Bonus: Daily Review with Clay and Buck - May 12 2026

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Life gets busy and it's easy to feel a little worn down spiritually. That's why InTouch.org is such a helpful place to stop and breathe for a moment. You can watch messages from Dr. Charles Stanley, read a quick devotional or find resources that speak to what you're dealing with right now. It's simple, it's encouraging, and it's always there when you need it. Take a minute today and check out intouch.org. When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at good to know facts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit good to know facts.org. Life moves fast. At American Military University, they're ready to help you keep up. AMU's flexible, affordable online programs in cybersecurity, IT, space studies, and more are designed for service members, veterans, and their families. AMU provides the support you need to take the next step, wherever life takes you. American Military University, made for what's next. Learn more at amu.apus.edu.edu. Consumer reports just did a massive survey of all the wireless brands in America. Only one company received five out of five stars in every category. Pure Talk coverage five stars. Support five stars. Value five stars. Data five stars. No service contract, no cancellation fees, just phenomenal U.S. customer service on the 5G network that powers America. Go to puretalk.com slash buck today. Again, that's puretalk.com slash buck to switch to Pure Talk. a wireless company that actually lives up to your expectations. Welcome in Tuesday edition, Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. I am in D.C. We will have a couple of senators here in studio with us. Eric Schmidt. from Missouri at the bottom of this hour and the third hour, Senator Ron Johnson from the great state of Wisconsin. All of that's underway, so we will get the absolute latest from Capitol Hill. President Trump prepares and is underway, I believe, for his official trip to China. We will discuss everything surrounding that. Big inflation numbers that are out as a result of gas prices being up. We will discuss. Marco Rubio has surged past JD Vance as the leader in the Republican primary, according to one poll that was released today. We will discuss whether we buy that or not. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, by the way, is the Democrat leading contender. Wes Moore. who many people said were the governor of Maryland just up the road from where I am right now, weighed in on trans-related issues and showed that he alongside of basically every other Democrat is actually still crazy.

And in Tennessee, where we are in the midst of a redistricting battle, we will discuss the opposition there as all of that is underway. I will say, Buck, there are numbers out that are very positive. We have talked some about this. But in the state of Michigan, Mike Rogers is going to be the Republican nominee, and it increasingly is looking like a man named Abdul El-Sayed. is going to be the nominee for the Democrat Party in Michigan. That is not. a good sign for Michiganders if they are hoping the Democrats are going to waltz to victory. In fact, I actually think this is a sign along with Maine where Democrats are going to nominate a guy with a Nazi tattoo on his chest that people are losing their minds a little bit on the left and picking candidates that are not of a particularly high quality. But right now, and we'll play this cut for you in a little bit, CNN has a big poll about Democrats versus Republicans. But Buck, not surprisingly, in the wake of the inflation numbers that come out. Affordability, inflation, that is the number one story right now, high gas prices. And the question is, how soon can that be reconciled? Is that kind of how you see the read right now that gas prices need to come down in the fall? Well, yes, gas prices certainly need to come down. And apologies from my voice, everybody, in advance. I'm obviously fighting through a little bit of a cold that does happen even here in South Florida, no matter how warm it is. You can still catch a cold virus because the temperature has nothing to do with it, it turns out. I think that the reality of the midterm election already is very apparent of people, which is that it's going to be a what's going on here at home election. No different probably than any other midterm you can think of when we're not involved in a major war. And this sort of war we have with Iran could, in fact, be a big drag on Republican fortunes. Maybe, maybe not. One thing has become apparent, though, Clay. Skepticism of an imminent Iran deal was well warranted. There is no deal on the table. Have you seen the things that the Iranians are demanding as their red lines? This is not like we're, Trump is saying we are close. And the only way that that line can be believed is if what the Iranians are saying publicly is entirely different from what they're saying privately. But in this kind of negotiation, why would they do that? Because there would be a tremendous amount of whiplash at home where they're saying one thing and then they go and do another. Clay, they're saying they want reparations. They want official control of the Strait of Hormuz. They want an end to all U.S. sanctions against them. None of these things are going to happen. And they're saying without that there's no deal. So we believe that we're going to strangle them with this sort of blockade. They think they can continue to do what they're doing. And Trump now is weighing military escalation once again.

I don't think the Iranians are that scared this time around of military escalation because their leadership, whatever's left of it, is going to be staying underground and they feel like they weathered the biggest shot that we've got. What are we going to do now to hurt them more? So I'm a little concerned about the price of gas as it pertains to all this is the point, and I've been concerned about it all along. Absent a real deal, I don't know how the price of gas comes down 50%. Also, I'm not hearing. enough from this White House, in my opinion, about immigration enforcement. I don't know if that's because it's not happening in the same way post Minneapolis, but if that's the case, I think we've got another problem. And the inflation situation, obviously energy is driving this, but inflation jumped up a bit, which is not a good look either. So these things, I think, Clay, are fixable or at least addressable before the actual... votes are cast in the midterm, but we, you think about it this way. Absent high gas prices in this Iran adventurism, what are the Democrats running on? They're still trying to make abolish ice, which is an awful argument for them. They really have nothing, which is why if we can get gas prices back down and get some form of resolution in Iran between now and November. And by the way, Buck, on your mow the grass theory, we could get some form of resolution in November, have the election, and then bomb Iran again in December, right? I mean, this resolution. can be relatively short-lived in terms of... whether or not we're going to get a long-term solution. Can we get a short-term solution through the midterms, which then gives President Trump more freedom? I've been saying this for a long time. I think Trump is going to want a large, some sort of finality associated stroke. And to me, seizing the so-called nuclear dust and bringing it out of Iran. I think is going to have a cinematic quality that leads President Trump to believe that that is the perfect ending to this whole thing. Now, we still have the straight of Hormuz related issue in that is Iran going to stop threatening ships such that all of them can get out? There was a big article on the front page of the Wall Street Journal over the weekend buck about... All of the guys, they're almost all men, who are trapped on these boats and can't leave. And they're running out of food and water and supplies on these boats because they're not anticipating that they're going to be held up for months as they are right now. And so the expectation was that they would have long been gone. So there is a little bit of a...

But you know the thing about crazy is doing the same thing and hoping you get a different result? Oh, the Democrats are crazy and then some because they want to do all the same things with all the same results. A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice just left the Democrat Party over anti-Semitism concerns. And John Fetterman said yesterday, this is a post that he put up, but it kind of builds on what you're saying. I know David, that's the Supreme Court justice and his legendary father, Cyril. As I've affirmed, I'm not changing my party. but I fully understand David's personal choice. The Democrat Party must confront its own rising anti-Semitism problem. Now, Buck, that is intriguing. I was talking with someone in Pennsylvania who knows their politics really well recently, and they said there's almost a zero percent chance that John Fetterman can be the nominee for the Democrat Party as a senator in Pennsylvania in 2008. Now, it's two years away. And he'll be up for re-election after serving a six-year term. And it's possible John Fetterman doesn't like the Senate that much and chooses not to run. But what that person told me was, I think there's a decent chance he runs as an independent. And then the math becomes very intriguing. Now, to your point, is he an independent that caucuses with Democrats? Okay, maybe. But is he an independent that would be open to caucusing some with Republicans? Is he a true independent? How that would shake out? is something to certainly pay attention to because Pennsylvania has moved significantly to the right. They elected Dave McCormick two years ago. President Trump won the state comfortably, 150,000 votes-ish, I think, if I'm not mistaken. And so it will be... interesting to see how the Democrats handle John Fetterman, because this will all start up as soon as the midterms are over, as we've talked about quite a lot. The 28 election starts in January of 2027. So it's going to be here much faster than a lot of people realize. Business insurance is a must have if you're operating a business. Super Sure is the first company we know of that makes sense of all the business insurance policies that owners must maintain to operate their business wisely. Business owners complain of multiple policies, multiple applications, different brokers, and no clear view of how it all fits together. And when questions come up, it's not easy to get the clarity you need. Super Sure changes that. One broker for all your business insurance backed by a team that works with you year-round, not just at renewal. And if you've ever stared at a policy wondering what it covers, SuperShore has a fine print fax tool that translates the legal jargon into plain English so you know what's covered and what's not. Go online to supershore.com slash buck. Get a full report on your current policies with no obligation. Find out if you're overinsured, underinsured, or somewhere in between. SuperShore.com slash buck, one powerful platform, all your policies in one place. SuperShore.com slash BUCK paid for by SuperShore Insurance Agency LLC.

a licensed insurance agency. Looking for normal in a world of crazy. Clay and Buck have your back. When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at good to know facts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit good to know facts.org. Life moves fast. At American Military University, they're ready to help you keep up. AMU's flexible, affordable online programs in cybersecurity, IT, space studies, and more are designed for service members, veterans, and their families. AMU provides the support you need to take the next step, wherever life takes you. American Military University, made for what's next. Learn more at amu.apus.edu.edu. These days, it seems like AI agents are just about everywhere you turn, every field and every function. But without identity, you can't trust they'll serve your business instead of jeopardizing it. Fortunately, ACTA helps you get identity right by securing your AI agents' identities, giving you a single layer of control, a single standard of trust. So whether an AI agent supports a single user or your entire enterprise, with ACTA, you'll turn risk into opportunity. Secure every agent, secure any agent. Octa Secures AI. Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our warfighters, delivers mission-ready intelligence, advances life-saving health care, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT, behind America's invisible advantage. Second hour of Clay and Buck kicks off now. Thanks for being here, everybody, all across the U.S. of A. Clay, you know, the 250th is coming up soon. Oh, yeah. It's going to be very exciting. Some people are saying the most exciting, going to be huge. It's going to be beautiful. We're going to have a fantastic 250th anniversary of this amazing country of ours. And look, there's a ton to celebrate. And you should always take a moment, even while we're here doing politics and current events and talking about challenges and different ideologies and things that should be done differently and failures. We're about to get into failure of the L.A. mayor and how people in L.A. should make a different choice here and go with Spencer Pratt. We're about to get into all that. But first, just note, if you're listening to this and you are an American and you are alive, which I guess would be. a precondition for you to be listening to this you're very lucky actually this is the best country we are the best country in the world i always laugh when they show that you know that uh clip it's uh what's his name the guy from dumb and dumber um

who's in it from the newsroom where the girl, first of all, they have a very attractive, like, blonde, would-be sorority girl. The girl's probably like 30, but you know what I'm talking about in the newsroom show where she goes, why is America the best country in the world? and I forget the name of the, he's the guy, not Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, I always want to say Jeff Bridges, Jeff Daniels, thank you, Jeff Daniels, Jeff Daniels, Jeff Daniels is like, we're not the greatest country, and it's just this smug, lib, idiocy of like, we're behind in literacy, we're, you know, we have the highest incarceration, all the stuff, it's like, first of all, you could smash that stupid take in about two seconds if you actually paid attention to what's going on in the world. But more to the point, it's absurd when you think about the greatness of America, when you think about what this country has done, not only for Americans, but for the human race, for the entire world. And then we always said, do this thing, yeah, we're imperfect. Well, of course, we're imperfect. But we're still awesome. We're still number one. You know, when Michael Jim Jordan was at his peak, in the NBA, was he always going like, I know I'm imperfect, but, no, he's like, I'm a champion. I'm pretty amazing. America is a champion. We're pretty amazing. So don't forget that while we're getting into all this stuff. You see that Clay? Can you just feel all that optimism wafting from a very sick? That's a lot of positivity from you for the top of the second hour. You've got maybe a little bit of a fever. You're playing hurt. Yeah. And maybe the cold meds talking there, the Sudafed coming through. But this is the best country in the world by far, not even close. Nothing else even scratches in our direction. And we should just take a moment of that. And, you know, the world should be thankful that China is not. We're going to talk a lot about China coming up. Obviously, the Xi Jinping Trump summit is happening. I think he arrives, Clay, Wednesday night. And then Thursday, there'll be a lot of back and forth with Trump and Xi Jinping. Xi Jinping wants to put Taiwan at the very top of the agenda. So we will get into all those details. China could be the global hegemon. You know, you could have the Chinese Communist Party in a position to basically destroy any country's economy, kill everybody in the country if they wanted to. I mean, China could be as powerful as America theoretically, and then what would it be like for humanity? Where would freedom be globally? So, you know, I don't think we spend enough time talking about, and I don't mean we on this show, I just mean Americans in general. there should be, yeah, the price of eggs, the price of gas may be a little high right now. It's still the greatest country in the world. So that's your backdrop. Now, I understand day-to-day problems are real and they exist. This is like telling people, Clay, that... things could be worse. You could be living in the middle of the 30 years war and everyone around you is being raped, pillaged, murdered, or dying of cholera. Yeah, that doesn't really help us right now, though, right? I mean, there's historical perspective, and then there's just losing yourself in narratives that have nothing to do with the moment. This is the greatest country in the world, and we are coming up on the 250th, and I do think it, I think some reflection on that for all of us is, and we'll do more as we get closer.

But it's necessary context for the challenges that we talk about. And also to remind ourselves why it's so important that we not let this place fall apart, Clay. I think all of that is true. And I also, yesterday, Buck, was talking about this midterm in terms of looking years ahead. And I understand everything is immediate. And we have very sort of goldfish attention spans in the United States, which likely has been exacerbated by TikTok and reels on Instagram and everything else. The amount of deep thought that is typically corresponding with policy is quite rare. But I think one reason that what all you just laid out, one reason why Democrats are so desperate here in 2026 is not only because Trump's in power, but they know Trump's going to leave power in 28. This is so significant. The maps that are going to get redrawn in 2030. And who is in power when that census happens is potentially the existential threat to the Democrat Party. Because if... The numbers look and continue to move in the direction that they are now, where everybody is moving to red states. And you have Illinois and New York and California overwhelmingly losing residents. The math for Democrats to win as the party currently exists. almost becomes impossible starting in 2030. I mean across the board for the House, for Senate, and certainly for the presidency when you look at the electoral college. So I think there is a desperate fear that is palpable right now in the Democrat Party because they're not just staring down the potential of losing an election. They have a generational shift that is occurring. that is moving against them in a profound way, and they have to put up substantial roadblocks or else they could basically be sensed to a large extent out of power. So now on the L.A. and remember, there's a Los Angeles race. There's also the California governor's race. Los Angeles mayor debate news here, which I thought was really interesting. Nithya Raman and Karen Bass have, at the last minute, pulled out. of their next debate. Clay, they're going to say that this is scheduling, we're busy, whatever. There's no way they do this without knowing that to a lot of people, it looks like they are ducking for cover. They are trying to get... away from the attention on this race because the more people, I understand it's just people in Los Angeles who are voting, but the more national attention there is, the more local attention there will be as well, because people can, everywhere they turn now, this L.A. mayor's race is getting real coverage in the media. And they're also showing you, I think, the kind of arguments that they're making are in such bad faith. They're really...

looking for the deranged and delusional left to come to their rescue on this one mayor uh mayoral candidate Nithya Raman this is cut 37 this is what how she refers to spencer pratt play it but i also think it's a very real thing that we should take seriously and we need to grapple with and we need to offer it an honest response a response that's rooted in actually solving these problems um otherwise people will turn to fascism, to mini-Trump, which is who I think Spencer Pratt really represents. Fascism, Clay. So now they're trying to tie a guy. They let his house burn down with their incompetence, along with all of his neighbors, his entire neighbor. It's gone. By the way, it's never coming back either. Everyone in the Palisades knows this. It's never going to be what it was. It's gone forever. They let his neighborhood burn down. They let his hummingbird nests get scorched, go up in flames. And they're calling him a fascist because he thinks that he can do a better job than the horrible job that they have done. I feel like this is Democrats encapsulated. Yes. And look, the runoff is going to be down to two because it's highly unlikely anybody's going to get 50% plus one vote to be able to ensure that a runoff doesn't happen. Now, when either Spencer loses and you end up with two crazy left wing people or Spencer. is one of the two that advances. And it's going to be self-evident what they're going to do to him. They're going to do the same thing to him that they did to Rick Caruso. And the question is, I was actually at dinner last night with Andrew Giuliani, and we were talking about his dad and the fact that he came into power and we were discussing this L.A. mayor race. And a bunch of the guys at the table were L.A. residents. And the conversation was, have people gotten frustrated enough with the filth, with the homelessness, with the drug use in L.A. And maybe also writ large when you look at the governor's race, the same sort of issues are applying in San Francisco and other big metropolitan areas, that they're willing to do something different. And you've talked about this quite a lot, Buck, but the numbers on murder in New York City when Rudy Giuliani came into office, what, over 2,000 murders were happening. every year, if I'm not mistaken, in New York City alone. And now the number's down around 250, 300. I mean, I think it went all the way of basically 200. They got a 90% reduction effectively in the overall murder rate. And you had Rudy Giuliani for eight years, and then you had Bloomberg, I think, for 12 years. So you had an entire generation of sane leadership. The question that L.A. is going to face is, are they going to pull a Chicago, and are they going to go from Lori Lightfoot to Brandon Johnson, like Chicago did, where you arguably, I think, got even worse? Could you end up with somebody worse than Karen Bass? I think you could. Or are they going to recognize that it's time for a modern era Rudy Giuliani in L.A.? Spencer represents that. And I think...

What I don't remember, you may remember the campaign that Giuliani ran when he won the mayor's race for the first time. I think the thing that Spencer Pratt has done a really, really good job of is, Buck, his ads and his social media is brilliant. It is just, and he's got people doing videos for him using AI. It feels like a next generation campaign where you're taking advantage of the modern technology and modern AI to tell a compelling story about something that is. Honestly, universal for most people, which is let's just have a safe city for women and children. When we talk about on this program, the best way to judge a neighborhood, in my opinion, is would you let your wife or girlfriend go for a jog around dark? If the answer is no, you don't live in a safe neighborhood. If the answer is yes, you live in a safe neighborhood. And every, to me, it cuts through the noise. Is your neighborhood safe? Is your city safe enough? For if your wife or your girlfriend goes for a jog, do you feel like she's going to be okay? And there are way too many parts of America where the answer is no. I mean, I said this yesterday, Clay, when you were en route to the studio, three stabbings in Venice Beach, California in about three days. One of them was inside a Whole Foods. and the Venice Beach Whole Foods. Yeah. This is a fancy, you know, Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills. This is the Manhattan of L.A., if you will, right? This is the highest rent district, the highest cost areas in Bel Air. I mean, I know there's a few. And there's dangerous stuff that's happening, and it doesn't even get a lot of... outrage. It's just treated like it's part of the cityscape now. This is just the way that it works, the way that it happens. It actually does not have to be this way. This guy who went out in, what was it, Cambridge, shooting a rifle at people, and then he got shot. But he's been arrested. We talked about this yesterday, Buck, with the guy who shoved the 76-year-old on the subway steps in New York City. They act like... All these guys who have a dozen serious crimes in their background, including crimes of violence, are worthy of a slap on the wrist because, you know, everybody makes mistakes. Not these mistakes. And the people that are putting these individuals back on the street until they throw, you know, see this guy who threw a senior citizen. uh down the stairs and killed him no reason just ran up behind an old person that's what i'm saying new york subway yeah shoved him off the top of the you know we wouldn't really know about this stuff if all the video and surveillance stuff didn't exist and if x didn't allow us to share it so freely um we know who's doing the crime we know the democrats don't want to talk about it We know that the people that are in charge of keeping us safe have screwed up and are actively making decisions. See, Clay, I think it's worse than they're not good at their jobs, and so these things happen. I think that whether it's Zohran Mamdani or Karen Bass or name your Democrat in any city in America, they make choices that result in old people being thrown down the stairs to their deaths in a violent and completely senseless end because that's the cost of social justice to them.

that's the cost of not doing mass incarceration that's the cost of the police not appearing racist that's the cost they are willing to have other people pay That's 100% right. And what I said yesterday, and this is, I think, one of the messages that Spencer is hammering, and we've been hammering it on this for a long time. Refusing to put violent people behind bars is not kind because ultimately it leads to directly what happened with that 76-year-old in New York City. Buck, there was a woman who that guy previously shoved in a subway. And the quote yesterday that was out was that she didn't want to prosecute him because she didn't want to see another black guy in jail. So as a result, she didn't prosecute him to the full extent of the law and he ended up killing somebody. And the numbers do reflect, and this is important, that if a violent person is allowed to stay on the streets, they're going to continue to engage in violent behavior. And so the actual, if you want to be concerned about empathy, I would rather have empathy for innocent crime victims than criminals. And that is a huge part. of how all of this is playing out in so many different cities, almost everyone who engages in violent behavior, almost everyone who commits to a crime like this, you knew what was going to happen. And you see it in L.A., you see it in New York, you see it in Chicago all the time. So it's not, to me. It's not, Clay, that it was avoidable. It should have been avoided. People in charge had a duty to avoid it. You know, that's a different thing. Well, I also think if you want to be empathetic, the empathetic thing to do is to protect innocent people who have done nothing wrong, not to protect criminals. And people are being taken advantage of by using their empathy against them. And I actually think if you just use that empathy and redirect it to the people that actually deserve it, it is the innocent people who are becoming victims of crime that... from people who should have never been on the streets. Born on America's darkest day of 9-11, 25 years ago, Tunnel the Towers Foundation's been helping America's heroes ever since. Heroes, like New York City Fire Department, Lieutenant Edward McDonough, Jr. He was a Marine Corps veteran, lifelong public servant. He was on the front lines at Ground Zero in the days following 9-11. He cleared debris while serving his city with courage and dedication. He rose through the ranks of the New York City Fire Department, ultimately becoming a lieutenant and inspiring those around him with his leadership. humor. Edward battled 9-11 related cancer for more than three years before passing away. He leaves behind his wife Kimberly and their five kids. In this 25th anniversary year of 9-11, we continue to see the toll that day still is taking on heroes and their families. Tunnel Towers honored Edward by paying the McDonough family mortgage. For help, more families like the McDonough's, your donation today can provide hope and stability to those who gave everything in service to our communities. Donate $11 a month and amplify your impact with a car or land donation. Go to T2.org. That's T, the number two T.

Org. Pre-Sector pals. Clay and Buck. On the eye hard hat. Welcome back in. Hour number three, Tuesday edition, Clay and Buck. I am up in D.C. I was at the White House yesterday. Saw a lot of our friends Buck as Indiana was given the presidential seal of approval for their 16-0 football team. Perfect day on the South Lawn. A lot of fun. Good crowd. Are they the best? college football team of all time? Are they the best college football team of all time? Is that fair? They are the first college football team since 1894, I believe, to go 16 and out. Having said that, if you ask me right now who I think the best college football team of all time was, I think it would have been 15-0 LSU with Joe Burrow as the quarterback, a bevy of incredible talent on that team that won the national championship, I believe, in 2019. That was one of the last events before COVID shut down everything, Buck. LSU won the national title in New Orleans in the... mid-January mid to late January of 2020 then the Super Bowl happened and then all hell broke loose with COVID so good question I think I would go 2019 LSU some may agree some may disagree but I think I would say that's the best team that I've seen 2001 Miami which actually was also an incredible team those would be a couple that I would put right near the top all time Okay, we've got a couple of different things that are going on out there. President Trump, I believe, guys, has boarded Marine 1 to head. He was fielding questions on the south lawn en route to the airport as he gets ready to leave for China. So President Trump underway. on his way to fly. He's still taking questions, according to producer Allie. And we'll see. We'll monitor this and see if there's any major news that comes out of him taking questions before he embarks on that long plane trip to China. Okay, Buck, I wanted to play this for you. We talked earlier about the fact that racial redistricting, racially motivated gerrymandering, has been essentially ruled to be unconstitutional. Essentially. They didn't completely override it, but effectively they have. It's kind of racist, really. It is, in fact, racist, arguably, to be drawing things based on race. And so that was basically what the Supreme Court said. Here is CNN, Bakari Sellers. This is the argument he made last night. Listen.

If somebody fell asleep in 1896 and woke up today in 2026, they would simply say the only difference is now Negroes have a TV show and we wear nice suits. They swapped out clan hoods for Brooks Brothers suits. And that is the problem. I mean, Plessy v. Ferguson was 7-1 and it gave birth to 50 years of Jim Crow. What we have with this court right now, what we're seeing is watching people who have fought and died and bled. so that we would have access to the ballot box so that we would have access to our voices being heard in Congress being ripped away. And I think that there is a casual laughter from people we believe to be our friends on the right who are showing us true colors today because the most sacred or one of the most sacred acts you have in the United States of America's the ability to cast a ballot and elect someone and send them to Congress, the state house or mayoral seat that represent your interest. And now black folks throughout the South are being silenced. And I don't find that. be a laughing matter. This is pretty shameful buck even for CNN because this doesn't directly impact anybody's right to vote. And you'll notice that they got embarrassed because in Memphis, which is a district that has been redrawn now, you have a guy named Steve Cohen who is a white Jewish guy that has been representing Memphis for a long time. And you know who he usually beats in the race when he represents Memphis? I mean, black guys? Black Republicans? Black woman has been the last couple of times the nominee to run against him in Memphis. So this racial dynamic is pretty nasty of Bakari Sellers. I also think I wanted to play this because this is a guy named Justin Pearson. He is a Tennessee State rep. Buck is laughing because he has seen these clips. But I just want to play these for you. This is the guy who is in Memphis and is saying that he is so terribly upset about what has happened. And I want to play for you a couple of different things here. This is Justin Pearson in 2016. being interviewed, and I want you to listen to him. He went to, what's the school that Zohran Mamdani went to? Colgate? Where did Zohran Mamdani go? Northeastern school. We'll look it up. Bowden? Are you going to Bowden? I forget. Where did Mom Dany go? He went to an elite, expensive Northeast school. Same school. Bowden. I nailed it. Nailed it. All right. Here's a good before we play this clip, Buck. I don't know if you're going to get this. Who is, what is the Civil War connection for Bowdoin College in a significant way that we have talked about this month on this program? Well, clearly it was General Bowden who helped Grant in the Vicksburg campaign. No, I have no idea. I think I should just get credit for knowing that it's not Bodoyne or whatever. It's Bodhi. Yeah, I would never have been able to correctly pronounce it except for the fact that Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who led the charge on the Battle of Little Roundtop for the 20th Maine.

He was a his alma mater. He was a professor at Bowden College when he left to go to go lead the 20th Maine. And then he came back and ended up being elected governor of Maine in a post-life-life-so. You know who plays him in your favorite Gettysburg movie, which is based on the novel that you made me read or told me to read. It was very good. Made his wrong word. The killer angels. Killer angels. None other than Jeff Daniels. who also plays the smug media guy in the newsroom who says that America is not the greatest country in the world. So from saving the union at a little roundtop or whatever, Gettysville. Yeah, a little roundtop. Yeah. Thank you. Little round top. To America's not the greatest country in the world when a beautiful blonde woman asks him why it is the greatest country in the world. So how the mighty have fallen. I would also point out while we're taking shots at Jeff Daniels. Dumb and Dumber, the range of Jeff Daniels, to be fair, is pretty incredible. And now a lot of people see him. He does those pure Michigan commercials. He's the guy on talking about how awesome of a place Michigan is to go visit. Okay. So this is where Justin Pearson went to college. Bowden College buck, I would bet is, what do you think, $85, $90,000 a year moving board tuition. I mean, it's one of the most expensive colleges in America. And here is Justin Pearson. Speaking when he was on campus in Maine, 2016, listen. Justin Pearson, and I'm running for president of BSG. There are a few reasons that we're running this campaign this year. One has to do with representation. How can we represent all voices in a conversation? I wanted to do this by partnering with organizations from the Vladimir Putin Democrats to the Vladimir Putin Republicans. I want to bring together different voices, dissenting voices, voices that may be more liberal or more conservative, in order that we can reach a point of sort of the radical middle. Here, you've had three strikes lows, mass, incarceration denied us of who we are and we are still here and today he will take the only majority black district from us but i want you to know and i want my nephew sons and the future to know no matter what you do no matter how much you try and break us and make us bid and make us quit we will still be here same guy 10 years apart That is in the space of Buck. He's gone from Carlton, Carlton Banks to Malcolm X in the blink of eye. Pretty amazing. That is a great, the Carlton Banks to Malcolm X comparison. It sounds ridiculous. You play it. What does it say that there is not a political future for the first guy, but there is a political future for the second guy?

I would submit to you that that is not a sign of things going better. And look, here he is, again, this district that he's so angry about is represented by a white Jewish guy in Memphis. Here he is cut 31. Tennessee has now put a new map in place. We'll see if it's legal. There's lots of challenges going out there to make Tennessee a 9-0 state so that it resembles more so the northeast, which is all Democrat. They don't allow any Republicans. Here's cut 31 from... Justin Pearson. This is the stealing of congressional districts. This is the stealing of people's voice to literally rig it so that he can win. You have the most unprincipled people who are in political offices right now. The same people who say they care about democracy and this is a Republican. People should be able to choose their elected officials. Their elected officials shouldn't be able to choose them. The same Republicans who would say those lines are now the co-conspirators along with this white supremacist president of the United States to take. and to steal this election because he doesn't want to be impeached because he doesn't want to be held accountable for the American citizens. He killed with these ice raids and the deportations that he has caused. He doesn't want to be held accountable. So they are literally rigging and stealing elections and congressional seats. So he sounds a little bit more like himself from Bowden College there in that argument. But again, the lack of racial gerrymandering, I think in the long run is going to be much better, right? We'll get better quality of representatives. And this argument that we're in 1896, I mean, it's particularly pernicious, I think, Buck, from a guy like Bacari Sellers, who is from South Carolina. Tim Scott is a black senator. from South Carolina. So you actually have in the state of South Carolina one of the three most powerful guys or gals, the governor and the two senators, I would argue probably are the three most powerful politicians in South Carolina. Tim Scott's been winning overwhelming election in the state of South Carolina. A guy that we have had a lot on this program, Wesley Hunt, represents a majority white district in Texas right now. He ran for Senate. did not win. We got a Senate runoff going on in Texas. But I think he's been actually very eloquent talking about people want to have someone who will advocate for their interest irrespective of what the color or their skin is. And I think that is a strong message that has been sent in South Carolina. That's a strong message that has been sent in Texas. And the Bacari sellers of the world, I mean, in his own home state of South Carolina, you can point to someone who disproves that error. And one other bit in that same geographic region, that's where Clarence Thomas came from.

And Clarence Thomas is soon going to be the longest serving Supreme Court justice in the history of our nation. He just in the last week or so, Buck, we talked about this some, but he has moved into the second longest Supreme Court justice serve. And I believe in 2008, he will become the longest serving Supreme Court justice ever. So I actually look at those as very positive stories. And the fact that CNN would, of course, not. cover that aspect of this or that nobody on CNN would point back to Bacari Sellers and say, wait a minute, Tim Scott's kind of got an important job in your home state. Why have you not talked about him? I think speaks to the dishonesty of much of the rhetoric surrounding this. I think that is all very accurate. I agree. I'm just right now, Buck, scrolling through to see if President Trump has made any more news as he is prepared. Oh, he's got a bunch of things. We're going to dive in here in a second. We have a bunch of clips from President Trump just now speaking to the press. We will bring you up to speed on the latest after a word from our sponsor, Clay. Yes, and our sponsor is the IFCJ, and there's going to be some news coming out of... the Middle East, and we will see what ends up happening with everything having to do with that negotiation. As President Trump's about to take a super long flight, hopefully we will be able to limit the amount. of bombs that are dropping in Israel. But right now, the IFCJ is in the business of actually doing something really important. They help build bomb shelters. They help build hospitals that are more secure. They help build cars that have protection in them so that everybody can be taken care of. IFCJ on the ground in Israel delivering food, caring for the vulnerable, reminding those they serve that they're not alone. You can help with prayer, donations, advocacy as well. Visit the website to help prayifcj.org. That's prayifcj.org, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, prayifcj.org. Playifcj.org. Level up your brain. Mental mugging with... When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at good to know facts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit good to know facts.org. Life moves fast. At American Military University, they're ready to help you keep up. AMU's flexible, affordable online programs in cybersecurity, IT, space studies, and more are designed for service members, veterans, and their families. AMU provides the support you need to take the next step, wherever life takes you. American Military University, made for what's next. Learn more at amu.apus.edu.edu.

These days, it seems like AI agents are just about everywhere you turn, every field and every function. But without identity, you can't trust they'll serve your business instead of jeopardizing it. Fortunately, ACTA helps you get identity right by securing your AI agents' identities, giving you a single layer of control, a single standard of trust. So whether an AI agent supports a single user or your entire enterprise, with ACTA, you'll turn risk into opportunity. Secure every agent. Secure any agent. Octa Secures AI. Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our war fighters, delivers mission-ready intelligence, advances life-saving health care, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT behind America's invisible advantage. Welcome back in. Just rolling in. He's got a super busy schedule. We appreciate the time. Missouri Senator Eric Schmidt. Midterms are coming closer. I wanted to play this for you. This was on CNN a bit earlier. Cut 36. And I want to hear how you think this squares with what you hear from your constituents in Missouri. This is Harry Enten talking about, hey, people aren't that happy with Republicans right now. But Democrats are also historically unpopular. I think this poll serves as a big time reality check for Democrats, and that is it ain't over yet, especially with the redistricting when we look ahead to the 2026 race for Congress. Look, in March, Democrats were up by six points. Look at this now. Democrats are up by three points, and I want you to note the yellow lettering. No clear leader. It is within the margin of error. We talk about, you know, economic approval rating for the president. We talk about the net approval rating among registered voters. If we look among registered voters, the net approval rating, he's 36 points underwater. There's no way. There's no way Republicans could possibly hold under the House. But look at this. Which party is trusted more in the economy? It's a tie among registered voters. Just because Donald Trump is unpopular, doesn't make Democrats popular. And when you match Democrats against Republicans, all of a sudden, it is a dead heat. All right. So does that square kind of with what you're seeing? How would you assess the Senate? How confident are you in Republicans maintaining control? I mean, I think we're going to hold the Senate. The challenge for a midterm always is you don't have this true like binary choice like you do on presidential, right? Where you've got the two leaders of the party going toe to toe and you have to make this kind of binary choice, which is why midterms are a little more harder to judge. But I do think that by the time we get to the fall.

Republicans are going to make very clear the contrast, right? What happened during the four years of Joe Biden? We had a wide open border, right? That's been closed. We're deporting people now. There are 15 million people here illegally. There's still more work to do. I mean, President Trump inherited a disaster of an economy. And to put that in perspective, so for those four years... The inflation adjusted wage growth was minus $5,000. It's now plus $1,500. It's not there yet. Like, we're not there yet. And we should be honest about that. But we're putting in place, I think, the things they're going to make Americans more prosperous. You look at the working families tax cut. A lot of that stuff is starting to kick in now. So I'm confident we're going to hold the Senate. I can't speak to the House. I mean, I think that's going to be a dog fight. But it is interesting now. This decision by the Supreme Court last week, I've written DOJ. They ought to be on offense going after these districts that are racially, you know, the motivation was race in California specifically. So not only winning sort of on this. the turf that they've always played on. It's all upside for us. You look at those New England states. They're all blue. There's 40% Republicans in those states. There's not a single congressman from that area. So we might as well play the game here. And now that the court said you can't have these racist maps, states like California and Illinois, that composition is going to change there too. Senator, it's Buck. Thanks for being with us. Yeah. We were just talking at the top of the show about gas prices up 50%, maybe more since the beginning of the Iran crisis. How much are you hearing from your state constituents that this is something that is high on their list of concerns? Is this as big a thing as we in the media seem to make of it based on the polling, or do you think it's overblown? Do you think it has a big impact? Well, I don't want to minimize it. I mean, look, you know, I'd fill my car up with gas like everybody else, and it's higher than it was, certainly six months ago. You know, some of these media types that, not you guys, but who are, you know, making this the central story every day. I didn't hear any of them talking about it when gas prices were actually higher under Joe Biden, right? So, but. I think it's temporary. It needs to be temporary. I do think the president has clearly articulated a limited mission for Iran, which is make sure they don't have a nuclear weapon, take out their missile defense, take out their Navy. It's led, you know, the way and a path for this negotiation that we're at. And they'll come down. It's a different scenario than when the Democrats, I think, had a terrible energy policy that wasn't going to change. I think you can see the fact that prices will come down. But I'm not minimizing it. I don't like that they're higher than they were six months ago. When you look, you were the Attorney General in Missouri. Yesterday we had Alex Berenson on. The United States government settled with him and acknowledged that Joe Biden back in the day and his administration was restricting what he could say about COVID. You have filed a lawsuit there. I'm curious your reactions to two. You kind of hinted at one. The Calais, Louisiana decision, was that what you expected?

which has ended basically racial gerrymandering. And then the second part of that, what do you think, because we get a lot of questions about this, would happen in the future? Is the law changed? Have the precedents been set to keep government from censoring in the event? God forbid we have another pandemic somewhere down the road. What can and cannot be said? Yeah, so the Missouri v. Biden lawsuit that I filed that went to the Supreme Court. You got to remember, we've talked about it. I've been on your show when this was happening. We filed it before Elon Musk had bought Twitter, right? Before the Twitter file. So all this discovery that came out showed this vast censorship enterprise that existed. And the Supreme Court kicked it. There was a recent settlement agreement there restricting this kind of activity. So that holds. That's a good thing. I do think we need to go further and make sure that. Like, for example, you have a private right of action. If your individual First Amendment right has been infringed by the government, you can go sue an individual bureaucrat who went and did that. That would change the incentive structure. But I think the exposure of it, but look, the reality is this is what tyrants have done since the beginning of time. The first thing they go for is your ability to dissent and then they come for your guns. I mean, it's like, it's a playbook here. So I think we've got to be vigilant on this. On the Voting Rights Act, yeah, this is what I thought they would do. And it was pretty well telegraphed. And there's just no way with the admissions case that came down, you know, this sort of this. this this regime that the democrats put in place that was only about power really is now crumbling down this sort of race they're the race obsessed and power hungry and now the courts have said you can't have racist maps democrats ironically fought for those racist maps decades ago now they're still fighting for them and it's going to have dramatic implications not just in the southeast but in california i think is is next if doj uptakes in the court Speaking of Senator Schmidt of Missouri, and Senator, where does it go you think with the, we've been talking about the redistricting and these fights now playing out. It seems like the Democrats might have misjudged things a bit in Virginia. I know Clay was talking yesterday on the show about how they're thinking about firing all of the state Supreme Court justices effectively, lowering, like retroactively lowering the mandatory retirement, replacing them all, just, just. Out with the bathwater and the baby, the whole thing, in order to try to achieve more power in that state. Is this just now, is the status quo now just going to be maximal or maximum partisan gerrymandering in every state without apology and without reprieve? What do you think? Well, I would argue in kind of the new Republican Party under President Trump, one thing I think that will be remembered is his. um what part of his legacy is that republicans should fight back i think for a long time republicans played a very different game than the democrats i referenced the new england states that's why when this whole thing started i was very clear it's all upside for us we haven't played the same game that they played

And the courts have been clear that you can have maps that are political considerations. You can't just, you can't have race be the consideration. And ironically in California, this independent commission they established, which was to game the system, the mapmaker himself said that these districts were based on race, which is why DOJ should immediately be going at California and upend that map. So, um, look, I think this is where we're at. And by the way, those census numbers in 2020 were inflated to benefit Democrat states. You've seen the exodus out of places like Illinois and California and New York to Republican states. So I think over the next four years or so, it's going to be pretty dramatic. So this kind of structural astroturfing they've been doing for a long time is going to go away, which is why you see Hakeem Jeffries sound like an insane person now. Like they understand what's going on. And now that we're in the game and we're fighting back, they know what that means for their grip on power, which is why they're so desperate. You walked in here and told me, hey, among many of the things you're working on, Arkansas basketball coach, John Cali Perry, was in your office. The commissioners of the Big Ten and the SEC are up here. FIFA World Cup is kicking off. I think a lot of them are going to be at the Fox event that is going on tonight to celebrate that. Score acted and leading brought up on the hill. Is Congress going to be able to do anything? I know this has been a never-ending question, Buck's like, what in the world's going on with NIL? Is Congress going to pass anything? What is the progress? What is the prognosis? I hope so. I'm more optimistic, I think, than some, because I think that you've got... You got this governance piece, which is effectively the Score Act, right? It's transfer eligibility. The NCAA or some other institution has to have the legal protection, the antitrust exemption, is effectively to create these rules because right now they can't, which is why you see the chaos. That's right. And then the second piece of it, I think this revenue piece is very important. That White House... a report that came out or recommendations was similar. I was on your show to talk about the blueprint that I had, which allowed for the pooling of media rights among college football programs to go in like the NFL does. I think if college football is at $4 billion all in right now. NBA's got half the eyeballs at $8 billion. Yeah. You know, that's where you're going to get the revenue to save the Olympic sports and save the non-revenue sports. So I think that the combination of those two things, that's the path to get 60 votes in the Senate. And so that's what I'm working on. Buck has got over 100 mile an hour serve. I don't know if he saw this story. But Arkansas cut men's and women's tennis. I know it's just south of you in Missouri. But Buck, I don't know how much you're paying attention to this, but it is kind of interesting. A lot of the so-called Olympic sports. are getting cut because they cost and they lose money on them, right, compared to football and basketball where you have big crowds. Buck, the Olympic sports, I mean, you're 100 mile an hour serve. I know you're still getting the shoulder loose and you've got a little bit of a cold right now, but you've got to protect tennis? That's, I mean, if tennis goes, civilization goes with that. The country falls apart. Yeah. You have how much eligibility you have left.

Hopefully. Me? Yeah. Well, you probably got all four years. I think he still got all four years. I mean, Indiana had 25-year-olds on that. That's true. I mean, there was a 40-year-old playing football recently. The challenge for me, Clay, was the Olympic Committee thought that it might be considered cheating if I shave down my hair because of the aerodynamics involved. So we're wondering if the swoop is considered a performance-enhancing drug. They don't really know how to classify it. So I don't want to cause problems, Clay. So I may not be up for the next Olympics, but I'm thinking about it. For the good of the country. You're stepping away. I appreciate it. No, I think, look, the model has been football has subsidized all these non-revenue sports. Yeah. And if you're losing money on football like Rutgers is. This is just where it's going. And it is a little startling. And I brought it up because the Arkansas AD was in the office too. And I asked them about it. And it's just this is an SEC school. Yeah. Like this is not like New Mexico State. Yeah. And I think what's going to happen if we don't step in and give this anti-old. Congress, do I think Congress should be in the business of all this? That's not really what this is. I was skeptical. But Congress is the only entity that can give that antitrust exemption for them to pool and for them to have these rules. And I think that will ultimately be what saves college sports. What else should we know? Everybody out there, Save Act. I'll ask you this. We get asked about it all the time. Any movement there? And the reason I asked yesterday we were talking about this, and Buck mentioned what they were talking about doing with the Supreme Court in Virginia. Now they've said the Senate Majority Leader Buck came out and said that's too far even for us to fire effectively all seven of them. But I think Buck and I both agree that if Democrats take back control of the White House and the Senate, they'll just do. away with filibuster once and for all. And so any Republican who's saying I'm standing on principle and I'm standing on history, if they do that, then... Democrats aren't going to care. And so that's what the number one concern, I think, probably of this audience is we're standing on principle and Democrats are just going to stand on power. Yeah, that's about we got, that's what I'm sort of getting at the map game. I mean, we got to understand what this is. My time as AG actually informed a lot of being here now in Washington because I saw the full compliment of what the left was willing to do, nonprofits, all the crazy stuff during COVID, all of it. And so I certainly have that kind of mentality to sort of fight back. That's just. been my experience but yeah no doubt they'll add states to the union um they'll pack the supreme court they're they're not messing around here and i think that if we want if we're serious about this and integrity of our elections to save america act we we have to get it done but we have to be willing to spend the time on it and that's really where it's going to be is like We got to spend the time on it, and that's where the fight is. The other issue that's probably, you know, in the next couple of weeks will be Democrats blocked all that ICE funding. We got everything else funded, but we're coming now in reconciliation, which is a simple majority now to make sure they're funded for multiple years. So we're not going to play this game with them anymore. These sanctuary jurisdictions, here's a crazy stat that we saw the other day that we're going to be part of this reconciliation process. 18,000, 18,000.

criminal illegal aliens have been released from prisons and sanctuary jurisdictions just in one year, just in the last year. Because they don't think about it. That's what a sanctuary jurisdiction is. They will not tell law enforcement when a rapist who's an illegal immigrants being released. Talk about like a moral inversion here. And so we ought to be fighting on this. So you talk about the midterms. Let's talk about that. Like let's talk about those kinds of issues too. And I think when you unpack where everybody is, when the ads are flying in September and October, I'm optimistic that we're going to be able to hold the Senate and hopefully the House. Thanks for Senator Schmidt. Appreciate you. Yeah. Thank you so much. Yep. The price of commodities that have value rises and falls based on supply and demand, that's obvious, right? Well, gold is one of these, and that's why gold in times of uncertainty, like right now, is an important savings and investment tool, and that is only reinforced by its long-term value and the overall thesis that gold will continue to increase in value as the dollar declines. So have you been thinking about it for years, but have never moved some of your savings into physical gold. Birch Gold Group is who I trust to help you. Now through May 29th, Birch Gold is giving first-time gold buyers a rebate of up $10,000 on qualifying purchases for details and a free information kit on diversifying in the gold. Text my name Buck to 98-98-98. That's 98-98-Burch gold can help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into a tax-sheltered IRA in physical gold. Text Buc to 98-98-98 to see if you qualify for a first-time gold-buyer rebate of a $10,000. Text B-U-C-K to 98-98-98- Today. Laugh, learn. Hang with the guys. Right there when you need them most. Clay and Buck, just preset them on the eye-hearted. When it comes to what your family eats and drinks, you know your choices matter. You're the expert because you know what fits your life. And getting it right starts with good information. That's why America's beverage companies are sharing more information about our ingredients at good to know facts.org. No spin, no judgments, just the facts straight from the experts for more than 140 beverage ingredients. Visit good to know facts.org. Life moves fast. At American Military University, they're ready to help you keep up. AMU's flexible, affordable online programs in cybersecurity, IT, space studies, and more are designed for service members, veterans, and their families. AMU provides the support you need to take the next step, wherever life takes you. American Military University, made for what's next. Learn more at amu.apus.edu.edu. These days, it seems like AI agents are just about everywhere you turn, every field and every function. But without identity, you can't trust they'll serve your business instead of jeopardizing it. Fortunately, ACTA helps you get identity right by securing your AI agents' identities, giving you a single layer of control, a single standard of trust. So whether an AI agent supports a single user or your entire enterprise, with ACTA, you'll turn risk into opportunity. Secure every agent. Secure any agent.

to Secures AI. Vital doesn't always mean visible. Across America, advanced technology is working behind the scenes, strengthening our nation. It protects our warfighters, delivers mission-ready intelligence, advances life-saving health care, and defends the critical infrastructure that keeps our country moving. At GDIT, we power the systems that help America operate, connect, and stay secure. Every hour, every mission, every day. GDIT, behind America's invisible advantage.