July 7, 2026 • 36 mins
Hour 1 of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show opened with a major discussion of the United States Men’s National Soccer Team’s disappointing World Cup exit and quickly shifted into an in-depth examination of the growing political scandal surrounding Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner. Throughout the hour, the hosts focused on international sports, American competitiveness, Democratic Party politics, the 2026 Senate map, candidate controversies, and the broader implications of leadership, accountability, and public perception.
A significant portion of Hour 1 centered on Team USA’s loss to Belgium in the FIFA World Cup. Clay and Buck expressed frustration over what they viewed as a poor performance by the American squad despite enormous public support and favorable expectations entering the match. They described the defeat as a missed opportunity to build national momentum behind the team, noting that millions of Americans had embraced the tournament and rallied around Team USA. The hosts argued that the United States was thoroughly outplayed and failed to meet the moment on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
The World Cup discussion expanded into a broader debate about the future of American soccer. Clay argued that the United States should aspire to become one of the world’s elite soccer nations and suggested the country needs to adopt more aggressive player-development systems similar to those used by European powers. The hosts rejected the idea that soccer’s relative standing among American sports fully explains the gap in performance, noting that smaller countries with far fewer resources continue to produce top-level talent. They compared Team USA’s performance with other nations, including Mexico and England, and argued that effort, development, and culture all play a role in international success.
At the same time, Clay and Buck praised the broader success of the World Cup as an event hosted in the United States. Despite disappointment with Team USA’s exit, they emphasized that the tournament itself had been a tremendous success from a cultural and organizational standpoint. The hosts highlighted the positive experiences of international visitors traveling throughout the country and argued that America had presented itself exceptionally well on the global stage. They framed the tournament as a major showcase for American hospitality, infrastructure, and national pride.
The other dominant topic throughout Hour 1 was the rapidly escalating scandal involving Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner. Clay provided extensive context surrounding a newly public sexual assault allegation against Platner, including a detailed interview in which an accuser alleged non-consensual sexual conduct. The hosts examined the timing of the allegations, the political ramifications for Democrats, and the growing speculation that party leaders want Platner removed from the ballot before critical filing deadlines pass.
Clay and Buck argued that the controversy has become especially significant because of Maine’s importance to the 2026 Senate map. The hosts noted that Democrats view the seat currently held by Senator Susan Collins as one of their best opportunities to gain control of the Senate. As a result, Platner’s candidacy has become a high-stakes political problem for party leaders. They suggested that Democratic officials may be attempting to persuade him to withdraw and allow a replacement candidate to emerge before ballot deadlines make such a move impossible.
The discussion also revisited earlier controversies surrounding Platner, including reports about a Nazi tattoo, allegations of inappropriate personal conduct, controversial comments from his past, and questions about his personal and professional background. Clay argued that many of these issues were already publicly known before Democratic primary voters selected him as their nominee. The hosts questioned whether party leaders were now attempting to override the results of the primary because they no longer believe Platner can win a statewide election.
A major point of debate focused on what Platner should do next. Both hosts suggested that, if they were in his position, they would likely remain in the race rather than withdraw. They argued that stepping aside could be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing and noted that Platner has publicly denied the allegations. The hosts speculated about possible negotiations behind the scenes, including whether Democratic leaders might attempt to persuade him to withdraw by offering future opportunities or support. They emphasized that, regardless of what happens, the situation represents a growing crisis for Maine Democrats.
The show also highlighted reaction from media personalities, particularly comments from “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin. Clay and Buck criti
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
In Tuesday edition, Playing Buck, we got Grand Platner Maine
Senate news. We told you that things were rapidly unraveling
in Maine. We will get to that as grand Platner
faces a new sexual assault allegation.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
What should he do? What will he do?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
How does this impact the overall Senate landscape as we
move towards the overall twenty twenty six midterm elections. All
of that to come, but we begin with the utter
collapse of the United States soccer team. Buck watched, I watched,
(00:47):
tens of millions of you watched, and it was a pathetic,
week uninspired, scared performance put forward by our soccer team.
One of the goals was maybe the worst goal that
I've ever seen that our goalie gave up to put
us down three to one.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Buck.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
We were favored to win this game globally, and we
came out huge, awesome crowd in Seattle. Entire nation is
ready to get behind this team even more than they
already were, and we tripped and fell and knocked ourselves out.
Congrats to Belgium. They were the ones doing the Trump dance.
(01:33):
I don't know if you saw it or not, but
after the fourth goal.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Ugh.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Ugh.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
After the fourth goal, Belgium's players were doing the Trump
dance on the field in celebration of their obliteration of US.
You and I were texting during the match. We're still
on a positive side. Since I try to be optimistic,
I will say the hosting of the World Cup has
(01:57):
been a tremendously awesome summer event in the United States,
and there still are a bunch of games that remain
between the best of all of the teams out there,
so that will still be exciting for those of US
who are big sports fans, as the most elite teams
have continued to advance, but the US fell flat on
(02:19):
its face, utter failure.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Your take, well, every four years when the World Cup happens,
there are these people in America who care about soccer,
which is I know a lot of you are not
in that category, but there are people care about soccer
even when it's being played in like Russia or Cutter
or Qatar or whatever, and they tell us, oh, this
(02:44):
US men's national team is different. We finally are competitive
at the highest level of soccer. By the way, no
one's expecting that the US was going to win the
whole thing or that's crazy talk, right, there were teams
that are still a full tier above teams like France
and Spain and England, they're a full tier above the
(03:04):
US team. But we were led to believe and are
continuous led to league. We're in that second tier, right
below the big called the Big five or Big ten teams.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
We are not.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
So that was that was what we saw yesterday.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
For those who watched the game, they were just they
were a better team and our team played poorly for
the level that our team is at. I would say
that having watched the Mexico England match, England is a
tier above. By the way, England is still in it,
still in it, perhaps to win it, those of you
who were doubters from the beginning, But England is a
(03:39):
tier above Mexico in terms of ability and talent. But
the Mexican national team at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico
City acquitted themselves very well and fought really hard against
a better team. And I think I just think that
you know athletics, this is true in any sport. If
you left it all on the field, you know, nobody
(04:01):
was booing Rocky when Apollo got the decision the point
was he took the champ the full distance. I thought
we'd be able to give them a real match yesterday,
and I think a lot of people did. And that
was the disappointment that it looked like a college team
playing a JV.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
High school team. I mean, it was. It was embarrassing.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
It was an embarrassing ass kicking, and uh, you know,
I feel badly for the guys. I know they worked
really hard and they got up to this point and
they had played well, and I know that they wanted
to do better than they did. But on the positive note, Clay,
it's been a great World Cup. It has been really
fun for the viewers who've gone to the games or
just watched them on TV. It's been a great showing
(04:41):
for America as a country and as a host nation.
And I do think that matters a whole heck of
a lot more in every sense. So yeah, don't worry.
Not a lot of soccer analysis coming today other than
we're just not there, folks, We're just not We do
not have world class soccer players in this country, and
we're not about to have world class soccer players in
this country. And maybe that's just okay, Maybe we need
(05:04):
to just accept that that's the way this is gonna be.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I actually I have a ton of thoughts on this.
I think we should and could be one of the greatest.
I think we should be the best at everything, and
I think we actually have to be more aggressive in copying. Frankly,
the way that Europe develops its soccer talent. Belgium only
has what eleven million people. So for people out there
(05:29):
who say, oh, too many of our best athletes go
to football, basketball, baseball, hockey, whatever you want to point to.
If you're under six feet tall, you almost have no
chance of playing any other sport at a really, really
high professional level. This is just reality for men. I
mean harsh reality, but it's true. You could be the
(05:50):
greatest soccer player in the world and be five to ten.
I'm not sure you could could be five eight five eight, Yeah, right,
you can't be the great Maybe I guess you could
be a job. You can't be the best hardly at
any sport. Sorry, short kings.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
Play just told all the under six foot men of
America you can be a jockey. Yeah, you can be
a Try to be positive. You could be the greatest
soccer player in the world. You can't be the greatest
at any other team sport.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
You can't. You have no chance of playing in the NBA.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
You have no chance really of playing in the NFL
unless you're gonna play second base in baseball. There's almost
no guys that are significantly under six feet tall that
are very successful. You can be the greatest soccer player
in the world. So I don't buy the oh, there's
other athletes competing all these different things. I want to
(06:44):
be the best, But I do think we have to
face the harsh reality, which is we went to the
Round of eight in two thousand and two, twenty four
years ago, and otherwise we haven't been able to do better.
And this was set up perfectly. The nation was behind us.
We would have had an entire week of incredible drama
leading up to where I think we would have lost
(07:06):
to Spain. But at least if we had gone out
buck like I hate to say it, Mexico did. I
don't think there's anybody who watched that Mexico lost to
England and said, oh, I feel like I was cheated.
Mexico left their heart and soul on the field. They
played a really high spirited brand of soccer. They happened
(07:27):
to lose to a better team. They very easily could
have tied and then won. I mean they were they
made it very close. You were sweating. I was sweating
as an England fan literally, So yeah, if we had
lost in that fashion, I would have said, okay, like
that's frustrating. But we just got out early, eviscerated, and
like I said, we had a great call from one
(07:48):
of our listeners down in Texas. Unfortunately, the Trump dance
ended up being done by Belgium and not by the
by the United States. Because when you to the victor
go the trash talk right, and I give him credit,
like they absolutely walked into a hornet's nest of a
stadium in Seattle filled with red, white and blue and
(08:08):
people who were ready to be all about it. I
saw a great clip. We were tied for sixty one
seconds after we got the gold to make it one one.
Did you see the Vince McMahon clip where everybody uses
that meme of Vince McMahon, former WWE president, the founder,
where he's doing an interview and he just I'm sure
you've seen that meme where he's like.
Speaker 6 (08:29):
Oh, he starts crying crying.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, Like people use that meme all the time on
social media, and it was Hey, Dad, tell us about
the time when the US was tied with six.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
For sixty one.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
This second, it made it seem like we had a
chance for one whole minute of the entire that was
the only minute where you really believe, by the way,
because they were outplayed every other minute of every.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Other you know, both have the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
It was all right, take some of your calls, I
will say, if you want to look for the shining light.
I do believe that America as an has acquitted itself
phenomenally well and in terms of hosting all of the
different people who have traveled to the United States to
celebrate the World Cup. And I still will really enjoy watching.
(09:14):
I think there's only like eight or nine games left
in the entirety of the World Cup. We'll have four
in the quarterfinals, two one. I know they play a
third place game, I guess, but I don't think that
many people watch it, So I'll be looking forward to
watching that.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
We'll take some of your calls.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
You can react, you can make your analogies of how
you felt. I bet we'll get some really funny talkbacks
associated with that. Let's also, though, buck dive into and
start to set the table for this Gram Platiner drama. Yesterday,
if you were listening as we were finishing the show,
we told you that there was an expectation that there
(09:51):
may well be information coming out that would threaten Platner's
ability to stay in the race. So let me give
you a little bit of a background here as we're
prepared to go into the break, and then we will
dive into this story in earnest because I do think
it's a big one. Graham Platner has until July thirteenth
to withdraw from this race. That would then give Democrats
(10:16):
two weeks to select a new nominee. Politico wrote a
story that featured a sexual assault accusation, very detailed, and
I have got I'm sure we have that audio. Jake
Tapper interviewed the accuser and she said straight out that
(10:40):
he raped her. This is cut one, I believe.
Speaker 7 (10:45):
Let me see and I apologize. Let me be as
direct as I can.
Speaker 8 (10:52):
Did grand review by definition, Yes, absolutely, because.
Speaker 7 (10:59):
He had not consensual sect with you force himself, had
now know and fought off.
Speaker 8 (11:08):
He violated multiple layers of consent that night by coming
into my own when I asked him not to, and
by advancing on me when I told him not to,
and furthermore another incident that I had told him not
to do and with a protection Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, okay, So so far grand Platner has not dropped
out of the race. He was selected as the nominee.
There's a lot of questions about what the New York
Times knew because they wrote a story that suggested inappropriate
behavior on several different levels by grand Platner in relation
(11:51):
with many different women, but was not this detailed. This
woman was willing to go public with Politico. Now, all
these Democrat who stood behind Graham Platner over the Nazi tattoo,
who stood behind Graham Platner, Remember when he said that
if somebody tried to rape his house, he would sorry
(12:11):
rob his house. He would rape them if any guy
did that, but not in a sexual way. They admitted
that he said that he's had multiple different sexting relationships
with women he wasn't married to. Now sexual assault allegations,
I mean, there is a bevy of the Reddit past posts,
all these different things that would suggest that Graham Platner
(12:35):
was not the right candidate, and all of this is
now coming to a head, and so we will talk
about it when we come back and say where we
think this story goes next. But in the meantime, I
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(12:59):
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(13:20):
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(13:43):
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Speaker 9 (14:06):
Looking for normal in a world of crazy, Clay and
Buck have your back.
Speaker 6 (14:11):
Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck. So we
told you before.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
You've got this main Senate race, which is getting a
lot of attention because well one it's a competitive seat,
but also also you have a situation unfolding where once
again the Democrats are caught backing a person in a
way that seems like, I don't know, they have no
(14:36):
ethics or morals, and they don't care at all about
anything but power, and that's not a good look for them.
Maybe they don't care, they don't care, the grand Platner
has responded, so to be fair to the facts of
this case so far, or fair rather to where the
story stands so far. This is Graham Platner as of yesterday.
Play seven.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Please, I wanted to directly address the troubling serious and
false allegations against me. Any accusation of non consensual behavior
is categorically false, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting,
but mindful of political reality it will inflict, we are
taking the time to reflect on the best path forward
(15:17):
for the state that I love, the people that I love,
the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating
Susan Collins. Every one of you deserves to see that
vision come to Fruition and see Susan Collins defeated, and
we will use every tool at our disposal to do so.
Speaker 5 (15:35):
Clay, if this is the there are rumors out there
that there could be other hit pieces and other stories
I should say not hit pieces.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Well, it depends on who you believe.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
Other stories out there that could be published that are
very damaging about Graham Plattner. I think my sense of
this is he says that this is a lie, that
the allegation is false. If he were to leave the
race now, it would be in some ways viewed as
probably an admission, and even if it's not criminally speaking,
(16:11):
viewed that way politically and for his reputation.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
It might be viewed that way.
Speaker 5 (16:15):
I think it would be and so I don't think
he's I don't think this is enough. He said he's
going to reflect. So some people are saying they're preparing
to withdraw from the race. I don't think this is
going to push him out. What do you think?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
I got so many thoughts on this. First of all,
the fact that they waited till after the July fourth
holiday to drop this attack story is evidence that they
timed this to put immense pressure on him because he
has to drop out by July thirteenth. They want him out,
for sure, we agree on that they want him. This
(16:50):
is a Democrat hit. So are they just going to
pay him off?
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Like I think?
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Ultimately this just comes down to somebody rich inside of
the Democrat party saying, hey, we'll hire your wife and
pay her five hundred thousand dollars a year to work
at a think tank, and we'll find some cushy job
for you where you can go around and advocate on policy,
(17:16):
and we'll pay you five hundred thousand dollars a year
to do that. This is what Democrats are really good at.
They have all of this sort of think tank apparatus
where they pay their people to go and bide their
time But if I were.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Him, I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I wouldn't drop out, and I would actually forcefully come
out and say these attacks are being brought against me
by the Democrat establishment. You all voted last month in Maine.
These allegations were out there. They're not true. I'm not
stepping down. That's what I would say if I were
grand Platner. Because you step down, you're admitting they're true.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Ah, that's where I think this is too.
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Speaker 2 (18:54):
Welcome back in playin, Buck. All right, let's dive into
this Grand Platinir situation. By the way, a bunch of
people are weighing in eight hundred and two A two
two A A two, and we will take your calls
on both US soccer and Grand Platner, which is a
wide range of top topics that are going on as
we speak. President Trump is also in Turkey and was
(19:19):
taking questions earlier in the day from Turkey. Not to
my knowledge, Buck, huge news that has come out there. Okay,
let's go into this Grand Platiner situation a bit more.
You and I both agree that we would not drop
out if we were Grand Platner, and I think this
is important to point out again this is a Democrat
(19:41):
hit piece that is coming after Grand Platner. Republicans are
really not involved in this at all. In fact, I
would say most Republicans think that Democrats should have to
wallow in their choices in the primary because what they're
trying to do now is say, oh, well, just switch.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
They're trying to.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Pull a Biden Kamalist situation where they completely eliminate the
primary process, where there were all of these allegations out there.
It's not like we Grant Platter had a freaking Nazi
tattoo on his chest and admitted that he was sexting
lots of different women.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
He wasn't with.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
You knew that there were women alleging inappropriate relationships. All
of this, I would argue, was public when Democrats went
to the polls and made him their choice.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
And so.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
This is not coincidental that they have one week to
force him out so that they can hand select a candidate.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Of their choice.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Ultimately, Buck, I think this is going to come down
to the question will Graham Plattner drop out or not?
And he's saying he's got demands. He wants to be
able to pick potentially who the candidate's going to be.
A part of me thinks, and you guys may think
this is a crazy take that he's going to suggest
his wife just something to put out there.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
I have no idea what kind of candidate she would be.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
But then he is a Senate spouse, even if he's
not a senator, and it may give some of the
same people who had been supportive of Grand Platner and idea, well, okay,
we're going to support his wife now. There are also
reports that other Democrat candidates also have their own issues.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Will he drop out?
Speaker 2 (21:27):
I just a lot of times buck they get guys
or gals to drop out because they say, hey, in
the future, will have your back. I don't think that
Graham Platner is going to have any political future going forward.
He's an oyster farmer now, he doesn't actually have a
significant job.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
What else does he have to lose.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
I would roll the dice and I would aggressively come
out if I were him and say, hey, I'm imperfect.
You guys knew all this when we had the primary.
I'm not gonna let Kamala Biden's situation happen. We saw
what happened with Kamala Hare I'm staying in. It's what
I would do if I were him.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
I'm always reminded of the congressman in the wire who
they've got absolutely nailed on mortgage fraud, and he goes
in front of the jury and just does the whole
the whole song and dance about all the things he's
done for the community and everything else. Sure enough, But
the speech he gets beforehand because he's thinking about taking
(22:26):
a plea deal, I forget who gives it to him,
is it? I forget who tells him basically says, you
got to stay in the game. You don't take yourself
out of the game based on some concern over ethics
or the future or anything like that. You want to be
in a position where you still have cards to play.
And as long as you're still in the game, you
have cards to play. And that is I think right
(22:49):
now likely the platterer, right, you know, the place where
he finds himself or how he thinks of his situation.
People have said, there could be something worse that comes
at me and accused of forcible rape by a woman
on the record named who he did have sexual relationship with.
I mean, this is really bad, yes, the fact that,
but interesting, isn't it that it's really bad. Some Democrats
(23:14):
are still kind of like, well he denies it, you know,
we'll see. And this is of course, there's a part
of them that wants to say, well, look at the
other people and we know who theyre gonna start bring up.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
They're gonna talk about Trump, They're gonna start saying things.
Speaker 5 (23:28):
This isn't some allegation from forty years ago with no
corroboration from a person who can't remember what year it
happened that Trump says, I don't even know this crazy person. Okay,
that's what Democrats mobilized behind and said you had to
treat as sacro sanct this time around. It's somebody who
everything here is entirely plausible, credible, named on the record,
(23:50):
all of that. Now, it's an allegation that is not proven.
It certainly is not adjudicated. I think Democrats are like
Kenny Wain. If he can win, then I think a
lot of them feel that way.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
The story is that his polling numbers have collapsed since
the last allegations came out, and they are now of
the opinion that Maine voters will not vote for him.
Speaker 5 (24:15):
Wait, wait, did you see the Sunny Houstin thing. This
is incredible. Oh yeah, this is the team just a
few minutes ago. So when it's gonna when it's going
to be in.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
But yeah, Sonny Hostin just went on the view and said,
I would still vote for him.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
And look, I can we hear?
Speaker 6 (24:31):
Can we hear from Sunny real quick?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Can we have that?
Speaker 6 (24:33):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (24:34):
We have it?
Speaker 6 (24:34):
Okay, that's thirty play it.
Speaker 10 (24:37):
It is a disgusting time in politics where we decide
what we're willing to morally accept based on the jersey
you're wearing. And if you are one of those people
that was willing to plug your nose, you're the problem.
Speaker 11 (24:48):
Well then I'm the problem because I was one of
those people and I said it. If I lived in Maine,
I would have, you know, plugged my nose and I
would have voted for him. Anyway. I think that we
are in a time of eccidentil crisis in this country.
I think Republicans fall in line, they don't fall in loved.
Democrats want to fall in love and not fall in line.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
You know.
Speaker 11 (25:06):
The Republican Party, the bar is so very low. I
can't believe. I cannot believe that they want to try
to assume the moral high ground the Republican.
Speaker 5 (25:17):
Party, Clay, this is just this is like psychological projection, denialism.
All kinds of problems that Sunny Hassen has here with reality.
One of them is the issue is Democrats right now, Yes,
she keeps talking about Republicans. Democrats are the ones that
are worried about this guy. The New York Times is
and Politico are are writing these kinds of pieces about him.
(25:41):
And you know, we just went through a presidency where
they were all willing to stand behind a president with
dementia and act like he didn't have dimension. We all
knew that he did. So there's no moral high ground
to stand on about what they're willing to vote for
and pretend that doesn't exist when it does. I think
many people out there have decided that personal failings don't
(26:04):
matter because of the significant dire straits that the country faces.
And so that's why I would say, if I'm Grand Platner,
I'm going to stay in this race. I don't really
see what he has to lose. He either becomes a Senator,
which is pretty good job compared to being an oyster
(26:25):
farmer for most people. I would say, especially when you're
an oyster farmer whose only customer is your mom and
when your dad has had to buy your house. This
is not a guy who has launched himself successfully in
other facets of his life. So he's either going to
be a senator or no one really will know him
(26:47):
and it'll be a random oyster farmer in Maine. That
doesn't seem like a tough decision for me. And again,
I think what is ultimately going to happen is Democrats
are going to give him millions of dollars. I think
that Democrats will say, we care so much about this
Senate seat. And this is why it matters in the
big picture, because if Democrats can't win Maine, there is
(27:12):
no pathway that they can contend in the twenty twenty
six Senate race that Maine is there must have state,
and they recognize it. And so that's why I think comparatively,
if they give Graham Platner five or six million dollars guaranteed,
this is a small price to pay in their mind
(27:34):
for being able to contend. What I do wonder about, though, buck.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Is in their haste to try to find somebody to
replace Graham Platner, are they going to find someone else
with significant issues in his or her background? And this
is why a lot of people wanted Janet Mills, even
though she's eighty years old. They wanted her to be
the nominee because she's already been elected statewide multiple times.
(28:00):
Whatever you're going to say about her, everybody already knows
Gary and Maine. You're listening to us right now. You've
got to take what do you think?
Speaker 9 (28:11):
Yes, this is a.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
I'm a representative up here in the state of Maine,
and I think Graham Plattner is done, and I think
Uncle Chuck is going to pull his funding as he
probably did with Governor Mills. And I'm what I'm witnessing
with Graham Plattner is he's got real issues with Trump
derangement syndrome, and he's going around the state saying Collins
(28:35):
is bad. I am good. And on the other side
of the coin, you've got Senator Collins pointing out her
record of ten thousand votes, things she's done for the
state of Maine. And also, as a side note, the
Honorable Troy Jackson, the former President of the Senate, is
already putting in his paperwork to replace Graham Plattner.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
Now, let me ask you on this, because you're clearly
dialed into main politics, sir, is it actually ironically going
to be worse for Collins when someone does step up
to replace Platner. I mean, essentially, as a Republican, do
we want Platner to stay in because Susan Collins looks
so likely to beat him?
Speaker 6 (29:20):
How do you assess that?
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Yeah, as a Republican legislator, we really wanted Platner to
stay in because it's such a contrast between his non
record and her record. Now, also, I think any Democrat
that will step up, and probably these people that had
ran for governor and didn't win, I don't think they
(29:43):
have a chance against a good senator because she is
a moderate, which a lot of people on my side
are disappointed in her, But when you consider the alternative,
they will show up and they will vote to keep
Senator Collins in office. And also, this is a quick
side note. You know, as a Republican, I've always been
against ear marks, but since the Senator has become the
(30:07):
chair of the Appropriations Committee, the things that she's brought
back to the state of Maine, I've got to say
it's really helped even my own community, who received a
million dollars for new fire station. So she's got an
impeccable record to helping the people of the.
Speaker 8 (30:24):
State of Maine.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
If you were trying to assess, you obviously are very
plugged in with the market up there, When do you
think grand Platner drops out? And what would they do
if grand Platner You're right by the way, Chuck Schumer
has said, we will not spend any federal campaign dollars
to try to help him. The Democrat Senate committee that
(30:47):
raises hundreds of millions of dollars, they say they won't
buy ads. But what if grand Platner just says, you
know what, the voters of Maine knew all about my background,
I'm imperfect. And what if he even started to attack
the Democrat Party a little bit and said, I'm not
gonna do what Joe Biden did. We saw what happened
(31:08):
with Kamala Harris. He lost, nobody else can win. What
if he goes on offense here? What would the Democrats do?
Speaker 4 (31:18):
He can go on on the offense that he wants,
but if we all know it comes down to the dollars,
and when the dollars on there, he's not gonna get
his message out. And I think that Uncle Chuck is
gonna stop the funding, and I think all these other
groups are gonna stop that funding. That he's gonna lose
his voice without that money.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Thank you for the call. We will see how it
all shakes out. And look, we'll see the odds are
buck if you look at the gambling markets right now,
the prediction markets, the kal she's in the poly markets
that he's gonna drop out within the next twenty four hours.
That is what they are saying. So uh will they
(32:02):
be right? We talked about this yesterday. Sometimes you can
see when stories are coming by the way the markets move,
and uh, we don't. We'll see how exactly all this
shakes out. Do you wish you had more energy to
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Speaker 6 (33:31):
Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck.
Speaker 5 (33:34):
One thing we haven't talked about yet on the show,
I think and I wanted to mention it because we're
discussing the realities of the main Senate race.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
There's a lot going on there.
Speaker 5 (33:44):
But for a while now it has been uh, it
has been clear that something is something with Mitch McConnell's
health has been.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
A miss.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
I mean, he's he's in he's in bad shape, my friends,
this is the bottom line. It's been the hospital for
weeks and there is a little bit of a of
a quiet around his actual condition. There are people who
have said things prominently online that are are are very
distressing about you know, the future of well about the
(34:20):
health condition. Let you say of Mitch McConnell. But I
do think Clay, it is it is something that will
will follow and we'll look at clearly there's already he's
not running for it's not like he was running for reelection.
But that is a real era of the Republican United
States Senate that that door is closing.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
And Mitch McConnell has.
Speaker 5 (34:43):
Had a very big imprint on politics in this country
for a long time. And Clay, it's it's looking when
someone goes to the hospital for three weeks and they're fine,
you are generally going to hear that from their team
and their staff.
Speaker 6 (34:59):
So we offer up our thoughts and prayers.
Speaker 5 (35:02):
You know, look, he's a human being, he's an American,
he's a father, he's a husband, he served his country
in the Senate, and we wish him well. I just
know that a lot of rumors out there right now,
and the rumors are very you know, there are sad rumors.
I will put it that way about Mitch McConnell's current state.
So we're waiting for updates on that.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Yeah, I would just add echo everything you said. From
a larger political perspective, it may be the case that
Kentucky has to have a new senator before the election
takes place in November, and the swearing inn would take
place in January. I don't think that is a difficult
(35:42):
proposition to put forward at all. I will say Scott
Jennings just tweeted, I spoke to my old friend Mitch
McConnell this morning. He's still recovering in the hospital. We
talked for just shy of twenty minutes about Iran, Ukraine,
the unfolding situation in Maine, my visit to the Teddy
Roosevelt Presidential Library and more, and a little bit of
(36:07):
Senate history. I told him we want to see him
back at work as soon as possible.
Speaker 5 (36:12):
He just posted that too much. So that's really encouraging
because there's all this. You know, like I said, we
don't report rumors. I just know there are rumors out there,
But if Mitch is having conversations with Scott Jennings's, that's.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Very encouraging, no doubt, and so we will see what
ends up transpiring there. But we did want to mention
that when we come back, we got loaded lines. We'll
take a bunch of your calls. We'll continue to break
down the latest in Maine, probably get some of your
great talkbacks on the US collapsing, the analogies.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
That you have there.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
All that and more coming your way as we roll
into our two
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
In Tuesday edition, Playing Buck, we got Grand Platner Maine
Senate news. We told you that things were rapidly unraveling
in Maine. We will get to that as grand Platner
faces a new sexual assault allegation.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
What should he do? What will he do?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
How does this impact the overall Senate landscape as we
move towards the overall twenty twenty six midterm elections. All
of that to come, but we begin with the utter
collapse of the United States soccer team. Buck watched, I watched,
(00:47):
tens of millions of you watched, and it was a pathetic,
week uninspired, scared performance put forward by our soccer team.
One of the goals was maybe the worst goal that
I've ever seen that our goalie gave up to put
us down three to one.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Buck.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
We were favored to win this game globally, and we
came out huge, awesome crowd in Seattle. Entire nation is
ready to get behind this team even more than they
already were, and we tripped and fell and knocked ourselves out.
Congrats to Belgium. They were the ones doing the Trump dance.
(01:33):
I don't know if you saw it or not, but
after the fourth goal.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Ugh.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Ugh.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
After the fourth goal, Belgium's players were doing the Trump
dance on the field in celebration of their obliteration of US.
You and I were texting during the match. We're still
on a positive side. Since I try to be optimistic,
I will say the hosting of the World Cup has
(01:57):
been a tremendously awesome summer event in the United States,
and there still are a bunch of games that remain
between the best of all of the teams out there,
so that will still be exciting for those of US
who are big sports fans, as the most elite teams
have continued to advance, but the US fell flat on
(02:19):
its face, utter failure.
Speaker 5 (02:22):
Your take, well, every four years when the World Cup happens,
there are these people in America who care about soccer,
which is I know a lot of you are not
in that category, but there are people care about soccer
even when it's being played in like Russia or Cutter
or Qatar or whatever, and they tell us, oh, this
(02:44):
US men's national team is different. We finally are competitive
at the highest level of soccer. By the way, no
one's expecting that the US was going to win the
whole thing or that's crazy talk, right, there were teams
that are still a full tier above teams like France
and Spain and England, they're a full tier above the
(03:04):
US team. But we were led to believe and are
continuous led to league. We're in that second tier, right
below the big called the Big five or Big ten teams.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
We are not.
Speaker 6 (03:16):
So that was that was what we saw yesterday.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
For those who watched the game, they were just they
were a better team and our team played poorly for
the level that our team is at. I would say
that having watched the Mexico England match, England is a
tier above. By the way, England is still in it,
still in it, perhaps to win it, those of you
who were doubters from the beginning, But England is a
(03:39):
tier above Mexico in terms of ability and talent. But
the Mexican national team at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico
City acquitted themselves very well and fought really hard against
a better team. And I think I just think that
you know athletics, this is true in any sport. If
you left it all on the field, you know, nobody
(04:01):
was booing Rocky when Apollo got the decision the point
was he took the champ the full distance. I thought
we'd be able to give them a real match yesterday,
and I think a lot of people did. And that
was the disappointment that it looked like a college team
playing a JV.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
High school team. I mean, it was. It was embarrassing.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
It was an embarrassing ass kicking, and uh, you know,
I feel badly for the guys. I know they worked
really hard and they got up to this point and
they had played well, and I know that they wanted
to do better than they did. But on the positive note, Clay,
it's been a great World Cup. It has been really
fun for the viewers who've gone to the games or
just watched them on TV. It's been a great showing
(04:41):
for America as a country and as a host nation.
And I do think that matters a whole heck of
a lot more in every sense. So yeah, don't worry.
Not a lot of soccer analysis coming today other than
we're just not there, folks, We're just not We do
not have world class soccer players in this country, and
we're not about to have world class soccer players in
this country. And maybe that's just okay, Maybe we need
(05:04):
to just accept that that's the way this is gonna be.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I actually I have a ton of thoughts on this.
I think we should and could be one of the greatest.
I think we should be the best at everything, and
I think we actually have to be more aggressive in copying. Frankly,
the way that Europe develops its soccer talent. Belgium only
has what eleven million people. So for people out there
(05:29):
who say, oh, too many of our best athletes go
to football, basketball, baseball, hockey, whatever you want to point to.
If you're under six feet tall, you almost have no
chance of playing any other sport at a really, really
high professional level. This is just reality for men. I
mean harsh reality, but it's true. You could be the
(05:50):
greatest soccer player in the world and be five to ten.
I'm not sure you could could be five eight five eight, Yeah, right,
you can't be the great Maybe I guess you could
be a job. You can't be the best hardly at
any sport. Sorry, short kings.
Speaker 5 (06:05):
Play just told all the under six foot men of
America you can be a jockey. Yeah, you can be
a Try to be positive. You could be the greatest
soccer player in the world. You can't be the greatest
at any other team sport.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
You can't. You have no chance of playing in the NBA.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
You have no chance really of playing in the NFL
unless you're gonna play second base in baseball. There's almost
no guys that are significantly under six feet tall that
are very successful. You can be the greatest soccer player
in the world. So I don't buy the oh, there's
other athletes competing all these different things. I want to
(06:44):
be the best, But I do think we have to
face the harsh reality, which is we went to the
Round of eight in two thousand and two, twenty four
years ago, and otherwise we haven't been able to do better.
And this was set up perfectly. The nation was behind us.
We would have had an entire week of incredible drama
leading up to where I think we would have lost
(07:06):
to Spain. But at least if we had gone out
buck like I hate to say it, Mexico did. I
don't think there's anybody who watched that Mexico lost to
England and said, oh, I feel like I was cheated.
Mexico left their heart and soul on the field. They
played a really high spirited brand of soccer. They happened
(07:27):
to lose to a better team. They very easily could
have tied and then won. I mean they were they
made it very close. You were sweating. I was sweating
as an England fan literally, So yeah, if we had
lost in that fashion, I would have said, okay, like
that's frustrating. But we just got out early, eviscerated, and
like I said, we had a great call from one
(07:48):
of our listeners down in Texas. Unfortunately, the Trump dance
ended up being done by Belgium and not by the
by the United States. Because when you to the victor
go the trash talk right, and I give him credit,
like they absolutely walked into a hornet's nest of a
stadium in Seattle filled with red, white and blue and
(08:08):
people who were ready to be all about it. I
saw a great clip. We were tied for sixty one
seconds after we got the gold to make it one one.
Did you see the Vince McMahon clip where everybody uses
that meme of Vince McMahon, former WWE president, the founder,
where he's doing an interview and he just I'm sure
you've seen that meme where he's like.
Speaker 6 (08:29):
Oh, he starts crying crying.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, Like people use that meme all the time on
social media, and it was Hey, Dad, tell us about
the time when the US was tied with six.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
For sixty one.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
This second, it made it seem like we had a
chance for one whole minute of the entire that was
the only minute where you really believe, by the way,
because they were outplayed every other minute of every.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Other you know, both have the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
It was all right, take some of your calls, I
will say, if you want to look for the shining light.
I do believe that America as an has acquitted itself
phenomenally well and in terms of hosting all of the
different people who have traveled to the United States to
celebrate the World Cup. And I still will really enjoy watching.
(09:14):
I think there's only like eight or nine games left
in the entirety of the World Cup. We'll have four
in the quarterfinals, two one. I know they play a
third place game, I guess, but I don't think that
many people watch it, So I'll be looking forward to
watching that.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
We'll take some of your calls.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
You can react, you can make your analogies of how
you felt. I bet we'll get some really funny talkbacks
associated with that. Let's also, though, buck dive into and
start to set the table for this Gram Platiner drama. Yesterday,
if you were listening as we were finishing the show,
we told you that there was an expectation that there
(09:51):
may well be information coming out that would threaten Platner's
ability to stay in the race. So let me give
you a little bit of a background here as we're
prepared to go into the break, and then we will
dive into this story in earnest because I do think
it's a big one. Graham Platner has until July thirteenth
to withdraw from this race. That would then give Democrats
(10:16):
two weeks to select a new nominee. Politico wrote a
story that featured a sexual assault accusation, very detailed, and
I have got I'm sure we have that audio. Jake
Tapper interviewed the accuser and she said straight out that
(10:40):
he raped her. This is cut one, I believe.
Speaker 7 (10:45):
Let me see and I apologize. Let me be as
direct as I can.
Speaker 8 (10:52):
Did grand review by definition, Yes, absolutely, because.
Speaker 7 (10:59):
He had not consensual sect with you force himself, had
now know and fought off.
Speaker 8 (11:08):
He violated multiple layers of consent that night by coming
into my own when I asked him not to, and
by advancing on me when I told him not to,
and furthermore another incident that I had told him not
to do and with a protection Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
Yeah, okay, So so far grand Platner has not dropped
out of the race. He was selected as the nominee.
There's a lot of questions about what the New York
Times knew because they wrote a story that suggested inappropriate
behavior on several different levels by grand Platner in relation
(11:51):
with many different women, but was not this detailed. This
woman was willing to go public with Politico. Now, all
these Democrat who stood behind Graham Platner over the Nazi tattoo,
who stood behind Graham Platner, Remember when he said that
if somebody tried to rape his house, he would sorry
(12:11):
rob his house. He would rape them if any guy
did that, but not in a sexual way. They admitted
that he said that he's had multiple different sexting relationships
with women he wasn't married to. Now sexual assault allegations,
I mean, there is a bevy of the Reddit past posts,
all these different things that would suggest that Graham Platner
(12:35):
was not the right candidate, and all of this is
now coming to a head, and so we will talk
about it when we come back and say where we
think this story goes next. But in the meantime, I
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Speaker 9 (14:06):
Looking for normal in a world of crazy, Clay and
Buck have your back.
Speaker 6 (14:11):
Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck. So we
told you before.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
You've got this main Senate race, which is getting a
lot of attention because well one it's a competitive seat,
but also also you have a situation unfolding where once
again the Democrats are caught backing a person in a
way that seems like, I don't know, they have no
(14:36):
ethics or morals, and they don't care at all about
anything but power, and that's not a good look for them.
Maybe they don't care, they don't care, the grand Platner
has responded, so to be fair to the facts of
this case so far, or fair rather to where the
story stands so far. This is Graham Platner as of yesterday.
Play seven.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Please, I wanted to directly address the troubling serious and
false allegations against me. Any accusation of non consensual behavior
is categorically false, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting,
but mindful of political reality it will inflict, we are
taking the time to reflect on the best path forward
(15:17):
for the state that I love, the people that I love,
the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating
Susan Collins. Every one of you deserves to see that
vision come to Fruition and see Susan Collins defeated, and
we will use every tool at our disposal to do so.
Speaker 5 (15:35):
Clay, if this is the there are rumors out there
that there could be other hit pieces and other stories
I should say not hit pieces.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
Well, it depends on who you believe.
Speaker 5 (15:47):
Other stories out there that could be published that are
very damaging about Graham Plattner. I think my sense of
this is he says that this is a lie, that
the allegation is false. If he were to leave the
race now, it would be in some ways viewed as
probably an admission, and even if it's not criminally speaking,
(16:11):
viewed that way politically and for his reputation.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
It might be viewed that way.
Speaker 5 (16:15):
I think it would be and so I don't think
he's I don't think this is enough. He said he's
going to reflect. So some people are saying they're preparing
to withdraw from the race. I don't think this is
going to push him out. What do you think?
Speaker 2 (16:28):
I got so many thoughts on this. First of all,
the fact that they waited till after the July fourth
holiday to drop this attack story is evidence that they
timed this to put immense pressure on him because he
has to drop out by July thirteenth. They want him out,
for sure, we agree on that they want him. This
(16:50):
is a Democrat hit. So are they just going to
pay him off?
Speaker 1 (16:56):
Like I think?
Speaker 2 (16:56):
Ultimately this just comes down to somebody rich inside of
the Democrat party saying, hey, we'll hire your wife and
pay her five hundred thousand dollars a year to work
at a think tank, and we'll find some cushy job
for you where you can go around and advocate on policy,
(17:16):
and we'll pay you five hundred thousand dollars a year
to do that. This is what Democrats are really good at.
They have all of this sort of think tank apparatus
where they pay their people to go and bide their
time But if I were.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Him, I agree with you.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
I wouldn't drop out, and I would actually forcefully come
out and say these attacks are being brought against me
by the Democrat establishment. You all voted last month in Maine.
These allegations were out there. They're not true. I'm not
stepping down. That's what I would say if I were
grand Platner. Because you step down, you're admitting they're true.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Ah, that's where I think this is too.
Speaker 5 (17:58):
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Speaker 2 (18:54):
Welcome back in playin, Buck. All right, let's dive into
this Grand Platinir situation. By the way, a bunch of
people are weighing in eight hundred and two A two
two A A two, and we will take your calls
on both US soccer and Grand Platner, which is a
wide range of top topics that are going on as
we speak. President Trump is also in Turkey and was
(19:19):
taking questions earlier in the day from Turkey. Not to
my knowledge, Buck, huge news that has come out there. Okay,
let's go into this Grand Platiner situation a bit more.
You and I both agree that we would not drop
out if we were Grand Platner, and I think this
is important to point out again this is a Democrat
(19:41):
hit piece that is coming after Grand Platner. Republicans are
really not involved in this at all. In fact, I
would say most Republicans think that Democrats should have to
wallow in their choices in the primary because what they're
trying to do now is say, oh, well, just switch.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
They're trying to.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
Pull a Biden Kamalist situation where they completely eliminate the
primary process, where there were all of these allegations out there.
It's not like we Grant Platter had a freaking Nazi
tattoo on his chest and admitted that he was sexting
lots of different women.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
He wasn't with.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
You knew that there were women alleging inappropriate relationships. All
of this, I would argue, was public when Democrats went
to the polls and made him their choice.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
And so.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
This is not coincidental that they have one week to
force him out so that they can hand select a candidate.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Of their choice.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Ultimately, Buck, I think this is going to come down
to the question will Graham Plattner drop out or not?
And he's saying he's got demands. He wants to be
able to pick potentially who the candidate's going to be.
A part of me thinks, and you guys may think
this is a crazy take that he's going to suggest
his wife just something to put out there.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
I have no idea what kind of candidate she would be.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
But then he is a Senate spouse, even if he's
not a senator, and it may give some of the
same people who had been supportive of Grand Platner and idea, well, okay,
we're going to support his wife now. There are also
reports that other Democrat candidates also have their own issues.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Will he drop out?
Speaker 2 (21:27):
I just a lot of times buck they get guys
or gals to drop out because they say, hey, in
the future, will have your back. I don't think that
Graham Platner is going to have any political future going forward.
He's an oyster farmer now, he doesn't actually have a
significant job.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
What else does he have to lose.
Speaker 2 (21:47):
I would roll the dice and I would aggressively come
out if I were him and say, hey, I'm imperfect.
You guys knew all this when we had the primary.
I'm not gonna let Kamala Biden's situation happen. We saw
what happened with Kamala Hare I'm staying in. It's what
I would do if I were him.
Speaker 5 (22:05):
I'm always reminded of the congressman in the wire who
they've got absolutely nailed on mortgage fraud, and he goes
in front of the jury and just does the whole
the whole song and dance about all the things he's
done for the community and everything else. Sure enough, But
the speech he gets beforehand because he's thinking about taking
(22:26):
a plea deal, I forget who gives it to him,
is it? I forget who tells him basically says, you
got to stay in the game. You don't take yourself
out of the game based on some concern over ethics
or the future or anything like that. You want to be
in a position where you still have cards to play.
And as long as you're still in the game, you
have cards to play. And that is I think right
(22:49):
now likely the platterer, right, you know, the place where
he finds himself or how he thinks of his situation.
People have said, there could be something worse that comes
at me and accused of forcible rape by a woman
on the record named who he did have sexual relationship with.
I mean, this is really bad, yes, the fact that,
but interesting, isn't it that it's really bad. Some Democrats
(23:14):
are still kind of like, well he denies it, you know,
we'll see. And this is of course, there's a part
of them that wants to say, well, look at the
other people and we know who theyre gonna start bring up.
Speaker 1 (23:25):
They're gonna talk about Trump, They're gonna start saying things.
Speaker 5 (23:28):
This isn't some allegation from forty years ago with no
corroboration from a person who can't remember what year it
happened that Trump says, I don't even know this crazy person. Okay,
that's what Democrats mobilized behind and said you had to
treat as sacro sanct this time around. It's somebody who
everything here is entirely plausible, credible, named on the record,
(23:50):
all of that. Now, it's an allegation that is not proven.
It certainly is not adjudicated. I think Democrats are like
Kenny Wain. If he can win, then I think a
lot of them feel that way.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
The story is that his polling numbers have collapsed since
the last allegations came out, and they are now of
the opinion that Maine voters will not vote for him.
Speaker 5 (24:15):
Wait, wait, did you see the Sunny Houstin thing. This
is incredible. Oh yeah, this is the team just a
few minutes ago. So when it's gonna when it's going
to be in.
Speaker 2 (24:22):
But yeah, Sonny Hostin just went on the view and said,
I would still vote for him.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
And look, I can we hear?
Speaker 6 (24:31):
Can we hear from Sunny real quick?
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Can we have that?
Speaker 6 (24:33):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (24:34):
We have it?
Speaker 6 (24:34):
Okay, that's thirty play it.
Speaker 10 (24:37):
It is a disgusting time in politics where we decide
what we're willing to morally accept based on the jersey
you're wearing. And if you are one of those people
that was willing to plug your nose, you're the problem.
Speaker 11 (24:48):
Well then I'm the problem because I was one of
those people and I said it. If I lived in Maine,
I would have, you know, plugged my nose and I
would have voted for him. Anyway. I think that we
are in a time of eccidentil crisis in this country.
I think Republicans fall in line, they don't fall in loved.
Democrats want to fall in love and not fall in line.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
You know.
Speaker 11 (25:06):
The Republican Party, the bar is so very low. I
can't believe. I cannot believe that they want to try
to assume the moral high ground the Republican.
Speaker 5 (25:17):
Party, Clay, this is just this is like psychological projection, denialism.
All kinds of problems that Sunny Hassen has here with reality.
One of them is the issue is Democrats right now, Yes,
she keeps talking about Republicans. Democrats are the ones that
are worried about this guy. The New York Times is
and Politico are are writing these kinds of pieces about him.
(25:41):
And you know, we just went through a presidency where
they were all willing to stand behind a president with
dementia and act like he didn't have dimension. We all
knew that he did. So there's no moral high ground
to stand on about what they're willing to vote for
and pretend that doesn't exist when it does. I think
many people out there have decided that personal failings don't
(26:04):
matter because of the significant dire straits that the country faces.
And so that's why I would say, if I'm Grand Platner,
I'm going to stay in this race. I don't really
see what he has to lose. He either becomes a Senator,
which is pretty good job compared to being an oyster
(26:25):
farmer for most people. I would say, especially when you're
an oyster farmer whose only customer is your mom and
when your dad has had to buy your house. This
is not a guy who has launched himself successfully in
other facets of his life. So he's either going to
be a senator or no one really will know him
(26:47):
and it'll be a random oyster farmer in Maine. That
doesn't seem like a tough decision for me. And again,
I think what is ultimately going to happen is Democrats
are going to give him millions of dollars. I think
that Democrats will say, we care so much about this
Senate seat. And this is why it matters in the
big picture, because if Democrats can't win Maine, there is
(27:12):
no pathway that they can contend in the twenty twenty
six Senate race that Maine is there must have state,
and they recognize it. And so that's why I think comparatively,
if they give Graham Platner five or six million dollars guaranteed,
this is a small price to pay in their mind
(27:34):
for being able to contend. What I do wonder about, though, buck.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Is in their haste to try to find somebody to
replace Graham Platner, are they going to find someone else
with significant issues in his or her background? And this
is why a lot of people wanted Janet Mills, even
though she's eighty years old. They wanted her to be
the nominee because she's already been elected statewide multiple times.
(28:00):
Whatever you're going to say about her, everybody already knows
Gary and Maine. You're listening to us right now. You've
got to take what do you think?
Speaker 9 (28:11):
Yes, this is a.
Speaker 4 (28:12):
I'm a representative up here in the state of Maine,
and I think Graham Plattner is done, and I think
Uncle Chuck is going to pull his funding as he
probably did with Governor Mills. And I'm what I'm witnessing
with Graham Plattner is he's got real issues with Trump
derangement syndrome, and he's going around the state saying Collins
(28:35):
is bad. I am good. And on the other side
of the coin, you've got Senator Collins pointing out her
record of ten thousand votes, things she's done for the
state of Maine. And also, as a side note, the
Honorable Troy Jackson, the former President of the Senate, is
already putting in his paperwork to replace Graham Plattner.
Speaker 5 (28:59):
Now, let me ask you on this, because you're clearly
dialed into main politics, sir, is it actually ironically going
to be worse for Collins when someone does step up
to replace Platner. I mean, essentially, as a Republican, do
we want Platner to stay in because Susan Collins looks
so likely to beat him?
Speaker 6 (29:20):
How do you assess that?
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Yeah, as a Republican legislator, we really wanted Platner to
stay in because it's such a contrast between his non
record and her record. Now, also, I think any Democrat
that will step up, and probably these people that had
ran for governor and didn't win, I don't think they
(29:43):
have a chance against a good senator because she is
a moderate, which a lot of people on my side
are disappointed in her, But when you consider the alternative,
they will show up and they will vote to keep
Senator Collins in office. And also, this is a quick
side note. You know, as a Republican, I've always been
against ear marks, but since the Senator has become the
(30:07):
chair of the Appropriations Committee, the things that she's brought
back to the state of Maine, I've got to say
it's really helped even my own community, who received a
million dollars for new fire station. So she's got an
impeccable record to helping the people of the.
Speaker 8 (30:24):
State of Maine.
Speaker 2 (30:26):
If you were trying to assess, you obviously are very
plugged in with the market up there, When do you
think grand Platner drops out? And what would they do
if grand Platner You're right by the way, Chuck Schumer
has said, we will not spend any federal campaign dollars
to try to help him. The Democrat Senate committee that
(30:47):
raises hundreds of millions of dollars, they say they won't
buy ads. But what if grand Platner just says, you
know what, the voters of Maine knew all about my background,
I'm imperfect. And what if he even started to attack
the Democrat Party a little bit and said, I'm not
gonna do what Joe Biden did. We saw what happened
(31:08):
with Kamala Harris. He lost, nobody else can win. What
if he goes on offense here? What would the Democrats do?
Speaker 4 (31:18):
He can go on on the offense that he wants,
but if we all know it comes down to the dollars,
and when the dollars on there, he's not gonna get
his message out. And I think that Uncle Chuck is
gonna stop the funding, and I think all these other
groups are gonna stop that funding. That he's gonna lose
his voice without that money.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Thank you for the call. We will see how it
all shakes out. And look, we'll see the odds are
buck if you look at the gambling markets right now,
the prediction markets, the kal she's in the poly markets
that he's gonna drop out within the next twenty four hours.
That is what they are saying. So uh will they
(32:02):
be right? We talked about this yesterday. Sometimes you can
see when stories are coming by the way the markets move,
and uh, we don't. We'll see how exactly all this
shakes out. Do you wish you had more energy to
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Speaker 1 (32:17):
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Speaker 9 (33:23):
Slash learn. Hang with the guys right there when you
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Speaker 6 (33:31):
Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck.
Speaker 5 (33:34):
One thing we haven't talked about yet on the show,
I think and I wanted to mention it because we're
discussing the realities of the main Senate race.
Speaker 1 (33:42):
There's a lot going on there.
Speaker 5 (33:44):
But for a while now it has been uh, it
has been clear that something is something with Mitch McConnell's
health has been.
Speaker 1 (33:57):
A miss.
Speaker 5 (33:58):
I mean, he's he's in he's in bad shape, my friends,
this is the bottom line. It's been the hospital for
weeks and there is a little bit of a of
a quiet around his actual condition. There are people who
have said things prominently online that are are are very
distressing about you know, the future of well about the
(34:20):
health condition. Let you say of Mitch McConnell. But I
do think Clay, it is it is something that will
will follow and we'll look at clearly there's already he's
not running for it's not like he was running for reelection.
But that is a real era of the Republican United
States Senate that that door is closing.
Speaker 1 (34:41):
And Mitch McConnell has.
Speaker 5 (34:43):
Had a very big imprint on politics in this country
for a long time. And Clay, it's it's looking when
someone goes to the hospital for three weeks and they're fine,
you are generally going to hear that from their team
and their staff.
Speaker 6 (34:59):
So we offer up our thoughts and prayers.
Speaker 5 (35:02):
You know, look, he's a human being, he's an American,
he's a father, he's a husband, he served his country
in the Senate, and we wish him well. I just
know that a lot of rumors out there right now,
and the rumors are very you know, there are sad rumors.
I will put it that way about Mitch McConnell's current state.
So we're waiting for updates on that.
Speaker 2 (35:21):
Yeah, I would just add echo everything you said. From
a larger political perspective, it may be the case that
Kentucky has to have a new senator before the election
takes place in November, and the swearing inn would take
place in January. I don't think that is a difficult
(35:42):
proposition to put forward at all. I will say Scott
Jennings just tweeted, I spoke to my old friend Mitch
McConnell this morning. He's still recovering in the hospital. We
talked for just shy of twenty minutes about Iran, Ukraine,
the unfolding situation in Maine, my visit to the Teddy
Roosevelt Presidential Library and more, and a little bit of
(36:07):
Senate history. I told him we want to see him
back at work as soon as possible.
Speaker 5 (36:12):
He just posted that too much. So that's really encouraging
because there's all this. You know, like I said, we
don't report rumors. I just know there are rumors out there,
But if Mitch is having conversations with Scott Jennings's, that's.
Speaker 2 (36:25):
Very encouraging, no doubt, and so we will see what
ends up transpiring there. But we did want to mention
that when we come back, we got loaded lines. We'll
take a bunch of your calls. We'll continue to break
down the latest in Maine, probably get some of your
great talkbacks on the US collapsing, the analogies.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
That you have there.
Speaker 2 (36:46):
All that and more coming your way as we roll
into our two
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