Hour 2 - Trump Runs Government Like a Business

Summary

Summary of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show"

Episode: Hour 2 - Trump Runs Government Like a Business
Release Date: May 6, 2025
Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts

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1. Introduction

In the second hour of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," Clay and Buck delve into President Donald Trump's administration, analyzing his approach to governance, economic policies, and expansionist ambitions. Skipping past numerous advertisements, the hosts focus on dissecting Trump’s management style and strategic decisions that mirror running a business.

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2. Trump's Possible Big Announcement

[02:07 – 05:54]

Buck Sexton opens the discussion by highlighting recent clips of President Trump in the Oval Office, where Trump hints at a "very, very big announcement" slated for later in the week.

Trump's Teaser Announcement:
"We'll have maybe before we want to... a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets... it's really, really positive." [02:33]

Clay speculates that this announcement could be an expansion of the Abraham Accords with Saudi Arabia, enhancing diplomatic and economic ties in the Middle East. Buck concurs, suggesting it might involve significant Saudi investment in the U.S., possibly around a trillion dollars over two decades.

Buck Sexton:
"I would love to think that it would be... returning all the hostages from... Hamas to Israel." [03:18]

Clay adds that such a deal would require reliable partners, dismissing the likelihood of breakthroughs with Iran due to their unpredictable nature.

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3. Economic Policies: Tariffs and Trade

[05:54 – 15:33]

The conversation shifts to President Trump's economic agenda, particularly his stance on tariffs and trade relationships. Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia provides insight into Trump's policies aimed at restoring fiscal responsibility and fostering economic growth.

Governor Glenn Youngkin:
"The core components of the Trump economic agenda are trade, tax cuts, and deregulation... In the first hundred days, the new administration added 464,000 new jobs to the economy." [07:03]

Buck emphasizes the importance of having private industry leaders like Scott Besant in governmental roles to drive effective economic policies.

Buck Sexton:
"We need people who understand how jobs are created in the economy, not by siphoning money from taxpayers." [08:07]

Clay underscores the significance of these policies by comparing them to strategic moves in sports, illustrating how strategic tax cuts and deregulation can lead to accelerated job growth and investment.

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4. Trump's Management Style: Running Government as a Business

[09:25 – 15:33]

Clay and Buck analyze Trump's management style, likening it to running a dynamic business. They discuss how Trump's approach contrasts with the traditional, slower-moving government machinery.

Clay Travis:
"It's like a speedboat. You can change a couple of players, you can turn it around." [09:25]

Buck praises Trump's decision-making speed, comparing him to business leaders who prioritize action over inaction.

Buck Sexton:
"Trump has come in not just with the right team to decide, but with people like Stephen Miller and others who know how the system functions." [09:33]

Clay further elaborates on Trump’s proactive stance, stating that his administration is breaking through governmental inertia by making swift and impactful decisions.

Clay Travis:
"It's historically, no one has moved at the pace that Trump has ever in the history of the United States government." [13:34]

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5. Expansionist Ideas: Canada as the 51st State

[15:33 – 36:25]

One of the most intriguing segments involves President Trump's unconventional proposition to make Canada the 51st state of the United States.

Trump's Proposition:
"It would be a massive tax cut for the Canadian citizens. You get free military, you get tremendous medical care... it's a beautiful marriage because it's two places that get along very well." [26:58]

Clay and Buck explore the feasibility and implications of such an expansion, highlighting the logistical and political challenges. They debate the economic benefits against the potential political fallout, noting that integrating Canada could significantly alter the U.S. political landscape due to Canada's more liberal voter base.

Clay Travis:
"If Canada were part of the United States, Kamala might well have won the presidency because you're bringing in 35 million ish new voters." [32:44]

A caller from Maine shares firsthand feedback, indicating that such a proposal has ignited national pride among Canadians, leading to resistance against the idea.

Caller from Maine:
"They got so peed off, they're like, we're not coming to the US this year to compete... it's an attack on our country." [33:53]

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6. Trump's Humor and Public Image

[36:25 – 40:03]

The hosts transition to discussing President Trump's sense of humor and public persona. They reference a meme depicting Trump as the Pope, which has sparked mixed reactions.

Trump on the Pope Meme:
"Loved it. I had nothing to do with it... Maybe it was AI, but I know nothing about it." [37:12]

Clay appreciates Trump's ability to maintain humor amidst serious leadership responsibilities, pointing out that Trump’s lighthearted moments showcase his unique approach to relatability and media engagement.

Clay Travis:
"He maintains a sense of humor and a lightness of being with the most important job in the United States." [37:56]

Buck adds that Trump's fearlessness is evident in his public demeanor, further solidifying his unconventional leadership style.

Buck Sexton:
"He is fearless. And I think, to your point, he has a likeness of bearing about him." [38:10]

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7. Conclusion and Upcoming Discussions

[40:03 – 50:02]

As the hour progresses, Clay and Buck hint at upcoming segments, including discussions with Senator Rand Paul about tariffs, COVID investigations, and legislative progress on key bills. They emphasize the complexity of passing significant legislation with narrow congressional margins, reflecting on the strategic maneuvers required in such a fraught political environment.

Clay Travis:
"The big beautiful bill is on track to pass that will codify for multiple years the tax cuts... scheduled to pass at some point this month." [47:20]

The hour concludes with a teasing of future topics and a return to lighter banter, ensuring the audience remains engaged for subsequent discussions.

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Notable Quotes

• President Trump on Big Announcement:
  "We'll have... a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets." [02:33]

• Governor Glenn Youngkin on Economic Agenda:
  "In the first hundred days, the new administration added 464,000 new jobs to the economy." [07:03]

• Buck Sexton on Government and Private Sector:
  "We need people who understand how jobs are created in the economy, not by siphoning money from taxpayers." [08:07]

• Clay Travis on Trump's Pace:
  "It's historically, no one has moved at the pace that Trump has ever in the history of the United States government." [13:34]

• Caller from Maine on Canadian Reaction:
  "They got so peed off, they're like, we're not coming to the US this year to compete... it's an attack on our country." [33:53]

• President Trump on Pope Meme:
  "Maybe it was AI, but I know nothing about it. I just saw it last evening." [37:12]

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Conclusion

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton provide a comprehensive analysis of President Trump's administration, emphasizing his business-like approach to governance, aggressive economic policies, and bold, albeit controversial, expansionist ideas. Through engaging discussions and incisive commentary, the hosts offer listeners a nuanced understanding of Trump's impact on the U.S. government and global politics.

Transcript

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[Clay Travis]

The fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency.

[Buck Sexton]

It became known as the Iran Contra Affair. The things that happened were so bizarre.

[Donald Trump]

And insane I can't begin to tell you.

[Scott Besant]

Please do.

[Buck Sexton]

To hear the whole story. Listen to Fiasco Iran Contra on the.

[Clay Travis]

Iheartradio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome into the second hour of Clay and Buck. We've got some hot off the presses, so to speak. Clips of President Trump from the Oval Office addressing some of the most important news of the day. Let's start with the huge announcement. Probably some people are saying the biggest announcement of all announcements. We don't yet know much other than, well, here's the President saying it. Listen to him.

[Donald Trump]

We'll have maybe before we want to. As you know The Middle East, Saudi Arabia. We're going to UAE and Qatar and that'll be, I guess, Monday night. Some of you are coming with us. I think before then, we're going to have a very, very big announcement to make, like as big as it gets. And I won't tell you on what, but it's going to. And it's very positive. I'd also, I'd tell you if it was negative or positive. I can't keep that out. It is really, really positive. And that announcement will be made either Thursday or Friday or Monday before we leave. But it'll be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject. Very important subject. So you'll all be here.

[Clay Travis]

I'm guessing it's got to be the Abraham Accords with Saudi Arabia coming on board.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

Does that make sense to you?

[Buck Sexton]

That makes the most sense to me, too. I don't think it's a breakthrough with Iran. We would have gotten some whispers about that beforehand. And plus, I just don't think Iran's ever going to say, you know what, we're not going to get nukes. So I think the Saudi. It might be an agreement with Saudi that is an extension of the Abraham Accords and also a commitment from Saudi to invest, you know, a trillion dollars in the US over the next 20 years or something. I don't know, whatever. A trillion dollars, a lot of money. Not so much to Saudi. I feel like they'll pay that for a soccer team these days. But, yeah, that's something that I think is. Is a likely possibility. I would love to think that it would be, you know, returning all the hostages from, from Israel, I mean, from Hamas to Israel. But I, I think that that is now going into a different phase of the Israelis are doing the final push in that operation as, as they well should. And that's going to change some dynamics in the Middle east, too.

[Clay Travis]

I also think it has to be someone that you have good relations with in order to be confident that that deal is going to be able to be announced. Does that make sense? Like, Iran is constantly shifting. They may say something on Wednesday that's different than what they said on Monday. You can't really rely on them. Hamas, you can't rely on anything related to what they might say publicly. So I think it would have to be someone that the government would have a good relationship with that you could rely on being reasonable. I don't think you could say, for instance, with Vladimir Putin and Russia that you feel comfortable enough in them to even forecast something like this. So that's why I, I think the idea of the Abraham Accords being expanded, which is hugely important long range in the Middle east, by the way. This is something that is significant that I saw also there's a report that Trump, I don't know if we, if he said this or if this is an official report that India has basically agreed to zero tariffs on American products inside of their country. That could be utterly transformative in the decades ahead because India is now the biggest country in the world and unlike China which is collapsing in population and I think has already peaked, I think India is going to become the second biggest economy in the world in the next 50 years.

[Buck Sexton]

And this then I think is a good moment for us to take a look at what is being said now from some very interesting, very astute places about the Trump tariffs conversation. Glenn Youngkin, one of the, I would say top five, maybe top ten top five governors in America right now in Virginia doing a great job and also a former very senior level executive and he was the CEO of the Carlisle Group, which is one of the largest private equity firms in the world. This is the governor of Virginia and like I said, a guy who also understands private industry saying that. Well, I'll let you hear it from him. This is cut three.

[Clay Travis]

I expect that long term we will have an accelerated growth and I'm very optimistic. I think in the near term as the president resets these imbalanced trade relationships and restores fiscal responsibility into Washington, who going to see dislocation. It's just a reality and but what I do firmly expect is investment from companies around the world to accelerate. I expect job growth to accelerate.

[Buck Sexton]

I think you're already beginning to see some of that the jobs numbers. This is Scott Besson. This is cut 1. In the first hundred days you need to hear about these jobs. Remember, it's not all government, you know, make believe jobs or at least low show jobs. It's jobs in the actual economy. Play. This is from the Treasury Secretary. Play 1.

[Scott Besant]

The core components of the Trump economic agenda are trade tax cuts and deregulation. These are not standalone policies. They are interlocking parts of an engine designed to drive economic growth and domestic manufacturing. Tax cuts and cost savings from deregulation raise real incomes for families and businesses. Tariffs create an incentive for reshoring jobs and fair trade and deregulation complements tariffs by making it easier to invest in energy and manufacturing projects. Already this agenda is bearing fruit. In the first hundred days, the new administration 464,000 new jobs were added to the economy.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, people just need to give this some time. And I think what you're seeing here is first of all, I just 15 years in conservative media, all we in the beginning of this, when I got into this, we would always hear we need private industry minds in government. We need people who understand how jobs are created in the economy, not by siphoning money from taxpayers to people who don't actually necessarily do anything or add anything with some of these government, with some of this government bloat. We have this now in a way we not only on the advisors, but Trump himself. Right. Somebody who understands the private sector. You look at even Scott Besant, you compare him to Biden's treasury secretary, Janet Yellen. Yellen is an academic economist. Ok? That's who was running the treasury before. Besant is a guy who had to place multibillion dollar bets and be right about the trajectory of economic growth, about what was actually going to happen in the global economy. We have doers and practitioners now, Clay, not theorists and faculty lounge layabouts.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. And again, I think that's why, you know, the caller from San Diego is fired up. I think people sometimes have unrealistic expectations of what is capable of doing with the ship of state. And I've had this analogy made to me a lot over the years. You know, in the world of sports, the smaller the team, the quicker you can adjust the direction. So if you're a basketball coach, it's like a speedboat. You can change a couple players, you can turn it around. Football teams like an aircraft carrier. The United States is the largest floatable ship on the planet. It's very hard to turn it in any particular direction. Now sometimes that can be good because if people make really poor choices, then the degree to which they can shift the direction of the country is limited. But you've made the argument for years here and it's a pessimistic one, but I think there's some truth to it that the president doesn't largely matter because the apparatus surrounding the president is such that they're going to direct the ship in the way they see best. And you made that argument.

[Buck Sexton]

Biden was a test of my theory.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

Right. Biden was a real world experiment of is it the machinery and not the man With Trump, that's obviously not the case. But I'm just saying it can be what we just saw.

[Clay Travis]

Well, and this is why I think Elon Musk has been so frustrated. And look, I love that Elon Musk and Scott Besant and Howard Ludnick and all of these guys that are super successful outside of government are in government trying to do their best. Trump is a great example of that too. But in sports, and I've never seen it applied in politics, but, but I love the concept and it's such an interesting one. There's something called win over replacement value, and it's a. I think you can apply it to all of your life. It's such an interesting concept. You know, there's basically a war. You know, win above replacement for every player. And I mentioned Aaron Judge is the best player in baseball right now statistically across the board. His stats in New York, Yankee player are off the charts. He is worth multiple wins compared to someone that might be replacing him at a position. I think you can apply it to politics. How much better is Trump not only than any other Republican, but then Kamala I think massively right, because over every day, every decision, the trajectory of the USS aircraft carrier is very different based on the judgments Trump is making versus what Kamala is making versus what Biden did. But within the constraints, I would argue that it is impossible for any president to move faster and break more things than Trump has done in the first hundred days. And therefore, when you call in and say, and I understand people get frustrated, but I think it's important to understand the larger construct. There are people out there who will tell you, oh, the president can do whatever he wants and he can take 48,000 different actions. And the reality is Trump is moving faster and breaking more things than anything I have ever seen from any president in the history of our country. And if you are out there saying, he needs to move faster and he needs to break more things, I respect it. I would just point out that historically, no one has moved at the pace that Trump has ever in the history of the United States government. I really think that's true. And they're trying to make government move more like a business. And if you have ever run a business, one of the great things about sitting at the head of the table if you own the business, is for better or worse, you make a decision and buck. One of the management lessons that I think I've learned is, is it's better to make a wrong decision than not do anything. And some people think that's crazy, but actually it's important because it's a wrong decision.

[Buck Sexton]

One of the things that at the CIA Farm, which is our training facility, that they would always talk about in the context of counter ambush, somebody's trying to take you out. They would just. And I know this military talks about this too, but they would say get off the ax. And they would. They drilled into our brain. When you are under threat, the worst thing you can do. Freeze is nothing. The worst thing you can do is. I don't want to make the wrong decision. So I make no decision.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

Nak. You can pay with your life for that one. There is a. There's a broader lesson. There's the broader principle there. You got to just do sometimes. Because sitting around with. And especially given the time constraints I think the Trump administration is under with the midterms, as we've discussed, that moving as fast as possible. Moving as fast as possible is its own advantage in a system which we've already seen for all of our adult, for all of our lives, that can always fall back on inaction as its preferred plan. And the Democrats were hoping that there would be inertia even with Trump coming in. The inertia of government would be a protection for what they want, which is the status quo.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

No. He's smashing that by moving so fast in so many places.

[Clay Travis]

And I would argue again, this is me being a history nerd. Probably the person who's moved the government the fastest in the lives of anyone out there that is listening to us right now. Certainly the adult lives of anyone that's listening is Lyndon Johnson. And Lyndon Johnson was able to move the government so rapidly in his one term, after one term plus change when he took over for JFK because he was a genius of Senate procedure. And so he was able to move Congress at a speed in the Senate in particular that it had never moved at before, because he knew the inner workings of procedure in the Senate, having spent time there better than almost anyone.

[Buck Sexton]

A corollary to that was Charlie Wilson's war where I, for doc. Whatever his name is, I forget now, but the member of Congress who was like on the, on the, you know, the Finance, the spending committee, whatever it was at the time. And Charlie Wilson knew if I just got this guy in my pocket, I got whoever I need in my pocket to get the things through that I need to get through. So understanding that system is critical. Trump has come in not just with the right team to decide, but with people like Stephen Miller and others who know how the system functions. And this is part of what I think. Clay has driven Democrats so insane because first time around, Trump great ideas, first term, not an understanding of the system. So, yes, a huge, huge difference this time around. Look here in South Florida. We get huge downpours. We actually just got one a couple hours before the show came out of nowhere. The kind that will clog your gutters if you have the smallest amount of leaves, twigs, whatever else that's accumulated. Accumulated A clean gutter clears the way for a carefree summer. Whether you're tired of unclogging your gutters or don't even know what they look like, it's time for a permanent solution with LeafFilter. Right now, save up to 30% [e-mail] Clayandbuck gutter clogs aren't just a nuisance, they can cause extensive water damage. Let Leaffilter's trusted pro help protect your home from flooding, roof damage, rotted siding, foundation issues and more. They'll clean out, realign and seal your gutters before installing Leaffilters. Award winning and patented technology. Protect your home and never clean out gutters again with leaffilter. This is America's number one gutter protection system. Schedule your free inspection and get up to 30% off your entire purchase at leaffilter.com clayandbach that's L E A F filter.com clayandbach see the representative for warranty details.

[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Donald Trump]

We had some very good news last night. The Houthis have announced that they are not or they've been announced to us at least that they don't want to fight anymore. They just don't want to fight. And we will honor that and we will, we will stop the bombings. And they have capitulated. But more importantly, they, we will take their word. They say they will not be blowing up ships anymore. And that's what the purpose of what we were doing. So that's just news. We just found out about that. So I think that's very, very positive. They were, they were knocking out a lot of ships going as you know, sailing beautifully down the various seas. Wasn't just the canal, it was a lot of other places. And I will accept their word. And we are going to stop the bombing of the Houthis effective immediately.

[Clay Travis]

There are reports from a Houthi spokesperson that says that he did not say that. So I don't know who the Houthi spokesperson is or whether they're just wondering.

[Buck Sexton]

What guy like how much fun is it to sit down over, over some, some tea or some, some cotton with the Houthi spokesperson.

[Clay Travis]

But I would think that Trump's pretty confident about this and I don't like the Houthis chances in a ongoing battle between the United States over superiority when it comes to shipping lanes.

[Buck Sexton]

And everyone should just remember they're effectively a proxy militia for Iranian and Shia interests in the Middle east now. So when we say Houthi, just remember it's a little bit like the Hezbollah Iran relationship. It's, they are tentacles of the same.

[Clay Travis]

Pro problem, no doubt.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh yes, indeed. 10 states have a sovereign wealth fund, a statewide plan that often pays dividends to the residents of that state. Several experts believe we have an asset worth $150 trillion buried in American soil that could be the basis for creating such a fund. This endowment, so to speak, is so large it could pay off our national debt four times over. Why has it been keep kept secret for so long? Well, thanks to a Supreme Court decision, President Trump could soon release its the public. Jim Rickards, former adviser of the White House and Federal Reserve says if you're over 50, this could be your best chance to build lasting wealth from a once in a century event. To hear more from Jim Rickards on this, go online free to birthright2025.com if he's right, it could make President Trump the most popular president in history and help millions of investors retire wealthy. Go to birthright2025.com to get the details. That's birthright2025.com free of charge. Paid for by Paradigm Press Canada. Just had a very disappointing election from the perspective of freedom, liberty, common sense. Pierre Poliev, he of apple eating and indifference to media fame did not succeed in his effort to become the PM of Canada. I'm Going to put this out. Some of our Canadian listeners. What the heck happened there, guys? You're hearing us up because, you know, some of our big New York stations, Clay stretched, you know, well into Canada, probably some of our Michigan stations, I would assume, too. I got to check the wattage, but yeah, I think that they can be heard where the Canadian population is. We got Canadian listeners for sure, some of them streaming. What happened there? Well, here is Trump with the new prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, who I'd never heard of until this, talking about this play.

[Donald Trump]

It Takes Two to Tango, right? But no, I do. I mean, I believe it would be a massive tax cut for the Canadian citizens. You get free military, you get tremendous medical cares and other things. There would be a lot of advantages, but it would be, it would be a massive tax cut. And it's also a beautiful, you know, as a real estate developer, you know, I'm a real estate developer at heart. When you get rid of that artificially drawn line, somebody drew that line many years ago with like a ruler, just a straight line right across the top of the country. When you look at that beautiful formation when it's together, I'm a very artistic person. But when I looked at that beauty, I said that's the way it was meant to be. But, you know, it, I just, I do feel it's much better for Canada. But we're not going to be discussing that unless somebody wants to discuss it. I think that there are tremendous benefits to the Canadian citizens, tremendously lower taxes, free military, which honestly we give you essentially anyway, because we're protecting Canada if you ever had a problem. But I think, you know, it's, it would really be a wonderful marriage because it's, it's two places that get along very well. They like each other a lot.

[Clay Travis]

So then Carney Buck responded, and I think we have Carney's response. So Trump still pushing, and I love it. He just, everybody wants to say, like, what is Trump? Trump's a real estate guy at his core. He's a real estate guy and he's looking at Greenland and he's looking at Panama and he's looking at Canada. And the truth of the matter is some of the most successful presidents that we've ever had basically have been real estate guys. Thomas Jefferson, L.A. purchase, kind of a good deal. Gadsden Purchase, Seward's Folly, when we got.

[Buck Sexton]

George Washington was a real estate guy and a landlord, in fact, a speculator.

[Clay Travis]

Some would argue that nearly went bankrupt many different times over. The amount of land that he was acquiring back in the day. Most of the founding fathers, big agrarian land related guys. But then Carney responded and I actually liked his response. And you can hear Trump laugh because I think Trump kind of respects it a little bit too.

[Scott Besant]

Listen, as you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale.

[Donald Trump]

That's true.

[Scott Besant]

We're sitting in one right now. You know, Buckingham palace visited as well. And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign last several months, it's not for sale, won't be for sale ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together. And we have done that in the past. And part of that, as the President just said, is with respect to our own security. And my government is committed for a step change in our investment in Canadian security and our partnership. And I'll say this as well, that the President has revitalized international security, revitalized NATO and us playing our full weight in NATO.

[Clay Travis]

And that will be part, I think Trump buck is 100% right that the world would actually be better off. And look, if Canada was a part of the United States, I think he's 100% right. Here's the problem. It's not going to happen. One, two, if it did happen, the devil are in the details. Most of those voters would be far left wing voters. So you would actually have to, instead of making Canada 51st state, you would have to in some way create some of the rural Canadian areas to give them an opportunity so that we could have senators who were not insane. It would if, if, if Canada were a part of the United States and not very many people have talked about this, Kamala might well have won the presidency because you're bringing in 35 million ish new voters and that new voter registry is about 2 to 1 Democrat in America over Republican. So look, Trump's right. They would get a huge tax cut. I think the overall economy would be better both countries if Canada were a part of the United States. I think that's all true. It's not going to happen. And, and the reality here is if it were going to happen, the details in terms of what it would be necessary to occur are substantial. What I like about it is it goes to the growth mindset of Trump. He's not looking at the United States as a finished product. I bought a map recently and I'm going to put it in that new house that we're building. It's what I love about it is it's one of those Old school maps. Buck, do you remember when used to be able to pull down the map and the teacher would pull out a ruler or whatever and they would point to it and it would be. This is before everybody had the cam, had the computers to be able to put everything imaged out there. And it's a map from like 1840, and it has the continental United States. And most of the United States is not filled in yet. We didn't know what the future of the country was going to look like. And I love the ambition, the scope, the metaphor of that unfilled map. And I think that is how Trump thinks that the United States is not a fixed and permanent and already fully formed country, that we still have a lot of growth. And I think that is what his expansionist mindset represents, whether it's Greenland, whether it's Canada, whether it's Panama, and making us think in different ways. But that to me is the challenge of Canada. I'm not sure even if it's a great idea, and I do think it would be good for the economy overall that the Canadian voters would actually agree with much of what we think is important in the United States right now.

[Buck Sexton]

But if it's not going to happen, and I agree with you that it's not going to happen, why does Trump know that it's not going to happen? Because why? This is the.

[Clay Travis]

This is where it's a great question. I think Trump is a bit of a magical thinker. This is my psychoanalysis of Trump, and what I mean by that is anytime you build something that hasn't been built before, you have to be a creative, magical thinker. Real estate developers have to see things that haven't occurred and believe that they are possible. I think in Trump's mind, he believes that anything can be negotiated. And so even if there's a small chance of it happening, he thinks by putting it out into the larger discussion, he actually makes it somewhat possible. In the same way, if you say, hey, I'm going to build a 200 story building, well, maybe that's not going to end up happening. But the idea that you think you can expands the Overton window of possibility.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay thinks that Trump is a man who dreams great dreams, the greatest dreams. We got a caller, Dave, in Maine. He says he lives right near the Canadian border, wants to weigh in on this Canada stuff. What's going on, Dave?

[Caller from Maine]

Hi, gentlemen. Yeah, so my family is from Canada. Back and forth. I would live right handy to it. My wife used to grocery shop there every week, grew up playing Hockey with Canadian kids. My daughter works for a Canadian company. And we got a lot of friends of the Canadians. What, what happened was they were ready. The people that we know were ready to go for Pierre. But the whole 51st state.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Caller from Maine]

Thing really touched off their national pride. And we compete in another sport and we have Canadians come over and, and compete with us. And they got so peed off, they're like, we're not coming to the US this year to compete. And sorry, you know, not. Don't take it personal, but, you know, it's an attack on our country. I said, he's just messing with them anyway. But they didn't take it that way. And I said too, he should have marketed it as there's 10 provinces and three territories and Kansas. So one state wasn't nearly enough. Give them 10 states. Give them 10 or 13 states. But all seriousness, that is real, you know, that's the feedback directly from my best friend lives Nova Scotia. You know, another thing too about is their news is just horrendous. Like always having to re, you know, tell them these, Listen to what's the. Follow their Rebel News. You know, try to get some alternative news sources because they're regular news they get is just, you know, you think, I mean, it's common.

[Buck Sexton]

It's communist dribble. I, I know that because I used to, I used to do some news back in the day, which I think became Rebel News or Ezra Levant. You know, very early in my career, I actually appeared on Canadian TV when I needed more TV reps, Clay. I was like, hey, how are my Canadian brothers and sisters doing?

[Clay Travis]

Oh, really?

[Buck Sexton]

You.

[Clay Travis]

That's, that's where you were honing the skills.

[Buck Sexton]

Buck is huge in Saskatchewan. You have no idea.

[Clay Travis]

I, you know, it's. Thank you for the call, by the way. I do think, to answer your question, that the 51st state talk inside of Canada ignited national pride and it lit on fire the hopes of conservative governments because they were seen as closer to Trump.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm also going to say this, it reminds me of somebody that I know, somebody I spent a lot of time with day to day. I don't know, I don't know if he needs to be named here, but when you tell Trump not to talk about something or that he can't talk about something, guess what is going to happen? And there are a lot of people who said, stop with the 51st state talk. Yeah, Clay.

[Clay Travis]

So I don't know how somebody could be. I don't know how somebody could be that way. I also Think this ties in. Trump also sees this as entertainment. I'm going to be honest with you, and I know some people were offended by the Pope. Trump as pope meme that got shared. I thought it was really funny. And I'm not Catholic, so I can't speak on behalf of the Catholic universe.

[Buck Sexton]

Trump spoke to this. Let's. Let's hear his. Because, by the way, I am Catholic. I went to Jesuit school and did all this stuff and, you know, know, some of the things I did not. I was not even vaguely offended by this. Ok, this is. There are things that appear about Catholicism or the way that it's depicted and the way the media and the focus on certain things is offensive. I agree with Trump on this one, a hundred percent. But here he is. Play cut 5.

[Lisa Booth]

Catholics were not so happy about the.

[Clay Travis]

Image of you looking like the Pope.

[Donald Trump]

Oh, I see. You mean they, they can't take a joke. You don't mean the Catholics. You mean the fake news media, not the Catholics. Loved it. I had nothing to do with it. Somebody made up a picture of me dressed like the Pope and they put it out on the Internet. That's not me that did it. I have no idea where it came from. Maybe it was AI, but I know nothing about it. I just saw it last evening, actually. My wife thought it was cute. She said, isn't that nice? My question about, actually, I would not be able to be married, though that would be a lot. To the best of my knowledge, Popes aren't big on getting married, are they? Not that we know of now.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, we know of.

[Clay Travis]

Not that we are. Well, we talked about this. There actually were a lot of. Back in the day with a lot of illegitimate kids out there, if you, if you study some really good Renaissance.

[Buck Sexton]

Art that came out of those naughty Popes.

[Clay Travis]

So just putting it out there and. But. So I thought that was funny. Again, I think you tweeted this, and I do think it's important, the fact that Trump has maintained a sense of humor and a lightness of being with the most important job in the United States. I think it's probably fair to say just a few months ago, he took a fricking bullet off his ear that nearly blew his head off on live television. The thing that doesn't get talked about at all. And I was with him at the NCAA wrestling championships on that arena floor in Philadelphia. Most people who come that close to death, who would have an assassin's bullet clip their ear, most people would be pretty apprehensive walking into Big crowded arenas. The guy is fearless. And I think, to your point, has a likeness of bearing about him, that even though he is engaged in serious things, he still has a sense of humor surrounding it. And so I think he's putting it out into the ether, this idea of Canada or Greenland or Panama or whatever it might be, because of the expansionist idea, but also the Pope thing. I think he enjoys just having fun or the running for a third term in office, all of these things. I think he enjoys expanding the universe and kind of ridiculing the people who are most opposed to him. And I thought the Pope picture, I saw it, you know, like, I guess, when did it come out? Just before the Kentucky Derby or something. And I thought it was pretty funny.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't, I know a lot of Catholics, okay? I'm related to a lot of them too. I don't know a single Catholic who thought that that was like blasphemous or some big problem. All right, everyone could, could calm down, you know, Trump, Trump, like on the cross or something that would upset people. Trump as the Pope. I think that's funny.

[Clay Travis]

We come back, we'll take some more of your calls. We've got Senator Rand Paul joining us top of the third hour. After yesterday's debate about whether I could swim to shore from Alcatraz, a lot of disrespect for my swimming ability. I have to say I'm bracing for the monster size shipment of chalk's male vitality stack to arrive. I think buck right before I jumped into the water, into the icy shark infested waters of the San Francisco Bay to demonstrate my incredible swimming acumen, I would need to pound a bunch of chalk to just have the energy of a thousand men. A Trump like set of energy to. In order to propel me across the entire bay to land.

[Buck Sexton]

I can neither confirm nor deny. But if you were to take some Chad mode, would you be able to outswim a great white shark that was on your tail?

[Clay Travis]

Possibly while blowing into my beloved flute and making melodic tunes for everyone as I swam, Maybe backstroked. You can get 20% increase in your testosterone level in just three months time. July, three months away. Just in time.

[Buck Sexton]

Can I just throw something else out there too? Just so all of you know, because you know, chalk has been part of my regimen now for months. I've been on the six month journey and the last time I saw Laura, when she came over a few months ago, she looked at me, she was like, wow, you really did lean out. I was like yes, proper.

[Clay Travis]

My wife who has who's going to live to be 140 and is very healthy and knows all about supplements. She was impressed with chalk. I don't know anything. I'm kind of a moron on many subjects, as many of you have learned. But in the meantime, you can get hooked up right now with chalk.com my name clay for a massive discount on any subscription for life chalk.com choq.com you can cancel your subscription anytime. Imagine what you could do with way more energy and 20 increased testosterone. It can make a huge difference for you and can just help me to be an even better swimmer than I already am. Get hooked up today. Chalk.comchoq.com My name Clay Massive discount on any subscription for life news you can count on and some laughs too.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.

[Clay Travis]

Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Lisa Booth]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

You can have affordable health care for as low as $262 a month. Today visit ease for everyone.com clay that's ease for everyone.com forward/clay paid for by Affordable Benefit Choices.

[Jim Rickards]

Did you know that just like here in the us Israel has their own Independence Day? In case you missed it, this year, Israel's Independence Day was a few days go on May 1st. But for the people of Israel, freedom is nothing more than a daily struggle to survive. There's no real peace, only terror. No joy, just suffering. The Israeli government relies on the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews for ongoing help to make sure the elderly, the sick, the wounded, soldiers and impoverished families don't fall through the cracks. That's why your gift to the Fellowship will provide such important life saving aid, medicine, hearty meals, safety and comfortable. I believe that when you bless the people of Israel, we unlock God's blessing in our lives as well. So to show your support for Israel's independence, you can make a life saving gift today. You can call 888-488-IFCJ. That's 888-488-4325. You can also go online to ifcj.org.

[Clay Travis]

That'S ifcj.org only two things in life are certain death and taxes. Well now there's a third. If your cell phone service is with Verizon AT&T or T MO, you could be saving a fortune every month by switching to PureTalk. They're cutting the fat from the wireless industry.

[Buck Sexton]

PureTalk has been my wireless provider for years now. Great coverage and a great US based customer service team. For 25 bucks a month you can get unlimited Talk, text and 5 gigs of data on America's most dependable 5G network. With PureTalk, the average sized family of four saves over $1,000 a year when they switch to PureTalk.

[Clay Travis]

And with PureTalk's US customer service team, you can switch in as little as 10 minutes keeping your phone and your phone number.

[Buck Sexton]

So do this. Go to PureTalk.com buck to make the switch and you'll save an additional 50% off your first month. Again, that's PureTalk.com buck to start saving today. Pure Talk Wireless by Americans for Americans Tariffs have thrown the global economy into chaos. Potential widespread inflation tied to massive supply chain disruptions may be an issue. Pair that with our growing national debt and we have a big problem. But there's a silver lining that most people missed. Gold and silver bullion are excluded from these sweeping tariffs. While these new policies are triggering significant financial chaos, the administration preserved your ability to diversify into precious metals. If you're concerned about your savings, have a free consultation with a Birch Gold precious metals specialist. The first step is to text my name Buck to 989898 and receive your free no obligation info kit on gold. Learn how to hold gold and silver in a tax sheltered account. Birch Gold will help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into a gold IRA for no money out of pocket. I buy my gold from Birch Gold. Is it time you finally did the same with an A plus rating from the Better Business Bureau and thousands of thankful customers? Text my name buck to the number 9898 98. Again, text Buck to 9898 98.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton Show. A lot to dive into in the third hour. We'll be talking with Senator Rand Paul. When we come back. We'll ask him about the latest on tariffs. He has not supported President Trump's tariff perspectives. We will ask him about the latest on the COVID investigation as he is going to be chairing part of the hearings surrounding that. And we will find out what his overall expectations are for the so called big beautiful bill which I believe is on track to pass in May. And for those of you out there that want Congress to be moving faster, I certainly understand that. I would point out that with a three or four vote margin in the House, getting anything at all passed is a super challenge. So the big beautiful bill is on track to pass that will codify for multiple years the tax cuts that will codify the border related issues, theoretically making it harder for any Democrat who comes into office to do what Joe Biden did. All of that underway scheduled to pass at some point this month. And we will discuss all of that with Senator Rand Paul will also take some of your calls and we'll have some fun in the final hour of the program. Tuesday edition 800-28228. And we look forward to hanging out with all of you. Lots of good stuff on social media. We may dive into some of that as well. And Senator Rand Paul next. What's the latest on the bill? And Fauci, we'll tell you. Thanks for hanging with us. Tuesday edition.

[Rand Paul]

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[Clay Travis]

Today, in the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency.

[Buck Sexton]

It became known as the Iran Contra Affair. The things that happened were so bizarre.

[Donald Trump]

And insane I can't begin to tell you.

[Scott Besant]

Please do.

[Buck Sexton]

To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app.

[Clay Travis]

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Lisa Booth]

You're listening to an iHeart podcast.