January 5, 2026 • 36 mins
Hour 3 of The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show kicks off 2026 with explosive analysis and breaking news. The hour begins with a major update from the Wall Street Journal: the CDC is revising its childhood vaccine recommendations, dropping universal guidance for shots like COVID-19, influenza, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, and hepatitis A/B. Clay and Buck frame this as a “win for parental choice,” contrasting it with past mandates and the failures of COVID vaccine policy.
The discussion then pivots back to the biggest geopolitical story of the week: Operation Absolute Resolve, the daring Delta Force raid that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The hosts explain the legal framework behind the arrest, noting that Maduro is being prosecuted under U.S. criminal law in New York City—similar to the Manuel Noriega case—rather than as an enemy combatant. They highlight the strategic significance of this move as a modern application of the Monroe Doctrine, signaling America’s renewed dominance in the Western Hemisphere and a warning to adversaries like China and Russia.
Clay and Buck slam critics who oppose the raid, comparing the Trump administration’s precision and competence to the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal under Biden. They praise Trump’s national security team—Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, JD Vance—for restoring U.S. credibility through tactical brilliance and disciplined execution.
The hour also features an in-depth interview with David Rutherford (aka Rut) former Navy SEAL and host on the Clay & Buck Podcast Network. Rutherford calls the Maduro operation “one of the top five best ops ever,” detailing the complexity, flawless coordination, and elite performance of JSOC units, Delta Force, and the 160th SOAR pilots. He compares the raid’s scale and sophistication to the Osama bin Laden mission, arguing that this operation was even more impressive. Rutherford emphasizes its global implications, warning cartels and hostile regimes that America is “done playing games” and projecting power with precision. He predicts increased operational tempo against Mexican cartels and underscores how this mission reshapes global power dynamics.
Clay and Buck also revisit the Tim Walz Somali daycare fraud scandal, reading Trump’s fiery statement accusing Walz and allies of stealing “tens of billions” in taxpayer funds. They debate whether Walz could face criminal charges and explore how his VP selection under Kamala Harris amplified scrutiny, ultimately ending his political career.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back in everybody to the third hour of the
Klay Travis end Buck Sexton Show, first show of twenty
twenty six.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We missed you, but we had great time over the
holidays with our families respectably.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We all hope and trust.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
That you did as well, and you are ready and
rested to dive into everything with us again. This year,
twenty twenty five was a great year for this country.
I think twenty twenty six could be even better. Starting
off with a bang here, a flash bang, perhaps with
the raid on the dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, who
(00:35):
has pleaded not guilty, along with his wife. They also
grabbed the wife who was herself indicted in this for
being narco traffickers into the United States. That is underway.
We've been talking about the Tim Walls and Somali fraud situation.
Tim Wall saying he's not running for reelection as governor.
Is this the end of his political career? Possibly? And
(00:58):
there's much much more more that we'll be discussing around
that fraud issue. Just a breaking news item. Wall Street
Journal just putting this up. In the last few minutes,
the CDC has pared down the list of recommended childhood vaccines.
So US is dropping universal recommendations for certain childhood vaccines,
(01:23):
altering the immunization schedule to be more closely aligned with
Denmark's recommending fewer shots for children. Under the change, the
CDC is doing away with the recommendation that all children
receive vaccines for rotavirus, COVID nineteen, influenza, meninga, cockle disease,
hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. The CDC is instead advising
(01:43):
decisions about those shots being made by parents and their
children's healthcare providers.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Clai, We don't want.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
To spend too much time on this one today because
there's so much heavy news going on. But I do
think that this is just this is just a wind
for sanity.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I'm going through this with my boy right now. We
have a very good practitioner, very good doctor.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Who's our what do you call kid doctor? What do
you know what I mean? Pediatrician? Pediatrician? Thank you?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Sorry, I just blanked on the pediatrician. Blanked on the term.
We have a great pediatrician.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, And we.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Go through every We just go through each and everyone.
Do we want this, do we need this? What is
the data say, do we want this, do we need this?
What is the data say? Because the overall schedule is
way too many, way too fast.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
I know that I speak for a lot of parents
and grandparents out there when I say I am so
grateful that we did not get my kids the COVID shot. Now,
I'm glad I didn't get it, but you know, I
think a lot of parents out there felt like they
had to do it to keep their jobs and to
make sure they could pay their mortgage. And we certainly
(02:53):
can't forget what they did to us. But the fact
that so many parents were willing to make the right
decision for their kids. I the data on the COVID
shots just keep getting worse. And the fact that any kids,
particularly young kids and healthy kids, were ever given the
(03:14):
COVID shot is I think a complete failure of American policy.
But that information is out there. It just came down
Wall Street Journal Breaking News. We had a bunch of
people who wanted to weigh in on the big stories
of the day. We're going to talk with David Rutherford
at the bottom of the hour about the raid on Venezuela,
how incredibly impressive it was. We've got a bunch of talkbacks,
(03:38):
and Michael in Millburg, Florida, He's got a question about
what was said as it pertains to Maduro being arrested.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Fire away, Michael, Yeah, I was just.
Speaker 5 (03:51):
Curious about the legality of when Secretary of Rubio said
that they arrested him and read him his rights. What
is the legality? What right is he entitled to as
a non US citizen in New York.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Well, he's been prosecuted under American law, so he's entitled
law the same protections under federal law that any other
criminal defendant would be entitled to. And so what Rubio
was referencing, which I think is significant, is this was
very similar For those of you who remember the Manuel
Noriega raid in nineteen ninety when he was arrested in Panama,
(04:27):
there's a lot of focus that Democrats have said, oh,
we're at war with Venezuela. What Marco Rubio I think
has done a good job of trying to illustrate is
this was an arrest of an indicted criminal under American law,
and he was arrested and now he's being brought to justice.
He pled not guilty, as is his right, and a
(04:48):
criminal court in New York City this morning.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
This is Operation Absolute Resolve that has captured Verdurero.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
If you want to do a little throwback, there was.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Operation Urgent Fury, pretty good name for the US invasion
of Grenada back in nineteen eighty three. A very small clay.
Are you licensed to practice law? There too?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
A very small Caribbean nation.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
I am licensed in the United States of Virgin Islands
and Tennessee have not added Grenada to the list. Let
me just point out Michael didn't ask this question, But
I do think this is an interesting question, and that
is unlike let's say, the combatants who were tried. If
you remember, and this is me going into the weeds
a little bit in Guantanamo and Buck has met one
(05:36):
of my buddies from law school who has been involved
in some of these prosecutions.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Great guy.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
They decided to classify these individuals as enemy combatants. They
are not in some way charging Maduro under criminal military tribunals.
They are prosecuting him as a criminal case in New
York City. Just a little bit interesting procedurally, there's probably
(06:05):
an argument if they were classifying him as an enemy
combatant that they could have charged him under military tribunal law. Again,
this is really getting into the weeds, but they are
not doing that, and so they are prosecuting him under
typical criminal justice statutes, as would be the case with
a lot of criminal defendants all over the country.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
He's really being treated as a narco kingpin and not
as a terrorist mastermind. Right if he had if he
had sent agents to blow up buses or you know,
take down planes or something here in America, we might
have gone the enemy combatant you know, yes, because because
(06:48):
he seized the Ayatola, I think based on his enemy
combatant status, that would be a military tribunal under which
he would be tried, not a no, a criminal court
in the United States.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
That's in the weeds. He didn't ask about that, but
he might have been wondering. That might have been an
implication behind his question, do you.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Want to do this?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
We got a VIP email that just came in. Born
in Caracas is the title, and this comes from Pamela
worked in Major League Baseball and returned to the eighties
and nineties for their winter ball games. I had been
detained last time I visited. Never forget there was a
time when Venezuela was one of the four wealthiest countries
(07:30):
on Earth, along with the US, New Zealand and Switzerland
at that time. Never forget Chavez. Maduro threw the population
into starvation with estimates of seventy percent of the people
and set up blockade to prevent medicine from reaching people
so the government could hoard and blackmail. Denesh Jesuz's wife
debutess from Venezuela. Actually, I'd forgotten that. That's I think
that's correct. Would she be a good guest? Hoping I
(07:52):
can go back and visit again. Thank you so much, Pamela.
The devastation society, devastation that has been visited on Venezuela
because of socialism, because of redistribution of wealth, collectivism, social justice,
all those buzzwords, all those things, all those ideas part
of the lib brain virus in this country. That's why
(08:14):
they're clay. The worst people in American politics are the
people who are.
Speaker 6 (08:20):
Upset that Maduro was gone. It's amazing, It's a perfect correlation.
Are you the worst person in American politics? Do you
support all the bad things in this country? You know,
more crime, open borders, more spending, more taxation. Do you
support all the bad ideas. You're upset about Maduro being gone.
There's a real there's a thread that connects all of
these things. And that's why you can go back and
(08:42):
look at the not the Walston Journal, but the New
York Times in like twenty twelve writing editorials not an
op ed editorials on behalf of the editorial board about
all the great social justice things that Chavez was going
to accomplish in that country. Look the fact that there
were immedia, these AstroTurf protests in many different places in America,
(09:04):
I think are indicative of the left continuing to be broken,
to reflectively be opposed.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
To anything Trump does.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Think about the reaction when, to his credit, Barack Obama,
contrary to the advice of Joe Biden, who said, don't
do it, took out Osama bin Laden.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
I don't remember.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Do you remember any Republicans saying, I can't believe we
undertook this risk. I remember everybody saying credit to Obama.
He put his balls on the table, so to speak,
took out Osama bin Lauden. That was an incredible accomplishment.
I remember everybody in America reacting in a very positive way.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I remember tweeting out in celebration of it and congratulations.
Very early in my media career, i'd left government, so
I finally had a Twitter account, and I remember very
early on, this is what I was saying. I was
just saying that, or rather that, this is how it felt.
It's a win for America. This is a win for America.
What happened in Venezuela. It's a win for America. It's
(10:05):
a win for the Venezuelan people. It's a win for
the rule of law. It's a win for the hemisphere.
It's a win for the world. Go down the list,
and the people were saying, oh, but what if, But
what if you could? But what if anything? Okay, yes
you could, but what if a million you could? But
what if you know, if we ended the Russian Ukraine
war tomorrow? Well, now, what if Russia smuggles nukes? You
(10:25):
can come up with a million scenarios that are possible
right now. What's happened is a huge step in the
right direction.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I think.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Also, just compare the way we left Afghanistan to the
way that we took out Maduro from Venezuela. To me,
it is a great distillation of it's the same military right.
I mean, in the same forces that are being allowed
to do their job. Thirteen people got killed because we
(10:54):
left Afghanistan in a total mess. We left what billions
of dollars of materiel that is now the property of
the Taliban that they are seeing, hundreds of billions We
outfitted the Taliban military.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
The Taliban is going to be driving around in these
humviies in forty years. They're gonna have to patch them
back up, but this is going to be their military
for the foreseeable.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Just look at the organizational.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
Plan that it was in place and was necessary in
Venezuela compared to leaving Afghanistan, and I think it's hard
to argue that we have not put competent people in
positions to be able to make the world a safer way.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Well, how you do things.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
The decision to do something matters a whole heck of
a lot, Right, That is judgment, that is wisdom, But
how you do the thing is skill. It is acumen,
It is tactics. You know, it is implementation. And the
Trump administration is superior to Biden on hugely, clearly on
both counts. But I would even say, you look at
(11:57):
at Pete hextts secretary of War, and you compare him
to Lloyd Austin's predecessor, Peter's just a more on the ball,
smarter and more with it guy. Yes, he's just better
at this. He just understands how to get something like
this done in a way that his predecessor in the
role did not.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
And that is true.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Also of Marca Rubio versus his previous occupant of the
secretary of State role, the Marc Rubios. We know many jobs,
many jobs that guy has, but secretary of State's probably
the most prominent.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
By the way.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
Trump has just weighed in on Tim Walls stepping down.
Should I read that? Or should that be a no?
You gotta hold that one, all right? You got when
we return, Trump, as only Trump can, has teed off
on Tim Walls, and we will tell you exactly what
he said. As Tim Walls' political career is.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
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Speaker 7 (13:56):
Can count on as some laughs too. Clay Travis at
buck Sexton find them on the free iHeartRadio app or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Welcome back in Clay Travis buck Sexton Show. Okay, President
Trump has keyed off on Minnesota Governor Tim Walls, who
ended his political career in disgrace earlier today after all
of the revelations surrounding the Somali fraud. Here is what
President Trump just posted. Minnesota's corrupt governor will possibly leave
(14:29):
office before his term is up.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Let me pause there.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
There are rumors that Walls is going to resign ultimately
as well. We'll see whether that ends up being true.
Right now, Walls is saying he's going to finish the
rest of his term this year, but in any event
will not be running again because he was caught all
caps red handed, along with Elon Omar and others of
(14:52):
his Somali friends, stealing tens of billions of dollars taxpayer dollars.
I feel certain the facts will come out and they
will reveal a seriously unscrupulous and rich group of slime balls.
Governor Walls has destroyed the state of Minnesota, but others
like Governor Gavin Neuscomb, JB. Pritzker, and Kathy Hokel have done,
(15:15):
in my opinion, an even more dishonest and incompetent job.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
All Caps, no one is above the law.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
Question for you, Buck, do you believe that there will
be any criminal charges brought against Tim Walls. Is this
going to get worse? Could there be more information coming
out about his involvement and recognition and knowledge of this fraud?
(15:44):
Or do you think Tim Walls's political career is just
over and he just kind of rides off into the
sunset now that he's no longer going to run for reelection,
focus turns to other people. Where do we go from here?
Basically in this story, I.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Don't think that you're gonna see Tim Walls charges. I
really don't.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
And I try to always call these things honestly, even
though I know it right now feels like all this momentum, no,
and I don't think so, because let's break this down
what maybe happened here? I think Tim Walls was setting
from the top down a prioritization list, and you know,
as governor, and that includes his ag the attorney general
(16:27):
for this day? Is it Keith Ellison? Still it was
Keith Ellison, who's the AG in Minnesota. I think that's
still true. I think that's correct. Oh that's interesting, guys,
check that one on me. If that's the case. I'm
just pulling that one from the buck memory banks. It's
been two weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I'm a little rusty, little dusty up there, But it.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Is it is the case that they wouldn't have You
would not have gotten an at a boy, you would
not have gotten a high five previously for starting to
look into this. So that's set at a very bureaucratic
institutional level, as in he probably allowed this fraud, turned
a blind eye to it, and maybe even profited from
(17:04):
it in so far as there were illicit donations to
Democrat calls and campaigns. But I don't think he got
a you know, cutty exactly. I don't think Tim Walls
was getting money on the semi. He'd have to be
truly insane to be doing that one, because now you're
definitely talking about prison time. I don't think he did
anything like that. I just think it wasn't a an
(17:24):
enforcement priority for him at all. And I think that
actually anybody who began that enforcement process Clay probably was
risking their job. That sets a very powerful standard.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
I would also point this out, Tim Walls would still
be governor, and he would be running for reelection and
he would probably win if he had not been Kamala's VP,
Because I don't think people would have come after him
on the fraud front in the same way and it
would have gotten the same amount of attention getting picked
as Kamala's VP into his political career.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Well, maybe Kamala is kryptonite for politics. Maybe, just maybe
Tim Waltz is the first of the duo to realize ain't.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
No future in politics for you. We shall see, my friend.
The bet is outstanding.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
All right, we've already hit the ground running with the
new cycle in twenty twenty six. Huge show today. This
is gonna be a huge year, my friends. You know what,
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(18:33):
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code Buck. Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck.
As promised our friend, our podcast host, our guest host
of this program over the holiday where I am told
many people are saying you did a fabulous job. Many
people I have been told David Rutherford is with us now.
(19:16):
He is a former Navy seal so all combat in Afghanistan.
Host of the David Rutherford Show on the Clay and
Boock podcast Network.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Our friend run.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Happy New Year, my friend, thanks so much for making
the time for us.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
You are more than welcome. Gentlemen, thanks for having me on.
And can you believe what a way to kick off?
Twenty twenty six was one of the top top five
best ops I've ever seen or heard about.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Yeah, talk us through this one in terms of the like,
the difficulty, the precision. We know that they had because
this has been reported widely. They had a mock up
of the actual building, and they waited till they knew
Maduro be in that building. What what's it like to
get to the level of room clearing, speed and precision
(20:03):
that this Delta team had to have to get in
there heavily armed compound, not a single casualty.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
JSOCK units in particular Delta CAG the unit whatever you
want to call it, are the best in the world.
And the precision, speed and accuracy of their movements there's
just nobody else on the planet that can compete with
these guys. Now you throw in on top of that
the support units in terms of TF one sixty of
(20:35):
the ground branch probably was there, you know, the CIA
assets and sources online, the naval personnel, the Air Force, THEDIA,
the Intel. This is one of the most complicated operations
that could possibly take pay place, and to execute it
as flawlessly as they did. I mean it's like, you
(20:57):
know the deal Buck, you know what's Murphy's law. You know,
if it's going to go wrong, it will, And this
thing went flawless.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
What do you think it says? We were talking earlier.
Thanks for guest hosting and everything you're doing as a
part of the Clay and Buck podcast network. What does
it say if you just look at the organizational leadership
and compare our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and you compare it
with the tactical brilliance and superiority of the bombings of Iran,
(21:27):
when with the nuclear sites, and now this with a Maduro.
What do you think people around the world are saying?
What does it reflect upon when it comes to our
military and their ability to do things like this compared
to under Biden.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Oh, it's night and day. I mean, obviously the Afghanistan
pull out was probably the worst revelation for any g
WoT operator or personally served over there from the Intel
community wherever. It was like a dagger through your heart.
And so now when we finally see some real pipe
hitters go in to project you know, American power and
(22:10):
reestablish ourselves as somebody you don't want to mess with
around the world, there's nothing more significant as the global
power game shifts. And that's what's taking place. I mean,
the implications of this operation are not just don't just
stop and you know, as it affects the Madro doctrine
(22:32):
in Central and South America and the Americans itself. This
affects the entire world and puts everybody on notice. Hey
stand by because there's some pipeitters back in control now
and things are going to change.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Speaking to David Rutherford, former Navy seal and a host
of The David Rutherford Show and the Clay and Buck
podcast network, you guys should all go check it out.
Dave's going to have some deep dive into the tactics
and the strategy implication of what just happened here in Venezuela,
and I want to I want to ask you, Dave,
about the Cartel Mexico component about this in a second.
But first, you've been on whether it's a black Hawk
(23:12):
or a Chinook. I mean, you've been on the on
the helo going in in your case during the GWAT
days Afghanistan, knowing you're on that you're on that bird
and you're going after an HVT, your your Delta brothers
just did this in Venezuela. But what's the what's going
through your mind? Like, what's the focus? I mean, how
do you get ready to put literal boots on the
(23:35):
ground and go into a situation where you know you're
going to see combat and the enemy is ready for
you and you're gonna have to bring all your skills
to bear.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
That's a great question. And I think from all the
guys that I know that were Tier one, obviously I
was not a Tier one operator, but did get to
suit up and conduct missions. You know, the biggest thing
is to remain calm and just relax. You know, you've
done so many dry runs, so many rehearsals. You know,
(24:05):
these guys are the top of the tump, right, They're
the elite of the elite, and so it's stain calm,
knowing what your role is, Stain focused, stain relax and
not getting spun up. As any normal human being would
you know their heart rate would be over you know,
one hundred and seventy five, one hundred and eighty five
(24:26):
beats per minute. These guys are chill at one hundred
and fifteen beats per minute. They've rehearsed, they know exactly
what's going to take place, and then if something does
go wrong, they adapt, assimilate, assess, and then continue to
kick ass as they did down in Crockets.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Also, I know I was going to ask you about
the cartels a rough but can you speak to and
I'm sure my my in laws who have a lot
of aviators on that side. There's actually a Sealed Team
six guy on that side too, but a lot of
aviators on that side, the one sixtieth. I mean, the
stuff that I I remember seeing a little bit of
what I was. The agency that these guys and gals
can do is incredible.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
They're they're the best pilots I've ever seen, I've ever
worked with. I mean, I got picked up on the
side of a mountain with like a twenty five hundred
foot cliff. They put the back gate on an edge
as we jumped on board. After recon you know, I've
done in innumerable amount of training stuff with them. They're
the best of the best, and they just keep getting better.
(25:26):
You know. I also to pay tribute to, you know,
your father in law there who just retired, you know,
the aviators that conducted the air strikes as well too,
to take out the you know, the air defense capabilities
they were. Everything was so succinct and so flawless like
this is the capability of the American military and intelligence community,
(25:51):
and when employed in the right capacity, it can disrupt
the global hedge of money, as it should. And that's
what we're using for right now we're receiving the distribution
of power in the world, and we're doing it with
precision and just absolute perfection.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
David Rutherford right now encourage you to go sign up
for his podcast, part of the Clay and buck podcasting network.
You mentioned it's a top five all time operation that
you've seen. I'm curious if you could give us, based
on the evidence that's out there so far, compare and
contrast the difficulty of the Osama bin Laden raid with
(26:32):
the capture of Maduro Both Bucket myself as nowhere near
the experts that you are said that this seems to
be a far more impressive raid even than what went
on when ben Laden was taken out. Is that your impression?
How would you compare and contrast these two situations based
on your expertise.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Clay, That's a really, you know, unique way to assess
it in terms of, you know, the complexity issue, and
I think that's the only way.
Speaker 7 (27:00):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Obviously, I was in Pakistan with the agency and the
lead up in the aftermath of the been Loten rate
and have a lot of friends that were on the
but the size and scope of that op was not
probably what one tenth the size of this maybe one
twentieth the size of this, maybe even smaller. Obviously the
(27:21):
leg work done the you know, in preparation and the
hunting of down was unbelievable of bin Laden. But this
in terms of all the intelligence they had to collect
that you know, in the weeks or months leading up, uh,
and then the complexity and coordination of all these different units,
you know, no shade on you know, the loten rate.
(27:44):
Obviously that's from my generation unbelievable. But this, this operation
is I mean, we just went in and snatched a
world leader in a sleep and didn't take one casualty.
That just it's mind blowing to what our capabilities truly are.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
It reminds me a little bit actually, Rod of the
I think it's the opening of Air Force one, Right,
don't we swoop in? We send in a bunch of
guys on on parachutes and they snatch like the some
bad guys.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And there something that this is.
Speaker 4 (28:16):
And some of the people may have watched, right, you
may have watched this building on what Buck's saying that
the Jack Ryan Show that now is a part of
the Amazon Prime that season two is basically this, that
this happens I have not watched that show, but I've
heard a lot of people and they've been reacting and saying,
this is basically that show.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
I agree, that's one of my favorite seasons of the show.
I just I think, you know, it's always in those
first couple of seasons, whether it's Homeland or or Jack
Ryan like there, their narratives are so close to reality
that it's the truth. And you know, let's just take
a step back and look at Maduro forty five thousand
foot right, the illegal you know, leader of the in
(28:58):
a in a compromise election system. You know, the relationship,
the alleged relationship that Gary Bernstein and Martin Rodell point out,
and Ralph Pezzulo's incredible books Stolen Elections. You know, they
they did a ton of human in you know, research
with you know, the corruption of their Venezuela's control over
(29:19):
alleged control over smartmatic and dominion. Then you've got the
Cartelda Solis and the impact of what they're doing around
the world in the h in terms of the international
drug flows, illegal arm flows, in illegal oil. Right, the
whole oil thing is I mean, think about if we
(29:39):
are able to kind of strangle the oil outflows out
of that country. Who does that input what countries? How
does it affect their governors, How does it affect their
preparation for what they're doing around the world. I mean,
this is like one of those major chess moves that
it takes. Is very complicated to understand the totality of it,
(30:01):
but it is one of the most remarkable things that
I've ever seen, obviously in my operational lifetime, and then
on a grander contact that we've seen in modern geopolitical
tactics and initiatives. I mean, you know, you go back
to what ten years ago in our South America, Central America,
(30:24):
you know, operations in terms of you know, quelling the
rise of socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it,
was almost obsolete. And now we're literally writing or changing
the global power hegemony with these types of missions in
our own hemisphere. I absolutely love it.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Right, how many countries do you think, based on what
you see here from Venezuela, do you think the United
States could go into and grab a leader like this
and get out with no casualties? I mean ninety five
percent of the countries in the world, ninety eight percent.
I mean, if you're iron or heck. I mean, maybe
some of these other countries that have nuclear weapons, like
(31:04):
North Korea are saying this could never happen.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
To us because of that.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
But don't all those leaders have to be looking around saying,
if the US can do this to Venezuela, they can
do this to me really easily.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
One hundred percent clay. And that's I think that's the
posture President Trump and Secretary Headset are are and you know,
Secretary Ruvial are saying to everybody, this is a notice.
This is a notice to the world. Listen, America is
done playing the games of the last administration, the Obama administration,
(31:35):
uh even you know in some capacity, the Bush administration.
Right where we're we're now, we're going to be incredibly
focused on what we're going to do, have a reason
behind it that's going to alter. Right. Like I said,
this global hegemony that's been globalist in nature is now
back getting back to American superiority.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Right.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
What does your operator spider sense tell you the possibility of,
let's you say, an increased ops tempo against cartels to
the south of our border in Mexico.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
I'll tell you what Seinbaum came out. You know, it
didn't quite condemn it, uh, you know, gave kind of
soft language on it. You know, I believe that she
is absolutely quaking in her boots right now. I think
the cartels down there are probably you know, gearing up
(32:31):
and starting to realize, hey, this is a different game
these guys are playing. They'll probably go underground for a
while and get real quiet, just to hope it passes by.
But I think everybody's unnoticed. In particular, if you're a
cartel and you're engaged in any type of drug trafficking
that directly impacts American civilians, then guess what you're You
(32:57):
probably just got put on the the Jaysa door knock list,
which is a list. I'm telling you, if you're listening
to this anywhere around the world, you never want to
be on the Jaysack door knock list.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Go follow him.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
David Rutherford, part of the Clay and Buck podcast Network.
Thanks again for guest hosting while we were out. Great
feedback on that and enjoy twenty to forty six.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Brother.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Thanks guys, God bless you keep doing what you're doing.
You're crushing it.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
Let's dive in here. Buck Prize Picks was just talking
with Buck. I think Buck is going to come with
me to the National Title game potentially going on in
his hometown of Miami. We don't know who's going to
play yet. Could be my beloved Miami Hurricanes, could be
could be the Miami Hurricanes who are playing against Ole
Miss on one side, Indiana and Oregon on the other
(33:49):
side the world. The World Championship of Football, also known
as the Super Bowl has been set. The wild card
play playoffs are set. Amazing game between the Ravens and
the Steelers last night. Stayed up and watch that outstanding.
If you love football, whether it's NFL, whether it's college football,
(34:11):
guess what. Twenty twenty six Price Picks is now available
in all fifty states. You can play everywhere you are
listening right now. They continue to grow, They are expanding
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(34:35):
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Speaker 7 (34:54):
Making America great Again isn't just one man, It's many
the team. Forty seven Sunday's at noon Eastern in the
Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio
app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. It's been
a lot of fun. We've got a ton of stories
that we've been hitting with all of you. We're excited
to roll into another fantastic year twenty twenty six. Hit
the talkbacks. Producer Greg does a great job getting through those,
and we want to be able to use those as
(35:29):
much as we can in twenty twenty six. I would
also point out, Hey, we're going to be having a
lot more video during this year, potentially all three hours.
We love the five hundred and fifty five radio stations
out there, but in the months ahead, you're gonna be
able to get all three hours of the show on video.
(35:50):
That's never been the case before. Again, gonna take a
little while to get all this ironed out, but in
the meantime, go subscribe, Join us on pretty much every
social media site out there. Klay Travis buck Sexton, the
show is out there. I think I saw, I looked
actually this morning. We have one hundred and fifteen thousand
of you that have subscribed on YouTube. We want those
(36:13):
numbers to continue to grow, and we're going to be
giving you more and better video content to go along
with all the audio in the days and weeks and
months ahead. Man, We're excited. Hope you and your family
had fantastic holidays, great New Year, great Christmas, and we
can't wait to hit the ground run and have a
lot of fun with all of you breaking down what
(36:36):
I expect to be an absolutely phenomenal year.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Thank you so much everyone for joining us on our
first show back in twenty twenty six. We did misdoing
this show very much, which means we are coming back
at it every day with renewed Gusto.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Got to you more tomorrow
Welcome back in everybody to the third hour of the
Klay Travis end Buck Sexton Show, first show of twenty
twenty six.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Happy New Year.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We missed you, but we had great time over the
holidays with our families respectably.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We all hope and trust.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
That you did as well, and you are ready and
rested to dive into everything with us again. This year,
twenty twenty five was a great year for this country.
I think twenty twenty six could be even better. Starting
off with a bang here, a flash bang, perhaps with
the raid on the dictator of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, who
(00:35):
has pleaded not guilty, along with his wife. They also
grabbed the wife who was herself indicted in this for
being narco traffickers into the United States. That is underway.
We've been talking about the Tim Walls and Somali fraud situation.
Tim Wall saying he's not running for reelection as governor.
Is this the end of his political career? Possibly? And
(00:58):
there's much much more more that we'll be discussing around
that fraud issue. Just a breaking news item. Wall Street
Journal just putting this up. In the last few minutes,
the CDC has pared down the list of recommended childhood vaccines.
So US is dropping universal recommendations for certain childhood vaccines,
(01:23):
altering the immunization schedule to be more closely aligned with
Denmark's recommending fewer shots for children. Under the change, the
CDC is doing away with the recommendation that all children
receive vaccines for rotavirus, COVID nineteen, influenza, meninga, cockle disease,
hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. The CDC is instead advising
(01:43):
decisions about those shots being made by parents and their
children's healthcare providers.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
Clai, We don't want.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
To spend too much time on this one today because
there's so much heavy news going on. But I do
think that this is just this is just a wind
for sanity.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
You know.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
I'm going through this with my boy right now. We
have a very good practitioner, very good doctor.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Who's our what do you call kid doctor? What do
you know what I mean? Pediatrician? Pediatrician? Thank you?
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Sorry, I just blanked on the pediatrician. Blanked on the term.
We have a great pediatrician.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Yeah, And we.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Go through every We just go through each and everyone.
Do we want this, do we need this? What is
the data say, do we want this, do we need this?
What is the data say? Because the overall schedule is
way too many, way too fast.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
I know that I speak for a lot of parents
and grandparents out there when I say I am so
grateful that we did not get my kids the COVID shot. Now,
I'm glad I didn't get it, but you know, I
think a lot of parents out there felt like they
had to do it to keep their jobs and to
make sure they could pay their mortgage. And we certainly
(02:53):
can't forget what they did to us. But the fact
that so many parents were willing to make the right
decision for their kids. I the data on the COVID
shots just keep getting worse. And the fact that any kids,
particularly young kids and healthy kids, were ever given the
(03:14):
COVID shot is I think a complete failure of American policy.
But that information is out there. It just came down
Wall Street Journal Breaking News. We had a bunch of
people who wanted to weigh in on the big stories
of the day. We're going to talk with David Rutherford
at the bottom of the hour about the raid on Venezuela,
how incredibly impressive it was. We've got a bunch of talkbacks,
(03:38):
and Michael in Millburg, Florida, He's got a question about
what was said as it pertains to Maduro being arrested.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Fire away, Michael, Yeah, I was just.
Speaker 5 (03:51):
Curious about the legality of when Secretary of Rubio said
that they arrested him and read him his rights. What
is the legality? What right is he entitled to as
a non US citizen in New York.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
Well, he's been prosecuted under American law, so he's entitled
law the same protections under federal law that any other
criminal defendant would be entitled to. And so what Rubio
was referencing, which I think is significant, is this was
very similar For those of you who remember the Manuel
Noriega raid in nineteen ninety when he was arrested in Panama,
(04:27):
there's a lot of focus that Democrats have said, oh,
we're at war with Venezuela. What Marco Rubio I think
has done a good job of trying to illustrate is
this was an arrest of an indicted criminal under American law,
and he was arrested and now he's being brought to justice.
He pled not guilty, as is his right, and a
(04:48):
criminal court in New York City this morning.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
This is Operation Absolute Resolve that has captured Verdurero.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
If you want to do a little throwback, there was.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Operation Urgent Fury, pretty good name for the US invasion
of Grenada back in nineteen eighty three. A very small clay.
Are you licensed to practice law? There too?
Speaker 2 (05:12):
A very small Caribbean nation.
Speaker 4 (05:14):
I am licensed in the United States of Virgin Islands
and Tennessee have not added Grenada to the list. Let
me just point out Michael didn't ask this question, But
I do think this is an interesting question, and that
is unlike let's say, the combatants who were tried. If
you remember, and this is me going into the weeds
a little bit in Guantanamo and Buck has met one
(05:36):
of my buddies from law school who has been involved
in some of these prosecutions.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Great guy.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
They decided to classify these individuals as enemy combatants. They
are not in some way charging Maduro under criminal military tribunals.
They are prosecuting him as a criminal case in New
York City. Just a little bit interesting procedurally, there's probably
(06:05):
an argument if they were classifying him as an enemy
combatant that they could have charged him under military tribunal law. Again,
this is really getting into the weeds, but they are
not doing that, and so they are prosecuting him under
typical criminal justice statutes, as would be the case with
a lot of criminal defendants all over the country.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
He's really being treated as a narco kingpin and not
as a terrorist mastermind. Right if he had if he
had sent agents to blow up buses or you know,
take down planes or something here in America, we might
have gone the enemy combatant you know, yes, because because
(06:48):
he seized the Ayatola, I think based on his enemy
combatant status, that would be a military tribunal under which
he would be tried, not a no, a criminal court
in the United States.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
That's in the weeds. He didn't ask about that, but
he might have been wondering. That might have been an
implication behind his question, do you.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Want to do this?
Speaker 1 (07:09):
We got a VIP email that just came in. Born
in Caracas is the title, and this comes from Pamela
worked in Major League Baseball and returned to the eighties
and nineties for their winter ball games. I had been
detained last time I visited. Never forget there was a
time when Venezuela was one of the four wealthiest countries
(07:30):
on Earth, along with the US, New Zealand and Switzerland
at that time. Never forget Chavez. Maduro threw the population
into starvation with estimates of seventy percent of the people
and set up blockade to prevent medicine from reaching people
so the government could hoard and blackmail. Denesh Jesuz's wife
debutess from Venezuela. Actually, I'd forgotten that. That's I think
that's correct. Would she be a good guest? Hoping I
(07:52):
can go back and visit again. Thank you so much, Pamela.
The devastation society, devastation that has been visited on Venezuela
because of socialism, because of redistribution of wealth, collectivism, social justice,
all those buzzwords, all those things, all those ideas part
of the lib brain virus in this country. That's why
(08:14):
they're clay. The worst people in American politics are the
people who are.
Speaker 6 (08:20):
Upset that Maduro was gone. It's amazing, It's a perfect correlation.
Are you the worst person in American politics? Do you
support all the bad things in this country? You know,
more crime, open borders, more spending, more taxation. Do you
support all the bad ideas. You're upset about Maduro being gone.
There's a real there's a thread that connects all of
these things. And that's why you can go back and
(08:42):
look at the not the Walston Journal, but the New
York Times in like twenty twelve writing editorials not an
op ed editorials on behalf of the editorial board about
all the great social justice things that Chavez was going
to accomplish in that country. Look the fact that there
were immedia, these AstroTurf protests in many different places in America,
(09:04):
I think are indicative of the left continuing to be broken,
to reflectively be opposed.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
To anything Trump does.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Think about the reaction when, to his credit, Barack Obama,
contrary to the advice of Joe Biden, who said, don't
do it, took out Osama bin Laden.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
I don't remember.
Speaker 4 (09:25):
Do you remember any Republicans saying, I can't believe we
undertook this risk. I remember everybody saying credit to Obama.
He put his balls on the table, so to speak,
took out Osama bin Lauden. That was an incredible accomplishment.
I remember everybody in America reacting in a very positive way.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I remember tweeting out in celebration of it and congratulations.
Very early in my media career, i'd left government, so
I finally had a Twitter account, and I remember very
early on, this is what I was saying. I was
just saying that, or rather that, this is how it felt.
It's a win for America. This is a win for America.
What happened in Venezuela. It's a win for America. It's
(10:05):
a win for the Venezuelan people. It's a win for
the rule of law. It's a win for the hemisphere.
It's a win for the world. Go down the list,
and the people were saying, oh, but what if, But
what if you could? But what if anything? Okay, yes
you could, but what if a million you could? But
what if you know, if we ended the Russian Ukraine
war tomorrow? Well, now, what if Russia smuggles nukes? You
(10:25):
can come up with a million scenarios that are possible
right now. What's happened is a huge step in the
right direction.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I think.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Also, just compare the way we left Afghanistan to the
way that we took out Maduro from Venezuela. To me,
it is a great distillation of it's the same military right.
I mean, in the same forces that are being allowed
to do their job. Thirteen people got killed because we
(10:54):
left Afghanistan in a total mess. We left what billions
of dollars of materiel that is now the property of
the Taliban that they are seeing, hundreds of billions We
outfitted the Taliban military.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
The Taliban is going to be driving around in these
humviies in forty years. They're gonna have to patch them
back up, but this is going to be their military
for the foreseeable.
Speaker 2 (11:15):
Just look at the organizational.
Speaker 4 (11:18):
Plan that it was in place and was necessary in
Venezuela compared to leaving Afghanistan, and I think it's hard
to argue that we have not put competent people in
positions to be able to make the world a safer way.
Speaker 2 (11:33):
Well, how you do things.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
The decision to do something matters a whole heck of
a lot, Right, That is judgment, that is wisdom, But
how you do the thing is skill. It is acumen,
It is tactics. You know, it is implementation. And the
Trump administration is superior to Biden on hugely, clearly on
both counts. But I would even say, you look at
(11:57):
at Pete hextts secretary of War, and you compare him
to Lloyd Austin's predecessor, Peter's just a more on the ball,
smarter and more with it guy. Yes, he's just better
at this. He just understands how to get something like
this done in a way that his predecessor in the
role did not.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
And that is true.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Also of Marca Rubio versus his previous occupant of the
secretary of State role, the Marc Rubios. We know many jobs,
many jobs that guy has, but secretary of State's probably
the most prominent.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
By the way.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
Trump has just weighed in on Tim Walls stepping down.
Should I read that? Or should that be a no?
You gotta hold that one, all right? You got when
we return, Trump, as only Trump can, has teed off
on Tim Walls, and we will tell you exactly what
he said. As Tim Walls' political career is.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Over, well, Jazz hands Waltz can now pursue his real
dreams on Broadway. January is often the toughest month to
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Speaker 7 (13:56):
Can count on as some laughs too. Clay Travis at
buck Sexton find them on the free iHeartRadio app or
wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
Welcome back in Clay Travis buck Sexton Show. Okay, President
Trump has keyed off on Minnesota Governor Tim Walls, who
ended his political career in disgrace earlier today after all
of the revelations surrounding the Somali fraud. Here is what
President Trump just posted. Minnesota's corrupt governor will possibly leave
(14:29):
office before his term is up.
Speaker 2 (14:31):
Let me pause there.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
There are rumors that Walls is going to resign ultimately
as well. We'll see whether that ends up being true.
Right now, Walls is saying he's going to finish the
rest of his term this year, but in any event
will not be running again because he was caught all
caps red handed, along with Elon Omar and others of
(14:52):
his Somali friends, stealing tens of billions of dollars taxpayer dollars.
I feel certain the facts will come out and they
will reveal a seriously unscrupulous and rich group of slime balls.
Governor Walls has destroyed the state of Minnesota, but others
like Governor Gavin Neuscomb, JB. Pritzker, and Kathy Hokel have done,
(15:15):
in my opinion, an even more dishonest and incompetent job.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
All Caps, no one is above the law.
Speaker 4 (15:24):
Question for you, Buck, do you believe that there will
be any criminal charges brought against Tim Walls. Is this
going to get worse? Could there be more information coming
out about his involvement and recognition and knowledge of this fraud?
(15:44):
Or do you think Tim Walls's political career is just
over and he just kind of rides off into the
sunset now that he's no longer going to run for reelection,
focus turns to other people. Where do we go from here?
Basically in this story, I.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Don't think that you're gonna see Tim Walls charges. I
really don't.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
And I try to always call these things honestly, even
though I know it right now feels like all this momentum, no,
and I don't think so, because let's break this down
what maybe happened here? I think Tim Walls was setting
from the top down a prioritization list, and you know,
as governor, and that includes his ag the attorney general
(16:27):
for this day? Is it Keith Ellison? Still it was
Keith Ellison, who's the AG in Minnesota. I think that's
still true. I think that's correct. Oh that's interesting, guys,
check that one on me. If that's the case. I'm
just pulling that one from the buck memory banks. It's
been two weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
I'm a little rusty, little dusty up there, But it.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
Is it is the case that they wouldn't have You
would not have gotten an at a boy, you would
not have gotten a high five previously for starting to
look into this. So that's set at a very bureaucratic
institutional level, as in he probably allowed this fraud, turned
a blind eye to it, and maybe even profited from
(17:04):
it in so far as there were illicit donations to
Democrat calls and campaigns. But I don't think he got
a you know, cutty exactly. I don't think Tim Walls
was getting money on the semi. He'd have to be
truly insane to be doing that one, because now you're
definitely talking about prison time. I don't think he did
anything like that. I just think it wasn't a an
(17:24):
enforcement priority for him at all. And I think that
actually anybody who began that enforcement process Clay probably was
risking their job. That sets a very powerful standard.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
I would also point this out, Tim Walls would still
be governor, and he would be running for reelection and
he would probably win if he had not been Kamala's VP,
Because I don't think people would have come after him
on the fraud front in the same way and it
would have gotten the same amount of attention getting picked
as Kamala's VP into his political career.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
Well, maybe Kamala is kryptonite for politics. Maybe, just maybe
Tim Waltz is the first of the duo to realize ain't.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
No future in politics for you. We shall see, my friend.
The bet is outstanding.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
All right, we've already hit the ground running with the
new cycle in twenty twenty six. Huge show today. This
is gonna be a huge year, my friends. You know what,
we know it. We want you to have all the energy,
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code Buck. Welcome back in here to Clay and Buck.
As promised our friend, our podcast host, our guest host
of this program over the holiday where I am told
many people are saying you did a fabulous job. Many
people I have been told David Rutherford is with us now.
(19:16):
He is a former Navy seal so all combat in Afghanistan.
Host of the David Rutherford Show on the Clay and
Boock podcast Network.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Our friend run.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Happy New Year, my friend, thanks so much for making
the time for us.
Speaker 3 (19:29):
You are more than welcome. Gentlemen, thanks for having me on.
And can you believe what a way to kick off?
Twenty twenty six was one of the top top five
best ops I've ever seen or heard about.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
Yeah, talk us through this one in terms of the like,
the difficulty, the precision. We know that they had because
this has been reported widely. They had a mock up
of the actual building, and they waited till they knew
Maduro be in that building. What what's it like to
get to the level of room clearing, speed and precision
(20:03):
that this Delta team had to have to get in
there heavily armed compound, not a single casualty.
Speaker 3 (20:11):
JSOCK units in particular Delta CAG the unit whatever you
want to call it, are the best in the world.
And the precision, speed and accuracy of their movements there's
just nobody else on the planet that can compete with
these guys. Now you throw in on top of that
the support units in terms of TF one sixty of
(20:35):
the ground branch probably was there, you know, the CIA
assets and sources online, the naval personnel, the Air Force, THEDIA,
the Intel. This is one of the most complicated operations
that could possibly take pay place, and to execute it
as flawlessly as they did. I mean it's like, you
(20:57):
know the deal Buck, you know what's Murphy's law. You know,
if it's going to go wrong, it will, And this
thing went flawless.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
What do you think it says? We were talking earlier.
Thanks for guest hosting and everything you're doing as a
part of the Clay and Buck podcast network. What does
it say if you just look at the organizational leadership
and compare our withdrawal from Afghanistan, and you compare it
with the tactical brilliance and superiority of the bombings of Iran,
(21:27):
when with the nuclear sites, and now this with a Maduro.
What do you think people around the world are saying?
What does it reflect upon when it comes to our
military and their ability to do things like this compared
to under Biden.
Speaker 3 (21:45):
Oh, it's night and day. I mean, obviously the Afghanistan
pull out was probably the worst revelation for any g
WoT operator or personally served over there from the Intel
community wherever. It was like a dagger through your heart.
And so now when we finally see some real pipe
hitters go in to project you know, American power and
(22:10):
reestablish ourselves as somebody you don't want to mess with
around the world, there's nothing more significant as the global
power game shifts. And that's what's taking place. I mean,
the implications of this operation are not just don't just
stop and you know, as it affects the Madro doctrine
(22:32):
in Central and South America and the Americans itself. This
affects the entire world and puts everybody on notice. Hey
stand by because there's some pipeitters back in control now
and things are going to change.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Speaking to David Rutherford, former Navy seal and a host
of The David Rutherford Show and the Clay and Buck
podcast network, you guys should all go check it out.
Dave's going to have some deep dive into the tactics
and the strategy implication of what just happened here in Venezuela,
and I want to I want to ask you, Dave,
about the Cartel Mexico component about this in a second.
But first, you've been on whether it's a black Hawk
(23:12):
or a Chinook. I mean, you've been on the on
the helo going in in your case during the GWAT
days Afghanistan, knowing you're on that you're on that bird
and you're going after an HVT, your your Delta brothers
just did this in Venezuela. But what's the what's going
through your mind? Like, what's the focus? I mean, how
do you get ready to put literal boots on the
(23:35):
ground and go into a situation where you know you're
going to see combat and the enemy is ready for
you and you're gonna have to bring all your skills
to bear.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
That's a great question. And I think from all the
guys that I know that were Tier one, obviously I
was not a Tier one operator, but did get to
suit up and conduct missions. You know, the biggest thing
is to remain calm and just relax. You know, you've
done so many dry runs, so many rehearsals. You know,
(24:05):
these guys are the top of the tump, right, They're
the elite of the elite, and so it's stain calm,
knowing what your role is, Stain focused, stain relax and
not getting spun up. As any normal human being would
you know their heart rate would be over you know,
one hundred and seventy five, one hundred and eighty five
(24:26):
beats per minute. These guys are chill at one hundred
and fifteen beats per minute. They've rehearsed, they know exactly
what's going to take place, and then if something does
go wrong, they adapt, assimilate, assess, and then continue to
kick ass as they did down in Crockets.
Speaker 1 (24:44):
Also, I know I was going to ask you about
the cartels a rough but can you speak to and
I'm sure my my in laws who have a lot
of aviators on that side. There's actually a Sealed Team
six guy on that side too, but a lot of
aviators on that side, the one sixtieth. I mean, the
stuff that I I remember seeing a little bit of
what I was. The agency that these guys and gals
can do is incredible.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
They're they're the best pilots I've ever seen, I've ever
worked with. I mean, I got picked up on the
side of a mountain with like a twenty five hundred
foot cliff. They put the back gate on an edge
as we jumped on board. After recon you know, I've
done in innumerable amount of training stuff with them. They're
the best of the best, and they just keep getting better.
(25:26):
You know. I also to pay tribute to, you know,
your father in law there who just retired, you know,
the aviators that conducted the air strikes as well too,
to take out the you know, the air defense capabilities
they were. Everything was so succinct and so flawless like
this is the capability of the American military and intelligence community,
(25:51):
and when employed in the right capacity, it can disrupt
the global hedge of money, as it should. And that's
what we're using for right now we're receiving the distribution
of power in the world, and we're doing it with
precision and just absolute perfection.
Speaker 4 (26:10):
David Rutherford right now encourage you to go sign up
for his podcast, part of the Clay and buck podcasting network.
You mentioned it's a top five all time operation that
you've seen. I'm curious if you could give us, based
on the evidence that's out there so far, compare and
contrast the difficulty of the Osama bin Laden raid with
(26:32):
the capture of Maduro Both Bucket myself as nowhere near
the experts that you are said that this seems to
be a far more impressive raid even than what went
on when ben Laden was taken out. Is that your impression?
How would you compare and contrast these two situations based
on your expertise.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
Clay, That's a really, you know, unique way to assess
it in terms of, you know, the complexity issue, and
I think that's the only way.
Speaker 7 (27:00):
I mean.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
Obviously, I was in Pakistan with the agency and the
lead up in the aftermath of the been Loten rate
and have a lot of friends that were on the
but the size and scope of that op was not
probably what one tenth the size of this maybe one
twentieth the size of this, maybe even smaller. Obviously the
(27:21):
leg work done the you know, in preparation and the
hunting of down was unbelievable of bin Laden. But this
in terms of all the intelligence they had to collect
that you know, in the weeks or months leading up, uh,
and then the complexity and coordination of all these different units,
you know, no shade on you know, the loten rate.
(27:44):
Obviously that's from my generation unbelievable. But this, this operation
is I mean, we just went in and snatched a
world leader in a sleep and didn't take one casualty.
That just it's mind blowing to what our capabilities truly are.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
It reminds me a little bit actually, Rod of the
I think it's the opening of Air Force one, Right,
don't we swoop in? We send in a bunch of
guys on on parachutes and they snatch like the some
bad guys.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And there something that this is.
Speaker 4 (28:16):
And some of the people may have watched, right, you
may have watched this building on what Buck's saying that
the Jack Ryan Show that now is a part of
the Amazon Prime that season two is basically this, that
this happens I have not watched that show, but I've
heard a lot of people and they've been reacting and saying,
this is basically that show.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
I agree, that's one of my favorite seasons of the show.
I just I think, you know, it's always in those
first couple of seasons, whether it's Homeland or or Jack
Ryan like there, their narratives are so close to reality
that it's the truth. And you know, let's just take
a step back and look at Maduro forty five thousand
foot right, the illegal you know, leader of the in
(28:58):
a in a compromise election system. You know, the relationship,
the alleged relationship that Gary Bernstein and Martin Rodell point out,
and Ralph Pezzulo's incredible books Stolen Elections. You know, they
they did a ton of human in you know, research
with you know, the corruption of their Venezuela's control over
(29:19):
alleged control over smartmatic and dominion. Then you've got the
Cartelda Solis and the impact of what they're doing around
the world in the h in terms of the international
drug flows, illegal arm flows, in illegal oil. Right, the
whole oil thing is I mean, think about if we
(29:39):
are able to kind of strangle the oil outflows out
of that country. Who does that input what countries? How
does it affect their governors, How does it affect their
preparation for what they're doing around the world. I mean,
this is like one of those major chess moves that
it takes. Is very complicated to understand the totality of it,
(30:01):
but it is one of the most remarkable things that
I've ever seen, obviously in my operational lifetime, and then
on a grander contact that we've seen in modern geopolitical
tactics and initiatives. I mean, you know, you go back
to what ten years ago in our South America, Central America,
(30:24):
you know, operations in terms of you know, quelling the
rise of socialism, communism, whatever you want to call it,
was almost obsolete. And now we're literally writing or changing
the global power hegemony with these types of missions in
our own hemisphere. I absolutely love it.
Speaker 4 (30:43):
Right, how many countries do you think, based on what
you see here from Venezuela, do you think the United
States could go into and grab a leader like this
and get out with no casualties? I mean ninety five
percent of the countries in the world, ninety eight percent.
I mean, if you're iron or heck. I mean, maybe
some of these other countries that have nuclear weapons, like
(31:04):
North Korea are saying this could never happen.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
To us because of that.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
But don't all those leaders have to be looking around saying,
if the US can do this to Venezuela, they can
do this to me really easily.
Speaker 3 (31:15):
One hundred percent clay. And that's I think that's the
posture President Trump and Secretary Headset are are and you know,
Secretary Ruvial are saying to everybody, this is a notice.
This is a notice to the world. Listen, America is
done playing the games of the last administration, the Obama administration,
(31:35):
uh even you know in some capacity, the Bush administration.
Right where we're we're now, we're going to be incredibly
focused on what we're going to do, have a reason
behind it that's going to alter. Right. Like I said,
this global hegemony that's been globalist in nature is now
back getting back to American superiority.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Right.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
What does your operator spider sense tell you the possibility of,
let's you say, an increased ops tempo against cartels to
the south of our border in Mexico.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
I'll tell you what Seinbaum came out. You know, it
didn't quite condemn it, uh, you know, gave kind of
soft language on it. You know, I believe that she
is absolutely quaking in her boots right now. I think
the cartels down there are probably you know, gearing up
(32:31):
and starting to realize, hey, this is a different game
these guys are playing. They'll probably go underground for a
while and get real quiet, just to hope it passes by.
But I think everybody's unnoticed. In particular, if you're a
cartel and you're engaged in any type of drug trafficking
that directly impacts American civilians, then guess what you're You
(32:57):
probably just got put on the the Jaysa door knock list,
which is a list. I'm telling you, if you're listening
to this anywhere around the world, you never want to
be on the Jaysack door knock list.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Go follow him.
Speaker 4 (33:13):
David Rutherford, part of the Clay and Buck podcast Network.
Thanks again for guest hosting while we were out. Great
feedback on that and enjoy twenty to forty six.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Brother.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Thanks guys, God bless you keep doing what you're doing.
You're crushing it.
Speaker 4 (33:28):
Let's dive in here. Buck Prize Picks was just talking
with Buck. I think Buck is going to come with
me to the National Title game potentially going on in
his hometown of Miami. We don't know who's going to
play yet. Could be my beloved Miami Hurricanes, could be
could be the Miami Hurricanes who are playing against Ole
Miss on one side, Indiana and Oregon on the other
(33:49):
side the world. The World Championship of Football, also known
as the Super Bowl has been set. The wild card
play playoffs are set. Amazing game between the Ravens and
the Steelers last night. Stayed up and watch that outstanding.
If you love football, whether it's NFL, whether it's college football,
(34:11):
guess what. Twenty twenty six Price Picks is now available
in all fifty states. You can play everywhere you are
listening right now. They continue to grow, They are expanding
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(34:35):
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Speaker 7 (34:54):
Making America great Again isn't just one man, It's many
the team. Forty seven Sunday's at noon Eastern in the
Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio
app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (35:08):
Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. It's been
a lot of fun. We've got a ton of stories
that we've been hitting with all of you. We're excited
to roll into another fantastic year twenty twenty six. Hit
the talkbacks. Producer Greg does a great job getting through those,
and we want to be able to use those as
(35:29):
much as we can in twenty twenty six. I would
also point out, Hey, we're going to be having a
lot more video during this year, potentially all three hours.
We love the five hundred and fifty five radio stations
out there, but in the months ahead, you're gonna be
able to get all three hours of the show on video.
(35:50):
That's never been the case before. Again, gonna take a
little while to get all this ironed out, but in
the meantime, go subscribe, Join us on pretty much every
social media site out there. Klay Travis buck Sexton, the
show is out there. I think I saw, I looked
actually this morning. We have one hundred and fifteen thousand
of you that have subscribed on YouTube. We want those
(36:13):
numbers to continue to grow, and we're going to be
giving you more and better video content to go along
with all the audio in the days and weeks and
months ahead. Man, We're excited. Hope you and your family
had fantastic holidays, great New Year, great Christmas, and we
can't wait to hit the ground run and have a
lot of fun with all of you breaking down what
(36:36):
I expect to be an absolutely phenomenal year.
Speaker 1 (36:40):
Thank you so much everyone for joining us on our
first show back in twenty twenty six. We did misdoing
this show very much, which means we are coming back
at it every day with renewed Gusto.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
Got to you more tomorrow
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