Hour 3 - Covid Created a Conspiracy Culture

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 3 - Covid Created a Conspiracy Culture
Date: July 13, 2026
Hosts: Clay Travis, Buck Sexton
Podcast by: iHeartPodcasts

---

Overview:

This hour of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show explores the state of patriotism in America as it approaches its 250th anniversary. Clay Travis delves into recent Wall Street Journal poll results showing a dramatic decline in pride among young Americans, connecting this trend to a loss of historical literacy and rising distrust in American institutions—particularly following the Covid pandemic. The episode also discusses the cultural consequences of these trends, the legacy of Senator Lindsey Graham (who died unexpectedly), and the shifting politics in the Senate.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Declining Patriotism and Historical Illiteracy

• Wall Street Journal Poll: Clay reviews a recent poll and is alarmed at the findings showing Americans, especially the young, are in a “dark mood” about the country:
  • Only 23% of 18-34 year olds are “extremely or very proud” of U.S. history, compared to 59% of those 65 and older.
  • Patriotism is deemed “very important” by only 18% of younger Americans (18-34), versus 55% of those 65+.
• Root Causes Discussed:
  • The failure of American education to inspire pride in national history.
  • The consequences of focusing classroom instruction and cultural discussion on America’s flaws (e.g., slavery, the 1619 Project) rather than achievements and ideals.
• Clay’s Core Argument:
  • “If you do not have pride of country, then nothing else matters...You can't be patriotic if you don't love American history.” (07:45)

2. Covid and the Rise of Conspiracy Culture

• Cultural Shift:
  • Clay links intensifying distrust in government to Covid-era censorship and misinformation, especially regarding “conspiracy theories” which were later shown to have merit.
  • The immediate public skepticism around Lindsey Graham’s death highlights a broader paranoia and suspicion toward official narratives.
• Notable Quote:
  • “Every conspiracy theory that they told you you weren't allowed to talk about during Covid ended up being true.” (05:33)
• Impact:
  • The erosion of trust in government breeds fertile ground for conspiracy thinking, impacting everything from elections to perceptions of major events.

3. Remembering Senator Lindsey Graham

• Clay reflects on Senator Graham’s legacy and sudden death from an aortic rupture, noting:
  • Initial speculation of foul play due to Graham’s foreign policy engagements and the present culture of suspicion.
  • The official story points to natural causes, but widespread doubt remains a consequence of recent years.
  • Senate Ramifications: Graham had just secured a new six-year term, further destabilizing an already fragile Republican majority.
• Iconic Moment:
  • Clay plays and lauds Lindsey Graham’s impassioned 2018 defense of Brett Kavanaugh at the Supreme Court hearings, emphasizing its unscripted authenticity.
  • Donald Trump’s Tribute:
    • Trump, in a recorded comment, calls Graham’s Kavanaugh defense “maybe a top five moment in the history of the Senate.” (26:32)
    • Clay echoes, “We just replayed it. I agree with President Trump...it really got to the essence of the absurdity of the Brett Kavanaugh story.” (27:07)

4. Race Relations & Changing American Values

• Polling Data:
  • In 2008, 60% of Americans agreed with the principle of judging people “by the content of their character, not color of their skin.” By 2026, only 41% agree.
• Clay’s Assessment:
  • Describes a deliberate effort in media and academia to “create division” and push narratives of victimization, which discourages unity and erodes feelings of American exceptionalism.
• Media Critique:
  • Highlights the disproportional media focus on white supremacy and race-based division despite statistical realities.
• Quote:
  • “I think it comes back to how we teach history, to whether or not we embrace the idea of American exceptionalism or if we create a world where people feel like they are victims, even as there never has been a time when people are being victimized less.” (39:08)

5. The Problem of Age and Succession in the Senate

• Examination of the “gerontocracy” as aging politicians (Graham, McConnell, others) dominate, with unexpected deaths and retirements threatening legislative stability.
• Clay highlights the fragile nature of the Republican majority and the need for active, younger leadership.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Historical Pride:
  • “You can't be proud of your country if you're not proud of your history. Now, that doesn't mean you don't recognize...things that are imperfect...All of us are flawed.” (10:54)
• On Distrust of Authority Post-Covid:
  • “No one trusts the government.” (04:48)
  • “I’m just skeptical of everything now because we’ve been lied to so much.” (29:15)
• On Graham’s Kavanaugh Defense:
  • “This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics.” —Lindsey Graham, replayed clip (24:55)
  • “That was powerful...it really landed so much stronger then because, frankly, a lot of Republicans were not doing a great job of pointing out just how much of a sham all these Christine Blasey Ford allegations were against Brett Kavanaugh.” (25:07)
• On Generational Differences in Patriotism:
  • “People around that age are very, very proud to be American. Think about the world in which they grew up in...Everyone around the world saw America as a unique force for good.” (13:50)
• On Media-Induced Discord:
  • “It's crazy to me that in 2008, 2009, 2010, everything was going pretty well in terms of race relations...and then the bottom just completely fell out of it.” (38:06)

---

Timestamps for Major Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |--------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:57 | Show opens; Wall Street Journal Poll on patriotism preview | | 04:26–10:54 | Decline in historical literacy, generational pride gap in U.S. history | | 13:50–16:45 | Cultural roots of patriotism, generational experiences | | 18:47 | Race relations and shifting attitudes about character vs. color | | 21:04–24:21 | Lindsey Graham tribute; setup for replaying Kavanaugh hearing | | 24:21–25:07 | Lindsey Graham’s Kavanaugh defense (audio replay) | | 26:28–27:07 | Donald Trump’s reflection on Graham’s defining Senate moment | | 27:07–33:00 | Discussion on authenticity in politics, skepticism after COVID | | 33:46–36:36 | Senate politics: aging leadership, Graham’s death impact on majority | | 38:06 | Race, media coverage, and perceptions of victimhood | | 42:40 | Listener feedback and closing thoughts |

---

Tone & Language

• Speaker Style: Casual, opinionated, conversational, often blending personal anecdotes and data with passionate monologues.
• Language: Direct, sometimes humorous, frequently invoking nostalgia and concern for America’s trajectory.
• Emotional notes: Deep concern about historical literacy, distrust of institutions, sadness over Senator Graham’s passing, and a persistent call for restoring pride in American values.

---

Useful for Listeners Who Missed the Episode

This episode provides a sobering look at the cultural and generational rifts in American patriotism, tying together education failures, Covid fallout, conspiracy thinking, and political instability. Tributes to Senator Lindsey Graham ground the discussion in current events, while the show’s deep dive into polling data and candid audio clips offer context and evidence for the hosts’ concerns.

---

Final Reflection

Clay Travis ends the episode on a hopeful note:

“Remember, we’re all very fortunate to live in the greatest country in the history of the world. Let’s get better at teaching that history.” (43:46)

---

For more, subscribe to their podcast or follow on YouTube.

Transcript

[Buck Sexton]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Dr. Charles Stanley (voiceover for intouch.org ads)]

Guaranteed Human life gets busy and it's easy to feel a little worn down spiritually. That's why intouch.org is such a helpful place to stop and breathe for a moment. You can watch messages from Dr. Charles Stanley, read a quick devotional, or find resources that speak to what you're dealing with right now. It's simple, it's encouraging, and it's always there when you need it. Take a minute today and check out

[Clay Travis]

intouch.org Consumer Reports just did a massive survey of all the wireless brands in America. Only one company received five out of five stars in every category. PureTalk coverage 5 stars support 5 stars value 5 stars data 5 stars no

[Dr. Charles Stanley (voiceover for intouch.org ads)]

service contract, no cancellation fees. Just phenomenal US customer service on the 5G network that powers America. Go to puretalk.com buck today Again, that's puretalk.com buck to switch to PureTalk, a wireless company that actually lives up to your expectations.

[Firestone Tires Announcer]

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

[Buck Sexton]

dad Disney activities are on Lingokids.

[Buck Sexton (casual interjections)]

What?

[Buck Sexton]

Moana and Elsa and Marvel's Spider Man. All of them on Lingokids. Yes dad on Lingokids. That's pretty cool. I know you just lost them for the rest of the afternoon.

[Clay Travis]

Worth it.

[Buck Sexton]

Full of fun activities inspired by Disney's Moana, Frozen Zootopia, Marvel's Spider man and more. Lingokids is where little ones discover more about favorite characters. Bingo kids. Everything kids love. Download it for free.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome in our number three Clay and Buck. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. Buck will be back with me tomorrow. We will be in New York City together as we will be taking care of a lot of different challenging media related opportunities. We have been talking quite a lot about the latest in Iran about the death of Lindsey Graham unexpectedly over the weekend and the overall impact of that death. And I did want to dive in here over the weekend. I was reading catching up on my Wall Street Journal reading Like to read the print publication of the Wall Street Journal. For those of you who are watching on video as increasing numbers are of you are as we are slowly starting to work in three hours of live video for everybody to be able to watch go subscribe to our YouTube channel make sure that you don't miss that. And there's a poll that they ran for America 250, Wall Street Journal did. And I read this and I said, my goodness, this matters so much. And I want to make sure I share the results with everybody as we've been celebrating America 250. But I also think it tells an important story, which is no politician, no matter how good, can save us from the culture that we have created. And the headline of this article. And again, I'm old school. I like to read my print newspapers poll finds America in dark mood at 250. And the first two questions are so integral and directly connected, I just felt that I had to share them with you. How important is patriotism to you? And it breaks it down from age. But the second question is, how proud are you of United States history? And I want to start with that second one. I talked off the top of the program about Lindsey Graham. And one of the big topics that we kind of dove into and a lot of you were reacting to is the question of whether or not you trust the leaders of America, to be honest with you. And I said off the start of the show, for those of you who weren't listening, encourage you to go download the podcast, maybe go subscribe to YouTube. I said off the top. And I tweeted this, too. And some of you may have seen the tweet. The legacy of COVID that is going to be the most lasting is not the kids who lost all of the time in education, unfortunate and significant as that is. And it's not even going to be all of the additional debt that we took out in expanding the government, which has led us to $40 trillion in national debt. As significant as that is, we would still be deep in national debt. And unfortunately, I think our education department, in terms of educating kids, would still be struggling. No one trusts the government. And I said off the top of the show, when I saw that Lindsey Graham had died unexpectedly and that he had just come from Ukraine and that he was working hard to try to solve the issues with peace in the Middle east, my first thought was Russia or Iran killed him. That was my first thought. When I saw that people said he died unexpectedly. And I saw the report that he had been talking to President Trump just a few hours before. Now they say that he had a heart attack and they are going to dive through and examine all of it. They say he had an aortic rupture. And at 71 years old, he might well have had as unfortunately, some of you many of you have experienced in your families and friends. He might have just had an unexpected heart related condition that killed him almost instantly. It might well be the case. And in fact, the evidence all supports that that's what happened. But my first thought was there's something else going on here. And I talked about it with the Charlie Kirk case and I think you can go into any of these stories and they're all deeply rooted in distrust for the United States government because every conspiracy theory that they told you you weren't allowed to talk about during COVID ended up being true. And so it's the two year anniversary of Butler, Pennsylvania, as I was telling all of you, the near death of Donald Trump. A lot of you still don't believe that that random 21 year old or whatever the heck he was climbed up on the roof and got that good of a shot at the President of the United States and it wasn't a part of something bigger. Conspiratorial culture has taken over and there isn't pride in the United States. And I saw this. How proud are you of United States history? 18 to 34 year olds, 23% are proud of United States history. 18 to 34 year olds also. How does that compare to ages 65 and up? 59% of people 65 and up are extremely or very proud of United States history. 18 to 34 year olds, just 23% are. We have failed when it comes to teaching history as a positive experience for young people in the United States today. And I think it's actually the most significant failure in the country because if you do not have pride of country, then nothing else matters. The culture of young people today because we have failed to teach them history properly is such that they are ashamed of the history of the United States. 65 and up, 59, extremely, very proud. 18 to 34 year olds, 23%. How do we fix this? Last week we were talking some about one of the issues that I think most troubles me in education. It's that we don't teach financial literacy. People don't understand how mortgages work. People don't understand interest rates. They don't understand what the interest rate is on a credit card. They don't understand how to pay off credit cards. They don't understand that a minimum balance payoff doesn't actually help you very much. Many of you have struggled through this. You've seen these numbers pile up, certainly with student loans. People don't really understand how much they're taking out. You can end up six figures in debt, going to school for a job that's only going to pay you $40,000 a year. The basic math doesn't add up. Financial literacy matters hugely. But I would argue for the nation, the single most important other than literacy itself, you need to be able to read, is historical literacy. Because if you do not understand what this country has been, then how can you possibly understand where this country might go? And this was question two in the Wall Street Journal. How proud of you are you? Of you, our United States history, that huge gap between 18 to 34 year olds and 65 and up. And it directly ties into this how, how important is patriotism to you, 18 to 34 year olds? Just 18%, 65 and up, 55%. You can't be patriotic if you don't love American history. And I think this is such an important aspect all of us. I went to an 80th birthday party yesterday. One of my old law professors was turning 80 years old. He's a practicing attorney in Nashville. Was an awesome event. His name, by the way, is Lee Barfield. Great, successful attorney. Saw Senator Marsha Blackburn there. She's in the middle of running for governor, but she took the time to come to his 80th birthday party in Nashville and he was talking a lot about his personal history, as one does when they're about to be 80 years old, turning 80. My mom's gonna have a birthday on Friday, by the way. People around that age are very, very proud to be American. And they're incredibly patriotic. Think about the world in which they grew up in. They were born immediately in the aftermath of World War II. When those guys, Trump, Clinton and George W. Bush, were five years old right as they were beginning the 1950s. Everyone around the world saw America as a unique force for good. Much of what Trump is arguing make America great again is really just about trying to reclaim the moral authority and the patriotic feelings that characterized his youth. But also Bill Clinton's youth and also George W. Bush's youth. If you are 80 years old like those three guys are, and like Lee Barfield, we were celebrating yesterday, like my mother in law, who also turned 80 this year. I bet if you are 80 years old, we are nearly white, black, Asian, Hispanic, whatever age you are, I bet you're overwhelmingly patriotic. And I think that's connected to how history was taught to you. You can't be proud of your country if you're not proud of your history. Now, that doesn't mean that you don't recognize that there are tremendous amounts of things that are imperfect, that didn't go as exactly you might have hoped that they would. All of us are flawed. All of us. I think more and more the older I get about the way that you characterize your life. Do you think about the ceilings? Lindsey Graham passed and overwhelmingly you're seeing people from across the political spectrum come out and say that he was a uniquely kind person. Uniquely. In this country of all countries, we believe in risk taking and in the frontier pushing into new worlds. If we are teaching our kids that America can only be looked at through the prism of slavery, or that America can only be looked at through the times that we have failed, is it any wonder that only 18% of 18 to 34 year olds are patriotic? Is it any wonder that 23% are extremely, are very proud of American history? These are directly connected. I really do believe that we need to have a national focus on what is being taught to kids in history in particular, you know, math. But math isn't that complicated to teach. Everybody agrees what the quadratic equation is. Everybody remembers. I think everybody got taught. But in history there's a lot of play in the joints. Some of you are history teachers and you're listening to me right now. Just about everybody learned some history in school, got that big book. You can teach anything. You can focus largely as you see fit. And if you choose to focus on the floor, the 1619 project. My goodness, I don't think we recognize enough how calculated this attempt is to drive down patriotism by making people ashamed of, of United States history. I'm just telling you, when I saw this in the Wall Street Journal was a light bulb going off. How many people are even talking about this? How many people are even having a conversation at all about this and the way that it is set up? I just see it, it's so clear to me. And leadership is important. Who the President of the United States is, who your governor is, who your senators are, your congressmen, your state reps, all those different things. But if they're speaking to an audience of young people that believes that America has failed, that believes that America is a story of utility and not a story of heroism, if they believe all of that, none of this else hardly even matters. Tearing down American history and our heroes, sometimes in 2020, literally tearing down the statues of our heroes and those who came before us, it is so intentional and it's working and it's a long range play. And if we do not focus on this, you can't protect or long survive in a country where people are not proud to live here and do not celebrate the successes of those who came before us. So I'm thinking about that in a big way. Part of it is America 250, but again, old school me looking at this Wall Street Journal poll, my goodness, it just jumps out right off the top. And it is so incredibly important we come back. There's another little part here that I think is secondary to this. It's a question. America is a nation where people are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. That used to be something that a strong majority of Americans agreed with somehow over the last 12 or 14 years. And I think it's directly connected to history and the impact that we are having there. That overall situation has collapsed. So all of that you guys can react to. But I do think it's important. We'll share on clayandbuck.com the the story there of exactly what's going on with that article so you can see this evidence for yourself and so hopefully you can punch back against it. I want to tell you right now, if you were trying to make everything safer in your home, this can be very, very important. But you have young kids and you're somewhat a little bit concerned maybe about what might happen with those young kids. This is exactly what Saber is designed to do. FBI study reveals home break ins occur every 26 seconds. Hopefully you have protection tools from Sabre to help make your home safer. The Sabre Home Defense Launcher fires seven powerful pepper or impact projectiles, two more than other leading brands. When every second counts, those two extra projectiles can make all the difference. If you miss, the pepper cloud acts as an effective deterrent. Trusted by police and millions worldwide, Sabre is America's number one pepper spray brand. We've got Saber products in our home, as does Buck's family. We got young kids in the house. We want to be able to protect them with non lethal. If you got kids or grandkids coming around right now, save up to 15% on select Saber bundles. Don't wait until you wish you had protection. Visit saber protect.com you can also call 844-824 safe. That's 844-824-S a f e saberprotect.com hope for the best. Be prepared. With Saber looking for normal in a world of crazy, Clay and Buck have your back.

[Dr. Charles Stanley (voiceover for intouch.org ads)]

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

[Firestone Tires Announcer]

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

[Buck Sexton]

dad Disney activities are on Lingokids.

[Buck Sexton (casual interjections)]

What?

[Buck Sexton]

Moana and Elsa and Marvel's Spider Man. All of them on Lingokids? Yes, dad on Lingokids. That's pretty cool. I know. You just lost them for the rest of the afternoon.

[Clay Travis]

Worth it.

[Buck Sexton]

Full of fun activities inspired by Disney's Moana, Frozen Zootopia, Marvel's Spider man and more. Lingokids is where little ones discover more about favorite characters. Lingokids Everything kids love, download it for free. The first ever X Games League championship is going down live and New Orleans has the call. Three days of elite action, split sports, a season's worth of competition coming down to one final weekend. Watch July 24 through 26 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 or stream on the ESPN app, X Games, YouTube, Kick Roku sports channel and Amazon. The championship starts July 24. Don't miss the moment. It becomes history. Looking for normal in a crazy world.

[Clay Travis]

Clay and Buck have your back.

[Buck Sexton (casual interjections)]

Foreign.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in we are rolling through the third hour of the program. I'm Clay Travis and we are gonna play a little bit at the bottom of this hour. We played it in the first hour to what I would say are a couple of the best moments of Lindsey Graham's life. But a little bit of an update continuing on. What's going on in the Strait of Hormuz and it's Groundhog Day. I mean, the reality is every single day you wake up and Iran has fired on a ship and the United States is saying, well, we're going to control the Strait of Hormuz. And Iran is going to say, well, no, you're not. We're going to go ahead and continue to extract some form of fee for everybody to go through. President Trump seems fed up with everyone in Iran, which does not speak very well, I think, going forward for what's going to happen to Iran. But we will continue to break that down and we'll continue to dive into what I saw here about patriotism and history and more. But I want to tell you, acknowledging the important work being done by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, easy to do. I've seen it firsthand when I traveled to Israel to witness it for myself. The IFCJ has built a bridge of trust between Christians in this country and those in who are Jewish around the world. International Fellowship of Christians and Jews uses your donations to provide aid, assistance and resources for the most vulnerable parts of those societies. No red tape, no bureaucracy, just hard work and dedication. They've built on the trust and alliance that exists between the US And Israel. In particular, the IFCJ has created a symbol to share with you and others in this audience. It's a flag pin, including the flags of both the US And Israel, two countries that pursue personal freedom. Flagpen is yours free when you go online to flagpenifcj.org that's Flagpen ifcj.org Common sense never sounded so good. Clay and Buck owning the airwaves. Welcome back in Clay and Buck. Rolling through the Monday edition of the program. A ton of different stories we've been talking about. I got on a big stem winder there about the importance of history. And I did want to make sure that we talked about the importance of Lindsey Graham's history and unexpected death. Reports are that he had a heart attack and aortic rupture is what has been put out based on preliminary discussions surrounding that. And I did want to play Lindsey Graham. This, we played this in the first hour. But to me, this was one of the greatest moments of Lindsey Graham's political career. This was during the confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh. Senator Lindsey Graham went absolutely off on the sham proceedings and attacks that were raining down on Brett Kavanaugh. And I think he was a big reason why Brett Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court right now. Here is cut six.

[Buck Sexton]

If you wanted an FBI investigation, you could have come to us. What you want to do is destroy this guy's life, hold this seat open and hope you win in 2020. You've said that, not me. You've got nothing to apologize for. When you see Sotomayor and Kagan, tell them that Lindsey said hello because I voted for them. I would never do to them what you've done to this guy. This is the most unethical sham since I've been in politics. And if you really wanted to know the truth, you sure as hell wouldn't have done what you've done to this guy. Are you a gang rapist?

[Clay Travis]

No.

[Buck Sexton]

I cannot imagine what you and your

[Clay Travis]

family have gone through.

[Buck Sexton]

Boy, y' all want power? God, I hope you never get it. I hope the American people can see through this sham.

[Clay Travis]

What Lindsey Graham hit on there, and, man, that was powerful. And for those of you who were watching this hearing live back in 2018, as powerful as those words are here today, eight years later, they really landed so much stronger then because, frankly, a lot of Republicans were not doing a great job of pointing out just how much of a sham all these Christine Blasey Ford allegations were against Brett Kavanaugh. If you remember that hearing, there was fear from Republicans that if they questioned her too aggressively. Oh, they would be considered sexist. And so it was a super weird hearing. They had a prosecutor basically asking questions, a woman that they brought in, and they yielded all their time to her. And it was discordant, and it was not particularly effective when it was asking questions. And so her jumping him, jumping in and defending Kavanaugh as he did was, I thought, one of the foremost moments in Lindsey Graham's career. And here is President Trump saying he agrees. I think the finest moment of Lindsey Graham's career was when he defended Brett KAVANAUGH. That's cut 11.

[Buck Sexton (casual interjections)]

I think his finest moment was his defense of Brett Kavanaugh, who's a terrific guy and was treated very, very unfairly by the Democrats. Very unfairly. I've never seen anything like it. Maybe the worst I've ever seen. That includes me. Well, maybe not me, but it includes just about everybody. He was treated so unfairly, and Lindsey, as you remember, had that moment. And, you know, I'll tell you, Jake, I think it was the top 10, maybe a top five moment in the history of the Senate. It was an incredible display. And he did it from the heart. He felt strongly about Brett, and he did it from the heart, and it turned that whole thing around. He was really amazing. That was one they should replay.

[Clay Travis]

I agree. And we just replayed it. I agree with President Trump on his take about that moment being so profound for Lindsey Graham. I think the reason why it registered to the degree that it did was what President Trump just said. It was unscripted. So much of what we hear from politicians is somebody else writing a speech that they put on a teleprompter for the politician to read. And sometimes you get situations that really good actors and actresses, which is what a lot of people in politics are now, where they can grab the emotion of someone else's words and they can convey it to you in a way that is particularly striking. But I think one of the reasons why President Trump has had the success that he has is he's largely going off his teleprompter very often. And I think the reason that Lindsey Graham moment captured and captivated so many was because it really got to the essence of the absurdity of the Brett Kavanaugh story. But it did it in a way without talking points, without being read off of, off of a pre printed series of questions. And for Lindsey Graham, I do want to play this because we talked about it some off the top of the show and I played it earlier too, and we're getting a lot of feedback on this. And many of you are skeptical. Here is the report, by the way, of Lindsey Graham, there being no foul play in the way in which he passed. This is cut 13. Alex Hogan on Fox News. I understand why so many of you in the wake of COVID as I said off the top of the program, why so many of you feel as if it's hard to trust the official word because you've been lied to. We've all been lied to so much by governmental figures, particularly as it pertains to Covid. So much skepticism is out there and was out there and remains out there associated with Lindsey Graham. And unfortunately, that is the world in which we live. And it's why I said off the top of the program. This is why not prosecuting Anthony Fauci is so significant because he got away with lies. He got away with covering up the fact that much of the escape of COVID from the Chinese lab was directly connected to American tax dollars at the behest of Anthony Fauci. And they lied to you and nothing happened to them. And so every time you see a story, this is what happened when the news came down on Sunday morning and I'm waking up, I'm texting with the show. This just sounds skeptical to me. Like I'm just skeptical of everything now because we've been lied to so much. But I do want to pay you. Cut 13. They're doing an autopsy, they're doing a toxicology. Reports everything else. Here it is. It was early this morning that the senator's team, their official office releasing that he had died of what they are calling a brief and sudden illness. The FBI are at Senator Graham's residence, although there is no indication of foul play, according to the federal law enforcement. Earlier today, FBI Director Cash Patel said that the FBI would assist local authorities and make every resource available. And so again, that investigation is continuing. Hopefully it will. You hate to say hopefully, but at this point, hopefully it confirms what has already been reported, that it's a heart attack and aortic rupture. And that can happen unexpectedly for anyone of any age. And certainly it's an untimely, unexpected death because of everything that Lindsey Graham was involved in trying to do to make the country better. And he had just won. We talked about this some earlier in the program, but it's worth mentioning as you start to turn the page and contemplate where we go from here. He had just won his six year extension on the South Carolina Republican Senate race. So he just won the primary last month if I'm remembering correctly. And so he was going to serve for for six more years. And at 71, even though it's not a youthful age, at 71, he's nowhere near the age that many of the fellow of his fellow colleagues on both sides of the aisle are in the Senate. 71 years old is somewhat of a reasonable age for a senator. Now he was going to serve for six more years. But we've gotten so used to the gerontocracy, to the number of people out there in their 60s, high 60s, 70s and 80s who are continuing to represent the United States government. And look, Trump himself is 80 as we were just talking about. And he's the same age Trump is as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, those guys President feels like forever ago. And so this unfortunately is the reality now in terms of the larger political ramifications. We're talking about a real difficulty existing in the Senate getting anything passed going forward because we're going to have to figure out who's going to replace Lindsey Graham. There's already only a 53 to 47 lead right now for the Republicans. There's a lot of states out there that are going to be battlegrounds going forward. But several of the senators now that are serving until January are not going to be back. We know that John Cornyn's not going to be back in Texas. How much incentive is he going to have to get things done? We know that Cassidy down in Louisiana is not going to be back. How much of an incentive is he going to have to get things done? And we know that in North Carolina, Tillis is not going to be back. That's three guys who are sitting senators right now that are on their way out and we've got a tiny majority. Mitch McConnell put out a picture and talked about this a little bit earlier. They had to do a proof of life photo for Mitch McConnell where he was posing next to the Washington Post sports section. I saw the picture this morning and I couldn't believe that they had to do a proof of life of a United States senator. I certainly hope that Mitch McConnell gets well and he's only going to be serving for the rest of this year. He's going to be replaced in January by Andy Barr in the state of Kentucky, barring some huge, tremendous upset. But the fact that he had to do a proof of life is a sign at 84 years old of where we are. And it's not just Republicans, also Democrat side. There's just a lot of people that are struggling when it comes to their health and they have an incredibly important part of of running this country and we're just not going to have much of a majority at all. So we've been talking a lot about Lindsey Graham's legacy. But going forward, the challenge that we're going to face is there's just not that many senators to be able to get anything passed for President Trump. And that's presuming even that the Senate is able to stay in the Republican camp after the midterms coming up. Got a busy summer. You want chalk supplements? Chalk is spelled C H o Q website chalk.com supplements specifically formulated to provide men and women more energy throughout the day using only natural ingredients. For the guys we represent, Chalk's Male Vitality Stack, which boosts testosterone, one of the primary sources of energy for the gals out there. Female Vitality Stack helps with hormone health, which is also connected to your energy levels. Chalk has tons of other products, too. If you want to know more about how supplements can improve your overall health and well being, check out the chalk.com blog. Right now it's a family company. I love everything that Seton has done out of Texas. Full of Patriots customer service team second to none and entirely US based if you sign up today and if you're like me trying to keep up with your kids or grandkids, I'm trying to stay the strongest Travis family mail. My son is lifting all the time. He's soon to be 16 years old. I don't know how much longer I can hold him off, but I've been lifting more and more and I need all the help I can get. Chalk can help make a difference for you. Use my name Clay. You get a 99 bonus product right now. They're lit powder. Awesome for exercising. That's chalk.com promo code clay clay for the lit powder, that's chalk.com, promo code C L A Y $99 bonus. Get hooked up today.

[Dr. Charles Stanley (voiceover for intouch.org ads)]

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

[Firestone Tires Announcer]

Your vehicle doesn't just get you from here to there. It's a bridge to the people and places you that matter most. It's how you show up for your family, your community, and everyone else that depends on you. That's why for 125 years, Firestone has been building tires with one thing in to deliver products that are as reliable as you are. Firestone always dependable since 1900.

[Buck Sexton]

Mom, can I have Lingokids? Dad, Lingokids, please. When did we become the Lingokids house? No idea. Last week it was dinosaurs. This week, Lingokids. Why Lingokids? Because it's the best thing ever. We can play games with astronauts, wild animals and superheroes. With more than 4,000 interactive games, songs and shows, LingoKids is the number one entertainment platform for young kids. So no dinosaurs and dinosaurs.

[Buck Sexton (casual interjections)]

Lingo kids.

[Buck Sexton]

Everything kids love. Download it for free. The best skaters, BMX riders and moto athletes in the world don't compete in leagues. Until now. The X Games League championship is locked in. Live From New Orleans, July 24th through 26th, three days of elite action sports, plus performances from Metro Boomin, JID Subtronics and Bunt Watch on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 stream on the ESPN app Roku Kick, Amazon and X Games YouTube. The inaugural champion gets crowned this July.

[Clay Travis]

Level up your brain mental mogging with Clay and Buck. Welcome back in closing up shop here on Clay and Buck. Encourage you as always, go subscribe to us on YouTube if you haven't already. And I believe there are 131,000 of you pioneers. We are going to be adding more and more live video and you are going to be able to jump in and get hooked up and be able to watch all three hours of this show on video going forward. We're not sure exactly how flawless this is going to be, but we want to be as many different places as possible. We want you to be able to find us on podcast. We want you to be able to find us on satellite radio. Want you to be able to find us on the 600am FM stations that we are available on right now. We want to be wherever you guys are so you can find us on social media everywhere. But this is a new addition and we are super excited about being able to to be everywhere for all of you and we would be excited if you would go join us on the YouTube page. Good place by the way, to be able to share clips, videos with your kids or grandkids. We were talking about the top of this hour, the fact that patriotism has collapsed and it's directly connected to how we teach United States history. If you've got kids or grandkids out there, maybe you're hearing from them things about American history that you don't particularly like, that you don't think is representative of the great history of this nation. I think it's worthwhile to dive in. I tease this and I do want to make sure that I don't forget to mention it. This was also in this same Wall Street Journal article. America is a nation where people are not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. 2008, 60% of Americans strongly or somewhat agree with that position. Right. The goal of America should be to judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. That was primarily occurring in 2008. 9, 10, 60% of people said, you know what? I think that's going on right now. This year it has collapsed to only 41% of Americans believing that. Meanwhile, the fact that you strongly, somewhat disagree, that has gone from 60, 40Americans agree to basically 60 40Americans disagree. And again, I think all of this is part of an intentional desire to create division, which the media has excelled at. How about the fact that the use of the term white supremacy as we were talking about in the second hour of the program, it has skyrocketed. It's crazy to me that in 2008, 2009, 2010, everything was going pretty well in terms of race relations, I think most of you would agree in the country. And then the bottom just completely fell out of it again. I think it comes back to how we teach history, to whether or not we embrace the idea of American exceptionalism or if we create a world where people feel like they are victims, even as there never has been a time when people are being victimized less. As I talked about in the second hour of the program, the data out there and Wokeness put out that great data point on the fact that crime where black people are victims of white people almost doesn't exist in this country, yet the media overwhelmingly covers it as if it is in fact the case that black people are in danger from white people. It isn't true at all, but that's the world that they have created. All right, let's try to end on some positivity here. We have got talk Back lesson podcast listener Danny in South Carolina. This is cut a. I flew a lot in my younger days and I'll tell you the the easiest way is just to sit there and let everybody go. Let all the yahoos go first. And then when, when pretty much everybody's

[Buck Sexton (casual interjections)]

gone, you can get up, get your stuff.

[Clay Travis]

There's no pushing or nothing. It's a lot easier that way, buddy. So many people. We had some fun last week talking about how we fly. I'm headed up to New York this afternoon to be with Buck in studio tomorrow in New York City. And in general, when I'm on my Southwest Airlines flights, I try to always sit near the front of the plane just so I can get off as fast as possible because I, I think the older I get, the less patient I'm getting. But I am thankful that we had three fun hours today. Hope you enjoyed it, encourage you to go subscribe to the podcast, subscribe to us on YouTube and we will be back tomorrow together in our New York City studio. I am Clay Travis. Buck will be back with me tomorrow. Have fantastic rest of your days and remember, we're all very fortunate to live in the greatest country in the history of the world. Let's get better at teaching that history. See y' all tomorrow. The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show Podcast is proud to be supported by Grand Canyon University, an affordable, private, non profit Christian University based in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. They say higher education is outdated, irrelevant. GCU doesn't settle for the status quo, they shatter it.

[Dr. Charles Stanley (voiceover for intouch.org ads)]

At gcu, academically rigorous, industry driven programs are built to move at the speed of relevance with practical skills, career readiness and opportunity for every learner. GCU believes education shouldn't be a privilege, but an affordable path forward for all.

[Clay Travis]

Grounded in Christian truth, GCU works to empower the next generation to lead with integrity, serve with purpose, and help transform their communities, building a future that matters. GCU is Purpose Driven education. Take action. Find your purpose at gcu. Private Christian, affordable Nonprofit. Visit gcu. Edu to learn more.

[Firestone Tires Announcer]

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

[Buck Sexton]

dad Disney activities are on Lingokids.

[Buck Sexton (casual interjections)]

What?

[Buck Sexton]

Moana and Elsa and Marvel's Spider Man. All of them on Lingokids? Yes, dad on Lingokids. That's pretty cool. I know. You just lost them for the rest of the afternoon.

[Clay Travis]

Worth it.

[Buck Sexton]

Full of fun activities inspired by Disney's Moana, Frozen, Zootopia, Marvel's Spider man and more. Lingokids is where little ones discover more about favorite characters. Lingokids. Everything kids love, download it for free. The best skaters, BMX riders and moto athletes in the world don't compete in leagues until now. The X Games League Championship is live From New Orleans, July 24th through 26th. Three days of elite action sports, plus performances from Metro, Boomin, Jid, Subtronics and bunt watch on ABC ESPN and ESPN2 stream on the ESPN app, Roku Kick, Amazon and X Games YouTube. The inaugural champion gets crowned this July.