Hour 3 - Senator Markwayne Mullin

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – "Hour 3 - Senator Markwayne Mullin"

Release Date: June 2, 2025
Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts
Guests: U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma)

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Introduction

In the third hour of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve into pressing fiscal policy discussions with their guest, U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma. The episode primarily focuses on the legislative maneuvering surrounding the "Big Beautiful Bill," deficit reduction strategies, and the broader Republican approach to managing the national debt.

Discussion on the Big Beautiful Bill

Status and Negotiations

Senator Mullin provides an in-depth overview of the "Big Beautiful Bill," a significant piece of legislation aimed at reducing the national deficit. He emphasizes that negotiations have been ongoing since November, allowing ample time for input from various stakeholders. Mullin states:

“This isn’t anything new. Everybody’s had time to put their input, and they’re going to have more time to put their input.” ([03:49])

Deficit Cuts

The bill proposes an immediate reduction of $1.6 trillion from deficit spending, a considerable increase from the typical 10-year cuts that historically achieve around $500 billion. Mullin highlights the urgency and scale of these cuts:

“This is $1.6 trillion cutting immediately. So it doesn’t balance the budget, but it does move forward.” ([05:00])

Shift from Biden to Trump-Era Policies

A significant aspect of the bill is its transition away from Biden-era policies towards those championed by former President Trump. Mullin discusses the incorporation of tax policies such as eliminating taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security:

“The American people want the Trump policies that he campaigned on. And one of them is no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security.” ([05:30])

Reconciliation Process

Mullin explains the strategic use of the reconciliation process to pass the bill with a simple majority (51 votes), bypassing the traditional 60-vote threshold required for budgetary legislation. This approach focuses solely on taxes and mandatory spending, excluding discretionary spending:

“Reconciliation, we can only deal with taxes and mandatory spending, not discretionary spending. So we’ve got a narrow window to work with.” ([05:50])

Challenges and Internal GOP Dynamics

Republican Cohesion

The conversation touches upon internal disagreements within the Republican Party, particularly highlighted by Senator Rand Paul's concerns about a faction of four Republicans opposing the bill:

“I think there are four of us.” ([07:02])

Despite these disagreements, Mullin remains optimistic about the bill's passage, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing deficit cuts over partisan disputes on the debt ceiling.

Debt Ceiling Debate

A substantial portion of the discussion revolves around the contentious issue of raising the debt ceiling. Mullin argues for separating the debt ceiling from the reconciliation bill to ensure the latter's passage without the bloated addition of increasing the debt limit by $5 trillion. He asserts:

“Take the debt ceiling off the bill. In all likelihood, I can vote for what the agreement is on the rest of the bill.” ([07:20])

Mullin further elaborates on the necessity of raising the debt ceiling to prevent a default, likening it to managing a failing business that requires investment to achieve long-term stability:

“You can’t just simply say that we’re going to have enough money to balance the budget immediately. We’re going to have to borrow more money.” ([07:42])

Future Fiscal Strategies

Balancing the Budget

Senator Mullin outlines a roadmap to achieving a balanced budget within two to three years by implementing sound economic policies, fostering growth, and maintaining fiscal responsibility. He emphasizes the role of economic growth in outpacing government spending:

“If the GDP can grow right around 3% and we can hold spending at its current level after we do the reconciliation, just by doing that and not doing additional cuts, which we will do additional cuts.” ([12:10])

Economic Optimism

Mullin expresses optimism that the Republican agenda will lead to sustained economic growth, reduced inflation, and a balanced budget:

“This is the first time that I’ve ever been up here that I feel very, very confident that we will balance the budget.” ([13:50])

Light-hearted Segment: MMA and Personal Interests

Breaking away from fiscal discussions, the episode features a brief segment where Senator Mullin shares his background in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). He reflects on his three-year fighting career and names some of his favorite fighters:

“Jon Jones is just ... the guy has just been the most dangerous man that stepped in the ring.” ([15:29])

Favorite Martial Arts Movie

In a lightning round, Mullin succinctly names "Bloodsport" as his favorite martial arts movie, showcasing a lighter side to the conversation:

“Bloodsport.” ([17:25])

Audience Interaction and Callers

The hosts engage with callers who express concerns about the national debt and propose radical tax reforms. One caller from Austin, Texas, suggests overhauling the tax system by:

• Repealing the 16th Amendment
• Eliminating all current taxes
• Introducing a 0.25% tax on the entire economy

“...we have got to change our tax code, we have got to repeal the 16th amendment and we've got to get rid of every, every tax that the government collects right now and replace it with a 0.25%...” ([22:13])

Mullin counters these sentiments by advocating for structured fiscal policies rather than sweeping tax reforms, emphasizing the need for responsible budgeting over simplistic solutions.

Closing Remarks

As the episode concludes, the hosts reiterate their commitment to providing accurate and honest analysis, contrasting it with what they perceive as biased media narratives. Mullin remains steadfast in his belief that the proposed fiscal measures will steer the economy towards stability and growth.

“The point is on this show, we try to get it right because that's what we want, because that's the respect we have for this audience...” ([21:30])

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Markwayne Mullin ([03:49]):

  “This is $1.6 trillion cutting immediately. So it doesn’t balance the budget, but it does move forward.”

• Markwayne Mullin ([05:30]):

  “The American people want the Trump policies that he campaigned on. And one of them is no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security.”

• Markwayne Mullin ([07:20]):

  “Take the debt ceiling off the bill. In all likelihood, I can vote for what the agreement is on the rest of the bill.”

• Markwayne Mullin ([12:10]):

  “If the GDP can grow right around 3% and we can hold spending at its current level after we do the reconciliation, just by doing that and not doing additional cuts, which we will do additional cuts.”

• Markwayne Mullin ([15:29]):

  “Jon Jones is just ... the guy has just been the most dangerous man that stepped in the ring.”

• Markwayne Mullin ([17:25]):

  “Bloodsport.”

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Conclusion

This episode of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" offers a comprehensive look into the legislative efforts to curb the national deficit through the "Big Beautiful Bill." Senator Markwayne Mullin presents a case for immediate deficit cuts, strategic use of the reconciliation process, and a transition towards economic policies reminiscent of the Trump administration. Interspersed with personal anecdotes about his MMA background, the conversation underscores the Republican commitment to fiscal responsibility and economic growth amidst internal party debates and public concerns about national debt.

For listeners seeking deeper insights into U.S. fiscal policy and Republican legislative strategies, this episode provides valuable perspectives from a key Senate figure deeply involved in shaping the nation's economic future.

Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[J.R. Martinez]

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[Mark Wayne Mullen]

This medal is for the men who went down that day on Medal of Honor.

[J.R. Martinez]

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[Mark Wayne Mullen]

We have a win.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Mark Wayne Mullen]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Building opportunity, fueling economic growth. Paid for by United for a Strong Economy. Third hour of Clanbuck kicks off. Now. We're joined by Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. I'm sorry, Senator Mullen. Well, also correct. Good to have you on.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Senator Buck, thanks for having me on. And anything works, but you don't have to call the title Mark Wayne Mullen. Idiot, fool. All those work, I'll answer to them all.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I believe you are an MMA fighter, so I'm going to pass on the idiot. But I will, I will definitely keep in mind that you are not one who stands on ceremony and formality. So thank you for that. Yeah, but, but tell me this, I mean look, we, you know, I don't know, I'm sure you know what this is like you're United States Senator, sometimes you get a little caught in the crossfire on some things. On the one hand we're talking, we have people from the Trump White House on and they're talking about the big beautiful bill, the great things it will do, the boom in the economy they believe it will bring about, take home pay for homes, all that stuff. The other side we get people. We have had your colleague Senator Rand Paul on, we've had your colleague Senator Ron Johnson on and they're saying, look, there's some great stuff but spends too much money. Where does the big beautiful bill stand now on the Senate side? Walk us through what's going on, what you like, what maybe needs to change and what we should expect.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Well, first of all, I mean this bill's been getting negotiated since November. So this isn't anything new. Everybody's had had time to put their input and they're going to have more time to put their input. So I got all the respect in the world for Ron Johnson and Rand Paul. But the truth is their ideas are great, but it's their idea and they're going to have to get 51 people to agree with them. And so what we've got issues here is that we have Obama slash Biden era policies. And I mean that sincerely because you know, Biden is just, you know, an extension of the Obama era policies, except worse. So you have, that's what we're currently operating underneath. And now you have the Trump policy error that's trying to come in place. And we do that through reconciliation. We all want to cut more spending. I mean, physically being fiscal responsible is honestly what we all want to do. But the House bill cuts $1.6 trillion from deficit spending and that's true deficit spending. Now I've been up here for way too long. I served in the house for 10 years and now two years in the Senate and I can tell you, every time we've always had deficit cuts, it's always been a 10 year cut. Right. It's going to save 500 billion over 10 years. And we never actually achieved a 10 year cut. This is $1.6 trillion cutting immediately. So it doesn't balance the budget, but it does move forward. And as we move forward with this bill, hopefully we can even do better. Hopefully we can get to $2 trillion in cuts. Except at the same time we're trying to implement, you know, campaign promises too. And, and the American people want the Trump policies that he campaign on. And one of them is no tax on tips, no tax on, on, on overtime and no tax on Social Security. Well, that, that adds cost too. And so you got to take it in and out. And reconciliation, we can only deal with taxes and mandatory spending, not discretionary spending. So we got a narrow window to what we can actually work with. That's, that's, that's why it's called reconciliation. And requires 51 votes where a budget which will start on, you know, the, the, the, the budget just, I mean our discretionary spending moving forward right after this. And that's a 60 vote threshold. So my point that I'm trying to get to buck is that we have a very narrow window that we can work with. We're going to get all the cuts we can possibly get at the end of the day when this bill goes to the floor, this one big beautiful bill that we've been working on since November and everybody's had their fingerprints on, everybody's had an opportunity to put their input on. We're going to put whatever's on the floor that can get 51 votes so we can get away from the Biden era policies and move forward to the Trump era policies, which is we're seeing the economy respond to already and we haven't even passed the bill yet.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I wanted to have you react, Senator Mullen, to what Senator Paul says here about four Republicans who he believes will not go along with the bill as it stands. This is cut three team, play it team.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

I think there are four of us.

[Ryan Seacrest]

At this point and I would be very surprised if the bill at least is not modified in a good direction. Look, I want to vote for it.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

I'm for the tax cuts. I voted for the tax cuts before.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I want the tax cuts to be permanent, but at the same time I don't want to raise the debt ceiling 5 trillion.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

So I've told you, take the debt ceiling off the bill. In all likelihood I can Vote for what the agreement is on the rest of the bill. And it doesn't have to be perfect to my lightning liking, but I can't be.

[Ryan Seacrest]

If I vote for the $5 trillion.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Debt, who's left in Washington that cares about the debt? We will have lost.

[Ryan Seacrest]

The GOP will own the debt once.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

They vote for this.

[Ryan Seacrest]

What do you make of that, Senator?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Well, we're going to have to raise the debt. You know, it's kind of like taking over a failing business, right? When you take over a failing business, you don't just start making money day one. You have to invest in it. And that's why you bring in investors and investors are expecting you to get a return. And that's what the American people did. They invested in the Republican Party and expecting a return. But you can't just simply turn it around. The Biden administration spent like drunken sailors. You know, we had almost every, almost, almost every single agency under the last four years has increased from 50 to 100% in, in what they're receiving for their budget in four years. So we're cutting everybody's budget and we're bringing down the debt. But you can't just simply say that we're going to have enough money to balance the budget immediately. We're going to have to borrow more money. And I think in two, two and a half, maybe three years, we can balance it. We won't have to borrow any money if we continue down this, the Trump policies that he's put forth. But you can't do it now. And so I don't know what Rand Paul wants us to do because we are in debt and the debt limit is going to hit us regardless of what we do if we pass this bill. We don't. It's going to hit us. And so we have two choices as Republicans. We can put the debt limit increase on reconciliation and only have to have 51 votes, meaning that we can do this without the Democrat support, or we'd wait and we do it on, on a budget bill or we do it as a standalone and we got to have 60. So now we're going to have to negotiate with Chuck Schumer and the Democrats to get them to give us seven or maybe even more votes. And probably more than likely by the time we negotiate with them, there's going to be a lot of Republicans that aren't going to want to vote for it. And so instead of just having seven, we're going to end up having to have 15 or 20 Democrats. Now, can you imagine what type of deal, we'll have to strike with them because we're going to raise a debt limit regardless. We're going to raise a debt limit. We're going to raise it. If we raise it 4.5 trillion, I will be willing to tell you, Buck, right now we'll have to raise it again another two and a half trillion. And so I feel like we should just go ahead and raise a debt limit enough that we know if the numbers continue to grow the way they are with the GDP growing, with the debt, decrease in deficit spending because we're doing 1.6 off of discretionary or off of mandatory. And then when we start doing the budget bills, we can even do more discretionary spending. By the, by those, those two graphs, they're going to meet in about two and a half or three years and it'll be the first time that a president has balanced a budget since Clinton. But we're going to have to borrow the money to get to that point. So we, like I said, we can do it now and negotiate with Republicans only or we're going to do it later because there is no fee. There's either A or B because C means with a fault. And we're not going to default on the money we spent. We spent it regardless. We like it or not, we spent it, so we got to pay it back.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Speaking of Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen and Senator Mullen, you're talking about balancing the budget in the future, not on this Big Beautiful. What is the, is the official, what is the official name of the bill? Sorry for the diversion, but I'm curious, is it going to be called the Big Beautiful Bill or is there some boring DC Name for it?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

I'm sure we're going to come up with some ridiculous, you know, acronym because we love acronyms up here. But right now we're going to call it what the President calls it One Big Beautiful. And by the way, he just recently had glamorous One Big Beautiful Glamorous Bill. But we all, I don't know what the acronym is.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I got you. Okay. I mean, I think, I think we just go with Big Beautiful Bill personally. Everybody knows what we're talking about with that one, I think.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

I mean we've been.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah. And it'll drive the, it'll drive the Democrats completely insane, which makes it even more fun and more worthwhile. Right. In and of itself. But for those who cuz look, I get people who call in or who write in and they're upset and they start to say things like we're just never actually going to deal with the debt. And all this talk about dealing with the debt is hot air. What do you say to them? I mean, at what point do we start to take the debt? Is it realistic that within the Trump administration, at some point we can actually start to take the $36 trillion debt in the other direction? Or is that just. Is the best we can hope for slowing the increase over time, maybe balancing it here and there?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

No, I think we can reverse it, but it takes, it takes three things to happen for that to happen. One, we got to have sound policy that the economy will respond to. I mean, we got to have sound policy we want to respond to, too. We've got to have accurate policies that that will drive inn. And then, number three, the politicians, us, we have to be responsible with the taxpayer dollars. And if you do those, then the economy and the spending levels will eventually touch each other and will surpass them. If the GDP can grow right around 3% and we can hold spending at its current level after we do the reconciliation, just by doing that and not doing additional cuts, which we will do additional cuts. But if we just do those, most economists will tell you that the lines will touch in two and a half or three years, depending on the investment and how much we have. We see that inflation is down to 2.1% already. That's huge, right? When we see the taxes become permanent, and then we see R and D, which will hopefully become permanent, research and development will come permanent where they can actually write that off, you're going to see that, that technology field increase here, and you're going to see the growth begin, which is exactly what you do with the business, right? You take out debt for purchase, for potential earnings, because you have a business plan, you borrow on it, the bank borrows, lets you borrow the money, because they see your business plan and they know that your growth is going to eventually surpass enough to be able to pay you off the debt. That's what their gamble is. Well, we feel like we're trying to operate like a business because we have a business guy in office, not just myself, but President Trump himself. And we're taking a business approach to it. We know we can't just simply cut it off right now, which we are. We'd love to, but we just can't find enough to cut all the programs in this short period of time. The more we dig into them, the more Doge continues to dive in, the more we continue to dive in and see all the waste and fraud that is been taking place in the government, the more we'll continue to cut. And I feel, I mean it sincerely, this is the first time that I've ever been up here that I feel very, very confident that we will balance the budget. And the president has made it his plan that that's what he wants. When he's sat down and talked to us, especially those that have a relationship with him, this is. This is part of his make America great again. He understands how to make money, but he also understands debt and how it works.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Senator, before we let you go and take a hard turn here into just curiosity, Bill, you were an MMA fighter for how many years?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Well, I fought for three years, but before that we were, you know, we weren't considered professionals. Right. So there was additional fights too. But, you know, I wasn't as good as a lot of these other guys out there that everybody knows.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Who do you think is the best of all time? You know, because. Because you've been in that arena, literally inside that cage. Right. Who do you think is the best all time? I'm just curious.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Boy, you got to go way back. You got to talk about Jon Jones. Jon Jones is just. Even though he's had personal issues, the guy has just been a beast. And people call him the Goat just because he's had, you know, some issues. I still think the guy was just the most dangerous man that stepped in the ring. I mean, the guy is just a student, but when you start looking at some of these old school guys, Randy Couture, for instance. Instance. I mean, here this guy comes in, he wins, you know, he wins two different divisions as a world titles for the ufc, I think he ended up winning five total altogether. I'm trying to pull that off the top of my head. Randy's actually a friend of mine. He's going to be upset that I can't remember his record, but the guy was just absolutely unbelievable. He came in and made some fights and fought up on up weights that most people didn't expect seem to be able to do. He embarrassed Ken Shamrock. I mean, literally spanked his butt. And Ken is the guy that I trained with. So I. And you just. There's just a whole host. It just depends on the year that you want to get to. Right. You can. There's a whole bunch of guys that's come in there. Daniel Cormier, dc, which people talk about. Everybody underestimated him and he did. He did just phenomenal work in there. And he didn't look like he ever belonged in the division. But, but you got. At one time you had a big rig. What was his name? Johnny Hendrix, who was walking through everybody right and, and at the. At that time. But now could he compete with today's fighters? That's what the day fighters are so much better talented than we ever were. Back then we were just a bunch of bankers. Now these guys, they've been. They grew up in the, in the field.

[Ryan Seacrest]

One more lightning round. Quick. Just quick. Kind of related. Best martial arts movie of all time in your mind.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Bloodsport.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That is the correct answer. All right, he got it. Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, everybody. Senator, appreciate you making the time. Come back soon.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

All right, see you. Bye.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[J.R. Martinez]

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

This medal is for the men who went down that day. It's for the families of those who didn't make it.

[J.R. Martinez]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Mark Wayne Mullen]

We have a winner.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yes, listen to Armstrong, you geti on Demand on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. Did you make a mistake in sending arms to Tehran, sir?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

No, no one was letting me.

[Ryan Seacrest]

It became known as the Iran Contra.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Affair and I'm not taking any more questions.

[Ryan Seacrest]

In just a second, I'm going to ask. I'm Leon Naifak, co creator of Slow Burn. In my podcast Iran Contra, you'll hear all the unbelievable details of a scandal that captivated the nation nearly 40 years ago, but which few of us still remember today.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Please do to hear the whole story. Listen to fiasco Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We were just talking to Senator Mullen about the big beautiful bill. Jim Jordan over on the House side had this to say about it. Astute observation. Play Clip 4. I said this on the House floor. You know, it's a good bill. Cause the left hate hates it. And the left hates it because it has core common sense, Republican principles in it. It cuts taxes, it secures the border. It says if you're an able bodied adult and you're getting welfare. You're going to have to work. And it says to moms and dads, we got school choice in here. So you, we know you are the best one to pick where your son or daughter's going to get the best education. Four key Republican common sense, conservative principles. That's why the left doesn't like it. Let's take a call from Andy in Austin, Texas. What's going on, Andy?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Hey, I think our politicians have demonstrated that they are unwilling, unable and will never ever get us to a balanced budget. I appreciate the senator's comments there, but we have a $37 trillion debt and the tax code that we have in place right now is not going to allow us. The instrument is not being used to raise the revenues that we need to pay our bills. So we have got to change our tax code, we have got to repeal the 16th amendment and we've got to get rid of every, every tax that the government collects right now and replace it with a 20.025. It's a 25. One quarter of 1% fully funds our government with a $1.7 trillion surplus. And that means 25 cents per hundred bucks.

[Ryan Seacrest]

But that means everybody pays tax.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

100% of our economy's tax at one quarter of 1%.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Everybody. All right, Andy. Andy, we're at, we're at time, but thank you for, for putting that out there for everybody. Appreciate you. If you don't have a will, you're not alone. Only about a third of us do, according to stats. It's not something people like to think about, but look, you really should be prepared and get this done. Now whether it's a trust or a will, you want to have these kinds of legal documents in place. Your will provides a clear path and direction for those members of your family working through a difficult time. Writing a will has been made infinitely easier by a website specialing in this called trustandwill.com they make it simple, affordable, and the result gives you peace of mind now and your surviving family members will have clarity in the future. Like I said, I've had this done. You should have this done and get it done. Now. Go to trustandwill.com they're experts in creating personalized trust and wills that protect your legacy and make it easy for your family. Visit trustandwill.com today. Lines are open. 800-282-2882. Give us a call. Let's chat. Whatever you have top of mind. We can dive into together. We can also take a quick VIP email here writes in Let me see, who is this? David in Long Beach, California writes, why are we sailors always the ones getting called big spenders? The worst spenders are drunken Marxists. Leave us sailors out of it. By the way, a great interview with Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. He laid it out correctly with the debt ceiling and fellow Republicans. So it can either be just among Republicans or they can work with Schumer and his band of drunken Marxist, which will be a better deal. Rand. So David, taking that position there and agreeing with Senator Mark Wayne Mullen and I would say on the sailors thing, I don't, I don't know, I guess, look, we all understand, right? It's sailors, they're out at sea and they get into port and they want to party a little bit, right? So that's, you know. But do they, do they spend too much? I don't know. Maybe, maybe they don't. Maybe they're pretty fastidious with their paycheck when they get into port. I couldn't speak from any particular knowledge on this issue. Are they any different than anybody else on payday who hasn't been able to get off base for a while though, for looking at the military side of things? I don't know. I have a feeling the army guys, when it's payday, probably get off base and have some fun too. I'm just, I'm guessing, I'm guessing I don't know the CIA. When it's payday, we sit around drinking frappuccinos and talking about the latest Vanity Fair spread. And you know, CI is a little bit of a different culture internally. So, yeah, we'll, we'll get into it. Uh, let's get. Also here the sit down that CBS News is Margaret Brennan. I have to say she looks perpetually deeply unhappy, which maybe she's a Democrat, so that might explain it, but she just gives off the, it's like she's sitting there and it's just sour lemons that she's having to deal with all the time. And Scott Bessen, who seems like a very, very smart and very reasonable guy, sat down with her and I really appreciated this because you'll notice. Guys, can you tell me what the price of eggs is down now? I think the price of eggs is down like 66% is what I saw this morning when I was doing my read in for the show. Some, some like remarkable number. And it's only June, right? So Trump's been in Office less than 6 months price of eggs way down. Because I'm, I remember when the price of eggs was a news story that we all had to be fixated on for days because Trump said he would bring down the price of eggs. And he hasn't brought down the price of eggs. Well, I mean, he's been in office for maybe a few weeks at that point. Seems a little unreasonable, doesn't it? And as I've said, I do believe that one of the only bad side effects of only, only costs of Trump securing the border so quickly is now we're a little spoiled and we have the sense that all these things can be done as quickly as they secure the border, which unfortunately is not true, just impossible. But it is happening, it is in progress. And so we'll give you an update on the price of eggs. But the same people who are saying the tariffs are going to destroy everything, they're trying to create the perception of a bad economy, an out of control Trump problems, problems, problems. And they just keep shifting over in the Democrat corporate media from what the focus is of those propaganda efforts. They never go back and revisit their previous doom saying, oh, ok, I'm sorry, it wasn't as big as, let me see. Well, no, no, hold on guys. As of April 2025, the average price for a dozen grade A large eggs in the US was $5 and 12 cents according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. 17.8 decrease percent decrease from the March 2025 peak of $6.23 per dozen. Okay, all right, I thought it was more than that. So it's getting on 20%. Sorry. Okay, well it's not 60%, it's 20%. But still, where did I read the 60% thing? This is the problem when you, you make a living just trying to consume massive amounts of information and then distill it into the bite sized and the, you know, the most important nuggets. Sometimes, sometimes your nuggets get, get switched up. Let me tell you, don't want to switch up your nuggets. So yeah, I think that this is Trump once again having to deal with the administration having to deal with a negativity flow that is not really a reflection of where the news is. The negativity flow is about trying to convince people things are bad because things are bad. Then polls start to reflect it. Polls start to reflect it, then they tell you things are even worse. And if for some reason, just to let you guys know, I'm in the middle of what is like a crazy lightning storm right now. So if for Some reason it sounds like something has gone on here and the audio were dropped. Just know that it's because a lightning bolt just hit across the street for me and it. It felt like I could have reached out and touched it practically from where I am anyway, just throwing that. Oh, it's. I feel so bad too, Ginger. I don't know what to do with her. It's like when there's fireworks. She hates thunder and lightning and I can't. She can hear it anywhere in the house. I don't know what to do. So she sits there, her little, little fluffy shoulders are shaking and I'm trying to tell her it's okay. And I get it. If you were a dog. If you were a dog, thunder and lightning would probably sound like the end of the world to you too, right? You know, even more, more, more. Earlier times in humanity, we thought it might be the sign of something really, really bad. But if you were a dog, I think it would freak you out as well. So I can't be a weighted blanket producer. Ally says for Ginger. Weighted blanket, maybe I'll probably just end up going and holding her and giving her all kinds of treats. She's just milking. I should just know she's milking this for all it's worth. You know, she knows that Daddy's gonna come over and try to make her feel better and she can make little whimpering noises and she'll get all the treats and all the scratches because of the big scary thunder and lightning. Anyway. Okay, back to. Back to Scott Besson sitting down with CBS News. Is Margaret Brennan here? He made this case. I want you to hear this because she's doing the like. Isn't this bad? Aren't there bad things happening? Let's talk about the bad things happening in the economy. And Treasury Secretary Besant is saying to her, you were just saying something else was bad. And now we know that it wasn't. So let's just take stock of what's really going on here. Play two.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

We wanted to make sure that there aren't price increases, Margaret. And thus far there have been no price increases. Everything has been alarmist that the inflation numbers are actually dropping. We saw the first drop of inflation in four years. The inflation numbers last week. They were very. The pro consumer.

[Ryan Seacrest]

We've listened to earnings calls just like we do. You know what Wal Mart saying, what.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Best Buy saying and what Target are saying. But Margaret, I also know what Home Depot and Amazon are saying. I know what the South China Morning Post wrote within the past 24 hours. That 65%. 65% the of the tariffs will likely be eaten by the Chinese producers.

[Ryan Seacrest]

The reality is there will either be less inventory or things at higher prices or both.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

When we were here in March, you said there was going to be big inflation. There hasn't been any inflation. Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don't we stop trying to say this could happen and wait and see what does happen.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Such an important insight from Secretary Besant here. First of all, I love that he's holding this anchor who's really just a commentator with the shield of a. I'm an objective news source. I'm an objective anchor. I'm just asking questions. I like that he holds her to. You were saying there's going to be terrible inflation. There isn't terrible inflation. Now you're sitting here lecturing me, the Treasury Secretary, on the, what you call inevitable price increases and how this is just basic economic theory to be huge price increases. You were wrong about the other thing. Let's see if you're wrong about this thing. I could even take it a step further, but I just, I think that's such an important point and, you know, you need to hear it. I need to hear it. We need to be telling everybody about it because their game is so clear. It's always, oh, this is going to be so bad. Everything Trump does to the economy, it's going to be so bad. And it's not. And they never go back and say, you know what? I was wrong about that. You know what? We here at CBS News, whatever, somehow always are wrong toward the negative when it comes to Trump. Maybe there's something else going on here. Maybe we should think about the possibility that this isn't just some probability of negative coverage. It is a certainty of negative coverage because we don't like Trump. So that's, you know, this is when you start to unpack this and you analyze it, I think it becomes quite clear to everybody. And that's what I thought Scott Besson did there. That was so important. Let's keep in mind, on the stock market, there was that moment in time when the market had that, you know, a little bit of a hit, a gully, maybe you could say, you know, a little bit of a, of a drop down. And we were being told, oh, he's, look at Trump, he's destroying your 401k. Okay, now the stock market's up for the year. All you had to do is just not do anything for the funds that you had Set aside if you have a 401k or something that you've been setting aside for years or decades, just, you know, don't do anything. It's fine. Just like we told you here, by the way, don't, don't sell off now. It's not a good idea. It's just a little bit of a market panic, taking a little bit of the froth off, maybe. And that was correct. And sure enough, I mean, this is where I say Clay needs to come on the show and wear the Gordon Gekko suspenders and the French cuff shirts, you know, with the monogram. This is an old school Wall street thing, the monogram shirt, French cuff, suspenders, maybe a big Cuban cigar. I sent a Cuban cigar to somebody recently and he, this was a while ago, a few months back, a friend of mine who smoked cigars, he said, you know, the best cigars aren't even. They haven't made in Cuba for a long time. I had no, I don't smoke cigars. I had no idea. Apparently, Dominican Republic makes much better cigars. Now, producer Mike, is that true? Do you smoke cigars? Do you know anything about this? Dominican. Okay, Producer Mike knows. Yeah, Dominicans are great. This is what people tell me. So. That's because, you know, there's this old thing about all the best. The best cigars are Cuban cigars, and you couldn't even get them because of the embargo. And no, Dominican cigars are. I'm told they're better now and have and have been for a long time. So anyway, on the market issue and what to do, they panicked, they freaked out, and they told us that this is what was going to happen. It didn't happen. They've cried wolf too many times on this. One other thing. One other thing. Notice how Margaret Brennan, did she know that? Did she do shows on how Joe Biden has dementia and clearly can't be president? No. But now she's doing shows where she's predicting the economy for us. Us. If you are someone who makes a living observing news and telling people what's going on in the world, why would anyone believe that you could forecast the economy when you couldn't successfully observe Biden's dementia? I think these things tell you a lot. I think if you couldn't get one, why would you be able to get the other? Why would you be able to figure out something far more complicated and that normal people could get wrong? You either are a liar or you're meaning you because you couldn't see that Biden's you pretend you didn't see Biden's dementia or you are so lacking in observation and cognitive ability that what we all knew and took for granted, you in the media, you, Margaret Brennan, cbs, cnn, all the rest of it, weren't able to pick up at all. And I'm sorry, but I just find that too much, too much to take and too much to ask. The Trump economy going in here, coming into six months soon is going quite well. And it's going to continue, I think, to go quite well. I think the big beautiful bill is going to get passed. I think it's going to add rocket fuel to the economy and really good things are going to be happening. I am optimistic I will come back. And if I'm wrong on this thing, on this stuff, unlike cbs, I'll say, wow, okay, I missed it. Let's look at why. Why did I miss it? What did I see happening that was indicating good things? And, you know, we'll go back and try to, because we want to try to get it right the next time. The point is on this show, we try to get it right. And if we're wrong, we tell you and we look at it and try to get it better the next time around. You know, we were off a little bit on our midterm prediction, for example, and a lot of you were really, I mean, we took a beating on that one. But that wave that we thought would be there splashed in some of the wrong places for it to show up, really, in the vote tallies. We absolutely nailed the 2024 election, as you know. Absolutely nailed the vice presidential pick, as you know. You know, these are things that you got to take, got to take into account. I even said that Trump would win by more. I said it on the show more in 2024 than he did in 2016, which ended up being true. So. But I'm just telling you, we try to get it right because that's what we want, because that's the respect we have for this audience at CBS News. They just want to tell people how horrible Trump is. And as long as they're telling people Trump is horrible, right, wrong, doesn't matter. And they're going to be wrong all the time because he's not horrible. That's their job. Their job is not accuracy. Their job is telling smug libs at home who think they're smart because they still watch Face the Nation or whatever tell them what they want to hear and then forget about it the following week. You know, like Rush used to say, the Drive By Media. The reason that phrase was so brilliant? Because it really captures what they do. Margaret's A Drive By. There you have it. Thank you, Rush. The best moments in life are captured in film or video in so many ways, and they weren't meant to be stuffed away in a dusty box in the attic or on videotapes that are just eroding day in and day out. You want to be able to see, hear and share those memories again and again, today and for future generations. Reliving the greatest memories is a great thing. And that's what Legacy Box lets you do. Helps you preserve and relive your family's history. Imagine being able to text a video of your grandparents to your kids or being able to share childhood memories with your siblings in seconds. Legacy Box makes it easy. Legacy Box has done this for a million and a half families. To date, those families have relied on Legacy Box to carefully handle their safe photos, videos, film and more and return it all to them along with brand new digital files. 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[J.R. Martinez]

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

This medal is for the men who went down that day. It's for the families of those who didn't make it.

[J.R. Martinez]

I'm J.R. martinez. I'm a U.S. army veteran myself, and I'm honored to tell you the stories of these heroes on the new season of Medal of Stories of Courage from Pushkin Industries and I Heart podcast from Robert Blake, the first black sailor to be awarded the medal to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice. These are stories about people who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor going above and beyond the call of duty. You'll hear about what they did, what it meant, and what their stories tell us about the nature of courage and sacrifice. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand? We're not boring. A lot of news is boring. And Tedious and depressing and makes you angry. You don't want to live your life like that. Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty. We're Armstrong and Getty. We try to bring you the truth and help you figure out this crazy modern world. How about something about a comedic tone? We have a winner. Yes. Listen to Armstrong. You get it on Demand on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. Did you make a mistake in sending.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Arms to Tehran, sir? No.

[Ryan Seacrest]

No one was let go. It became known as the Iran Contra.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Affair and I'm not taking any more questions. In just a second, I am going.

[Ryan Seacrest]

To ask Attorney General, I'm Leon Nayfak, co creator of Slow Burn. In my podcast, Iran Contra, you'll hear all the unbelievable details of a scandal that captivated the nation nearly 40 years ago, but which few of us still remember today.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Please do. To hear the whole story, listen to Fiasco Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Gonna be closing up shop here on Clay and Buck for the day. Thanks for rolling with us. Remember, I'm back in solo tomorrow and Wednesday and Thursday and then Clay's back Friday. So we'll have a lot of time this week. Love to get to your VIP emails, your talkbacks, your calls, so keep them coming. And yeah, also make sure you check out the Clay and Buck podcast network, which is fantastic. So many great shows there. Carol Markowitz, Tudor Dixon. Whoops, sorry. Sean is now running the Pentagon with Pete Hexeth. Dave Rutherford, our great friend, the former Navy SEAL, has got a really cool episode actually going out this week with Michael Smoke, who's Higher Up Wellness as a really excellent, really, you know, leadership mindset and fitness guy, young guy. And I really think you should check out that, check out that episode. So go check out the Dave Rutherford show and you can follow Higher Up Wellness too, and tell them you heard about him on the Clay and Buck show because those are two fantastic guys having a really good conversation. Let's see, we have Dee Dee John from Charleston, South Carolina. Play it, John here.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Charleston, South Carolina, ex Navy. Most sailors send a lot of their money back to the banks at shore while they're at sea. So when they're in port, they usually.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Spend everything they have.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

So spending like a drunken sailor is definitely the truth. Enjoy your show. Thanks a lot.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Thank you. I mean. All right. You know, some of you. Some of you are saying some things about the sailors. Some of you were saying other things. You know, my family on my mom. I'm on my. My wife's side. Three generations of Navy and. But they're all pilots, so do I ask them about the sailors? I don't know. I don't want to cause controversy here, but maybe we'll dive into it tomorrow. Made in America means something to us. When you invest 700 billion annually in American companies and the 13 million workers and families they support, you're investing in the success of Main Street. That's money powering growth in manufacturing, tech, energy, and innovation. And it starts with private equity backing American ambition. Learn how private equity keeps American businesses [e-mail] paid for by the American Investment Council.

[J.R. Martinez]

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration in the United States. Recipients have done the improbable, the unexpected, showing immense bravery and sacrifice in the name of something much bigger than themselves.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

This medal is for the men who went down that day.

[J.R. Martinez]

On Medal of Honor Stories of Courage, you'll hear about these heroes and what their stories tell us about the nature of bravery. Listen to Medal of Honor on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand?

[Ryan Seacrest]

We're not boring. A lot of news is boring and tedious and depressing and makes you angry. You don't want to live your life like that. Hey, I'm Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty. We're Armstrong and Gettysburg. We try to bring you the truth and help you figure out this crazy modern world. How about something about a comedic tone?

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

We have a winner.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yes. Listen to Armstrong. You get it on Demand on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the fall of 1986, Ronald Reagan found himself at the center of a massive scandal that looked like it might bring down his presidency. It became known as the Iran Contra affair.

[Mark Wayne Mullen]

The things that happened were so bizarre and insane, I can't begin to tell you.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Please do. To hear the whole story. Listen to Iran Contra on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.