Texas Redistricting Battle, Trump's Revenge & Peace Talks | Ep. 43

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show Episode: Texas Redistricting Battle, Trump's Revenge & Peace Talks | Ep. 43 Release Date: August 11, 2025

In Episode 43 of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, hosted by David Rutherford, the conversation delves deep into three pivotal topics shaping the current political landscape: the Texas redistricting battle, former President Donald Trump's strategic legal counterattacks, and his recent peace negotiations in the geopolitical arena. Below is a comprehensive summary capturing the essence of these discussions, complete with notable quotes and timestamps for reference.

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1. Texas Redistricting Battle

Timestamps: 02:32 – 11:41

David Rutherford opens the discussion by addressing the contentious redistricting efforts in Texas. He outlines how the redrawing of congressional district maps can significantly influence political power dynamics, potentially flipping traditionally red states blue by adding new Democratic seats in metropolitan areas.

Key Points:

• Redistricting Mechanics: Texas's redistricting process post-census is highlighted as a strategic move by Republicans to gain additional seats by concentrating Democratic voters in urban centers.
• Democratic Boycott: Thirteen Democratic state representatives from Texas attempted to thwart this plan by boycotting key votes, aiming to delay or block the redistricting legislation. However, their efforts were unsuccessful, leading to their removal from office by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
• Ken Paxton's Response: Rutherford praises Paxton for his decisive action against the boycotting representatives, emphasizing the legality and necessity of maintaining legislative procedures.

Notable Quotes:

• David Rutherford: “These 13 Democratic state representatives basically are getting busted for breaking house quorums, right, trying to block this Republican-led redistricting plan.” [05:35]
• Ken Paxton (Audio Clip): “There were three options… the final option is to do this procedure that would basically force them out of office.” [10:32]

Analysis: Rutherford underscores the strategic interplay between legislative maneuvers and political power. He commends Paxton’s handling of the situation, noting that such bold actions set a precedent for future political disputes. The episode suggests that this battle is a microcosm of the broader national tensions surrounding gerrymandering and partisan control.

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2. Trump's Revenge: Legal Counterattacks Against Democratic Leaders

Timestamps: 18:11 – 34:16

The conversation shifts to former President Donald Trump's retaliatory legal strategies against key Democratic figures, positioning Trump as the aggressor in what Rutherford describes as a cycle of political retribution.

Key Points:

• Targeting Letitia James and Adam Schiff: Rutherford discusses Trump’s legal actions against New York Attorney General Letitia James and Congressman Adam Schiff. He alleges that Trump is pursuing mortgage fraud charges reminiscent of the tax evasion case against Al Capone.
• Allegations and Motivations: The host argues that these legal moves are motivated by a desire for revenge, portraying them as attempts to destabilize and discredit opponents who have previously targeted Trump.
• Conspiracy Theories: Rutherford delves into theories suggesting widespread corruption and systemic efforts to undermine Trump, citing connections with figures like former Attorney General Bill Barr and events like the January 6th insurrection.

Notable Quotes:

• David Rutherford: “Revenge is, is a dish best served cold.” [21:30]
• David Rutherford: “If you had just one aspect of this conspiracy coming after you, would you have been able to take it?” [30:45]

Analysis: Rutherford frames Trump's legal actions as part of a larger vendetta against him, driven by longstanding political animosities. He posits that these moves are not merely legal but strategic attempts to balance the scales after years of investigations and impeachments. This section highlights the escalating legal battles that exemplify the polarized nature of current American politics.

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3. Peace Talks: Trump's Role in International Diplomacy

Timestamps: 34:16 – End

Shifting focus to international affairs, Rutherford discusses Trump's recent diplomatic engagements aimed at fostering peace in volatile regions, specifically between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss Ukrainian peace.

Key Points:

• Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace Efforts: Rutherford expresses optimism about Trump's role in mediating peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, regions with historical conflicts dating back over a century. He emphasizes the significance of these negotiations in reducing humanitarian crises.
• Meeting with Putin: The host highlights Trump's planned meeting with Putin in Alaska as a pivotal moment for discussing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. He reflects on past failed negotiations and hopes for substantive progress this time.
• Broader Geopolitical Implications: Rutherford connects these efforts to Trump's broader foreign policy stance, suggesting that his hands-on approach contrasts with previous administrations’ strategies and could pave the way for lasting peace agreements.

Notable Quotes:

• David Rutherford: “I really commend Trump for bringing some peace to this right now.” [37:24]
• David Rutherford: “Hopefully, what we'll see is we'll see a major negotiation, a major announcement transpire that can really get us closer to peace.” [40:10]

Analysis: Rutherford frames Trump as a proactive figure in international diplomacy, contrasting his efforts with earlier administrations. By emphasizing Trump's direct involvement in peace talks, the discussion portrays him as a potential peacemaker capable of bridging longstanding conflicts. This segment underscores the complexity of global politics and the potential for influential leadership to effect change.

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Conclusion

David Rutherford concludes the episode by reflecting on the intense political climate and the role of media in shaping public perception. He expresses gratitude to listeners and encourages them to stay informed and engaged.

Final Thoughts: The episode paints a picture of a deeply divided America, with strategic legal battles and redistricting efforts at the forefront of political maneuvering. Concurrently, Trump's active role in international peace talks introduces a contrasting narrative of diplomacy and reconciliation. Through incisive analysis and pointed commentary, Rutherford provides listeners with a nuanced understanding of these intersecting issues.

Final Quote:

• David Rutherford: “We are in a time where news is just coming at us like a tsunami. And so that's why Jordy and I, we are going to stay focused and committed to really trying to contextualize all this, to bring a little flashbang of truth to you all.” [50:19]

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This episode offers a thorough exploration of critical political strategies and international diplomacy efforts, making it a valuable listen for those seeking to comprehend the current complexities of American and global politics.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

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[David Rutherford]

To lose their seats. Trump is now the hunter instead of the hunted. And God bless. Football is back this week on the David Rutherford Show. What's up, everybody? I am stoked to be back on the air with you. I hope you all have had an interesting week as I had a little trip up to New Jersey to speak to a group up there, but got to spend some time with my good friend Brian. Just really want to congratulate him on the new advancement in his life and what's going on out there. Brother, thank you so much for a great week. I also want to thank, you know, the school, my kids school, because guess what, they're getting ready to go back to school here next week. And I am fired up about that. Not that I don't love being around my kids all the time, but four teenage girls during summer can be a little overwhelming at times. But I'm proud of them. I love them. We had a great summer. But I am stoked. School is about ready to start. That's just, I'm sure you're stoked, too, because your kids are going back as well. All right, so this week has been an incredible, another incredible week in the news. I pulled out a few stories that I really wanted to touch on and bring to everyone's attention. It's pretty common knowledge if you were to take five seconds and just look at the congressional district maps of places like New York or Massachusetts or Illinois or California, that you would see, there would be a pretty substantial imbalance to how many Democratic seats there are versus how many Republican seats. Now, if you're not familiar how this takes place, it's, it's a result of when the United States conducts the census every 10 years. The last census, census that was conducted was pretty recent. And what ends up happening is that they don't separate American citizens and illegal people that are in the country. And so what ends up happening? It's just a quantifiable number that's a result of how many people that actually live in these areas. Well, guess what? If you've been importing by the millions illegal aliens into particular districts, let's say districts or states that have traditionally been pretty substantially red in the past. And you want to flip those places, that is Texas, then what do you do? You put them into these major metropolitan areas. All you need is to fill those places up. The census comes out. Now all of a sudden you get two or three new districts appointed seats to those areas. And now all of A sudden you begin to flip the states.

[Co-Host]

Well, thank God that didn't happen. Can you imagine?

[David Rutherford]

I, well, I think that was the intention. I mean, obviously what happens when you put 30,000 Haitians in some place in Ohio or you know, you put a couple hundred thousand people in different districts in Tampa area and my, and Florida or whatever it might be, man, that, that, I mean, I think it was blatant. I mean, I, I, unless you don't pay attention. 100%. 100% blatant. Well, guess what's happening. My, the, the guy who I have tremendous admiration for, the, the Attorney General of Texas, Mr. Ken Paxson, who by the way defeated an impeachment trial last year or the year before where it wasn't the House Democrats in Texas that went after him, it was actually the House Republicans that went after him. That the underlying theory is, is that it was the old Bush guard that wanted to get rid of Ken Paxton. And so what they do is they tried to impeach him on these trumped up charges, which was hilarious because in the trial of this thing the five people came out and every, all five of them said, yeah, we basically made up what we said and what launched the impeachment. I think Ken Paxton is running riding a pretty substantial high in particular now. In fact, he just announced that he'll be running for Texas Senate, which is awesome. I think that's a great thing, especially against John Korn, who is been labeled a rhino pretty extensively and in fact has come out in opposition of what he's done. Well, what happened last week was in Texas, in the House, they passed a bill that was going to form that was going to redistrict Texas, gaining as few as five new seats for Republicans, all the way up to eight new seats in these different major metropolitan areas. Well, they came out and they voted and they called for a redistrict that was going to cost the Democrat seat. So what did they do? What did the Democrats do? And one of their great ways that with the how they work well, if they don't like something legislative creatively, they boycott it. And so 13, 13 Democratic congressmen from Texas decided, well, we're just not going to show up for that. The major House vote, we're not going to do it. And they did it a few times and then finally it was like, you better show up or else. Well, they bombed. And some of them went to Illinois, some of them went to these other places to make a stance and they couldn't do this vote. Now there also are Other bills that are on the table that they're bringing up as mission critical for Texas to pass. And some of these things, yeah, I think they're pretty important. But redistricting is always what politicians think about, especially on the national scale. Right. And so these 13 Democratic state representatives basically are getting busted for breaking house quorums, right, Trying to block this Republican led redistricting plan. All right, people are John Busey III, District 136, Austin. Lulu Flores. District 51, Austin. Vicki Goodwin, 47 Austin. Jessica Gonzalez, 104 Dallas. Gina Hinosa, 49 Austin. Suleiman Leilani, 76 Sugarland. Christina Morales, 145 Houston. Mihele Mahala. Place Plessa, 70, Dallas. Anna Maria Rodriguez Ramos, 102 Richardson. Ron Reynolds, 27 Missouri City. James Telesario. Yeah, I think that's it. Telo Telart. Man, I'm butchering this, aren't I buddy? Tear company. Yeah. 50 Austin. Sorry about that, sir. Chris Turner, 101, Grand Prairie. And Jean Woo, 137, Houston. So these people basically said, yeah, we're just not going to show up for the vote. Now some people might think, well, that's an effective way to not bring to fruition a final vote that's going to cost seats. However, Ken Paxton is not somebody to be trifled with. So what did he do? He followed a motion to the Texas Supreme Court to essentially remove these people from their positions as a state representative. Why don't you play that little audio for me right now of, of, of the options that Ken Paxton had. As he told in this interview. What are some of the other avenues that you can share with us? I realize you may not want to.

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[Ken Paxton]

Well, there were, there were three. There was the initial option, which I thought was the best, which is lock the doors while we were there. The speaker could have done that. He did not do that knowing. If I had any anticipation that they were leaving, I would have locked the doors and they would have been trapped. So we would have had to vote. That would have been the simplest, fastest way to do it. We didn't do it. Second possible way is, you know, arrest them on their way out. We didn't do that either. They went to jurisdictions that are not friendly to Texas Republicans. And so, you know, we don't have jurisdictional ability to get to them in these more liberal states, having gone to Illinois, New York and supposedly in Massachusetts. So wait them out as that option. Now, since you can't arrest and then the final Option is possibility, which has never been done before. We came up with the idea a few years ago. This is what we're trying to figure out if we can do, which is to do this procedure that would basically force them out of office. It would have to be determined by court. We don't make the determination. The court would have to decide that they were not performing their duties and that they needed to be replaced, removed.

[David Rutherford]

All right, so there you heard it from the mouth himself. They had three other options that the Republicans who ran did not do. And so it came down to this. And if you could also Jordy post the COVID of that document that he sent to the Supreme Court. Now, this is a novel new way of handling business. Never been done before, to basically get rid of these people in their seats. And that's a pretty amazing move to make. Now, what my mind goes to automatically is if this is a tactic that brings awareness to what the Republicans seem to be moving into. And I would bet especially in those completely blue states with their gerrymandered districts. And also right now, Jordi, could you put up the map of Illinois? Cool. And when you look at that map of Illinois, you. You see, I mean, that's. That's what they do. Right? I think both parties have been doing that since the dawn of the concept of gerrymandering came into place. Nobody's innocent of doing this. Republicans do it, Democrats do it. That's the way it works. Well, if you're going to fight fire with fire, that's a tool you can use. But I don't think anybody imagined that you would have this larger contingent that would, you know, walk out and prevent the quorums from taking place just because you don't like what the outcomes are going to be. That's also a first in a heavy way. I think there's been examples of that, but not down to that final vote, and certainly not a filing with a Supreme Court of any state. My problem is this is going to bring a ton of publicity. It's going to invigorate a Democrat stats in all states around the country. But it's also, I think, going to invigorate federal congressman, Democratic congressmen to do the same type of thing with much of what Trump's policy initiatives are going to be coming up. We've got another big vote coming up there in the fall and onward. So is this going to be the status quo if either side of the House decides that they just don't want to participate in the voting? So is it a good precedent on either side? No. Do I respect what Ken Paxton is having to do? Yes. I think there's probably other ways to do it. But again, if you're dealing with an organization in terms of the Democratic National Party or National Committee who plays hardball, then then yeah, I think you have to play hardball with hardball. So although I wish it wouldn't have come to this, it definitely seems like a good tactic to employ. All right.

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[David Rutherford]

Next story. The next story kind of lends itself to what I was just talking about. It's the idea of Trump going from being hunted to now being the huntor. And that's been a very common title that has been all over X with a lot of the people that have re shared and reposted these new ideas. And the one that really is remarkable to me, I think was inevitable considering the magnitude of lawfare, flagrant lawfare that was waged against him over the last eight years, in particular, the last five years from the Biden administration, in particular from their doj, Jack Smith and then their, you know, they're essential, their, their proteges or their henchmen, Leticia James, Fanny Willis and and others who filed these incredible crime cases against Trump and his team. So what happened this week is Pam Bondi essentially said we're going to go after Letitia James and Adam Schiff. Now, what's interesting to me is that not only were they ethic, you know, they're in there. There's ethic complaints for certain things that they've done. But the majority of what this is about is for something that's incredibly ironic, if you will. Right. What is the one thing that everybody always says when we're talking about corruption of any kind? Follow the money. In this particular case, what the most famous one I think is, is back in the day when Al Capone finally got had to go to J For what? For tax evasion. Well, what we have now is, is the, the Pambani and the Department of Justice is going after Letitia James and Adam Schiff for mortgage fraud. And, and I mean, think about that. I mean, think about of all the things that she, the two of them could get busted for, right? Adam Schiff falsified, basically lying for four straight years about Russia, Collusia, Russia, just getting on national television and basis basically straight up saying, yep, Trump is a Russian spy and getting away with that. And then, and then also his participation in what he did on the January six committee and basically hiding information that would have exonerated, you know, hundreds of people from those being arrested after, in the January 6 crackdown that that resulted. And then there's Letitia James and all the different lawsuits she brought. My favorite one is where she could try to convince a jury that Donald Trump illegally inflated his value so he could, you know, cajole these banks to giving him these loans. Basically my favorite one was saying that what Mar A Lago is only worth 14 or 18 million dollars, man. I mean, it's just, it's the most pristine property in all of South Florida.

[Co-Host]

They're saying door handles are worth $14 million.

[David Rutherford]

I've been there. And I agree with you. I agree with you. Oh, my God, it's incredible. So what do we have and how is this going to take place? And I think, you know, these are kind of what is going on. So here's, here's a brief runner. So you've got civil rights violations related to Trump and his NRA cases. The DOJ convened a grand jury in Albany, New York to investigate whether James violated President Trump's civil rights through her office's civil fraud lawsuit against him and his business. The lawsuit, initiated in 2022, resulted in a 5, a $454 million judgment against Trump for fraudulently inflating his net worth to deceive leaders. You know, and so what they came back is, and then the FBI, they're the mortgage fraud allegations. The FBI and the U.S. attorney Office in Albany are investigating James for the alleged mortgage fraud tied to real estate transactions, particularly a Virginia home purchase. A criminal referral from the Federal Housing Finance Agency in April 2025 initiated by Trump appointed FHFA Director William Polti alleges that James falsified records in claiming of Virginia property, her primary residence, to secure favorable long term loans. All right, you know, again, tit for tat is politics, I think, you know, it'll be interesting to see this case play out. I wish they could really just focus on the legality of the. The charges that she brought against Trump and really stay there. You know, I think these mortgage fraud things are a little bit of a distraction. It's easy way to bring him into the headlines and tear him down a little bit. But again, you know, after the, when, when you watch, go back to Letitia James running for office, and she says, my sole mission, if I'm elected, will debate to bring Donald Trump down. You know, you know, you gotta go back to these things because I, I think the challenge for everybody in particular, you know, you look at what Democrats are saying and, and they're losing their minds over this. They're like, you know, this is the king emerging. This is Donald Trump becoming, you know, taking the reins and manipulating the justice system. And, you know, one of the oldest tactics in the book is the Democratic Party, is you accuse the other guys of exactly what you have done to distract them. And we certainly know that these cases brought by Leticia J. Names Robert Smith and Fannie Willis, were bogus in every way, shape or form. Adam Schiff is the other guy. Right? And Adam Schiff is under federal criminal investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Maryland for alleged mortgage fraud. The investigation, reported by Fox News and other sources, stems from a criminal referral by who? The Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Justice in May 2025. The allegations center around Schiff's alle representation of his primary residence to secure more favorable mortgage terms on properties in California and Maryland. All right, again, Adam Schiff is a guy, if you go back and you look at the magnitude with which he went after Trump in not only Russiagate, he was a primary guy on the news day in and day out for years, basically saying, Trump is a Russian spy, he's a Russian asset. And what's crazy now, what we know is that he knew all of that was false. He knew every. All the documents, the Russiagate whole thing. He knew it was false. He'd been briefed by, because he was the head of the Foreign Intelligence Committee. So he knew what was completely inaccurate, but he ran with it. Why? Because it served him politically. The other aspect is really the impeachment stuff that was brought out of January 6th. Trump incitement of a riot and trying to alter the finality of the elections, which we also now are. I don't think we're. We fully know what's going on, but we certainly know there were shenanigans taking place. I just think, you know, I always Think back to when Christopher Wray was being, was under subpoena and was answering questions. And the congressman from Louisiana basically said how many, how many people were how many informants, paid informants or actual operatives, intelligence FBI operatives were in the crowd on January 6th. And he wouldn't answer the question. All right. And what he estimated is what he had said is that there was at least 200 for sure that he'd found in their investigation. So I think there's a lot more that's going to come out from the January six fiasco. And I think also we haven't even begun to scratch the surface on the 2020 election fiasco. So what is Trump doing? He's playing hardball now. He's going to go after these people that essentially wanted to imprison him for 700 and whatever, how many years and wanted to bankrupt him and bankrupt his family, bankrupt everybody in his family, to indict all of his friends to tear him down. So what did Pam, Donny, Bonnie do? She hired signed Ed Martin as a special prosecutor. Now, you know his background. He's a former inter District Attorney General for District of Columbia, but he was shut down by Thom Tillis, Senator Thom Tillis, Republican from North Carolina, citing his lack of prosecutorial experience and controversial political activities. Now, he was a strong component that the January 6 thing was an inside job planned by Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and the whole rest of the crew in order to really put the final nail in the coffin on Trump for insurrection and what that whole thing was. And again, we'll, we'll know more about that. That's definitely going to come out. So this guy, Ed Martin, they put him on a special prosecutor. Now, from the interviews I've listened to him, this guy is definitely going to have an ax to grind, as does Trump himself. So it'll be interesting to see what results out of this special counsel investigation. All right. You know, I think when you look at this type of thing and you look at the current state of where we are politically, I think all of this is pretty much, it's inevitable. Right. Anytime, you know, you, you invest hundreds of millions of dollars into trying to destroy your political enemy, you know, you better finish the job. And I think they did everything up into, you know, and there's no conclusive evidence that anybody within our government had anything to do with the two assassination attempts. Certainly there's been some really interesting reporting again by Mike Benz and Roth's connection to Ukraine and recruiting and some NGOs, and that that's Interesting. I think there's a lot of questions about the k who, who shot Trump. His. We still haven't seen his phone, his, his contacts and his phone and who he was talking to on these foreign chat apps. So there's a lot to be understood. And, and I think as, as I, you hear me describe this, you. It stacks up, man. All these things just keep stacking and stacking and stacking and stacking. And the weight of this concise and consolidated conspiracy to get rid of Donald Trump, this is true. Like they did, they went after him harder than anything I've ever seen or heard about in the history of our country. And even the other kind of. On a side note, Project Veritas is suggesting that Fannie Willis, in the RICO case she brought against Trump and like 20 other people down in Fulton County, Georgia, that she was actually corresponding not only with Biden's doj, but now we're understanding there were some emails. And Jordi, we put up those two emails that I sent you, and if you see these, there's references to people in her team making contact with Bill Barr and his team. Now, Bill Barr is a former attorney general under Trump's first term who basically is, you know, got all kinds of, of just nefariousness that's being linked to him now with this also the fact that he was the AG when Epstein died. It was his father that hired Epstein back at the school. He worked at the Dalton School in that relationship. And, you know, they have some other, you know, bizarre relationships there. You know, so you begin to think, my God, the magnitude of effort that was employed to try and get prevent, one, Donald Trump from, from running in the first place, becoming president in the first term, tearing him down with the Mueller investigation, two impeachment votes there, then the 2020 fiasco of elections, right? Trying to then tear him down after that, through January 6th and the treason indictments, and then about four straight years of investigations emerging from all these attorney generals. That's a lot. And I want you to just for one minute think if you had just one of these things that was happening to you in your life, just one, just one event of these, even if you were one of the, the, the co defendants in the Fulton county case for conspiracy, this RICO case, to change the election outcomes in Georgia, which are suspect. And if you want to do a deep dive in there, you just go in and you look at some of the testimony that came out last year of how mail and ballots and photographs that are supposed to correlate that those with signature correlation like 230/000 missing. There's no correlated evidence of photographs of the signature matches. I mean, it's, it was an abomination. And we also know Fannie Wells and her, her lover, who she had hired for a couple million dollars, I think it was, he was traveling up to meet with Biden's DOJ as well, too. So this is a conspiracy. There's no doubt about it. And if you had just one aspect of this conspiracy coming after you, would you have been able to take it? And then the greater question, the question that you really have to ask yourself is this, if you got through it and then were in a position to go after the people that tried to destroy you, what would you do? That's the real question. So it'll be fascinating to watch all of this combined with all of the subpoenas that James Comer issued for Clinton and, and Comey and Brennan in the fall that are coming up here, all these, we're gonna see a cascade filings that I think is going to regrettably intensify the divide of the American public, which is not what needs to happen. Ultimately, I think there's no way in hell anybody's going to talk Trump and his team out of doing this. I just think revenge is, is a dish best served cold. And I think it is inevitability that he's going to go after the people that went after him. This is where we are in American politics. All right.

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[David Rutherford]

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[David Rutherford]

Now, on a positive note, I want to say this is kind of a personal thing that I'm really happy to see. There had been some skirmishes that had kicked off again between the country of Azerbaijan and Armen over the last five years. And also this is a conflict that dates way back. This goes way, way back. You know, you can even go back to the Armenian genocide back in the day with Turkey and the Turks, but really between Armenia and what was originally called the Caucasian Tatars, also known as the Azerbaijanis. And the fighting that's Been taking place as far back as to 1905 through the Soviet area. It kind of mel got chilled. And then in 89, it started up again in several channels. Now, when I was at Blackwater, we got a contract to go work in Azerbaijan. And honest to God, and before I left, a few days after, you know, getting on that, I didn't know what Azerbaijan was. I had heard loosely about the Armenian genocide, but I didn't know anything. And so when I went out there for the 10 months on and off I worked out there, I got a full indoctrination as to this conflict. And, you know, when you think about these small countries in this area and why they've been fighting for so long. And again, it just goes back to these polarized regions. You know, a difference of opinions, difference of religion, and just how far people are willing to go to fight for what they believe is theirs. And I think this is common throughout history and throughout the world. You know, and this, the whole conflict is really around this Nagorho God man. Saying these names is just brutal for majority in this region, which is many consider to be a humanitarian crisis. So I really commend Trump for bringing some peace to this right now. We saw him bring some peace to India and Pakistan a few months ago. We did a show on that, that he brought a ceasefire that appears to be somewhat stable, although there was a gentleman who went on Tucker Carlson last week who basically said that there's still a lot of conflict going on in Gaza right now, even as humanitarian aid is somewhat being distributed. You know, there's a still ceasefire there. And then on top of that, on August 15th, we just found out that Trump is going to meet with Putin in Alaska to discuss Ukrainian peace. Now, Jordy, will you play that one clip of the guy, the Russian diplomat, who basically said, we've agreed to America's terms about some of the area and what they were saying about peace or ceasefire. Peace. All right, so you heard this guy say this man, that was the first real positive thing in quite a while. I mean, remember the last time that there was this negotiation the Russian delegation went to meet with, with, I forget, it was in Turkey, I think, to meet with the. The Ukrainians. And they essentially walked in, stood up and walked out, and nothing took place. Why? Because Zelensky had done his little European tour and had raised, I think, like a 5 billion or so commitment from European countries to fund NATO and its contributions. We've seen a tremendous amount of arms and vehicle, military vehicles being pushed into Ukraine recently. And if You've also seen there's a, the Russians have been really holding and advancing that eastern front of all those, that area that they have claimed all the way as far back as I think 2008, that this was a part of Mother Russia. And we saw several things transpire, not only through the Maidan revolution, but afterwards as well in these regions. And you know, that's Crimea, the Donbas and Luke regions. Right. So hopefully what we'll see is we'll see a major negotiation, a major announcement transpire that can really get us closer to peace. What will, I think all of you should pay attention to, if you can, is how Zelensky reacts to this. He's already been on, on X a little bit saying this is a sovereign matter, this is Ukraine's decision, which he's said throughout. But we'll pay close attention to that. So, Jordy, what's up? That's a lot going on, man. Dude, my brain is buzzing, yours and mine both. But, but I think what we have is, is we have, you know, one we're seeing, I think within the MAGA movement and within the Republican Party. One of the things is like, hey, let's start playing hardball. I think that's always been a critique of the Republican Party is that, you know, there hasn't been enough hardball plans in the last 16 or so years. And now finally, what we're seeing in particular from Ken Paxton is people are beginning to play a little hardball. What's interesting to me is the pushback that's coming from Republican senators. Right. And Republican House congressional leaders as well too, on some of this stuff.

[Co-Host]

So you think it's because conservative, if you're a conservative of, you're kind of naturally by default playing defense, you're trying to conserve.

[David Rutherford]

Right.

[Co-Host]

You're trying to prevent the changes that are happening from the progressive or liberal, liberal wing of things. They're trying, their, their job in a functioning system would be to try to say, hey, we're on a path right now, but we need to go this different direction and kind of a conservative job or responsibilities to say, no, stick to the plan. This is what's working. We got to stay right here. So they're kind of on defense by default.

[David Rutherford]

I think that's, that's, that's materially true. I think that's from a, you know, a theoretical component. Yeah, Conservatism, liberalism, I think that is. But I think what I've seen is there's an entrenched component, an old school guard within the Republican party that is anti magna at their heart. And what they want to do is also push back against the policy and the evolution of the party because they're losing the traditional grip they had had on it for a long, long period of time. And that grip is waning rapidly. And so what we're seeing is, we're seeing the, the final throws of, of their command and control because the momentum that the Trump administration and the MAGA movement are having are substantial now. There still is.

[Co-Host]

Do you think they need to come after these people in the terms of if we don't come back and hit them and play hard ball just like they played with us, this is just going to keep happening? Is that kind of what you think the motivation is?

[David Rutherford]

I am 100% convinced that in 26 or 28 or whenever it is in the future, should the current controllers of the Democratic Party, which are, are pretty progressive in nature, should they come back in, we will see what we saw under the Biden administration amplified by magnitude of, you know, however many that is. Right? We will see illegal immigration skyrocket. We'll see the advance, the expansion of the Supreme Court. We'll see getting rid of the filibuster. We'll see, I mean, all kinds of things that, that they will go all in on. Right. I just think that's the nature of politics right now. We're in a cycle of extremes. And what makes me nervous is when you get into a cycle of extremes combined with a potential risk of economic calamity because we just crossed over $37 trillion in debt, I think, you know, there's a substantial recipe for, for some problems. Right? So, you know, I think, you know, we're going to try and break down some of those major problems here in the future on shows to really kind of, I keep getting hit up, hey, will you kind of do a State of the Union? You know, we're, I think we're 200 days into Trump's first, first year in his term, and people have kind of been hitting me up, hey, you know, let's get a State of the Union where you think the most greatest concerns we have. And, you know, I've had people ask me about terror cells, violence, the political gerrymandering, you know, ICE raids, you know, so I think what we'll do is, is we'll start working on a show for y' all that I, I address some of the core issues. What I believe we need to pay attention in particular as we go back into the fall, uptick in, in, in political and geopolitical the environment. So. But, but before we go, before we go, I just want to say to you, Jordy, and to all other sports fanatics such as me, thank God football is back. Absolutely. Thank God football is back. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am as a former football player myself. You know, the, the months in between are a bit arduous to stay fixated. I think I've had my fill of tennis. I think I've had my fill of green dildos. Actually, that did not come out right at all. Belay my last. Everybody completely belay my mask. That's not what I meant. What I meant is the distraction of the WNB WNBA and what's going on with their shenanigans and, and boy, that was horrible. That was about as big a mistake faux pas as I've ever made. So flipping that out.

[Co-Host]

That's gonna live.

[David Rutherford]

People are gonna laugh at that one. All right, so football's back and the what I. The one I really want to just highlight for all the haters out there. And Jordy, if you could start playing that, that, you know, right now for me, that, that'd be great. And that's Shador Sanders and the play he had with the Cleveland Browns. I mean the guy was on fire. I think everybody and their brother wanted them to basically wanted this guy to go in, throw multiple interceptions, get sacked three times. There was a great sack by a former Nebraska off defensive lineman which so you know, go Nebraska. But he looked really good on the field. He was light on his fe feet, he was reading the field well. He did some magic dancing like he does to escape what looked like certain sacks. He really is an incredibly talented athlete. Now I will say this. Cleveland Brown says five other big time quarterbacks. So this will be the quarterback battle to watch for sure. But again, we're back. Football's back. College football is starting soon. There's. We got the first game of the season. One of the first games of the season is going to be between Texas and Ohio State. So the first time in a long time number one plays number two right to start off. I love that because Penn State is ranked 1 in some polls but in most like other polls they're number three. And I think that'll knock one of them out of the way. Penn State in and. And hopefully move forward. They and have a great season and finish as as number one. So yeah, football's back. Jordy. Who?

[Co-Host]

Yah, dude, it's going to save us. It's going to Save us. Can you believe that? You know, August is typically a slow news month. This is slow.

[David Rutherford]

I think all that's just out the window. There's just. It's. It's all gone. We are in a. In a time where news is just coming at us like a tsunami. And so that's why Jordi and I, we are going to stay focused and committed to really trying to contextualize all this, to bring a little flashbang of truth to you all. And you listening. And we are so appreciative of every second that you give us listening to what we're sharing with you. We are so grateful and thankful. We're thankful to iHeartMedia. We're especially thankful to Clay Travis and Buck Sexton being in their network. Network. Thank you all so much for your confidence in us and your support of us. And we're thankful for you guys. So if you could give us a help, subscribe, like send not alert notifications, but the one thing we always ask, if you find a show that is impactful on you, you know, share it with a friend. As we incorporate not only news, we try and drill down on bigger stories. We have great interviews on all different types of. Of stories from, from coaches to players to athlet operators to, you know, nonprofits. You know, we really try and bring a diversified concept to y' all so you can learn as we learn too. And then obviously the. The motivational content that we sprinkle in there for you to try and lift you up in the face of. Of all these challenging news cycles and stories. So we're grateful again. You can follow us on all major social media platforms. The David Rutherford or David Rutherford show on X, it's D. Rutherford show because as Jordy was telling me the other day, your name is just too damn long. Rutherford is just too damn long. Sorry, I love my name. Long line Rutherford, Scottish heritage. So it is what it is. You can follow me at Team Frog Logic. I'm pretty much only on X and then on. On Instagram. So. Yeah, thank you so much. God bless you. And Huya Football. Ah, come on. Why is this taking so long? This thing is ancient.

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[David Rutherford]

My finance guys like you know we talk every day about stocks. We should just shut up and bought bitcoin. Just shut up and bought bitcoin. Forget everything else and bank I have all my crypto on crack. Dave Portnoy trusts Kraken with his crypto. So do millions of clients around the world. Download the app today. Get $10 in Bitcoin after your first trade of $10 or more. Just enter code iheartten under add invite code when you sign up.

[Podcast Host]

Not investment advice Crypto trading involves risk of loss and is offered to US customers through PayWord Interactive, Inc. Terms and conditions apply.

[Jacob Goldstein]

This is Jacob Goldstein from what's yous Problem? Business software is expensive and when you buy software from lots of different companies, it's not only expensive, it gets confusing. Slow to use, hard to integrate. Odoo solves that because all Odoo software is connected on a single affordable platform. Save money without missing out on the features you need. Odoo has no hidden costs and no limit on features or data. Odoo has over 60 apps available for any needs your business might have, all at no additional charge. Everything from websites to sales to inventory to accounts hunting, all linked and talking to each other. Check out Odoo at o d o o.com that's o d o o.com Saks.

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