October 2, 2025 • 36 mins
In Hour 2 of The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show, Clay Travis continues the conversation on the collapse of trust in media, sparked by a Gallup poll showing confidence at historic lows. Clay shares listener reactions and humorously calls out fellow radio host Jesse Kelly for ordering $75 tequila shots, tying it into a broader discussion about gratitude and humility in media. Clay argues that many in mainstream media lack appreciation for their privileged positions, contrasting that with his own daily practice of gratitude and the conservative ethos of thankfulness for living in America.
The hour takes a sharp turn into cultural commentary as Clay critiques Joy Reid’s viral comments claiming America was not a land of opportunity for her immigrant parents. Clay challenges this narrative, pointing out Reid’s Harvard education and multimillion-dollar career as evidence of American opportunity. He frames this as part of a larger ideological divide: Republicans value gratitude and patriotism, while Democrats push narratives of grievance and victimhood.
A major segment features an in-depth interview with Congressman John James, who is running for governor of Michigan. James responds to Al Sharpton’s false claim that Michigan lacks Black congressional representation, calling out identity politics and emphasizing policy over race. He outlines why Michigan will be the epicenter of U.S. politics in 2026 and 2028, citing open gubernatorial and Senate seats, competitive House races, and the state’s pivotal role in presidential elections. James stresses the need for strong Republican leadership to restore trust, improve education, strengthen the economy, and secure election integrity. He also shares his inspiring personal story—from growing up in Detroit to graduating West Point, serving as an Apache pilot in Iraq, and building a successful business—underscoring his commitment to faith, family, and service.
The hour closes with Clay promoting his upcoming book “Balls”, which argues why young men and sports fans should vote Republican, and listener talkbacks on who they trust in media, with names like Rush Limbaugh, Newsmax, and The Epoch Times topping the list.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome in Clay Travis buck Sexton Show, laughing as I
come into hour number two. By the way, Buck is
in Taiwan. He interviewed the President of Taiwan there. He
will have for you on Monday, some of those interview segments.
I'm laughing as I come back in out of break
(00:20):
because I shared the gallop pull about trust and media
that a lot of you are reacting to on social
media as well, and the comments there are really pretty great,
and you guys are giving me a lot of talkbacks,
a lot of calls about who you trust. And as
I was reading to make sure that I'm updated on
all the news during the commercial break, I come across
(00:43):
our good friend Jesse Kelly, who many of you are
going to hear on six PM or later versions of
the Premiere Radio Network. He is down in Houston. He
responded to my question of who do you trust to
be honest with you and not law by saying, Jesse Kelly,
did I trust me the most? You dead last? So,
(01:08):
Jesse Kelly, I've got to respond. I haven't had time yet,
but I'm going to say this is exactly the response
I would expect from someone who ordered seventy five dollars
shots at tequila. You know that's true. We were on
we were in New York City for those of you
who may have forgotten and need to understand why you
can't trust anything, Jesse, Kelly says. And we were having
(01:30):
a nice we were on the rooftop, great restaurant. Everybody's
having drinks, everybody's having a good time. Jesse decides we
need a round of tequila shots. Around of tequila shots.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
There were like six of us. I don't know what
should that cost? Seven eight dollars each. I understand that
I'm getting old, but at most and I'm not talking
about a dingy, you know, college bar, because I will.
I will tell you this. If you, whatever your financial
situation is, if you go into like an sec college
(02:07):
bar for a big game weekend, you will never feel
richer than when you order like five beers. What they
come back and say, I was, I was out recently
and I went to the bar, and you know, it's crowded,
and the last thing I want to do is stand
in a crowded bar line, and so you know, I'll
try to buy it. I'm an old man now and
unk as my kids will call me and so I'll
(02:28):
try to get a bucket or so I don't have
to get back in line very fast, and I'll say, hey,
you know, give me six Coors lights, six Miller lights.
I'm still not willing to order bud light whatever. It
is an easy bar, you know, tab order. And the
last time I did that, the girl came back and
(02:49):
she was like, yeah, that'll be twenty one dollars and
I was like, oh, this, It's been so long since
I went anywhere and somebody charged me something, and I thought, man,
that's a lot less than I expected.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
You guys know what.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You know what I'm talking about, Like everything costs too
much relative to what I think it should cost. Now
because of the Biden inflation, everything just went up like
twenty five or thirty percent at least, and so everything
you order, it feels like it's way more expensive than
it should be. And I think that's the angst and
(03:26):
the anger and the uh being upset. But this was
the second time in my life. The first time I
was in New York. Producer Ali, You'll probably know where
this place was. It was I think after my first
maybe my second year of law school, and my current
wife then girlfriend Laura. We were in New York. I
(03:49):
think it was like the so what's the really fancy
hotel in Soho?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
So bad? Is it?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
The Soho? Is that the name of the hotel? The
Soho House?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Would that be?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Like you walk in and there's kind of this cool
bar and the I don't know, it's probably like a
fifteen story place. I think that's where it is. Ihart
has a studio near there, right like that. Ryan Seacrest
used to use the tribe Grand, Tribeca Grand, that's what
it is. Yeah, the Tribeca Grand. Really nice place. Okay,
I am twenty three, I have no money, and I
(04:24):
remember I went to the bar in the Tribeca Grand
to get four beers and I think the bill was
like sixty two dollars something like that, and I just
remember thinking, I'm going to be the first person to
ever go bankrupt ordering a round of beers in the
history of mankind. I just couldn't believe what it cost
at the Tribeca Grand. This same thing happened with Jesse Kelly.
(04:48):
We're at I think it was the Peninsula Hotel, where
on the rooftop everybody's having a good time. They bring
six shots seventy five dollars each, seventy five dollars each.
Jesse Kelly ordered shots on my tab at the table.
I didn't even know there was a seventy five dollars
(05:10):
shot drink anywhere on the planet. That should come with
a gold bar, that should come with stock in the hotel.
So when Jesse says he trusts me the least of everybody,
I just think it's important for all of you to
know that he's balding and also that he's the kind
(05:30):
of person who orders seventy five dollars shots of tequila.
So trusted Media, tons of you reacting to that story,
and we're going to continue to take your reactions to that.
But I think one reason trusted media has collapsed is
a lot of people in media are Charlatans. A lot
of people in media are completely dishonest, and they don't
(05:53):
have a lot of gratitude. I am every single day.
I encourage all of you to think, try to do
this too. Every single day. When I wake up, the
first thing I think, before I even reach over and
get my phone, before I see whatever the frenzy of
the day is, I think, boy, here are two or
(06:14):
three things that that I am very grateful for the
most time. It has to do with my boys, my wife,
my family, the jobs that I feel very fortunate to have.
Before I do anything else, before I get out of bed,
for about thirty seconds one minute, I just lay in
bed and I think, Hey, here are the things that
(06:37):
I am grateful for. Because I think gratitude is probably
the most underutilized and the most important of all emotions
in the world at large. How many people in media
do you think are grateful for the jobs that they have,
feel incredibly fortunate to be able to live in this country,
(07:00):
make a living saying exactly what we think. Every single day,
when I sit down, I put on my headset. For
about ten seconds, I think, boy, this is an incredible privilege.
I am so grateful that I get to do what
I am doing today every single day. For about ten seconds,
I think that when I put the headset on, and
I've done that for twenty years. When I did local
(07:22):
sports talk radio in Nashville, I remember sitting down thinking, man,
I'm getting paid to do this, and I used to
get paid nothing to do with this. My first shop
in radio, I made zero dollars to do a radio show,
and then I got fifty dollars to do a radio show.
So I've legitimately done this for no money because I
(07:42):
felt so excited to be able to do it. Joy
read Rachel Maddow. Do they seem grateful that they get
to have media jobs that pay them millions of dollars?
Say whatever they think? This clip is going viral, and
(08:04):
I wanted to share it with you because I do
think that, in addition to facts versus feelings we were
talking about with Ben Shapiro, who I think has done
a really good job of making that his hallmark his
calling card, Republicans seem to me in general to be
(08:25):
profoundly thankful and filled with gratitude that we all get
to live in this country.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Now.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I'm not saying that there aren't things every day where
you wake up and you think, boy, Hugh, this has
not been a day, this has not been a week,
this has been really hard. I'm not saying that it
means that there aren't challenges, or that you aren't sometimes
frustrated and upset about the trajectory of the country. I
just mean that, as a general rule, do you feel
(08:56):
immense gratitude every day that you wake up for the privilege,
for the good fortune that you live in the United States.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I do.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Warren Buffett has a great example of this. By the way,
what are there seven billion of us? It's really good illustrative.
I think you could use it with your kids and
your grandkids. He says, if you live in the United
States today, pretend that every seven billion people in the
entire world were in a jar, and you were represented
(09:31):
by a marble, and you could reach into that jar
of seven billion people, and you could pull out any
other marble. You could end up the Prince of England.
You could end up the president of Taiwan. Who Buck
just spoke to no idea what you might draw as
(09:51):
your fate. But he said, you know what, no one
in America should ever change their marble. Think about that
we are also fortunate and privileged to live in this country.
That no matter whether you are the richest or the
poorest person in America today, your marble one of three
(10:12):
hundred and thirty million ish marbles. You should never ever
risk putting your marble in and drawing a new one,
because the chances that you would end up in a
better place, in a better position than where you are
right now, relative to the world at large, are very
very slim, And so I was thinking about that when
(10:33):
I watched this clip this morning from Joy Reid, and
Joy Reid said, this is from March of twenty twenty five.
When my mom came here from Guyana. She's an immigrant.
She realized it was not a land of opportunity for
people like us. Cut twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
I thought it was from the Congo and my mother
was from Guana, and so they were the immigrants who
came here on purpose and they got the root of wakening.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
My mother got the root waking racist. That's weird.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Tell me this is the land of opportunity.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
But not for me here.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
So her dad was from Congo and her mom was
from Guyana and they're laughing, Haha. This is not the
land of opportunity, not for us. Boy, this is a
super racist country. Why didn't you go back? I mean,
that's the immediate reaction that I have. If you're not
born here and you came to the United States, you
(11:34):
could go back to Congo. You could go back to
Guyana if you think it's super, super racist place and
there's no opportunity for you here. By the way, Joy
Reid got to go to Harvard and makes millions of
dollars a year in politics. Just to share her opinion,
why wouldn't you go back? If I had been born
in Denmark or South Korea or Botswana and I came
(11:59):
to the United States eight and I got here, and
I said, boy, I expected it to be a lot better.
This sucks. I'd go back to the country I was
born in, wouldn't you? How is the immediate reaction here
not boy, that's a tremendous lack of gratitude. How much
money do you make? Joy your ead millions of dollars
a year. You make more money than ninety nine point
nine percent of Americans. You got to go to Harvard,
(12:21):
a place that ninety nine point nine percent of Americans
will never be able to attend. You got to do
that as a first generation American. Would you have become
a multimillionaire in the Congo? Would you have become a
multi millionaire in Guyana? Would you have gotten to go
to Harvard if you had been born in either of
those countries? I think the answer is no. For all
of that, where is your gratitude? Where is your thanks
(12:44):
for the incredible good fortune that you had to be
born in the United States because your parents came here.
I don't think she even believes this. I think she's
telling a lie. And I think she's telling a lie
because Democrats are ungrateful for the country that exis here.
And if you are ungrateful for the country that exists here,
you have no problem tearing it down. They at their essence,
(13:08):
hate America and are not grateful for the immense gratitude
benefits that have been lauded upon us. And I think
that really goes to the essence of the two political parties.
One party is grateful, the other is not. Now, the
Republican Party is not perfect. It still has people like
(13:29):
Jesse Kelly who buy seventy five dollars shots when you
could buy a normal cost shot, and then you're not
even grateful when somebody like me foots the bill. I mean, really,
I'm not saying Republicans are perfect, but there aren't many,
very many joy reads in this party. We come back,
we'll take some more of your talkbacks feedbacks. Remember we're
(13:50):
gonna be talking with John James, Michigan gubernatorial candidate at
the bottom of the hour, and he just got called
out by the Reverend Al Sharpton. We'll have some fun
with that. But in the meantime, this weekend coming up,
we are soon going to be on the anniversary of
the two year terror attack that happened in Israel on
October seventh, twenty twenty three, and a lot of you,
(14:15):
including me, are going to show your support for Israel,
the country that was savagely attacked on October seven, twenty
twenty three, by putting out flags. This is a nationwide
effort to show that everybody out there should have support
for the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and the
work that they're doing to help honor and remember the
(14:38):
day that twelve hundred Israelis lost their life and two
hundred and fifty more were taking hostages. What they're doing
is called Flag of Fellowship. It's organized by the International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews. If you'd like to join
millions of Americans across the country standing in solidarity with
the victims of the Hamas terror attacks, go to IFCJ
dot org. The Flags of Fellowship movement open to every one.
(15:00):
Join this powerful and symbolic movement by going to IFCJ
dot org. That's IFCJ dot org.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Stories of Freedom, stories of America, inspirational stories that you
unite us all each day, spend time with Clay and
buy find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Welcome back in play Travis buck Sexton Show. We're gonna
be joined by John James here shortly.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
All right.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
I got a request for you guys, all right, and
I'm open to where you would like for me to
make a donation too. So where's the best place to
go with this I have got If you're watching on video,
my new book is coming out. It is one month
away from being released. It's called Balls. I will post
(15:52):
the link on my Twitter feed.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
It'll be up short certainly at Clay and Buck, but
you can just type in Clay Trap on Amazon, Barnes
and Noble on any of the sites and it will
take you there. I'm in a good spot where there
have been times in the past where I wrote books
and I needed to sell copies of my book to
be able to feed my kids, to be able to
(16:16):
pay my mortgage. I'm in a good spot now where
I don't have to worry about that. So I am
going to donate all of the money that is made
from this book to charity. But here's what I want.
I want you guys to give me good idea on
what that charity should be. Second part of this, I
want you to go please buy the book because I
(16:38):
want the arguments that I make in this book to
get out as widely as they possibly can. You guys
know that I believe best arguments win, but we got
to get the best arguments in front of the largest
possible audience. The way you do that, this is just
full disclosure, is you sell a bunch of books in
advance of the book actually being released. So they print
(17:01):
a ton of them and they put them in the
front of stores. I want this book to be in
Hudson bookstores if you're walking through an airport. I want
this thing to be in Costco. I want this thing
to be in Walmart. The way that happens is we
have to sell a ton of them before it's even released.
So I'm asking you for a favor, and again, all
the proceeds are going to charity. I'm in a great spot.
(17:24):
I'm going to post the link on Amazon. Please go
buy the book. The book is balls it's easy. You
just type in my name Clay Travis. It's a fun read,
but I think it's an important one. It's about how
young men, sports fans and President Trump won the election
and how we keep the momentum of that win going forward.
Your sons, your grandsons, your granddaughters, your grand your daughters.
(17:46):
I think they would enjoy it. They might not have
been exposed to the arguments that I'm making. I'm asking
you to buy them, give it to people. Just type
in my name Clay Travis. I'm gonna share it. I
want this book to be as wide distributed as possible
because I think the arguments are important and I think
we are correct. I also know that there are a
(18:08):
lot of moving parts out there when it comes to
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(18:29):
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(18:51):
and Buck. Save one thousand dollars over a year. Welcome
back in Clay, Travis Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of
you hanging out with us. We are joined now by
Congressman John James. He's up in Michigan and he represents
the Detroit area, which was a bit of a surprise,
I guess. According to the Reverend Al Sharton, good to
(19:15):
have you on, Congressman. For people who don't know that story,
I retweeted your video response this morning. What happened there?
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Reverend Al Sharpton, as you know, is as a host
on the network ms DNC, I'm sorry MSNBC, and he
was talking to one of our progressive socialist candidates for
Senate here and he made mention that Michigan hasn't had
(19:45):
a black congressman for a while. And that's kind of
odd because I think I've been black for the past
forty four years. So imagine my surprise when I see
this clip that one of my friends forwarded it to
me saying that there was no black congressman for the
(20:06):
state of Michigan. Now, I was raised to believe that
regardless of the color of my skin, I would be
judged by the content of my character. But sadly, with
guys like Al Sharpton, there's only one way to be
black when his party believes that children should be addressed
by fifteen thousand ways to in their gender. This is
(20:29):
something that is indicative of how extreme their party is
gone that they are so blinded to reality that they
either refuse to acknowledge the representation that is in the
state of Michigan and the fact that we are turning
away from their lives because everywhere there's Democrat control in
(20:51):
cities across the nation, overwhelmingly African Americans and all people, frankly,
are are suffering. So we are going to combat that
in the way that Charlie taught us. We're going to
combat that with ideas, We're going to combat that with words,
We're going to combat that with better policies, and we
are going to make sure that our better policies reach
every corner of America. To make our streets safer, to
(21:13):
make our schools better, to make our jobs have better
pay and more of them, to make our housing more
affordable and more accessible. These are things that our policies
went on. And you see people voting with their feet,
moving from states like New York to states like Florida,
moving from states like California to states like Texas. These
are the things that people see and they will not
(21:36):
be fooled by the race baters and the haters out there.
So I just decided to tell the truth when they
lied about us.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
We're talking to John James. He's running for governor of Michigan.
I just was with you a couple of weeks ago
up in Mackinaw Island. I've talked about this quite a lot,
but my wife's family is all from Michigan, and I
said in the speech that I gave that I think
Michigan is the most important state in the nation when
it comes to what's going to happen in twenty twenty
six and what's going to happen in twenty twenty eight.
(22:05):
If Republicans win the governor's race that you're in and
also win the state in the twenty twenty eight election,
we're going to have great leadership. How does that happen?
What do you see on the ground right now?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Well, that's exactly right. Michigan is going to be the
center of the electoral universe in twenty twenty six for
a lot of reasons. We have an open governor's seat,
we have an open Senate seat, we have a number
of competitive House seats, we have a number of competitive
seats in our state legislature. We have an open seat
for the attorney general, open seat for a Secretary of State,
(22:39):
and there's going to be over five hundred million dollars
spent in the battleground state of Michigan in twenty twenty six.
Having a strong top of ticket. If you're concerned with
making sure we hold a majority in Washington, DC, making
sure that we have a strong top of ticket, running
for governor in the state of Michigan in the swing
state is the most important thing you can do. And
I can prove it when you look it swing states
(23:01):
like Pennsylvania, in Arizona. If you have a top of
ticket that drags down the rest of the ballot. Then
you lose seats that Republicans should win, like we lost
two Senate seats, one in Arizona, one in Pennsylvania, and
up to five House seats in Arizona Pennsylvania. Contrastingly, you
have Lee Zelden in the last midterm who ran a
(23:21):
strong race and he still fell short in New York.
And I imagine there are a number of New Yorkers
with buyer's remorse for copy Hokal at this particular point.
But Lee Zelden ran such a strong race that he
pulled six Republicans across the finish line, and five in
districts that Biden won, and all that did Let's say
the republic we had such a thin majority in one
(23:41):
hundred and eighteenth Congress the last Congress, because we were
able to compete and win in blue and purple seats
in blue and purple states all over the country. In
Michigan is one of those places that we need to
hold and have pickups. And the best way we can
do that is at the strongest top of ticket Michigan.
Right now, I am leading the primary by fifty points,
(24:02):
and I'm the only Republican who's beating the Democrats in
the general. We have the Democrat mayor of Detroit who's
running as an independent in the general election, and he's
bleeding more votes with the Democrats. This is a golden opportunity,
not just for twenty twenty six, but guys, we have
a presidential election coming up in twenty twenty eight, and
we have a current Secretary of State who's in charge
(24:23):
of our elections, who the dj is investigating for malfeasans
and prior elections. Making sure that we can trust our
election results is so important, not just for Michigan but
for people all over the country. And then after that
we have a census and then controlling making sure that
we have a good census to reapportion them. Michigan is
going to be the center and this is how we build.
(24:44):
I'm old enough to remember when Florida was a swing
state and Ohio was a swing state. But because Republicans
stepped up, took ownership, and began to change policies to
make it more favorable for their citizens, they are now
read states and they are thriving. And that is what's
possible in Michigan. Mission again, can not only be the
most beautiful, most gritty, most amazing state. But we can
(25:05):
also be the most well run state if we choose
to pick up and we all get to support for
a strong topic ticket and start planning for the future.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
We're talking to John James. He represents the tenth Congressional
District of Michigan. Right now, you went to West Point.
What was that experience like? You also served overseas in Iraq?
What was that experience like? For people who do not
know your background, give them your bio and let them
know how you came to be where you are today.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
I came to be where I am today by the
grace of God and a mama who would not quit
on a boy who was raised in Detroit when she
watched a bunch of other young black men go down
the wrong path. She refused to surrender me to the streets.
And my father and mother worked hard together to give
me the best and my brother and sisters the best
(25:54):
life that they could. And I know that since they
come from the Jim Crow South, they came to mission
again for opportunities, and I've been exceedingly blessed in my life.
And so they taught me that I had to use
my blessing to be a blessing to others. That is
why I knew that I needed to serve my nation,
this great country that has given us so much. No,
we're not perfect, but we're the greatest nation that's ever been,
(26:14):
and we need to share the good news of anyone
who will listen, and most who won't. This is what
I was able to do. I graduated high school, I
went to West Point. I graduated West Point two thousand
and four. I became a ranger, qualified a patry pilot,
and I flew seven hundred and fifty hours combat in
Operation and Rocky Freedom. I came back home after that
to join my family's business, and I was able to
(26:35):
help ten x the company top line revenue and add
hundreds of jobs in Michigan and around the country. I
started a family, beautiful life, three little boys, got a
couple of master's degrees, and now I'm in Congress. I'm
serving the people of the state of Michigan because it's
the honor of my life to give back and serve.
And that's what animates me. Interesting part about my West
(27:01):
Point story and real quick my class was the first
class to take the oath of Affirmation, which means we
will complete. We make a promise to complete our obligation
in our first hour of the junior year, and we
were the first class to make our oath of affirmation
knowing that we would go to war. We were sophomores
(27:21):
during September eleventh, and as a result, our class, our
West Point class, has taken the most casualties of any
Academy class since Vietnam. And that is not just direct combat.
That's also the unseen scars of war. That's also the suicide,
that's also the overdoses. And so when you look at
the mental health crisis in this nation, as a congressman, now,
(27:42):
as a governor, leader, and as long as there's breadth
in my lungs, I'm going to commit my life to
addressing the scourge of substance use disorders, mental health under service,
and making sure that we all have the resources that
we need. We are not serving our veterans and we
are not serving those who who struggle with mental health adequately.
(28:03):
Our schools, our hospitals, and our jails are not made up.
They are not configured to deal with the special needs
of folks who are struggling with mental health. So the
lessons that I learned at West Point on, the lessons
that I learned in combat, and the things that I've
seen serve in the state of Michigan are all pushing
me to restore hope in the state of Michigan. Restore
(28:26):
trust in the state of Michigan, restore wellness in the
state of Michigan. Restore family and family values in the
state of Michigan. And also this is important too, restore beauty.
When God looked down on the earth and he saw
things that they were good, he saw things that were
operating in the purpose that they were created for. Every
plan that we make has to work with in His purpose.
And then when it's truly good, that's when things are beautiful.
(28:49):
When you look at things throughout the course of humanity,
we're not just here to eat, sleep, work, and die.
We are here for a purpose. Men, we are more
than just our job. Women, you are more than just
a vessel for babies. You are here to bring glory
to God and love your neighbors as yourself, and make
this world a better place. These are all the things
that we have the privilege to do in this great country.
(29:11):
Now we can all do it together in the future
with the right leadership.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
I love all that. For people who are fired up.
They can find you where you.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Can go to John JAMESMI dot com, where you can
find me on all the socials at John James and
I thank you all so much on God bless you all. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
By the way, one last question, how are the Detroit
Lions going to the Super Bowl this year?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
The Detroit Lions going to Super Bowl this year and
every other year for the rest of my life. Dan
Campbell is the best coach that has ever existed on
the planet. And you know the best move he let
the Green Bay Packers win that first game to take
the pressure off his guys. You know what, that's what
a great great coach, you know. So Lions, Lions will
go sixteen and one Super Bowl champions and the score
(29:53):
will be seventy four to zero. Lions.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Outstanding stuff. We appreciate the time. Is great to hang
out with you up at mckinaw and look forward to
talking with you throughout the campaign.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Of course, thanks a lot, Douglass.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
What I that is John James demo, who is a
the Democrat's worst nightmare In many ways, I think if
you look at what would happen if Republicans could take
back control of the governor's mansion in Michigan. Just think
about that. Leave aside John James's campaign. I think he
made a really good compelling pitch there, and we're going
(30:28):
to talk to some of the other candidates out there
as well. But as he said, you've got a big
Senate race going on, and that could be transformative if
that seat were to flip as it nearly did in
twenty twenty four, and if you take over the governor's mansion,
Democrats are in dire straits because there is a real
(30:52):
march I think for the Republican Party in the state
of Michigan. I feel that momentum again because my wife's
family is all from there, and we are in Michigan
on a not pretty regular basis, So I feel like
I understand that state a little bit better than I
do others, and that could be a huge difference. Because again,
if you told me right now, hey, Republicans are going
(31:15):
to win Michigan in twenty twenty eight, I would say, okay,
Republicans are going to win the White House. And if
you told me Republicans are going to be able to
flip a Senate seat in twenty twenty six and win
the governor's mansion. I would feel even better about what's
going to happen in twenty twenty eight. So again, Michigan
is a state I think everybody should be paying attention
to to see what happens in all of these competitions.
(31:37):
All right, get your pens, get your pads, get your paper.
It's winning time now. We have won three out of
the last four weeks. You just heard John James say
Detroit Lions. They're on a roll. Okay, I want you, guys,
as I told you'd, go to Price Picks, great American
company founded by a University of Georgia grad now worth
(31:59):
billions of dollars. They have got a great app that
you can download and when you use code Clay you
get fifty dollars when you play five dollars. I have
given you four picks so far this year, every Thursday
on the program. We've won three times. We're trying to
(32:20):
make it four out of five. And here are my
picks for this weekend. Three of them are easy. You
just go pick more or less. Baker Mayfield more than
one half passing touchdown for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sam
Darnold more than one half passing touchdown for the Seattle Seahawks,
(32:46):
and CJ. Stroud more than one half passing touchdown for
the Houston Texans. Okay, all three of those plus the
Tennessee Titans are the worst team in the history of mankind.
Fortunately they are also my team. They cannot do anything well.
They are playing against Arizona this weekend. Cam Ward is
(33:06):
going to have less than one hundred and seventy nine
and a half passing yards. Camward less than one seventy
nine and a half passing yards. So Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold,
and CJ. Stroud all to throw touchdown passes Camward less.
If we're right there, it pays two point eight x.
(33:28):
That means if you put ten dollars down, you would
get back twenty eight dollars. You put one hundred dollars down,
you get back two hundred and eighty dollars. Let's play along,
hopefully we can make it four out of five. Go
to prizepicks dot com. My name Clay. When you play
five dollars, all you have to do is click more
or less on any athlete you get fifty dollars. That's
(33:50):
price Picks at time, pricepicks dot Com. Code Clay, let's
make it four out of five weeks as a winner.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
You ain't imagining it. The world has gone insane. We
claim your sanity with Clay and fucking find them on
the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Welcome back in, Clay, Travis buck Sexton show, a lot
of feedback, continuing to roll in. Uh, let's hit some
more of these talkbacks, and again my request for you,
I'm gonna hit this a couple of times today and
then also talk about it tomorrow because we are one
month out and I'm told this is when pre orders
the books determine whether you end up in the front
(34:30):
of stores. You know, this is frustrating. We're pushing uphill
in terms of getting attention in bookstores because frankly, a
lot of big media outlets they don't like me that much,
they don't like you guys that much. They don't want
to promote our stuff in the same way. But I
think the cover it's jarring. It's called balls for a reason.
(34:54):
It's got two big basketballs on the front cover. The
goal here is to cut through the noise and make
people who may not have seen or heard arguments about
why young men should be voting Republican, why sports fans
should be voting Republican, why the culture it matters, trying
to cut through and reach new people. And one of
(35:17):
the best ways to do that candidly is if you're
walking through an airport and you see a book. We
all do judge books by their cover, and you think,
for a minute, wait, what's going on here? And maybe
you read this thing and you start to change the
way that you think. This is how my brain works
all the time, always evangelizing, always trying to reach new audiences.
(35:38):
A lot of you on talkback. Let's see William from
San Diego. Who do you trust in media? William FF?
Speaker 5 (35:47):
Yeah, I trusted Rush Limbaugh a lot. I trust you
Claying Bookshall a lot. Mostly I trust the Epic Times
and Newsmax is pretty good too.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Appreciate that. Let's see Trent truck driver. He's in Kansas
right now. Here's who he trusts. Gig Hey, Clay, this
is Trent. I'm a truck driver in Kansas. I listen
to you guys every day.
Speaker 4 (36:12):
I trust you and Buck wholeheartedly to give us truthful, accurate,
factual information. I listen to other talk radio shows and stuff,
but at home, I don't particularly watch news. Unless there's
really something serious going on. I may turn on Fox News,
but most of the time I just strictly get my
information from you guys.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Well, we appreciate that, and we don't take that responsibility
and obligation and privileged lightly. As I was talking about,
we're grateful every single day to get to talk with
all of you and spend three hours with all of you.
We got another hour still to come on the Thursday edition.
Lots to dive into. Keep hanging with us,
Welcome in Clay Travis buck Sexton Show, laughing as I
come into hour number two. By the way, Buck is
in Taiwan. He interviewed the President of Taiwan there. He
will have for you on Monday, some of those interview segments.
I'm laughing as I come back in out of break
(00:20):
because I shared the gallop pull about trust and media
that a lot of you are reacting to on social
media as well, and the comments there are really pretty great,
and you guys are giving me a lot of talkbacks,
a lot of calls about who you trust. And as
I was reading to make sure that I'm updated on
all the news during the commercial break, I come across
(00:43):
our good friend Jesse Kelly, who many of you are
going to hear on six PM or later versions of
the Premiere Radio Network. He is down in Houston. He
responded to my question of who do you trust to
be honest with you and not law by saying, Jesse Kelly,
did I trust me the most? You dead last? So,
(01:08):
Jesse Kelly, I've got to respond. I haven't had time yet,
but I'm going to say this is exactly the response
I would expect from someone who ordered seventy five dollars
shots at tequila. You know that's true. We were on
we were in New York City for those of you
who may have forgotten and need to understand why you
can't trust anything, Jesse, Kelly says. And we were having
(01:30):
a nice we were on the rooftop, great restaurant. Everybody's
having drinks, everybody's having a good time. Jesse decides we
need a round of tequila shots. Around of tequila shots.
Speaker 2 (01:46):
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
There were like six of us. I don't know what
should that cost? Seven eight dollars each. I understand that
I'm getting old, but at most and I'm not talking
about a dingy, you know, college bar, because I will.
I will tell you this. If you, whatever your financial
situation is, if you go into like an sec college
(02:07):
bar for a big game weekend, you will never feel
richer than when you order like five beers. What they
come back and say, I was, I was out recently
and I went to the bar, and you know, it's crowded,
and the last thing I want to do is stand
in a crowded bar line, and so you know, I'll
try to buy it. I'm an old man now and
unk as my kids will call me and so I'll
(02:28):
try to get a bucket or so I don't have
to get back in line very fast, and I'll say, hey,
you know, give me six Coors lights, six Miller lights.
I'm still not willing to order bud light whatever. It
is an easy bar, you know, tab order. And the
last time I did that, the girl came back and
(02:49):
she was like, yeah, that'll be twenty one dollars and
I was like, oh, this, It's been so long since
I went anywhere and somebody charged me something, and I thought, man,
that's a lot less than I expected.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
You guys know what.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
You know what I'm talking about, Like everything costs too
much relative to what I think it should cost. Now
because of the Biden inflation, everything just went up like
twenty five or thirty percent at least, and so everything
you order, it feels like it's way more expensive than
it should be. And I think that's the angst and
(03:26):
the anger and the uh being upset. But this was
the second time in my life. The first time I
was in New York. Producer Ali, You'll probably know where
this place was. It was I think after my first
maybe my second year of law school, and my current
wife then girlfriend Laura. We were in New York. I
(03:49):
think it was like the so what's the really fancy
hotel in Soho?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
So bad? Is it?
Speaker 1 (03:57):
The Soho? Is that the name of the hotel? The
Soho House?
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Would that be?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Like you walk in and there's kind of this cool
bar and the I don't know, it's probably like a
fifteen story place. I think that's where it is. Ihart
has a studio near there, right like that. Ryan Seacrest
used to use the tribe Grand, Tribeca Grand, that's what
it is. Yeah, the Tribeca Grand. Really nice place. Okay,
I am twenty three, I have no money, and I
(04:24):
remember I went to the bar in the Tribeca Grand
to get four beers and I think the bill was
like sixty two dollars something like that, and I just
remember thinking, I'm going to be the first person to
ever go bankrupt ordering a round of beers in the
history of mankind. I just couldn't believe what it cost
at the Tribeca Grand. This same thing happened with Jesse Kelly.
(04:48):
We're at I think it was the Peninsula Hotel, where
on the rooftop everybody's having a good time. They bring
six shots seventy five dollars each, seventy five dollars each.
Jesse Kelly ordered shots on my tab at the table.
I didn't even know there was a seventy five dollars
(05:10):
shot drink anywhere on the planet. That should come with
a gold bar, that should come with stock in the hotel.
So when Jesse says he trusts me the least of everybody,
I just think it's important for all of you to
know that he's balding and also that he's the kind
(05:30):
of person who orders seventy five dollars shots of tequila.
So trusted Media, tons of you reacting to that story,
and we're going to continue to take your reactions to that.
But I think one reason trusted media has collapsed is
a lot of people in media are Charlatans. A lot
of people in media are completely dishonest, and they don't
(05:53):
have a lot of gratitude. I am every single day.
I encourage all of you to think, try to do
this too. Every single day. When I wake up, the
first thing I think, before I even reach over and
get my phone, before I see whatever the frenzy of
the day is, I think, boy, here are two or
(06:14):
three things that that I am very grateful for the
most time. It has to do with my boys, my wife,
my family, the jobs that I feel very fortunate to have.
Before I do anything else, before I get out of bed,
for about thirty seconds one minute, I just lay in
bed and I think, Hey, here are the things that
(06:37):
I am grateful for. Because I think gratitude is probably
the most underutilized and the most important of all emotions
in the world at large. How many people in media
do you think are grateful for the jobs that they have,
feel incredibly fortunate to be able to live in this country,
(07:00):
make a living saying exactly what we think. Every single day,
when I sit down, I put on my headset. For
about ten seconds, I think, boy, this is an incredible privilege.
I am so grateful that I get to do what
I am doing today every single day. For about ten seconds,
I think that when I put the headset on, and
I've done that for twenty years. When I did local
(07:22):
sports talk radio in Nashville, I remember sitting down thinking, man,
I'm getting paid to do this, and I used to
get paid nothing to do with this. My first shop
in radio, I made zero dollars to do a radio show,
and then I got fifty dollars to do a radio show.
So I've legitimately done this for no money because I
(07:42):
felt so excited to be able to do it. Joy
read Rachel Maddow. Do they seem grateful that they get
to have media jobs that pay them millions of dollars?
Say whatever they think? This clip is going viral, and
(08:04):
I wanted to share it with you because I do
think that, in addition to facts versus feelings we were
talking about with Ben Shapiro, who I think has done
a really good job of making that his hallmark his
calling card, Republicans seem to me in general to be
(08:25):
profoundly thankful and filled with gratitude that we all get
to live in this country.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Now.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
I'm not saying that there aren't things every day where
you wake up and you think, boy, Hugh, this has
not been a day, this has not been a week,
this has been really hard. I'm not saying that it
means that there aren't challenges, or that you aren't sometimes
frustrated and upset about the trajectory of the country. I
just mean that, as a general rule, do you feel
(08:56):
immense gratitude every day that you wake up for the privilege,
for the good fortune that you live in the United States.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
I do.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Warren Buffett has a great example of this. By the way,
what are there seven billion of us? It's really good illustrative.
I think you could use it with your kids and
your grandkids. He says, if you live in the United
States today, pretend that every seven billion people in the
entire world were in a jar, and you were represented
(09:31):
by a marble, and you could reach into that jar
of seven billion people, and you could pull out any
other marble. You could end up the Prince of England.
You could end up the president of Taiwan. Who Buck
just spoke to no idea what you might draw as
(09:51):
your fate. But he said, you know what, no one
in America should ever change their marble. Think about that
we are also fortunate and privileged to live in this country.
That no matter whether you are the richest or the
poorest person in America today, your marble one of three
(10:12):
hundred and thirty million ish marbles. You should never ever
risk putting your marble in and drawing a new one,
because the chances that you would end up in a
better place, in a better position than where you are
right now, relative to the world at large, are very
very slim, And so I was thinking about that when
(10:33):
I watched this clip this morning from Joy Reid, and
Joy Reid said, this is from March of twenty twenty five.
When my mom came here from Guyana. She's an immigrant.
She realized it was not a land of opportunity for
people like us. Cut twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
I thought it was from the Congo and my mother
was from Guana, and so they were the immigrants who
came here on purpose and they got the root of wakening.
Speaker 3 (10:58):
My mother got the root waking racist. That's weird.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Tell me this is the land of opportunity.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
But not for me here.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
So her dad was from Congo and her mom was
from Guyana and they're laughing, Haha. This is not the
land of opportunity, not for us. Boy, this is a
super racist country. Why didn't you go back? I mean,
that's the immediate reaction that I have. If you're not
born here and you came to the United States, you
(11:34):
could go back to Congo. You could go back to
Guyana if you think it's super, super racist place and
there's no opportunity for you here. By the way, Joy
Reid got to go to Harvard and makes millions of
dollars a year in politics. Just to share her opinion,
why wouldn't you go back? If I had been born
in Denmark or South Korea or Botswana and I came
(11:59):
to the United States eight and I got here, and
I said, boy, I expected it to be a lot better.
This sucks. I'd go back to the country I was
born in, wouldn't you? How is the immediate reaction here
not boy, that's a tremendous lack of gratitude. How much
money do you make? Joy your ead millions of dollars
a year. You make more money than ninety nine point
nine percent of Americans. You got to go to Harvard,
(12:21):
a place that ninety nine point nine percent of Americans
will never be able to attend. You got to do
that as a first generation American. Would you have become
a multimillionaire in the Congo? Would you have become a
multi millionaire in Guyana? Would you have gotten to go
to Harvard if you had been born in either of
those countries? I think the answer is no. For all
of that, where is your gratitude? Where is your thanks
(12:44):
for the incredible good fortune that you had to be
born in the United States because your parents came here.
I don't think she even believes this. I think she's
telling a lie. And I think she's telling a lie
because Democrats are ungrateful for the country that exis here.
And if you are ungrateful for the country that exists here,
you have no problem tearing it down. They at their essence,
(13:08):
hate America and are not grateful for the immense gratitude
benefits that have been lauded upon us. And I think
that really goes to the essence of the two political parties.
One party is grateful, the other is not. Now, the
Republican Party is not perfect. It still has people like
(13:29):
Jesse Kelly who buy seventy five dollars shots when you
could buy a normal cost shot, and then you're not
even grateful when somebody like me foots the bill. I mean, really,
I'm not saying Republicans are perfect, but there aren't many,
very many joy reads in this party. We come back,
we'll take some more of your talkbacks feedbacks. Remember we're
(13:50):
gonna be talking with John James, Michigan gubernatorial candidate at
the bottom of the hour, and he just got called
out by the Reverend Al Sharpton. We'll have some fun
with that. But in the meantime, this weekend coming up,
we are soon going to be on the anniversary of
the two year terror attack that happened in Israel on
October seventh, twenty twenty three, and a lot of you,
(14:15):
including me, are going to show your support for Israel,
the country that was savagely attacked on October seven, twenty
twenty three, by putting out flags. This is a nationwide
effort to show that everybody out there should have support
for the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews and the
work that they're doing to help honor and remember the
(14:38):
day that twelve hundred Israelis lost their life and two
hundred and fifty more were taking hostages. What they're doing
is called Flag of Fellowship. It's organized by the International
Fellowship of Christians and Jews. If you'd like to join
millions of Americans across the country standing in solidarity with
the victims of the Hamas terror attacks, go to IFCJ
dot org. The Flags of Fellowship movement open to every one.
(15:00):
Join this powerful and symbolic movement by going to IFCJ
dot org. That's IFCJ dot org.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
Stories of Freedom, stories of America, inspirational stories that you
unite us all each day, spend time with Clay and
buy find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Welcome back in play Travis buck Sexton Show. We're gonna
be joined by John James here shortly.
Speaker 2 (15:31):
All right.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
I got a request for you guys, all right, and
I'm open to where you would like for me to
make a donation too. So where's the best place to
go with this I have got If you're watching on video,
my new book is coming out. It is one month
away from being released. It's called Balls. I will post
(15:52):
the link on my Twitter feed.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
It'll be up short certainly at Clay and Buck, but
you can just type in Clay Trap on Amazon, Barnes
and Noble on any of the sites and it will
take you there. I'm in a good spot where there
have been times in the past where I wrote books
and I needed to sell copies of my book to
be able to feed my kids, to be able to
(16:16):
pay my mortgage. I'm in a good spot now where
I don't have to worry about that. So I am
going to donate all of the money that is made
from this book to charity. But here's what I want.
I want you guys to give me good idea on
what that charity should be. Second part of this, I
want you to go please buy the book because I
(16:38):
want the arguments that I make in this book to
get out as widely as they possibly can. You guys
know that I believe best arguments win, but we got
to get the best arguments in front of the largest
possible audience. The way you do that, this is just
full disclosure, is you sell a bunch of books in
advance of the book actually being released. So they print
(17:01):
a ton of them and they put them in the
front of stores. I want this book to be in
Hudson bookstores if you're walking through an airport. I want
this thing to be in Costco. I want this thing
to be in Walmart. The way that happens is we
have to sell a ton of them before it's even released.
So I'm asking you for a favor, and again, all
the proceeds are going to charity. I'm in a great spot.
(17:24):
I'm going to post the link on Amazon. Please go
buy the book. The book is balls it's easy. You
just type in my name Clay Travis. It's a fun read,
but I think it's an important one. It's about how
young men, sports fans and President Trump won the election
and how we keep the momentum of that win going forward.
Your sons, your grandsons, your granddaughters, your grand your daughters.
(17:46):
I think they would enjoy it. They might not have
been exposed to the arguments that I'm making. I'm asking
you to buy them, give it to people. Just type
in my name Clay Travis. I'm gonna share it. I
want this book to be as wide distributed as possible
because I think the arguments are important and I think
we are correct. I also know that there are a
(18:08):
lot of moving parts out there when it comes to
your cell phones, by the way, and that is why
you need Pure Talk. They can save you up two
one thousand dollars over the course of a entire year.
How much difference could that make. We get close to Thanksgiving,
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I use Pure Talk to stay in touch with my family,
(18:29):
my seventeen year old and my fifteen year old have
Pure Talk phones. It's what I used to stay in
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You can trust it for yours as well. You'll save
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(18:51):
and Buck. Save one thousand dollars over a year. Welcome
back in Clay, Travis Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of
you hanging out with us. We are joined now by
Congressman John James. He's up in Michigan and he represents
the Detroit area, which was a bit of a surprise,
I guess. According to the Reverend Al Sharton, good to
(19:15):
have you on, Congressman. For people who don't know that story,
I retweeted your video response this morning. What happened there?
Speaker 4 (19:24):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Reverend Al Sharpton, as you know, is as a host
on the network ms DNC, I'm sorry MSNBC, and he
was talking to one of our progressive socialist candidates for
Senate here and he made mention that Michigan hasn't had
(19:45):
a black congressman for a while. And that's kind of
odd because I think I've been black for the past
forty four years. So imagine my surprise when I see
this clip that one of my friends forwarded it to
me saying that there was no black congressman for the
(20:06):
state of Michigan. Now, I was raised to believe that
regardless of the color of my skin, I would be
judged by the content of my character. But sadly, with
guys like Al Sharpton, there's only one way to be
black when his party believes that children should be addressed
by fifteen thousand ways to in their gender. This is
(20:29):
something that is indicative of how extreme their party is
gone that they are so blinded to reality that they
either refuse to acknowledge the representation that is in the
state of Michigan and the fact that we are turning
away from their lives because everywhere there's Democrat control in
(20:51):
cities across the nation, overwhelmingly African Americans and all people, frankly,
are are suffering. So we are going to combat that
in the way that Charlie taught us. We're going to
combat that with ideas, We're going to combat that with words,
We're going to combat that with better policies, and we
are going to make sure that our better policies reach
every corner of America. To make our streets safer, to
(21:13):
make our schools better, to make our jobs have better
pay and more of them, to make our housing more
affordable and more accessible. These are things that our policies
went on. And you see people voting with their feet,
moving from states like New York to states like Florida,
moving from states like California to states like Texas. These
are the things that people see and they will not
(21:36):
be fooled by the race baters and the haters out there.
So I just decided to tell the truth when they
lied about us.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
We're talking to John James. He's running for governor of Michigan.
I just was with you a couple of weeks ago
up in Mackinaw Island. I've talked about this quite a lot,
but my wife's family is all from Michigan, and I
said in the speech that I gave that I think
Michigan is the most important state in the nation when
it comes to what's going to happen in twenty twenty
six and what's going to happen in twenty twenty eight.
(22:05):
If Republicans win the governor's race that you're in and
also win the state in the twenty twenty eight election,
we're going to have great leadership. How does that happen?
What do you see on the ground right now?
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Well, that's exactly right. Michigan is going to be the
center of the electoral universe in twenty twenty six for
a lot of reasons. We have an open governor's seat,
we have an open Senate seat, we have a number
of competitive House seats, we have a number of competitive
seats in our state legislature. We have an open seat
for the attorney general, open seat for a Secretary of State,
(22:39):
and there's going to be over five hundred million dollars
spent in the battleground state of Michigan in twenty twenty six.
Having a strong top of ticket. If you're concerned with
making sure we hold a majority in Washington, DC, making
sure that we have a strong top of ticket, running
for governor in the state of Michigan in the swing
state is the most important thing you can do. And
I can prove it when you look it swing states
(23:01):
like Pennsylvania, in Arizona. If you have a top of
ticket that drags down the rest of the ballot. Then
you lose seats that Republicans should win, like we lost
two Senate seats, one in Arizona, one in Pennsylvania, and
up to five House seats in Arizona Pennsylvania. Contrastingly, you
have Lee Zelden in the last midterm who ran a
(23:21):
strong race and he still fell short in New York.
And I imagine there are a number of New Yorkers
with buyer's remorse for copy Hokal at this particular point.
But Lee Zelden ran such a strong race that he
pulled six Republicans across the finish line, and five in
districts that Biden won, and all that did Let's say
the republic we had such a thin majority in one
(23:41):
hundred and eighteenth Congress the last Congress, because we were
able to compete and win in blue and purple seats
in blue and purple states all over the country. In
Michigan is one of those places that we need to
hold and have pickups. And the best way we can
do that is at the strongest top of ticket Michigan.
Right now, I am leading the primary by fifty points,
(24:02):
and I'm the only Republican who's beating the Democrats in
the general. We have the Democrat mayor of Detroit who's
running as an independent in the general election, and he's
bleeding more votes with the Democrats. This is a golden opportunity,
not just for twenty twenty six, but guys, we have
a presidential election coming up in twenty twenty eight, and
we have a current Secretary of State who's in charge
(24:23):
of our elections, who the dj is investigating for malfeasans
and prior elections. Making sure that we can trust our
election results is so important, not just for Michigan but
for people all over the country. And then after that
we have a census and then controlling making sure that
we have a good census to reapportion them. Michigan is
going to be the center and this is how we build.
(24:44):
I'm old enough to remember when Florida was a swing
state and Ohio was a swing state. But because Republicans
stepped up, took ownership, and began to change policies to
make it more favorable for their citizens, they are now
read states and they are thriving. And that is what's
possible in Michigan. Mission again, can not only be the
most beautiful, most gritty, most amazing state. But we can
(25:05):
also be the most well run state if we choose
to pick up and we all get to support for
a strong topic ticket and start planning for the future.
Speaker 1 (25:12):
We're talking to John James. He represents the tenth Congressional
District of Michigan. Right now, you went to West Point.
What was that experience like? You also served overseas in Iraq?
What was that experience like? For people who do not
know your background, give them your bio and let them
know how you came to be where you are today.
Speaker 2 (25:33):
I came to be where I am today by the
grace of God and a mama who would not quit
on a boy who was raised in Detroit when she
watched a bunch of other young black men go down
the wrong path. She refused to surrender me to the streets.
And my father and mother worked hard together to give
me the best and my brother and sisters the best
(25:54):
life that they could. And I know that since they
come from the Jim Crow South, they came to mission
again for opportunities, and I've been exceedingly blessed in my life.
And so they taught me that I had to use
my blessing to be a blessing to others. That is
why I knew that I needed to serve my nation,
this great country that has given us so much. No,
we're not perfect, but we're the greatest nation that's ever been,
(26:14):
and we need to share the good news of anyone
who will listen, and most who won't. This is what
I was able to do. I graduated high school, I
went to West Point. I graduated West Point two thousand
and four. I became a ranger, qualified a patry pilot,
and I flew seven hundred and fifty hours combat in
Operation and Rocky Freedom. I came back home after that
to join my family's business, and I was able to
(26:35):
help ten x the company top line revenue and add
hundreds of jobs in Michigan and around the country. I
started a family, beautiful life, three little boys, got a
couple of master's degrees, and now I'm in Congress. I'm
serving the people of the state of Michigan because it's
the honor of my life to give back and serve.
And that's what animates me. Interesting part about my West
(27:01):
Point story and real quick my class was the first
class to take the oath of Affirmation, which means we
will complete. We make a promise to complete our obligation
in our first hour of the junior year, and we
were the first class to make our oath of affirmation
knowing that we would go to war. We were sophomores
(27:21):
during September eleventh, and as a result, our class, our
West Point class, has taken the most casualties of any
Academy class since Vietnam. And that is not just direct combat.
That's also the unseen scars of war. That's also the suicide,
that's also the overdoses. And so when you look at
the mental health crisis in this nation, as a congressman, now,
(27:42):
as a governor, leader, and as long as there's breadth
in my lungs, I'm going to commit my life to
addressing the scourge of substance use disorders, mental health under service,
and making sure that we all have the resources that
we need. We are not serving our veterans and we
are not serving those who who struggle with mental health adequately.
(28:03):
Our schools, our hospitals, and our jails are not made up.
They are not configured to deal with the special needs
of folks who are struggling with mental health. So the
lessons that I learned at West Point on, the lessons
that I learned in combat, and the things that I've
seen serve in the state of Michigan are all pushing
me to restore hope in the state of Michigan. Restore
(28:26):
trust in the state of Michigan, restore wellness in the
state of Michigan. Restore family and family values in the
state of Michigan. And also this is important too, restore beauty.
When God looked down on the earth and he saw
things that they were good, he saw things that were
operating in the purpose that they were created for. Every
plan that we make has to work with in His purpose.
And then when it's truly good, that's when things are beautiful.
(28:49):
When you look at things throughout the course of humanity,
we're not just here to eat, sleep, work, and die.
We are here for a purpose. Men, we are more
than just our job. Women, you are more than just
a vessel for babies. You are here to bring glory
to God and love your neighbors as yourself, and make
this world a better place. These are all the things
that we have the privilege to do in this great country.
(29:11):
Now we can all do it together in the future
with the right leadership.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
I love all that. For people who are fired up.
They can find you where you.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
Can go to John JAMESMI dot com, where you can
find me on all the socials at John James and
I thank you all so much on God bless you all. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
By the way, one last question, how are the Detroit
Lions going to the Super Bowl this year?
Speaker 2 (29:32):
The Detroit Lions going to Super Bowl this year and
every other year for the rest of my life. Dan
Campbell is the best coach that has ever existed on
the planet. And you know the best move he let
the Green Bay Packers win that first game to take
the pressure off his guys. You know what, that's what
a great great coach, you know. So Lions, Lions will
go sixteen and one Super Bowl champions and the score
(29:53):
will be seventy four to zero. Lions.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
Outstanding stuff. We appreciate the time. Is great to hang
out with you up at mckinaw and look forward to
talking with you throughout the campaign.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Of course, thanks a lot, Douglass.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
What I that is John James demo, who is a
the Democrat's worst nightmare In many ways, I think if
you look at what would happen if Republicans could take
back control of the governor's mansion in Michigan. Just think
about that. Leave aside John James's campaign. I think he
made a really good compelling pitch there, and we're going
(30:28):
to talk to some of the other candidates out there
as well. But as he said, you've got a big
Senate race going on, and that could be transformative if
that seat were to flip as it nearly did in
twenty twenty four, and if you take over the governor's mansion,
Democrats are in dire straits because there is a real
(30:52):
march I think for the Republican Party in the state
of Michigan. I feel that momentum again because my wife's
family is all from there, and we are in Michigan
on a not pretty regular basis, So I feel like
I understand that state a little bit better than I
do others, and that could be a huge difference. Because again,
if you told me right now, hey, Republicans are going
(31:15):
to win Michigan in twenty twenty eight, I would say, okay,
Republicans are going to win the White House. And if
you told me Republicans are going to be able to
flip a Senate seat in twenty twenty six and win
the governor's mansion. I would feel even better about what's
going to happen in twenty twenty eight. So again, Michigan
is a state I think everybody should be paying attention
to to see what happens in all of these competitions.
(31:37):
All right, get your pens, get your pads, get your paper.
It's winning time now. We have won three out of
the last four weeks. You just heard John James say
Detroit Lions. They're on a roll. Okay, I want you, guys,
as I told you'd, go to Price Picks, great American
company founded by a University of Georgia grad now worth
(31:59):
billions of dollars. They have got a great app that
you can download and when you use code Clay you
get fifty dollars when you play five dollars. I have
given you four picks so far this year, every Thursday
on the program. We've won three times. We're trying to
(32:20):
make it four out of five. And here are my
picks for this weekend. Three of them are easy. You
just go pick more or less. Baker Mayfield more than
one half passing touchdown for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sam
Darnold more than one half passing touchdown for the Seattle Seahawks,
(32:46):
and CJ. Stroud more than one half passing touchdown for
the Houston Texans. Okay, all three of those plus the
Tennessee Titans are the worst team in the history of mankind.
Fortunately they are also my team. They cannot do anything well.
They are playing against Arizona this weekend. Cam Ward is
(33:06):
going to have less than one hundred and seventy nine
and a half passing yards. Camward less than one seventy
nine and a half passing yards. So Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold,
and CJ. Stroud all to throw touchdown passes Camward less.
If we're right there, it pays two point eight x.
(33:28):
That means if you put ten dollars down, you would
get back twenty eight dollars. You put one hundred dollars down,
you get back two hundred and eighty dollars. Let's play along,
hopefully we can make it four out of five. Go
to prizepicks dot com. My name Clay. When you play
five dollars, all you have to do is click more
or less on any athlete you get fifty dollars. That's
(33:50):
price Picks at time, pricepicks dot Com. Code Clay, let's
make it four out of five weeks as a winner.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
You ain't imagining it. The world has gone insane. We
claim your sanity with Clay and fucking find them on
the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (34:08):
Welcome back in, Clay, Travis buck Sexton show, a lot
of feedback, continuing to roll in. Uh, let's hit some
more of these talkbacks, and again my request for you,
I'm gonna hit this a couple of times today and
then also talk about it tomorrow because we are one
month out and I'm told this is when pre orders
the books determine whether you end up in the front
(34:30):
of stores. You know, this is frustrating. We're pushing uphill
in terms of getting attention in bookstores because frankly, a
lot of big media outlets they don't like me that much,
they don't like you guys that much. They don't want
to promote our stuff in the same way. But I
think the cover it's jarring. It's called balls for a reason.
(34:54):
It's got two big basketballs on the front cover. The
goal here is to cut through the noise and make
people who may not have seen or heard arguments about
why young men should be voting Republican, why sports fans
should be voting Republican, why the culture it matters, trying
to cut through and reach new people. And one of
(35:17):
the best ways to do that candidly is if you're
walking through an airport and you see a book. We
all do judge books by their cover, and you think,
for a minute, wait, what's going on here? And maybe
you read this thing and you start to change the
way that you think. This is how my brain works
all the time, always evangelizing, always trying to reach new audiences.
(35:38):
A lot of you on talkback. Let's see William from
San Diego. Who do you trust in media? William FF?
Speaker 5 (35:47):
Yeah, I trusted Rush Limbaugh a lot. I trust you
Claying Bookshall a lot. Mostly I trust the Epic Times
and Newsmax is pretty good too.
Speaker 1 (36:01):
Appreciate that. Let's see Trent truck driver. He's in Kansas
right now. Here's who he trusts. Gig Hey, Clay, this
is Trent. I'm a truck driver in Kansas. I listen
to you guys every day.
Speaker 4 (36:12):
I trust you and Buck wholeheartedly to give us truthful, accurate,
factual information. I listen to other talk radio shows and stuff,
but at home, I don't particularly watch news. Unless there's
really something serious going on. I may turn on Fox News,
but most of the time I just strictly get my
information from you guys.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Well, we appreciate that, and we don't take that responsibility
and obligation and privileged lightly. As I was talking about,
we're grateful every single day to get to talk with
all of you and spend three hours with all of you.
We got another hour still to come on the Thursday edition.
Lots to dive into. Keep hanging with us,
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show News
Hosts And Creators
Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
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