infrastructure, database, apps and all your AI workloads. OCI costs 50% less than other major hyperscalers for compute, 70% less for storage and 80% less for networking. Thousands of businesses have already scored with oci, including Vodafone, Thomson Reuters and Suno AI. Now, the balls in your court Right.

[Clay Travis]

Now, Oracle can cut your current cloud bill in half if you move to OCI. Minimum financial commitment and other terms apply.

[Buck Sexton]

Offer ends March 31st. See if your company qualifies for this.

[Clay Travis]

Special offer at oracle.com/clay and buck that's oracle.com clay and buck grand Canyon University, a private Christian university in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona, believes we're endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. GCU believes in equal opportunity and the American Dream starts with purpose. GCU equips you to serve others in ways that promote human flourishing and create a ripple effect of transformation for generations to come. By honoring your career, calling you impact your family, your friends and your community, you can change the world for good by putting others before yourself to glorify God. Whether your pursuit involves a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree, GCU's online on campus and hybrid learning environments are designed to help you achieve your unique academic, personal and professional goals. With over 340 academic programs as of September 2024, GCU meets you where you are and provides a path to help you fulfill your dreams. The pursuit to serve others is yours. Let it flourish. Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University Private Christian Affordable Visit gcu.

[Buck Sexton]

Edu Tariff wars, recession fears and stubborn inflation. No wonder gold has been hitting all time highs in volatile markets like right now. Take control and safeguard your savings. That's why so many Americans today are turning to Birch Gold Group. They've helped tens of thousands of people convert an existing IRA or 401 into an IRA in physical gold. Gold is a safe haven in hard economic times. Is it time for you to hedge against inflation and economic instability with gold? To learn how to own physical gold in a tax sheltered account, text my name Buck Do 989898 Birchgold will send you a free no obligation info kit with an A rating with the Better Business Bureau and countless five star reviews. I trust birchgold to help me protect my savings with gold and you can too. It took us decades to get into the tangled mess we're trying to unpack now. How long will it take to get out of it and at what cost? Text BUCK to 989898 today Text BUCK to 989898 today don't get suckered into the same old free phone game by Big Wireless. That comes with a lot of fine print like requiring you to sign up for four lines plus activation fees. Plus plus plus at the end of the day you've paid for that free phone three times over. There's a better way.

[Clay Travis]

PureTalk, our sponsor and the wireless carrier we recommend has a much better offer. A free phone with qualifying plans of just $35 a month and you can get the brand new Samsung Galaxy A26. This thing virtually indestructible, gorilla glass included. Capture beautiful wide angle photos with next generation camera lenses.

[Buck Sexton]

All you need to do is switch to Pure Talk for just $35 a month. You get unlimited talk, text and 15 gigs of data with mobile hotspot all on America's most dependable 5G network. Go to PureTalk.com Buck to claim your free Samsung Galaxy with qualifying plan. Pure Talk Wireless by Americans for Americans.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show Art Lapper, interesting perspective. We'll get into that during the course of the program. Brilliant economist and what his advice is. I think he's basically speaking to Trump through the Wall Street Journal article and also through the interview he just did with us. But Buck is also about to have a baby, which should help the economy in some way because you're bringing another child into the American citizenship.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm increasing gdp.

[Clay Travis]

You just need to have two more and then you will have increase the population relative to your own life. And then. But you asked, I think, what was I like on delivery day? This is delivery day in theory for Buck. Or it'll be early tomorrow morning sometime into into Thursday. Uh, Laura, my wife, who probably remembers things way better was listening and she sent in a talk back. We've had three boys. I've been there for all of their births, 17, 14 and 10. She probably remembers things a little bit better. I don't even know what she said. She sent this to producer Ali. Here is my wife talking about birthday.

[Julie Kelly]

Congratulations, Buck and Carrie. Clay and I are so excited for you. Get ready for every decision you make for the rest of your life to be 100 times more complicated than it already is. But I think Clay's advice of just don't cause any problems during L and D in the labor and delivery room is probably the best advice. You need to just be there for moral support and otherwise stay out of the way and don't do anything unless Kerry asks you to. I do remember Clay complaining about the WI fi. I think he also complained about the television channels and he couldn't find the game he wanted to watch on anywhere. I think we ended up watching some not important golf tournament like American Express tournament or something that didn't matter. And besides that, Clay was otherwise pretty well behaved without drawing too much attention to himself. So that really is the best advice is just be there for your life and don't cause any distractions.

[Clay Travis]

I forgot the television situation was just indefensible. How do you not have the sporting event channels in the delivery suites? The WI fi didn't work very well. I couldn't find the game that I wanted to watch.

[Buck Sexton]

Most Clay Travis thing I've ever heard. By the way, wife's about to give birth. He's like, I can't watch the. I can't watch the SEC football game right now.

[Clay Travis]

This is to her credit time at. Well, because our first son was born in between NFC AFC Championship week and the Super Bowl. So if I remember correctly, I think he was born on a Sunday in between those two. But yeah, there was, there was a sporting event that I was trying to get on and I was like, I mean, come on, just have a normal cable set up and a normal wi fi. I don't know what are they thinking, but that's great. Laura's advice.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you, Laura.

[Clay Travis]

I believe we got Julie Kelly coming up now, Buck. Yeah, we do.

[Buck Sexton]

We'll get to that in just a moment. Here, look. What kind of protection do you have at home if, heaven forbid, there's an intruder? If you want something non lethal but highly effective, check out the products that Sabre has. Go to sabre radio.com that's S A B R E radio.com I've got a bunch of Sabre Radio products. They're pepper spray, very concealable, very easy to have on your person. But also their pepper launcher. You want something that packs a little bit more punch. And the, the pepper launchers are fantastic. The defense projectile pepper spray launcher may be your ultimate choice for non lethal home protection. Sabre also makes self installed devices that protect your windows and doors. A whole array of home defense products. We know the CEO, he uses these products to defend his home and his family. You can trust Sabre. They've been in business for decades. This is what they do. Go to sabre radio.com check out their products. Say 15% on that website when you go to sabre radio.com or call this number 844-824 safe. All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. We got some big breaking news. Julie Kelly about to join us here in a moment. But first, our market maestro here on Clay and Buck. Clay Travis watching this stock ticker closely. What just happened?

[Clay Travis]

Clay Trump has announced a 90 day pause on all countries for the tariffs other than China. He has increased the tariff on China to 125%. This is kind of the advice that you and I were giving. If he wanted to focus on China, which is the real culprit here. How is the stock market responding? Buck? I hope you guys bought the dip. The Dow now is up 2,400 points. Buck. That is six and a half percent that it is surging the NASDAQ up nearly 9%. This has all happened in the last couple of minutes. The S&P 500 is up 7%, nearly 400 points. So much of the sell off associated with the tariff battle has now vanished just about overnight. We tried to tell you. We said buy the dips sometimes. Don't even look at stock prices. Don't panic. Unfortunately. I know a lot of people sold at the bottom and now they're going to be buying back in as the stock market is surging. But I hope you held on. But that is the absolute latest right now. Lots of fluctuation. But again, just to kind of put it in context, The S&P 500 is now basically trading the same place that it was in August and it could easily be basically where it was in September. So anyway, stocks go up and down. Trump negotiating. Now, what we said I think is accurate, which is this is now just China versus the United States. And to a large extent, the other countries are now aligned in favor of free trade. And now we'll see what happens with China. All right, Buck, we have got Julie Kelly queued up to talk about many things but wanted to give that update to everybody out there.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, Julie Kelly, you all know her from her declassified sub stack, which you should go subscribe to and her great book and her great work. Julie, thanks for being with us.

[Julie Kelly]

Thank you. And Buck, congratulations to you and Carrie. You're going to have an exciting evening and probably day tomorrow.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you. I don't know, I don't know if you heard our friend Jesse's Jesse Kelly said it's going to be a tough 24 hours for me physically. I need to hydrate, I need to make sure I get a lot of rest. And everyone's freaking out about this, but it was pretty funny. I am here for Carrie for anything that she needs and we are, we could not be more excited about it. So thank you very much, Julie and All right, all right. Now I got to get you on what is going on here. A few things that come to mind and involve Julie Kelly and her work. Judge Boasberg, this guy after the Supreme Court comes in and says hold on a second, you can't just venue shop. He had a hearing scheduled. And where is this guy now? He, it feels like he's become the, the Adam Schiff of resistance judges, which is not a compliment, you know, claim.

[Julie Kelly]

Buck. It's amazing to see the same judges who for four years insisted a mostly non violent protest at a government building on a Wednesday afternoon represented an attempt to overthrow democracy and overturn the results of the 2020 election. Keep in mind that Jeb Bosberg routinely in J6 cases called January 6th an insurrection. That's what he called him, even for people who were in his courtroom on low level misdemeanors like parading in the Capitol. But yet here he is actually trying to overturn the results of the 2024 election, sabotage Donald Trump's agenda and by extension the 72 million or so Americans who voted for him, the Supreme Court is not stopping him. So even though they just vacated his two temporary restraining orders banning deportation flights of these illegal Venezuelans covered under the President's Alien Enemies act proclamation from March 15, even though the Supreme Court vacated those temporary restraining orders, said that Washington was the improper venue, that these illegals should seek habeas petitions where they are in custody, which is Texas. That's not stopping him. You are exactly right, Buck. So yesterday he had a hearing scheduled in his courtroom on a preliminary injunction. This is the next natural step after a temporary restraining order. This is what the ACLU who is representing these illegal Venezuelans want. And this would put a longer ban on these flights. Even after the Supreme Court ruling, Jeb Bosberg said an April 16 deadline for the ACLU to come back to him, explain why they're going to continue to pursue this preliminary injunction and why they believe that Washington, D.C. jeb. Jeb Bosberg's courtroom is still the appropriate place to seek that relief, even though the Supreme Court said very clearly it doesn't belong in Washington D.C. furthermore, we could talk a little bit about this too. He is going forward with his contempt investigation against the Trump administration and officials who he believes defied a separate court order, a verbal order to return Plains on March 15th. And we are expecting that opinion from Jeb Boss for really any hour, any day, but sometime this week.

[Clay Travis]

Are you even stunned, Julie? Because I got to admit, I am. And this is me. You know, being a lawyer, I knew that Trump Resistance 2.0 would eventually emerge somewhere. I, crazy me, thought it might come from the Democrat party or maybe the legacy media. It feels like by and large the Democrat party is so impotent that they can't even put counter arguments out. Uh, meanwhile, legacy media is collapsing as we speak. I mean, the business models are, are shriveling up and dying. Now. We just got all these federal district court judges behaving, frankly, in an unprecedented manner, getting slapped down. We had trio of them slapped down by the Supreme Court. But I, I gotta admit, I didn't foresee them being as aggressive as they have been. I knew they would be aligned in many ways against Trump, but I didn't think we would see it historically without precedent attack coming from the federal district court level against Trump and his administration. Did you?

[Julie Kelly]

I mean, Clay, I sort of agree with you. I did not as bad as these judges in Washington D.C. are. And of course I've been covering them for years, both the district and appellate court. And seeing how viciously and vengefully and remorselessly they treated January six defendants and the president and his associates as well, I really did not expect this level of defiance, this level of sabotage. That is the word that what these judges are doing uniformly in Washington, D.C. so I guess I would agree with you. I'm a little surprised at the extent to which they are going, which of course they did for years against Donald Trump in the same D.C. courthouse, whether it was Special Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and Special Counsel Jack Smith, all these proceedings were handled in this D.C. federal courthouse. But to see them line up like little lemmings, especially behind Jeb Bosberg, who's the chief judge, and deny all of these lawsuits, side with the plaintiffs in all of these lawsuits, who really have no vested interest in what the Trump policies are, but going to any extent that they possibly can, these judges to side with people who are trying to take down the president's agenda and again, emphasize the will of the American people who put Donald Trump in the White House to do, do exactly the disruption that he is doing. So, yeah. And of course, defying the Supreme Court is a whole other level which we see Jeff Bosberg doing. But these Democrat judges, as you know, just like Democrat rank and file voters, do not consider the Supreme Court legitimate. They are not at all. Excuse me, I have a little cold. They are not at all chagrin by being smacked down by the highest court.

[Buck Sexton]

We're speaking of Julie Kelly declassified as a substack. And Julie, we need to get her some Crockett coffee or some tea with honey in it, perhaps even better. Julie, sorry that you got a call. Appreciate you, you know, pushing through and, and telling everybody across the country what they need to know about Judge. By the way, I've learned how to pronounce his name, Bosberg, I guess. B O A S. I was just reading it off the or, you know, I'd been reading it. I hadn't really heard it. I want to bring your attention to something else to the I'm sure you saw this. The acting IRS commissioner is resigning from the IRS because the Trump administration has said you need to share data from your government, data about essentially illegals that the IRS has information on for enforcement purposes. I think a lot of people are seeing, Julie, that for the entity that can lock you up because you don't give enough of your money as an American to them and they get to determine after the fact what that amount is to then say, hold on a second, what do you mean you're going to use our information for federal immigration law purposes. Just goes to show that there is this whole mentality, even within the government, that illegal aliens are a special protected class.

[Julie Kelly]

That's exactly right. It's pretty stunning to see. And this is the acting director, who I think she took over in February, and all of these deep staters, everyone in the administrative state who will go out of their way to protect they, they believe that these government agencies belong to them. They don't believe that these government agencies belong to the people or certainly should be supervised by the president and his team. So that's why you see this defiance not just by the judges, but of course, the heads of these departments and agencies. But of course we are entitled to this information. I love how transparency and accountability was such a big cause during Trump's first presidency, that went away during the second, and now all of a sudden we can't have transparency and accountability as he's trying to clean up and reform all of these corrupt agencies. So I really commend the Trump administration for their focus, especially on illegal immigration, because as you guys know, that was one of the top issues that propelled him into office and they are not backing down at all. But we as American, as American citizens, taxpayers are entitled to know, and we saw this, too, with the voting rolls and illegals who are on Social Security. This is a huge scandal with real time implications on our country, on our national security, on our economy, and certainly on our elections. So good riddance to the acting IRS director. I'm sure there's a lot of other qualified people who understand the cause who will replace that individual. And we'll just keep pushing forward until a judge steps in and stops all of it, which I'm sure is only a matter of time.

[Clay Travis]

Julie, we appreciate you keep the fight going and we will talk to you again. Have a good weekend. Enjoy the Masters.

[Julie Kelly]

Oh, I definitely will. Thanks, guys.

[Clay Travis]

That's Julie Kelly, American Patriots. She's been fantastic with us. You know, springs here and so is the iconic Masters tournament. They have the par three challenge today, which is super cool. I know we're on in Augusta. We got a monster audience there. I bet it's chaotic down in Augusta right now as we get ready for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Action that for many people heralds the return of spring. And summer is on the horizon and so is Major League Baseball and the NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs. Whatever sport you love. And you guys know I love sports, prize picks is there for you. You get 50 bucks. Look, you go right now to prizepix.com code clay you get $50 instantly when you play. Five dollars. Whatever your sport is, whether you're looking forward to watching the Masters this weekend, maybe you want to watch Luca returning down to Dallas. Maybe you're still recovering from an incredible Final Four. Maybe you're a big baseball fan like I am watching the Braves and Phillies last night. Hey, maybe you're a big hockey fan. Whatever your sport is, Prize Picks has got a game for you. Prizepix.com Code Clay. You just pick more or less for any athlete in any sport, and you can turn your knowledge of sports into an ability to make yourself a little bit of money and also have some fun in the process. You can play in California, you can play in Texas, you can play in Florida, you can play in Georgia. Over 10 million players right now. Pricepix.com Code Clay check it out. Pricepix.com Code clay news and politics, but.

[Art Laffer]

Also a little comic relief.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.

[Clay Travis]

Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast for the next four years. Maybe more. The name of the game is efficiency and doing more while spending less. And I'm not talking about our government. Private sector Desperate to cut unnecessary necessary expenses while still building better products and services and beat the competition, over 41,000.

[Buck Sexton]

Businesses are doing just that because they upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle. NetSuite is the number one cloud ERP bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR into one efficient suite instead of you paying for multiple Systems.

[Clay Travis]

And with NetSuite's AI helping you automate manual tasks, you can free up your most important people to work on strategy, not spreadsheets. NetSuite gives you insights and recommendations in real time. Whether your company's earning millions or even hundreds of millions, NetSuite helps you find efficiency across the entire business. Speaking of which, download the CFO's Guide to AI Efficiency at netsuite.com Clay Guide is free to you at netsuite.com Clay let's get you started towards more efficiency and more success. One more time. N e t s U-I-T e.com Clay Grand Canyon University, a private Christian university in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona, believes we're endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. GCU believes in equal opportunity and the American Dream starts with purpose. GCU equips you to serve others in ways that promote human flourishing and create a ripple effect of transformation for generations to come. By honoring your career, calling you impact your family, your friends and your community. You can change the world for good by putting others before yourself to glorify God. Whether your pursuit involves a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree, GCU's online, on campus and hybrid learning environments are designed to help you achieve your unique academic, personal and professional goals. With over 340 academic programs as of September 2024, GCU meets you where you are and provides a path to help you fulfill your dreams. The pursuit to serve others is yours. Let it flourish. Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University Private Christian Affordable Visit gcu.

[Buck Sexton]

Edu Tariff wars, recession fears and stubborn inflation. No wonder gold has been hitting all time highs in volatile markets like right now. Take control and safeguard your savings. That's why so many Americans today are turning to Birch gold groups. They've helped tens of thousands of people convert an existing IRA or 401k into an IRA in physical gold. Gold is a safe haven in hard economic times. Is it time for you to hedge against inflation and economic instability with gold? To learn how to own physical gold in a tax sheltered account, text my name Buck Do 989898 Birchgold will send you a free no obligation info kit with an A rating with a Better Business Bureau and countless five star reviews. I trust Birchgold to help me protect my savings with gold and you can it took us decades to get into the tangled mess we're trying to unpack now. How long will it take to get out of it and at what cost? Text BUCK to 989898 today Text BUCK to 989898 today don't get suckered into the same old free phone game by Big Wireless. That comes with a lot of fine print like requiring you to sign up for four lines plus activation fees plus plus plus at the end of the day you've paid for that free phone three times over. There's a better way.

[Clay Travis]

Pure Talk, our sponsor and the wireless carrier we recommend has a much better offer. A free phone with qualifying plans of just $35 a month and you can get the brand new Samsung Galaxy A26. This thing virtually indestructible, gorilla glass included. Capture beautiful wide angle photos with next generation camera lenses.

[Buck Sexton]

All you need to do is switch to PureTalk for just $35 a month. You get unlimited talk, text and 15 gigs of data with mobile hotspot all on America's most dependable 5G network. Go to PureTalk.com Buck to claim your free Samsung Galaxy with qualifying plan. Pure Talk Wireless by Americans For Americans.

[Clay Travis]

Tax season is here again. But what do you do if you have years of missing returns or you already owe back taxes? Every day you put it off. The likelihood of the IRS seizing your assets, garnishing your paycheck and going after you and your business. If you owe payroll taxes increases, they might even revoke your passport.

[Buck Sexton]

If you're contending with any or all of those scenarios, you need to call the pros at Rush Tax resolution. Write this down. 877-554-rush. You'll talk to an expert like the one Nancy most recently talked to. Her words, you never think you'll need this type of service until you do. Rush Tax Resolution fights for you. As soon as you hire them, tell.

[Clay Travis]

Them Clay and Buck told you to call and get a free IRS transcript investigation. Rush Tax Resolution is the only company we trust and recommend and they will only take your case if they know they can help you. Period. That number again. 877-554-7874 or rush taxresolution.com welcome back, Clay. Travis, Buck Sexton show major breaking news. We appreciate Art Laugher and Julie Kelly will react to Art Laffer a little bit in the third hour. But Buck, you wanted to read again. Let me give you as your stock market reporter, the stock market as we speak now up over 2, 000 points. The NASDAQ soaring. The S P 500 soaring up a massive amount. Three, let's see, 7%. And basically I was just looking Buck, the stock prices are now essentially the same place they were in late September. So for people out there that have wanted to panic, the media I think has been feeding the panic as well. If you didn't feel super poor in September with your stocks, then I would suggest that in April you shouldn't feel super poor either. They're the exact same price now that they were in late September. And here is the statement from the.

[Buck Sexton]

President based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the world's markets. Trump put this out on Truth Social. I am hereby raising the tariff charge to China by the United States to 125% effective immediately. @ some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the USA and other countries is no longer sustainable or acceptable. Conversely, and based on the fact that more than 75 countries have called representatives of the United States, including Departments of Commerce, Treasury, USTR to negotiate deals, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, I have authorized a 90 day pause and substantially lowered reciprocal tariff during this period of 10% also effective immediately. Thank you for your attention on this matter. So everybody comes to the negotiation table 90 days to figure out the future China in the, in the targets, in, you know, in the sight still, because they won't play ball at all. They think they're just going to do things their way. Clay, I think this is a very, very interesting development. Obviously, the market is reacting right now very positively to this. Let's get. We have a lot of stuff going. VIP Jason wrote this in Clay. Is art for real meaning Art Laffer or was he playing devil's advocate? I'm now more confused than ever. Clay, do you want to give your take on this? Because I think some of you picked up on what clearly he doesn't agree with everything Trump is doing, but he loves Trump and thinks he's going to get to a better side of this. Right. Like how do you think, you know, our art was squaring the circle a little bit on that one.

[Clay Travis]

Look, we need to talk about this in the third hour because I do think that what we told you is what has now emerged. We said this is really all about China and that ultimately now you have seen Trump has squarely put his target on China. I think what's happened here. And we'll dive into this in the third hour again, stock market soaring. 90 day pause on all tariffs because other countries are trying to negotiate but China is remaining intransigent. I think what's happening here is Trump's team decided if we go right out and we directly strike China and take their tariffs to 125%, then it's going to look outrageous by putting the tariffs on everybody and then backing it off. Trump now has isolated China because China has uniquely responded to American tariffs by raising tariffs on American products. And so now we've got what really is the central struggle. It's United States against China, global trade war. And now Trump has managed to put every other country on the United States side and he's isolating China as a unique bad actor. In other words, I think he has trapped China in a tough spot relative to the rest of the world. We'll talk about that, break down what Art Laffer was saying and more when we come back. Hello, it is Ryan and I was on a flight the other day playing one of my favorite social spin slot games on chumbacasino.com I looked over the person sitting next to me and you know what they were doing? They were also playing Chumba Casino. Everybody's loving having fun with it. Chumba Casino's home to hundreds of casino style games that you can play for free, anytime, anywhere. So sign up [e-mail] to claim your free welcome bonus. That's Chumba Casino.com and live the Chumba Life sponsored by Chumba Casino.

[Art Laffer]

No purchase necessary. VGW Group Void where prohibited by law. 21/members and conditions apply.

[Buck Sexton]

Stay connected when it matters most, be prepared with Rapid Radio's Walkie Talkies with instant push to Talk and LTE nationwide coverage. You can reach family and friends in any emergency. 100% private, no contracts, no hassle, limited time offer.

[Clay Travis]

Visit Rapid Radios.com to save up to 60% and get free UPS shipping from Michigan. Use code RADIO25 for an extra 25 off and a free EMP protection bag. Stay safe. Order [e-mail].