September 14, 2026 • 36 mins
Hour 2 of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show centered on the 2026 political landscape, a key U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, cultural and education debates, the future of artificial intelligence, economic policy, sports, and listener reactions to the rapidly changing technology landscape. The hour opened with an extended interview featuring former NFL broadcaster and Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya, who discussed her campaign for Minnesota’s open Senate seat and argued that the race is becoming increasingly competitive. Tafoya described her opponent, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, as closely tied to Governor Tim Walz’s administration and blamed state leadership for rising concerns over fraud, education decline, crime, government spending, and economic challenges. She emphasized that her campaign is framing the election as a choice between common-sense governance and progressive policies, while pointing to growing support from independents and disaffected Democrats.
A major portion of the conversation focused on women’s sports, transgender athlete policies, parental rights, and cultural issues, topics that Tafoya argued are resonating strongly with voters. She criticized Minnesota Democrats for opposing measures that would restrict women’s sports and locker rooms to biological females and contended that voters increasingly view the issue as one of fairness and safety rather than partisan politics. Clay and Buck discussed how the debate has become a significant motivating factor for parents, particularly families with daughters involved in athletics, and they argued that the issue continues to drive voter engagement across Minnesota and nationally.
The discussion then turned to Minnesota politics, government accountability, and state spending. Tafoya tied Flanagan directly to the Walz administration’s record, arguing that she shares responsibility for controversies surrounding alleged fraud investigations, public education performance, state finances, and economic management. The hosts and Tafoya discussed voter frustration over government spending, budget deficits, rising property taxes, and regulatory policies affecting businesses and agriculture. Tafoya also promoted an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy and criticized progressive environmental proposals she argued would increase costs for farmers, small businesses, and working families.
Economic issues featured heavily throughout the interview, particularly inflation, cost of living, tax policy, energy costs, and affordability concerns. Tafoya highlighted opposition to efforts that could reverse tax relief measures, including policies affecting tips, overtime pay, and Social Security taxation. She argued that reducing regulatory burdens, supporting domestic energy production, encouraging business growth, and improving fiscal management would help address the economic concerns she hears from Minnesota voters.
The interview also included a discussion of NFL football, college football, and sports culture. Tafoya offered analysis of the Minnesota Vikings’ season-opening victory and discussed quarterback play, team momentum, and fan enthusiasm across the state. The hosts connected the conversation to broader discussions about sports returning to a less politicized environment. They reflected on the tenth anniversary of Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protests and debated whether professional sports, college athletics, and American culture generally are moving back toward mainstream values and away from controversial social activism. Tafoya pointed to declining emphasis on performative political gestures and suggested many Americans are seeking a return to normalcy.
Education and historical curriculum debates also emerged as a topic when Tafoya expressed concern about reports regarding changes to Minnesota school instruction, particularly the removal of certain September 11 lessons from history coursework. The hosts discussed broader debates involving public education, historical literacy, civic awareness, and curriculum decisions, arguing that awareness of major historical events remains critical for future generations.
Later in the hour, Clay and Buck shifted back to one of the show’s dominant ongoing topics: artificial intelligence, technological innovation, and future economic growth. Listener talkbacks and caller comments fueled an extended conversation about declining reading habits, changing media consumption patterns, and the rapid transformation of society through technology. The hosts discussed how modern audiences face far more entertainment and information options than previous generations and examined how this has affected reading, newspapers, digital media, and information consumption.
The conversation expanded into a broader defense of AI adoption and technological advancemen
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome in our number two, Clay and Buck. Appreciate all
of you hanging out with us as we are rolling
through the Monday edition of the program. We've been talking
about a lot of different Senate battlegrounds out there. And
one that I consistently see in all the polling is
a real battle that not very many people are talking
(00:23):
about is our friend Michelle Tafoya, who is in Minnesota.
And every poll that I see comes out shows this
a two or three point race, Michelle. And I think
that's a credit to what a good campaign you're running.
And I want to make sure that people are aware
it's underway. We've got a big audience in Minnesota. And so, Michelle,
(00:45):
you're out on the road on a day-to-day basis. Tell
us what the status of the race is so far
as you see it, who your opponent is. This is
an open Senate seat. There is no incumbent here. And
why it's winnable.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Well, where to begin?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
My opponent is Peggy Flanagan. She's the current lieutenant governor,
which means for the last almost eight years, she has
been the right hand to Tim Walz, our governor, that
many people got to meet as Kamala Harris's running mate.
And their eight years of terror, as I want to
call it, has been just an abject failure here in Minnesota.
(01:22):
We've had the fraud that pretty much everyone around the
country has heard about, up to $ 9 billion at this moment.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
In fraud known.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
The education system has collapsed. It used to be a
crown jewel, Clay and Buck, here in Minnesota. And scores
have just been plummeting. Meanwhile, crime is going up. So
there are just a number of ways in which these
two folks, Walls and Flanagan, who have been receiving taxpayer-funded
paychecks for the last eight years, have failed their taxpayers.
(01:53):
We're here offering not necessarily a red versus blue contrast,
but a common sense versus crazy contrast. She's got some
crazy social initiatives as well and social stances. And we
are hearing Minnesotans from all walks come over to our side.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
We're happy.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
We're leading among independents by double digits. And we've had
plenty of Democrats come to us, whether it was at
the state fair last week or whenever it's been and say,
you know what, I'm ready for change.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
We're on board.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Michelle, thanks for being here with us.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
So you built national notoriety and a following on helping
to keep men out of women's sports and locker rooms.
As I understand it, Flanagan, your opponent, has been on
the other side of that fight. If you could walk
me through what you would want to do on day
one on that issue and what you would tell a
(02:45):
Minnesota parent of a daughter that this is not a
culture war issue, this is fundamentally a fairness and safety issue.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It's fairness and safety, and it's a reality issue. And
for anyone outside of Minnesota who thinks this is not
getting people off the couch, they are sorely mistaken. And
it's been interesting. I've had a lot of dads come
to me and say, this is the issue I got
off the couch for. I've had moms too, and it's
particularly people with daughters who are playing sports. This is
(03:18):
just a reality check, right? You're asking us to buy
into a fiction that that men who decide to identify
as women are just women. And that's just not real.
It's not scientifically real. We could go through all the
advantages and disadvantages that women have and men have when
(03:40):
they're competing against one another. I'm happy to do that,
but I don't think we need to. People call this
an 80-20 issue.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I think it's a 95-5 issue.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
But yes, Peggy Flanagan is on that 5% side of it,
as are most Democrats here in Minnesota. They had an
opportunity to codify this into law to keep women's sports
and girls' sports here for girls and women, and not
a single Democrat voted for that. I know there's precedent now,
Supreme Court precedent, so I anticipate lawsuits across a number
(04:11):
of states looking for this for their high schoolers in particular.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
This is also an issue in Minnesota for people who
say it doesn't happen that often. I believe last year
or the year before, a boy who said he was
a girl was the star softball pitcher in a game
that led to a state championship being won by a
girls team. The star athlete on the team was a
boy for people out there in Minnesota who may have
forgotten that. I know that turned into a big story there.
(04:39):
How much of this is Peggy Flanagan is Tim Walls?
I think this is important. I'm sure you're hammering it
quite a lot. Tim Walz's popularity overall in the state
of Minnesota has collapsed as all of the fraud has
been uncovered that much of it was connected to Somali
immigrants with the investigations that came out of YouTube of
all places. How much of Peggy Flanagan just being a
(05:03):
default stand in? In other words, she's going to argue
that she deserves a promotion based on the job that
she did with Tim Walls. How much is just Minnesotans saying, no,
you have failed us as a steward of public virtue
and treasure. And the idea that we would send you
to D.C.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Is crazy.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Well, I think people have to look at it that way,
don't they? You cannot sit there and say you are
the Walls Flanagan administration. not the Walls administration, the Walls-Flanagan
administration for close to eight years now, and say that
all of the issues only belong to the governor. Now,
the governor was going to run for a third term,
and then Nick Shirley came to town. You alluded to
(05:41):
these YouTube videos. Nick Shirley came to town and introduced
everyone to the Quality Learing Center, and that was the
end of that. So, you know, Tim Walls had to say,
you know what? I guess I won't run after all. Well,
his right hand is Peggy Flanagan. And by the way,
she was in charge for all those months and months
when Walls was out campaigning to be the next vice
(06:02):
president of the United States. So for her to just say, oh,
the buck stops with Walls and I had no part
in this is just completely unrealistic. Again, it's divorced from reality.
And so I really hope that most Minnesotans can come
to their own conclusion about this and we'll help them
do it for sure. But this was a woman who
(06:22):
was tied at the hip to Tim Walz, and it
is their administration under which all of these failures have accumulated.
So good try, Flanagan. But no, this is why you
have the nickname Peggy Fraudigan here in Minnesota.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Well, you know, fraud, I like that.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
Fraud, energy policy, a lot of things go into grocery
bills and rent. So I want to talk to you
about the cost of living issue, Michelle, for a second,
and specifically For Minnesotans, what is your call it elevator pitch,
the 60 second version that if you're going to give
for a dad who's maybe working two jobs or a
(07:01):
mom who's picking her kids up after finishing her job,
you know, living in the suburbs of Minneapolis or anywhere
across the state, what would you be focusing on if
you go to the Senate to represent them that will
help with that issue of cost of living? What would
you do differently or what would you do positively than, say, Flanagan?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Well, let's not forget the Working Family Tax Cuts Act,
which is no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security,
no tax on overtime. She would love to repeal that.
She was against that. So let's keep that in mind
for everyone that thinks that those policies are good. She's
going to try to undo them the minute she gets
to the Senate. We've got energy here. We need an
all of the above energy strategy. Peggy Flanagan is pretty
(07:42):
much into the Green New Deal and has even proposed
getting rid of liquid fuels by the year 2030 or 2040.
So the fact of the matter is we've got a
lot of tractors in Minnesota. We've got a lot of
farm equipment that needs to run on fuel. Now, whether
it's biofuel, diesel, E15, fine, but they can't run on batteries.
(08:04):
And that's what she would like. And again, that's going
to be tremendously expensive and inconvenient. There is so much regulation.
We have had just a massive departure an exodus of
small businesses, even large businesses, leaving Minnesota. When businesses leave,
the job numbers decline. There aren't as many opportunities. And
(08:25):
that tax base goes too. And oh my gosh, the
number of people coming up to us saying, my property
taxes are going up again.
Speaker 6 (08:33):
Why?
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Well, the state ran out of all this money. They
had an $ 18 billion surplus turned into a massive deficit,
$ 6 to $ 7 billion deficit. She can't manage the money.
And she's asking for even more of it, more money
and power to her friends in St. Paul and Washington, D.C.
That is not the way to fix affordability.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Michelle, you were on sidelines for NFL games for a
long time. The Minnesota Vikings, probably the number one topic
I would imagine in the state of Minnesota, took down
the Green Bay Packers big. I would say it's an
upset early start to the year, despite the fact that
Kyler Murray got knocked out of the game. Give us
(09:14):
your take on the Vikings win and why, if you
win the Senate race, the Vikings will also go to
the Super Bowl, which would probably, if you could guarantee that,
would probably guarantee you a landslide victory.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
That would seal the deal, if I could do that.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I noticed the color of the jacket.
Speaker 7 (09:32):
Today, by the way.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Listen, it reminded me of the Texas game the night before,
the way Arch Manning and Texas came back to beat
Ohio State. And then, you know, the Vikings found themselves
in that same place, and I wasn't, nearly as confident
that the Vikings would do this. But suddenly their defense,
their secondary in particular, just started playing really well. And
Carson Wentz was finding Justin Jefferson and it just started clicking.
(09:56):
This was a great start for the Minnesota Vikings. And
what a comeback so yes everyone is thrilled all over
the place wherever I was driving yesterday I saw cars
parked in front of houses they were getting ready for
that opening game and excited about it being the sort
of the afternoon game and it was great this is
going to be very interesting now I would say that
Kyler Murray I don't know what his prognosis is with
(10:19):
this concussion, but the way that Carson Wentz finally found
himself in this rhythm and was finding Justin Jefferson in
a way that wasn't happening early on and really didn't
happen last season, this could make it very, very interesting
at the quarterback position here in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
It's going to be fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Does it feel, Michelle, speaking of that, by the way,
the Vikings play the Bears, which will be a heck
of a game next week for those people out there.
Does it feel to you like sports in many ways
are healing in terms of sanity returning? I know we
just had the 10-year anniversary of Colin Kaepernick taking a knee.
You saw what happened. You mentioned men and women's sports.
(10:58):
It feels like that might be very well a 90-10 issue, 95-5.
Does it feel like sane, normal guys and gals out there,
not only in Minnesota but across the country, are finally saying,
we're done with the crazy?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
It sure feels like that. I see far fewer pronouns
in email signatures these days, and that is welcomed. You know,
if you want to put them there, I guess go
ahead and put them there. I don't I've always thought
that was so performative and so much of this stuff
is performative. You know, look, I would like to think so.
But every time I think that we're coming back to
some place of normalcy, something else happens. Like I find
(11:36):
out this morning that Minnesota is removing the 9-11 lessons
from high school history. That disturbs me greatly. How how
can that happen? How can that happen? We're only 25
years out. Are we going to remove Pearl Harbor too?
What else are we going to remove?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
World War II? World War I? The Civil War?
Speaker 3 (11:54):
What else are we going to remove? I mean, this
is insanity to me. So all of these issues, they
keep coming back. I keep thinking maybe the pendulum's coming
in the middle. But I will say this, Clay and Buck.
In 2026, we've seen some fascinating things. We saw Indiana University,
the Hoosiers, a basketball school, win a college football national championship.
(12:17):
We saw both our men's and women's Olympic hockey teams
win gold. We saw our female figure skater win gold.
You know, maybe there are winds of change coming around
and maybe the Vikings will get to the Super Bowl.
I'm certainly not going to guarantee it, but I'm not
going to.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Count it out.
Speaker 5 (12:35):
My beloved Minnesota Vikings, they're going to come through huge.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
They're going to come through huge. I can tell you
that much.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
Michelle, you're doing a great job running a fantastic campaign,
and we want to have you back before because we
think the Minnesotans are going to turn out bigly for you,
as they should. Thanks so much for being here with us.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
People can go to MichelleTafoya.com if they want to help.
Thank you both so much.
Speaker 7 (12:58):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
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Clay and Buck owning the airwaves.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Welcome back into Clay and Buck. A lot of calls,
a lot of talkbacks. Let's get to it. By the way, J.D.
Vance speaking live right now. We are monitoring.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
The team is looking to he's in Kansas City, Missouri,
talking about saving your tax money from fraud.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
The fraudsters are all over the place. Got to do it.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
Got to save that money. Uh, let's get, I see
all the talkbacks guys. Do we have some of the
lives too?
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Oh yeah, here we go. Uh, we still have Eric
and PA. Oh, uh, who, okay. You know what? I'm
just going to truck driver, Steve, a play this talkback.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Driver, Steve here. Hey, I kind of have to disagree
with you a little bit on that reading thing.
Speaker 8 (15:46):
I know you said only 16% of people read for
fun now.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Well, I read and I read for fun. But when
I started reading back in the 70s, you know, for fun,
in the 80s, there was nothing else to do. So
it kind of ran out of necessity.
Speaker 8 (16:02):
Or we went and played outside Cowboys and Indians and
Army and stuff.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
But there's just more to do now. There's more options.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Yeah, but that still doesn't mean that you shouldn't be reading.
I'm not really sure what the disagreement is there. You
should be reading. I will admit this, Clay. I like
video games. I didn't play starting, I'd say, after college.
And then during COVID, I had nothing to do. So
I started playing video games again, other than doing five
hours of radio.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
But I also read all the time. Books, articles, X, everything.
I read all the time.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
There's a general thing that happens where we say, here
is what the data is. And then somebody calls in
and says, well, I don't.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Fit that.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
You're in the 16% who reads. Now, is he correct
that there are way more entertainment options out there?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, said it really well,
I think, when he said, we compete against sleep. And
I thought that was such a great phrase because how
many times have you been laying in bed, laying on
the couch, and your decision is, am I going to
go to sleep or watch another episode? We have basically
(17:13):
flooded the zone with more media than has ever existed.
I mean, you can use this show as a good example.
When Rush started in the 80s and 90s, the number
of media outlets to compete with was almost non-existent. Now
we've got to be everywhere. We've got to be on YouTube.
We've got to be on Instagram. We've got to be
on Twitter. We've got to be on TikTok. We've got
to be on every platform under the sun. And Buck,
(17:35):
all of them have different rules as to what works
in those platforms. You've got to be an expert way
more places. I just saw where you are in Miami.
The Miami Herald basically announced they're firing 30 writers today.
newspapers are collapsing the rapidity with which all of media
and everything out there is changing is i think unparalleled
(17:57):
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Speaking truth and having fun. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.
Welcome back in, Clay and Buck. Appreciate all of you
(19:01):
hanging out with us. We are rolling through the Monday
edition of the program, and We've got a bunch of
fun talkbacks. Um, let's see, Buck, you just texted me this,
the 5,000 Trump has been talking about the $ 5, 000 dividend. Um,
and it's going to be given, he says to all
adults in the U S due to the fact that
(19:22):
country's taking in trillions of dollars of economic development, investment,
pure success being criticized by Democrats, uh, Democrats, as he says,
who were hoping it never happens. It will be as
an example. Uh, and he continues along those lines. Um, Buck,
I would say in general, and this is one of
the pledges that Trump brought to bear from his midterm convention.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
Let me say this, by the way. Midterm convention actually
came off better than I thought. thought it would.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Meaning I don't remember there being any profoundly negative storylines
that came out of the Republican midterm convention. I still
think it was not the best scheduling decision to put
it head-to-head against NFL kickoff games on Wednesday and Thursday
night when you're trying to speak to a larger universe
(20:12):
of potential supporters. But within that construct, I thought it
came off pretty well. Now, I think the idea of
a $ 5, 000 basically tax rebate to all Americans, I don't
think it's very likely to happen because I am not.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Here's the truth.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
I am not very optimistic on Congress being able to
do anything over the next two years, whether Republicans have
control of Congress or whether Democrats do. And by the way,
sometimes Congress doing nothing is actually better. Because at least
that way they don't screw things up. I mean, what's
your take on this?
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Sometimes gridlock on Capitol Hill is a mercy. Sometimes it's
the best possible outcome. I'll just tell you guys this.
We can discuss and debate whether there should be some
regulating of AI frontiers and breakthroughs. But the notion that
Congress is in any position to do helpful or meaningful
(21:11):
legislation on this is absurd. It's just flatly absurd. What
would that even look like? Hey, we're going to pass
a law not to allow a machine to get so
smart that it could take over everything and kill all
of us?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
I mean, okay.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
I promise you they're not trying to do that at
these companies. They're not going to hope that that's what
the outcome is. I just think that that part of
it is, you need to just remember, the efforts that
Congress has had in the past, when they did want
to regulate the internet in the early days, I think
One of the reasons they didn't is because, so first
of all, a lot of them didn't realize how important
and how much impact it would have. And second, they
(21:48):
just didn't understand. They had no knowledge of where it
was going or no sense of vision as to how
much it would interconnect all of our lives. I think
AI is that and then some. Johnny in Texas, be
on the talkbacks. Listen to what Johnny has to say.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
Hey, guys.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
This is Johnny in West Texas.
Speaker 9 (22:05):
I work in the oil and gas industry, and I
use spreadsheets and data sets and maps.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
And I started using.
Speaker 9 (22:11):
AI about a year ago to help me go through
my work. And I have to tell you, my productivity
has just skyrocketed since I did AI. Something that used
to take me a day to go through and summarize,
I can do it in about 10 minutes or less
with AI, and it's all automated and all high quality.
I think the effect on the economy with these things
is going to be like the Internet was 30 years ago.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
It's just amazing. Yeah, Clay, I agree.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
I keep, we're preaching the same thing because you and
I both are, look, I tell you, I use Grok
during the show for stat updates or if I have
to pull a factor figure really quickly, that might be,
and it might be something like, hey, who's the guy
wearing the brown hat in that movie from the 80s
that had the alien? Boom, Grok gets me an answer
right away.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
It's perfect.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
So that's why it's so useful for our purposes here,
but I've used it for other things as well. I
can tell you, they always say this is not medical advice.
I can tell you that You do your own research.
All that applies. You know, if you get like a
weird bug bite or something somewhere and you take a
photo with Grok, it'll tell you like what's going on.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
It'll tell you whether you need to be concerned. I mean,
the the the usage of these things as tools, Clay,
is amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Spider snakes around the house. If you're concerned, hey, is
this a black widow? What what should I be concerned
that this is a spider that has some danger in
the household, in the garage, wherever you see it? If
you see a snake, you can upload a photo of
a snake and say, hey, how much should I be
concerned about this? Is this a venomous snake or is
it not? I think all of these assets in the
(23:41):
palms of our hand. I would also say this, Buck,
much of this comes back to do you trust humans
to make life better?
Speaker 4 (23:51):
And there are.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
People out there who believe, as we have gone through,
the general pessimism of climate change or the destruction of
what is good in this country. really comes down to
how much do you trust Americans? How much do you
trust the world to make things better? My general proposition
is our life today, in general, is way better than
(24:16):
it has been in the past. Let me give you
just one example. You've never been safer from violent crime
in any of your lives in America today. It should
be a story that gets talked about every day. You've
never been less likely to be murdered. You've never been
less likely to see a violent crime in your neighborhood.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Is it perfect?
Speaker 7 (24:32):
No.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
But in general, trend lines, I believe, are moving in
a very positive direction.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
Also, look, there are a lot of jobs that are
kind of nonsense jobs that people who are involved in
them would be better served either focusing on one part
of the job that's more productive. I'll give you my example.
For a lot of you Gen X and old gray-beard
millennials like me, I sit right on the cusp, Clay,
(25:00):
of Gen X and millennial.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
I am the transition point. Clay is very Gen X.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I missed it by a year, thankfully. Gen X has
saved the world, even though we get no respect. If
you look legitimately at the data, Trump is overwhelmingly popular
with Gen X.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
We've talked before about the movie Office Space here. And
I think Office Space captures that zeitgeist.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
It was like early 2000s, I think, is when it
came out.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
Captures that zeitgeist incredibly well of office culture, office space culture,
cubicle farmers, if you will, and also has some really
philosophically interesting, it's a comedy, but has some just, you know,
it really resonates. That's all I'm telling you. I think
it's kind of a timeless piece. It's a Mike Judge movie, right?
Mike Judge is a brilliant comedian writer. But there's this
(25:54):
whole thing about Lumberg and the TPS reports, right? And
Lumberg walks up and he goes, hey, how's it going?
Have you done your TPS reports? And I haven't seen
the movie in a while, so my impression is not
as good as it would normally be. But imagine that
instead of doing the TPS reports, you just could do
that with AI. You check them to make sure that
(26:15):
they seem legit, and then you could focus on. actually
meeting with people to get a sales relationship going or
actually doing the research to make something, you know, better.
That's the product that you're doing or, you know, focusing
on the things that matter. This is what I think, Clay,
when we talk about enhanced productivity, there's, there's just concern.
People have, oh my gosh, all these people will be
(26:36):
without jobs and then they won't be reabsorbed into the
economy because these jobs will, this has always, you know, the, the,
the people don't even remember a farrier is, is a
guy that would put the shoe on the bottom of.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
A horse, right? Okay, there are some still, but there
aren't a lot of farriers anymore.
Speaker 8 (26:56):
The people who would have been farriers got involved in
either other aspects of animal husbandry, working on a ranch
or whatever, or they worked with the new automobiles that
came out, or they worked with the new machinery that
came out.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
We've gone through this so many times. We're not going
to have mass structural unemployment forever because of AI. It
is a tool that will enhance productivity forever.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
And people will be using in the jobs that they
have to do less.
Speaker 4 (27:24):
Nobody wants to do miserable, stupid stuff. I mean, amen.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Look, I just tell you, if you want to be
optimistic about the future, get in a Tesla and let
it drive you.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Just trust me on this. Go to it.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I don't get paid anything by Tesla. I've had a
bunch of people coming up to me and saying, hey, Clay,
after you talked about using your self-driving Tesla, I went
and tried it out. and I bought it, you will
feel like you are living in the future. Every single
day gets better. In the future, there are around 40,000
people a day who die in car accidents in the
(28:02):
United States. It's probably the worst, most preventable way that
people die in the United States today. You go to
the grocery store, you die in a car accident. You
take the kid to school in the morning. You die
in an accident. You have a 16 year old. You
put him into a car. He or she, they're often
(28:23):
teenagers in car accidents and they die. Young people, healthy people,
people who would have otherwise lived for decades. One split second,
they lose their life in a car accident. I really
believe this. 20 years from now, 40 years from now.
Your grandkids and great grandkids are going to look back
and see the equivalent of people dying in car accidents,
(28:47):
of people dying of dysentery on the Oregon Trail. They're
going to say, what are you talking about? People used
to get stomach aches and just die because they drank
bad water. The idea that people died in a car accident,
I'm just telling you, watch these numbers. You want a
positive prediction from me. Over the next 20 and 40 years,
it's going to plummet, and it's going to become so
(29:09):
rare that people are dying in car accidents.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
Think about that.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Over the next 40 years, how many more people are
going to be alive? How many more people are going
to have productive lives? I'm telling you, if you are
pessimistic about the future, take a drive in a Tesla
self-driving vehicle. You are going to look around, and you're
going to feel like you stepped into the future. I
don't care how old you are. I don't care if
you're 80 years old. My parents got in the car.
(29:33):
My 18-year-old was driving them around. They couldn't believe that
he just plugged in an address, and it just drives them.
I'm telling you, no matter what your age is, we
are moving into an era where there is going to
be so much awesomeness that in many ways, I think
people are going to have whiplash. And look, I get
that change is discomforting, but Good change is something we
(29:56):
should all celebrate. And I think the transformative nature of
Tesla at a minimum is going to right now. Trust me,
just go take a test drive. You don't have to
believe me. Just let the car drive you around and
tell me that you don't feel like you're living in
a future. And Buck's going to buy one of these things.
And he's going to be looking around. And I'm going
to be honest with you. I trust it already so
(30:18):
much that I want to get it. I would be
comfortable sitting in the backseat. That's how much I trust
the self-driving Tesla that I have. And by the way,
$ 50, 000 fully stocked. That is relative to the luxury experience
of the car driving itself. That is one of the
best buys that I have ever made. 0.99% financing. I mean,
(30:42):
basically free, right? When you look at what interest rates
are right now, this technology and using the Tesla AI
as an example is going to blow people's minds. And
I'm telling you, there's a lot of awesomeness like that
coming sooner rather than later.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Amen.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
And if you're out.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
There right now and you are trying to decide, hey,
how do we make the budget work for the fall?
What are we going to do? It's not very long
until Thanksgiving, believe it or not. Just a couple of
months from now to be Thanksgiving. And you guys all
know as soon as Thanksgiving gets here, it's a sprint
right down the end of the year all the way
to Christmas and New Year's. You're going to spend a
(31:27):
lot more money. You're going to buy a lot more presents.
How about putting your financial house in order right now?
If you've got credit card debt, over 20% you're paying
right now at credit card debt. How about personal loans?
Some of those personal loan rates are through the roof.
If you have a home right now, home prices have skyrocketed.
(31:47):
If you are fortunate enough to own a home over
the last five or six years, over the last 10 years,
certainly over the last 20 years, it's a great asset
to own your own home. But all of that money
and value because you bought that home, it's just piling
up and you may want to use some of that
money for something else. That's what Perfect 10 Mortgage can
(32:09):
do for you. They can take a mortgage. that you
have got hundreds of thousands of dollars in value in
your home in now. They can let you take some
of that value of your home out to pay off
all of these super high interest rates. Maybe you just
want to buy something for the kids or the grandkids.
Maybe you want to do something to add assets to
(32:29):
your home. Maybe you want to build an addition. Maybe
you want to add an apartment above the garage. Any
number of things you could want to do. That's what
Perfect 10 Mortgage can help you do. Why is it
called Perfect 10? You give them 10 minutes, and in
as little as 10 days, they can have a brand
new mortgage for you to put your financial house in
order for the holidays. Perfect10Mortgage. com. Go to this website, Perfect10Mortgage. com.
(32:58):
You give them 10 minutes. And in 10 days or less,
they will have a brand new mortgage for you. Makes
a great deal, great financial sense. That's Perfect10Mortgage. com.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Smart, fun, sane.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
You check all three when you listen to Clay and Buck.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
All right, we got some calls, some talkbacks. Let's get
to them, my friends. Mark listens on WFLA in Florida.
This is Talkback C.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
Hit it.
Speaker 6 (33:25):
Hey, guys.
Speaker 7 (33:26):
Mark in Florida. I remember when I used to have
to work on my car as a teenager, I had
to go to the library and pray they had a
Chilton's manual in there. As far as AI doing my
thinking for me, let's see. Smartphones have made us dumber.
Electric bikes have made us fatter. And AI, yeah, I
think AI will pretty much finish off the human race
because I don't understand why humans are constantly searching for
(33:50):
things to do the thinking for them. We've done a
pretty good job so far.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
If I were a mechanic, and I'm not, I'm not
good at fixing cars. I have no hope. I would
imagine that being a mechanic is one of the things
that AI could help you with the most, Buck. Instead
of having to go to the library and get a manual,
you can take a picture of the issue that you have,
and AI can instruct you how to solve it.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
Look, I'm going to tell you guys something. This may
be a shock. I am not the handiest mechanic. around
the house okay i'm not exactly mr uh was it
wasn't a bob vila back in the.
Speaker 4 (34:24):
Day yeah bob vila was the man.
Speaker 5 (34:26):
Vila the one and only i am not a bob
vila type guy when my father-in-law shows up at my
at our place clay i have like and i have
no shame laundry list i'm like you know how to
do all these things can i feed you a delicious
steak dinner which i may cook because i'd like to
cook and you can do all these things around the
house and he does them all the things that bang
bang bang on the walls and the the wires and
(34:47):
the things he does all the things AI, though, I
take photos of stuff now. I'm like, tell me how
I make this or how I fix this or how
I do whatever. Every time I nail it. Every time
I nail it. And then I learn.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
So I don't think there are very many jobs where
AI couldn't make you better. Now, if if the caller
or the talk backer there wants to say, hey, yeah.
You know, are we still developing as many skills as
we should? All these things are valid, right? We've had
Mike Rowe on regularly talking about, hey, we need more
(35:19):
guys or women too. But guys in particular, there's great
jobs to be electricians right now.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
There's great jobs to be plumbers. They're not filled.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
You know, my older brother makes fun of me sometimes
because I don't like to drive stick. I'm now just like,
I'm going to be taking it. You can make fun
of me while you're driving stick, lurching around in traffic.
While my self-driving vehicle lets me take a nap and
I'm just gliding to where I want to go. Some things,
some technologies don't last. Jay in Texas. D on the talkbacks.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Hit it.
Speaker 10 (35:48):
Hey, Clay and Buck. Love your show. Just wanted to
let you know I'm a retired engineer and I think
the fears with A.I. are more about why things fail.
If you look at the 767 MAX, you look at Challenger,
you look at the Tacoma Straits Bridge, those failures were
all due to management decisions overriding the engineers in technology.
(36:10):
So we've got to be careful about how we make decisions. Thanks.
Speaker 5 (36:15):
Walker in Virginia. Walker, you've been waiting patiently. Let's get
you in. You've got about 40 seconds.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Hit it.
Speaker 6 (36:20):
Thank you so much. Two quick points. Clay made it
seem earlier in the show like not too many people
use AI. I disagree. Lots of people in this audience
who work in corporate America especially, we use it constantly.
Every week I'm getting this career development thing and LinkedIn
learning and saying, oh, let's learn how to create an
AI agent. I personally think it's cool but scary. Everyone
(36:41):
uses AI. It comes right. We have to win the
AI battle or else we'll become just as irrelevant as
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
I like the shot at the Royals. I love that one.
I actually think the majority of this audience doesn't use
AI regularly.
Welcome in our number two, Clay and Buck. Appreciate all
of you hanging out with us as we are rolling
through the Monday edition of the program. We've been talking
about a lot of different Senate battlegrounds out there. And
one that I consistently see in all the polling is
a real battle that not very many people are talking
(00:23):
about is our friend Michelle Tafoya, who is in Minnesota.
And every poll that I see comes out shows this
a two or three point race, Michelle. And I think
that's a credit to what a good campaign you're running.
And I want to make sure that people are aware
it's underway. We've got a big audience in Minnesota. And so, Michelle,
(00:45):
you're out on the road on a day-to-day basis. Tell
us what the status of the race is so far
as you see it, who your opponent is. This is
an open Senate seat. There is no incumbent here. And
why it's winnable.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Well, where to begin?
Speaker 3 (01:01):
My opponent is Peggy Flanagan. She's the current lieutenant governor,
which means for the last almost eight years, she has
been the right hand to Tim Walz, our governor, that
many people got to meet as Kamala Harris's running mate.
And their eight years of terror, as I want to
call it, has been just an abject failure here in Minnesota.
(01:22):
We've had the fraud that pretty much everyone around the
country has heard about, up to $ 9 billion at this moment.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
In fraud known.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
The education system has collapsed. It used to be a
crown jewel, Clay and Buck, here in Minnesota. And scores
have just been plummeting. Meanwhile, crime is going up. So
there are just a number of ways in which these
two folks, Walls and Flanagan, who have been receiving taxpayer-funded
paychecks for the last eight years, have failed their taxpayers.
(01:53):
We're here offering not necessarily a red versus blue contrast,
but a common sense versus crazy contrast. She's got some
crazy social initiatives as well and social stances. And we
are hearing Minnesotans from all walks come over to our side.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
We're happy.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
We're leading among independents by double digits. And we've had
plenty of Democrats come to us, whether it was at
the state fair last week or whenever it's been and say,
you know what, I'm ready for change.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
We're on board.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Michelle, thanks for being here with us.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
So you built national notoriety and a following on helping
to keep men out of women's sports and locker rooms.
As I understand it, Flanagan, your opponent, has been on
the other side of that fight. If you could walk
me through what you would want to do on day
one on that issue and what you would tell a
(02:45):
Minnesota parent of a daughter that this is not a
culture war issue, this is fundamentally a fairness and safety issue.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
It's fairness and safety, and it's a reality issue. And
for anyone outside of Minnesota who thinks this is not
getting people off the couch, they are sorely mistaken. And
it's been interesting. I've had a lot of dads come
to me and say, this is the issue I got
off the couch for. I've had moms too, and it's
particularly people with daughters who are playing sports. This is
(03:18):
just a reality check, right? You're asking us to buy
into a fiction that that men who decide to identify
as women are just women. And that's just not real.
It's not scientifically real. We could go through all the
advantages and disadvantages that women have and men have when
(03:40):
they're competing against one another. I'm happy to do that,
but I don't think we need to. People call this
an 80-20 issue.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
I think it's a 95-5 issue.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
But yes, Peggy Flanagan is on that 5% side of it,
as are most Democrats here in Minnesota. They had an
opportunity to codify this into law to keep women's sports
and girls' sports here for girls and women, and not
a single Democrat voted for that. I know there's precedent now,
Supreme Court precedent, so I anticipate lawsuits across a number
(04:11):
of states looking for this for their high schoolers in particular.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
This is also an issue in Minnesota for people who
say it doesn't happen that often. I believe last year
or the year before, a boy who said he was
a girl was the star softball pitcher in a game
that led to a state championship being won by a
girls team. The star athlete on the team was a
boy for people out there in Minnesota who may have
forgotten that. I know that turned into a big story there.
(04:39):
How much of this is Peggy Flanagan is Tim Walls?
I think this is important. I'm sure you're hammering it
quite a lot. Tim Walz's popularity overall in the state
of Minnesota has collapsed as all of the fraud has
been uncovered that much of it was connected to Somali
immigrants with the investigations that came out of YouTube of
all places. How much of Peggy Flanagan just being a
(05:03):
default stand in? In other words, she's going to argue
that she deserves a promotion based on the job that
she did with Tim Walls. How much is just Minnesotans saying, no,
you have failed us as a steward of public virtue
and treasure. And the idea that we would send you
to D.C.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Is crazy.
Speaker 3 (05:20):
Well, I think people have to look at it that way,
don't they? You cannot sit there and say you are
the Walls Flanagan administration. not the Walls administration, the Walls-Flanagan
administration for close to eight years now, and say that
all of the issues only belong to the governor. Now,
the governor was going to run for a third term,
and then Nick Shirley came to town. You alluded to
(05:41):
these YouTube videos. Nick Shirley came to town and introduced
everyone to the Quality Learing Center, and that was the
end of that. So, you know, Tim Walls had to say,
you know what? I guess I won't run after all. Well,
his right hand is Peggy Flanagan. And by the way,
she was in charge for all those months and months
when Walls was out campaigning to be the next vice
(06:02):
president of the United States. So for her to just say, oh,
the buck stops with Walls and I had no part
in this is just completely unrealistic. Again, it's divorced from reality.
And so I really hope that most Minnesotans can come
to their own conclusion about this and we'll help them
do it for sure. But this was a woman who
(06:22):
was tied at the hip to Tim Walz, and it
is their administration under which all of these failures have accumulated.
So good try, Flanagan. But no, this is why you
have the nickname Peggy Fraudigan here in Minnesota.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Well, you know, fraud, I like that.
Speaker 5 (06:38):
Fraud, energy policy, a lot of things go into grocery
bills and rent. So I want to talk to you
about the cost of living issue, Michelle, for a second,
and specifically For Minnesotans, what is your call it elevator pitch,
the 60 second version that if you're going to give
for a dad who's maybe working two jobs or a
(07:01):
mom who's picking her kids up after finishing her job,
you know, living in the suburbs of Minneapolis or anywhere
across the state, what would you be focusing on if
you go to the Senate to represent them that will
help with that issue of cost of living? What would
you do differently or what would you do positively than, say, Flanagan?
Speaker 3 (07:20):
Well, let's not forget the Working Family Tax Cuts Act,
which is no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security,
no tax on overtime. She would love to repeal that.
She was against that. So let's keep that in mind
for everyone that thinks that those policies are good. She's
going to try to undo them the minute she gets
to the Senate. We've got energy here. We need an
all of the above energy strategy. Peggy Flanagan is pretty
(07:42):
much into the Green New Deal and has even proposed
getting rid of liquid fuels by the year 2030 or 2040.
So the fact of the matter is we've got a
lot of tractors in Minnesota. We've got a lot of
farm equipment that needs to run on fuel. Now, whether
it's biofuel, diesel, E15, fine, but they can't run on batteries.
(08:04):
And that's what she would like. And again, that's going
to be tremendously expensive and inconvenient. There is so much regulation.
We have had just a massive departure an exodus of
small businesses, even large businesses, leaving Minnesota. When businesses leave,
the job numbers decline. There aren't as many opportunities. And
(08:25):
that tax base goes too. And oh my gosh, the
number of people coming up to us saying, my property
taxes are going up again.
Speaker 6 (08:33):
Why?
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Well, the state ran out of all this money. They
had an $ 18 billion surplus turned into a massive deficit,
$ 6 to $ 7 billion deficit. She can't manage the money.
And she's asking for even more of it, more money
and power to her friends in St. Paul and Washington, D.C.
That is not the way to fix affordability.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Michelle, you were on sidelines for NFL games for a
long time. The Minnesota Vikings, probably the number one topic
I would imagine in the state of Minnesota, took down
the Green Bay Packers big. I would say it's an
upset early start to the year, despite the fact that
Kyler Murray got knocked out of the game. Give us
(09:14):
your take on the Vikings win and why, if you
win the Senate race, the Vikings will also go to
the Super Bowl, which would probably, if you could guarantee that,
would probably guarantee you a landslide victory.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
That would seal the deal, if I could do that.
Speaker 3 (09:30):
I noticed the color of the jacket.
Speaker 7 (09:32):
Today, by the way.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Listen, it reminded me of the Texas game the night before,
the way Arch Manning and Texas came back to beat
Ohio State. And then, you know, the Vikings found themselves
in that same place, and I wasn't, nearly as confident
that the Vikings would do this. But suddenly their defense,
their secondary in particular, just started playing really well. And
Carson Wentz was finding Justin Jefferson and it just started clicking.
(09:56):
This was a great start for the Minnesota Vikings. And
what a comeback so yes everyone is thrilled all over
the place wherever I was driving yesterday I saw cars
parked in front of houses they were getting ready for
that opening game and excited about it being the sort
of the afternoon game and it was great this is
going to be very interesting now I would say that
Kyler Murray I don't know what his prognosis is with
(10:19):
this concussion, but the way that Carson Wentz finally found
himself in this rhythm and was finding Justin Jefferson in
a way that wasn't happening early on and really didn't
happen last season, this could make it very, very interesting
at the quarterback position here in Minnesota.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
It's going to be fun to watch.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
Does it feel, Michelle, speaking of that, by the way,
the Vikings play the Bears, which will be a heck
of a game next week for those people out there.
Does it feel to you like sports in many ways
are healing in terms of sanity returning? I know we
just had the 10-year anniversary of Colin Kaepernick taking a knee.
You saw what happened. You mentioned men and women's sports.
(10:58):
It feels like that might be very well a 90-10 issue, 95-5.
Does it feel like sane, normal guys and gals out there,
not only in Minnesota but across the country, are finally saying,
we're done with the crazy?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
It sure feels like that. I see far fewer pronouns
in email signatures these days, and that is welcomed. You know,
if you want to put them there, I guess go
ahead and put them there. I don't I've always thought
that was so performative and so much of this stuff
is performative. You know, look, I would like to think so.
But every time I think that we're coming back to
some place of normalcy, something else happens. Like I find
(11:36):
out this morning that Minnesota is removing the 9-11 lessons
from high school history. That disturbs me greatly. How how
can that happen? How can that happen? We're only 25
years out. Are we going to remove Pearl Harbor too?
What else are we going to remove?
Speaker 2 (11:51):
World War II? World War I? The Civil War?
Speaker 3 (11:54):
What else are we going to remove? I mean, this
is insanity to me. So all of these issues, they
keep coming back. I keep thinking maybe the pendulum's coming
in the middle. But I will say this, Clay and Buck.
In 2026, we've seen some fascinating things. We saw Indiana University,
the Hoosiers, a basketball school, win a college football national championship.
(12:17):
We saw both our men's and women's Olympic hockey teams
win gold. We saw our female figure skater win gold.
You know, maybe there are winds of change coming around
and maybe the Vikings will get to the Super Bowl.
I'm certainly not going to guarantee it, but I'm not
going to.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Count it out.
Speaker 5 (12:35):
My beloved Minnesota Vikings, they're going to come through huge.
Speaker 4 (12:39):
They're going to come through huge. I can tell you
that much.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
Michelle, you're doing a great job running a fantastic campaign,
and we want to have you back before because we
think the Minnesotans are going to turn out bigly for you,
as they should. Thanks so much for being here with us.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
People can go to MichelleTafoya.com if they want to help.
Thank you both so much.
Speaker 7 (12:58):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (12:59):
Absolutely.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
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at this time of year, late in the season.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
It's a tax.
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Speaker 1 (15:01):
If you truly care, pass along this common sense to
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Speaker 2 (15:05):
Clay and Buck owning the airwaves.
Speaker 4 (15:08):
Welcome back into Clay and Buck. A lot of calls,
a lot of talkbacks. Let's get to it. By the way, J.D.
Vance speaking live right now. We are monitoring.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
The team is looking to he's in Kansas City, Missouri,
talking about saving your tax money from fraud.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
The fraudsters are all over the place. Got to do it.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
Got to save that money. Uh, let's get, I see
all the talkbacks guys. Do we have some of the
lives too?
Speaker 4 (15:30):
Oh yeah, here we go. Uh, we still have Eric
and PA. Oh, uh, who, okay. You know what? I'm
just going to truck driver, Steve, a play this talkback.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Driver, Steve here. Hey, I kind of have to disagree
with you a little bit on that reading thing.
Speaker 8 (15:46):
I know you said only 16% of people read for
fun now.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Well, I read and I read for fun. But when
I started reading back in the 70s, you know, for fun,
in the 80s, there was nothing else to do. So
it kind of ran out of necessity.
Speaker 8 (16:02):
Or we went and played outside Cowboys and Indians and
Army and stuff.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
But there's just more to do now. There's more options.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
Yeah, but that still doesn't mean that you shouldn't be reading.
I'm not really sure what the disagreement is there. You
should be reading. I will admit this, Clay. I like
video games. I didn't play starting, I'd say, after college.
And then during COVID, I had nothing to do. So
I started playing video games again, other than doing five
hours of radio.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
But I also read all the time. Books, articles, X, everything.
I read all the time.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
There's a general thing that happens where we say, here
is what the data is. And then somebody calls in
and says, well, I don't.
Speaker 4 (16:45):
Fit that.
Speaker 1 (16:46):
You're in the 16% who reads. Now, is he correct
that there are way more entertainment options out there?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, said it really well,
I think, when he said, we compete against sleep. And
I thought that was such a great phrase because how
many times have you been laying in bed, laying on
the couch, and your decision is, am I going to
go to sleep or watch another episode? We have basically
(17:13):
flooded the zone with more media than has ever existed.
I mean, you can use this show as a good example.
When Rush started in the 80s and 90s, the number
of media outlets to compete with was almost non-existent. Now
we've got to be everywhere. We've got to be on YouTube.
We've got to be on Instagram. We've got to be
on Twitter. We've got to be on TikTok. We've got
to be on every platform under the sun. And Buck,
(17:35):
all of them have different rules as to what works
in those platforms. You've got to be an expert way
more places. I just saw where you are in Miami.
The Miami Herald basically announced they're firing 30 writers today.
newspapers are collapsing the rapidity with which all of media
and everything out there is changing is i think unparalleled
(17:57):
in any of our lives we'll get to some more
of your talkbacks and all that uh coming this way
but i want to tell you about the ifcj and
the incredible impact that they are having across the entire
nation when it comes standing for truth and protecting people
For 40 some odd years, they've paid attention to the
Jewish population in Israel, particularly the most vulnerable. Their mission
(18:19):
to provide security, food, critical care, which is why the
IFCJ was ready to act immediately in the aftermath of
October 7th. Thanks to your help, the IFCJ deployed emergency
resources to those impacted and continues to help today. The
IFCJ is an American-based nonprofit that's built a bridge between
Christians here and and abroad that feel compelled to help
(18:40):
those of the Jewish faith. Join the IFCJ in praying
for the safety of the Jewish people at PrayIFCJ.org. That's PrayIFCJ.org.
Speaking truth and having fun. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton.
Welcome back in, Clay and Buck. Appreciate all of you
(19:01):
hanging out with us. We are rolling through the Monday
edition of the program, and We've got a bunch of
fun talkbacks. Um, let's see, Buck, you just texted me this,
the 5,000 Trump has been talking about the $ 5, 000 dividend. Um,
and it's going to be given, he says to all
adults in the U S due to the fact that
(19:22):
country's taking in trillions of dollars of economic development, investment,
pure success being criticized by Democrats, uh, Democrats, as he says,
who were hoping it never happens. It will be as
an example. Uh, and he continues along those lines. Um, Buck,
I would say in general, and this is one of
the pledges that Trump brought to bear from his midterm convention.
Speaker 4 (19:44):
Let me say this, by the way. Midterm convention actually
came off better than I thought. thought it would.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Meaning I don't remember there being any profoundly negative storylines
that came out of the Republican midterm convention. I still
think it was not the best scheduling decision to put
it head-to-head against NFL kickoff games on Wednesday and Thursday
night when you're trying to speak to a larger universe
(20:12):
of potential supporters. But within that construct, I thought it
came off pretty well. Now, I think the idea of
a $ 5, 000 basically tax rebate to all Americans, I don't
think it's very likely to happen because I am not.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Here's the truth.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
I am not very optimistic on Congress being able to
do anything over the next two years, whether Republicans have
control of Congress or whether Democrats do. And by the way,
sometimes Congress doing nothing is actually better. Because at least
that way they don't screw things up. I mean, what's
your take on this?
Speaker 4 (20:49):
Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
Sometimes gridlock on Capitol Hill is a mercy. Sometimes it's
the best possible outcome. I'll just tell you guys this.
We can discuss and debate whether there should be some
regulating of AI frontiers and breakthroughs. But the notion that
Congress is in any position to do helpful or meaningful
(21:11):
legislation on this is absurd. It's just flatly absurd. What
would that even look like? Hey, we're going to pass
a law not to allow a machine to get so
smart that it could take over everything and kill all
of us?
Speaker 2 (21:24):
I mean, okay.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
I promise you they're not trying to do that at
these companies. They're not going to hope that that's what
the outcome is. I just think that that part of
it is, you need to just remember, the efforts that
Congress has had in the past, when they did want
to regulate the internet in the early days, I think
One of the reasons they didn't is because, so first
of all, a lot of them didn't realize how important
and how much impact it would have. And second, they
(21:48):
just didn't understand. They had no knowledge of where it
was going or no sense of vision as to how
much it would interconnect all of our lives. I think
AI is that and then some. Johnny in Texas, be
on the talkbacks. Listen to what Johnny has to say.
Speaker 6 (22:03):
Hey, guys.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
This is Johnny in West Texas.
Speaker 9 (22:05):
I work in the oil and gas industry, and I
use spreadsheets and data sets and maps.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
And I started using.
Speaker 9 (22:11):
AI about a year ago to help me go through
my work. And I have to tell you, my productivity
has just skyrocketed since I did AI. Something that used
to take me a day to go through and summarize,
I can do it in about 10 minutes or less
with AI, and it's all automated and all high quality.
I think the effect on the economy with these things
is going to be like the Internet was 30 years ago.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
It's just amazing. Yeah, Clay, I agree.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
I keep, we're preaching the same thing because you and
I both are, look, I tell you, I use Grok
during the show for stat updates or if I have
to pull a factor figure really quickly, that might be,
and it might be something like, hey, who's the guy
wearing the brown hat in that movie from the 80s
that had the alien? Boom, Grok gets me an answer
right away.
Speaker 4 (22:53):
It's perfect.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
So that's why it's so useful for our purposes here,
but I've used it for other things as well. I
can tell you, they always say this is not medical advice.
I can tell you that You do your own research.
All that applies. You know, if you get like a
weird bug bite or something somewhere and you take a
photo with Grok, it'll tell you like what's going on.
Speaker 4 (23:14):
It'll tell you whether you need to be concerned. I mean,
the the the usage of these things as tools, Clay,
is amazing.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Spider snakes around the house. If you're concerned, hey, is
this a black widow? What what should I be concerned
that this is a spider that has some danger in
the household, in the garage, wherever you see it? If
you see a snake, you can upload a photo of
a snake and say, hey, how much should I be
concerned about this? Is this a venomous snake or is
it not? I think all of these assets in the
(23:41):
palms of our hand. I would also say this, Buck,
much of this comes back to do you trust humans
to make life better?
Speaker 4 (23:51):
And there are.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
People out there who believe, as we have gone through,
the general pessimism of climate change or the destruction of
what is good in this country. really comes down to
how much do you trust Americans? How much do you
trust the world to make things better? My general proposition
is our life today, in general, is way better than
(24:16):
it has been in the past. Let me give you
just one example. You've never been safer from violent crime
in any of your lives in America today. It should
be a story that gets talked about every day. You've
never been less likely to be murdered. You've never been
less likely to see a violent crime in your neighborhood.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Is it perfect?
Speaker 7 (24:32):
No.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
But in general, trend lines, I believe, are moving in
a very positive direction.
Speaker 5 (24:38):
Also, look, there are a lot of jobs that are
kind of nonsense jobs that people who are involved in
them would be better served either focusing on one part
of the job that's more productive. I'll give you my example.
For a lot of you Gen X and old gray-beard
millennials like me, I sit right on the cusp, Clay,
(25:00):
of Gen X and millennial.
Speaker 4 (25:01):
I am the transition point. Clay is very Gen X.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
I missed it by a year, thankfully. Gen X has
saved the world, even though we get no respect. If
you look legitimately at the data, Trump is overwhelmingly popular
with Gen X.
Speaker 5 (25:21):
We've talked before about the movie Office Space here. And
I think Office Space captures that zeitgeist.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
It was like early 2000s, I think, is when it
came out.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
Captures that zeitgeist incredibly well of office culture, office space culture,
cubicle farmers, if you will, and also has some really
philosophically interesting, it's a comedy, but has some just, you know,
it really resonates. That's all I'm telling you. I think
it's kind of a timeless piece. It's a Mike Judge movie, right?
Mike Judge is a brilliant comedian writer. But there's this
(25:54):
whole thing about Lumberg and the TPS reports, right? And
Lumberg walks up and he goes, hey, how's it going?
Have you done your TPS reports? And I haven't seen
the movie in a while, so my impression is not
as good as it would normally be. But imagine that
instead of doing the TPS reports, you just could do
that with AI. You check them to make sure that
(26:15):
they seem legit, and then you could focus on. actually
meeting with people to get a sales relationship going or
actually doing the research to make something, you know, better.
That's the product that you're doing or, you know, focusing
on the things that matter. This is what I think, Clay,
when we talk about enhanced productivity, there's, there's just concern.
People have, oh my gosh, all these people will be
(26:36):
without jobs and then they won't be reabsorbed into the
economy because these jobs will, this has always, you know, the, the,
the people don't even remember a farrier is, is a
guy that would put the shoe on the bottom of.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
A horse, right? Okay, there are some still, but there
aren't a lot of farriers anymore.
Speaker 8 (26:56):
The people who would have been farriers got involved in
either other aspects of animal husbandry, working on a ranch
or whatever, or they worked with the new automobiles that
came out, or they worked with the new machinery that
came out.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
We've gone through this so many times. We're not going
to have mass structural unemployment forever because of AI. It
is a tool that will enhance productivity forever.
Speaker 5 (27:21):
And people will be using in the jobs that they
have to do less.
Speaker 4 (27:24):
Nobody wants to do miserable, stupid stuff. I mean, amen.
Speaker 1 (27:29):
Look, I just tell you, if you want to be
optimistic about the future, get in a Tesla and let
it drive you.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
Just trust me on this. Go to it.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I don't get paid anything by Tesla. I've had a
bunch of people coming up to me and saying, hey, Clay,
after you talked about using your self-driving Tesla, I went
and tried it out. and I bought it, you will
feel like you are living in the future. Every single
day gets better. In the future, there are around 40,000
people a day who die in car accidents in the
(28:02):
United States. It's probably the worst, most preventable way that
people die in the United States today. You go to
the grocery store, you die in a car accident. You
take the kid to school in the morning. You die
in an accident. You have a 16 year old. You
put him into a car. He or she, they're often
(28:23):
teenagers in car accidents and they die. Young people, healthy people,
people who would have otherwise lived for decades. One split second,
they lose their life in a car accident. I really
believe this. 20 years from now, 40 years from now.
Your grandkids and great grandkids are going to look back
and see the equivalent of people dying in car accidents,
(28:47):
of people dying of dysentery on the Oregon Trail. They're
going to say, what are you talking about? People used
to get stomach aches and just die because they drank
bad water. The idea that people died in a car accident,
I'm just telling you, watch these numbers. You want a
positive prediction from me. Over the next 20 and 40 years,
it's going to plummet, and it's going to become so
(29:09):
rare that people are dying in car accidents.
Speaker 4 (29:10):
Think about that.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Over the next 40 years, how many more people are
going to be alive? How many more people are going
to have productive lives? I'm telling you, if you are
pessimistic about the future, take a drive in a Tesla
self-driving vehicle. You are going to look around, and you're
going to feel like you stepped into the future. I
don't care how old you are. I don't care if
you're 80 years old. My parents got in the car.
(29:33):
My 18-year-old was driving them around. They couldn't believe that
he just plugged in an address, and it just drives them.
I'm telling you, no matter what your age is, we
are moving into an era where there is going to
be so much awesomeness that in many ways, I think
people are going to have whiplash. And look, I get
that change is discomforting, but Good change is something we
(29:56):
should all celebrate. And I think the transformative nature of
Tesla at a minimum is going to right now. Trust me,
just go take a test drive. You don't have to
believe me. Just let the car drive you around and
tell me that you don't feel like you're living in
a future. And Buck's going to buy one of these things.
And he's going to be looking around. And I'm going
to be honest with you. I trust it already so
(30:18):
much that I want to get it. I would be
comfortable sitting in the backseat. That's how much I trust
the self-driving Tesla that I have. And by the way,
$ 50, 000 fully stocked. That is relative to the luxury experience
of the car driving itself. That is one of the
best buys that I have ever made. 0.99% financing. I mean,
(30:42):
basically free, right? When you look at what interest rates
are right now, this technology and using the Tesla AI
as an example is going to blow people's minds. And
I'm telling you, there's a lot of awesomeness like that
coming sooner rather than later.
Speaker 4 (31:02):
Amen.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Amen.
Speaker 4 (31:04):
And if you're out.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
There right now and you are trying to decide, hey,
how do we make the budget work for the fall?
What are we going to do? It's not very long
until Thanksgiving, believe it or not. Just a couple of
months from now to be Thanksgiving. And you guys all
know as soon as Thanksgiving gets here, it's a sprint
right down the end of the year all the way
to Christmas and New Year's. You're going to spend a
(31:27):
lot more money. You're going to buy a lot more presents.
How about putting your financial house in order right now?
If you've got credit card debt, over 20% you're paying
right now at credit card debt. How about personal loans?
Some of those personal loan rates are through the roof.
If you have a home right now, home prices have skyrocketed.
(31:47):
If you are fortunate enough to own a home over
the last five or six years, over the last 10 years,
certainly over the last 20 years, it's a great asset
to own your own home. But all of that money
and value because you bought that home, it's just piling
up and you may want to use some of that
money for something else. That's what Perfect 10 Mortgage can
(32:09):
do for you. They can take a mortgage. that you
have got hundreds of thousands of dollars in value in
your home in now. They can let you take some
of that value of your home out to pay off
all of these super high interest rates. Maybe you just
want to buy something for the kids or the grandkids.
Maybe you want to do something to add assets to
(32:29):
your home. Maybe you want to build an addition. Maybe
you want to add an apartment above the garage. Any
number of things you could want to do. That's what
Perfect 10 Mortgage can help you do. Why is it
called Perfect 10? You give them 10 minutes, and in
as little as 10 days, they can have a brand
new mortgage for you to put your financial house in
order for the holidays. Perfect10Mortgage. com. Go to this website, Perfect10Mortgage. com.
(32:58):
You give them 10 minutes. And in 10 days or less,
they will have a brand new mortgage for you. Makes
a great deal, great financial sense. That's Perfect10Mortgage. com.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Smart, fun, sane.
Speaker 1 (33:12):
You check all three when you listen to Clay and Buck.
Speaker 5 (33:15):
All right, we got some calls, some talkbacks. Let's get
to them, my friends. Mark listens on WFLA in Florida.
This is Talkback C.
Speaker 4 (33:25):
Hit it.
Speaker 6 (33:25):
Hey, guys.
Speaker 7 (33:26):
Mark in Florida. I remember when I used to have
to work on my car as a teenager, I had
to go to the library and pray they had a
Chilton's manual in there. As far as AI doing my
thinking for me, let's see. Smartphones have made us dumber.
Electric bikes have made us fatter. And AI, yeah, I
think AI will pretty much finish off the human race
because I don't understand why humans are constantly searching for
(33:50):
things to do the thinking for them. We've done a
pretty good job so far.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
If I were a mechanic, and I'm not, I'm not
good at fixing cars. I have no hope. I would
imagine that being a mechanic is one of the things
that AI could help you with the most, Buck. Instead
of having to go to the library and get a manual,
you can take a picture of the issue that you have,
and AI can instruct you how to solve it.
Speaker 5 (34:13):
Look, I'm going to tell you guys something. This may
be a shock. I am not the handiest mechanic. around
the house okay i'm not exactly mr uh was it
wasn't a bob vila back in the.
Speaker 4 (34:24):
Day yeah bob vila was the man.
Speaker 5 (34:26):
Vila the one and only i am not a bob
vila type guy when my father-in-law shows up at my
at our place clay i have like and i have
no shame laundry list i'm like you know how to
do all these things can i feed you a delicious
steak dinner which i may cook because i'd like to
cook and you can do all these things around the
house and he does them all the things that bang
bang bang on the walls and the the wires and
(34:47):
the things he does all the things AI, though, I
take photos of stuff now. I'm like, tell me how
I make this or how I fix this or how
I do whatever. Every time I nail it. Every time
I nail it. And then I learn.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
So I don't think there are very many jobs where
AI couldn't make you better. Now, if if the caller
or the talk backer there wants to say, hey, yeah.
You know, are we still developing as many skills as
we should? All these things are valid, right? We've had
Mike Rowe on regularly talking about, hey, we need more
(35:19):
guys or women too. But guys in particular, there's great
jobs to be electricians right now.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
There's great jobs to be plumbers. They're not filled.
Speaker 5 (35:27):
You know, my older brother makes fun of me sometimes
because I don't like to drive stick. I'm now just like,
I'm going to be taking it. You can make fun
of me while you're driving stick, lurching around in traffic.
While my self-driving vehicle lets me take a nap and
I'm just gliding to where I want to go. Some things,
some technologies don't last. Jay in Texas. D on the talkbacks.
Speaker 2 (35:48):
Hit it.
Speaker 10 (35:48):
Hey, Clay and Buck. Love your show. Just wanted to
let you know I'm a retired engineer and I think
the fears with A.I. are more about why things fail.
If you look at the 767 MAX, you look at Challenger,
you look at the Tacoma Straits Bridge, those failures were
all due to management decisions overriding the engineers in technology.
(36:10):
So we've got to be careful about how we make decisions. Thanks.
Speaker 5 (36:15):
Walker in Virginia. Walker, you've been waiting patiently. Let's get
you in. You've got about 40 seconds.
Speaker 4 (36:18):
Hit it.
Speaker 6 (36:20):
Thank you so much. Two quick points. Clay made it
seem earlier in the show like not too many people
use AI. I disagree. Lots of people in this audience
who work in corporate America especially, we use it constantly.
Every week I'm getting this career development thing and LinkedIn
learning and saying, oh, let's learn how to create an
AI agent. I personally think it's cool but scary. Everyone
(36:41):
uses AI. It comes right. We have to win the
AI battle or else we'll become just as irrelevant as
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Speaker 1 (36:51):
I like the shot at the Royals. I love that one.
I actually think the majority of this audience doesn't use
AI regularly.
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