Daily Review with Clay and Buck - Jul 2 2026

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Welcome in. We are here on the Thursday edition headed into America 250. I am your fearless host, Clay Travis Buck, is out getting ready for America 250. We will both be back together on Monday. If the audio sounds a bit different, it is potentially because of a little glitch that is underway right now. Hopefully we're going to be able to fix at my... studio just FYI there are many different things that we are tracking i'm excited to be back with all of you i am super tent tan had the family in hawaii we had never been before and i may talk a little bit about that before all is said and done during the course of the program But there were a bevy of big news stories that came down so far this week. The Supreme Court decisions have been by far the biggest story that is out there. But I do believe that sometimes getting away and not being immersed in the same way in the daily obsession of one moment to another of what's going on in the news cycle in the same way. can be somewhat helpful because sometimes with distance comes clarity. Some of you probably have experienced that. They sometimes say the best place that you can think, and I'm sure many of you have experienced this, is in the shower these days because it's one of the only places where you can't actually be reached. So you have complete isolation in some way. And so I was out in Hawaii long into the Pacific Ocean, awesome place. And I saw the results coming back in not only of the Supreme Court decisions, but also of everything that was surrounding the choices that were being made in the primary season. And everybody out there that is paying attention to what's going on in New York City. I think, unfortunately, New York City has been and is a harbinger of what we are likely to face, not only in this midterm election, but potentially in 2028. And I think what happened in the first district of Colorado... solidified that what's happening in New York City is not only happening in New York City and New York State, it is resonating across the entire country. And Colorado, this week in case you missed it, we had a 15-term incumbent, a 30-year-electively Democrat, Congresswoman, lose to a 29-year-old socialist. In New York City, we had three socialists endorsed by Zohran Mamdani end up...

defeating three sitting Democrat congressmen and women. And the result has been that four socialists have now won in the Democrat Party. What's going on there? I think it is such an important story. And as we come up on America 250, I see all of these as intertwined. Socialists are on the march in the Democrat Party because people are angry. And when people are angry, they often don't make rational decisions. They're just angry. And I think this ties in with the consumer confidence survey that came out from Michigan that we talked about some on the program. I think all of these threads directly connect. And I think what they lead back to is there's a level of anger in this country that I'm not sure very many of us have ever lived through before. And some of you are going to say, okay, Clay, what exactly? Why do you think that's going on? I think the evidence is all out there that people are just angry. And the data from the Michigan survey says that people are angrier than they ever have been in the history of the United States. We've talked some on this program. Many of you lived through America 200. And we've talked about the fact that on an objective basis, things in America 250 are much better than things were for America 200. And as a history guy, let me just kind of run through a few of those things. Inflation was through the roof. in 1976. Unemployment was much higher. The average income that people were earning was a fraction of what people are earning today. And yet people all came together in 1976, even in the immediate aftermath of the incredibly conflict-laden Vietnam era. Richard Nixon had just stepped down after the Watergate investigations, yet 1976 everybody came together in a way that frankly we're not seeing today. So what's going on? I think what has happened is, and some people disagree with me on this, and by the way, you're welcome to weigh in, 800, 282-282, 282, because I'm thinking big picture here as we come up on America 250. I think what's happened is social media has changed people's expectations. Remember back in the day when the phrase keeping up with the Joneses was paramount? And for those of you who somehow have forgotten that or maybe you're so young, you've never even heard that phrase. The idea was somebody in your neighborhood gets a new car or somebody in your neighborhood does something to their house and you are looking at what they are doing in your neighborhood and you're thinking, boy, we've got to keep up with them. We've got to get a new car. We've got to do something with an above ground pool maybe it was.

We've got to keep up with our neighbors. And when people back in those days, as they did, and frankly, many of the time they still do, people tended to live in neighborhoods with people of a similar socioeconomic status as them. And when they didn't, when you suddenly had more success or less success, you left the neighborhood that you were in and you were surrounded by other people who were more like you. As part of the way that you would spend your time, you might sit down on the couch back in the day, and you might put on a program called Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach. Do you remember that? And some of you who are even younger, you may remember back in the day used to sit down? And you used to put on the sort of Gen X equivalent of that show, which was the not only Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach, you would sit down and you would watch Cribs on MTV. Do you remember watching Cribs on MTV back in the day and how you would watch some rich, famous rock star or young... pop culture, celebrity, and they would walk around in their home similar to what Robin Leach did with lifestyles of the rich and famous. And as you would sit there and you would watch them, you would think, as Fitzgerald said back in the day, the rich are not like you and me. I'm paraphrasing that phrase, but the rich are different. You might judge yourself by your neighborhood. You might judge yourself by people you went to church with or people you went to school with. But by and large, you had a lot in common with all those people. What changed? And by the way, people were mostly happy. People were, according to the data, much, much happier. If you sat and you watched lifestyles and the rich and famous, you weren't angry, you understood that those 100 millionaires and those billionaires were very different than you, and you didn't expect that you should have a life that was similar to them. You might aspire to it. You might desire to have it, but you didn't expect that you would have that lifestyle. And so as you... Set and Watch Lifestyles and the Rich and Famous and you judged your socioeconomic status by the people that surrounded you in your community. By and large people are mostly happy. And then social media just exploded in our phones and all of a sudden you were looking at the lifestyles of other people, but they were selling to you. As a whole basis of their life, I'm an influencer. You can have this too. But most of the time, you couldn't have it. You weren't going on the vacation that influencers were going on. You probably weren't flying on a private jet. You might not have the clothes. You might not have the shoes. You didn't have that.

But because it was on your phone, because the entire basis of the influencer economy is to make you think that the influencer is like you, suddenly people began to get angrier and angrier because they saw the wealth that others had on Instagram, on TikTok, on Facebook, on Twitter. And they thought to themselves, why do those people have it? And I don't. And think about this. Instead of being connected to your community, a lot of people have no idea who their neighbors are. They don't go to church. Your community suddenly became your phone. You know, kids today don't even want to get their driver's license. Do you remember when you turned 16 what a huge deal that was to be able to go take your driver's license test? Do you remember how excited you were for your friends to get their driver's licenses? Somebody had an early birthday. Somebody was the oldest in the grade and suddenly they could drive and you could go places and you had freedom. You know, kids today don't even want to get their driver's license often? Why? Because their lifestyle isn't in the world. It's in their phone. And what it shows the data is the more time you spend scrolling on your phone, the less time you actually are increasing your happiness. Because you're judging your life based on people that are not like you. And then from inside of these phones, you're also being fed constant, constant propaganda, and many people don't recognize it. Why has the Democrat Party suddenly decided that America is awful? Whatever you think about America. The story of America's growth from 1976 to today is actually one of incredible success. America, I really do believe this in 2026. For most people, is far better than America was in 1976. So why were Americans so much more excited to celebrate the 200th anniversary of this country than we are to celebrate the 250th anniversary of this country? It's social media. It has changed the wiring of everybody's brains. It's changed how everybody thinks. This technology has just exploded in our lives and the data reflects that people don't know how to deal with it. You knew that you weren't probably going to have the life that Robin Leach showed you on Lifestyles the Rich and Famous. You knew that you weren't going to have the life that you saw on MTV Cribs. You knew that you probably weren't going to date Carmen Electra or Jenny McCarthy or Pamela Anderson or any of those 1990s era pinups that all of us around my age grew up loving those girls.

And when you're angry, when you look and you say, why don't I have that? The politics of envy and resentment work. But also, anger leads to people making choices, oftentimes not rational choices. The only problem with socialism is every time it has been tried. especially in this version of socialism, which is closer to communism, it actually leads to worse outcomes. I was reading this morning about rent control in New York City. It's going to mean that everybody has less access to homes to rent and that by and large the overall outcome is worse than if the government did nothing at all. Democrats are trying to state anger by selling. a bill of goods that is actually going to make everything worse. That's where we're headed here at America 250. And I see this as all being directly connected. And I think it ultimately found its root even through social media in the way that we teach history, which is something else that I have been thinking about a lot because of America 250 being here soon. And I'm going to break all this down for you. We've got a couple of guests coming your way. But I hope all of you, many of you probably off on the holiday, many of you probably traveling already. I hope all of you are having a fantastic day. And if the audio is a little bit different than it ordinarily is, we are working on trying to get that fixed for all of you. But I want to tell you, Pure Talk is a way to save an absolute bundle. You can be glad. And you can note consumer reports this past month said Pure Talk was the number one cell phone company out there. they are beating out AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile. It's better and it's cheaper. That's a heck of a combo. Five-star tally when it comes to coverage, customer sport, value data. And the Consumer Report Study reinforces we've been telling you for a long time. Plus, Pure Talk shares your values. They're giving $250,000 for America's Warrior Partnership. In fact, Clint Romishaw, former Staff Sergeant Medal of Honor recipient, joining us at 1.30 Eastern today to talk more about this and also about the battles that he has fought and what he's trying to do for veterans. No service contracts, no cancellation fees, just phenomenal U.S. customer service on the 5G network that powers. America pound two five zero say clay and buck to make the switch to pure talk a wireless company that actually lives up to your expectations you can keep your same phone and your same phone number pound two five zero say clay and buck laugh learn hey with the guys right there when you need them most. Clay and Buck, just preset them on the eye heart app. Welcome back in. Clay and Buck. Buck is out early for July 4th. We'll be back together on Monday. I was talking about being away thinking, looking at the big picture socialism on the rise in the Democrat Party. What does that represent? Why is it having success? 800, 282-282.282. So the economic realities are, I think,

omnipresent in a way on social media that they were not in the past. I do believe that social media is a big part of why young people in particular are filled with angst. They're angry. And they feel like socialism, even though it has largely failed because we're closer to moving towards communism than we are socialism. And that is the reality that Democrats don't want to acknowledge. They don't really believe in socialism. believe in communism. And again, I've got big thoughts on history and what it represents. But here is what I would say about the big picture economic situation. I saw a stat from the Wall Street Journal yesterday, I believe it was. And I took a picture and I thought to myself, man, why isn't this making a bigger story? You just heard and I understand that there's economic angst out there. A lot of times you see the negative side of things, not the positive. This is pretty incredible. This year, last year, in 2025, in the first year of Donald Trump's presidency, over 440,000 people, that is 1,200 people a day, became millionaires for the first time ever in 2025. 440,000 people became millionaires. 1,200 a day. Seems like a pretty good stat. And in 2025, we had the lowest recorded murder rate of all time. We have and still have all-time record high stock market prices. We have inflation that has come back down substantially from, remember, it was 9.2% just four years ago under Joe Biden. In this newest month, meaning coming forward with gas prices plummeting. Gas prices, by the way, you notice that you're not seeing it on CNN or on MSNBC anymore. Gas prices today, as I'm speaking to you, price of futures, oil. A barrel of oil is actually cheaper now than it was before the situation in Iran started. Again, the storyline is gone. There are now, according to this, 23.6 million Americans that are millionaires. 23.6 million Americans. And this is going back to 2025. 1,200 people a day, 440,000 people last year, maybe some of you listening to me right now were in that category. What does that represent? The way to make everyone have a better life is not to take from people and try to give to others.

Because taking, and this is the analogy and the metaphor that I am committed to, and I think it's so important, taking presumes that you have a fixed pie. Right? If we think about the entire economic picture as one pie, either a pizza or my favorite blackberry cobbler, Buck has an awful taste, I'm going to count cobbler as a pie. If we think about it, I like pecan pie, whatever your favorite pie is, whether it's a pizza pie or whether it's a sweet. Think about whatever your favorite pie is. If you think about it as a fixed object and you presume that in order to get more, you have to take from someone else, that is the Democrat socialist communist worldview. There is a pie. Rich people are taking too much of that pie. We have to take from the rich and give to people that are not as rich. What it's focused on is a set piece of pie being reallocated. It is one pie. It is not an expanding pie. The reality is and the story of capitalism is we have to keep making bigger pies. That's how everyone gets wealthier. By making more. Communism, largely socialism, it is focused on the idea that there is a fixed amount of asset and that we have to make sure that everybody gets their fair share. And the way we do it is by taking it from those who have more and giving it to those who have less. The problem is that eliminates and ignores the reality of how you got the pie in the first place, which is by capitalism. By unlocking individual talent to encourage people to produce more. It's all about growth. Everything in the entirety of our economy is predicated on we have to grow more. Growth is how you increase everybody's overall life from an economic perspective. And I'm actually optimistic that things are going very well. My concern is the disconnect between the reality. of things getting better and the fact that many people in the country believe that things are getting worse because that can lead to you making a worse choice right it's as if you are overweight and your thought is well i'm overweight the way to solve this is to eat more Democrats are selling to unhappy people a worldview and a political world that is actually going to make everything that they're frustrated about worse. But because so many young people have not lived through the failures of left-wing economics, they don't know any better and they're angry and they're just lashing out.

And this is why we're going to have real significant consequences in terms of the choices that we're going to have to make in 2026 here in November, but also in 28. This story that I think Republicans do a really poor job of is we believe in making more. At its root, capitalism is the greatest wealth creator that has ever existed in the history of humanity. The reason why the United States is uniquely wealthy compared to every other country in the history of the world is because we embrace fearlessness and we embrace risk-taking and we embrace creating more. And if you are focused on the idea of the United States as a finished product, you end up with Zohran Mamdani getting on social media and telling everybody, hey, turn your air conditioning to 78 degrees and sweat it out because we're worried about whether we have enough. We're worried that we don't have enough, so we need everybody to give up what they have. This is ruination. It is a path to ruination because you're not creating more. You're not building more. And one way I've heard this summed up that I think is really well said, and I think we should talk about it more. Makers versus takers. There's people who make. There's people who build. And there's people who take from the work that others do. And Democrats are selling to the takers, oh, we'll just take more. You know, our federal budget is massive. It has grown inordinately since basically COVID. I think we're spending $2 trillion a year more now than we did in COVID. And you've got the Elizabeth Warrens of the world on social media saying, well, if we just took more of what Elon Musk has, if we just took more of Elon Musk's money, we could solve X or we could solve Y. And the Republican response should be if we had better communication. Well, you got two trillion more dollars than you had before COVID. You don't know how to spend the money that you have. The issue with the federal government is not that the federal government doesn't have enough. I think that the federal government has too much. If we cut federal government spending in half, most of us would see no impact at all, and we would actually create more growth. I just, I'm frustrated sometimes with the communication because the essence of success is grow, grow, grow. Remember what Sarah Palin said drill, baby, drill and everybody got mad at her? Drill baby drill. You know the reason why the economy didn't collapse during the Iran straight of Hormuz crisis?

Because we're the largest producer of energy now, oil and gas, in the world. Because we drilled baby drill and we created more. We have to grow. The way everyone is able to have more, the way everybody's life becomes better, is with the overall economy growing. The government can't solve any of this. But Democrats, and I think again, I think this is directly rooted. I think this is directly rooted in the failure of Republicans to communicate well. And I think this is connected to social media. I really do. I think social media in general has created. More angst, more discomfort. You know, one in three girls have thought about killing themselves teenage girls in the past year. One in three. You can't tell me that teenage girls today have a worse life than they did in 1986 or in 1996 or in 2006 or in 2006. But they feel like they do. Why? Social media. And so Democrats are taking advantage of this anger that is emanating, I think, through social media, this resentment, this disdain over your inability to have the lifestyle of someone that you see on social media, which isn't really reflective of their life, by the way. Because by and large, social media doesn't reflect what is really going on in people's lives. It's the curated version of it. I don't even know how to filter a photo. Can we have cut A? I probably should know how to filter a photo. Cut A. I'm sitting here. First thing that somebody wants to talk about, I got back late last night from vacation. I sat down. I did Sean Hannity's phone. Did Sean Hannity's show. One of you all picked up their phones and you said that I looked like Play Cut A. Oh my gosh, Clay. I just turned on the TV to watch the... World Cup, and then Bill de Blasio came on Fox News, and I thought it was you. You have an uncannily resemblance. I look like Bill de Blasio? I need to know how to filter a lot. If I set around worried about what I look at, look like all the time, you didn't call in and say, hey, I thought, I saw Brad Pitt on television. I thought to myself, you know what? That's Clay Travis. I saw Tom Cruise, and I thought, oh, just for a sec. Oh, that's Tom. No, that's not Tom Cruise. That's Clay Travis. Bill de Blasio! This is like the worst-looking, goofiest person in the history of politics? This is who I look like?

I should certainly know how to create a filter. I don't know how to do anything. Every filter. Clay, Clay, you look fat. Clay like you look old. I don't know how. I probably could make myself look skinny and probably could make myself look young. I don't even know how to do it. But by the way, it would be artificial. For better or worse, I am what I am. And I think so much of the lack of authenticity. is steep now in young people's lives and Democrats are using it. It's what All Zohran Mamdani is selling. All Zohran Mamdani is selling is you're not having the success you want because of what rich people are doing to you. We're going to take from the rich and we're going to give to you. It's not a solution because it doesn't grow anything. It presumes that America is fixed and that we cannot continue to grow faster. Anyway, I am fired up about this. And again, going away, sometimes you can think big picture more instead of getting into the intricate little details of what's going on. Ultimately, you have to connect with the story and you have to make people understand through story what's going on. And I think Democrats are doing a better job of it right now. I do. And scarily, it's not even Democrats. It's communists pretending to be socialist so they can get to power. We got a real battle. We've got to fight. And it's a significant one. And the consequences are severe if we lose. In fact, the entire country, sorry to take you into 250. But if we're not growing, we're the last beacon of liberty in the world. If our economy isn't growing. And if we aren't the shining city on the hill, there is no one else to look to. It's us. We got to do a better job. As the Tunnel the Towers Foundation marks its 25th anniversary, its commitment to our nation's heroes remains as strong as ever. Through its smart home program, the foundation honors heroes by building mortgage-free, specially adapted smart homes for severely injured veterans and first responders. Heroes like U.S. Army Specialist Stephen Travis Maxwell, following the attacks of 9-11, Maxwell was inspired to serve enlisted in the Army just six months later. As a member of the Patriot Reconnaissance team, Maxwell provided support for mind detection, missile systems, and radar placement until injuries sustained in combat caused significant long-term health injuries. His previous home... pose daily challenges due to limited accessibility thanks to the foundation. Maxwell now lives in a mortgage-free, specially adapted home designed to meet his exact needs. Support heroes like Sergeant First Class Maxwell, visit T2T.org. Consider donating $11 a month. Additionally, you can make a meaningful impact by donating your car or land. That's T, the number 2T.org. Tunnel the towers, do good, and never forget.

Looking for normal in a world of crazy. Clay and Buck have your back. Welcome back in hour number three as we are rolling through getting ready for America 250 in two days. We are joined now by... One of our buddies who regularly is out there in the world trying to make things a little bit better. He is Congressman Jason Smith. He's the author of The One Big Beautiful Bill. We'll get into that and more here in a moment. But Congressman, let's start here. I'm sure I started off the show earlier talking about the three Socialists who won in New York. And the fact that that earlier this week was resonated also in Colorado, where another socialist one knocking out a 15-term incumbent in the process. Four sitting Democrat congressmen and women have now been eliminated by socialists who lean much closer to communism than they do to capitalism in terms of looking at the political spectrum. What does this tell us as we get ready for the midterm? What was your reaction when you saw four sitting Democrat congressmen and women lose to these Democrat socialists? You know, not surprised at all, Clay. It's probably because... of my colleagues that I serve with in the House of Representatives. Being a Democrat socialist is being a Democrat of today. And that's what we experience in Washington when it comes to working with who's taking over, who's guiding the ship when it comes to pushing Democrat policies within the House, within the Senate. It's so disturbing to me, Clay. If you look at just these candidates that's winning, for example, In New York, one of the future individuals that I will be serving with in Congress says that she uses the American flag as a napkin. I mean, this is just crazy of the rhetoric and the beliefs that these individuals have that's going to be having a voting card in Washington, D.C. It should concern everyone. No doubt. And we're talking about the economic situation in general. One of the reasons that I think Democrats are lurching far to the left is there is discomfort with the economic conditions. You're trying to rectify that with the big, beautiful bill. I've been talking about on this program that the most important thing that people feel is that their wages are outpacing inflation because that's how we end up with more dollars in our pockets. What is your opinion? of where the economy is now, what do you expect the economy will look like as we get closer to people making their decisions in the midterms here come November.

First off, Clay, when it comes to wage growth, something to be very thankful for that just in the first year under President Trump, our wage growth has increased more than all four years combined under President Biden. So that is at least a step in the right direction. We need to continue for wage growth to increase and increase faster. That will be extremely helpful. But imagine if we wouldn't have passed the one big beautiful bill or the working family's tax cuts. If that would not have been... signed into law on July 4th. And in fact, we didn't pass this legislation. Every single American, every single American would have faced on average a 21% tax increase on top of what they've been dealing with with the inflation tax that was created of over 20% by the Biden administration and their spending sprees that just put. basically jet fuel on on the flame um and so like i I think about the waitress, Clay, that came up to me in southeast Missouri in Frederictown, Missouri that said, Congressman, I just want to say thank you. I just filed my taxes. I'm getting a refund of over $10,000. This is a single mother with three kids who's a waitress and who works overtime. She said, because of this refund, I will now be able to pay for my rent for a year plus some groceries. That... That is affordability. And it's because they get to keep more of their hard-earned dollars instead of the government spending it. What do you think when you see in New York City, you were just talking about hard-earned dollars back in your pocket, the idea that Zohran Mamdani and everyone else is selling in New York City that rent freezes in some way make things better. The economic data on this is that rent freezes don't work at all. In fact, what they do is pull the number of available units out of the marketplace because a lot of landlords say, I can't make money. based on these dollars that I'm expected to be renting these units for. But what does it say that the solution that Democrats are offering actually makes everything that they're concerned about worse? Well, the Democrat solutions when it comes to the economy are completely wrong on every front, whether it's the rent freezes, whether it's every single Democrat. voted against these tax cuts. Not just, not one Democrat voted for no tax on tips or no tax in overtime or no tax on social security. Not one Democrat up here voted to increase the child tax credit to $2,200 per individual and making that permanent. Not one Democrat, Clay, created the Trump investment accounts that allows every child born in America to receive a thousand dollar seed money where they have an ownership in today's economy.

things that really affect average everyday Americans, but they're not supporting these policies. What do they want to do? They want to raise your taxes. They consistently say that. You look at some of the liberal states, like New York, like California, they would not honor the no tax on tips, the no tax on overtime. Those different tax provisions, they would not recognize in these liberal states, which definitely hurts their people. So when we look towards the fall, I know that soon Congress is going to be on recess. There's a lot of the angst over the SAVE Act, and I share that. What is, if anything, going to be accomplished in Congress between now and the midterms in a big picture sense that's going to, in your view, help to make the case that Republicans should remain in control about the House and the Senate? Play the absolute most important pressing issue that concerns me and keeps me up at night is funding government. Funding government has to be done by October 1st. That's just five weeks before the election. I'm hearing my Democrat colleagues right now, Clay, saying that they're going to shut down government. Right now, in June, they were saying they're going to shut down government. And why? Because they see that it's a political opportunity that if they can shut down government, that that will help them. going into the election and that concerns me i think the united states senate clay has to have some serious heart-to-heart conversations with my republican um friends over there because if the democrats try to shut down government and not allow a continuation of funding at the very least they better do whatever it can to pass government funding i think that in regards to the filibuster the filibuster should be out of the window if there's a lapse in government funding if there's a lapse in government funding they should change those senate rules to allow a 51 vote margin to pass anything and if you did that you would make sure that the democrat senators and the republican senators wouldn't ever allow there to be a lapse in government funding. So that is actually the most important issue right now to me is making sure that we have a plan and that we fund government and we don't allow the Democrats to do what they've done twice already in the last six months. And both of the last two times in the six months were the longest shutdowns in the history of America. So they're willing, able, and I think prepared to shut down government again. We need to be smart about it. Yeah, you know what's interesting about that that you mentioned at Congressman is Virginia was kind of a test case for them, right? And in November, I think they found and believe that the overall turnout last November in Virginia, when everything was shut down, worked to their benefit. And so it's kind of a test case, right?

That's exactly the case. It did benefit them without a doubt in Virginia, the Virginia elections because of the government shutdown happening. And they believe that it would benefit them once again. And that's why when you talk to most Americans, they're like the Republicans control the White House, Republicans control the Senate, and Republicans control the House. Why can't they fund government? But it's because of that little crazy rule that you have to have 60. votes in the United States Senate to fund government when we only have 53 Republicans. So if the Democrats refuse to come to the table, they can shut down government unless the government decides, unless the Senate Republicans decide to change the rules and under provisions. If you recall, Harry Reid changed the Senate rules when it came to confirming judges. It used to require 60 votes to confirm a judge. They changed the rules, made it 51. Maybe they should do that with funding government as well. We're talking to Congressman Jason Smith. Okay, much less seriously in the big picture, but still something that people are very focused on. I know in your state and in many states out there, what is Congress going to be able to do with college sports? There is a bill right now that is in the Senate. I know there's been the Score Act on your side of the equation. Is Congress going to be able to get an antitrust exemption done to allow college leaders to put rules back in place? Where are we headed here? You know, I actually, Clay just had a hearing on Tuesday in the Ways and Means Committee in regards to all the different issues within sports, whether it was the NIL issues. And what came up there, we had Mr. Ocho that actually testified gave a lot of different examples that these players that are getting these NIL agreements, they don't understand their tax consequences. They may receive like a million dollars. and they don't know that they're going to be stuck with the tax bill 30 to 40 percent. And so they'd spend all this money and then they're left there like, oh, no, with this tax bill. They're not informed of it. So there's different taxing issues from that sense. We also looked at. the tax subsidies and incentives. It's going into public bonds that fund new sports stadiums. We looked at the accounting mechanisms for sports teams owners on how that they deduct their expenses. We looked at issues that the Atlanta Braves and the New York Knicks were having in regards to their only allowed to deduct the top five largest salaries because of the provision that was passed in the American Rescue Plan by the Democrats several years earlier. But then you have to look at whether it's a score act, the different NIL provisions. There is a big need and a lot of things that have to be addressed. But I do think Congress can find a true bipartisan path to help.

get this all resolved because it is definitely making a huge impact in our economy. It's making a huge impact just across America. No doubt. We appreciate the time, Congressman. Have a great July 4th celebration and we'll look forward to talking to you again sometime soon. Happy, happy fourth, Clay. Take care. No doubt. I want to tell you all about the incredible work that's being done by our friends at Tunnel to Towers. Right now, they are making a tremendous difference when it comes to the work that they're doing on behalf of so many people that have put so much on the line here in the 25th year of 9-11. This month, they're sending a steel across America nationwide tour. It's going to be in Northern California, Washington, and Utah this month. It's open to the public. Travels throughout September as a symbol of reverence and resilience at landmark locations, sporting events, town squares, moments of connection for those who lived through 9-11 and educational opportunities for those too young to remember. Speaking of Too Young to remember, we came through in Hawaii when we were taking off a couple of days ago. from Hawaii out at the Big Island airport, right after you go through TSA security, they have a American flag with the name of every individual who died on 9-11. We stopped and we stood there. And my 11-year-old, he said, I had no idea how many people died on 9-11 until I happened to be standing right in front of this. image and you could see in the American flag all these different names. And he said, wow, dad, there were so many people. I said, yeah. Now, he was born in many years after 9-11. He's just 11 years old. And they're not really teaching 9-11 very much in his school. He's heard from me about 9-11, but seeing that in front of him face to face, it made him realize just how many lives were lost on that day. And that's exactly what they're trying to do to connect with the younger generations, people who were born long after 9-11 and don't remember. It's been 25 years. There are kids graduating from law school who have no actual remembrance of 9-11. Go to T2T.org to learn more about the steel across America tour and to donate $11 a month to tunnel the towers. You can amplify your impact with a car or land donation. that's t the number two t.org t the number two t dot org level up your brain mental mugging with clay and buck welcome back in sweet home Alabama the song there one of the best songs to define a state of all time

And it wasn't just that they constructed a government with a constitution that has endured for nearly 250 years now. Declaration of Independence, obviously 1776. I believe, team correct me if I'm wrong, the United States Constitution was ratified in 1783. I think I'm right about that. But forgive me if I got that year wrong. And team, look that up. because sometimes people conflate the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both incredibly important documents. But what is so important about the founding fathers was, and this is where I think American history becomes so important, but also world history, they studied the world. They studied all of government. And they were trying to craft a document that would deal with all of the failures of the past and ensure, my apologies, Constitution signed 1787, officially ratified 1788. What they were trying to do was they were trying to create a government. that would endure based on all of the governments that had ever existed to world history at that point. And one of the things that I think we do a poor job of in history is contextualizing the brilliance of learning from the past. The reason that I love history on, and I was a history major in an undergrad, and I continue to read history every day in my life, is because to me, history teaches toughness. And it teaches the understanding that whatever you are dealing with in your life today, in your present circumstances, people before you have dealt with much more difficult challenges and they've come through them on the other side in a better place. And you will too. And if you look at what those guys studied, I talked about a few years back that I got to go to Italy, took my family to Italy. And I've talked about this before, too. I think traveling to Europe is important because it makes you see history on a broader scale, Western civilization on a broader scale. There are bars in London. You can do a pub crawl with bars that are all older than this country. Think about that for a minute. They have been serving beers in bars in England longer than our country has existed. You go to Boston, you go tour as you should. Many of the historic sites connected to the revolution. The homes, Paul Revere's homes downtown Boston, the homes that we consider to be old are new in much of Europe.

And the reason why our country has endured, why we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of our country, is because our founding fathers looked at everything that had happened in human history and tried to craft a more perfect government than it ever existed before, learning from and building upon all of Western civilization. They were taught a common core of history that they could all understand, comprehend, and interact, utilizing. I was talking about going to Rome. The Pantheon is my favorite building in all of Rome. It's over 2,000 years old. Great majestic doors opening in the ceiling. It's one of the truly majestic buildings to visit anywhere in the world. And what I loved about walking into that building over 2,000 years old, is that Benjamin Netanyahu Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, if they walked into that building, That building was 1,700 years old when they walked into it. That building had existed for so long and looks no different to them than it looks to you and me today.

When our founding fathers toured Europe, they looked at everything that had occurred in Western civilization. They studied ancient Greek. They studied ancient Rome. They looked at what had happened in England, what had happened in France. They knew all the history of Western civilization. And they said, based on all of this recorded history, we're going to try to found a new country in this crazy wilderness, in this new land, and we're going to build a framework of government that is designed to withstand the ages and learn from all the failures of the past. And they did it. And the result is that we now all live in the wealthiest country that has ever existed in the history of the world, in a country that is a force for good like none other in the history of the world. And all of us, every single one of you that is listening to me right now that is an American citizen, the greatest gift that we could have ever been given. Whether we're white, black, Asian, Hispanic, whatever your background is, is to have been born in America. A country of such extreme wealth and goodness. that people risk their lives every single day still to just try to step foot on the soil that every single one of us was fortunate enough to either have been born here or to have at some point become a citizen of and yet many americans are not proud of this country why because we have failed when it comes to teaching history All of history is a collection of good and bad decisions by flawed men and women just like you, just like me, just like all of us. Somewhere around 2008, 10, 12, 14, 15, there was a calculated decision. I think it came from many of America's enemies. to decide that American history should focus on the failures of this country as opposed to the successes. Now, every single one of us that is alive today is going to make a huge number of decisions on this day, on this month, on this year, all throughout your life. Many of them are going to be good, but unfortunately many of them are going to be bad. The hope is that if you string together enough really good decisions, they will cancel out many of the bad decisions that we made. If you look at history in America and you go back and you look at the history of Western civilization, America represents the fulsome success of Western civilization.

There has never been a freer, wealthier, more prosperous country in the history of the world than the United States. That's because we learned from all of the failures of past history. It doesn't mean that we were without sin or without failure ourselves, but it does mean that the story of America over its scope is one of transcendent beauty and ascending excellence. the likes of which has never existed in the history of humanity. We are the greatest country to ever exist in the history of the world, and we were founded on the unique principle of excellence rooted in the study of Western civilization by all of our founders who would have been eloquent in talking about... everything that happened in Greece and Rome and everything that had happened in all of Western civilization, because that is how they came to build the framework of this country via not only a declaration of independence, but most prominently the Constitution. How many people understand that? I don't think enough. And that is because there has been a calculated decision to try to make American history look like it is rooted in failure and not success. That's the entire basis of the 1619 project. America in the view of the 1619 project and many other people out there is a country founded on sin and evil, and therefore none of its history can be celebrated because if it's rooted in sin and evil, then there isn't any redemption. The Civil War isn't about a struggle to bring more rights and freedom to everyone, regardless of their background in this world. Instead, it is the story of American slavery. That's why they rooted in 1619, not in 1492 when the new world was discovered. When I come back, I'm going to tell you something that I learned in Hawaii that I think ties all this together. But I want all of you at some point in time over the course of this upcoming celebration. I just want for you to think for just a few moments about how amazingly successful the founding fathers were. And they weren't just willy-nilly haphazardly picking the decisions that they made and packing it into the Constitution. They were brilliantly analyzing all of the flaws of government throughout human history and trying to craft a durable governing document that would allow America to succeed where all other countries in the past had failed. And they did it. It's remarkable. It's incredible. and the result is that we live in the greatest country that's ever existed in the history of the world and yet many out there still don't realize this history matters not because it just gives you strength to understand what everyone else has overcome before you but also because it gives you an opportunity to sit back and contemplate man

Because of their knowledge of history, our country exists and we have the freedoms that we have today. History doesn't just teach. It also creates. And oftentimes, I think we miss that. The creation of this country was based on the historical knowledge that thankfully all of our founding fathers had and were conversant about. We come back. I'll take a couple more of your talkbacks and we'll close it out, take you into America 250. But I want to tell you about our friends at Rapid Radio's. They've got a great offer right now. If you go to Rapid Radio's.com and use code bundle, you will get hooked up. with an incredible offer. If you love Rapid Radio's, back in the day, if you remember GI Joe radios, they were awesome, they were super fun, they were super exciting. Well, what if you had GI Joe radios like that, and they work nationwide, and you could connect with everybody, and you could get a free radio when you buy two. If you buy four radios, you get two free radios. You buy two, you get one free. If you go to Rapid Radio's.com, code bundle. That's Rapid Radio's. dot com code bundle miss the show while you're on the go wind down your day with the daily review podcast find it on the iHeart radio app or wherever you get your podcast