Weekly Review With Clay and Buck H2 - Entrepreneurs That Give Back to Government

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Episode: Weekly Review With Clay and Buck H2 - Entrepreneurs That Give Back to Government
Release Date: May 3, 2025

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Overview

In this episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve into the recent developments surrounding the Trump administration's cabinet meetings, highlighting the infusion of successful entrepreneurs into government roles. The discussion spans topics such as economic performance, border security, the impact of influential figures like Elon Musk, and the broader implications of bringing private sector leaders into public service. The conversation is marked by their characteristic blend of intelligence, humor, and insightful commentary.

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Key Discussions

1. Trump Administration's Cabinet Composition

Clay and Buck kick off the discussion by analyzing the ongoing cabinet meetings at the White House. They emphasize the significance of having entrepreneurs and successful business figures in key government positions.

• Buck Sexton (04:43): "The Trump administration has brought a successful gathering of people from outside the government. It's one of the most successful in history."

• Clay Travis (07:00): "Elon may well be the most successful capitalist in the history of the world... He's bringing unparalleled talent to the government."

The hosts commend the administration for recruiting individuals like Doug Burgum, Marco Rubio, and RFK Jr., noting their lack of controversy and strong policy stances.

2. Economic Performance Under Trump

The conversation shifts to the economic indicators released during Trump's first 100 days. Despite a 0.3% GDP decline in the first quarter, the hosts argue that core GDP metrics show positive growth, attributing this to Trump’s policies.

• Donald Trump (09:27): "Core GDP, removing distortions... was up plus 3%. We turned them around and we were getting them really turned around."

• Buck Sexton (08:42): "Trump is saying we came in the middle of the quarter and have to see how it plays out. But he's been effective in fixing border security."

Clay counters the criticism by highlighting the administration's efforts to tackle issues most politicians avoid, such as border security and sensible spending.

• Clay Travis (05:29): "Trump is trying to fix things that most politicians would not touch. It’s what you should want from your politicians."

3. Elon Musk's Role in Government

Elon Musk's participation in the cabinet meeting as a special government employee is a focal point. His impact and future role are discussed in detail.

• Buck Sexton (06:00): "Elon says the administration is accomplishing what they promised—secure borders, safe cities, sensible spending."

Clay praises Musk's contributions and entrepreneurial spirit, suggesting that his involvement sets a precedent for other business leaders to engage in public service.

• Clay Travis (06:30): "Elon’s belief in his talent to shift from running companies to government is what we need more of."

4. U.S.-China Relations and Trade

A significant portion of the discussion centers on the Trump administration's approach to China, including tariffs and trade negotiations.

• Donald Trump (14:38): "China is doing very poorly right now... We're talking to China, but their factories are closing all over because we're not taking their product unless they're fair with us."

• Buck Sexton (15:29): "Trump doesn't want a bare-knuckle brawl with China. He aims for fairness and better trade agreements."

Clay predicts a resolution to trade tensions by August, anticipating improved trade agreements and economic stimulation through potential rate cuts.

• Clay Travis (15:40): "By August, China and the U.S. will have come to an agreement. Trade will be better and more efficient."

5. Impact on the U.S. Economy and Future Projections

The hosts analyze current economic trends, including predictions about interest rates and inflation, and their potential effects on the housing market and overall economic health.

• Buck Sexton (16:00): "Jerome Powell needs to cut rates. There's a prediction of four rate cuts before the end of the year."

• Clay Travis (16:15): "A point change in interest rates could loosen the frozen housing market and stimulate economic growth."

They express optimism about the economy's trajectory, attributing positive signs to the administration's policies and upcoming trade resolutions.

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Notable Quotes

• Buck Sexton (04:43): "We're not sure a lot of controversy around RFK Jr., but on the policy side, he's doing his thing."

• Donald Trump (09:27): "We came in and I was very against everything that Biden was doing in terms of the economy destroying our country."

• Clay Travis (05:29): "Elon is the most successful capitalist maybe in the history of the world."

• Donald Trump (14:38): "I don’t want things to get unnecessarily bellicose with China. We just want fairness."

• Clay Travis (16:15): "I think a point change in interest rates, I think could start to loosen that [housing market] some."

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Insights and Conclusions

Clay and Buck underscore the transformative potential of integrating successful entrepreneurs into government roles, arguing that such leaders bring innovative solutions and a results-oriented mindset to public administration. They contend that the Trump administration's immediate actions—particularly in border security and economic reforms—lay a solid foundation for future growth and stability.

The discussion highlights a nuanced perspective on economic indicators, suggesting that core metrics may present a more favorable outlook than headline figures. The optimistic projection regarding U.S.-China trade relations further reflects the hosts' confidence in the administration's ability to navigate complex international dynamics.

Overall, the episode presents a supportive view of the Trump administration's early efforts, emphasizing the importance of effective leadership and strategic policy-making in fostering national prosperity and security.

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Additional Highlights

• Personal Anecdotes: Clay shares personal experiences about his move and family dynamics, adding a relatable touch to the conversation.

• Upcoming Interviews: The hosts tease future segments, including interviews with Marsha Blackburn and updates from figures like Hakeem Jeffries.

• Engagement with Listeners: Interactive elements include responding to listener calls and addressing their viewpoints on various topics.

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Conclusion

This episode offers a comprehensive analysis of the Trump administration's initial strategies and their implications for the U.S. economy and international relations. Through informed discussion and engaging dialogue, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton provide listeners with valuable insights into the intersection of entrepreneurship and governance, advocating for a leadership style that prioritizes effectiveness and innovation.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

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[Colby Ekowicz]

We've all done it. You see a headline but don't have time to read the whole story or there's so much news you're not sure what is worth your time. Colby I'm Colby Ekowicz, co host of Post Reports the weekday afternoon podcast from the Washington Post. Post Reports brings you what's relevant and revealing. Breaking stories, politics, wellness, culture. Each episode goes beyond a headline for the context you need. Find Post Reports now, wherever you're listening.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, second hour. Clay and Buck, of course, coming to you live. And speaking of live, over at the White House, they're still going with this cabinet meeting. Clay's buddy, his golf buddy, perhaps soon. Doug Burgum laying it down right now. Dougie B. I don't know if we've called him that yet, but I think that's kind of a fun one for him. He's the interior secretary. Very important job. A lot that goes under the umbrella of responsibility for the interior secretary, Senator Marker. I keep doing that. I've just known him as Senator Rubio for the whole time I've been in media. Pretty much Secretary of State Marco Rubio sitting there as well with Donald Trump. We want to bring you some of the highlights of what has gone on so far. And I'd say RFK Jr also sitting next to Dougie B. Secretary Burgum. And he's doing his thing. I'm surprised. Not a lot of controversy around RFK Jr. I don't mean on the personal side, but on the policy side. I would have thought by now they would be in a full fledged freakout over him, but it hasn't really happened. Let's dive into what has been going on here and what they've been saying. As you know, Elon Musk is also present at this cabinet meeting and his time with Doge is as was planned. Don't forget, because he's a special government employee or whatever they call it, as was planned. He's going to be rotating out and going back to running his companies. This is cut 23, Elon says. Well, Elon has some high praise for the Trump administration thus far. Play it. Yeah. The American people voted for secure borders, safe cities and sensible spending. And that's what they've gotten. A tremendous amount that's been accomplished in the first hundred days. As everyone has said, it's more than has been accomplished in any administration before ever, period. So this portends very well for what happened to the rest of the administration. I think this could be the greatest administration in your country.

[Donald Trump]

You have been treated unfairly. But the vast majority of people in this country really respect and appreciate you and this whole room can say that very strongly. You've really been a tremendous help. You opened up a lot of eyes as to what could be done. And we just want to thank you very much. And you know, you're invited to stay as long as you want. At some point, I guess he wants to get back home to his cars and his.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, and his rockets and all the other good stuff. Clake. I think it's important context because Elon is not a guy who accepts less than the best. It's been 100 days. Trump's doing the things he said he would do. There has been some excellent progress, but you can't slay all the dragons the first time you pick up the sword.

[Rodney Williams]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

And again, I think the biggest story of Trump's hundred days is that he tried. He is trying to fix things that most politicians would not touch. And this is important because it's what you should want politicians to do. But most of them are so concerned with getting reelected that they aren't willing to actually get that far out in front of making substantial change. And this is. You and I have talked about this a lot and I think it comes up frequently. What Elon has done is what we should want incredibly talented people from a wide variety of backgrounds to be willing to do. It's what Pete Hegseth did. It's what Sean Duffy did. If you are having. This is my opinion, some of you may disagree, but if you are fortunate enough to have success in whatever your private endeavor is. Elon is the most successful capitalist maybe in the history of the world. I wanted to reiterate that because I think sometimes it gets lost. Elon may well be the most successful capitalist in the history of the world, Buck. I mean, certainly on a dollar value, no one has been wealthier. Now you can argue, hey, historically, on inflation adjusted basis, John D. Rockefeller, some of the people in the late 19th century, early 20th century may have had higher share of wealth. The Stanfords, the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, the people who endowed so many different institutions. But when you think about Tesla, SpaceX, XAI, Twitter and the Boring Company, among many others, I don't know that there is anyone in the history of American capitalism or world capitalism that has been more successful than Elon is. He had no reason, Buck, other than his belief that he had an incredible ability to of talent to bring to bear at the government to leave what he was doing and making money and do it. Look at Hegseth and people are coming after Hegseth like crazy. He was making several million dollars a year doing Fox and Friends weekend hits as a host and also then doing lots of different hits on Fox News. And he gave that up to make a couple hundred thousand dollars to be Defense Secretary. Sean Duffy was making really good money hosting a show on Fox Business. He gave that up to go be Transportation Secretary. Donald Trump himself was rolling in billions of dollars, had an easy lifestyle. Everyone loved him. He was one of the most popular entrepreneurs and capitalist in the entire world. And he decided that he didn't like the way America was going and he was willing to put his hat in the ring and take the slings and arrows from other people. There are tons of those people, Lutnick Besant, people who were wildly successful outside of the government that have decided to bring their talents to bear at the government. I think it's probably the most underreported, under discussed aspect of Trump Cabinet 2.0. I'm not sure we've ever seen a more successful gathering of people from outside the government than what Trump has brought to bear so far in this group that was meeting right now in the last couple of hours.

[Buck Sexton]

Now, this cabinet will bring more of the highlights to you as it continues to unfold. But a couple of things that have come up. One is you may have seen that the US economy had a 0.3% decline in GDP in the first quarter. Now, remember to remember when 2/4 of negative of negative growth under Biden was a recession. But then they said, well, is that really a recession? And we all had to debate what the definition of a recession was. They're going to seize on this. They're trying to seize on this to say that Trump, his economy is actually not going to be strong for the American people. You all know, we all understand where this is going, but Trump had this to say about the GDP number and he's not mincing words. This is 24 core GDP.

[Donald Trump]

And this is, you know, you probably saw some numbers today. And I have to start off by saying that's Biden. That's not Trump because we came in on January. This are quarterly numbers. And we came in and I was very against everything that Biden was doing in terms of the economy destroying our country in so many ways. Not only at the border, the border was more obvious, but we took over his mess in so many different ways. Core gdp, removing distortions from imports, inventories and government spending was up plus 3%. When you add it, we had numbers that despite what we were handed, we turned them around and we were getting them really turned around.

[Buck Sexton]

Now I would just say I think it is, it is fair that Donald Trump is, well, he's saying, look, we came in, in the middle of, in the middle of the quarter, which is True. Or, you know, early mid to the quarter. And he's only been president for 100 days. So we have to see how a lot of this plays out. If Trump could snap, because he snapped, I would say this Clay, because he snapped his fingers, in essence. And the border has been fixed, not immigration. We still have all the deportations and illegal immigration issue, but the border issue, border security has been largely 95% is pretty much fixed. I almost feel like he's a victim of his own success because he snaps his finger and fixes the border. He can't snap his fingers and fix the economy. And especially when you look at the debt and spending and these things that have been built up over decades, it's going to take a little time. I do think that's fair context for this number that has just come out.

[Clay Travis]

I don't think there's any doubt at all. And I just think overall, the battle out there as they are trying to attack Trump. You know, we talked about the polling numbers yesterday, Buck, and I do think this is important. Is there anybody within 20 points, popularity wise, in the Democrat Party that is eligible to run for office with Trump? Because historically with Biden, we knew Trump was gonna run. So you could always kind of compare with Biden and then with Kamala, there was somebody that you could put up head to head. I'm not even sure right now who you would point to in the Democrat Party and say this person is even on an even remotely close to an even playing field with Donald Trump's popularity. And so the attack now is, oh, the things that Trump is doing are unpopular. And I think they've had some success going after Elon, and I hope it doesn't discourage other highly successful businessmen from coming into government. But unfortunately, I think it probably will. And I think that's part of the intent. But I don't know who you would even point to and say, in these hundred days, this person has been elevated as the foil for Trump District court judges, but there's hundreds of them. There isn't really any challenger of Trump, even if his agenda is not wildly popular in the marketplace right now. Does that make sense? Like, I don't even see a conflict of ideas that's possible because Democrats, it sort of feels, are drunkenly jumping from, oh, we're going to go with Abreu Garcia. Oh, we're going to go with the cost of eggs. Oh, the stock market is not in an ideal position and they just kind of drunkenly move swerve from one argument to another. And there is no uniting coalition of opposition behind it. Does that make sense? Which I think is only fracturing even more. And I think it's going to get worse because I think the economy is going to be getting better in the months ahead.

[Buck Sexton]

Now, China, obviously looms large in all of this with the economy, with the tariffs. And this is really, I think, for. In my view, I'd be interested. This would be an interesting question to ask Trump. I'd love to hear. Well, we'll talk to him. I think we're going to go see the big guy in June. Clay and I've been talking about this. We were going to see them see him sooner and his team. But, you know, I've got a little human who is very dependent on mom and dad to. To be around. Well, particularly mom, let's be honest. But I try to help out. So Clay has graciously agreed to let us push this back to probably June. I think we'll do our time with the president and some of his team. But I would want to ask him. I think that in Trump's mind, he has defeated the fake news media, which is. Which I think is a totally fair assessment. I think he has defeated the Democrat Party.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Right.

[Buck Sexton]

He's not running again. He won twice. He. I know some of you say he won three times, but he won twice officially. And now I think he views his. His primary challenge as China. I don't think he thinks the Democrats are who he really has to focus on as much anymore. I think he's really viewing China and the future of the China, US Relationship. And our ability to compete and continue to be the dominant global force that we are is a huge part of Trump's legacy. So he sees this as important. I don't think he wants to have an unnecessarily bellicose relationship with China. He just wants us to be well positioned and he wants things to be fair. He spoke about this in this Cabinet meeting. This is cut 25.

[Donald Trump]

I know that China is doing very poorly right now. I just saw some reports coming out, and I don't want that to happen to China. I like the president a lot, President Xi. I don't want it to happen. I was. I was actually saddened to hear it. But they are getting absolutely hammered in China. And, you know, they're sending boats, the biggest boats in the world, carrying cargo like nobody's ever seen before. These are the biggest boats in the world, biggest cargo ships in the world. And they're coming and they're turning around in the Pacific Ocean. They're doing a big U turn and going back because they don't want the goods because 145% tariff. But at a certain point, I hope we're going to make a deal with China. We're talking to China, but their factories are closing all over China because we're not taking their product. We don't want their product unless they're going to be fair with us. And that includes intellectual property and other things. Are a lot of things far beyond just buy, sell.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, he's saying, look, he doesn't want to get into a bare knuckle brawl for the foreseeable future with China over trade. All they have to do is change some behavior and we can all be nice. As Trump would say.

[Clay Travis]

I will be very surprised if by August this isn't all resolved. You can put me down on the prediction market by August. I think we'll get through the summer. I think what you will start to see in the next few days is a lot of these new trade agreements will be rolled out and they'll be better and they'll be more efficient and the market is going to come to realize that this is not the end of the world. And I think by August China and the United States will have in some way come to an agreement. That's my bet. I think they want to get this thing resolved before we get into the holiday season because you need some finality and certainty as you are getting retail set up for the holiday season, which now Buck, by September there are Christmas trees showing up in Costco's. You know, the Christmas creep gets here sooner and sooner and I think that will be a time when we will have some resolution. So I don't think this thing's going to stretch on forever. I think both sides are going to sit down at the table. I think we'll get a better deal than we have right now. And by the summer I think you will start to see the, the larger marketplace start to fire. I also think our boy Jerome Powell inflation is coming down. He needs to cut rates. And there's now a prediction of four rate cuts before the end. I think Goldman's newest forecast is that four rate cuts, a total point rate cut that will also start to juice the economy, maybe free up the housing market or so many of you out there sitting on those 2 and a half or 3% mortgages. Congrats. But it's been a while now and the marketplace needs to kind of start to work through the housing inventory. It's still frozen. A point change in interest rates, I think could start to loosen that some.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Play Travis Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate everybody out there. So funny what people get fired up about. Northeast. People are fired up because I said nobody would live there if we had settled the west to east.

[Buck Sexton]

How dare you, Southern fellow. How dare you.

[Clay Travis]

I'm just saying the west coast is better than the east coast geographically. Weather wise. Weather wise. Northeast I like. Well anyway, here is Henry Syracuse, New York. He's upset BB let's hear what he.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, I gotta tell you, as someone who lives in upstate New York, your theory on the least populated place in the northeast would not withstand. The reason is why is because of the amount of fresh water we have here, they don't have any water out west. They would go and look and find water and end up here. You don't. Don't mess with my upstate New York fam and think that you're going to get away with that, Mr. Tennessee. All right, you leave us northeasterners alone.

[Clay Travis]

I think there would have been plenty of water for the early settlers who were on the West. Like, I don't remember people dying of. Of lack of water in San Francisco or Los Angeles back in the day. Now the cities have grown so much that there is a massive demand for water now and that's actually a huge issue. It's certainly.

[Buck Sexton]

Let's get James in Houston and real quick here. He also takes issue with Clay's offhand comment. Go ahead, James. Do we have James? History? Yeah. Through history, commerce and trade has determined.

[Clay Travis]

Where population cities are.

[Buck Sexton]

If we were still trading with Europe.

[Clay Travis]

East would be the place people would live. I mean, if you look at cities like Chicago and Houston, what has made them its trade? Their access to the waterways? New Orleans is the same way. You can go back in history. Jerusalem was founded as a trade post name with Damascus. That is where people settle. It has nothing to do with weather. If it did, Houston would not have the population it did.

[Buck Sexton]

James. James. I love it. I'm just going to say what Rev, what rivers does Clay have in Tennessee? Not the cool ones that we do in the Northeast.

[Clay Travis]

I love James's call. I might have to respond to James's argument on why I think I'm right when we come back. But in the meantime, I don't know how many of you out there love Major League Baseball. I do. My Atlanta Braves started off 07. Not ideal. Not ideal. But thanks to the fact that Denver has maybe with the Colorado Rockies, the worst baseball team of all time, my Braves are about to be back to 500. Sorry, Colorado Rocky fans out there and a lot of you out there, big NBA fans, big NHL fans, whatever the local team that you follow, mlb, NHL, Major League Baseball, NBA, whatever you like, you can get hooked up right now with prize picks. Go to prizepix.com code clay, you get 50 bucks when you play. $5. California would have been the most settled state if we had gone west to east Texas, Georgia, all of you can play along. Pricepix.com code clay.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back into Clay and Buck Trump still going strong here with the cabinet meeting. So we'll continue to watch that for notable moments. Right now, he's taking questions from reporters. He's got the whole team around him. Secretary of state, secretary of defense, interior, go down the line. Everybody is there and they're, they're taking questions in real time from reporters. So we'll continue to follow, bring you those highlights. But we are monitoring now. The team is keeping an eye on everything and we've got, you know, a great radio team, so they'll make sure that anything that you need to hear, we will bring to you. I have a couple of things here. One is Clay wants to respond. I thought our caller James from Houston was erudite. I thought he was on point and describing how despite what Clay may think. And I'm going to let you guys on a little secret. Clay wears flip flops, like all the time. Okay. All the time. Now, if you were to wear flip flops constantly, you too would probably think that weather was the most important determination for where you would live. He also wears shorts a lot. I'm just going to say it. He's a shorts and flip flops guy. I live in Miami and I'm going to say I think I wear pants, pants more than Clay does.

[Clay Travis]

Probably true.

[Buck Sexton]

Probably true. But our caller says that commerce waterways, proximity to Europe and the, and the trading relationship, they're more important than sunny California weather. If the set, if we could have settled differently. Clay, you want to respond to this Scholarly. I will say scholarly phone call.

[Clay Travis]

We received very good call from Houston. Here is my argument. If we had settled west to east, then their relationships with Asia would have been more paramount than our relationships with Europe ended up being. Now, that becomes complicated.

[Buck Sexton]

Pacific's a lot, a lot bigger, a lot more time to traverse. So that would have been far more complicated. But okay, I'll let you keep rolling.

[Clay Travis]

On this second part of this. He is correct. I am a nerd about transportation. There are a lot of things that I care way too much about that embarrass my kids and my wife when it comes to just nerdy things. I am like James, where I will drive through a city and I will regularly talk to my kids about two things that drive them crazy. One is transportation and why cities exist where they are. And it is correct. The rivers and streams were the initial highways of America. And typically, many of our cities now, which people don't think about, were located in places where ships could easily pull up and disgorge their goods. Right. So I lived in the Caribbean, for instance, for any of you that have ever been to St. Thomas, U.S. virgin Islands. I'm still a licensed attorney there as well.

[Buck Sexton]

If you get into trouble, Clay should be your first, your, your, your first call.

[Clay Travis]

And St. Thomas, I would be an amazing St. Thomas lawyer. If you pull in and you pull in there at a cruise ship, it's kind of crazy. The reason why St. Thomas is a popular Caribbean destination to this day is because it has a natural deep water port that is you're able to pull in a ship and go right up to the water and take off all of the goods on that ship. It's actually very rare. If you think about it, most places, like the land slopes down very gradually. It's how a beach would work, right. Like you come in or it's right up against a rock formation in St. Thomas. The reason why it's still a popular port in the Caribbean to this day for Carnival, Carnival cruise ships, Royal Caribbean, whatever else, is because you can pull a huge cruise ship up and actually disembark right on the land. Very rare. Doesn't exist very many places. That is also why New York City is popular today as it is as a harbor. That is why Charleston is popular. These places along the coast had more access to ships. So our caller, this is probably again, I think about this a great deal. Embarrassingly such. The caller is not wrong. However, if you think about when we finally got to the west, it was not until basically the railroad era. Really.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, you needed trains. You needed trains. But this goes to. I think his. First of all, I like how excited about geography nerdom you're getting here because I.

[Clay Travis]

Transportation and shipping costs and all of these things.

[Buck Sexton]

Love the, love the geography. The issue that you would have if California and the west coast had been settled first, I think is first starting off Asia, the Pacific, far bigger, more complicated, more time consuming just in terms of transport than getting from Europe to here. Right. But put that as, put that aside now we're talking about the landmass.

[Clay Travis]

The.

[Buck Sexton]

And I know some of you are like, buck, why are you taking shots at Tennessee's river? We have the Tennessee river, the Cumberland River. I know, but I just wanted to poke at Clay for a second because he was talking about my beloved.

[Clay Travis]

We have a great river network in the state of Tennessee. Quite, quite fond of our river network.

[Buck Sexton]

The. The original, before they, before the locomotive comes along. Right. The most important things for. For commerce by far not even close. Really. All commerce, in essence. I mean all meaningful tonnage of commerce. When you're looking at tonnage, it has to be via rivers. This is why the Hudson river, which is now just a place that people think is pretty in New York and the Hudson Valley. Hudson river was the most important waterway in the early era of this, of North America by far right. Which is why West Point and Benedict Arnold and all that was so important as well. Because if you could have cut off access the Hudson river, you would have maybe been able to end the, end the war. The, the war, the insurrection if you will, against the British. And then you get into the Great Lakes, the Great Lakes, which because of the Canal.

[Clay Travis]

Erie Canal.

[Buck Sexton]

Erie Canal. And then gets us into Chicago. Chicago, named for, I think an Algonquin word for stinky onion. Chicago. And the Mississippi River Basin a lot. I don't. I was going to get there and then you get. The Louisiana Purchase in the Mississippi river basin is probably the most impressive. It's like God's or you know, God slash nature's same thing highway system that we inherited with the Louisiana Purchase, which is the most impressive system of rivers. I mean you've got some pretty good stuff in Europe too. But our navigable rivers because of the Mississippi river basin were incredible for commerce and allowed for the phase settlement of this, of this country to be as successful as it was.

[Clay Travis]

And the Lewis and Clark expedition, which I have argued should be a program and would immediately become the most popular show in America if they would make it. And I've been arguing that for four years on this program. Buck, the entire purpose of the Lewis and Clark expedition from a business perspective other than mapping and checking flora and fauna and different animals is was to see if there was a way to go across the entire continent and access the Pacific Ocean. Was there a major river that could act as a highway. Now back to James's point.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, wait, wait, wait. I got something on James's point too though. Clay to your, to your theory though. Just throwing it out there, Mr. Flip Flops. California, so nice. You're an early settler. Pre railroad. Railroads change the game, right? You're a pre railroad, you're in California. It's all beautiful and nice. What happens when you find yourself in Nevada? No offense, Nevada not throwing shade. What happens when you're in the desert surrounded by rattlesnakes and Gila monsters in Arizona? You know, like this is. Would have been, this would have been tough not sledding because it's not sledding. You know what I mean? This would have been a way to Go.

[Clay Travis]

That's my argument. You would turn back and be like, why would I leave the Garden of Eden? You would stay on the West Coast. But by the time we got to settling the west coast and I'm leaving aside the Oregon Trail and all of that era, we had moved to Caller James's Point from a predominantly ocean and ship based commerce system to the transcontinental railroad, which then became, at that point in time, around, you know, the 1860s during the Civil War, the railroad system took over to such an extent that whether you had a railroad stop became the foundation of your city's success. Such that we have a lot of cities then that grew up that were not necessarily located on rivers and streams that were the primary source of distribution. So you end up with a lot of different cities that have blown up in an era where the railroad was the primary transportation and communication hub. So I think by the time we got all the way to the east coast, my point is it would have been a situation where the railroad would have become more predominant than the rivers and streams.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I agree with James from Houston. So now I'm going to throw something else your way. And we just want to get some of you fired up over this. I remember there was a conversation we had on this show where Clay and I actually agreed. I like it when I get to disagree with him and we get to fight it out on the air, but I actually agree with him that the expectation that most people have that you should be picked up from the airport in the era of Uber, especially in major metropolitan areas. Yeah, I agree with Clay. I'm like, this is, you know, my family just came to visit. I was like, great, take an Uber. I'm happy to send the Uber for anyone happy to set it up. It's not that, but don't make me drive in rush hour traffic in Miami to the airport and then drive in rush hour because there's nothing but traffic here when it's rush hour. Just like a lot of other. You want to go to JFK airport in New York at the wrong time, you know, I hope you brought some snacks because you're going to be on. On that highway trying to get yourself the airport for about two hours. Okay. It's a nightmare. All right. That was something that a lot of you disagree with us on. That's fine. That was. Anyone who agreed with us was right. Who disagree was wrong. Clay. More than a third of people, according to the New York Post here and new data that has been put out of a poll of 2,000 adults. So they really, they decided to really go after this With a new study. A third of people, 38% hate being asked to move. Right? So moving by either family or friends to move your residence, to move your domicile, 38%. I just want to throw this out there, Clay. If I had a choice between you calling me and saying, hey, buddy, I need help moving, or hey, buddy, don't tell Lara, I'm stuck in Tijuana and I need you to come and bribe the police to get me out of here before anyone finds out. I think I'm taking door number two. Moving is the absolute worst. And unless you are an immediate family member or romantically involved with somebody, I think asking them to help you move is just going way too far. I think there's, there's reasons why we got moving companies.

[Clay Travis]

This is a good test for how pretty the girl is or how much the guy likes you. Because there is no guy who's like, yeah, you know what I want to spend Saturday, Sunday doing? Moving a bunch of stuff from one apartment to another in a city. I have been in this situation college age, a lot of you have where you're in your 20s and you're moving from one place to another. We used to just carry stuff across Washington, D.C. because it's so expensive to rent moving vans that we would just. I remember carrying multiple mattresses just from one side of D.C. to another on the street with like just a couple of guys like, hey, we're just gonna throw this in, you know, like, we're literally gonna carry this rather than try to move it. I agree completely that this is bad. I think it's probably the number one thing that people ask for you to do. And you're like, you probably.

[Buck Sexton]

Have you, have you ever been asked to help somebody move and you're just like, sorry, hard pass, can't do it.

[Clay Travis]

I haven't been asked since. You know, it's funny is we're in the process of moving and it's going to take like eight months. I have no idea when the new house is going to be done. But I am already thinking my boys, my two oldest, the 17 and 14 year old. I'm like, these guys should be carrying everything now. They're the ones who are always doing push ups. They're trying to impress girls by getting in shape. I've been married 21 years. I'm getting to be an old guy. They should be in charge between the two of them now, of moving everything. I'm starting to feel a little Bit like a farmer. Buck, remember back in the day you had a lot of kids because you just needed labor at the farm. I. We don't have a farm. But for the move process, I think I'm going to put the Travis boys to work and do your boys do.

[Buck Sexton]

Daily chores or daily chores, something that you assign them or not really.

[Clay Travis]

They. So to their credit, they are really good kids and they spend way more time at school than we ever. I don't know about you. They leave at 6am and they do not get home at the end of the day. Some days till like 6:30 or 7:00 at night because they have so many different obligations at school. I think we layer more stuff on kids now than we did then. So they have obligations around the house, but they're not massively substantial. And my wife would say if she were listening right now, that the misery of being a mom of three boys who are two teenagers and me, who was probably the one that she would say is the most difficult is she basically lives in a frat house. And like all frat houses, my boys basically live in a pigsty all the time. So there is pizza boxes everywhere, there are potato chip bags. The beer obviously is not started. But I told my wife's. Joking with my wife the other day, I was like, you never wanted to. You know, no girl ever wants when she walks into a frat house. They're never like, oh, this is amazing. You know, sorority house is really nice. Pretty well kept. Frat houses are all just dinghy dumps. She now lives in a frat house because the boys are messes. And then the. You layer it on with me.

[Buck Sexton]

I'll put this out there for any of you. What are the rules for who you can or you should or should not ask to help you move? Do you agree with me that it is immediate family love interest and that is it? Or would you ask a good buddy? Ok. Like I said, Clay tells me that he's in prison in Beijing. He's a tourist over there, and he needs me to make calls to the State Department, fly over, do a little, you know, hostage trade. Fine. Clay says, I need you to help me move Buck. I don't know. Jesse Kelly's tall. He's probably got good leverage. Call him. Like, I just think the rules here need to be pretty clear. But what do you think 800-282-2882 will take it?

[Clay Travis]

I think you have to be friends with somebody for a long time in order to ask them to help you move. I gotta tell you, a lot of challenges going on right now in the Middle East. As many of you know right now every single day there is a new story about missiles being fired, about the need for bomb shelters. I went to Israel in December and I saw for myself the international fellowship of Christians and Jews, what a tremendous difference they make with their support over there. And I also saw touring Old Jerusalem, the importance of the relationship between Christians and Jews and standing for religious freedom and religious faith and what that union of two faiths can represent. And that's why I'm proud to support the international fellowship of Christians and Jews. And I would ask you to join me and Buck in supporting them as [e-mail] get hooked up now with helping to make a difference as Israel celebrates tomorrow, its 77th Independence Day Day. It is the only country with freedom truly in the Middle east and every single day people are trying to strip that from Israel. Show your support for Israel by making a life saving gift today at 888-488-IFCJ. That's 888-488-4325. You can also go online to support IFCJ.org that's one word. Support IFCJ News & Politics. But also a little comic relief.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.

[Clay Travis]

Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Christina Quinn]

This is what you do when you have high standards and fancy all the fancy things like a Dior saddlebag or that diamond tennis bracelet, you go to ebay. There you'll find new loves that will never disappoint. Expertly authenticated. Whether it's that vintage pearl necklace or brand new ruby earrings, a Prada crossbody bag or classic watches like that Rolex Oyster or that Cartier tank. On ebay, there are no limits to your high standards. Yeah, ebay the place for new, pre loved, vintage and rare fashion. Ebay Things people love.

[Clay Travis]

The only balls that belong in women's sports are soccer balls, basketballs and volleyballs. But only one athletic brand gets this obvious fact. Xx XY athletics. Seriously. XxxY athletics is the only company with the ovaries to stand up for the protection of women's sports. Buck's wife and my wife wear their sports apparel with pride. It's fabulous. But more men need to speak up on this critical issue. And you can do it just by wearing the brand, the clothes of the highest quality. And when you wear them, you make a statement that you stand with women and girls and the protection of women's sports and spaces. XXXY Athletics has killer logo tees, caps and premium workout clothes. Why would you give your money to the big woke brands that sell women out when you could wear xxxy athletics? Get 20 off your purchase when you use my name CLAY and the number 20 at this website, the truthfits.com that's the truthfits.com promo code. CLAY 20 for 20 off there's an.

[Colby Ekowicz]

Efficient way to get caught up on a lot of news. It's called the seven from the Washington Post. It's a newsletter and podcast. Whether you're reading or hit play, you get seven stories you need to know and you can consume it all in just a few minutes. The 7 is out every weekday morning by 7:00am Eastern. I'm Hannah Jewell, I'm one of the writers and I host the show Find the seven Podcast wherever you're listening. The newsletter link is waiting for you.

[Rodney Williams]

In the show Notes Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Xumo to stream music from iheart 90s radio is easy or play I heart country or hip hop beats. Your choice. All for free. Stream Easy with Xumo Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. This may stay in and binge American Hustle starring Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence, Layer cake with Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller and Snatch with Brad Pitt. All streaming free on Xumo Play. Go to play.zumo.com now. Life is hard. Xumo is easy.

[Travis Holloway]

I'm Rodney Williams. And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the Wealth Break. Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look the same for everyone. It's not just about saving. It's about investing. It's about navigating systems that weren't built for you, embracing your hustle and relying on your community to create something bigger. And that's exactly why we created the wealthbreak. We made something different, something more human. It's not just another financial podcast. It's a conversation about real life, real struggles and real wins. We're here to talk about the journey you're hearing from people who've broken barriers, found creative ways to succeed, and learn to build wealth on their terms. Whether it's the first time homeowner, a gig worker, or someone turning a side hustle into a six figure business, we're bringing you their stories. And we're not stopping at success stories. We're breaking down the realities. Like what it means to take risk, how to navigate failure, and why resilience matters. Because wealth isn't about money. It's about creating a life where you can thrive and help others to do the same. So if you're ready for a podcast as much as about people as it is about money, you're in the right place. Listen to the Wealth Brave podcast on the iHeartRadio app.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in great email here from Jennings. Jennings says, buck, friends help you move. Real friends help you move bodies.

[Buck Sexton]

Whoa, whoa. Okay.

[Clay Travis]

That is when you know you got somebody who's in your, in your proverbial foxhole there. You show up with a dead body, you're like, hey, I gotta move something. You're like, what are you moving to a new apartment, no dead body, and they grab a shovel. That's how you become an accomplice and spend the rest of your life in prison too. If you get caught. Just FYI, I wanted to play this for you. We'll have some more fun talking about this, this moving ridiculousness. But I did hear this last night and I thought it was such a well said by Giannis out of Kempo who is a basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks. Buck, you even saw this. In fact, I don't know that we're going to have time to play it. We'll play it in the third hour because we got a short turn here instead. I will tell you, you're going to enjoy, trust me, what he said. And I think it's emblematic of sometimes a decision being made about who to put forward as your front facing brand. NBA would have done a lot better, I think if they made Giannis the face of the league instead of LeBron. Talk about that a little bit. Third hour. By the way, we're also going to be joined by Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. She is a big fan of the Cumberland River, Tennessee river and many other of the lakes and waterways in our fair state of Tennessee that I call home. We will talk to her at 2:30 east coast time and we got a couple of other stories that are out there. Hakeem Jeffries will update you that. But Tim Walls when we come back. Buck. Tim Wall says Kamala Harris picked him because she needed to speak to white guys who like football. This is real audio. I'm gonna play it for for you when we return. We have a new sponsor, Rapid Radio's walkie talkies. With the crisis in the Middle east, the threat of cyber attacks in the U. S and weather driven outages get instant push to talk communication nationwide. They hold a charge for up to 5 days.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Colby Ekowicz]

We've all done it. You see a headline but don't have time to read the whole story. Or there's so much news you're not sure what is worth your time. I'm Colby Ekowitz, co host of Post Reports, the weekday afternoon podcast from the Washington Post. Post Reports brings you what's relevant and revealing. Breaking stories, politics, wellness, culture. Each episode goes beyond a headline for the context you need. Find Post Reports now wherever you're listening.

[Travis Holloway]

I'm Rodney Williams. And I'm Travis Holloway. Welcome to the Wealth Break podcast, a real conversation about finance. Let's be honest, building wealth doesn't look the same for everyone.

[Clay Travis]

I feel like sometimes being broke is.

[Donald Trump]

A cycle and that we might have.

[Travis Holloway]

To revisit that and we're not stopping at success stories.

[Buck Sexton]

What happens when it doesn't go right?

[Clay Travis]

How do you cope with.

[Travis Holloway]

Because wealth isn't just about money. It's about creating a life where you thrive and help others do the same. Listen to the Wealth Break podcast on the iHeartRadio app.

[Rodney Williams]

Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Xumo to stream music from iHeart 90s radio is easy. Or play Iheart country or hip hop beats your choice. All for free. Stream Easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. This may stay in and binge American Hustle starring Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence, Layer Cake with Daniel Craig and Sienna Miller and Snatch with Brad Pitt. All streaming free on Zumo Play. Go to play.zumo.com now. Life is hard. Zumo is easy.

[Clay Travis]

I'm Zing Singh. And I'm Simon Jack. And together we host Good Bad Billionaire.

[Buck Sexton]

The podcast exploring the lives of some.

[Clay Travis]

Of the world's richest people. In the new season, we're setting our sights on some big names.

[Buck Sexton]

Yep, LeBron James and Martha Stewart, to.

[Clay Travis]

Name just a few for you. And as always, Simon and I are trying to decide whether we think they're good, bad or just another billionaire that's.

[Buck Sexton]

Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service.

[Clay Travis]

Find it on BBC or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.