Hour 2 - Standing Up for Women

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Hour 2: Standing Up for Women

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
• Host/Author: Premiere Networks
• Description: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics, and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
• Episode: Hour 2 - Standing Up for Women
• Release Date: February 27, 2025

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1. Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve into pressing topics surrounding women's sports, political dynamics in Maine, controversies within the intelligence community, and media bias influenced by major stakeholders like Jeff Bezos. The episode features a significant interview with Maine State Representative Laurel Libby, who is at the forefront of the battle against policies allowing transgender women to compete in female sporting events.

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2. Standing Up for Women: Interview with Laurel Libby

a. The Issue at Hand

Clay Travis opens the discussion by highlighting a contentious debate in Maine over whether transgender women (biological males identifying as women) should be allowed to compete in women's sports. This topic has ignited fierce opposition from many, including State Representative Laurel Libby.

b. Laurel Libby's Stance and Actions

Laurel Libby asserts that Governor Janet Mills is "completely out of touch with her constituency" (02:38). She emphasizes that "the vast majority of Mainers do not agree with her extremist viewpoint that biological males should be participating in female sports" (01:42). Libby has taken a strong stand by publicly opposing the governor's decision and is now facing censure for her outspoken views, particularly after a Facebook post criticizing a transgender student's victory in a female pole vaulting competition.

c. Political Implications in Maine

Buck Sexton probes into the political landscape of Maine, questioning whether Governor Mills is influenced by external factors like donors or special interests. Libby responds by highlighting that the issue is "multifactorial" but primarily driven by an attempt to "cater to their base," which she considers a "political error" (05:39). She points out that despite losing some political ground, Governor Mills and the Democratic majority have maintained power for six years, which she believes is leading to increasingly extreme policies.

d. Responses to Governor Mills

Clay Travis raises the point that President Trump confronted Governor Mills directly about her stance, to which Libby acknowledges the support from national figures, asserting that their stance aligns with the "national 80% polling" (04:52). She argues that the Democratic leadership in Maine is an anomaly compared to the broader state sentiment.

e. Future Prospects and Leadership

When asked if she has aspirations to run for governor, Libby declines, stating her focus remains on advocating for Maine girls' rights in sports (09:35). She expresses hope that federal intervention, particularly from the Trump administration, might sway state policies towards ensuring a "fair and level playing field" for female athletes.

Notable Quotes:

• Laurel Libby (01:42): "Governor Mills is completely out of touch with her constituency."
• Laurel Libby (02:38): "It is absolutely, completely, without question, completely unfair."

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3. Intelligence Community Controversies

a. Personnel Dismissals and Behavioral Issues

Transitioning from state politics, Buck Sexton and Clay Travis discuss alarming reports of over 100 intelligence community members being terminated for unprofessional behavior, particularly involving LGBTQIA-related discussions. Tulsi Gabbard is quoted addressing these dismissals, emphasizing violations of trust and professionalism (14:11).

b. Security Clearance and Trustworthiness

The hosts debate the implications of these dismissals on the integrity of the intelligence community. They argue that such behavior indicates a lack of suitability for roles requiring high security clearances. Clay asserts, “This is really weird, sick stuff” (18:07), highlighting concerns over compromised national security.

c. Impact of DEI Policies

Buck attributes the rise in such incidents to DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) hiring practices, suggesting that these policies have led to the inclusion of "insane people" within critical intelligence positions (18:43). The discussion underscores fears that ideological agendas may be undermining national security efforts.

Notable Quotes:

• Tulsi Gabbard (14:11): "What we’re going to do has already been done. There are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in this."
• Buck Sexton (18:10): "There’s over a hundred of them who are getting fired, who are involved in this."

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4. Media Bias and Jeff Bezos' Washington Post Ownership

a. Bezos' Influence on Editorial Policies

Clay Travis criticizes Jeff Bezos for his acquisition of The Washington Post, arguing that Bezos is rightfully steering the newspaper towards supporting "market-based economics" and "capitalism and freedom" (25:17). He rebuffs Marty Barron's assertion that Bezos' influence betrays the newspaper’s heritage, stating, "The idea that you would employ a thousand journalists and that you would kowtow and bend the knee to them when they’re upset about the trajectory you want to take the business" (26:00).

b. Marty Barron's Critique

Marty Barron, former executive editor, condemns Bezos' takeover, claiming it undermines the Washington Post's commitment to free expression and represents an anti-democratic move (25:17). He expresses concern that only Bezos' viewpoints will dominate the opinion pages, stifling diverse perspectives.

c. Historical Context of Media Objectivity

Buck Sexton provides a historical perspective, arguing that claims of media objectivity are a "fiction" perpetuated since the rise of mass media. He contends that newspapers and major news outlets have always harbored biases, which have only become more pronounced over the last two decades (29:29).

d. The Role of Ownership in Media Direction

Clay underscores the fundamental right of an owner to set the business agenda, criticizing journalists who oppose Bezos' direction as overstepping. He asserts, “When you own a company, the very foundation of owning a company is you set the agenda” (26:00).

Notable Quotes:

• Clay Travis (26:00): "The idea that you would employ a thousand journalists and that you would kowtow and bend the knee to them when they’re upset about the trajectory you want to take the business."
• Marty Barron (25:17): "Only his point of view is going to be represented on those pages. And that really is a betrayal of the heritage of the Washington Post."

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5. Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton offer a critical lens on contemporary issues affecting women's sports, political integrity in Maine, the integrity of the intelligence community, and media bias under corporate ownership. Their conversation with Laurel Libby serves as a focal point for broader discussions about societal values, governance, and the influence of major stakeholders in shaping public discourse.

Final Thoughts:

• Clay Travis: Emphasizes the importance of common sense and accountability in both politics and media.
• Buck Sexton: Highlights the need for integrity within national security roles and warns against ideological biases undermining critical institutions.

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Notable Calls and Audience Interactions:

• Listener from Upstate New York (35:37): Praises the show for providing daily motivation amidst frustrating local politics.
• Listener from Kentucky (36:38): Discusses the difference in political career pathways between Democrats and Republicans, noting the advantage Republicans have by gaining "real world experience" before running for office.

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Disclaimer: This summary is based on the provided transcript segments deemed relevant to content discussions. Non-content sections, including advertisements and non-essential interactions, have been omitted to maintain focus on key discussions and insights presented during the podcast episode.

Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in our number two Thursday edition, Clay Travis, Buck Sexton show. Hope all of you are having fantastic Thursdays as we roll into what should be a fun weekend. Finally, February over, maybe weather starting to get a little bit better wherever you are. As we roll into March, I'm sure it is still very cold where we're about to head. Next up to Maine where State Representative Laurel Libby has been fighting a battle that I think most of you who are listening to us in Maine will agree with. And certainly the vast majority of you listen, listening nationwide will agree with as well. Laurel, your governor was Janet Mills, I believe, on Friday directly confronted by President Trump over whether she was going to continue to allow men who identify as women to be competing in women's sporting events. She said she was. She said she was going to sue Trump. You've been fighting back against this absurdity. What is the latest on the ground in Maine and what has happened to you for being as outspoken in favor of a crazy idea? Men should compete against men and women should compete against women.

[Laurel Libby]

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me on today. You know, Governor Mills is completely out of touch with her constituency. The vast majority of Mainers do not agree with her extremist viewpoint that biological males should be participating in female sports. They support common sense and ensuring females safe and level playing field. And so most folks are quite disappointed to see Governor Mills having this standoff with President Trump when he's simply speaking up and standing up for Maine girls where our governor should be. Frankly, I have been now censured for my views because of a post that I made on Facebook. And my right to vote my constituents and speak on the floor is now has now been as of this week, because of speaking up for mean girls.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, Laurel, let's, let's get into what exactly happened here. My understanding, our understanding is that you posted on Facebook last week showing a trans student, so a man or a young man or whatever winning a female state championship pole vaulting competition. So, oh, here was this is the quote, I believe, another day, another instance of an unremarkable biological male athlete who couldn't win against other males dominating girls sports. That is a statement of, of largely, at least a statement of fact. I mean, I guess they could say there's some aspect of opinion in there, but that's also protected by the First Amendment. What are you being censured for? What is the problem, according to the people who think you need to be censored?

[Laurel Libby]

Yeah, you know, that's not even the post I'm being censured for. The post I'm being censored for was on Facebook. And it simply highlighted that John had won fifth place at a regional competition last year and that as Katie, this year he won the state championship. He last participated as a male as a young man last year in June. And now this February, he's winning a state championship as a quote, unquote girl. It is absolutely, completely, without question, completely unfair. He has displaced biological females from their rightful place at the top of that podium. And the left are incredibly angry that this has been pointed out and that everyone in Maine and across the country can see that the emperor has no clothes and that this is absolutely going on in our state and they think it's unacceptable.

[Clay Travis]

So let's go into this in particular. Trump lost the state of Maine by 7 points on a political basis in 2024. He won one electoral vote in the northern part of the state because Maine divides its electoral votes. What percentage you live in Maine? We've taken a lot of calls from people in Maine, gotten a lot of reaction. What percentage of the residents of the state of Maine do you think agree with virtually everything that you are saying?

[Laurel Libby]

I think that Maine follows the national 80% polling. And I say that because I've had so much outreach from Democrats. And so I try to be careful talking about this because this is an issue where Augusta Democrats, those in power, are outliers. I think from what I'm seeing that that by and large, Maine Democrats, ordinary, everyday Mainers follow these national trends. This 80 20, where 63% of Democrats, 90 some percent of Republicans, I think we follow along those lines. It's an 8020 issue in Maine. I can't tell you how many Democrats I have heard from in our state who specifically identify. They say, I am a Democrat. You are right.

[Buck Sexton]

We're speaking to Maine State Representative Laurel Libby. And Laurel, let me ask you, why do you think the governor of your state, apart from the ideological adherence to this right, are there special interests that she's trying to placate, to your knowledge, is it. Are there. Are there donors or big NGOs or something that are. Have given her a lot of campaign money? Because it just seems to your point, it's an 8020 issue. It's rather straightforward. The photo you shared of the bylaw, I mean, it's a man, okay? It's a young man competing against women. Anyone can see this and realize it is absurd and it's wrong. So is there any outside reason or any external reason beyond ideology that is making the, in your opinion, making the governor of Maine take this bizarre position?

[Laurel Libby]

Yeah, you know, I think it's multifactorial. It's certainly catering to their base, which I think is a political error on their part because they're so offensive. But I think, yeah, I think that they just don't think that they can lose. And that's the thing. They've gotten really cocky because, you know, Governor Mills is in six years now and has another two years in the second term. And the Democrats have maintained a majority for those six years, despite the fact that they are flushing Maine down the toilet. This is far from the only extreme policy that has been passed in our state. But this is the first time that I've seen such a significant awakening to how extreme their policies are. And Governor Mills is not used to being challenged by anyone who has the power to actually take action. So this is the first time she is facing a significant challenger to the tyranny going on in our state. So I think there's multiple factors at play here, but I. I think one of those is just a feeling that they're impervious, which I think is going to be proven very wrong.

[Clay Travis]

Would you have ever believed, Laurel, that we would have a situation where the Democrat Party would basically support men who were identifying as women being able to compete in women's sports, and Republicans would say, hey, we don't do this. And to your point, this is not really a political issue. 67% of Democrats agree with that statement, 79%. As you mentioned earlier, this, according to the New York Times, of people nationwide, 94% of Republicans. It's hard to get 80% of people to agree on anything. We've got 80% agreement here. There's a vote coming up on the Senate floor Monday. Senator John Thune's office just sent me a message to make us aware. They wanted me to share with the audience that they are going to vote to try to pass the law in the Senate that has already passed the House. Isn't this just basic common sense, Laurel.

[Laurel Libby]

Yeah, it is just basic common sense. But you know, the Maine Democrat Party is not known for common sense. So let's make that really clear. They don't have an abundance of that. It's in short supply here in Maine. And so it does not surprise me at all that we are here because they are out of touch with their Mainer, with fellow Mainers in so many other ways as well. This is just the most recent illustration of it.

[Buck Sexton]

Do you have any interest. Oh, go ahead, Clay, go ahead.

[Clay Travis]

No, I was just going to say do you have any sense on how Susan Collins comes down on this because she's up for reelection in 2026 and that's the biggest statewide battle, I would imagine that will happen in the near future. Has she reached out any of her staff? Do you have a sense of what she thinks about this debate?

[Laurel Libby]

Yeah, you know, I've seen her quoted in speaking up at girl sports should, should be for girls and not biological males. I believe she was also quoted saying that it's a state issue. So, you know, walking that, that careful line that she does.

[Buck Sexton]

Do you have any interest in running for governor yourself at some point? Sounds like this might be, might be a good job for you.

[Laurel Libby]

I've certainly been hearing that question a lot. But right now my focus is on Maine girls and their rights, which are being absolutely trampled in our state. But I think we have a window of opportunity here thanks to the Trump administration to tackle that and hopefully ensure that Maine girls have a fair and level playing field at some point in the near future. It won't happen because of state intervention. That's absolutely 100% in my book. But I have hope that thanks to the administration, we might see change.

[Clay Travis]

Outstanding stuff, Laurel. We appreciate you reaching out. Laurel Libby, State rep in Maine fighting for basic common sense when it comes to women's sports related issues. Laurel, we appreciate the time and keep us updated on how things are going up there.

[Laurel Libby]

Thanks so much.

[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Buck Sexton]

Apply welcome back into Clay and Buck. We mentioned this before but might be worth getting into in some more detail at my former home agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, a long time ago it was a very different place then. I will have, you know, very different ethos than what has been prevailing really in the Obama and post Obama years within the intelligence community. I think you can trace back a lot of the not just the deep state individuals, but deep state mentality to that period of time within the ic. I think Trump had to deal with the aftermath and ramifications of that. Remember, Trump comes into office in 2020, in 2016 and they were already coming after him, right? So it was set in place in the Obama years and I think it was transformed and the transformation was occurring then. Anyway, you have a number of people now, I think over 100, who have been fired because they were writing crazy stuff. This is Chris Ruffo hat tip Chris Ruffo once again finding the information the evidence needed to bring to light what's really going on. And Clay, they were talking about stuff. I had to look up some of the things that they were referring to. I was not even familiar with some of the LGBTQIA jargon that was being Thrown around. I was familiar with the words when they talked about how there was a desire to have a hermaphrodite child because of the opportunities that would provide for the trans movement. This is on government, government servers. This is on government time. And you know, their computers, their system. Tulsi is not having it. The Director of National intelligence. This is cut 10 play it.

[Tulsi Gabbard]

What we're going to do has already been done. There are over 100 people from across the intelligence community that contributed to and participated in this. What is really just an egregious violation of trust. What to speak of, like basic rules and systems standards around professionalism. I put out a directive today that they all will be terminated and their security clearances will be revoked. And they were brazen in doing this because when was the last time anyone was really held accountable? Certainly not over the last four years. Certainly not over the last 10, maybe 20 years.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, the whole security clearance situation is can the government trust you, can your colleagues trust you? That's really. Security clearance is supposed to be an indicator that you're a trustworthy person. If I'm in an office environment with somebody and they tell me that they want to be referred to, and this is from one of the chat logs as I don't trust you, I don't. I. And they really mean this, like they actually want people to call them an it, not a he or a she.

[Clay Travis]

I also, first of all, firing all these people is an easy call. So credit to Tulsi Gabbard. If you're engaging in this kind of behavior on taxpayer dole it honestly, if you're, this is not close to appropriate or inappropriate activity at work. So if you're doing this, you feel like basically you live in a consequence free environment in terms of your job, because I imagine most of you would not engage in far left wing gender ideology or far right wing gender ideology. Talking inside of a chat, in your job, whatever you do for a living. Okay, so that's point one, point two here, and this is, I think, very significant. How in the world did these people get hired? I want to give you this hypothetical buck you are well aware, and I would imagine most of our audience is well aware, but I want you to break it down. Having been inside of the CIA, whatever foibles, peculiarities, idiosyncrasies you have that make you vulnerable to exploitation by a foreign government is something that you shouldn't be embracing inside of intelligence. Right? I don't want, in general, my intelligence agents engaging in behavior that leaves them susceptible or vulnerable to exposure and advantageous acts by foreign organizations. Isn't being engaged in behavior like this just on its baseline level a sign that you shouldn't be involved in high level intelligence gathering?

[Buck Sexton]

I would, I would certainly argue, yes, I think it's clear that that's the case to your other. To your initial point about the kinds of information that is up for review when you go into the CIA and you're trying to get a clearance. What, you know, what, what are your sexual. What are your sexual habits? Whether you, what are your.

[Clay Travis]

Pot in college is like, drug use is investigated.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, just think about something. Well, what kind of debts do you have? Are you supporting a family member that you're not telling us about? I mean, there's just all kinds of stuff. You have no privacy is the point. You have no privacy. They're allowed to and will ask you absolutely everything. They'll do it while you're on a polygraph machine. And if you lie to them, you can be fired and even prosecuted, depending on what the lie is about. So, yeah, it's taken very seriously, at least it used to be. And for people now to be in these positions where they're being entrusted with this information and also, I think polluting these, these institutions with crazy ideas, I mean, just. That's also a big problem. I would not trust somebody who was right. I mean, you really have to get into what they're writing in these chats. So you understand, this is really weird, sick stuff.

[Clay Travis]

We can't say most of it on the air.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I mean, it's really. And they're talking about how good it feels when they have body parts removed, when they then have, like, the new fake body part that's been created. I mean, it's really like graphic stuff. But these are the people inside the NSA and the CIA, the two premier intelligence gathering agencies of the United States government. There's over a hundred. There's over a hundred of them. It's not like it was two people. There's over a hundred of them who are getting fired, who are involved in this. And that's just the people in this chat. How many other, you know, trans lunatics are running around with top secret clearances?

[Clay Travis]

And how many of them have been hired? Like, to me, this would be a immediate, hey, you don't really belong in the intelligence services scenario.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis. Buck SEXTON SHOW all right, we talked about the Washington Post and Jeff Bezos having in some way a moment of recognition that maybe Trump wasn't such a bad guy. And I don't know if you read this article, Buck, but there were reports we know Bezos was at the inauguration. We know Bezos's girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez basically wore a bra to the inauguration. She, as we said on the show, brought her own booby trap to the inauguration, caught Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, with that booby trap in photos and but there hadn't been really knowledge of when the Bezos Trump relationship got repaired in some sense. And Buck, the report is out there that Bezos called Trump soon after the assassination attempt, said that he was impressed with Trump's reaction, which I do think we can talk about for a second here in a moment, but that he wanted Doug Burgum to be the vice president. And Doug Burgum set up the call between Bezos and Trump so that Bezos could tell Trump, hey, Burgum's a guy that makes sense. He would be a good VP choice. Okay? Now I do believe that in the years to come, Buck and you and I nailed this on July 15th from from Milwaukee right after it happened, right after the assassination attempt happened. I think the Trump response, the fight, fight, fight, there are going to be statues everywhere that is going to become, I truly do believe this more iconic in the decades ahead than it even is right now. But I think a lot of men in particular and many women as well became Trump supporters in the immediate aftermath of the way he responded to that assassination attempt. And I think Bezos is one, I think Zuckerberg is one. I think it jolted a lot of people out of. Trump is just a television guy who is putting on a performance art to. This guy's willing to die for what he believes in. And I don't know how you could be tested more in the crucible of life and death as a politician than what happened to him in Butler, Pennsylvania. So there are reports that Bezos reached out to Trump and they had conversations starting in July and we didn't really know about that until it got to November when Bezos said, hey, we're not going to be endorsing. I think Bezos became a Trump guy in July of 2024 after that assassination attempt. You buy in theory into that idea or you reject it.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm partially there with you. I'm not sure that I wouldn't, I would never describe Bezos as a Trump guy.

[Clay Travis]

I just mean that he voted for him. When I say Trump guy, I mean he, he, I think he voted in November for Trump.

[Buck Sexton]

So I think that's, I think that's an important distinction. Right. For our purposes, because I think he probably still disagrees with a number of Trump policy directives. I can just tell you I think Bezos is pretty close to an open borders guy. All these tech guys just love being able to particularly use the H1B scam to get people from all over the world to come and work for lower wages than they otherwise would, and they get to build up the stock price, etc. So I think that Bezos recognized that the Democrats, remember, it wasn't just that the Democrats lied to everybody about Biden. They lied to everybody about Biden and then elevated a catastrophically incompetent and laughable candidate. That is, that is what actually happened. And any objective person in that whole scenario who's open to new evidence could see that. Right? So I think Bezos, you know, right now he's, he leans a little in the Trump direction, but I don't think that he, I don't think anyone can trust him. I think he's got a lot of Elon envy too. And then I think that you have Zuckerberg, who is purely where the wind is blowing on this for, because I don't think he's a leader. I don't think he's a guy of particular backbone. And so he just, he'll just do whatever. But they are rational, high IQ people, right? And they can see what's going on and The Democrat Party. It's not just that there's a contingent of the Democrat Party that is insane. The craziest Democrats were the ones calling the shots while Biden was in office. And that was the bait and switch that I think enraged because Biden was supposed to be the old school moderate Democrat. And what they got was AOC policies under this puppet of Joe Biden doddering and, you know, trying to maneuver off stage in one piece. And everyone just realized what a, what a preposterous joke it was.

[Clay Travis]

I want to play Cut eight here because this is former Washington Post executive editor Marty Barron saying Bezos is taking ownership of the newspaper he owns. By the way, all Bezos said this week was that they're going to now focus their Washington Post opinion pages on freedom and the support of market based economics. Basically capitalism and freedom. That's all he said. Buck, here is Marty Barron losing his mind over what Jeff Bezos is doing. Listen to Cut eight. I'm about this.

[Marty Barron]

Only his point of view is going to be represented on those pages. And that really is a betrayal of the heritage of the, of the Washington Post. And I think a betrayal of the very idea of free expression. And it actually, in contrast to how newspapers, news organizations honored free expression with a variety of points of view, it actually dishonors free expression, you know, which is the most fundamental personal liberty of American citizens. This is really an anti democratic move. It says that. No, the only opinion that is permitted here is my opinion. And you have to share that. And there's no room for you on my pages if you have an opposing point of view that is anti democratic in nature.

[Clay Travis]

All right, I ran until I sold out. Kick Buck, outkick. Jeff Bezos paid $250 million to buy the Washington Post. He should be, in my opinion, intimately involved in setting the agenda for that newspaper. That isn't anti Democratic, that's pro capitalism. When you own a company, the very foundation of owning a company is you set the agenda. I, I, I, I, the idea that you would, and, and I give credit to Bezos for finally stepping forward. Buck. But the idea that you would employ a thousand journalists and that you would kowtow and bend the knee to them when they're upset about the trajectory you want to take the business. Excuse me, he's the owner of the company. If you don't like it, leave. All right, like this is where I got Bezos back 100%.

[Buck Sexton]

This, there's a common thread here that goes through the old big newspapers, the federal bureaucracy, now the University system. And the threat is these are supposed to be objective, neutral spaces. This is what they tell us. They tell us that these are objective and neutral spaces. Neutral politically. Right. And I know that that's laughable, but I'll just let me finish. They tell us this while we know that they are completely dominated by one side politically and have become little fiefdoms of that political party. But there's always been this facade, and they've kept it up because it's a way of, you know, evading the opposition. Not, oh, I'm just a journalist, man. I'm just reporting facts. Like, we're just all about free expression. Washington Post about free expression. Where were they when Facebook was censoring and Twitter was censoring all intelligent commentary about COVID Where were their editorials saying that that was an absolute betrayal of the First Amendment, that shutting down churches was an absolute betrayal of the First Amendment? These people are clowns. They live in some alternate universe. They might as well think that they're in North Korea. As far as I'm concerned, they are completely delusional. And this guy, what he's saying just makes. Just makes no sense. It's like he's been asleep for the last 10 years. They have dominated. They have pushed an agenda, and now Jeff Bezos is just trying to push it back toward the center a little bit. Just a little bit. And they're. And they're crying about it like the little babies that they are, which is.

[Clay Travis]

Exactly what an owner should do. And the whole purpose of having ownership of something is you are the decider. Bezos bought the Washington Post. All of these whiny writer. I got a lot of words I want to use that believe that they have the right to have a job, to write whatever they want, and that the owner has to pay them. And. And if he disagrees with the trajectory of the business, he's not allowed to speak out about it.

[Buck Sexton]

I.

[Clay Travis]

Look, this is what I've been calling for Bezos to do for a long time Buck, is just try to return the paper to some form of normalcy, right? Just have a paper. That's common sense. I'm not saying that you or I is going to agree with everything in the Washington Post. We shouldn't. But I shouldn't get to the opinion page, and every opinion shouldn't be, America sucks and capitalism is awful and Trump is literally Hitler. Well, I'm sorry, that's not a business I would want to run.

[Buck Sexton]

And I tend to break from a lot of people in even in the media on this issue. If you go back to the time of the American founding, go back to when the amendments are ratified, newspapers were rapidly partisan, explicitly realized.

[Clay Travis]

I wrote all about this in one of my books.

[Buck Sexton]

Go back and go back and, you know, read about, like, you know, the American Aurora. I mean, go back and look at, you know, the Independent Chronicle. Look at these different, you know, papers at the time of the founding, they were in favor of certain candidates, in favor of a certain party, in favor of a certain ideology. And what's fascinating is that with the rise of mass media and the ability for corporations to. To control the message in a way, you know, anyone can have a printing press, more or less, but not everybody's going to have access to the radio airwaves, to TV. In the 20th century is when we came up with this idea, and it's really Post World War II of There's an objective news media Walter Cronkite we can trust. These are a bunch of libs. This was the Brown University faculty lounge pretending that they don't have an opinion while they're presenting the news to you. Now, it has gotten worse over the last 20 years. It's gotten more obvious, but it was never objective. I mean, this is. I just think every needs to understand.

[Clay Travis]

That that was always a fiction, was totally a fiction. You know what? It was a really lucrative fiction because if you study the history of American media, the reason why they started saying, hey, we're going to do all the news that's fit to print, for instance, at the New York Times was because you could sell way more advertising dollars if you got the largest possible circulation.

[Buck Sexton]

There's also an advantage. It's like claiming you're an expert when you're giving testimony in court, right? Oh, this person's an expert. They have to be weighted more, more, more thoroughly, more strongly in whatever they say. The journos, the Journo industrial complex has done this thing. New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, etc. They've done this thing where they try to tell people we're just down the middle, we don't have a point of view while constantly feeding a point of view while constantly beating the propaganda drum. And it's more effective. That's why they do it. It also means that they don't have to deal with people like you and me, or at least not the same way, arguing with them because they say, we're just reporting, we're just reporting. We're not actually making editorial decisions. And as you, as you and I both know, well, and have talked about. It's critical. The biggest editorial decision is what you talk about. That's bigger even than how you talk about it. And your assessments and your analysis, what you do and what you don't think is important. Important enough to spend your time on and spend your platform on. That's the biggest single one. And so the notion that any of these places were doing anything other than propaganda for decades is, Is just a fantasy. And I'm glad the fantasy has been shattered. Which is also why I think the White House correspondence thing. Why should we let some cartel of, you know, imbeciles decide who gets access to the president for the purposes of reporting? Oh, cuz they're better at it. Cuz they've been doing. I totally disagree with that. I totally disagree with this notion.

[Clay Travis]

Amen.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, look, I told you it was happening. And last night it happened. I got out my cast iron. I got it, I mean, so hot that the smoke was coming off it, or steam, whatever it is. I was actually smoking. Smoke's coming off. I've got that cast iron. And I had tempered my delicious rib eye. From our friends at Good Ranchers, Carrie and I and a friend, we all had a steak feast last night here. I mean a perfect sear, let me tell you. Even my buddy who came over to visit, he's like, this is the best steak. This is amazing. Because I said, look, I could have taken you a steakhouse, but we make better steak at home thanks to Good Ranchers. I don't care how good you are with your technique, I'm pretty darn good. You gotta have excellent quality meat and that's what Good Ranchers brings you. The steaks, world class. But also their chicken, their wild caught salmon, all of their proteins are absolutely delicious. My freezer is full of Good Ranchers. This is my go to. And once you taste that delicious buttery steak from Good Ranchers, you're going to realize this is where you want to get your meat from going forward. Plus, with Good Ranchers you are supporting all American producers, American farmers, American ranchers. And you can now get delicious beef, chicken breasts or wild caught salmon in every order for a year plus $25 off when you use promo code buck@good ranchers.com youm've also heard me talk about the nuggets some of you been writing in. The only problem is the nuggets, they kind of sell out sometimes because they're so amazing. You gotta, you gotta get them while you can get the nuggets. Get a bunch of steaks. Get a what you really want is a box sent to you. They've got the chicken box, a curated red meat box. Get a whole box. Maybe throw some nuggets in. Best nuggets you've ever had. Go to goodranchers.com goodranchers.com Just think about that, that sear you're going to get on the ribeye on that New York strip from Good Ranchers. You're going to love it. Use promo code BUCK for 25 off your purchase. That's goodranchers.com promo code BUCK keep up.

[Clay Travis]

With the biggest political comeback in world history on the Team 47 podcast Clay and Buck highlight Trump replays from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We got a variety of people who want to weigh in, variety of subjects. We'll take some of your calls. But I want to tell you, trust me, it's the best coffee anywhere in America. Crockett Coffee.com you guys are signing up like crazy. You go to CrockettCoffee.com use code book. You get an autographed copy of my book. I said I've only got a thousand of them left. I don't think these are going to last that much longer. They've been going out fast. My assistant Katie is getting them all shipped out. She's amazing. And if you want the best coffee and you want an autographed copy. Crockett Coffee.com we got some calls.

[Buck Sexton]

Let's see a talk back up in Albany. Listening on wgy. What's going on?

[Unknown]

Playing Buck. You guys are awesome. Doubt you'll hear this message, but guys are great. I listen every day. I paint houses. I'm stuck in upstate New York with this communist Kathy Hochul and that idiot Cuomo. I'm in my 50s. You guys rock. Keep doing what you're doing. One of the only things that keeps me going every day.

[Marty Barron]

Peace.

[Buck Sexton]

Jason, we are honored. Thank you so much. Great to be able to hang out with you up there. And don't worry, we'll. We'll keep you company while that communist Kathy Hochul tries to ruin the Empire State and Andrew Cuomo tries to become the next mayor. We, we got him covered. Clay.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I'm working guy and gal out there that have jobs you don't like. Everybody's been through a job you didn't particularly like. At some point, if we can make the day pass a little bit better than it otherwise would be. I know we got a truckers everywhere. We got people listening all throughout the day. We really appreciate you guys and we hope we make your day a little bit better. Andrew in Kentucky wants to weigh in. What you got for us?

[Unknown]

Hey, guys, I just wanted to comment on something you said in the last hour. I had a good friend from college who early on in his career after graduating was a campaign manager for congressman in southern Ohio. And he told me, and it really enlightened me that when you, when you're a Democrat in Congress, he said you go in as an internal, you basically stay in that and work your way up in different positions your whole career. And they said for Republicans, you come in, you intern, you get connected, you build relationships, you go get a real job, work that for five, 10 years and then come back and run for office and you have real world experience. And I thought, wow, that is spot on and really shows me a lot of what's going on today.

[Clay Travis]

It's a great point. And buck you and I have hammered this. I would love if everybody who represented us in Congress or in the Senate or in our respective governor's office offices had done something that is a normal person existence, had had some success in life and was trying to give back, not to be a permanent politician forever. Unfortunately, there are a lot of permanent politicians and that's on us when we come back. Get spicy on the show. Ryan Gardusky thinks I'm a moron for my 5 million take on immigration. We'll talk.