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- [00:00]
Clay Travis
Welcome in Clay Travis, BUCK Sexton show. I hope all of you are having a fabulous Tuesday news coming as it often does during the Trump regime at a rapid fashion. We will dive into all of it here momentarily. Reminder, Trump is also speaking tonight in front of a joint session of Congress, a usual State of the Union, although I think in the year after the election it's not officially called the State of the Union. But that is what will be going on tonight and many will be watching to see what the president says. Let me give you a little bit of a roadmap. We're headed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune going to be on with us at the bottom of this hour. Every single Democrat senator voted against men being prohibited from playing in women's sports. In other words, they support men who identify as women being able to compete in women's sports. Every single Democrat senator. It's crazy. Our friend Bill O'Reilly will join us at the top of the next hour. That is where we are headed. But Buck, the biggest news that is out there in the last hour, Zelensky has decided to bend the knee to Donald Trump and beg for peace. Let me read a little bit of what he said. I would like this is Zelensky's Twitter account. I would like to reiterate Ukraine's commitment to peace. None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We value how much America has done. Our meeting in Washington at the White House on Friday did not go that way. It was supposed to be regrettable that it happened this way. It's time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive regarding the agreement on minerals and security. Ukraine is ready to sign it anytime and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees. And I truly hope it will work effectively. All right. Friday, the blow up. Tuesday, the apology again, that statement a little bit longer. Buck, what do you think people should take from this situation that we are currently in with Ukraine and where do we go from here?
- [02:46]
Buck Sexton
Well, Trump is doing what he does, which is a non traditional approach to try to solve problems. And I think that the people who have at every step of the, every step of the way questioned him, undermined him, said he's crazy, said he's a dictator, are doing what they always do which is more of that. When you look at what has already occurred, it does seem to be that Trump is using the leverage that he should use on issues that matter to get us to a better resolution. All that really counts, and this is contra the diplomacy, State Department, foreign policy consensus mindset. All that really matters is the results. Right. All that really matters is when something happens in response to a decision, an action, an agreement that Trump has taken. How we get there, I think is far less important. And so, yes. Was it a little bit of a surprise to see that dust up in the Oval Office? Sure. Do I think that Zelensky was the one who instigated it? Largely, yes, I do. And now are we back in a place where Zelensky is saying all the things that we wanted to hear from him the first time around? Yes. So that, to me, indicates that Trump is on the right track. I also think that this is forced out into public view that the people who just are all about the Ukrainian fight and don't ever go beyond Ukraine is the good guy, Russia is the bad guy. Are being forced to justify in public, what exactly is your plan if this war goes on for another five years? In what way is Ukraine in a better position then than they are in now? Russia has more men, more materiel, more North Korean troops, I might add, pouring in. Russia has allies who are working directly in this fight, and we refuse to do that. That is our red line. So how is Ukraine going to be in a better position other than losing a lot of our money and a lot of their men? They don't have an answer to this. Trump knows that. So we're trying to get to where we are with the deal. Now, Clay, if the negotiations were to break down because what Putin wants is just so unthinkable, is so beyond the pale. Well, at least we would know that, right? At least then we can have a conversation. Ok. Putin really is being crazier than anticipated on this, so maybe he does need to suffer the consequences a little bit more or whatever. But right now, there's no reason to believe that the option that the Ukraine hardliners want to take is better.
- [05:25]
Clay Travis
Look where we are right now. And my wife has been fired up about this, so she will not stop talking about it. I do think that the United States has. Has created much of this mess, meaning the invasion, the battles over territory. And all that's happening now is Trump is trying to clean up the mess. Right. You go back to the agreement when Ukraine gave up their nukes, there was some form of protection agreement entered into and Ukraine took it, as the United States won't let Russia invade us. Obviously, Obama did not take it that way. Biden did not take it that way. Russia has for a long time not wanted NATO on its border. We have continued to expand Naito to Russia's border. And I think this war is actually a result of much of the failure of American policy, both as it pertains to Ukraine and to Russia. Significantly, Buck, none of which Trump was involved in remotely. So he is now in this mess where he is trying to end up in a situation where he's trying to put this all back right? And so the United States is not blameless here. We want to be saying, oh, Slava, Ukraine. Ukraine is the hero and Russia is the villain. America's not coming to this situation with clean hands. We have, in many ways created, I believe, a total mess, and now Trump is trying to clean it up. And so I hope that we can get a ceasefire here and that people can stop dying. My concern, Buck, is now we're moving into, ok, what does a negotiated peace look like? What does a ceasefire look like? It seems to me, and I'm curious if you would agree with this, that to a large extent, wherever the lines are drawn now, where the stalemate has basically come to exist, it feels to me like Russia is going to get a large percentage of those eastern parts of Ukraine where exactly that line is drawn will be a huge debate. And then I hope that Russia doesn't decide to invade again. I don't think it will happen with Trump in office. But my concern is if Kamala Harris or Gavin Newsom or whomever, the Andrew Cuomo, if one of those guys or gals were to win in 2028, I think Putin would go right back to invading again because I'm not sure he would respect the Democrats, as he has shown he did not respect Obama and as he has shown he did not respect Biden.
- [08:19]
Buck Sexton
There are some. There are some very fundamental questions here that I think Trump sees properly. And one of them is, do we care enough? Do we, as Americans, care enough about who's in control of 25% or so, 15, 20% of Ukraine, that we're willing to lose American soldiers and spend billions, perhaps even trillions of dollars, never mind the possibility of a nuclear exchange, which is the euphemism, of course, we use for nuking each other's militaries in the theater, which would be horrifying. Do we? Are we willing to do those things? No, we're not. And so at some level, this is all just, I think, a recognition that there's going to be an ability that Russia has in its sphere of influence here or to expand its sphere of influence here because it's not a NATO country and because we don't want to do their fighting for them. And so there are limitations on what we're willing to do. There are also limitations on the timeframe in which we're willing to continue doing what we are already doing in terms of the money and material and training and everything else that we have been giving them. This is a messy situation. It's terrible how much life has been lost here. You brought up Clay and this is true. You go back to the, you know, the, my Dan and Yanukovych and the efforts to figure out who's going to be in charge of Ukraine stretching back now over a decade. The west backing one side, Russia backing another. You know, we've been playing with this as some kind of a proxy territory for much longer than there have even been bullets flying over there. So to get this thing to be no longer a festering sore, but to be in a position where there's an agreement going forward, you know, as far as the Russians are concerned, look at the dismemberment that the Soviet Union suffered into all these different countries and all these breakaway republics. For them, the notion that the map is now and forever going to remain the map is, is laughable, clearly. And they, they very much feel that way and that's why they've been willing to go to this extent. And you'll notice that no one even talks anymore about how Putin's going to be overthrown or all this people said moronic stuff. And I mean, U.S. senators, I don't have to name them. I could name them in the very beginning of this conflict. Delusional about how we'd be able to defeat the Russian war machine in this theater without actually engaging US Military forces in the process. So we just want this whole thing to end. I think there's tremendous frustration with it. I think it also Clay, comes out of fighting in multiple decades long counterinsurgency gwat wars in the Mideast that what did we get? What did we get in Afghanistan? Exactly. That's a really tough one to answer. What did we get in Iraq? Maybe even, isn't it funny? Afghanistan was the good war. We basically got nothing. We ended up killing Bin Laden in Pakistan, everybody. So, you know, we didn't really get very much for Afghanistan efforts, did we? And then you look at Iraq and You know, it's marginal right now that it's better now than it was under Saddam Hussein. So there's been. There's been a lot of reason for us to see what's gone on with US Foreign policy and military interventions and say, have we learned the lesson, Clay? And I think that's. I think that's Trump's fundamental guiding principle on this. Have we learned the lesson?
- [11:57]
Clay Travis
Do you think we have? I'm not sure that we have.
- [12:00]
Buck Sexton
I'm worried that we haven't, actually. I think that's a very good. Yes, I think that unfortunately, there are a lot of people who think, oh, no, you don't understand, we could do this. And they. You know, I don't know if they've just been playing too much Call of Duty or I don't. I don't get it. I don't know why they would think that this is going to be something that we want to get deeper and more involved in. I do not care who is in charge of Crimea, meaning I do not care enough that I want to sacrifice a single American or any American interest for Crimea, for Donbas, for Luhansk and Donetsk and these places. I do not care. Now, that doesn't mean I don't care about the suffering of the people there.
- [12:36]
John Thune
I do.
- [12:36]
Buck Sexton
But, Clay, I care about the suffering of the people in South Sudan as well, which is going through yet another mass genocide situation in slow motion. But we're not about to land troops there either.
- [12:46]
Clay Travis
Here's. Do you agree with me on a positive side? If we can get a ceasefire, I actually feel like Vladimir Putin will not invade Ukraine further while Trump is in office. Do you agree with that? That he respects Trump enough that he won't do it?
- [13:00]
Buck Sexton
Yeah, I do. I think that he recognizes that, you know, Trump. Trump is willing to upset the apple cart. You don't want to tick him off. No one even thought Biden was leading the country, so who cares? Doesn't matter what he says.
- [13:12]
Clay Travis
So the concern is not necessarily the next three years. It's, again, what you and I have been talking about. And I think it's something that everybody out there needs to realize. You can believe that Trump is amazing and doing phenomenal things, and we do. Guys, four years is not enough to fix a lot of what ails the United States. We've got to stick and stack several different wins together, one after the other. And that's why I'm already kind of focused on what happens in 26 next year and what happens in 28. Because as enjoyable as every single day is with Trump in office right now. It's a date certain when it comes to a close. And a lot of our enemies out there are going to be sitting around hoping that they can get President Kamala Harris or President Gavin Newsom or President Andrew Cuomo, whoever the Democrats are going to elevate to run. We got to stack together a lot of different wins because the problems we have are so substantial.
- [14:09]
Buck Sexton
You just heard Clyde say it, and it's true. Trump can't fix all of our problems. He's doing great stuff. But there's a lot that is still going to be very challenging over these next four years and are going to be problems for years to come. The debt is very high, maybe even top of that list. So what can you do in the meantime? You've got dollars that are evaporating through inflation day in and day out, and there's nothing that you can do about that. But you can do something to protect the value of your dollars. That's where gold comes in. Gold is a hedge against this kind of persistent inflation. And the good news is you can own gold and have it safely stored in your savings account, 401k or both. You can store your physical gold at home just as easily. Birch Gold Group can help you with this as they have so many listeners already in this audience. When you talk with the people at Birch Gold, they'll offer you a copy of a new study on how gold will prevail in the Trump era with a forward by Donald Trump Jr. To get your free copy along with Birch Gold's information kit, text my name, Buck to the number 989898 or go online to birchgold.com Buck again, text my name B U C K to 989898 or go online to go online to birchgold.combuck.
- [15:24]
Clay Travis
Saving America 1 thought at a time. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton Show. We got a lot to talk about with this man, the Senate majority leader from South Dakota, John Paul Bethune. Appreciate him joining us right now. Big night on Capitol Hill with Trump addressing Congress. We'll get to that in a moment. But Senator, appreciate you making the time. I wanted to start with this. I still can't believe this is real. Every single Democrat senator opposed a bill that would keep men from competing in women's sports. That is every Democrat senator that voted were you. Can you believe this has become a political issue. And given the fact that 79% of Americans agree men should play men's sports, women should play women, including 67% of Democrats, what in the world are Democrats thinking on this bill?
- [16:29]
John Thune
Right. Well, you. Good question, guys. I mean, I just. It's mind blowing to me that this has become a political issue where the Democrats are so tethered to their, I guess, transgender ideological political base that they're willing to throw common sense out the window. I mean, this is just, to me, almost incomprehensible that we're even having this conversation. It's, you know, having biological males as the opponents of young women is both fundamentally unfair and it's potentially dangerous, honestly. And so, you know, Coach Tuberville, Tommy Tuberville, the senator from Alabama, led this on the floor. We had a vote on it last night. And you are correct. Every single Democrat to the person voted against it. And it's an 80, 20 issue, as you point out, with the American people. So I just, It's. I can't explain it. I think they didn't. There was no lesson learned from the election. I think it's common sense issues like this that the. That the American people expect their leaders to act on, and they just block voted against it.
- [17:36]
Buck Sexton
What can you say, Senator Thune, when they vote against it, though, are they claiming publicly? I'm just wondering, because this has just happened and it's hard to believe that they just did this for a lot of us. But I guess if you've been paying attention to Democrats, insanity is not new to them. But are they saying there's some problem in the text of the bill or some procedural or are they openly just saying we think dudes should be able to play against ladies and that's the way it should be?
- [18:03]
John Thune
Yeah, I mean, I think that's really honestly the substance of it. You know, you could say that the bill could be changed this year that way, but it's really very straightforward. And, you know, I mean, and there was a day when Democrats would have been, you know, quick to defend Title ix, and here we are. But, you know, I mean, this is. Again, I had a. I mentioned this on the floor yesterday, but I had a business professor in graduate school who used to say some things are just intuitively obvious. And, And I think this is one of those things that's intuitively obvious to people and something I obviously feel strongly about. As a father of two women who played sports and one of whom is in our high school and college hall of fame, I can't imagine a world where you would have guys competing against women and taking away opportunities not only to excel in their field and their sport, but also for college scholarships and things that this has serious downstream consequences. But the Democrats on a substance level, on a political level, seem to have made a decision that they would rather defend, again, an ideology that is completely out of step with the American people.
- [19:15]
Clay Travis
We're talking to Senator John Thune. Explain to us because I'm curious myself, I don't know why a majority of senators voting for this, which Republicans have and which marshaled itself last night, is not enough to make this a law. The House passed it. Only two. I believe Democrats voted for it in the House. By the way, zero senators in the voted for this on the Democrat side. But you needed to get to 60. Why explain that for our audience.
- [19:48]
John Thune
Yeah, I know it's hard. It's an inside baseball thing here. It's unique to the United States Senate. But under our rules in the Senate, and this was kind of the system that the founders handed us, it takes a super majority to, to do almost anything consequential. So 60 votes in the Senate is required to move legislation with very few exceptions. And one of the things we're working on right now, you've probably heard, your listeners have probably heard too, the president talk about budget reconciliation. When you have unified control of the government, in other words, the House, the Senate and the White House, there are things you can do with 51 votes in the Senate that you otherwise wouldn't be able to do through a procedure that is again, unique to the Senate. But on most issues, and this is an issue where, you know, again, it's a, it's a bill that we put in front of the Senate. And this, honestly, this was just a motion to proceed to the bill. This wasn't even, this was just to get on it, just to debate it. They voted against even having a debate about it. And that takes 60 as well. So it's a 60 vote threshold. And I know that's for most Americans. Everybody's like, well, isn't 51amajority in the Senate? The answer is yes. But the rules of the Senate and the history and the heritage of the Senate is such that it requires a super majority on most legislation.
- [21:03]
Buck Sexton
So what can you hopefully get done through that reconciliation process? As some of the top agenda items, we've seen this slew of executive orders coming out from Trump, a lot of them we've been talking about here on the show. We think they're doing great things. Of course, we all also know that executive orders can be overturned by the next administration if, in fact, it's a Democrat. So legislation matters, and we don't have a super majority. So, Senator Thune, you're the majority leader. What are some of the top things you're hoping can get through the Senate, the House, and get signed by the president using that reconciliation process?
- [21:41]
John Thune
It's a long list, and we are going to do everything we can and push the limits of what's allowable. You know, there are, there are limitations on how it can be used. But the Democrats expanded the scope of reconciliation. They passed two major, major, major, you know, $3 trillion worth of new spending in two reconciliation bills, when they had unified control of the government, when they had House, Senate, White House. So they've given us a template for how to do it. Obviously, we have a very different agenda than what they wanted to do, but we're united. We want to enact all of President Trump's priorities as quickly as possible. And that deals with the border, securing the border, it's bolstering our national defense, it's restoring American energy dominance and preventing a $4 trillion tax increase at the end of the year on the American people. So, you know, we believe, I would say Senate Republicans believe, and I think the President does, too, and hopefully the House will get there to make these tax cuts permanent, so we don't have to go back and deal with it again down the road. But we're here. The Senate's ready to enact as much of the President's agenda as we can through budget reconciliation. And that entails all the things I just mentioned. And I hope that as we work through this process, we will be as aggressive as we possibly can to use that opportunity at a 51 vote threshold in the Senate, as opposed to 60, to get as much of the President's agenda down as possible.
- [23:06]
Clay Travis
What's the timeframe to get that done? We've heard a variety of different aspects out there. I heard early, hey, we hope to get this done by Easter. When do you think this, these bills in particular, dealing with tax cuts and the budget will be complete? As you look at the calendar, I.
- [23:22]
John Thune
Think it's Easter's probably ambitious, I would say, but I think that as we look at the kind of the May timeframe, obviously we got a deadline that, you know, week after next March 14th. We've got to deal with all the crap the Democrats left us, all the pile up of spending. They didn't do any spending bills last year. And so we're up against this deadline and we got to fund the government or the government shuts down. So that's the immediate concern. But then the reconciliation bill starts with a budget resolution. Both the House and Senate have to pass the same one. And right now we've passed budget resolutions, but they're different. But we'll have to, we'll align those and then we will both act on it. And then that creates, that unlocks reconciliation. But reconciliation is another separate, big, you know, piece of legislation. And so it's really kind of a two step process and it takes some time. And these are complicated issues. I mean, the President wants some things done in tax policy. We got a lot of senators and House members who want to see things done in tax policy that are different than what's in front of us in terms of just, you know, a strict extension of the, of the current bill or the current tax policy. But there are all these things as we move through in these moving parts. And ultimately I tell people, when they ask me, can you do this, can you do that? Then in the end, it really comes down to the two numbers that matter, 218 and 51. You got to have 218 in the house, you got to have a simple majority there. And even under reconciliation, you still have to have 51 votes in the Senate. So that's the math of it. And as we think through what we can do and can't do, it's a function of trying to figure out how do we, we get this thing in a shape, in a position, whatever this bill looks like, that can secure the necessary 218 in the House and 51 Senate.
- [25:00]
Clay Travis
We're talking to Senate Majority Leader John Thune. What do you expect tonight? Let's shift gears to Trump's address tonight. What do you expect to hear from the president? What should our listeners expect to hear? And what sort of reception do you expect to see from Democrats? I was reading this morning that they're planning all sorts, potentially of outrageous and outlandish disruptions during the midst of this speech. Potentially. What do you expect?
- [25:26]
John Thune
Yeah, I mean, I think they will. The Democrats are, I mean, they're still in the stages of grief and they're really, they're trying to find a message, they're trying to get some traction with something. And so far all it is, is whatever he's for, I'm gonna be against. I think that, you know, Democrats right now are afflicted with a really, really bad case of Trump derangement syndrome. And so my assumption is that when they come Tonight, they're going to try and be disruptive. But, you know, at the end of the day, I think the American people, that's not what they want to see. I don't think they want to see a bunch of lefty ideologues who can't even bring themselves to vote to keep boys out of girls sports, you know, creating a ruckus and disruptive to the President of the United States, who I think will be there to talk about after four years of, you know, rising costs, lawlessness, the southern border, weakening of America on the world stage, be talking about turning the page and getting our country back on track. And I think it's a. The president has a great opportunity to present to the American people how things are going to be in his second term and what his priorities are relative to the last four years under Biden. And you can just look already at what they've done at the southern border. I mean, the top issue in the last election and this administration has been returning order in a short amount of time. Think about it. The month of February, there were fewer than 9,000 crossings at the southern border under Trump. That was a typical day under Biden. I mean, this is how dramatically things have changed already as a result of President Trump's leadership. And we want to be good partners for him and do as much as we can to get his agenda across the finish line, which is why we worked really hard to get his cabinet confirmed as quickly as possible. So it's, I expect he, you know, he got a decisive mandate from the American people November, and I think he's going to be talking about not only what he's already done, but what he's going to do in the four years he has available to him to really change the direction of this country in a way that gets it back on track.
- [27:28]
Buck Sexton
Majority Leader Thune, appreciate you making the time for us on Clay and Buck. We'll talk to you again soon.
- [27:33]
John Thune
Thanks. Thanks, Clay. Thanks, Buck. Talk to you. Bye now.
- [27:37]
Buck Sexton
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- [28:54]
Clay Travis
Great again isn't just one man, it's many. The Team 47 podcast Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [29:08]
Buck Sexton
We are joined by Uncle Bill. Very exciting. Bill O'Reilly, best selling author and commentator, no Spin News. Go check out what he's got there. And also many, many bestsellers. Too many to read off on radio, but the last one was confirmed Confronting the Presidents. And you all know the Killing series very well. He's also got the three Americans tour on kicking off March 30th in Long Island. So Bill, tell us, let's, let's jump into this actually, because this was news to Clay and to me it sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun. You, Stephen A. And Chris Cuomo all under one roof, all talking to the folks. What's going on?
- [29:48]
Bill O'Reilly
Yeah, you guys got to get out. I got tickets for you if you want to make the trek up to Long Island. It's an experiment. It's my production company and as you may know, I produced the History tour with Donald Trump, the Dennis Miller O'Reilly Show. So we got a big operation that does live stuff. And I said, you know, I wonder if we could put three really different guys together on stage and draw a crowd that is dissimilar because today everybody's talking to the choir, you know. And so I put this tour together. It's going to be a blast. I mean, the show's going to be fabulous and we'll have heavy security so brawls break out in the, in the audience. We'll be able to get that under control fast. But I'm looking forward to it. You guys may have seen Stephen A. And Cuomo and me on News Nation. We will be on tonight on the pre Trump speech. So it's a good crew. Those guys are. You know, I see it differently than they do, but we all have a sense of humor and we're respectful.
- [30:59]
Clay Travis
Bill, appreciate you coming on. I'm super intrigued to see how this conversation goes. I'm curious on this. How would you assess Stephen A's motivations? Because for much of his career, he was a straight sports guy. And not to say that he didn't have interest elsewhere, but he didn't really step aggressively into the political arena. I would say he's been on with me. We've done some conversations last couple of years. Suddenly that has changed substantially. Now maybe you can say, hey, 2024, it's just kind of impossible to avoid the political arena. But to a large extent, he had tried to avoid it. Why do you think he's changed?
- [31:41]
Bill O'Reilly
Yeah, Terry Bradshaw avoids it. So, you know, look, he's 57 years old. He's a very, very smart guy. He's at the top of the heap for sports. How many, you know, Cleveland Cavalier games can you call? I mean, so I think you get a little bored with it. Yeah, he has an opportunity into public affairs, public policy, because he's so recognizable and articulate, and he's taking advantage of that. And this happened before. People have, you know, melded sports with news. And I think it's a smart move on his part. And he's so articulate that now the Washington Post and all these people are going, well, maybe Stephen will run for president because the Democratic Party don't have anybody, doesn't have anybody to run for president in four years. So maybe it'll be Stephen A. And I told him on the air, I said, that's because of Trump. Trump opened up the presidency for everybody. And so Stephen A. Has got a lot of traction with all this. And we'll see what he's got on March 30, you know, because he's coming up against me.
- [32:55]
Buck Sexton
Bill, if I could direct your attention here for a second, I'm really curious what your take is on, on all this tariff stuff. We haven't really dove into it yet today on the show. I mean, we mentioned at the top, but we haven't really done our full segment on it. So just by way of, of prepping everybody for what you're going to say, you got Justin Trudeau, who's talking tough and saying that Trump wants to take over all of Canada, destroy their economy, Mexico tariffs, China tariffs, Canada tariffs, all this stuff. What do you make of this whole thing? Because I think it's tough to to keep up with a lot of the arguments and a lot of the specifics.
- [33:33]
Bill O'Reilly
Well, I know exactly what's going on, because on January 2, I sat in a Cabinet meeting with President Trump and six advisors, and they discussed tariffs. So I know what's going on there. It's risky. Stock market's down significantly. People don't really understand what tariffs are. With Mexico, you're basically saying, you better knock it off or we're going to break your economy. And I understand that, and I support that. Canada, a little bit different. I'm not sure what the ire is. Now, in the Cabinet meeting that I attended, and that was at President Trump's invitation, there wasn't a clear definition of why Canada and certain EU countries are going to be punished by tariffs. The overarch is that all of these countries take advantage of the United States economically, which is true. So we buy a lot more gear from them than they buy from us. And their governments make it difficult for us to sell American products. In a lot of these countries, that really torques Trump off. He wants that to go away, but in the meantime, he risks higher prices, and that'll be a disaster for him if that happens. And, you know, the trade war is a retaliation. Little Justin Trudeau is out strutting around tonight, today about what we're going to do, X, Y, and Z. I expect this will all calm down, but there is damage being done to the economy now, and I believe President Trump knows that. He's a gambler. He wants better deals. But you got to watch this on an almost hourly basis.
- [35:32]
Clay Travis
Bill, I agree with you on tariffs. We'll get into that a little bit on the show. But how would you analyze what happened Friday with Zelensky? You've known Trump for a long time. I would even bet that sometimes you may have gotten a little bit heated with President Trump yourself over different perspectives that you guys may have gotten, you know, crosswise on a little bit. One thing Trump always shows is the guy doesn't hold a grudge, which is so rare in politics, it almost doesn't exist. What is going on here? What was your takeaway from Friday and the subsequent reactions to that?
- [36:12]
Bill O'Reilly
Okay, so again, I'm right in the middle of this because I know exactly what's happening here, and you're correct. I mean, when I criticize President Trump, I get a call or attack. I got a call in the middle of a football game at Tottenham Stadium in London in October, and he was actually yelling at me, and I said, do you realize 80,000 people are hearing this call because I had the phone on speaker because I'm in a stadium watching the jets play the Vikings, and he's yelling at me, I don't care. You're unfair. You know, that kind of thing. But, you know, a week later, then he's seeking my counsel. And you're right, he's not a vindictive man when it's policy. When it gets personal, though, watch out. Now, Zelenskyy has not crossed into the personal realm. So don't be surprised if tonight some deal is announced or a few days from now, and then the big Z will be the greatest guy, because that's what Trump does. If he wins and you give him what he wants, then you are the greatest guy. And we've seen it time and time and time again. Now, Zelensky, he's immature. That's number one. Everybody listening to Clay and Buck has got to know that he's immature. And by that I mean that he doesn't. He's not able to control his emotions. And if you're not able to control your emotions, you're immature. So he walks into the White House and he's all set to sign this deal. He had breakfast with 11 senators at the Hay Adams Hotel in D.C. i knew about that and this, which drove me crazy when it story broke. And these pundits go out and said it was a setup. Remember that? Yeah, I knew that was a lie. And I knew that anybody doing any research on that would have found out what I found out, that this was a big breakfast. 11 senators equal, Republicans and Democrats. And it was, look, just go along with Donald Trump. Do not challenge him, particularly in front of the press. That was the advice. Every single senator gave him the same advice, and he didn't take it because he got emotional. And I understand that his country is suffering. I believe that Zelensky wants to do well by his country. I don't believe he's a corrupt midget or whatever they call him. I don't believe that. But I don't think he's at the status right now where he understands the big picture. He's immature. And he will not accept the fact that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia, period. They cannot win. No matter how many billions of dollars we send them, an EU sends them, they can't win. So you want this to go on ad infinitum, then you strut around, you want to settle it, you're going to have to give up a little bit of territory, maybe 8, 9% of your country.
- [39:14]
Buck Sexton
Bill can I ask you because I think this is really important. The people that you know, you've said, you've articulated this. Well, Clay and I have talked about this. We, you, me, Clay, we all see this in the same way, which is, I think, just reality based. The opposition to this, is it just opposition to Trump getting a win? Is it just the emotions of supporting Ukraine and putting a little flag on your Facebook page is too exciting for people to give up? Because it seems to me, if Ukraine can't win and if we don't want to keep paying for this for years ad infinitum, as you say, what is the alternative to what Trump is trying to accomplish right now?
- [39:51]
Bill O'Reilly
Look, when you see a guy like Murphy, the senator, go out and say what he said about Trump is, you know, part of the Kremlin or whatever, Ukraine has nothing to do with that. Murphy is going out saying. This is what Murphy is saying. I want to destroy Donald Trump and I'm going to use anything and everything to try to do that. Murphy doesn't know anything about Ukraine. He has no solution to it. I mean, if Murphy sat across from me, do you guys know what would happen? Remember Barney Frank?
- [40:26]
Buck Sexton
Oh, yeah, okay, I do.
- [40:29]
Bill O'Reilly
All right. I mean, I would. It would take me three minutes to reduce him to a puddle because he doesn't know anything. But he uses this and so do many others to try to destroy Trump. Not about Ukraine. It's about getting Trump.
- [40:48]
Buck Sexton
I mean, that is just so cynical, even for Democrats. You got people just in a meat grinder dying in huge numbers on both sides.
- [40:55]
Bill O'Reilly
Call Murphy up, get him on tomorrow and say he won't.
- [40:58]
Clay Travis
Come on. You're right about this.
- [41:00]
Bill O'Reilly
Come on.
- [41:01]
Clay Travis
Of course he won't. Come on. None of these guys will come on and actually answer questions because to your point, we would slice and dice them to such an extent that they would be done.
- [41:11]
Bill O'Reilly
To think about it, all you have to do is ask one question. What's the alternative? How would you settle this? And it's crackers and that Dana Cash on cnn, I used to respect her. She's the one that put him on and she didn't even ask him that question. By the way, Bill, CNN is going down a drain. That's why nobody watches it.
- [41:33]
Clay Travis
No, they have totally and completely collapsed. Question for you. That has nothing to do with all the serious things. You mentioned that you were over in London watching a football game. I've done that, too. Pretty fun. Actual American football, not soccer. Where should Aaron Rodgers go? What if he called you for advice instead of President Trump. What would you tell him to do? There's talk that he's going to go to the Giants now.
- [41:57]
Bill O'Reilly
Nah, he's not going to Giants. He's through in New York. If I were Mr. Rogers, who does have some skills left, you got to go to a team that can protect you. And I probably would look at some of the west coast teams. He lives in Malibu, which is not a great place to live right now unless you have giant fire retardants. Yes, But I would, you know, I would probably go to Vegas because Brady owns it. Part of it. That's where I probably go. You take a couple of guys with you from the jets receivers and you pray that the Raider offensive line can keep you standing. You know, you got four seconds to throw the ball. He can't move. You need four seconds. He gets four. He can throw it. So that's probably what I would do.
- [42:54]
Clay Travis
Bill, I'm actually really curious to hear how this thing goes. We'll have to get you on with. With Stephen A. And Chris Cuomo to. To hear how it all goes. When you guys. Is the tour interesting?
- [43:06]
Buck Sexton
Is the tour gonna. Are you gonna do some extra cities or is it just out of Long Island? Are you gonna.
- [43:10]
Bill O'Reilly
I might. I might do it. We gotta see how this works. I'm. I'm shooting it, so you. I'll send you some clips. We got a three camera shoot on it. And I got. I got to see because we're all very busy and you know, look, I'm 95 years old. How long can I do this country business? But if it goes really well, then I'll do some other cities, but it just depends on how it shakes. So again, it's March 30, Sunday afternoon, three. Because there'll be old people coming to see me. I don't want to keep them up too late. And I promise this will be one of the best shows that you have ever seen. Is better than Taylor Swift. Okay.
- [43:59]
Buck Sexton
I would be there, Bill, but I'm expecting a baby within days of the event, so I think I gotta. I gotta hunker down. But Clay has no. Clay has no excuse and he loves.
- [44:09]
Clay Travis
To be honest with you, Bill. I like you, but I think I'd rather go see Taylor Swift.
- [44:13]
Bill O'Reilly
Oh, you're out of your mind. You're crazy. This is so much better. And you know, I may sing. I may. Oh, no. Wobble a few tunes. And I'm glad you're having the baby because my kids. Best thing I've ever done. My son just got into Georgetown.
- [44:32]
Clay Travis
Awesome.
- [44:33]
Bill O'Reilly
Congrats program. He's going to be president someday.
- [44:38]
Buck Sexton
We would not be surprised. We love does he is he also 6 7? Because that helps in politics.
- [44:45]
Bill O'Reilly
He's 6 5. He's a lacrosse player. But the most important thing, he's honest and he's kind and his personality is not at all like mine, which makes him one lucky guy.
- [44:59]
Buck Sexton
Bill O'Reilly, everybody. Bill, thank you so much as always. Well, let's have, let's talk again before the event to make sure everybody, we got a big Long island listenership. Let's make sure we get a lot of folks out there because then Clay's gonna make you go to Nashville. And, you know, we're gonna, we're gonna take this thing on the road. Thanks for sure.
- [45:14]
Bill O'Reilly
Appreciate it. Bye.
- [45:16]
Clay Travis
That's Bill O'Reilly. You know, if you want to get a really good education, he mentioned that his son's gonna be at Georgetown, but you don't have to go to an Ivy League institution or an elite school like Georgetown. You can just go to Hillsdale College's online offerings and find out everything you need to know about World War I, World War II, the Roman Empire, all of these different awesome stories that maybe you didn't pay a lot of attention to when you were in college or when you were in high school. And now you don't have to worry about grades or what time to get to a class. You get to watch it at clayandbuck4hillsdale.com learning just for learning sake. That's Clay and BuckForHillsdale.com get hooked up today. We love the guys at Hillsdale College. Clay and buck for hillsdale.com want to be in the know when you're on The Go the Team 47 podcast Trump highlights from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [46:20]
Buck Sexton
All right. So welcome back to Clay and Buck. We had mentioned this. We'll just spend a couple minutes on this, then we're getting the tariffs and the big news. But I just, I think it is interesting because we, we both watch this show because our wives like the show and it's good enough that we enjoy it to White Lotus on on hbo. And there was a scene where these three, you could tell there are three women of means in there. I'd say they're all about 45ish, right? Maybe I think that's about 45. And they figure out while they're they're in this five star resort in Thailand, which is where the whole show is set. And they figure out. Wait a second. One's from la, one's from New York, one is from Austin, Texas. Now, Texas, obviously, Red, but Austin, you never know. This is how the exchange goes. Play it. I didn't know you went to church. Oh, yeah, we go every Sunday. Yeah, ever since we moved to Austin. Is it like a real Texan church? Like, with Bible thumpers and. Well, the people are, you know, more conservative than, like, LA people or like, New York.
- [47:29]
Bill O'Reilly
Mm.
- [47:30]
Buck Sexton
Is that weird for you?
- [47:31]
Clay Travis
Why would it be weird?
- [47:33]
Bill O'Reilly
I don't know. If I was just around a bunch of Texans who voted for Trump, I.
- [47:36]
John Thune
Guess I just feel a little alienated.
- [47:39]
Buck Sexton
They're nice people, really good families.
- [47:42]
Clay Travis
Cool.
- [47:43]
John Thune
But do you ever talk politics with them?
- [47:45]
Buck Sexton
Sometimes.
- [47:45]
John Thune
Hong doesn't get awkward. Why would it? Because.
- [47:49]
Buck Sexton
Wait, are you a Republican?
- [47:52]
Clay Travis
No.
- [47:53]
Buck Sexton
Okay, I'm an independent, but Dave is an independent.
- [48:01]
Clay Travis
Since when?
- [48:02]
Buck Sexton
You didn't vote for Trump, though, did you? Are we really gonna talk about Trump tonight?
- [48:10]
Clay Travis
I just love this whole thing, Buck.
- [48:12]
Buck Sexton
I have had versions of that. Like, that is exactly how it goes. The libs keep digging in, digging a little more. They're a little outraged, but they. They want that reassurance.
- [48:22]
Clay Travis
Wait, wait, wait.
- [48:23]
Buck Sexton
I've been. I mean, I've been on first dates where it was like that, except it was. Wait, you work. You work for Glenn Beck. Like that? Glenn Beck. What do you. Do you like guns? And I'm like, yes, that's Glenn Beck, and I love guns. And that was the end. There was no second date.
- [48:38]
Clay Travis
I bet there are hundreds of thousands of people out there listening to us right now, maybe even millions that have had a conversation that is very similar to that. Because 12 million more people voted for Trump in 2024 than 2016. A lot of people have come on board the Trump train. And I think women in particular probably are responding to that because you got the la. And let me say this, Buck. This is why I think this is significant. This is probably the most popular show for entertainment people in LA and New York. Would you guess like, everybody in the entertainment industry in those two cities watching this show? Yes, and they aren't playing. Now, Austin, Texas, not the. I. I think a lot of you out there are, like, Austin.
- [49:26]
Buck Sexton
She should have been from Dallas or. Or Houston. Austin would be. That would throw you off.
- [49:30]
Clay Travis
Yeah, but again, the. The vibe read is not perfect. But what I thought was interesting is. And there's a later scene where the women are talking about this other woman, and they're, like, gossiping about her. How in the world could she be voting Trump? They're not playing the Trump voter as the cheap. Laughs, stupid redneck, unintelligible.
- [49:52]
Buck Sexton
They're not going. They're not going. Tom Hanks from snl.
- [49:55]
Clay Travis
That's right.
- [49:56]
Buck Sexton
Where he really, he really just, it was unfunny and took cheap shots. And it, they're not even, it's just pathetic because the cheap shots don't even land. And it just showed that he's living in some alternate political reality. But no, that's, that's. What's so interesting is, is the Trump voter woman. If you watch this scene, you know, all through the women are like, you know, they're very attractive, they're very well dressed, right? So there's no.
- [50:17]
Clay Travis
They're wealthy, they're very successful, educated women.
- [50:20]
Buck Sexton
But the Trump voter is the most. At least in this exchange. Now there's more episodes to come, and for all we know, she could have, like, a pill addiction and be crazy.
- [50:28]
Clay Travis
You know, this could end up being the killer. They could still, you know, the awful, deranged Trump supporter.
- [50:34]
Buck Sexton
But, but they nailed the, they nailed the dynamic of Democrats for a long time. Now, think in any social situation, in any, whether you're in the workplace, whether you're at a, you know, a friend's barbecue, a cocktail party, if they are surprised to find a Trump voter or a Republican, which, same thing now, but in the midst, they think that they're allowed to take some kind of umbrage and put you through some interrogation. Whereas on the other side, it's like, yeah, you voted for Kamala. Like, sorry, you don't have good judgment, but enjoy your burger. Like, we don't care.
- [51:10]
Clay Travis
Yeah, that's right. That's right. And this reminds me of Adam Carolla. And I guarantee you there's a lot of our listeners in California right now that are nodding along in a big way. What I found in Corolla mentioned this on the air with us, Buck, is that there are a lot of people who are working on shows, the grips, the camera guys, the set builders who will come up and say privately, like, man, thank you for what you're saying. Like, you nailed it, right? Like, in other words, the people standing in front of the camera oftentimes are, are more outspoken politically on the left. A lot of the people that put these shows on that make them physically possible are actually Trump supporters. And the other thing about this is, increasingly, Buck, a lot of people who stand in front of the camera are still kind of hiding, but they're also starting to take like that half step out where we mentioned this with, like comedians. There are a lot of comedians out there that are Trump supporting comedians. A lot of the people that you watch and like, but they don't really want. And I get it, if my job was to talk to a hundred percent of people and make them laugh, I wouldn't want to come out stridently necessarily on one political side of the equation or not. If I had everybody. This is my argument with Michael Jordan back in the day. Republicans buy sneakers too. Why were you not political? Like, I'm a great basketball player. Why would I want 50% of the population to like me less as a basketball player? Because of my politics? Doesn't make any sense to me. But I do think this is a super popular show and it is indicative of a major vibe shift. And I don't know how many of you watch it, but I guarantee you, if you're in New York City or LA media entertainment circles, this is probably the show that they watch more than any other. And it struck me on Sunday, it struck buck too. We wanted to play that for you. Even if you don't watch it as what the vibe shift can feel like.
- [53:15]
Buck Sexton
You know, you know, five years ago or maybe even two years ago, maybe even six months ago, the Trump voter in a pop culture context on an HBO show would have been, you know, yeah, like, I don't know anything, but I just love America and have my flag. You know, it would have been mockery. It would have been much more likely to be, oh, aren't they? They're right to be outraged that this woman voted for Trump or that, you know, we're led to believe she voted for Trump. Whereas now what it exposed a little more was these libs, these left wingers are living in this delusion where they don't realize that more than half the country voted for Trump and they probably know a lot of people who voted for Trump.
- [54:01]
Clay Travis
Not only that, too. Some of you out there always say, well, I don't know why you watch a show like, like I watch lots of shows where people might hate my politics because I think I can appreciate somebody's talent in something while also recognizing that they may not have the same opinion as me. I don't presume that everybody is going to think the exact same as me. Doesn't mean I can't like a movie or a television show or, or a sport for that matter. But I do think that this is emblematic of A recognition that there are a lot of people like you and me, Buck, out there. And I bet there's a ton of women who love White Lotus, too, that almost, in fact, I go into my mentions. I bet it. I bet you've had a conversation almost identical to what those three women just had at some point over the last eight years. I think huge majorities of the women listening to us right now who voted Trump have had a conversation like that with their girlfriends. I think more women than men.
- [55:03]
Buck Sexton
Speaking of women who drink too much Chardonnay, Justin Trudeau.
- [55:08]
Clay Travis
Here he is. Amazing transition.
- [55:11]
Buck Sexton
Thank you. Here he is on the tariff issue. He was in Ottawa, Canada today, and he's. He's very upset. He is not having a good one here. Very upset with the tariffs. And this is what he says is going to happen. Play one.
- [55:28]
John Thune
They've chosen to launch a trade war that will first and foremost harm American families. They've chosen to sabotage their own agenda that was supposed to usher in a new golden age for the United States. And they've chosen to undermine the incredible work we've done together to tackle the scourge that is fentanyl, a drug that must be wiped from the face of the earth. So on that point, let me be crystal clear. There is absolutely no justification or need whatsoever for these tariffs today.
- [56:06]
Buck Sexton
Clay, how much of what's going on? Bill O'Reilly mentioned this earlier in the Hours. Great interview. Go back and listen. If you missed it on the Clan Buck podcast, how much of this we know, Mexico, there's, there's very real national security, fentanyl, economic, a whole range of issues that the tariffs touch on there that we, you know, that's its own set of things with Canada. How much of this is just. Trump wants to give Justin Trudeau a wedgie and push him into the locker in front of everybody. You know, I wonder how much of this is driven by just teaching Trudeau a lesson.
- [56:39]
Clay Travis
I think it's an interesting question. The tariff debate in general is a difficult one because I don't know where the end goal actually rests, Buck. Whereas I can tell you, hey, Trump definitely wants a ceasefire in Ukraine, and he wants there to be peace there and he wants peace in the Middle East. What is the sweet spot on the tariff? I don't have an answer on that. Right. I don't have a direct answer. Obviously. Big picture it is we need to manufacture more goods in the United States. We need more jobs in the United States. I understand that. But in terms of practical impact, what is the sweet spot where he would say, hey, you know what? This is where we're getting the balance that we want. I don't know it. And so I think that is the more challenging aspect of this. I do think that Trump feels that Canada and Mexico have taken advantage of the United States and trade agreements for some time. And I do think he's accurate about that and that we have bled to a large extent, a lot of our manufacturing jobs as a result. I think he's correct about that and that Mexico is not doing enough to stop the flow of fentanyl, which is killing 100,000 people a year in the United States. All of those things. True. China facilitating that as well. But what does success look like there? Success in Ukraine is no more, no more people dying. Success in the Middle east is no more war. What is success on tariffs? I don't know the answer to that. Border success is nobody crossing illegally, which we got.
- [58:12]
Buck Sexton
I think what Trump wants ultimately is reciprocity from these countries because there are a lot of tariffs that they have against U.S. goods. And this is where people in this argument, you know, I understand we're told by the, the economic expert industrial complex that tariffs are a tax and tariffs are bad and tariffs can't, won't help us. Right. There's still, I think, a pretty broad sense of that going on. And yet why does, why does China have all these tariffs against US Goods? Why does Canada have all these tariffs? Why does the EU have all these tariffs against US Goods? If it's so manifestly not advantageous to have tariffs, why do these countries have them against us? And Clay, I think that also leads to, what Trump wants is for them not to do that. And so by saying, and this is a little bit like the trade war issue with China from the first Trump administration. People kept saying, oh no, he's going to start a trade war with China. Anybody who understood the US China trade situation would tell you we were already in a trade war. It's just they were fighting it and we were getting the short end of the stick. So, you know, instead of a one way trade war, all of a sudden it turned into both. People were playing hardball. So I think that's just his baseline mentality on this. But it might get a little rocky here. Everyone. And I went, I went yesterday. I didn't, I couldn't find any eggs in the grocery store. Do you ever see. Have you had that yet? I gotta get.
- [59:44]
Clay Travis
Probably not gonna shock you, Buck, but I do not do a great deal of shopping for the Travis family. When it comes to groceries.
- [59:50]
Buck Sexton
When was the last time. When was the last time Laura sent you solo to the grocery store for.
- [59:56]
Clay Travis
More than one or two things? Yeah, like 15 years ago. I mean, like, I've gone to buy diapers. I've gone to buy, like. I mean, she sends me with pictures of things that I need to buy on an individual basis, but I don't think I've been to the grocery store and, like, filled an entire grocery cart in, like, maybe in our entire marriage. I don't. But certainly in, like, 15 years.
- [60:24]
Buck Sexton
Oh, man, this is. This is good stuff. All right, a week from tomorrow, I'm doing something exciting with my dad, appearing online in a conversation you don't want to miss. This has far more to do with my father's expertise than mine, but you're going to find it really interesting and you could benefit big time. Look, I grew up in New York City. As you know, my dad made his living researching and predicting the stock market. He was good at it, too. In his line of work, you're a hero if your predictions don't come, or if your predictions come true. If they don't, you got a fair amount of additional homework to do and some explaining. But thankfully, dad was right on the big ones. All that to say, next Wednesday, I'm hosting that video seminar with my dad where he'll make another big forecast on the markets. Write this date down. March 12th at 11:00am Eastern, 8:00am on the west Coast. It'll be online in video form and super easy for you to register free of charge online. Modesty aside, my dad created quite a name for himself on Wall street with his biggest prediction back in 87, when he called the crash in advance by 11 days. He also called the crash for his clients in 2009. These predictions are too numerous to get into in all the details right now, so go register for the upcoming conversation on March 12th on online, and you'll see it's just an hour before this program starts that day. To sign up for the free event, it's a free event. To sign up, go to disruption2025.com that's disruption2025.com paid for by Paradigm Press.
- [61:49]
Clay Travis
News you can count on, and some laughs, too.
- [61:53]
Buck Sexton
Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.
- [61:55]
Clay Travis
Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.