Hour 3 - TX Sen. John Cornyn

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – Hour 3 Featuring Texas Senator John Cornyn

Release Date: August 13, 2025
Episode: Hour 3 - TX Sen. John Cornyn
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Guest: Senator John Cornyn of Texas

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1. Introduction to Senator John Cornyn’s Appearance

In the third hour of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton welcome Texas Senator John Cornyn to discuss pressing political issues affecting the nation and Texas. The conversation delves into topics such as the safety of Washington D.C., Democratic obstruction of Trump’s judicial nominations, and the dynamics of Texas primary races.

2. Safety in Washington D.C. and Trump’s Initiatives

Discussion Highlights:

• Senator Cornyn on D.C. Safety:

  Senator Cornyn addresses the ongoing safety concerns in Washington D.C., attributing the city's lack of safety to ineffective handling of juvenile offenders. He emphasizes the need for stricter law enforcement measures to restore order.

  [03:35] Senator John Cornyn: "First of all, no, the District of Columbia is not safe. Juveniles, juvenile offenders basically have a free hand because under current city council and U.S. Attorney... they're effectively adults."

• Support for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro:

  Highlighting his support for Jeanine Pirro's appointment as the new U.S. Attorney for D.C., Cornyn expresses optimism that her leadership will enhance law and order in the capital.

  [03:35] Senator John Cornyn: "I was very happy to support Jeanine Pirro as the new U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia."

3. Democratic Obstruction of Trump’s Judicial Nominations

Discussion Highlights:

• Obstruction Tactics:

  The hosts and Senator Cornyn discuss the Democratic Party's persistent efforts to block President Trump’s judicial nominees, which Cornyn describes as "simply intolerable."

  [06:37] Senator John Cornyn: "The Democrats have simply resisted each and every Trump nominee for no better reason than Trump nominated them. And we will..."

• Nuclear Option Explanation:

  Cornyn elaborates on the Senate's potential use of the "nuclear option" to overcome Democratic resistance by changing the rules to allow the confirmation of pending nominees, likening it to past procedural shifts initiated by former Majority Leader Harry Reid.

  [08:17] Senator John Cornyn: "This blockade of President Trump's nominees is simply intolerable, and we're not going to tolerate it anymore."

• Impact on Federal Judiciary:

  The discussion underscores the long-term implications of blocked nominations, noting that federal judges hold lifetime appointments, which can significantly influence the judicial landscape.

4. Texas Primary Races and Senator Cornyn’s Candidacy

Discussion Highlights:

• Contested Primary:

  Senator Cornyn reveals that he is in the midst of a heated primary battle for his Senate seat, emphasizing his strong support for President Trump and his policies.

  [09:54] Senator John Cornyn: "Yes, I am in a contested primary. We have the earliest primary, I believe, in the country, which is March 3rd."

• Opponent’s Viability:

  Cornyn critiques his primary opponent, Attorney General Ken Paxton, suggesting that Paxton's record may jeopardize the Republican hold on the Senate seat.

  [10:15] Senator John Cornyn: "The attorney general, the current attorney general of our state, has a record that will cause him to lose the general election if, in fact, he is the nominee."

• Beto O'Rourke’s Political Future:

  When questioned about Beto O'Rourke’s potential candidacy in Texas, Cornyn dismisses O'Rourke as out of step with Texas voters, labeling him as non-viable for statewide office.

  [11:50] Senator John Cornyn: "He is simply out of consistent, out of step with, I would call, Texas mainstream voters. He could run maybe for Senate or governor in California, but he sure is out of step with Texans and he's not a viable candidate."

• Support for Party Candidates:

  Cornyn affirms his commitment to supporting the Republican nominee, regardless of who it may be, underscoring unity within the party.

  [13:06] Senator John Cornyn: "But traditionally, what I've done, I've always done, is support the nominee in my party, no matter who it is."

5. Audience Interactions and Light-Hearted Exchanges

Discussion Highlights:

While the core of the conversation focused on serious political matters, the hosts and Senator Cornyn also engaged in light-hearted exchanges with listeners:

• First Date Anecdotes:

  Listeners shared humorous stories about awkward first dates involving gift cards and unconventional transportation, prompting laughs and camaraderie between the hosts and Senator Cornyn.

  [24:26] Listener Melissa: "I still give him crap about paying with that gift card."

  [29:00] Senator John Cornyn: "My wife's coffee was free."

• Challenges and Bets:

  Fun challenges were posed, such as Buck Sexton being asked about serving a 100-mile-per-hour tennis serve, which Senator Cornyn humorously compared to his own athletic endeavors.

  [33:10] Senator Cornyn: "So I'm just saying JJ's got your back here."

6. Concluding Remarks and Future Engagements

Senator Cornyn concluded his appearance by promoting upcoming political contests and encouraging listeners to stay engaged with the show's platforms across various social media channels. He also mentioned his and Buck Sexton’s forthcoming books, emphasizing their commitment to influencing national discourse through their publications.

[41:03] Senator John Cornyn: "And we would appreciate it. Buck's book will be up in January. It will be as soon as it's up."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• On D.C. Safety:

  [03:35] Senator John Cornyn: "The District of Columbia is not safe... juveniles basically have a free hand."

• On Democratic Obstruction:

  [06:37] Senator John Cornyn: "The Democrats have simply resisted each and every Trump nominee for no better reason than Trump nominated them."

• On Primary Races:

  [09:54] Senator John Cornyn: "We have the earliest primary in the country, which is March 3rd."

• On Supporting the Republican Nominee:

  [13:06] Senator John Cornyn: "I support the nominee in my party, no matter who it is."

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Conclusion

In this engaging episode of "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show," Senator John Cornyn provided insightful commentary on critical political issues, including law and order in Washington D.C., the Democratic Party's resistance to Trump’s judicial nominations, and the dynamics of Texas' primary elections. The blend of serious political discourse with light-hearted audience interactions made for a comprehensive and entertaining listening experience.

Transcript

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Clay Travis]

IHeart presents the big three playoffs this Sunday. The remaining four teams battle to make the championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the big three Monster Energy celebrity game, then Dwight Howard and his LA Riot take on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J Chicago triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who will make it to the big three championship. The no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3P Eastern, 12 Pacific only on CBS.

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

You want smart political talk without the meltdowns? We got you and I'm Carol Markowitz. And I'm Mary Kathryn Hamm. We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.

[Buck Sexton]

Normally is about real conversations, thoughtful, try to be funny, grounded and no panic.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day.

[Buck Sexton]

Join us every Tuesday and Thursday Normally.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us as we are rolling through the Wednesday edition of the program. Lots going on. Trump has announced a large number of of Kennedy center honors as he continues to remake Washington D.C. and Buck, this is a small thing, but when you and I were up in D.C. in June, we were out on a boat. I'd never been out on a boat on the Potomac. Very fun. Carlos and Hillary, your friends from Miami took us out and they said something interesting. They said as we were going past, they were celebrating. It was June, they were celebrating America, not gay pride. And the colors on the Kennedy center were red, white and blue. And it was absolutely fantastic. And I think it is emblematic of the cultural shift that we have seen. And I bet Senator John Cornyn of Texas has certainly noticed that cultural shift as well. Let's start here. We've been talking a great deal since Monday's press conference about the fact that President Trump is trying to make D.C. safer. You have spent a lot of time in D.C. is the city safe? Should it be safer? Can you believe that Democrats have decided that they're going to attack Trump on trying to limit the number of murders happening in our nation's capital?

Well, no, thanks for having me. First of all, no, the District of Columbia is not safe. And juveniles, juvenile offenders basically have a free hand because under current city council and US Attorney, or I should say the attorney general of DC Juveniles basically are not arrested and incarcerated, even though they are effectively adults. That's one of the reasons I was very happy to support Jeanine Pirro as the new U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. And I think President Trump's efforts, hopefully will restore law and order to the nation's capital, which happens to have a whole lot of people from across the country and around the world come visit our great, our great nation's capital. And hopefully this will make things safer for them as well.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Senator Corden, we've been talking a fair bit on the show about what's going on in your home state with the Democrats who have fled. I know that's a state legislature issue. I was wondering if you could speak to that and what you think the resolution of this is going to end up being. For a lot of people, it's kind of a, maybe not a shock, but they're surprised to hear the Democrats plan is to just flee the state, hang out in Illinois and not actually do the business of the people. What's going on there with the, with these Texas Democrats?

[Senator John Cornyn]

Well, it's certainly Untexan in Texas. You don't cut and run. When you have a difference of opinion or a dispute, you work it out. But unfortunately, we have House Democrats here in what I would call really a hybrid situation. It is, you're right, the state legislature. But when they start crossing state lines, it then becomes potentially a federal issue. And we're talking about redrawing congressional lines, obviously federal Congress, those lines, and they are simply preventing that from happening by defeating a quorum. And what I've tried to do by engaging both Cash Patel, the FBI director And Pam Bondi more recently is to point out the potential jeopardy that these individuals are in. And this is not something to be trifled with. They need to come home and do their job.

When you look at the Democrat Party right now, the entire opposition by and large seems to be coming from federal district court judges who are trying to stand up against Trump. There doesn't seem to be a coherent strategy to oppose him. The party seems to be spiraling out of control as evidenced by Mom Donnie and the, and the craziness there in the Senate where you are. There are some 100 such backlogs on Trump appointees being able to get through. How much of that resistance can be overcome, what should happen and where? Who is even the head of the Democrat Party right now? Who do you even feel like you're arguing against on a day to day basis now?

Well, Mamdani seems to be the new champion of the, of the modern or the current Democratic Party. Bernie Sanders and AOC certainly feel like they've been empowered. And Chuck Schumer is running scared because he's afraid that AOC will run against him in his next primary and he'll no longer be the leader of the Democrats in the Senate. But to your point, what we've seen is almost reflexive resistance. I mean, typically at this point on the nominations, you have a number of second and third tier nominees or nominations that most people don't know a lot about that are confirmed by voice vote or by consent. But the Democrats have simply resisted each and every Trump nominee for no better reason than Trump nominated them. And we will when we return after August and September. I'm part of a small committee that the Majority Leader has put together to come up with proposed rule change where we will, with or without Democratic support, change the rules and allow the confirmation of this backlog of President Trump's nominees.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Senator, can you give us what would those rule, those rule changes would be what exactly? Just so we can know and keep an eye out for this, because it feels like the tactics of bad faith obstruction from Democrats have, have reached a boiling point.

[Senator John Cornyn]

They have, they have. Well, this, this really kind of goes back to back when Harry Reid was Majority leader and he changed the Senate rules when it came to confirming federal judges where historically it had only been 50 votes. He made it 60 votes. That was the so called nuclear option where there was an overruling of a parliamentarian and a new precedent set. I don't want to bore your listeners, but we extended that in 2017 when Neil Gorsuch was being blocked by Democrats. It would be a similar procedure where the majority leader would move to take up these nominees as a block in block, as they call them, and let's say 10, 20, 40, 50 of them at a time. And then the parliamentarian would say, well, that's not permitted under the Senate rules. And then there would be an appeal to the members of the Senate, and 51 would overrule the parliamentarian and set a new precedent. That's the down in the weeds way that this would happen. But sometimes it's called the nuclear option because it's pretty unusual. But this blockade of President Trump's nominees is simply intolerable, and we're not going to tolerate it anymore.

We're talking to Senator Cornyn. You are in the middle of a primary battle. What can you tell us about that race as it pertains to the. To the Republican race, and what are you hearing about Democrats and who's going to run and what the expectations are on that side of the ledger?

Yes, I am in a contested primary. We have the earliest primary, I believe, in the country, which is March 3rd. And I'm very proud of my support for President Trump and his policies. We went back and actually calculated it 99.2% of the time, a pro Trump voting record. I think, for better, for worse, when you run for office every six years, people will kind of forget about you and forget about what you've done. And so we have to remind folks with advertising, but also the attorney general, the current attorney general of our state, has a record that will cause him to lose the general election if, in fact, he is the nominee. And we'll see hundreds of millions of dollars spent in a futile effort to try to save this Senate seat in Republican hands if he's the nominee. So I've been talking to President Trump off and on about this. I think he'd like to see the race develop a little bit more, and that's fine. That's his prerogative. But we're not waiting around, and we're making our case to Republican primary voters. But this would have consequences far beyond me and far beyond the state, because with people like Sherrod Brown getting into the Senate race in Ohio, and we're seeing Democrats coming up with recruiting a field, a competitive field of nominees, the last thing we need to do is spend a lot of money in a failing effort in Texas to save a flawed candidate.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

What about Beto o' Rourke's future in Texas politics, Senator? Is he possibly going to be. Let's Just say that you are the one who emerges from this primary we were just talking about. Would you like it to be Beto o'?

[Senator John Cornyn]

Rourke?

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

What's your take on him? He's been making some noises lately.

[Senator John Cornyn]

He sure is. And Beto is. You know, my. I have a rule of thumb in politics and in elections, it's three strikes and you're out. And Bento has run so many times for the Senate, for president and for governor, and he is, he's. He's basically, everybody knows about Beto and he is simply out of consistent, out of step with, I would call, Texas mainstream voters. He could run maybe for Senate or governor in California, but he sure is out of step with Texans and he's not a viable candidate. The guy who's actually announced his intention run at this point is Colin Allred, who lost to ted Cruz in 2024. But unfortunately, the polling shows that he would actually win if Ken Paxton is the nominee in November.

I know you're in the middle of a heated primary and you probably don't like questions like this because they get asked all the time. If you were not the nominee, would you campaign for the. And maybe somebody else is going to run. Who knows? Would you campaign for the Republican nominee or would you sit out the entire election process?

Well, I think if I'm not the nominee, then I'll continue to serve in the Senate for another year and a half or so and do the best I can to represent my constituents. I'm not going to speculate as to who the nominee ultimately will be. You're right. Other people could get in the race. We could see Ken Paxton decide. Once the polls, the numbers close and it looks like he can't win, we may see him decide to run for attorney general again, which he's done for two cycles because otherwise he's out of a job and out of politics for the rest of his. His career. So I really don't think it would be useful for me to speculate as to that. But traditionally, what I've done, I've always done, is support the nominee in my party, no matter who it is.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Senator John Cornyn, appreciate you being with us, sir, from the great state of Texas. We'll talk to you again.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Thanks, guys. Appreciate it.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

It's really.

[Senator John Cornyn]

We got.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

We got to have on. We had Paxton on to talk about Texas, but we got to have him back. If I didn't realize that, you know, we got into the primary thing here, so we'll have Paxton on to make his.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Look, this is going to be we, we've got Kentucky, we have got Georgia, we have got Texas. Just off the top of my head right now, big bruising. It appears Republican primaries that are going to have to play themselves out in the Senate side before we even get into the general.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

And we don't, we don't as you know, we do not as a rule endorse in a Republican primary. So we will put that offer out for, for the opponent here to come on as well and make his case. But I was very curious to hear about the particularly Clay, the Senate confirmation stuff that's going on. Senator Cordyn spoke to that is it's a big deal and that's why the Democrats are doing everything they can to stop it. Because every one of these judges is there forever. I mean not forever but you know, they're lifetime appointments. This is a big move every time you get another judge on and they can make an enormous difference. And then there's also the US Attorneys who are not getting through. So they're just trying to do whatever they can to gum up the machinery of the Trump justice side of the equation. And we got to put a stop to that. When a natural disaster strikes, will you be able to reach your loved ones? Rapid Radios delivers peace of mind when it matters most. These are modern day walkie talkies built to communicate on a nationwide LTE network. So distance is not a problem. I've told you about my own story how I was able to stay in contact with my in laws in North Carolina during Hurricane Helene. When communication was tough I was able to just press a button and talk to them loud and clear. There are a lot of testimonials out there from all of you about Rapid Radios as well. This one from Mrs. Stinson sticks out. I was able to check on my elderly parents and my brother immediately. Group talk or private? Just like the old Nextel, they will program everything to all Rapid Radios before they are shipped to you on. I highly recommend their products, end quote. That was the review. Look, Mrs. Stinson knows she's speaking the truth. No monthly fees and pre programmed simplicity. Rapid Radios keeps you connected when everything else goes dark. Trusted, tested, legit. Visit rapid radios.com today. That's rapid radios.com you know them as conservative radio hosts.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Now just get to know them as guys on the Sunday Hang podcast with Clay and Buck. Find it in their podcast feed on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

[Clay Travis]

The reviews and ratings are in and Ice Cube's Big three is the surprise hit. Of the summer and to cap off the season, iHeart presents the Big Three basketball playoffs this Sunday at 3pm Eastern. The remaining four teams battle it out for the right to make the Big three Championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the Big 3 Monster Energy Celebrity game where your favorite stars compete in Big 33 on 3 basketball. Then the biggest the first of two semifinal games features Dwight Howard and the LA Riot taking on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J's first place Chicago triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance will make you Dan Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who finished the season winning five straight weeks to capture second place. Can Glen Rice, Greg Monroe and Paul Millsap stop Miami's physical assault? Or will Miami and Beasley put an end to Dallas winning ways? Who will make it to the Big Three championship? This no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3pm Eastern, 12 Pacific only on CBS.

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Hey there. I'm Mary Kathryn Hamm.

[Buck Sexton]

And I'm Carol Markowitz. We've been in political media for a long time.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little insane.

[Buck Sexton]

That's why we started Normaly, a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling, and with a healthy dose of humor.

[Buck Sexton]

We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

So if you're into common sense, sanity and some occasional sass.

[Buck Sexton]

You're our kind of people.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Catch new episodes of normally every Tuesday.

[Buck Sexton]

And Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton Show Our thanks to Senator John Cornyn. We had Attorney General Ken Paxton on earlier this week and I just mentioned, I mean, I, I think we can reiterate it. There are going to be some big time primary battles. I know there's three major candidates running in the Kentucky Senate race, at least two running in Cornyn and Paxton in Texas. In Georgia right now, there are three different Republicans running in the Senate. This is not even getting into the governor's races and the primary season. Everything else, we try to ensure that we give everybody the opportunity to talk to you in the primary process. So we're not perfect on that, but we had Ken Paxton on earlier this week and so Cornyn is on as well. And we asked both of them about the race. They get the opportunity to tell you all over Texas exactly why they think you should support them and why their opponent is not the right choice. And so we try to be fair about that and make sure that we give equal opportunity. A lot of times we actually stay out of even having congressional candidates on because those races are so much smaller and there's so many people running that it's very hard until the nominee is in for us to have multiple people on. For instance, Buck, my Congress seat, Tennessee 7, where I live, the congressman is leaving, Mark Green, we've had him on the show quite a lot. I think there's eight guys running in an October primary here in my, my district. We're not going to have all eight of those guys on. So whoever the nominee is, we will eventually have on. But it gets hard, you guys can well understand. But in a battle that big, that's going to be that costly in Texas or in Kentucky or in Georgia, for instance, in the Senate universe, we want to make sure that we have people on. So anyway, we got a couple of questions about that. You can go, you know, make sure that we're on top of that. But I think as soon as Ken.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I forgot that's a mea culpa. I forgot that we had asked Paxton or you, you asked Paxton about the primary yesterday. I know we just had him on. So I think that's, you know, that's fair enough for now. As we get closer, we can have them both back and they can make the, the pitch to you. We certainly don't endorse anybody, but we Also want to be fair on these senate races because I know we got our Texan, our Texan audience is passionate about their Texan representation. I will say that much. There are strong opinions, strong opinions that are coming through.

[Senator John Cornyn]

To be sure.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

You want to do some, I was going to pull a quick talk back here.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Do you?

Yeah, let's do LL Here because it's responding to what we just talked about. L.L.

[H]

Clay, Buck. Love you guys. Tell you what, they want me to quit going to a Mexican restaurant. Mexican people going to suffer. All my friends, my Hispanic friends, just like canceling the all star game in Atlanta, who suffered. All the black folks that were trying.

[Senator John Cornyn]

To work that game.

He's right. When you tell people, hey, don't go support the businesses of Mexican, Hispanic minority businesses, you're telling on yourself. These white women left wingers with their broken brains. We'll play a ton of your talkbacks. We got some fabulous ones when we come back. But in the meantime, look, we want to make sure that you're safe. And as school goes back into session, maybe your kids are riding the school bus. Maybe you got sons or daughters that are off to college. Maybe just in your life you got a little bit more nervousness about crime. But maybe you also have what we have here in the Travis household. Teenagers going in and out of the house all the time. So you want to protect yourself, but you want to do it without using lethal methods. That's what Sabre is all about. The website saberradio.com they've got pepper sprays, pepper gels, projectile devices. They're all proudly made here in the good old usa. The projectile devices in the shape of either a pistol or a rifle recommended by many law enforcement officials. You can defend yourself with Sabers products. 15% off right [e-mail] that's S A B R E radio dot com.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

All right, welcome back in here. We, we are inundated with talkbacks right now from all of you on a range of subjects. So I, I wanted to rack them and stack them here and get your voices on these topics which range from essential to the future of the republic to perhaps a tad silly. But we have, we have it all here. We cover all the things on Clay and buck. This is a. An all of the above show and we have. Let's start with Melissa. This is a Melissa in San Antonio who listens on the great woai Play it.

[Carol Markowitz]

Hey, guys, it's Melissa in San Antonio, Texas. I wanted to let you guys know that 10 years ago I went on a Blind date with a young man who took me to a very nice Italian restaurant and did pay with a gift card. This past May, we celebrated our eight year wedding anniversary. But trust me, I still give him crap about paying with that gift card.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

So she kind of saved you there at the end, Clay. But that's clearly going in the, you know, maybe some, some people doesn't bother.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Happy anniversary. Melissa overlooked it. She overlooked it. Hey, by the way, if you're really.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

This, this guy, like, this guy probably had abs. This guy probably looked like, like Ali's husband. Like, you know what I mean? This guy could sell men's bathing suits or something.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I, I, if you got the gift. But a lot of people want to weigh in if you missed it yesterday. I said there's no marriage that has ever occurred where for the first date with a gift card at Chili's, at Bottomless Wings, at, at, at any of the Buffalo Wild Wings. So Melissa, congratulations. Maybe duck out and go find the waiter with the card so she doesn't see. But I actually would like to hear from Melissa about what her thought process was on that first date. The blind date when he played with the gift.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I'm telling you, he, he had some, Matt, he had some magic something going on there. There was an X factor that this guy brought to the table. I mean, Clay, was he 6 3? Was he 6 4? We all know some of these, some of these ladies, the height thing, which I personally don't under. And that whenever I say this because you're so short people, Someone came up to me. Actually, no one person came up to me in Highlands. So, like, you're much taller than I thought you'd be. Do I look really short? What is this? They've said it to you too, Clay and I, and they didn't pick us for this reason. Put us together. We are both six feet tall. We are not lying to you. We. You can stand us back to back. I mean, you know, Clay might be like, like an eighth of an inch taller or something. We are both six feet tall. And it's like. But people are shocked by this, which.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I don't is my wife is 5:2. And I said, if I were 5:8, would you have dated me? She said probably not.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I know. Oh, Carrie carries. I think five three. Honey, how tall are you? I think she's five three, maybe five four. And she also was like, you were like. I just was, I just was calling off for the amusement park. You know what I mean? Yeah, I just made the cut. All right, let's get to Dustin from Maricopa, Arizona, listens on KFYI. This is B.B. hey, Clay and Buck. Dustin from Maricopa, Arizona.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Hey, Clay.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

You should put a poll up on Twitter or X and see which one's worse.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Using a gift certificate for your first date or showing up on a date.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

On an E Scooter like the Bucksta. Can I just.

[Senator John Cornyn]

You tell me, New York City, how often do people go to dates on E. Scooters? I honestly have no idea.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Well, why are we limiting it to New York City? There's E Scooters all over Miami. And.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Okay, no one in Nashville would show up for a gate for gate for a date on an E Scooter and have any success in life at all. So I think it has to be a city that is compact, where people regularly. I don't know how often people show up on scooters. Like, if I were meeting a buddy.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

If you put out that poll, I'll just say I. It could go either way for me. I. I think probably scooter is a little worse, but I think it would be like a 55, 45 poll situation.

[Senator John Cornyn]

If I had a buddy and I was like, hey, let's go meet for a beer. And he showed up on a scooter in Nashville with a helmet on. I. He would never hear the end of it from me. I think he would just immediately turn around and leave.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I wasn't wearing a helmet because helmets don't fit my giant head. So don't worry about that, all right? There's no helmet with my E Scooter to be safe. That's true. CC Debbie from Long Beach, California, listens on Keib the Patriot. What's going on? Let's play it.

[I]

Hi, Clayton, Buck, this is Debbie from Long beach about the gift certificate. On the first date at a restaurant, it wouldn't bother me at all because I would look for so many other things besides how he paid. I would look for. Did he hold my chair for me? Did he open my car door? Did he chew with his mouth closed? Was he sweet? Was he funny? Did he have a good sense of humor? So many more things than how he paid.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Can I say Debbie could do voiceover work?

[Senator John Cornyn]

I would say Debbie has an unbelievable voice. She sounds like somebody who. Yeah, legit. Could be a voice actor. Maybe she is. She's out in California. Frank. In Columbia, South Carolina. Gamecock country. What you got?

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

My wife and I's first date was for coffee, and hers was free because.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I whipped out my five punches and.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

You get A free cup of coffee card. So, yeah, on our very first day.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Oh, no.

My wife's coffee was free.

And she saw.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

But it was almost.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Frank is amazing.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

He's leading right into it.

[Senator John Cornyn]

The punch card. You're with the girl on the first date. You pulled out your coffee club punch card.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Frank, can we just say. Can we just say, Frank, you're a champion. Obviously you won the race. You've got your lovely wife and. But I'm telling you, man, you, you, you stepped into that race with it with a satchel of rocks on your back, man. That's not an easy one to pull off. So good on you.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Can you imagine pulling out the punch card? You're not even gonna throw down the $4 for her cup of coffee. You're like, hey, it's buy one, get one free, babe. I just. Wow. I can't believe that worked, Jerry.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Great. Great. Yeah, play it.

[Senator John Cornyn]

My brother in law took a date.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Out using a Home Depot rental truck for delivery.

[Senator John Cornyn]

And he picked her up and they.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Went on their date, but he was only allowed to use it for 75 minutes. So apparently the date was kind of cut short. Can I just. I'm going to throw something out there. I actually think that this is. I wouldn't view this as a negative if you leaned into it and you made it a conversation piece. Because it's so, it's so crazy that it's funny. Like if you showed up in a U Haul van to pick a girl up on a date, you clearly, if you have a story for it, even if you have to make the story up, I think that that's a good way to weed out whether somebody has a sense of humor or not. Right? Like that's. I, it's so, It's. To me, it's it's so crazy that it, it works. That's what I would say.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I just. Does he not have a car otherwise? Was he so scrimped or cramped for time that he wasn't able to actually drive a normal vehicle? I have actually more questions about that. It's very funny to get picked up. I mean, I guess it's kind of the equivalent of getting picked up in like a FedEx truck, which I'm sure is a big no. No. Because I'm sure you're not supposed to take girls out on dates in a UPS or a FedEx truck or a police car. Did you? We talk about the guys at the fire department who picked up the hot chicks and drove them and they got in trouble.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Right? I mean, you Know, if you're going to be a fireman, you can't pick up a hot lady and give her a ride on the fire truck. Come on.

[Senator John Cornyn]

What?

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I thought this was America.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I think it was New York City. The fire guys like were driving. By the way, this is. Oh wow, Mike, with the illegal use of the hose line there, I, I'm not surprised at all that firemen would pick up cute girls on the street. But evidently the girls were posting about it and it was a huge controversy in New York City.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

But I think the FDNY has got to get a carve out. You know, if she's like a solid seven or above, she gets a free ride to where she has to go her next destination. I don't think that's a big deal. But yeah, they got in trouble for that one. GG listener Jeff from Minnesota.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I can see it now. Dana White hosting UFC on the lawn of the White House with an opening bout of buck schooling the 66 year old in tennis. Let's get it rolling. This is very, very funny. Yesterday a 66 year old called out Bucks tennis. By the way, we got one more. This is actually good advice, I think. Always pay. If you are a man listening to us right now and you go out for a first date and, and by the way, if you're a woman listening to us and the guy's like, hey, let's split, run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. That is not a dude you want to be with. He might as well be wearing a male feminist T shirt. Todd FF had this to say.

[H]

Hey guys, I once took a girl out and she tried to split the check and I picked it up, looked her straight in the face and said, what kind of guys you been hanging out with that don't pay for the check? And you know, I didn't marry that girl, but it definitely scored me some points.

[Senator John Cornyn]

No doubt. And by the way.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Oh, go ahead. I was going to say that I.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Was going to play this, but if you missed it earlier, Buck has been challenged on his ability to hit 100 mile an hour serve. Lots of people in the comments, not very, very favorable here, but it, excuse.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. The comments are about 70, 30 doubters versus supporters. OK, 70% doubters, which they're not good at math or they have bad eyesight, but 30% are like, yeah, no, that's about 100 miles an hour.

[Senator John Cornyn]

So I'm just saying JJ's got your back here. Lawrence in San Antonio.

[H]

Listen, all right, I believe you can hit 102. My name is Lawrence. You played in college? I played anyone who is skilled. If you look at the length of the arm and the length of the tennis racket and the snap at the top of the serve with brand new tennis balls on a first serve. Yes, I believe you can hit, let's say 102. That's my bet. How do I send you $5 for the bet?

[Senator John Cornyn]

This would be fun. How far do you think you could kick a field goal? Have you ever thought about this?

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I mean I was a reasonable high school soccer player. Like reasonable not good. So you know, I didn't play in like Olympic development programs. Although one of my kids on my, one of the guys on my team did.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

That's why I know what that is. He was much better than me. I don't know what's, what's like, what's like what's reasonable athleticism but not good. That's where I would put myself with kicking a football at. I am not good at throwing a football. I'm good at throwing a baseball. I shouldn't say good. I'm reasonable throwing a baseball. I do not have a good spiral. That is what. Because I never played football.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I would think that you, if you played soccer and you have decent technique, I would think most decent guy soccer players would be able to make a 20ish yard field goal without too much difficulty. So that would be.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I would have thought I could hit 30. That would have been my guess. But maybe that's a little too far.

[Senator John Cornyn]

No, I think 25 is probably a good over under. I don't know, I haven't actually tried this. But if you have decent foot contact and you're. And you have a decent foot strength, I think 25 yards is a, is a very reasonable potential.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

You have video of you doing a field go. Turning in the show is turning the clay and buck middle aged man Olympics here.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I've never, I don't know that I've tried a field goal. My brother in law tore his. I think he tore his like hamstring trying to prove. Oh no that he could kick a 30 yard field goal. I mean again a lot of this stuff just comes down to stretching. I was mentioning because we were talking about your hundred mile an hour and I was talking about throwing and a ton of people reached out to me and they said, you know when you're trying to do that laser at a minor league baseball game or a. I think they still have them at a few major league teams just not like you're getting loose at all. So you're just stepping in raw if you're not loose. The older you get, the more likely you are to pull something. Somebody said to me once, and I think it's accurate that the definition of age is you go to bed feeling great and wake up feeling like crap, right? Like you just wake up and your shoulder somehow hurts and you're like, all I did was get into bed, right? It's not like I went and did a triathlon. I think there's a lot of truth to that. You go to bed, you're like, man, that was a great day. I feel fantastic. Let me go ahead and turn on the lights. Next morning, you wake up and you're just in pain. That is the definition of getting old and middle aged man Olympics is it's really easy to hurt yourself if you have not gotten loose beforehand.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Wasn't there the comedian? Who's the comedian who. There's video of him, he tried to dunk and I think he like, he like ripped his hamstring and broke his knee at the same time. I mean he actually, it's actually harsh to watch because he really messed himself up. So yeah, guys, make sure you stretch, stretch those hammies. It's very, it's very important. Look, I can think of presidents who have had to save our economy, like Franklin Roosevelt, but I can't think of one who's done more to stimulate new spending and new investment here than President Trump. This administration's efforts to put a plan into action to grow our economy, they're phenomenal. It has a positive effect and it will have an effect on our national debt. It's going to benefit every American. But you have to take care of yourself. You have to plan for your own financial future. You can't leave it up to Trump and this administration. Saving and investing and long term planning is critical. So having some of your savings and retirement in gold, not just cash gold, makes sense. Gold has grown 40% in value in the last year. Imagine if you converted some of your cash, just some of your cash, to gold a year ago. If you don't own gold yet, you should be giving it serious consideration. Birch Gold Group makes owning physical gold very easy. They easily convert an existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered IRA in physical gold. Text my name, buck to 9898 98. Birch Gold will send you a free info kit on gold. Text my name Buck to 9898. 98. Birch Gold will send you that free info kit on Gold Today.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Keep up with the biggest political comeback in world history on the Team 47 podcast. Clay and Buck highlight Trump replays from the week Sundays at noon Eastern. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clay Travis]

The reviews and ratings are in and Ice Cube's Big three is the surprise hit of the summer. And to cap off the season, season aha presents the big three basketball playoffs this Sunday at 3pm Eastern. The remaining four teams battle it out for the right to make the Big three Championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the Big 3 Monster Energy Celebrity game where your favorite stars compete in Big 33 on 3 basketball. Then the first of two semifinal games features Dwight Howard and the LA Riot taking on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J's first place show Chicago Triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with Stars MVP Michael Beasley and last will make you Dan Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas Power, who finished the season winning five straight weeks to capture second place. Can Glenn Rice, Greg Monroe and Paul Millsap stop Miami's physical assault? Or will Miami and Beasley put an end to Dallas's winning ways? Who will make it to the Big 3 championship? This no holds barred action starts Sunday at the 3pm Eastern 12 Pacific only on CBS.

[Carol Markowitz]

Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Washablesofas.com has your back featuring the Annabe Collection, the only designer sofa that's machine washable inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly prices. That's right, sofas start at just $699. Enjoy a no risk experience with pet friendly stain resistant and changeable slipcovers made with performance fabrics. Experience cloud like comfort with high resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Check out washablesofas.com and get up to 60% off your Anna Bay sofa backed by a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return, shipping or restocking. Piece every penny back Upgrade [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Hey there. I'm Mary Kathryn Hamm.

[Buck Sexton]

And I'm Carol Markowitz. We've been in political media for a long time.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little insane.

[Buck Sexton]

That's why we Started normalely a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling and with a healthy dose of humor.

[Buck Sexton]

We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

So if you're into common sense, sanity and some occasional sass, you're our kind of people. Catch new episodes of normally every Tuesday.

[Buck Sexton]

And Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

[Senator John Cornyn]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Appreciate all of you and the fabulous Interact talkbacks are absolutely doing an incredible job of interacting with the program. And you can go sign up for those Talkbacks. Use the iHeartRadio app. It's really easy to record and you don't have to wait in line. You give us 30 seconds, your take and we can run through a lot of them in a hurry. So I think it's a fabulous way to interact. Also, we're everywhere. We're on YouTube. Hopefully soon we're going to have all three hours of the program up there on video. In the meantime, you can go subscribe there, you can find us on Facebook, you can find us on Twitter, you can find us on Instagram. Basically anywhere that exists in social media, you can find us there. And we want to encourage you to continue to support. We had a big call. Excited about this Crockett Coffee. Get subscribed right now. Use code book. You get an autographed copy of my book that is out right now, American Playbook. And come the fall I'll have a new book out called Balls, which I would love if you guys would go pre order and Buck will have a new book out in January. My book's all about how young men, sports fans and Trump saved America in the 2024 election. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. That book is balls. It's easy to find. It's up on Amazon and I'm told pre orders are fabulous. So we would appreciate it. Buck's book will be up in January. Is yours up on Amazon yet? Do you know? Is the COVID up? Is it like out there? It will be as soon as it's up.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I'll, I'll, I'll put out the announcement. You know what guys? Just buy two books at once. You know what I mean?

[Senator John Cornyn]

That's right. Just a good move pre ordering twice.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

Just pre order to just go for it.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I had a dinner with my editor last night and he said the pre order is incredibly important because it dictates where your book gets placed in bookstores. And we want these things to help to influence the national discourse. And so if you can go search my name, Clay Travis, go sign up for the book. The book is balls. Good book to give. If you're trying to figure out your kids, your grandkids, you got boys in the family and you're trying to understand the world they're living in, that's the prism through which I tried to dive in. Joe in Huntington Beach, California. You've been to Huntington Beach? It's one of the most beautiful places in America. Am 1150 the patriot. What you got for us, Joe?

[I]

You guys are hilarious. A couple of 47 something year old guys trying to hang on to your youth, trying to hang on to your athletic progress prowess. There's no way buck can serve 100 miles an hour. There's no way Clay can swim from Alcatraz to the mainland. I will bet a steak dinner for both of you, but it's like a parlay. You have to win both in order for you to win the bet. Otherwise you gotta buy me a steak dinner and my date.

[Senator John Cornyn]

I'm more Confident in Bucks 100 mile an hour serve right now than I am me swimming for Alcatraz. I think I might have to get rescued. But if I train for it by next year, I'm very confident I'll make that.

[Senator Cornyn's Interviewer]

I've been clear about this from the beginning. When Clay swims from Alcatraz, I'm going to be in the launch boat next to him saying faster Clay, faster. Staying nice and warm, maybe with some hot cocoa.

[Clay Travis]

Ahar presents the Big three playoffs this Sunday. The remaining four teams battle to make their championship in the the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the Big three Monster Energy celebrity games. Then Dwight Howard and his Ellie Riot take on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J's Chicago Triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas Power who will make it to the Big Three championship. The no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3pm Eastern, 12 Pacific only on CBS.

[Carol Markowitz]

Time for a sofa upgrade. Visit washablesofas.com and discover Anna Bay where designer style meets budget friendly prices. With sofas starting at $699. Annabe brings you the ultimate in furniture innovation with a modular design that allows you to rearrange your space effortlessly. Perfect for both small and large spaces. Anibe is the only machine washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy. Liquid simply slides right off design. Designed for custom comfort, our high resilience foam lets you choose between a sink in feel or a supportive memory foam blend. Plus our pet friendly stain resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your living space today with no risk returns and a 30 day money back guarantee. Get up to 60% off plus free shipping and free returns. Shop now at washablesofas.com Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

You want smart political talk without the meltdowns? We got you and I'm Carol Markowitz. And I'm Mary Kathryn Ham. We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.

[Buck Sexton]

Normally is about real conversations, thoughtful, try to be funny, grounded and no panic.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day.

[Buck Sexton]

Join us every Tuesday and Thursday Normally.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm]

On the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.