Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck - Jul 20 2025

Summary

Summary of "Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck" – July 20, 2025

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show dives into a lively discussion blending pop culture, current events, and personal anecdotes. In the July 20, 2025 episode, Clay and Buck explore the implications of reopening Alcatraz as a federal prison, critique the historical accuracy of the movie The Rock, and entertain the whimsical idea of a swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco Bay. Their conversation is peppered with humor, insightful analysis, and engaging listener interactions.

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1. Reopening Alcatraz as a Federal Prison

The episode kicks off with a discussion about former President Trump's proposal to reopen Alcatraz Island as a high-security prison for violent offenders.

• Trump’s Proposal: Trump announced on his Truth Social account the intention to transform Alcatraz into a prison, citing the need to incarcerate America's most dangerous criminals. He emphasized that this move would symbolize "law, order, and justice" while asserting it would help "make America great again."

  "We will make America great again."
  (00:59 – Buck Sexton)

• Clay’s Perspective: Clay shares his recent experience touring Alcatraz, highlighting the practical challenges of converting a historic site into a modern prison. He points out that Alcatraz would require extensive renovations to meet current security standards and lacks the capacity to house a significant number of inmates.

  "Alcatraz would need a lot, a lot of work in order to be rehabilitated as a prison. And it isn't even that big of a prison, so you can't even fit that many people there."
  (04:39 – Clay Travis)

• Bureau of Prisons Response: Buck references the Bureau of Prisons' stance, noting their compliance with presidential orders. However, Clay expresses skepticism about the feasibility and safety of housing prisoners at Alcatraz, questioning whether it would truly serve as an inescapable facility.

  "The Bureau of Prisons has already been asked about this and their response is we comply with all presidential orders."
  (14:00 – Buck Sexton)

2. Analyzing The Rock – Movie Accuracy and SEAL Representation

Transitioning from policy to pop culture, Clay and Buck delve into their thoughts on the 1996 action film The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.

• Critique of the Movie: Both hosts express their admiration for the film's entertainment value while critiquing its portrayal of Navy SEALs and Marines. They find the depiction of SEALs being outmatched by Marines unrealistic and discuss the movie's overall absurdity despite its engaging storyline.

  "It's kind of a stealth James Bond movie too, because of the Sean Connery thing."
  (03:54 – Clay Travis)

• Listener Feedback – Dave Rutherford: The duo includes a talkback segment from Dave Rutherford, a former Navy SEAL, who dismisses the movie’s inaccurate depiction of SEAL operations. Dave emphasizes the professionalism and effectiveness of actual SEAL teams, contrasting it with the film’s exaggerated portrayal.

  "There is no way that Master Chief Denny Chalker...would allow that operational fiasco to take place. It's just not going to happen right now."
  (10:09 – Dave Rutherford)

3. The Alcatraz Swim Challenge: Fact or Fiction?

Injecting humor and personal ambition into the show, Clay proposes an audacious idea: swimming from Alcatraz Island to the San Francisco shore to challenge the notion that Alcatraz is an inescapable prison.

• Clay’s Proposal: Inspired by the discussion about Alcatraz’s security, Clay entertains the idea of attempting the swim himself. He muses about the logistics, potential risks, and the symbolic gesture it would represent.

  "I would just keep going and eventually I would make it to land."
  (07:27 – Clay Travis)

• Listener Interaction – Riley Gaines: Clay references fellow podcaster Riley Gaines, who has successfully completed the swim, highlighting the feasibility of the challenge under the right conditions.

  "She swam it, ironically, Buck, with Navy."
  (16:04 – Clay Travis)

• Buck’s Enthusiasm: Buck embraces the challenge, suggesting they turn it into an annual event to raise money for charity, complete with sponsorships and live updates.

  "I think we got to do the Clay Travis annual cold plunge here. We raise money for charity."
  (16:38 – Buck Sexton)

• Potential Risks and Humor: The hosts humorously discuss the dangers of the swim, including sharks and strong currents. Clay shares a hypothetical scenario of being rescued by "naked Navy SEALs," adding levity to the conversation.

  "If I drown, then maybe Trump would be like, hey, we're gonna reopen Alcatraz."
  (19:58 – Clay Travis)

4. Shark Attacks in San Francisco Bay: Myths and Realities

The conversation shifts to the topic of shark attacks, addressing common fears versus actual risks in the San Francisco Bay Area.

• Shark Presence Debate: Clay asserts that the fear of sharks in the bay is largely overstated, emphasizing that no documented shark attacks have occurred there. Buck adds that technological advancements, like drones, have revealed that sharks are more present than previously thought, though still not a significant threat.

  "It is a myth so far that lots of people are getting eaten by sharks in San Francisco Bay. In fact, it's never happened."
  (19:58 – Clay Travis)

• Personal Anecdote – Clay’s Story: Clay recounts a harrowing childhood experience involving a potential shark encounter at Panama City Beach. He humorously describes how his swimsuit came off during a rescue attempt, leading to an embarrassing and frightening situation.

  "So I've been, you know, kind of in fear of, of sharks, even more so ever since that day."
  (27:37 – Clay Travis)

• Listener Story – Kara from Kentucky: Another listener, Kara, shares her confidence in Clay’s ability to complete the Alcatraz swim, further fueling the playful banter between Clay and Buck.

  "If you could make it through that, you'll have my vote for Alcatraz."
  (21:41 – Producer)

5. Concluding Thoughts and Future Plans

As the episode winds down, Clay and Buck reflect on the day's discussions, affirming their camaraderie and teasing future episodes.

• Final Remarks: Clay humorously contemplates the outcomes of his swim attempt, whether it leads to viral fame or serves as a testament to overcoming fears.

  "But it is, and then this will go mega viral. And this will be the only thing people remember from my entire life."
  (19:58 – Clay Travis)

• Sponsor Mention: The episode concludes with a brief nod to their sponsor, Chalk Natural Supplements, reiterating its role in fueling their energetic discussions.

  "Chalk natural supplements for guys, gals, and nothing in between. Fuel your [e-mail]."
  (Various Timestamps)

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Notable Quotes:

• "We will make America great again." – Buck Sexton (00:59)

• "Alcatraz would need a lot, a lot of work in order to be rehabilitated as a prison. And it isn't even that big of a prison, so you can't even fit that many people there." – Clay Travis (04:39)

• "There is no way that Master Chief Denny Chalker...would allow that operational fiasco to take place. It's just not going to happen right now." – Dave Rutherford (10:09)

• "I would just keep going and eventually I would make it to land." – Clay Travis (07:27)

• "It's really, really funny. I, I don't know how this is going to play out." – Clay Travis (14:43)

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This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show masterfully blends serious discussions with lighthearted banter, offering listeners both informative insights and entertaining moments. Whether debating policy proposals, critiquing action films, or contemplating bold personal challenges, Clay and Buck engage their audience with wit and authenticity.

Transcript

[Producer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Buck Sexton]

Samsung Galaxy S25 Con Galaxy AI Por Quenta Nuestra y quatro. The Sunday Hang is brought to you by Chalk Natural supplements for guys, gals.

[Clay Travis]

And nothing in between. Fuel your [e-mail] Bold, reverent, and occasionally random. The Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck podcast starts now.

[Buck Sexton]

Trump's truth about reopening Alcatraz as a prison. It's already open, Clay, You've been right.

[Clay Travis]

So I was just there like a month ago, remember? Because that's when I watched the great film the Rock with my junior in high school. We were out in San Francisco. We toured Alcatraz. We'll get into the Rock in a little bit. But yes, you know our friend Dave Rutherford.

[Buck Sexton]

Dave Rutherford, who is a former Navy seal, has sent us a talk back about this little controversy in that movie because the seals just get wiped out by the Marines. I'm sure the Marines all laugh about this one and they're like, haha, look at the seals. But the seals did not have a good showing in the Rock, which is the most absurd movie any of us, I think, have ever. I loved it, though. I'm not so good hating.

[Clay Travis]

So entertaining. I'm not. I'm not going in with the historical accuracy or the analysis of the gun battles, which I'm sure the seals are not happy about. I think the idea of a group of Navy seals deciding to take over chemical weapons. Sorry, if you spoiler alert here. Deciding to steal chemical weapons and take over an island.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, it's the Marines who steal it. The seals try to take the island back. So the seals are the good guys.

[Clay Travis]

Sorry, the Marines. That's right. Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay.

[Clay Travis]

Sorry, sorry, My bad. They got the seals get wiped out.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

By the Marine.

[Buck Sexton]

Real fast.

[Clay Travis]

Spoiler alert.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, because we're used to this. Usually when the seals appear in the movie, it's like the cavalry arrives. You're not used to the seals getting all wiped out without taking out a single bad guy. So that's the one part of the Rock. Oh, man. So anyway, Dave Rut is a former seal. He'll weigh in. We'll have some fun on that. I do, by the way, this is not a grumpy Buck moment. I do think the Rock is a great watch. It is just absolutely preposterous, top to bottom. And it's kind of a stealth James Bond movie too, because of the Sean Connery thing. But another big moment from Trump from his Truth Social account. Rebuild and open Alcatraz all caps for too long. America has been plagued by vicious, violent and repeat criminal offenders, the dregs of society who will never contribute anything other than misery and suffering. When we were a more serious nation in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That's the way it's supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these serial offenders who spread filth, bloodshed and mayhem on our streets. That is why today I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt Alcatraz to house America's most ruthless and violent offenders. We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs and judges who are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals who came into our country illegally. The reopening of Alcatraz will serve as a symbol of law, order and justice. We will make America great again. Okay, so do we think that Alcatraz is. I feel like this would take a long time.

[Clay Travis]

I am behind almost every Trump idea. And this is very funny. I just toured Alcatraz. I have. Look, there are some things that he tosses out that. See, I know he doesn't drink, but this is like Clay Travis, 3am at the bar, you know, and we should open up Alcatraz again, too. We should lock violent, dangerous criminals up Alcatraz. I just toured it. Alcatraz would need a lot, a lot of work in order to be rehabilitated as a prison. And it isn't even that big of a prison, so you can't even fit that many people there.

[Buck Sexton]

It had like 300 people at its, at its peak. Right in this.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, but we're talking about. I don't think you could put people in the jail cells that they put them in Alcatraz back in the day. Like, you couldn't. I don't.

[Buck Sexton]

I, I've been tour guide, tour guide. Clay Tate. Like, what is it like when you saw this compared to what you thought? First of all, we'll talk about the Rock in a second. The Rock is the most famous Alcatraz pop culture content of all time. No question. Sean Connery, Nicholas Cage. I think it might be Nicholas Cage's best movie.

[Clay Travis]

But.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay, so what was it like when you actually saw it?

[Clay Travis]

So it is mostly run down, decrepit. Right. They haven't had any prisoners there since 1963. It is not very big. The parts that you can tour, which is basically the whole thing. The, the, the gel cells are tiny. So I don't think that you could, in a modern era put someone inside of those. I also don't think that they would be anywhere near maximum security level prison today. Right. Like, this is a very old prison that is in no way kept up with the historic standards of, of, of security that would have existed over the last 60 years. It is also, they used to have like all the wardens there. In fact, the woman, one of the women who grew up there. I mean, they had a school. It's. It's a very fascinating tour. I would encourage anybody who is in San Francisco to get on the boat. It's not very far. It's a gorgeous tour on the bay. I took my 17 year old out there when we were in San Francisco for a couple of days, but I think it is impossible. How long on the boat? I think you could. I mean, it's like a mile out. So I mean, 15, 20 minutes probably on the boat, quick boat. And you could get there even quicker if you, you know, depending on what size boat you had.

[Buck Sexton]

So, you know, the two people actually escaped from Alcatraz. Their bodies, though, were never found. They were.

[Clay Travis]

I think it was three, because I was just there. Three guys. They have no idea what happened to them.

[Buck Sexton]

Three guys? Yes, three guys. This is when you just have tour guide Clay.

[Clay Travis]

Tour guide Clay. And also because, as everyone does, you're like, hey, do you think they made it and they never found their bodies? Do you think they made it, got to the mainland and just vanished because they never wanted to be found again? Or did they die? You can swim it. My son did not believe me when I said I thought I'm not a very good swimmer.

[Buck Sexton]

I was about to ask, do you think you could swim it? And how much money would someone have to pay you? There are very large great white sharks in the San Francisco Bay throwing that.

[Clay Travis]

Well, they also do a yearly race, I think Escape from Alcatraz. I think Riley Gaines from Outkick and does a lot of Fox News. I think she swim it now. She was a college swimmer, so she's pretty good. But I think there are hundreds of people that get in there and swim. I think I could make it. My wife said I would drown, but I think.

[Buck Sexton]

Thanks. Thanks, Laura.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I think I could make it. Now, what I don't know is how the currents work, which would work against me, obviously. Like, does it continue to push you back out and. Or in what direction because. Or backwards. Could you go to Sausalito in the other direction, I think. Or would you just flounder out there for a long time. It probably doesn't surprise anybody that even though I'm not a great swimmer that I think I could make the swim. I think and, and I. This could be a. A really poor, a really poor choice. I don't think there's actually that many sharks in the bay. I think they have oversold the shark infested nature of the bay. Now there are tons of seals and the seals now come up on Pier 32, which is very cool. But I don't think your odds of actually getting eaten by a shark would be very high. I think you would far more likely to drown if people swim.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, the odds are never, the odds are never high, Clay. But when you're suck it in some salt water and splashing through some waves and get a little cold and realize you've got another like 40 minutes of swimming ahead of you and it's, you know, then all of a sudden you.

[Clay Travis]

Start thinking, what are those sharks eat.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm sure they, I think they eat the big fat seals.

[Clay Travis]

Buck, there are people, I didn't realize this. There are people every morning that go down and swim lots of laps in the San Francisco Bay. I mean they swim all over the place in every day, year round because they say, you know, it's like a cold plunge. It toughens them up and maybe it does, but I think I could make it. I think most people would drown. I'm not a great swimmer, but I've never come close to drowning. I think it would be like the Little engine that could. I would just keep going and eventually I would make it to land.

[Buck Sexton]

I love your confidence. One guy who knows something about cold swimming and, and SEALS is our friend Dave Rutherford, former Navy SEAL who is on the Clay and Buck podcast network. You should check out the Dave Rutherford Show. He's. He's getting so many people tuning in and listening. Every week it's growing. But I asked him about this because that was always the thing that bothered me about. Now there's a lot of implausible stuff, but I don't care. I love the Rock. It's a great movie, but if you've seen. It's the only movie I've ever seen where a SEAL team comes in like the cavalry has arrived and they get completely wiped out. I don't think. I don't think they take out like a single bad guy too. I asked Rud if he would weigh in on the depiction of the seals in in the Rock the movie, and he gave us a Talk back play 27.

[Dave Rutherford]

Okay, Clay, Buck, allow me to jump in on this Rock dispute a little bit. And, and listen, I absolutely love that movie. I mean, Nick Cage and 007. I mean, the prom queen comment, one of the funniest ever. Absolutely loved it. You know, but here's the deal. There is no way that Master Chief Denny Chalker, a former plank, owner of Seal Team 6, or, or Instructor Haas, both of which. Who were instructors of mine in the 90s when this thing came out. There is no way that they would allow that operational fiasco to take place. It's just not going to happen right now. Don't get me wrong, I love my Marine Corps brothers. I love that they eat crayons for a living. But there is just no way in hell that those cats would have gotten the jump on a SEAL team platoon of that level in that situation. It just ain't gonna happen. So it is what it is.

[Buck Sexton]

Hoo ya there. I'm just saying they're not all. You mean they're not all going to one by one, slowly crawl into a, like a bathroom with an elevated platform around it meant for people to ambush them? Yeah, I'm just, you know, let's give the SEAL some credit here.

[Clay Travis]

It was Ed Harris's finest role. It's one of Sean Connery. I know he was James Bond, but Sean Connery is incredible in that movie. And obviously Nicholas Cage is pretty extraordinary. I mean, I watched it. For those of you out there, I think it came out in 1995. Ish. I watched it because it was on paper, that smart move by the San Francisco hotel because we came back from Alcatraz. We're back in the hotel room that night. I'm telling my son, hey, there's a great action movie made about Alcatraz called the Rock. He has no idea what I'm talking about. Sit down. Start scrolling through the available movies. That night at, you know, 9 o' clock or whatever it was, boom. The Rock is available for rent. I might be the only person who's paid $15 to watch the Rock in the last decade, but we watched it. He loved it. My, my junior in high school had no idea. He was like, this is so good, Dad. I was like, I thought you would like it.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, they don't make movies like that anymore. It was a great, great flick. I really enjoyed it. And, and I would. If any of you haven't seen it, certainly I couldn't. I didn't realize Kerry had never seen Commando. So you never know. If any of you haven't seen the rock, it's certainly worth, and it's a great rewatch as well. Like, if you've seen it a hundred times, it's a lot of fun. But let me, let me ask you, getting back to policy in the news here for a second. So what happens? Trump is the president. He tells Bureau of Prisons to reopen this. What happens now? Like, really what happens now? Do they start to try to think about how they could do this?

[Clay Travis]

First of all, it would take, I bet, seven or eight years to retrofit. So if Trump is not going to be president, when it would be done? I don't know. I mean, I think it's a National Park Service site. I have, I presume that the president has executive authority to change the way that it's classified. But what would happen, I don't know, like if, if Trump, Trump just came out and he was like, hey, you know, we're going to put a prison at Gettysburg Battlefield. I don't know. Does the president have the authority to alter a national historic site? I think it would probably, like almost everything Trump tries to do probably go to court because I would think the people of San Francisco, it's one of the most iconic tourist attractions in San Francisco and I think they would probably argue that, that it has more value to them now as a tourist attraction than it would as a prison, to say nothing of again, there is, you basically would have to raise, tear down the entire prison structure and build a brand new prison in order to be able to hold anybody.

[Buck Sexton]

The Bureau of Prisons has already been asked about this and their response is we comply with all presidential orders. So, so, I mean, that is the official Bureau of Prison, Bureau of Prisons response so far as I'm seeing here, to Trump saying this, which, which makes sense. He is the president and he has said do this. So I guess they're going to.

[Clay Travis]

It's really, really funny. I, I don't know how this is going to play out. And I can't imagine it being safe to put a prisoner there because you don't want them to escape. I can't imagine it being very easy to rehab and put a prisoner there. So that is interesting in and of itself.

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[Clay Travis]

Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck Riley Gaines Ally has confirmed that she made the swim. And I asked Allie, do you want to just come in? Is this you who's been texting with Riley to see whether or not she thought I would die?

[Producer]

Yes. I was messaging her while you guys were talking about it. And what did she say here?

[Clay Travis]

She did swim it. I was correct. And I remember seeing that she had posted about swimming it. She swam it, ironically, Buck, with Navy.

[Producer]

Seals, yeah, it wasn't an organized race, but she swam it and she's planning on doing it again this July. As to whether you could make it, she said diplomatically, anything less than a proficient swimmer probably wouldn't make it. Incredibly cold, very wavy, big currents.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, I smell a challenge, buddy. I smell a challenge. I think we got to do the Clay Travis annual cold plunge here. We raise money for charity. You know, maybe we get like Crockett coffee to sponsor it. I like where we're going with she also, I will wait for you on shore with a hot cup of tea.

[Producer]

Riley also added that she's not scared of sharks and she had a pod of dolphins swimming beside her, which was an indicator the sharks would stay away.

[Clay Travis]

I feel. Well, why is that? But the, the. The dolphins will chase away the sharks.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, dolphins will. Dolphins will mess up sharks, generally speaking.

[Clay Travis]

Especially even a great white.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, yeah.

[Clay Travis]

The way I see this going, Buck, is either I'll be eaten by a shark or I'll drown or I'll have to get rescued by one of the naked Navy SEALs, which would immediately go mega viral. Me getting dragged out of the water near death. I probably hypothermia, too. I do feel like I could do it. I'm not a very good swimmer. I don't. I mean, would you.

[Buck Sexton]

You'd be a breaststroke guy, right? I mean, that's what you go with, like.

[Clay Travis]

Well, certainly. I think that.

[Buck Sexton]

I walked into that one.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, come on. I. I don't think. I don't even know what a proficient swimmer would be like. What does that mean? Because she's a college swimmer. Like proficient swimmer, meaning you can swim.

[Buck Sexton]

Probably a better swimmer than she guesses you are.

[Clay Travis]

She was trying to be nice. Yeah, I think I'm, I think I would make it because I think I have the indomitable will of a swim champion, but I do not have the skills of an elite swim champion. But I think I would just refuse to stop. I think I would just keep going and eventually I would find the land. Now, my one concern here, in addition to the sharks and the drowning, is the current. Are. Are you getting constantly pushed back in order and just kind of floundering and not making any progress? That would be my concern. Is like that it's really hard to cut through the current.

[Producer]

Love your confidence, Clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I, I was going to say, I just, you know, Clay, you, I'll, I'll make sure that when we do this annual Clay Alcatraz swimming, I'll be back at the San Francisco hotel in the hot tub, you know, and I'll be checking my phone for updates on.

[Clay Travis]

You'll be like Sean Connery, if you remember, went to the, I think the fountain blue, whatever. The fanciest hotel was in San Francisco. That's where he made him take him when they bailed him out of jail.

[Buck Sexton]

Sunday hang is brought to you by.

[Clay Travis]

Chalk natural supplements for guys gals and nothing in between. Fuel your [e-mail] Sunday drop with Clay and Buck. I'm just laughing, people. Jesse Kelly, in addition to Riley who now says that I have to come to San Francisco and attempt to swim. She says they go out with a boat, they drop us off, kayaks are there. I asked if there was somebody who could rescue me if I started to drown. And Jesse Kelly has weighed in and said, what did he say? Don't listen to the haters, Clay. You can do this and you should absolutely try, which is a very good thought. You know, one thing I'm thinking, Buck, can you imagine if I put a live webcam on, like my head, like my forehead and you had a live vision of me attempting. You probably hear it too.

[Buck Sexton]

We could be onto something. Just think of all the money we could raise for penalty towers or, you know, we had a lot, a lot of money for a really good cause.

[Clay Travis]

You know, I will say if I made the swimming, I think Trump might have to revoke his idea of turning Alcatraz into a prison because it's supposed to be unescapable. Right. If a Fat, out of shape, person like me can swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco Bay. Then I think the three guys that vanished, they made the swim. And I think he would have to rescind his decision to try to turn it into a prison. In addition to the fact that we potentially could raise a lot of money for charity, I also think that I could prove that it is not an inescapable prison if I made it. Now, if I drown, then maybe Trump would be like, hey, we're gonna reopen Alcatraz. And one of the jail cells will name after Clay. This will be the Travis Wing of Alcatraz Island. In honor of his untimely death. I will say, Grok, a bunch of you have been sharing this. It is a myth. And this is inevitably gonna blow up in my face because I'm gonna get eaten by a shark if I try to do this. But it is, and then this will go mega viral. And this will be the only thing people remember from my entire life. It is a myth so far that lots of people are getting eaten by sharks in San Francisco Bay. In fact, it's never happened. Now, also, there's not a lot of people, to be fair, who are in the water on a regular basis, I would imagine, in the San Francisco Bay area because the water is cold and the beaches are not particularly fabulous. But it has never occurred in San Francisco Bay that someone has been eaten by a shark. Kara from Kentucky has a talk back. Kara, BB what do we got here?

[Producer]

Clay, I think you're great, but I think you're way overconfident when it comes to your swimming ability. Swimming is a tough sport. My son's high school team has won the state championship here in Kentucky for the past 30 plus years. I'd like to invite you to come to one of his practices. If you could make it through that, you'll have my vote for Alcatraz.

[Clay Travis]

I think I could make it through. The problem is I would be like me going to a elite high school team's practice. I. I mean, I would have to be there for like eight hours because they're going to do 20 laps or whatever, and it's going to take them like three and a half minutes, and then it takes me an hour. So I just. I don't think. I do not think I would drown. I think I could always stay above the water. And I think if I could stay above the water long enough, eventually I would get to shore. Now, the one part of the calculus here that I'm not confident about Is what are the currents like? In other words, like, would it sweep me further out? But the bay is not that big, so I would think it would sweep me from one side to the other. In other words, surely I would hit land at some point, or one of the buoys underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, which is way far away, or the Bay Bridge, which is also far away, because I don't want to go out to open water. But you're in the bay, so I just think at some point, if you just stayed upright, eventually you would maybe die of hypothermia. But if you didn't die of hypothermia, I think you would end up on land. I mean, bottles that get thrown into the ocean eventually end up on land. You just got to not drown in the meantime. And I don't think I would drown. I think I could stay above the water. How much confidence do you have that I could make it? How much would you have? You just said we have to raise the amount of money we're willing to pay the guys to fly. Like a thousand dollars. We. Our friend Garduski said they're offering $35,000 in Sweden. How much. What odds would you have to get for me to be able to make it, not to be rescued? 10 to 1.

[Buck Sexton]

This is. So it's a mile. Is that right? It's a mile swim total?

[Clay Travis]

I think so, yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

That's not. That's not that bad. I mean, the Statue of Liberty is two miles from Manhattan, so that's. That's considerably more.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, do people swim back and forth in the Statue of Liberty? Is that what Will Kane and Hegseth did? Was that the Navy SEAL swim they did?

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

No, you look, you. You'd make it. The only thing that might get you would be the. I think either the currents or the cold. The shark thing is just. Is just a thing in your head to scare you, but which obviously would.

[Clay Travis]

By the way, work, because when you're, like, halfway back and you're a long way from the shore, you're definitely going to be expecting to get eaten by a shark.

[Buck Sexton]

The funny thing about. About. I've spent, like, way too much time. I think a lot of us have different fascinations, you know, with. With scary, scary things when we're kids or whatever. And sharks is something I've read a lot of. Shark attacks. Something I've read a lot about when I was a kid. Kid. You know, what's interesting is that you're right. Statistically, you're. You're very, very safe from shark attack. However, sharks are far more present around people than they ever realize. And now because of drone technology, people are starting to see that.

[Clay Travis]

Oh yeah, that's right.

[Buck Sexton]

There's a lot of times where there's, you know, 100 people will be at a beach, they're all in the ocean, splash around, having a great time. And just beyond the surf break, about, you know, 30, 40 yards, there'll be some big tiger sharks or something swimming around out there. So sharks are much more present in the environment than a lot than we realize because you generally don't see them, right? You generally have no idea. So that's kind of a funny thing, right? On the one hand, we're more scared of them than we should be, but the other hand, they're far more present than we recognize them to be.

[Clay Travis]

Have I told you my shark story? Have I told this, this audience the shark story?

[Buck Sexton]

This is, I don't know, we gotta, we gotta talk about the economy, Clay.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, Economy should be fine. When I. Trump's got it. I was seventh grade, Panama City beach, church mission trip, Panama City Beach, 1990. Not a very nice place. This is like a bunker that we're staying in for the church retreat. We have a jet ski rented. It's like a 19 year old kid with a jet ski who was like one of the chaperones. He's taking us out one at a time on the jet Ski and we get out on the jet Ski and jet Skis back in like 1990 used to tip over all the time and it was really hard back in the day to get back on a jet ski. Now it's actually comparatively easy. They maintain and hold itself well. Two of us, it was very difficult. So he's back on and suddenly this light guard comes roaring up on his own jet ski and he says, everybody off the beach. We've spotted tiger sharks in the area. 100% true. 7th grade, ways out on the ocean, Jet Ski, Panama City beach. And the guy who is the 19 year old is like, hey, we can't get back up because we keep tipping, tipping over. So he's on, he says, I'll just drag you in, says I will drag you back into the shallows. We got to make sure you don't get eaten by a tiger shark. I'm hang, this is maybe the greatest bait that's ever existed for tiger shark. I'm hanging onto the back of the jet Ski. The exhaust is just pouring, you know, right in my face. I'm 12 and as it's pouring off, Buck. My swimsuit comes off so the whole beach covered with like 12 and 13 year old girls and I am hitting the waves, mooning the entirety of Panama City Beach, Florida. This would have gone certainly mega viral in the day when everybody has their. Well, I guess maybe not because like.

[Buck Sexton]

A shark, like shark repellent. This is good. The shark's not going to mess with you.

[Clay Travis]

Now I'm thinking to myself, all these cute girls are on the beach and now I'm naked and I'm also going to get eaten by a shark. This is maybe the worst way for a 12 or 13 year old boy to go out ever in the history of mankind. I get, by the way, by the grace of God, I managed to hook my bathing suit on my right ankle. So the webbing of the bathing suit, so I managed to hang on to that for dear life on the right ankle. I get dropped off and, and I'm like, you know, naked in the water, trying to get my swimsuit on and everybody's panicked on, on the beach because there's tiger sharks. Everybody is fleeing the beach. And somehow I have managed to create this huge scene. People are expecting me to get eaten. So I've been, you know, kind of in fear of, of sharks, even more so ever since that day. So I think, you know, after having.

[Buck Sexton]

Overcome that, I, after that story, I think now you definitely have to do the Alcatraz swim just, just for your, your own dignity, you know, I feel.

[Clay Travis]

Like, well, a wetsuit's harder to get ripped off. I would think so if I'm in a wetsuit, I think I would be okay. But that's a true story. If you're listening right now and you were on Panama City beach in June of 1990 or so and you saw a kid mooning the whole beach. That was me. Now you're listening to me on the radio. So I survived. That is probably a story that you didn't expect to hear today, Buck. When you started off, when you started off the day, it's.

[Buck Sexton]

I did not. And here we are.

[Producer]

This is an iHeart podcast.