Hour 3 - Senators Blackburn and Tuberville

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Hour 3: Senators Blackburn and Tuberville

Release Date: June 9, 2025

In this engaging episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve deep into pressing political issues alongside Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and discuss the upcoming transition of Senator Tommy Tuberville to the Governorship of Alabama. The conversation spans immigration, significant legislative efforts, and the contentious topic of transgender participation in women’s sports, all punctuated with insightful quotes and perspectives.

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1. Interview with Senator Marsha Blackburn

Early Political Influences and Career Beginnings

The episode kicks off with Senator Marsha Blackburn reflecting on her first visit to Washington, D.C., during a high school 4H club leadership summit. She reminisces about the excitement of meeting her senator and participating in civic activities, which planted the seeds for her future in politics.

Immigration and the Border Crisis

Senator Blackburn passionately addresses the ongoing border crisis, expressing frustration with officials who she believes are obstructing ICE’s efforts to remove criminal illegal aliens. She emphasizes that the majority of Americans support stringent immigration enforcement:

[02:00] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “We are a nation that is built on the Rule of law. It is imperative that these officials implement and abide by the law.”

She criticizes mayors like Freddie O'Connell of Nashville and Karen Bass of Los Angeles for their perceived defiance of federal immigration policies, highlighting the increasing criminal activities in cities like Nashville and Memphis. Blackburn underscores that immigration enforcement is a non-partisan issue, stating:

[03:55] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “This is a 90% issue. People want them [criminal illegal aliens] to be taken out of the country.”

The Remove Act and Legislative Efforts

Blackburn discusses the Remove Act, a bill aimed at expediting the removal of individuals who should not be in the United States by reducing the processing time from 90 days to 15 days. She outlines the bill’s provisions, including protections for law enforcement officers against doxxing:

[05:00] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “It should be illegal to dox law enforcement officers, whether they're undercover or out doing their regular job.”

Blackburn expresses confidence in the ongoing Department of Justice investigation into Nashville’s actions and anticipates further scrutiny from the Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees.

Law Enforcement and Public Safety

Addressing concerns about rising violent crimes, Blackburn points to increased carjackings and gang activities as major issues in Tennessee. She reinforces her stance on removing criminal elements to ensure the safety and well-being of law-abiding citizens.

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2. The Big Beautiful Bill: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2.0

Overview and Legislative Timeline

Senator Blackburn provides an in-depth look at the "Big Beautiful Bill," officially known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2.0. She reveals the Senate’s target to present the bill to President Trump by Independence Day, July 4th:

[10:07] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “We are hopeful to have it to the President by July 4th so that we've got that true independence today.”

Key Provisions

The bill aims to make pivotal tax cuts permanent, focusing on supporting small businesses—93% of jobs in Tennessee are affiliated with small businesses. Key elements include:

• Permanent Tax Cuts: Ensuring sustained economic growth without the instability of temporary cuts.
• Research and Development (R&D) Bonuses: Encouraging innovation and investment in small enterprises.
• Depreciation and Interest Expensing: Allowing businesses to depreciate assets more efficiently, fostering expansion and hiring.

Blackburn highlights her commitment to removing taxes on Social Security for seniors, a move designed to provide financial relief to elderly citizens:

[10:42] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “We will make permanent R and D bonus, depreciation, interest expensing... and remove the tax from Social Security for our seniors.”

Spending Cuts and Economic Growth

Discussing the necessity of the bill, Blackburn responds to calls for deeper spending reductions by outlining a path to achieve $2 trillion in spending cuts. She emphasizes the balance between reducing government expenditure and fostering economic growth:

[11:51] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “We have a pathway to do that... significant savings.”

Blackburn remains optimistic about the Senate’s ability to pass the bill, despite differing opinions from colleagues like Rand Paul and Ron Johnson, who advocate for more extensive spending cuts.

Economic Projections and Deficit Reduction

Buck Sexton and Blackburn elaborate on the importance of economic growth in reducing the national deficit. Blackburn disputes the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) projections, asserting:

[13:24] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “CBO is always wrong on their projections. They have been wrong every single time.”

She credits President Trump’s administration for prioritizing growth and implementing policies that support small businesses, which are crucial for sustained economic expansion.

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3. Transition of Senator Tommy Tuberville to Governorship

Reasons for Transition

Senator Blackburn discusses Senator Tommy Tuberville’s decision to run for Governor of Alabama, highlighting his desire to leverage his experience and connections to effect meaningful change at the state level:

[21:10] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “I've got grandkids now and I look at a situation where I can go home... hit the ground running.”

Tuberville expresses enthusiasm for addressing state issues more directly, drawing parallels to his background as a football coach by aiming to build an effective governing team.

Impact on the Senate and Alabama Politics

The hosts and Blackburn anticipate a Republican successor to Tuberville in the Senate, predicting a competitive primary with multiple candidates vying for the seat. Blackburn emphasizes her non-endorsement stance, encouraging a free and fair selection process.

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4. Controversy Over Transgender Participation in Women’s Sports

Legislative Efforts and Public Opinion

The conversation shifts to the highly debated issue of transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. Senator Blackburn shares her efforts to introduce legislation prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s athletic competitions, highlighting the lack of bipartisan support:

[28:51] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “I've had it on the floor three times, and I've not got one Democrat to vote for it.”

Impact on Youth and Women’s Sports

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton express deep concerns about the potential negative effects on women’s sports and young female athletes. Blackburn articulates fears that such policies could discourage girls from participating in athletics and undermine the integrity of women’s competitions:

[31:09] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “We're going to lose little girls because they're going to look at and parents going to say, there's no reason for you to do that.”

Broader Social Implications

The hosts and Blackburn discuss the societal implications of allowing biological males to compete in female sports, citing examples from California and questioning the rationale behind such policies. Blackburn laments the shift from traditional values in sports, emphasizing the importance of fair competition:

[30:15] Senator Marsha Blackburn: “Never dreamed it would even. We'd even be talking about it.”

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Conclusion

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show offers a comprehensive and spirited discussion on pivotal issues shaping American politics and society. Senator Marsha Blackburn provides valuable insights into immigration reform, tax legislation, and the complexities of modern sports policies, while the impending gubernatorial transition of Senator Tommy Tuberville adds a layer of political strategy and anticipation. The episode underscores the ongoing debates surrounding law enforcement, economic growth, and social policies, all delivered with the hosts' characteristic blend of intelligence and humor.

Notable Quotes:

• Senator Marsha Blackburn ([02:00]): “We are a nation that is built on the Rule of law.”
• Senator Marsha Blackburn ([03:55]): “This is a 90% issue. People want them [criminal illegal aliens] to be taken out of the country.”
• Senator Marsha Blackburn ([10:42]): “We will make permanent R and D bonus, depreciation, interest expensing... and remove the tax from Social Security for our seniors.”
• Senator Marsha Blackburn ([28:51]): “I've had it on the floor three times, and I've not got one Democrat to vote for it.”

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For those seeking an in-depth understanding of current political dynamics and legislative developments, this episode serves as a valuable resource, encapsulating key discussions that resonate with a broad audience.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay. Travis Buck Sexton show. We are up in Washington, D.C. for the next couple of weeks. Buck is going to join me tomorrow. He's in the process of trying to get up here. It's not going smoothly. I'm sitting in studio right now with Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. And I'm up here because my son is going to be doing an internship. And this is intern season for so many different offices out there. Do you remember the first time you came to D.C. i know you've been up here for a while. What do you remember about that?

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

You know, I, I was in high school and it was a 4H club leadership summit, and it was absolutely so exciting to me and to come up and to have lunch with my senator and get that photo and, you know, what fun.

[Buck Sexton]

What, what do you think young Marsha Blackburn on that 4H trip would have thought if you had told her, hey, one day you're going to be a congresswoman and a senator yourself. Do you think you would have believed it? Were you interested in politics at that age?

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

I was very involved, yes. I thought that good citizenship was important. And we, even as I was cleaning out some things, one day I found a flyer I had done and distributed to all my neighbors as part of a citizenship project, reminding them to go vote and the importance of going to vote. But never would I have thought I would have been an elective office. But, you know, that's just one of those things I tell young people all the time. Be, be ready to walk through open doors and realize you don't chart your path. God charts your path. And to be mindful and to accept those open doors.

[Buck Sexton]

What did you think last night when you saw the footage from Los Angeles?

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Out of control. These men and women that are there trying to get these criminal illegal aliens. Why in the world would you have a mayor and a governor that are siding and trying to protect criminal illegal aliens and to obstruct ICE and keep them from doing their job? And, you know, I. Clay, you talk to so many people when you're on the air every day. I'm not hearing from people that want to keep criminal illegal aliens. Look at what is happening in Nashville. And this is not a partisan issue. This is a 90% issue. And people will say if they are criminals, they need to be removed. Let's remove these individuals. And people realize that coming across that border illegally a crime. And of course, we ISIS out there doing their job. We are a nation that is built on the Rule of law. And it is imperative that these officials implement and abide by the law. If they don't like the law, they can try to change the law, but it is. There are set procedures for entering the country legally. There are statutes that determine what is and is not a crime and whether it's a felony or a misdemeanor. And to have people that want to pick and choose and say, we're going to enforce this, but we're not going to enforce that. And a sanctuary for this, but not for that. This is what really spurs a lot of the chaos that you're seeing take place in places like la.

[Buck Sexton]

It's not just LA either, because I hear from some people and I know we've got a lot of people listening in California, but they say, oh, that's just a blue city there. What do I care? We live in a red state, you and me. You're my. One of my senators, and I'm glad that you are, and maybe more here in a little bit. But when you see what's happening in Nashville, because I think a lot of people out there say, okay, state of Tennessee, very red. There's a mayor, Freddie o' Connell, in a city of Nashville, who has basically said, hey, we're going to try to stop ICE from doing their work. This has become a big talking point, many cities all over the place. First you have got a bill called the Remove act that would take from 90 days down to 15 days to help expedite the removal of people who shouldn't be in this country. So that is something you're doing directly to try to help the president. But when you see a city like Nashville, when you see someone making the choices that the mayor there is making, that Karen Bass is making in Los Angeles to directly defy the president's authority. Can you believe it?

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

It is difficult to believe. And this is why removing these criminal illegal aliens is a 90% issue, and people want them to be taken out of the country. And the other thing is the doxing. This is something that happened in Nashville. You had the mayor and his office that actually exposed the names of HSI investigators and also of our ICE agents and their operations. Now, you cannot do that. And exposing that. We found out that it is not illegal to reveal the name of a law enforcement officer. It is illegal when they're undercover and you reveal their information. So my preventing law enforcement doxxing that legislation, we've also filed to include law enforcement who are implementing the law in that so that we can protect our law enforcement Officers at the local, state and federal level. It should be illegal to dox them, whether they're undercover or out doing their regular job. What we see happening with this obstruction is people are saying, why are the Democrats choosing to die on this Hill? Why are they absolutely making this their issue? Number one, when this is something that people overwhelmingly support. Get them removed from the country. Protect law enforcement. Don't dox them. Don't go put their pictures up, don't go put their home address. Don't endanger their families. People want to show respect for law enforcement.

[Buck Sexton]

Department of justice is investigating what Nashville had happened. You've asked for that.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

Pam Bondi is the attorney general. What do you expect that investigation to be like? How should it.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

You know, I, I'm sure they will have something to say about this. I've sent the letter over. I have requested that they formalize an investigation and I would expect that at some point we will hear from. You do have the Homeland Security Committee in the House, which is chaired by Representative Green out of Tennessee.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

And also the Judiciary Committee in the House. They have started an investigation and looking at what happened with obstructing these, these raids.

[Buck Sexton]

Were you as stuck? I mean, you've lived in the state of Tennessee and in the Nashville area as have I for a very long time. And look, sometimes mayors are good, sometimes mayors are bad, particularly as it pertains to any big city that you might have in a state. I was stunned when I saw the mayor of Nashville, Freddie o' Connell, engaging in this behavior and having a press conference to brag about it. Were you as stunned as I was?

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

I was stunned. I couldn't believe that there would be a defiance of removing criminals. You know, one of the top issues when you talk to people in middle Tennessee and West Tennessee cr they talk about the escalated occurrence of criminal acts. Carjackings, particularly in Memphis.

[Buck Sexton]

Home robberies had one of the highest violent crime rates in the whole nation.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Right. And so it has stunned people that Nashville had a mayor that would come out and would choose to protect criminal illegal aliens over law abiding citizens. When people have been saying we've got to get the crime down. They've been really unsettled by the number of home robberies that have taken place and the number of gangs that have moved into the Nashville area. I have not talked to a single person who wants to have more trend day or Agua or MS.13 in their community. I mean, not one. They want them gone, they should be gone.

[Buck Sexton]

We're talking to Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Okay. In particular now big beautiful bill is underway.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

You are in the Senate majority, 53 Republicans. I'm sure you like everybody else saw Elon and Trump going back and forth. Elon says there's not enough cutting of spending that's going on. This is past the House. President Trump says, hey, we're gonna create incredible growth rate. We're gonna put in place all these tax cuts for years and years to go cuz otherwise they expire. What should we know about the big beautiful bill? What should the timeframe be? There's a ton of deal with the border as well which would help to ideally keep some other president like Biden from wide opening the border again to allow people to pour in. What's the latest? What should we know? What's the timeframe?

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Yes. And we are hopeful to have it to the President by July 4th so that we've got that true independence today. And we know that this is a tax cut bill. It is kind of tax Cut and Jobs Act 2.0 and we will make those tax cuts permanent. We're also trying to make permanent R and D bonus, depreciation, interest expensing because we've got a lot of small businesses in Tennessee. 93% of our jobs are small business jobs in the state and that's in important to them. Also provisions for no tax on tips, overtime and Social Security. And that is my legislation to remove the tax from Social Security for our seniors. So we're in the process of negotiating those. We're finalizing some of those provisions. We want to get permanence on these provisions. That's how you get that extended growth that will run out past 10 years. So we'd like not to be back at the negotiating table in businesses and individuals. Tennesseeans tell me all the time, just tell me what the rules are and I'll play by the rules. But we don't like this changing everything and especially when we have so many small businesses, mom and pops, small business manufacturing businesses on our main streets. We need some permanence.

[Buck Sexton]

We've had Senator Ron Johnson on the show. He says more spending needs to be cut. We've had Rand Paul on saying the same thing. Are you optimistic that the Senate is going to be able to come to an agreement?

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Yes, I am. The House did one and a half trillion in spending reductions. The Senate wants a $2 trillion reduction and we've got a pathway to do that. Now the Doge cuts are. They have to come to us through ombuds from the White House. And then that is going into what is called a rescission bill. So we can't put those into the reconciliation, the tax bill. They've got to travel separately kind of at the same time. We got the first package of those. It's $9 billion, which over a 10 billion. A 10 year period. You're talking about significant savings.

[Buck Sexton]

Last question for you. I think the key to all this is growth. There's a guy who lives in the Nashville area, he's kind of smart, who will come on he makes this case. But I think it's one that is being missed a little bit. And I want to give you an opportunity. But if we get the growth of the economy to 3% or more, which I think we will, then we are going to actually start to cut the deficit.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

That's correct.

[Buck Sexton]

And it's really important because the CBO and there's all these numbers that are running around out there. All of it's predicated, the projections on what the growth rate of the country is. If we get to 3%, then the national debt starts getting paid down. And the President's focused on growth more than cuts. Ideally you get both. But growth to a large extent, according to people like Art Laffer, is the.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Most important thing that is accurate. And bear in mind CBO is always wrong on their projections. They have been wrong every single time. They were wrong on the 2017 cuts.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

And so you do want to reduce spending and you want to get that growth. And President Trump had the Senate Finance Republicans at the White House last week to work on some of this with him, the Vice President, Secretary Bessant and Kevin Hassett. And one of the things we know is that if you are growing, if you put these cuts in place and it's the largest tax cut and you get permanence on R and D and expensing and depreciation, then you are going to see that because you will have your small businesses choose to grow and to hire and to expand. That is how you get that growth. And the multiplier of effect on that is so significant.

[Buck Sexton]

And not only that, Covid hit right as Trump's economy was exploding. Right. January of 2020, February of 2020, probably the greatest economic season we've ever had.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Correct.

[Buck Sexton]

And then Covid happened and suddenly everything goes off the rails. We get that rolling again. By 2024, 2028 and the next election cycle, we should be firing on all cylinders.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

That's that is accurate. And we this permanence. And then bear in mind too in 2017, when we did the Tax Cut and Jobs act, the biggest benefactor of those changes were your small businesses. You saw such an explosion of small business manufacturing and this was so good for Tennessee. We had a lot of businesses that had been there for years that this was their chance to grow. So they jumped to that level and now they are waiting to hire, they are waiting to invest, they're waiting to punch send on those equipment orders.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Because they want to be able to depreciate that in that first year or two and then move into upgrades.

[Buck Sexton]

Senator Marsha Blackburn with us by the way, just walking in behind you, one of your Senate colleagues, Senator Tommy Tuberville. You got some be governor colleagues before long too.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

Tommy Tuberville's a great guy. We call him Coach.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, he's going to be on with us here in just a sec. Senator Marsha Blackburn, thank you. Keep up the good work and we look forward to celebrating when the big beautiful bill is done.

[Senator Marsha Blackburn]

You got it.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

A day to day basis, it's a killer. I mean, it's just going to run a lot of people out. Obviously, Nick didn't, he didn't last long. He got out. And when you can't control your destiny, Nick and I and a lot of my buddies I grew up with, we learn from good people.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Jimmy Johnson, you bring in two, three stars nobody ever heard of. And you Build a football team, you can't do that anymore. It's not about building a team. It's not about loyalty and it's not about education. The three things that it should be about, it's totally gotten away from that. Now. It's about money. And I'm fine with them making money. I've always thought they should make money. It's a full time job and. But there's really, it's hard to, to make a plan for it when you've got 600 athletes and half of them are women.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

And then the other half, most of them are Olympic sports and men's sports, non revenue. You have two sports. You know, basketball really doesn't make any money. Everybody says, well, men's bat, men's basketball at one or two schools might make money. They're lucky to break even. They spend a lot of money. The only, only one that makes money is the big stadium football teams. And of course now the TV contracts have gotten huge. But yeah, 20.5 million to spread around on each team. Now you don't have to get involved in that. You know that, Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

You can opt out and say, listen, we don't have the money to do it. And that's what's going to happen to 70%. They don't have the money to do that.

[Buck Sexton]

Right. We're talking to Senator Tommy Tuberville. Next year he'll be Governor Tommy Tuberville, which will be an interesting transition. Why? What's the role that as Alabama governor was so attractive to you that next year you'll, I think, you know, go ahead and make a prediction, be the next governor for Alabama. What do you want to do?

[Clay Travis]

Well, I'm a builder as I was a football coach. And up here you're one of a hundred and you can do a lot of good for your state and the country. It's really watered down. It runs at a slow pace. But I looked at staying and my wife and I talked about it and you know, I've got grandkids now and, and I look at a situation where I can go home, I can take the experience that I've learned up here. All the, all the connections. Now you got to have connections to get federal money. And I can go back to Alabama and we can get a coaching staff as I'd call it. You know, people run education, healthcare, military, all that and do the same thing at a, at a smaller level just for this. 5 million people in the state and we go from there and we hit the ground running. So you can you can see results as a governor? You can see results here, Clay. They are few and far between and they're very, very slow. And again, I didn't, I didn't mind doing it. When we would had Biden administration, it was defense. I'm a defensive guy, but it was defense all the time. You couldn't get anything done. Now with President Trump and he's doing a great job. He's gotten common sense back up here. He's working the halls of the Senate trying to get this big beautiful bill across, which it will eventually. But at the end of the day I just looked at it and said, you know, to use my abilities the best I can and the best for Alabama, go back and be governor.

[Buck Sexton]

Alabama is an awesome state. It's a great place. There will be a Senate opening to replace you. It's going to be a Republican. How do you see that race playing out?

[Clay Travis]

There'll be four, five, six people run for it and they should. They all call me and I said, of course, I'm telling you, I'm not going to endorse anybody. You're on your own until you win the primary. And I think that's the right way to do it. Just, it'll be a free for all. Even Bruce Pearl. I've heard his name thrown in there. I don't think at the end of the day he will do it.

[Buck Sexton]

I've texted some about him. I look, I love Coach Pearl like you do. He's the basketball coach for Auburn for people out there that might not know. And he's been really outspoken because he's been so fired up about the response since October 7th. As a guy who's Jewish, there's just a lot of awfulness that's been happening.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, yeah. And he would be a great politician, but I just, I don't think it's time for him. You know, I was retired.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

You know, I wasn't still working. I could have been, but I just chose to get out and I worked for ESPN for a couple years and yeah. And I said, you know, I'm going to do something for American people, the country that gave me so much. And so that's the reason I did it. And, and I think if he was retired, he'd be a great senator.

[Buck Sexton]

What should we know about the so called big beautiful bill? I was just talking with Senator Blackburn. She says she feels like there's a good pathway to get this done by July 4th. I know that's the kind of back of the mind target. Do you Feel good about that. What do you hear? Obviously, there's been a lot of fireworks all around it as it's gotten closer. What do you see on the floor?

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, first of all, we have no choice. We've got to get it done. It's got to be passed, and it's got to be passed soon, because if we don't, 22% of everybody's taxes will go up. And you can just. You can. You can say enough, you know, for the Republican Party after we promised all this. Now, the other part, other than the tax cuts, there's a lot of good things in the bill now. There's a lot of things that's like, you know, putting lipstick on a pig. You know, as a conservative like me, I'd rather not do it. But it's like anything else, Clay, you're not going to have. It's not going to be perfect. But we have got to get growth in this country. A lot of my cohorts are saying it's not enough cuts. Well, at the end of the day, we're counting on tariffs and we're counting on growth to overcome a lot of the cuts. That's not in the bill. And so it's going to be a fight. You know, Rand Paul, he doesn't like the debt limit. 5 trillion. Yeah, none of us do. But that's not to say you're going to get there, Rand. You know, President Trump just wants to a point where we don't have to raise it every three months because the Democrats are going to hold their feet to the fire every time we want to do it, but let's just do it all at one time. Everybody's got a reason for doing it or not doing it. Some say there's not enough cuts, but we've got to take care of the people that work, Clay, What President Trump and how he's won in 16 and in 24 was the people that go to work every day and put their nose to the grindstone and barely make enough money to pay for their family and their kids going to school. And they look around going, we've got criminals that don't go by the law. We've got illegals here that are getting food stamps, welfare, free housing. What's going on? Somebody's not standing up for us. Well, President Trump is, and this bill stands up for the American worker, and that's reading. We have to get it done. We have to get it done now, and then we can do another. We've got another reconciliation coming, so it's not like we're finished. Let's get this one across the goal line. And there's some things that I want to push a little bit harder, but at the end of the day, I'm going to vote for it because I know how important it is to our country.

[Buck Sexton]

We had Riley Gaines on the show earlier today. You've done a lot of outkick shows over the years with her. With her and a lot of our, you know, I can't believe that outkick site that I found that is the only one that will say men shouldn't be playing in women's sports. In all of sports. You have been working on this, but just as a preliminary, you coach for a long time, would you have ever believed that Democrats would make it their party belief system that men who pretend to be women should be able to win women's championships? And for people out there who say, oh, it doesn't matter, look, California, Washington and Minnesota, just in the last week, men have won women's state championships. I mean, this is crazy town.

[Clay Travis]

Did you see the softball pitcher?

[Buck Sexton]

Of course I did. Bigger, taller.

[Clay Travis]

They couldn't get the swing around that already passed them. It just is foolishness.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

And you know, it makes no sense whatsoever. The Democrats don't believe in it, but they push it because they don't have anything else to push. And so they want to keep that, that group of LBGTQ folks voting for them. And I'm afraid, well, if we do this and we're going to lose that voting base, and that's only really the voting base they have, and they really don't have all of them, it's just, it makes no sense to me.

[Buck Sexton]

Would you have ever believed that that was ever going to be an issue politically?

[Clay Travis]

No. And the other thing is not just participation, it's dressing in the same dressing rooms and showers. I mean, who believes that? Who believes that's right? I mean, it just makes no sense.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

And so again, it goes back to their ideology. You know, these, the Democratic Party is just, it's splintered. You got the far left that's pushing all this. And so you've got people that are moderate Democrats looking going, well, if I don't go along with this, I'm not going to get campaign money and I'm going to be kicked to the curb and I'm going to lose my seat. That's reason we need term limits. I'm telling you, if we don't, we got to do something where people don't have to be held hostage by the leadership of their parties. We have to have term limits where people can think for themselves and vote for their constituents.

[Buck Sexton]

And look, by the way, you're making a choice. You could have stayed in the Senate as long as you wanted to be in the Senate.

[Clay Travis]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

You could have been in here for decades. But you have served. And now you want to go back to Alabama and be governor. And I'm betting after eight years as governor of Alabama, you'll probably just say, hey, it's time to work on my golf shots.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I would, I would, I would hope. But yeah, you know, and I've been one of the most outspoken and I'm not a politician. Heck, I come up here and look around going, hey, this, I stand for this and I'm going to speak out for it. I'm the only one that's had a bill on biological boys and men in women's sports. And we voted on it three times. I've had it on the floor three times, and I've not got one Democrat to vote for it. I actually lost a Republican the first time we had that on the floor. So just no common sense up here when it comes to a lot of things. Again, the Democrats are searching for an ideology that, that will strike a note with the American people where they can get reelected. But this nonsense in California right now, the nonsense of these girls being beat up, literally beat up against men in sports, it's a losing cause.

[Buck Sexton]

Alabama, a lot of people with a lot of different beliefs, this kind of stuff would not happen in red states. Even with blue cities, they're not going to allow this kind of violence to take place. Did you ever think that it would be necessary to just have a legislation to not allow men and women's sports?

[Clay Travis]

Never dreamed it would even. We'd even be talking about it. But if you go back to red and blue, you know how sports, how important they are in red states.

[Buck Sexton]

Yep.

[Clay Travis]

I'm talking about girl sports and little kids sports and in high school and junior high then. And then even, you know, the higher education, it's so important. It's not that important in blue states. I mean, a lot of the Democrats up here that they wouldn't know difference between a football and a basketball. Yeah. I mean, it's not that important in their family life. And so was it making a difference? You know, it doesn't. So it's so important to. In the state of Alabama that you would have a uprising deluxe. If you had had that pitcher in softball pitching against women, you would. I mean, it would. And then of course, you know, the swimming with Riley Gaines and I'm very disappointed in the gymnast come out the other day.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. Simone Biles. I couldn't believe it.

[Clay Travis]

I could not believe what she said. It makes no sense if, if you can take the top 20 men in the country that could have, that would compete against her, that would probably have beat her.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, true.

[Clay Travis]

In anything. And so it's like some of the older tennis players and the years have made tons of money playing women's sports and all of a sudden. Oh yeah, I think this is right. They should be able to participate. What I mean, you'd have been an also ran if that had happened. So what's happening now is we're going to lose little girls. Yeah, we're going to lose little girls because they're going to look at and parents going to say, there's no reason for you to do that. But we're going to have a lot of cheerleaders is what we're going to have, because they like to be athletic. And it's just, it's just unfortunate that it's going to happen. But you look at some and some people, you know, there are entire teams in high school across the country, most on the west coast that are all transgender. I mean, it's over. Everybody say, well, it's just a few of them. No, it's not a few. And it's growing every day.

[Buck Sexton]

Look, I will say this, and I think I've said it on the show, but if I haven't blue states, the way that we are going, every track and field champion will be a man pretending to be a woman. I mean, that's where we're headed. It's crazy. Congratulations to you a year in advance on being a governor. You probably don't want to celebrate early. You don't want to high step into the end zone.

[Clay Travis]

Got to run through the end zone.

[Buck Sexton]

Got to run through the end zone with the ball still in your hand. But he's Senator Tommy Tuberville, soon to be the next governor of Alabama. We got to play. I'm too bad at golf. I don't want to subject you to that. But we'll be crossing paths maybe at July 4th and beyond down on 30A and the Gulf Shores area. That's the best beaches in America. A lot of people don't know Alabama's got some of the best beaches in America.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, Alabama and Orange beach, they just, they're starting a 300 million dollar project. Margaritaville. Oh, yeah, it's, you know, it's really growing.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean it's beautiful. If you haven't been. They don't want me to say it because but Gulf Shores, Orange beach all the way down through there.

[Clay Travis]

Pretty.

[Buck Sexton]

You've had a few drinks before at the Florida Bama right there on the it's one of the most iconic bar.

[Clay Travis]

I threw out the first mullet one year the mullet toss Pink pony Ken Stabler call me Said coach I need you. It's like throwing out the first pitch. People don't a mullet is a fish folks. Yeah but they, they you throw a fish and you whoever has the father's throw in the competition wins. So they wanted me to come down and throw out the first mullet. I thought that was awesome.

[Buck Sexton]

That is. That is a real the mullet toss a big thing that happens down to Florida Bama. If you're wondering what in the world. Florida, baby. That's where Florida and Alabama meet. Literally. The bar is on the state line. Florida, Alabama. Beautiful beaches. Senator soon to be governor Tommy Tuberville appreciate you coming in studio with us here.

[Clay Travis]

Thank God.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

This is an I Heart podcast.