Hour 3 - It's Gettin' Hot in Here

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 3 – It's Gettin' Hot in Here
Date: July 30, 2026
Guest: Ryan Girdusky, host of "It's a Numbers Game" Podcast

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Episode Overview

This hour of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" blends insightful political analysis with humor and cultural commentary. Featuring guest Ryan Girdusky, the episode covers the European and U.S. immigration crises, upcoming U.S. Senate races, the persistent dysfunction of commercial air travel, and closes with lighter conversation about sports and pop culture gaffes.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Immigration in Europe and the U.S.

Timestamps: 01:11–04:28

• Spanish Immigration and EU Impact

  • Clay introduces viral footage of African migrants rushing a fence at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, highlighting Spain’s controversial mass amnesty for illegal immigrants.
    • “After the Spanish prime minister ... signed an amnesty for a million people that are in the country illegally. So things are ... getting crazy over there.” (Clay, 01:11)
  • Ryan details the sharp rise in Spain’s amnesty—now an estimated 3 million people, or 8% of the population—and explains how Spain’s Schengen status lets those regularized migrants move freely throughout the EU, alarming leaders in other European countries.
    • “...Spain is not a large country. 3 million is about 8% of the population. So it is a tremendous amnesty… if you are a resident of Spain you can go to any other country in the EU without a passport...” (Ryan, 02:11)

• U.S. Southern Border Parallels

  • Buck draws direct parallels with the U.S. border, noting the demographic consistency: “It's all military age males. And ... worth reiterating again and again, overwhelmingly, we are not seeing families come. We're seeing young men come.” (Buck, 02:54)

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2. The 2026 Senate Races and Political Landscape

Timestamps: 03:52–11:18

• Michigan and the Democrats’ Position

  • Clay and Ryan dissect the Michigan Senate primary, noting that Abdul El Sayed appears poised to win the Democratic nomination due to low turnout in key Democrat demographic groups.
    • “Early voting data is showing ... white, college educated and Muslim populations in the state are voting at much higher percentages than her [Haley Stevens’] bases, which is predominantly black areas in the Detroit area.” (Ryan, 04:28)
  • Ryan forecasts a Democratic advantage this cycle, suggesting a “wave for Democrat kind of year.”

• Factors Determining House and Senate Control

  • “...it comes down to food prices, prices, oil prices, and if the Iran war is wrapped up or not. ... That is the margin in a lot of states where it's going to matter.” (Ryan, 06:07)
  • The team analyzes key battleground states (Michigan, New Hampshire, Georgia) and explores Republican vulnerabilities, focusing on how economic indicators and international conflicts could shift outcomes.

• Democrats’ Red State Hybrid Candidates

  • Ryan highlights the interesting tactic of Democrats running “independent” candidates with no official Democrat branding, especially in deep-red states Idaho and Nebraska.
    • “...they're trying to run candidates in red states who don't have the stink of the Democratic brand on them to make these races competitive.” (Ryan, 10:22)

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3. Airline Industry Dysfunction and Public Frustration

Timestamps: 11:18–17:27

• Widespread Flight Delays and Structural Airline Issues

  • Clay, Buck, and Ryan vent their frustrations about the worsening state of U.S. air travel, characterized by chronic delays and cancellations.
  • Ryan’s horror story: 60 hours, six flights, five states—all to make one trip due to cascading cancellations and lack of communication.
    • “Overall, six flights, five states, 60 hours of insanity. Only for the last flight to be canceled, and had to sleep over in a different hotel to fly out the next morning. It cost over $1,000...” (Ryan, 12:19)
  • Clay notes, “They wouldn't even exist without the taxpayer ... so I feel like they're not allowed to just punish people or they shouldn't be allowed to just punish people all the time.” (Clay, 15:40)
  • Ryan: “It's basically six companies that run the entire United States airline industry. They should make it—someone should make it a little bit easier because it is incredibly frustrating.” (Ryan, 16:39)

• Class Divide and Lack of Reform

  • Buck observes, “The wealthier you are, the less likely you fly commercial airlines...If you're super wealthy, you don't fly commercial.” (Buck, 16:56)
  • Ryan adds, “But Congress does fly commercial... Which is why I don't understand. They don't do anything about this.” (Ryan, 17:27)

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4. Light-Hearted Sports Talk: The Right-Wing All-Star Basketball Team

Timestamps: 21:16–25:38

• Tongue-in-Cheek Debate on Conservative Pundits’ WNBA Potential
  • Hilarity ensues as Clay and Buck build a comedic roster of notable right-wing media figures (Jesse Kelly, Dave Rubin, Ted Cruz, Bongino, Hegseth, Ben Shapiro) and debate their skills and draft potential in the WNBA or an imaginary league.
  • “He would be a dominant WNBA player right now. He, he could step right into a starting lineup for a WNBA team.” (Buck, 22:08)
  • “Ted Cruz plays basketball the way that every Long Island rec coach tells you to play basketball. A lot of boxing out, you got to throw some elbows...sky hooks, baby, hooks.” (Clay, 23:26)
  • Laughter about media personalities' gym legends, with quips about needing a “right-wing franchise player.” (Clay, 25:05)

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5. WNBA Gambling Gaffe and its Double Standards

Timestamps: 25:38–32:11

• Controversy Over Players Gambling on Their Own Game

  • Clay criticizes the WNBA for posting (and then deleting) a video showing Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers betting $400 on a game outcome, contrasting the league's lighthearted response to the NFL's strict zero-tolerance policy.
    • “If you are a WNBA player and they post you on video betting for the game outcome ... they just say ‘hey, it was supposed to be lighthearted and we're going to address it internally.’” (Clay, 27:51)
  • Buck explains the issue for athletes betting on their own games, referencing baseball’s Pete Rose and outlining how “blanket prohibitions” exist to prevent even the appearance of impropriety.

• Nelly’s "Hot in Here" and the ‘Just Kidding’ Defense

  • The hosts riff on how laughable “we were just kidding” is as a legal or PR strategy, relating it to Nelly’s lyrics from “Hot in Here”:
    • “I got a friend with the pole with a pole in the basement. I’m just kidding, unless you’re gonna do it.” (Buck, 36:21)
  • Both poke fun at the absurdity of using the “just kidding” defense in real life.

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6. Listener Talkbacks and Closing Banter

Timestamps: 36:49–39:43

• Fauci and Prosecutions

  • Two listener questions about Dr. Fauci and the idea of trying him before the International Criminal Court; Buck and Clay both find the notion problematic and unlikely.
    • “I do not like setting the precedent of an American citizen should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court because we’re too incompetent to do it with our own courts.” (Buck, 37:18)

• Basketball Team Laughs

  • Final caller suggests Clay and Buck decide who among them should “shave her head and go butch” for their imaginary WNBA careers, prompting one last round of jokes about hair and radio host heights.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ryan Girdusky on Airline Travel:
  “Airlines are banks who own planes. They're not actually.”—Ryan (13:43)

• Clay on Airlines and Regulation:
  “They wouldn't even exist without the taxpayer and they're heavily regulated by the federal government as it is. So I feel like they're not allowed to just punish people...” (15:40)

• Buck on Political Frustration with Airlines:
  “If you're super wealthy, you don't fly commercial. You're hopping on the ... private. Peasants like us are just allowed to suffer.” (16:56–17:23)

• On WNBA and Betting Scandal:
  “If you are a WNBA player and they post you on video betting for the game outcome ... they just say, ‘hey, it was supposed to be lighthearted and we're going to address it internally.’” —Clay (27:51)

• Buck’s “Nelly Defense”:
  “Nelly Hotten here … I got a friend with the pole with a pole in the basement. I’m just kidding. Unless you’re gonna do it.” (36:21)

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Important Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|-------| | 01:11–04:28 | Spain/EU immigration crisis and U.S. border parallels | | 04:28–11:18 | 2026 Senate races, battlegrounds, and election variables | | 11:18–17:27 | Airline industry collapse and personal travel woes | | 21:16–25:38 | Conservative media basketball team banter | | 25:38–32:11 | WNBA gambling controversy and double standards | | 36:49–39:43 | Listener call-ins: Fauci, ICC, and more basketball jokes |

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Tone & Style

The episode balances serious political commentary with characteristic irreverence and playful camaraderie. Clay, Buck, and Ryan blend policy discussions with personal anecdotes and comedy, creating an engaging, entertaining, and opinionated talk radio atmosphere.

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Useful Takeaways for New Listeners

• Insight into the political strategy, demographic trends, and “hidden levers” that could decide the 2026 Senate balance.
• Explanation of how U.S. and European immigration policies can have continent-wide effects.
• A common-sense view of why commercial air travel is so bad (with little patience for industry excuses).
• A lighthearted look at media figures through a sporting lens.
• Pop culture references (Nelly, WNBA) used playfully to critique current events and media caution.

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End of Summary

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.

[Joel Osteen]

What God started in my life, he's

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going to finish the Joel Osteen Daily Podcast.

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Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. What was meant for my harm? Lord, I want to thank you. Right now, you're turning to my advantage.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Your daily source of hope and encouragement.

[Joel Osteen]

Your second wind is on its way. God is about to breathe on your life in a new way.

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Listen to the Joel Osteen Daily podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast and wherever you get your favorite podcasts, this

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episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. At Navy Federal, they want you to know that if you need a positive sign towards achieving your goal of home ownership, this is it. Because even though today's housing market may seem discouraging, the Homebuyer's Choice loan offers members down payment options as low as 0% with no required private mortgage insurance. Look for your sign today. Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal is insured by NCUA Equal Housing Lender. Terms and conditions apply. Loans subject to approval, approval and eligibility requirements. Learn more@navy federal.org 0down brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union.

[Clay Travis]

3rd hour of Clay and Buck kicks off right now and we are joined by our friend Ryan Gardusky, host of the podcast It's a Numbers Game, which is a fantastic podcast. Highly recommend you all check it out on the Clay and buck podcast network. Mr. Graduski, so many things to talk to you about. Start with mass. Let's start with mass immigration. Have you seen this situation in the footage going viral? I know we don't talk about Spain very much, but is it pronounced Ceuda? I don't know even know how to pronounce it. In Morocco, where you have the African migrants, just completely overwhelming. There's this little Spanish enclave and they're just, they're just like running through the fence basically to get onto what is technically Spanish territory. After the Spanish prime minister, I think, signed an amnesty for a million people that are in the country illegally. So things are. Have you seen this? Things are getting crazy over there.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Yeah, it was as Pedro, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Originally he said, it's me for 500,000, and then it was a million. Now it's estimated to be 3 million, which Spain is not a large country. 3 million is about 8% of the population. So it is a tremendous amnesty. And bigger problem is that it's part of Spain is part of the Schengen Agreement, which means that if you are a resident of Spain, and legally there you can go to any other country in the EU without a passport. So we're talking the possibility of millions of people going not only to Italy, but end up in Germany and Ireland and Sweden quite like it happened back in 2015. So not only is this causing backlash in his own country, but Giorgia Meloni and other prime ministers around Europe are pushing back against his amnesty plan.

[Buck Sexton]

Ryan? Yeah, that clip is what will happen if Democrats end back up in power again. It looks like when Bill Malugian was down at Eagle Pass, Texas and we saw tens of thousands of people, what I would point out, Ryan, I'm sure you saw it too. I think I saw Matt Sorter, among others, posting about this. Everybody coming in is young and male. People like to say, oh, this is about trying to take care of families. There's no women, there's no children storming across the border there. Right now. It's all military age males. And and I do think that's worth reiterating again and again, overwhelmingly, we are not seeing families come. We're seeing young men come. When you look Ryan, let's go into the the current political environment Tuesday. I was at a fundraiser last night for Jimmy Petronas. Awesome guy, represents the Florida First District. Basically right across the street. He was having a fundraiser, doing great work. One of the guys there is working on the Michigan Senate campaign. My wife is from Michigan. This is one that we've talked a lot about, a lot on this program. We followed it closely. They had their final debate. Tuesday is the primary. We will be talking about a great deal. Abdul El Sayed is pulling away from Haley Stevens and appears to be a substantial favorite going into the primary on Tuesday. Do you buy if El Sayed wins that Mike Rogers, who is going to be the Republican nominee, has a very good chance to win? How does that change your calculus? We'll dive into some other parts of the Senate maybe a bit later in the conversation here. But tell me about Michigan with the primary Tuesday.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Yeah, Haley Stevens is fake accent with a sticker to him is not really getting what people thought that would. Here's the problem with Haley Stevens. It's not just polling. Early voting data is showing that white, college educated and Muslim populations in the state are voting at much higher percentages than her bases, which is predominantly black areas in the Detroit area. Detroit's black areas have had substantially lower turnout. So are the rural areas. And the bigger problem with Michigan with Democrats, period is that the white working class people who would normally back a Haley Stevens are All Republicans. Now, Mike Rogers is probably polling close to even against Abdul El Sayed. He's a very extreme candidate. He's campaigning with the podcaster Hasan Piker, who said that Americans deserve 9, 11. However, it is a bad year for Republicans. It is a year in a state that is 50, 50 voted a little more for Trump than for Kamala. It is looking like a D 7, D 8 year. The generic ballot is leaving the train and is really sticking to Democrats. So in an environment like that, even bad candidates can win. Even Francesca Hong, who is nuts beyond belief over in Wisconsin, she could probably win in an environment like this. It's just becoming, it's looking more and more like a wave for Democrat kind of year.

[Clay Travis]

So, Ryan, what are some of the variables between now and election Day that you feel like are gonna be the primary determinants about whether Republicans hold the House and Republicans hold the Senate? What are some of the pri, you know, the primary levers that depending on which way they go, we're gonna either be celebrating or having a rough one?

[Ryan Gardusky]

Well, you know, we talked several weeks, several months ago at this point about the Iran war and oil prices and food prices. And we all said if it goes down by the end of summer, by mid summer will be Republicans will be fine. And when it started dipping during the negotiations, Republican numbers did substantially improve. Republicans are doing better than Trump's doing and Trump's in close to George W. Bush territory as far as polling goes. However, we're at the end of summer now. Kids are going back to school in the south like next week, and oil prices are back up and Democrats numbers are starting to surge. At the end of the day, it comes down to food prices, prices, oil prices, and if the Iran war is wrapped up or not. I mean, it's really just. That is the margin in a lot of states where it's going to matter. A lot of people defy political gravity with people like Susan Collins and others. Brian Fitzpatrick, a congressman in Pennsylvania, if you're looking at a D plus 7D plus 8 year, it's going to be almost impossible for any of these people who defy gravity, who win in Democratic states and districts to hold on.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay, so let's pretend that, that it's going to be hard. Let's just say acknowledge Michigan, New Hampshire, Georgia, which are probably. Ryan, you can disagree with me if you would point to any other place, probably the only thing, three states where Republicans could say, hey, we have a chance of taking a Democrat seat. That's where Democrats hold it. Right now if none of those happen.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

We hope they do. But if none of those were to happen, then you flip back to, okay, what about Texas? What about Iowa? What about, you know, you start to run through a bunch of these other Alaska battleground states, Ohio, how confident are you that Republicans can get to at least 50? That would mean lose three. You can afford to lose three. Instead have the tie break for you, lose control of the Senate. What's going to happen there? How do you feel about Republican held seats?

[Ryan Gardusky]

Well, the first, you have Collins, who is, who's defied gravity. Yeah, no, no, it's okay. She's, she's the one who's in a Democrat seat. She's very endangered. But she is extremely popular among independents and some Democratic women. She's in a tough battle this year, though. North Carolina is the other really important one. Former Governor Roy Cooper is beating Michael Whatley, the Republican back candidate, by nine points in the latest Fox News poll. The good thing, Republicans, after those two states, which is one's a Democrat, one's a swing state, you get to states where Trump won all by double digits. So the ability to win past those two states becomes harder and harder and harder for Democrats. That's the one key thing. When you mention Texas, if you look at where people are reserving cash reserves for ads, almost No, I think 700,000 went for Democrats in Texas and none went for Republicans in Texas. There's multiple reasons for this. I have a little insight information. You know, Republicans in the Senate allegedly really wanted John Cornyn to be the nominee. They did not want Ken Pax to be the nominee. And they basically told the Trump team in the White House or in the political side, saying if he's the nominee, he's all your problem. We're not taking it. But the other problem is, is that Texas is 20 media markets. It's the biggest media market in the entire country. So to invest in Texas requires more money than any other states and it's a hard lift for Democrats. That's why they would rather invest in Iowa, in Ohio, in Alaska and other places than invest in Texas. It's just really expensive. As far as Iowa, Ohio and Alaska goes, Ohio is a tough state. But John, you said, is a fairly unknown lieutenant governor relatively to Sherrod Brown, who's the Democrat nominee, former senator, Iowa looks like it's turning more and more towards Republicans favor Alaska. The Democrat, Mary Patola, former congressman who lost, she has an immense burn rate. She's raising a lot of money, but she's blowing through it very, very early. So I feel decently okay about Alaska given much money she's blowing early on. Ohio is the one that I would probably be looking at. But in that case it would probably look like a 5149 map for Republicans.

[Clay Travis]

Worst case scenario, anything, Ryan, that you're looking at in terms of Democrats sort of shifting focus right now to reposition themselves based on the latest or you know, where, where are they going in heaviest and hardest thinking they actually have a real shot at a pickup?

[Ryan Gardusky]

Well, I mean Democrats are kind of playing it more safe than usual. The one thing that they're doing is very interesting is the Democratic nominees have dropped out of the Nebraska and Idaho Senate race. And what is happening is two independents who are saying we don't know who we're going to caucus with. They're likely going to caucus with Democrats. They are the official nominees and they're trying to run candidates in red states who don't have the stink of the Democratic brand on them to make these races competitive. I mean, over in Idaho, Senator Rich is an older man. He's is over 80 years old. He's running for his I think fourth term in the Senate. And you know, there's a lot of questions over whether he should be running at this age. His poll numbers have tightened substantially in some polls. But who knows. It is Idaho. It is a very, very red state. That's their game plan though is to run these independent candidates in these very red states hoping they can narrow it as long as there's no Democrat on the ballot. So we'll see if it plays out well.

[Clay Travis]

So Ryan, you might have noticed from well one, we're friends and we just talk randomly. But also from my ex account and some, some recent discussions on the show, I am paying attention to the fact that and I really, I'm ready to tell people right now, please do not email me and say don't complain about the weather. The weather hasn't gotten 100% worse for the airlines in the last two years but three hour plus delays have and this is something we have told would be addressed and would get better. We were all mocking Buddha judge for being MIA and things being rough. We were told they were going to be fixed. They have not been fixed even a little bit and it's a big annoying pain in the butt for millions of people who fly, especially if you fly on a regular basis. I had a super irritating flight story recently. I've heard a lot of other people. You had one that you wanted to share but can you all, at the end of it, can you also tell us, I think it's fair to say that the Trump administration should focus and do more on this. But. But go ahead.

[Ryan Gardusky]

I had to fly from New Orleans to Harrisburg. Not an easy flight with one connecting thing. I land in Detroit, four hour delay. The woman taking the tickets at the fourth hour gives us a long, rambling speech on the microphone and says, I'm sorry, all. I don't even know where I am right now. I'm so tired. Pray for me as I pray for you. Something you do not want to hear before you get on a plane and get to Harrisburg. I had to fly the next day. I ended up driving across three different states to find a plane with a direct flight because my other flight was canceled. Overall, six flights, five states, 60 hours of insanity. Only for the last flight to be canceled, and had to sleep over in a different hotel to fly out the next morning. It cost over $1,000 because being in such a small place at the time, the next available flight was like two days later. It was truly insane. Incredibly frustrating. There was a bit of a weather problem, but I'm sorry, it's not that bad. There has been weather before and American Airlines was shut down because of the IT problem. But it. But the fact that you have to wait in the airport for four hours sometimes only to find out, hey, your flights canceled is infuriating. Just tell me ahead of time so I can make plans. But there was not. There's just lack of communication and understaffing that is insane in the airlines right now. Because airlines are banks who own planes. They're not actually.

[Clay Travis]

Yes, they're credit card. They're credit card companies with planes. This is true.

[Buck Sexton]

This is why. I mean, I hate to hear that my wife gets on me sometimes. I won't do connecting flights. I will at this point because travel has gotten so frustrating. If you can't. I mean, I'm in Nashville, but I will drive to an airport to do a connecting flight because it feels like if you're relying on two flights to try to get you anywhere, it's basically a fool's errand at this point in time to even attempt. If I can't go there direct, I ain't going. And I feel like many of you out there feel that way too as well. Because at least if you're stuck in a city where you're trying to go to or a city that you live in, you can go back. If you're stuck in midpoint, you're Just, I mean you're totally handcuffed by everything.

[Ryan Gardusky]

And in a small city, a lot of these are regional areas. If you're stuck in a regional area, you don't know anybody. Places close at 5, 6 o'.

[Caller from Utah]

Clock.

[Ryan Gardusky]

And that was the case in Harrisburg. Yeah, I was like, I have to drive. I end up driving to Washington. I drove to Virginia, Washington, and then end up in Baltimore. I mean it was insane trying to get a flight that I have to drive four hours to find a flight for two. I mean, but that's the state and anyone who flies, I have to fly for work. I just have to. There's no other option to put people in that kind of position on a regular basis. You know, it makes life just horrible for everybody.

[Clay Travis]

Let, let's, let's get to the 30,000 or the 50,000 foot view. Is it the worst it's ever been in your opinion? Because I think that flying is not the worst that it has ever been in my lifetime. You know, with the exception of like some, you know, like post 9, 11 or something. Right. But I mean, I think flying is now the worst.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Yeah, I, two years ago I used to fly six to two, three, four years ago. 60 times a year I would fly. I flew all the time. It is way significantly worse. And it is hours delays and cancellations and no one communicates and everything with you. The communication part is what frustrates me the most. I'm sorry, you didn't just find out that you're your flights canceled 15 minutes before, after waiting for hours.

[Clay Travis]

Well, what upsets me too is some people like to sort of be the great defenders of the airlines all the time. As if I don't know that. Yeah, of course you can't fly in a thunderstorm. Like. I'm not talking about that. There are a lot of games, schedule padding on, chronic understaffing as a cost cutting measure, you know, overselling of seats, all these things. These are choices the airlines make at the expense of passengers. People say, well, this is what the market will decide. Taxpayers have bailed out the airlines twice in the last 25 years. OK. They wouldn't even exist without the taxpayer and they're heavily regulated by the federal government as it is. So I feel like they're not allowed to just punish people or they shouldn't be allowed to just punish people all the time. But that's where I am. I don't know, I'm trying to get a movement going here, Ryan. I'm trying to find somebody who cares who's in charge.

[Ryan Gardusky]

And as far as the market goes, this is not opening up a lemonade stand. It's not like any person can just open up an airline like, oh, it's so simple. No, it is an extremely expensive, expensive over heavily regulated industry. Very few, very few people get to it.

[Joel Osteen]

It's both.

[Ryan Gardusky]

It's basically six companies that run the entire United States airline industry. They should make it. Someone should make it a little bit easier because it is incredibly frustrating. Shout out to Southwest, who bailed me out in the Baltimore situation. But it was a nightmare of just fly Southwest.

[Buck Sexton]

Fly Southwest everywhere. Buck, here's. And Ryan, something that I think factors in here. You know why there isn't a lot of pressure? Because the wealthier you are, the less likely you fly commercial airlines. So oftentimes it's wealthy people with major connections who get major connections to the political universe. They get so frustrated over something that they hold political pressure. If you're super wealthy, you don't fly commercial. You're hopping on the. Your private peasants.

[Clay Travis]

The peasants like us are just allowed to suffer out there. Ryan stinks.

[Ryan Gardusky]

But Congress does fly commercial. That's the crazy thing. Congressmen almost always fly commercial and oftentimes fly economy. Which is why I don't understand. They don't do anything about this.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, they do sometimes. There's also a lot of private jet travel for politicians as well that sometimes gets expensed through campaigns that. I mean, remember Bernie on his oligarch tour? He flew private jet.

[Clay Travis]

Of course. As all anti oligarchs do. All right, Ryan, we're having too much fun with you. We're about to run into this commercial break, so we have to bounce. Go check out Ryan's amazing podcast. Everyone who listens loves it. It's a numbers game on the Klan Buck network. Clay, what have you got for us?

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you, Ryan. Tunnel the Towers foundation expanding its commitment to the families of America's heroes with the May and George Siller Scholarship Program. Named in honor of Stephen and Frank Siller's parents. Program reflects the values of faith, service, education that shaped the Siller family. The scholarship supports eligible children pursuing undergraduate degrees, accredited trade schools, certification programs, whether full or part time, covered expenses, tuition, fees, books, supplies, campus housing. Scholarship available to children from families served through Tunnel the Towers Gold star, fallen first responder and smart home programs. May and George believed education creates opportunity, builds character, helps young people move forward with purpose. Through this program, tunnel the Towers, ensuring that every child's. Every hero's child has the support they need to pursue their education. Realize full potential, Carry forward the values, help shape the family families. To learn more, go to t2t.org and consider donating 11amonth like Buck and I both have done, or donating car or land. That's t2t.org one more time t2t.org level up your brain Mental Mugging with Clay

[Joel Osteen]

and Buck what God started in my

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

life, he's going to finish the Joel Osteen Daily Podcast.

[Joel Osteen]

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. What was meant for my harm? Lord, I want to thank you. Right now you're turning to my advantage.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Your daily source of hope and encouragement.

[Joel Osteen]

Your second wind is on its way. God is about to breathe on your life in a new way.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Listen to the Joel Osteen Daily podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

[Commercial Narrator]

This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. At Navy Federal, they want you to know that if you need a positive sign towards achieving your goal of home ownership, this is it. Because even though today's housing market may seem discouraging, the Home Buyer's Choice Loan offers members down payment options as low as 0% with no required private mortgage insurance. Look for your sign today. Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal is insured by NCUA Equal Housing Lender. Terms and conditions apply. Loans subject to approval and eligibility requirements. Learn [e-mail] 0down brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union super sure my

[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay and Buck. We are rolling through. Is this the. I guess this is the third hour. I jumped in there a little bit early, I think. Buck that's okay. I feel like we got another couple hours to go here.

[Clay Travis]

You know, sometimes Malone passes the basketball to Stockton. Sometimes Stockton passes it to Malone. We just go.

[Buck Sexton]

I understand you got an angry, angry email from a listener about your son's potential status in the wnba.

[Clay Travis]

It was a dm and I did have to remind the fellow that I did not in fact claim that my one year old could play in the WNBA. How old is your son?

[Buck Sexton]

I have three. One is 18.

[Clay Travis]

I don't, I mean, the one that you know. I know the boys. I know the boys.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm specifically singling out my 15 year old. Pretty good athlete.

[Clay Travis]

He said I had a cool haircut because that's my, he's my favorite right now.

[Buck Sexton]

He's the one. You had a cool haircut. That's right.

[Commercial Narrator]

There we go.

[Buck Sexton]

He will turn 16 in September. He would be a dominant WNBA player right now. I, he, he could, he could step right into a starting lineup for a WNBA team.

[Clay Travis]

I'm telling you, we could, we could. The money and the ratings. You, me, we get Secretary Warhag, Seth, we get Jesse Kelly to be our center. Just because I, I think he can dunk without jumping. It's preposterous.

[Buck Sexton]

Didn't I see Jesse, by the way, saying, oh, my back's been hurting. What kind of leg exercises can I do? Am I making this up? And I think Matt Walsh said, just accept you're in your 60s and just get fat and now. Which is a very funny response.

[Clay Travis]

I, that may have been a thing, but also we gotta, we get Dave Rubin in the mix.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm trying to think of our starter.

[Clay Travis]

You know Ted, Ted Cruz, he throw, he kicks it around old school. Like if you've seen Ted when he played Jimmy Kimmel. Ted Cruz plays basketball the way that every Long island rec coach tells you to play basketball. A lot of boxing out, you got to throw some elbows to keep that space. And then, you know, sky hooks, baby, hooks. He's, he's definitely got some game. He smoked Jimmy Kimmel. I mean, who else in, in our world is, is, is a bit of a baller?

[Buck Sexton]

Look, I, I'm trying to think of just elite athletes that we think Hannity plays basketball.

[Clay Travis]

Hannity, Hannity, I know does a lot of like MMA stuff. Does he do bat? We got someone find out if Hannity ever played. Well, I think Hannity probably had some point guards.

[Buck Sexton]

Give Sean some credit here on good genes because he had two D1 college tennis player, a son and a daughter, which is a crazy level of success. I mean, it's hard to be D1 1. I mean, at national championship Caliber program. So I think Sean would have had, you know, kind of a veteran basketball game back in the day.

[Clay Travis]

And I'm just gonna say like, I don't know if Bongino ever played basketball. My guess is he probably did. He was a good athlete. I know that. But he could definitely be our enforcer. You know, like the guy in hockey who just stares down the guys that like, you know, make sure that no one throws a hard check on Gretzky. Bongino would be there. He'd just be regulating in the paint, making sure that none of those WNBA ladies got too rough with us.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, heck, I would just say if we could also draft Hegseth. I mean, the Guy Bench presses 3:15 now. I don't know if they're going to be drug testing, just, just tossing it out there. I don't know.

[Clay Travis]

He wouldn't pass. He would pass if they did for

[Buck Sexton]

performance enhancing, not for other drugs.

[Joel Osteen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Correct.

[Clay Travis]

Correct. Testosterone is legal under a doctor's prescription.

[Buck Sexton]

So I think he was on the program with us because I think we had fun. When he had a book come out. He played at Princeton back in the day and I believe he said that he would take Angel Reese head to head, one on one. So I think Hegseth could be a 2010 guy for us. Like, I think he could be like a linchpin on the team, you know. We set?

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I think, I think he's a, he's a, he's a right wing media franchise player. I will tell you, I've seen, I haven't played with him because my knees hurt, but Dave Rube, Dave Rubin's got some game. He would be, he would be solid. He's like, he's like a good two guard. You know, he's got the shooting guard skills. So we him in the mix getting

[Buck Sexton]

to play with the small Ben Shapiro coach.

[Clay Travis]

We bring Ben in to do some strategy. You know, he'd be good with the board. And strategizing I don't think is going to be his thing necessarily, but I think strategy, he'd be excellent.

[Buck Sexton]

I. That is really fun. I did Ben show today? I should have asked him if he thought he could, if he thought he could to lead us to victory. I will say building on this, we were talking about the wnba, the Seattle situation. Buck. The dumbest thing that I have ever seen a sports league do on social media. Last night I'm getting ready for bed and as one does, I'm on my phone scrolling, checking to see what the news is how we Bombing Iran. What's the latest on that? Let me do some prep for the show. And I see a video of Angel Reese and Paige Buckers. I think that's how you pronounce her name. I'm not great. To be fair. I Buckers. That's right. Right. And we got producer Greg who's a big Yukon. Beckers. Sorry. Paige Beckers. I always get that wrong. I don't know why you have the U in there. It's an unnecessary vowel. So she is on this video with Angel Reese Buck. The WNBA posted the two of them betting $400 on a basketball game. The two sides are competing. To put this into context, any NFL player who bets on their team is automatically suspended now for two years without pay. The WNBA posted a video of them betting and then came out while we were on the air and said according to front office sports that the video of them betting on their game was quote, intended to be light hearted. We recognize that the post missed the mark and removed it shortly after it was published and addressed the matter internally. So if you're an NFL player, you miss two years. If you bet on your team, you do not get played, you lose your contract. If you are a WNBA player and they post you on video betting for the game outcome, two players, they just say hey, it was supposed to be lighthearted and we're going to address it internally.

[Clay Travis]

I, by the way, I totally and I think anyone would understand why betting against your team is, is fraud and wrong and unethical if you're on the, if you're on the team.

[Caller about basketball]

Right.

[Clay Travis]

That's why it's your team. I totally understand that. I'm a little fuzzier on why betting your team is going to win when you're on a team is on. I guess it's just they want to keep it clean and not have people betting and they're just, they think betting is a mess.

[Buck Sexton]

But the biggest takeaway is Buck when you don't bet. Right. So Pete Rose back in the day would bet on his team to win.

[Caller about basketball]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

When you're not betting on your team to win, you're also default. Sending the message from people who are involved in the betting landscape, oh, this guy doesn't like the matchup at all going forward. So when you bet on your team, I guess if you're to your point, if you bet on your team every game to win then it would be less of an issue.

[Ryan Gardusky]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Other than if you're on an awful team, you could end up hundreds of thousands or millions of Dollars in debt, which might eventually lead to you betting against your team to try to get back into good graces. I think just, I, I do think blanket prohibitions, unless you're an individual boxer or something like that. Maybe on an individual athlete basis. But again, telling other people this has been a huge investigation. I just, I can't believe the WNBA was dumb enough to post this. And I can't believe their explanation is haha, it's a joke. Supposed to be light hearted.

[Clay Travis]

It's a joke. That's what they're saying. We were just kidding. That's what they're saying.

[Buck Sexton]

We're just kidding.

[Clay Travis]

Think about this. Opens up a lot of territory. You know what I mean? You could be like, hey officer, was I really going 120 miles an hour? This $300 that I'm handing you says I wasn't just kidding. It's like, does that work?

[Buck Sexton]

All the cops, right?

[Clay Travis]

All the cops listening are like, don't try the lighthearted defense when you try to slip me cash, buddy. You're going to prison. Like, you know what I'm saying?

[Buck Sexton]

I'm joking about the bribe.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, that's a tough one. I think that's a tough one too. I think I'm just kidding about the bribe. If they, if they refuse the bribe, I don't think you're going to very far.

[Buck Sexton]

Is it the Nelly song where he's like, so you're gonna do it? Just kidding. Like, there's a line where he's like, you know, do you want to do that? Just kidding. Unless you do, in which case I'm all about it. Right? Like there's a great line in there.

[Clay Travis]

You're, you're more than Nelly. You're more than Nelly expert on this show than I am. I can't say you saw Nelly performance recently.

[Buck Sexton]

I did.

[Clay Travis]

Did he, did he have like a, did he have like a, a gut and New Balance sneakers on? I mean, how old is he now?

[Buck Sexton]

Nelly looks the exact same now as he did in 2001. I don't know what the guy is doing for his living choices, but you know, I don't know what the absolute apex of Nelly's popularity probably about 2001. Right? Like when every song it felt like was a Nelly hit. He looks and sounds the exact same. I, my wife and I, we were up the night before the White House Correspondents dinner. He was performing at the executive branch for some of our friends at 1789 Capital. They had gotten him scheduled. We went, we've had an awesome Time. And my wife said, my God. I mean, like, this is just like being back in 19, in 2001. Like this. Like, he looks and feels like as if this is nothing has changed at all.

[Clay Travis]

We were just talking Nelly. We got way. We got way off.

[Caller about basketball]

We were.

[Clay Travis]

We were weaving. We're going rogue here. What were we talking about before? That was. Oh, you were discussing the. The betting thing.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

Which was. Which was of. Of high interest. Do you want. Would you like to do some talkbacks here with me, sir? Because we have a lot that I believe we have not yet got. Well, they're mostly Fauci talkbacks from before. I want to get some from today. Oh, Jesse's producer. Jesse Kelly's producer says that he did in fact play some basketball. By the way, Jesse, who is, I believe, six nine, for those who wonder why we call him Paul Bunyan, Chewbacca, Sasquatch, all the. He is. He may be the tallest radio host in America. Like, I think that's unlikely. Oh, maybe there's like a former NBA player who does radio who's taller than him. But. But even for the NBA, six nine is pretty tall. I'm sure that he was recruited by the high school. The. The. The high school basketball coach probably saw him bump his head on the ceiling going into the cafeteria and was like, hey, buddy, you're playing basketball.

[Buck Sexton]

This is all very funny. Do we have a talk back on that? Is that what you were setting up or for Jesse's producer? Because the team, to their credit, has done a immediate deep dive into Nelly's lyrics. Producer Ali, can you come up? You, I think, have nailed it. That I was ref. Referring to the great hit Hot in Here. Do you have the lyrics that I was trying to hit? I don't know if I have the lyrics, but AI said that was in reference to. I'm just kidding. Like Jason, which is a playful reference to the NBA player Jason Kidd.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

But, yes, I will find out that lyric. Do we want to do talk backs? You want me to do a read? We'll do all the talk backs when we come back. Maybe the read and then going to.

[Clay Travis]

I like to read. And then I really want to dive into. Into these talkbacks and let them. Let them breathe a little. You know what I mean? Put them in the decanter, let the aromas waft a bit. You know, find the undertones of vanilla and. And crisp apple in our. Yeah, you get what I'm saying?

[Buck Sexton]

We will great talk backs when we return. Let me tell you something. How many of you out there right now are jugging, juggling a bunch of different credit cards every month. You send in the minimum payment balance barely moves. You got so much interest. Interest is in fact E Live doesn't have to be that way. Trust me on this. Go to Perfect 10 Mortgage and you may be able to use the equity you've already built in your home. Pay off all those high interest credit cards and personal loans. Roll everything into one easy monthly payment. One payment, one due date. A whole lot less stress. Perfect 10 mortgage shares your values. They'll shoot you straight and you can apply in about 10 minutes. That's why it's perfect 10 mortgage. You give them 10 minutes and in 10 days or less they can be closing a brand new mortgage with you. Hundreds of you have already gone into the website, have already started the process of getting a brand new mortgage through Perfect 10 Mortgage. These guys do amazing work. They can take care of you. Give them 10 minutes and let them help put your financial house in order to perfect10 mortgage.com you can go ahead and go there right now. Perfect10 mortgage.com go check it out. Doesn't cost you anything. Give them 10 minutes and they can hopefully help get peace of mind back into your life. Perfect 10 Mortgage perfect10 Mortgage.com Perfect 10 Mortgage is a DBA or network funding LP NMLS 2297 equal housing lender. All borrowers must qualify. Advertisement Not a promise to make a loan. That's perfect10 Mortgage.com perfect10 Mortgage.com go today.

[Clay Travis]

Miss the show?

[Buck Sexton]

While you're on the go, wind down your day with the Daily Review podcast. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

The Joel Osteen Daily Podcast.

[Joel Osteen]

God's plans for you are for good.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Be inspired.

[Joel Osteen]

Get ready. God is about to exceed your expectations.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Joel Osteen Daily Podcast.

[Joel Osteen]

You are coming out of that dry place into more than enough daily encouragement

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

right when you need it.

[Joel Osteen]

There are opportunities in your future bigger than you can imagine.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Listen to the Joel Osteen Daily podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite podcasts.

[Commercial Narrator]

This episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. At Navy Federal, they want you to know that if you need a positive sign towards achieving your goal of home ownership, this is it. Because even though today's housing market may seem discouraging, the Homebuyer's Choice loan offers members down payment options as low as 0% with no required private mortgage insurance. Look for your sign today. Navy Federal Credit Union Navy Federal is insured by NCUA Equal housing lender terms and conditions apply. Loans subject to approval and eligibility requirements. Learn more@navy federal.org 0down brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, welcome back in Clay and Buck. Nelly Hotten here. This is exactly what I was thinking of. You might want to call it the Nelly defense. WNBA says, oh, we were just kidding. And it reminds me of this immortal lyric, I got a friend with the pole with a pole in the basement. I'm just kidding. Unless you're gonna do it. There you go. Just kidding. Unless you want to do it. Got a friend with a pole in the basement.

[Ryan Gardusky]

It's a great song, by the way.

[Buck Sexton]

Great, great song. All right, we got a bunch of talkbacks Buck promised you. Let's see the best ones out there. Rob from the Hudson Valley in New York. W o R listener cut beast since

[Clay Travis]

this Covid was a worldwide pandemic and Fauci has a full pardon here, perhaps he could be turned over to the International Criminal Court and let them prosecute him.

[Buck Sexton]

Look, I appreciate the fact that all of you are working like the devil to try to prosecute a guy whose behavior has been downright devilish. I do not like setting the precedent of an American citizen should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court because we're too incompetent to do it with our own courts. Because guess what? Ultimately, Democrats will abuse that precedent. So as much as I would like to see Fauci prosecuted, first of all, the International Criminal Court is even more liberal than the D.C. criminal court. So I think the likelihood of that is zero. I also don't like the precedent being set. Just like I don't like the idea of Benjamin Netanyahu being arrested when he comes into New York City by that idiot Mayor Mamdani to try to go to the unit Dave out in Utah. Talk radio 105.9. Fire away. E. Hey, guys.

[Caller from Utah]

So anyway, anyway, I'm from Utah and I've been thinking that I think Fauci had to plead the fifth because he does not trust the part. Auto pin pardon may not be legal, so he may have to plead the fifth. Not that I like like it. Not that we like it, but it may be what his lawyers told him.

[Buck Sexton]

Look, the legal advice, as Buck and I said, is 100% correct to take the Fifth Amendment. That's the advice that I would give him. I also think you can potentially question whether the auto pin pardons were legal. I think that's a harder putt to sink. Proverbially speaking, but we'll see if that ever gets challenged because there's any criminal charges that are brought against anyone bar Biden tried to pardon, I think that's unlikely.

[Clay Travis]

It's hard, guys. It's hard. You know, you're talking about getting people. First of all, they would claim. If it's in the Oval Office, there can be claims of privilege. And I mean, I'm just being honest with you, like the challenging the auto pen thing. How many times have I told you something wasn't going to happen where I didn't want to tell you that, but I told you that and it wasn't true. If you can follow all that, not in negatives, basically.

[Buck Sexton]

How often have we been wrong about something of this signature?

[Clay Travis]

Well, but. But something where even though Joe said, remember the President said he wasn't going to pardon his son and Clay and I were like 100% he's going to pardon his son.

[Ryan Gardusky]

So.

[Clay Travis]

Yes, that's one example.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. Other than Buck island going under the water, at least one of us was right there. Outlaw in Toledo, Ohio, to close us out.

[Commercial Narrator]

G.

[Caller about basketball]

Hey, guys. I don't watch much basketball, but that definitely would be must see tv. I'd probably pay to watch that. But you guys have to decide which one of you is gonna shave her head and go butch and then the other one have a ponytail. That's the. That's the big question.

[Buck Sexton]

Could Buck grow a ponytail? That would be incredible.

[Joel Osteen]

Look what God started in my life.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

He's going to finish the Joel Osteen Daily Podcast.

[Joel Osteen]

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. What was meant for my harm? Lord, I want to thank you. Right now, you're turning to my advantage.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Your daily source of hope and encouragement.

[Joel Osteen]

Your second wind is on its way. God is about to breathe on your life in a new way.

[Joel Osteen Podcast Announcer]

Listen to the Joel Osteen Daily podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your favorite podcasts, this

[Commercial Narrator]

episode is brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union. At Navy Federal, they want you to know that if you need a popular positive sign towards achieving your goal of home ownership, this is it. Because even though today's housing market may seem discouraging, the Homebuyer's Choice loan offers members down payment options as low as 0% with no required private mortgage insurance. Look for your sign today. Navy Federal Credit Union. Navy Federal is insured by NCUA Equal Housing Lender. Terms and conditions apply. Loans subject to approval and eligibility requirements. Learn more at navy federal.org Zerodown brought to you by Navy Federal Credit Union.