June 12, 2025 • 36 mins
Hour 1 of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show broadcasts live from Washington, D.C., where Clay and Buck share behind-the-scenes insights from their high-level meetings with members of President Donald Trump’s administration. The hour opens with lighthearted anecdotes about fan encounters in Georgetown and a humorous mishap involving Clay being denied entry to a White House meeting due to not having a Real ID. Despite the setback, Clay books former NFL kicker Jay Feely—now a congressional candidate in Arizona—for Hour 2 after a chance sidewalk meeting.
The conversation quickly pivots to serious geopolitical developments, with a major focus on escalating tensions in the Middle East. Clay and Buck analyze the Trump administration’s strategic posture toward Iran amid reports of U.S. personnel being evacuated from embassies in the region. They discuss the implications of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) declaration that Iran is violating nuclear non-proliferation agreements—marking the first such ruling in 20 years—and the possibility of an imminent Israeli military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
President Trump’s firm stance that Iran “cannot have a nuclear weapon” is highlighted, along with his administration’s efforts to support Israel while avoiding direct U.S. military involvement. Buck, drawing on his CIA background, and Clay explore the broader regional dynamics, including the Abraham Accords, Saudi-Israeli relations, and Iran’s weakening influence through proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas. They also examine the internal pressures facing the Iranian regime and speculate on whether a successful Israeli strike could destabilize the theocracy and pave the way for a more democratic future in Iran.
Throughout the hour, the hosts emphasize the Trump administration’s commitment to peace through strength, strategic deterrence, and prioritizing American interests abroad. The episode blends national security analysis, foreign policy strategy, and personal storytelling, offering listeners a compelling and timely look at one of the most pressing global issues.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to today's edition of The Clay Travis and Buck
Sexton Show podcast. Welcome everybody to.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
The Thursday edition of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Show from our nation's capital.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Having a great time here. I got to say, I have.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Been so impressed and thankful and humbled that Clay and
I have seen so many of you are listeners around
d C. And a first yesterday someone came up to
me who wanted to take a photo. And I always
all of you, don't ever be shy about if you
ever want to take if you just want to shake
hands or give me a high five. We love all
(00:35):
of you who listen, all right, that is an ironclad rule.
If you listen to this show, we appreciate you. We're
always happy to talk to you. But at first yesterday
someone came up to me to show me the photo
he had taken with Clay I think earlier in the day.
Bumped into him on the street and then bumped into.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Me on the street.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
So that was something I got to Seyeah in Georgetown
yesterday morning on my way to go meet you. As
we were headed out to the CIA, guy on the
street comes up and he's like super excited. He said
his phone was dead and so but he was like,
I really really want to get a selfie with you.
Love the show listen every day I leave you some
South Carolina.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
That's right. I can tell the accent South Carolina for sure.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
And so so I said, all right, I'll take a
picture here.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I'm not a great selfie. Guy I met.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
My wife would say, I'm really bad at taking pictures,
and not just because of what I look like, but
because I'm not.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Very good at taking the photos.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
But I took a picture of a selfie with us,
emailed the guy from from my email and then you
saw him too. Yeah, he was like, this is the
after we finished dinner.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, he couldn't believe it. I mean, it was our
It was like twelve hours apart. And then I bumped.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
So, DC is a small city with a lot going on,
a small city with a very big responsibility. Speaking with yesterday,
we're gonna we're gonna get into the the heats getting
turned up on the Middle East in Iran, and obviously
the deportations and the la riots and what's going on
in other cities. We're gonna dive into all that first,
(01:57):
but just a little bit of what we're doing here.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
We yesterday went to as we mentioned, to Langley, to
CIA headquarters and met with some of the senior folks
over there, had some off the record conversations about what's
going on. So because it's off the record, I can't
tell you much about that. But Clay and I did
get to go very much on the record through the
spy museum they have at Langley, which was very cool.
(02:19):
I mean, they've got some great stuff. They've really upgraded
it since I was there. And then later on in
the day I had a meeting, well, we had a meeting.
Clay can explain what happened, but we had a meeting
with the Director of National Intelligence Tulci Gabbard and her staff,
and he is doing a lot of work. We had
a scheduled meeting, well, we had a scheduled meeting that
(02:42):
one of us went to the other one as a
Tennessee resident, had a little booboo when it came.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
To his ID.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
So I got rejected at the White House and the
old Executive Office Building because I showed up for our
meeting right after we finished the show yesterday. And I
don't have a real I've been traveling with my passport.
The state of Tennessee doesn't make your driver's license default
real ID, I don't want to have an eight hour
(03:11):
day spent at the DMV. Also, we have a weird schedule.
We have to be on the air from eleven to
two so Central time where I live in Nashville. So
it's hard for me to commit to anything in the
morning because it might drag into when our show starts.
I got to drive back and then by the time
our show gets done getting to somewhere before the DMV closes,
(03:34):
It's like I have to take a whole day off work.
And I've done it before, but to get passports for
the kids. So anyway, I show Florida. Florida just gives
you real ID.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I don't know, Tennessee losing some points here, Florida surging
ahead in the red state sweepstakes. I'm just telling you
the truth. So they wouldn't let me in the White House,
can I just say? I straight up asked the Director
of National Intelligence true to vouch for my man Clay
like this felt like leaving him at the velvet rope
(04:04):
at the nightclub.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I was like, but you're not gonna let my buddy in, and.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
They're just you know, the the Secret Service guys or no,
like this is the you're actually there's a sign when
you go in that says you must have real I
d no exceptions. But Clay, of course, because he's Clay
was I mean, I'm Clay Travis, like you know, we
all had a little we tried, we tried a little
bit of that. We tried a little bit of that.
He's Director of National Intelligence, said they won't let me
(04:29):
in if I don't have proper ideas. I mean, my
argument was, we did just spend all morning at the CIA,
and I didn't need a real ID to get in there.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
But he's trying to evade the rules. You know.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Oh, I was at the CIA all morning. They've heard
it all, Clay, They've heard So I had to leave.
I had to leave a man behind. I don't know
what to say. I had to He was in the trenches,
he was taking grenades, and I had to just run
on the battlefield solo. One positive on this is I,
as I'm standing outside in the hot, baking sun, unable
to be let in because I don't have a real ID, which,
(05:02):
by the way, oh, don't be one of these people.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
The real ID. I'm like, I am, who I am?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I've had I sound like Sam, I am, I got
the I've got the ID right. The fact that it
has a little star in the corner is that somehow
making the world safer, Like is anybody out there like, hey,
you know that terror attack would have hit, but boy,
I'm glad we have the little star circle in the
corner of.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
The driver's license. This is the most ridiculous thing ever.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So this is not there are rules, yeah, so but
positive trying to be positive. As I'm standing in the
baking sunlight and the pavement standing outside of the White House,
unable to go in. I ran into former NFL kicker
Jay Feely, who had a real ID and was able
to go in for his meetings. But he's going to
be on the show in the second hour. Because I
(05:52):
was like, hey, you just want to come on the show.
So I booked us a guest. While standing in the
hot sunshine pavement with my not real all that sweating
through your dress shirt wis worth it? I just I
think I got you earned it, So we're going have
Jay Feely on. I spoke to Tulsa d and I
Gabbard and her staff again off the record, but I
can just tell you that really good context for us
(06:16):
to understand here about some of the moves that the
administration is doing. This is really while we're here touch
base with Trump's top team and the people who are
making the big decisions. And we've got some other meetings
that are scheduled that will be telling you about. I'm
sure you can have some guesses who. But the point
is we wanted to just have time to speak to everybody.
(06:37):
What are you working on, what's happening, what's going on,
and to do it in a way where they can
just speak freely to us. And you know, look, they
know we're openly avowedly pro Trump administration, want to see
success because really, I truly believe that the success of
the Trump administration is the success of the country and
the American people. But you always get whenever you're in
(06:58):
DC and you can speak to people freely. And again
I said, can we say we've met with you, Yes,
but the contents of the discussions were off the record.
You get much better exchange because people, even if they
trust you, they don't really they don't really trust anything
in this town, so they had to keep some of
(07:18):
that stuff between all of us. With all that in mind,
the President has been talking about this. They had Leyman's
rob that I pronounced that you did that was pretty
thank you, thank you. They had the play going on
at the Kennedy Center last night, and the President was
asked about this Iran conflict and the issues associated with it.
(07:39):
And they've been pulling You know this because when you
were in the CIA, when they start pulling people out
of family members, out of embassies in the Middle East,
there is a sign that things are not going very
well and that there is potentially tension associated with how
things could go. And so the reason why I bring
that up is it's it seems to me Buck that
(08:01):
Israel is ratcheting up the pressure and really wants to attack,
and that they want to go into Iran and that
they want to do it now. And so again there's
reportedly a weekend meeting that is scheduled, But it feels
to me like the Trump administration is basically letting Iran know, hey,
(08:24):
we're not going to continue to protect you from Israel,
and if we are pulling our people out of the
Middle East, that is a sign that they don't necessarily
know how this meeting is going to go, and things
could get a lot worse. I will tell you, I
think the heat is higher right now with Iran and
this it's been I understand, the Iranian nuclear issue has
(08:47):
been playing out for many years, for decades actually, and.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Now we have.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Now we have a situation where there's the chance that
something would have and things could get things could ask
very quickly. I am not in favor of a strike
by the Israelis on the Iranian nuclear facilities at this time.
The Trump administration is not in favor of an Israeli
(09:14):
strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities at this time. A
deal would be much better. And I think that there's
just no general feeling among the American people that we
should be drawn into any kind of Midi's conflict right now.
That's really something that we just for most of my
(09:34):
adult life, Clay, we've been fighting wars in the Middle East.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It's just too much.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
And I showed up in some of these war zones,
did what I could, what little bit I could to help.
But this is something that I think really guides the
Trump foreign policy on this, and this is going to
get There's going to be some tension around this issue
because there are people that really truly believe that the
Iranian regime is so so maniacal, so blood thirsty, that
(10:03):
it would use nukes against israel I. You know, this
is where you're applying the highest, the highest stakes imaginable.
You're talking about this level of war and peace. But
I do think that they're still a realistic and strong
might be too much possibility, but a realistic possibility that
Trump can get this done without without this becoming a
(10:24):
point of conflict.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
When you're talking about evacuating embassies.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
The issue isn't that we would lose for against Iran,
that we'd even necessarily be brought into a war against Iran.
It's the Iranian capability to engage in terror attacks against
US targets all over the world, which they may just
decide to go for effectively, go for broke if those
facilities get hit, because it would destabilize the regime the
(10:48):
Iranian people, something that doesn't get talked about in this country, Clay,
the Iranian people, as much as we're always told they
are very pro Western, they don't like their regime. They
do for the greatness of Iran to be a nuclear power.
This is something that does not get talked about, but
the Iranian people want a lot of them. Now, you
(11:08):
could say, how could you know with the polling? You know,
there are ways that you can assess this stuff. But
there's a national pride component of Iran getting this that
makes it more complicated. It's not quite as clear as
split with the regime on this issue as we would
like it to be. Yeah, and look, I think the
(11:28):
challenge in general, you understand why Iran wants nuclear weapons
because Kim Jong un has them and basically he's preserved
his family's ability to rule North Korea for generations to
come unless somebody internally takes him out.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I don't think anybody externally. Is why did Ukraine?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
If Ukraine could change one decision they made since the
fall of the Berlin Wall, I bet it would be
not giving up their nukes because do you think Russia
would have invaded Ukraine if Ukraine had kept the nukes.
This is, unfortunately the the takeaway from what happened in Libya,
where the or the Obama and Hillary administration decided that
(12:09):
they were going to engage in this NATO air war
to help militias on the ground overthrow, and then of
course Benghazi happened, and we remember some of this history,
but Kadafi was actually cooperating with the dismantling of and
avoiding WMD programs, and we decided a meaning the US government,
(12:31):
you know what, not good enough, and they went in
and we saw the videos of what happened to Kadafi.
It's it's very hard to commit. And by the way,
I think it's interesting. I wonder how many people before
I just said it now knew that it is. It
is just known that the Iranian people want nukes, like
this is not some thing that I have said that
is a fringe believer theory. But it makes this a
(12:53):
more complicated situation because the Iranian regime has been promising
the secure and you know, we don't really think of
it this way because we're so used to America being
the scientific power. We're so used to thinking of America
as you know, of course we have nukes, and of
course we have you know, satellites and space shuttles and
all this amazing stuff.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
There is a pride in Iran among.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
The people about the achievement, the scientific achievement of being
a nuclear power.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Bither. This was true in Pakistan as well.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Some people actually point to Pakistan and India as well,
they have nukes and they weren't supposed to it. It's
a now that that gets very contentious because Pakistan and
India are not Iran and aren't doing the thing.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Oh, Pakistan does some pretty bad stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
But this is a moment where I think we're seeing
decisions made on this issue. I don't think Clay, the
decision has been made one way or the other. In
my mind, that's what I that's the atmospheric that I
pick up. But I will say, just talking to people
here in the vicinity of the decision making process in DC,
they're very tense talking about Iran right now. Well, I
(13:56):
think that's one hundred percent true. And remember, the motive,
according to multiple reports, for why Hamas attacked Israel on
October seventh, was that Saudi Arabia was prepared to join
the Abraham Accords. And if Saudi Arabia had joined the
Abraham Accords, then the peace in the Middle East situation
would have been far more likely. And now that Syria
(14:19):
we have in some ways normalized relations with Syria, I
think that Iran is isolated to a degree that may
not have occurred in a generation, and that this is
where Israel believes now is the time to hit them
and keep them from having nukes. Whether the United States
(14:39):
is going to agree with that Israeli perspective remains to
be seen, but I think Israel is quite clearly behind
the scenes advocating as aggressively as possible that now is
the time to go. Yes, well, the problem and I
think the Israeli government I know, Clay, you went and
visited and.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Spoke to high level officials there.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
But one of their concerns is also that without any
fear of any real military direct attack on Iran, does
that then embolden the Iranian regime to push It's what
are essentially imperial and and almost colonizing activities by running
these different proxy militias in places like Lebanon with hezbelah
(15:21):
Uh and the Shia Milicius. Why are we so worried
about Iraq and the US embassy in Iraq, Well, it's
because the most capable military forces on the ground, when
when push comes to shove and and shove comes to shooting,
are Iranian backed and trained proxy militias essentially. So this
is this is a huge challenge, a huge problem that
(15:41):
we face and and I think that this is a
test of the Trump administration's foreign policy and a test
of our relationship with well allies in the Middle East,
Israel first and foremost. So that's absolutely something we'll continue
to follow. We'll also dive deeper into the riots la
all that stuff here in just a moment. But in
the meantime, Israelis have been under attack one a kind
(16:04):
or another for more than a year and a half.
It's when they need friends and support the most, which
is why we're partnered. You mentioned buck my trip over
to Israel in December. It's why we're partnered with the
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. They're feeding elderly Holocaust
survivors who have no one else. They're building bomb shelters
to protect kids from rocket attacks. They're providing security essentials
(16:27):
to first responders. I have seen all of this with
my own eyes. The IFCJ has risen to this challenge
with your help, and I can tell you that they
are putting your donations to excellent work. We spent time
with the IFCJ team last week in Florida, and they
continue to work hard to stand up for so many
people in need in the Holy Land. When you give
(16:49):
a gift of forty five dollars to the IFCJ, you're
putting faith into action right where it's needed, the boat,
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org to bless Israel today with your donation. Again, that's
IFCJ dot org or eight eight eight four eight eight
(17:11):
if CJ.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
You provide an update on Iran.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
We're hearing reports that US personnel are being moved out
of the region within striking distance. Well, they are being
moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and
we'll see what happens. But they are, We've given notice
to move out, and we'll see what happens. Is there
anything that can be done to dial the temperature down
in the REJ.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
They can't have a nuclear new weapon, person, they can't
have a nuclear weapon. We're not going to allow that.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Iran can't have a nuclear nuclear weapon. That was last
night at the Kennedy Center. Trump responding to reporters, Let's
dive into more of this but the heat is high.
My friends in the Middle East, we'll discuss. Since nine
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(18:57):
So we were just discussing before here in our nation's capital, Washington, DC.
Clan and are walking around going down Memory Lane here,
scrolling around the streets of the swamp. It is very warm,
but we're having a good time and we're having some
great conversations. Where at Langley yesterday we're at the old
Executive Office building and a lot going on. We know
(19:17):
that there have been some moves made here with respect
to the Middle East and the movement of US personnel
out of the embassy in Iraq, for example, and other
embassy staffers are on high alert. Plus here's something Clay,
the UN watchdog rules that Iran is breaking the rules
(19:42):
on nuclear activity. And this decision comes as officials say
they believe this is New York Times that Israel is
preparing to launch a military attack. Of course, tay Ran
is condemned, the motes condemned the vote. The International Atomic
Energy Agency has declared today that Iran is not complying
with the nuclear non pool of vration obligations, the first
(20:02):
time the UN i a EA has said that in
twenty years. Clay, So this is the temp is very
high right now on this and there I've never been
a Oh Israel cond struck Israel good strike person. It's
been years and years. This is the first time to
me that this has been something that could that feels imminent.
(20:22):
How much do you think, Yes, I agree with all
of that that you just said, and I think, again,
this is much of what I was told. The Israelis
have been pretty open about their desire to hit Ron,
and I don't think they've hit it at all. There
have been a lot of reports that net Nyahu has
been basically seeking Trump's approval to be.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Able to do this.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
The Israelis believe that they have access and strong intelligence
on how to cripple the Iranian nuclear interest. Question for you,
and I don't claim to know the answer, and certainly
a lot of you can weigh how there is a
committed part of Trump's base that does not want to
(21:09):
get involved at all in basically Middle East affairs period,
and it's not an insignificant amount of people.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I think.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
I think the Trump base does not want us there. Right,
There's a difference between wanting US involved and Israel deciding
to do it. So how does this play out? Because
I'll tell you and I understand that that there is
an element out there that disagrees with this.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I think in general that it is better if Iran
does not have a nuclear.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Weapon than if they do.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I think most people out there listening to us would
not along with that, because what Iran would do potentially
with a nuclear weapon is potentially catastrophic. Now, I also
understand the Iranian perspective, which is, once we have a
nuclear weapon, our leadership is solidified, nobody is going to
(22:05):
mess with us. As we were just talking about earlier
in the in the hour, I think that Trump wants
to allow Israel to strike. I also think he wants
Iran to believe that he's willing to let Israel strike
and is hoping that if that perspective is out there,
it will lead to an agreement. Here's my ultimate question
(22:27):
for you. Do you you worked in the CIA, he
worked on a lot of different issues over the years.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Do you trust.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Iran to comply with any agreement they enter into with us?
Speaker 1 (22:39):
No at all?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Right, So this is and this is always Look, we
just had the IAEA say they're cheating, and the i
e A is not some great friend to Israel. So
this is the reality that they're they're clearly cheating on this,
and we're trying to make strategic calculations about what the
Iranian leadership strategy is. And these people all are you know,
(23:01):
there's always this thing of are The people will say
they're crazy, and yeah, I mean they operate in a
completely different moral framework than we do here in the West.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
With what they think is justified.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
I mean, their hatred of Israel and their hatred of
the Jews is unfortunately a very real thing for the
Iranian leadership, the Iranian regime, and it guides a lot
of and dictates a lot of the decisions that they make.
So so there's a deep immorality there. There's also the
immorality of the oppressive theocracy that their regime inflicts upon
its own people. You do not have freedom, You do
(23:36):
not have you know, any kind of right that we
would think are standard in America.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
They don't have those in Iran.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
So it's hard for us to they would call this
in analysis school the agency mirror imaging, right, it's hard
for us to understand really what their thinking is when
faced with the highest level of decisions on national security.
But the Iranians this has always been the problem, and
this is the problem with the Obama administrations. Iran Deal
(24:04):
is that the Iranians will always find ways to cheat,
and people I think are getting tired of having to
play this game with them. But I think people are
more tired, and I mean specifically Trump voters are more
tired of the Middle East. It's not our problem, you know,
And I'm just I'm vocalizing the feeling that a lot
(24:25):
of them have. I'm not saying that all of you
agree with that or but there are a lot of
people who especially those who fought over there, I think,
and the families of those who fought over there. We
don't want to get dragged into something. Now, if Israel
could strike the facilities and that which they've done, they
did us in Syria, right, I mean they've hit reactors and.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
It goes, oh, Israel took out the reactor.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Well, you know, everyone wakes up the next day and
goes about their lives pretty much.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
I don't think that that's likely to be the.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Case here because of the centrality of the nuclear program
to the Iranian regime and the Iranian people supporting them
in this.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
But maybe there's a way. Maybe, but it wouldn't be.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
As much blowback as we would foresee, what we don't
want is we have to be deploying US troops in
the Middle East to protect our assets, to protect our people.
And that's where I think this is a very difficult
calculation that is being made here, numerous difficult cut If
you told me that Israel can successfully strike Iran and
(25:22):
effectively end their ability in the next decade or more
to pursue nuclear weapons, I would be in favor of it.
I would, And I understand some of you out there
are going to say, hey, I don't want to do
anything again. This is Israel striking If they could do it,
I would be in favor of it. I actually also
believe that behind the scenes, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar,
(25:49):
maybe even Syria. Now I think there are a lot
of Middle Eastern interest parts of Iraq that would also
support it, not publicly because they can't have be seen
as supporting Israel, but they don't want a stronger Iran
in the Middle East because of the power and what
it does in the Arab States. Everybody who's dealt with
(26:09):
the Iraq issue, who fought over their nose.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
The Sunni Shia thing is a big deal, okay.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
The the schism within the Islamic faith and the way
that that plays out in Mid East politics. I mean
you can see who who is Iran working with and
who are Iran's allies, various Shia proxies. Now, Iran has
also had close relations with Hamas, which is a predominantly
Sunni organization, but generally speaking Hesbulah Shia, right who this Shia.
(26:38):
You can see these these places where the Iranians have
been able to particularly dig in uh we know, put
their put their tentacles to work. That has been very
much along these religious lines. So that means, you know,
the Saudis don't want to have an Iranian Shiah combatants
(26:59):
getting strong on their hands. So yeah, I think you're
right that there'd be a lot of behind the scenes
support for them, and they're not going to say it publicly,
but that they might support it privately, which is part
of what the Trump team is doing.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Here's the other thing, and you can go look this up.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Iran before the Ayatola, the revolution in the nineteen seventies.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Look, this was a.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Country that Dixon high heels and miniskirt That's what I'm
talking about. You can go find these videos of Iran,
and I know there's actually probably a decent amount of
people with Persian backgrounds with Iranian backgrounds that are listening
to us right now because they live in the United
States now they may still have family over there. I
think a huge portion of the Iranian population hates the Ayatola,
(27:45):
And if I think there's some calculus here, It's hard
to know exactly how all this plays out, but if
Israel successfully struck the Ayatola, Komeni is what eighty three
or eighty four, I mean, he's very old and at
some point in time whether this is going to remain
effectively a Muslim theocracy after he is gone, those questions
(28:08):
are up in the air. If they don't have nuclear power,
I think it weakens massively the government in a position
right now. They used to have Syria as a proxy,
they used to have Hesbola as a proxy, they used
to have Hamas as a proxy. Israel's perspective on this
is Iran has never been weaker, and if we hit
them now, maybe possibly that destabilizes things enough for the
(28:33):
Ayatola that in the future, as his reign comes to
a close, maybe Iran can go back to something more
like it was in the nineteen seventies before the revolution
sort of brought down the veil of an absence of
human rights and descended Iran into a country.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Buck They can't even keep the power running.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
I mean they had to start turning power off by
two o'clock in the afternoon. People are fed up with
just the government's ability to actually allow them to have
normal lives. Well, and this is this is where I
think you can see as you work through this. If
the US is not pulled into this, if we don't
have US troops or US personnel that are at immediate
(29:19):
well they're going to be at risk if there's a strike,
But if we can mitigate that risk enough, the downside
of striking these facilities is what. And the downside of
allowing the Iranians to continue to build this capability, which
even the IAEA says they are doing and violation of
agreements that they have signed, is what. And this is
(29:42):
what you have to balance out. For me, it's a
little bit like the way I feel about Ukraine, which
is there's there's decisions, there's there's there's back and forth
on on what the best path forward is. But my guiding,
my uh you know, north star on this if you will,
is I don't want American troops involved, and I don't
(30:03):
want the American people fighting this war. I don't want
them fighting in Ukraine. I don't want this to be
our fight in Ukraine. I don't want this to be
our fighter in the least. If Israel wants to take
this thing on and it's gonna be Israel's fight, that
makes it an easier calculation from my perspective, although none
of these calculations are actually easy, no doubt, and this
(30:24):
is gonna be something I think that plays out in
the next couple of days, whether or not we get
an attack or not.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
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Speaker 1 (31:42):
Welcome back in.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Play Travis buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging
out with us. Rolling through the first hour, we are
scheduled to be joined by Jay Feely, who I met
on the sidewalk outside the White House after I was
not allowed in because I do not have a real
id if that all happened. In case you just got
in your car, yes, and I I just want to
be very clear. I would never leave a man behind.
(32:03):
But when the Secret Service says you have to leave
a man behind, I don't know what else I could do.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
I can't.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
I can't bail in the Director of National Intelligence because
Clay comes from a state that refuses to get the
right kind of IDs.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
In everybody's hands.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
What was the reaction when you told all of these spooks,
all of these high level government intelligence agents, that your
radio show co host couldn't get into the meeting because
he didn't have a real ID. Did they totally accept it? Oh? Yeah,
they said, They said, no, you don't understand because I
was like, guys, can we make Can we make a call?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Can we bring him by the other side of the
velvet rope? You know, could we like slip the bouncer
one hundred dollars bill, Like, what do we have to
do here?
Speaker 1 (32:41):
They're like, oh, no, he's toast.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
There's no they said, tell him to get his passport
or he's not getting into this building. And I was like, okay,
so that is what happened. Yeah, they were sympathetic, but
there was no getting around it. I've got my passport,
so I have it in my jacket pocket now, so
I could theoretically be able to get in. I thought
about maybe just trying to do a flute solo. I
(33:03):
was willing to do whatever it might take less if
that was going to get it done. Shirtless flute solo
out of the hot sun and the DC streets. Clay
was willing to do whatever it takes, but it just
didn't happen unfortunately. I just how much right now? Have
you tried to ever kick a football through the uprights?
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Yeah? Jay Feeley coming? I actually how far do you
think you could do it? Right now?
Speaker 2 (33:23):
If you know you warmed up your hammies and your quads,
you know, if you twenty yards twenty Yeah, I was gonna.
I think I think I could do a twenty yard
It's a fun Again. I don't want anybody to tear
their groin or injure themselves, but there is a fun
chowel is growing, especially you get you get in your forties.
The groin poll yeah, that is not the not the
(33:44):
area you want to be having issues with. But there's
a fun one hundred yard challenge that I that I
used to do back in the day.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Most people can't do it.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Uh. And field goal kicking and or punting is really
the key. But if you start at the goal line
of a football field and you row the football as
far as you can and then wherever the football hits,
not where it lands like you don't get the benefit
of like the twenty yard role or something you go
to where it lands. So for a lot of people,
forty yards or so beyond. If you have a decent arm,
(34:13):
you can throw football forty yards. Some people can throw
it farther, but forty yards decent decent forty to fifty
for most people with a decent arm. Then you punt,
and then you do the field goal. You punt wherever
the ball hits, and then can you make a field goal?
So it's basically a hyeah almost like a triathlon for
foot football. Most people cannot do it, but it is
(34:33):
a fun challenge if you got your kids getting out
of school for summer, or you're listening to us and
you're a guy who's in a somewhat decent shape. It
sounds like a lot of people are listening to it
right now and they're like, oh, I could do that.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
It comes down really to how well you can tell you.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
I can do most sports things at a reasonable level,
and some at like a considerably above average level. But
I would say, Clay, and I mean this in all humility.
I think my football throw is unfortunately equivalent to your
golf swing. How you think you could throw it, not
my foot I can. I never played football grow up.
That was the one sport that you know, we just
(35:10):
didn't play it in New York City. Basketball, soccer, tennis,
you know, different things like that.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
I played.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Even lacrosse in the New York area is really big.
You just don't get that's more than the sub. But
no baseball, Oh, baseball. I played baseball growing up to No.
I can throw a baseball. I'm an American play let's
get real, all right, I can throw I was actually
pretty decent at baseball. I just never liked it that much.
There was like, oh, just like the ball is not
gonna hit you.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
I've seen people get wrecked by that ball. Like I
don't think I want to get hit. But I could
throw a baseball. Do with that, But I cannot throw
in a football. I can do it, but that's that's
something that I need. I need some work on. So
maybe Jay Feeley can give you some tips. I was fifty.
I was a fifty yard guy. I could throw a
football fifty yards. I don't want to sound like Napoleon
Dynamite here. I could throw football fifty yards.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
I think I heard fifty yards play they call him easily.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
Now a forty yard guy, I would one hundred percent.
I can throw football forty yards. Punting and kicking a
football is way harder than people think, for sure. Yeah,
so most people cannot do that. Lasers are out, you
know Einhorn Fink goal with Einhorn by the way, speaking
(36:12):
of busy, we were talking about the schedule and everything else,
running around the fact that I couldn't get in.
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Speaker 2 (36:40):
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Welcome to today's edition of The Clay Travis and Buck
Sexton Show podcast. Welcome everybody to.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
The Thursday edition of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Show from our nation's capital.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
Having a great time here. I got to say, I have.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Been so impressed and thankful and humbled that Clay and
I have seen so many of you are listeners around
d C. And a first yesterday someone came up to
me who wanted to take a photo. And I always
all of you, don't ever be shy about if you
ever want to take if you just want to shake
hands or give me a high five. We love all
(00:35):
of you who listen, all right, that is an ironclad rule.
If you listen to this show, we appreciate you. We're
always happy to talk to you. But at first yesterday
someone came up to me to show me the photo
he had taken with Clay I think earlier in the day.
Bumped into him on the street and then bumped into.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Me on the street.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
So that was something I got to Seyeah in Georgetown
yesterday morning on my way to go meet you. As
we were headed out to the CIA, guy on the
street comes up and he's like super excited. He said
his phone was dead and so but he was like,
I really really want to get a selfie with you.
Love the show listen every day I leave you some
South Carolina.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
That's right. I can tell the accent South Carolina for sure.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
And so so I said, all right, I'll take a
picture here.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
I'm not a great selfie. Guy I met.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
My wife would say, I'm really bad at taking pictures,
and not just because of what I look like, but
because I'm not.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Very good at taking the photos.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
But I took a picture of a selfie with us,
emailed the guy from from my email and then you
saw him too. Yeah, he was like, this is the
after we finished dinner.
Speaker 1 (01:31):
Yeah, he couldn't believe it. I mean, it was our
It was like twelve hours apart. And then I bumped.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
So, DC is a small city with a lot going on,
a small city with a very big responsibility. Speaking with yesterday,
we're gonna we're gonna get into the the heats getting
turned up on the Middle East in Iran, and obviously
the deportations and the la riots and what's going on
in other cities. We're gonna dive into all that first,
(01:57):
but just a little bit of what we're doing here.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (01:59):
We yesterday went to as we mentioned, to Langley, to
CIA headquarters and met with some of the senior folks
over there, had some off the record conversations about what's
going on. So because it's off the record, I can't
tell you much about that. But Clay and I did
get to go very much on the record through the
spy museum they have at Langley, which was very cool.
(02:19):
I mean, they've got some great stuff. They've really upgraded
it since I was there. And then later on in
the day I had a meeting, well, we had a meeting.
Clay can explain what happened, but we had a meeting
with the Director of National Intelligence Tulci Gabbard and her staff,
and he is doing a lot of work. We had
a scheduled meeting, well, we had a scheduled meeting that
(02:42):
one of us went to the other one as a
Tennessee resident, had a little booboo when it came.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
To his ID.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
So I got rejected at the White House and the
old Executive Office Building because I showed up for our
meeting right after we finished the show yesterday. And I
don't have a real I've been traveling with my passport.
The state of Tennessee doesn't make your driver's license default
real ID, I don't want to have an eight hour
(03:11):
day spent at the DMV. Also, we have a weird schedule.
We have to be on the air from eleven to
two so Central time where I live in Nashville. So
it's hard for me to commit to anything in the
morning because it might drag into when our show starts.
I got to drive back and then by the time
our show gets done getting to somewhere before the DMV closes,
(03:34):
It's like I have to take a whole day off work.
And I've done it before, but to get passports for
the kids. So anyway, I show Florida. Florida just gives
you real ID.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
I don't know, Tennessee losing some points here, Florida surging
ahead in the red state sweepstakes. I'm just telling you
the truth. So they wouldn't let me in the White House,
can I just say? I straight up asked the Director
of National Intelligence true to vouch for my man Clay
like this felt like leaving him at the velvet rope
(04:04):
at the nightclub.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
I was like, but you're not gonna let my buddy in, and.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
They're just you know, the the Secret Service guys or no,
like this is the you're actually there's a sign when
you go in that says you must have real I
d no exceptions. But Clay, of course, because he's Clay
was I mean, I'm Clay Travis, like you know, we
all had a little we tried, we tried a little
bit of that. We tried a little bit of that.
He's Director of National Intelligence, said they won't let me
(04:29):
in if I don't have proper ideas. I mean, my
argument was, we did just spend all morning at the CIA,
and I didn't need a real ID to get in there.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
But he's trying to evade the rules. You know.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Oh, I was at the CIA all morning. They've heard
it all, Clay, They've heard So I had to leave.
I had to leave a man behind. I don't know
what to say. I had to He was in the trenches,
he was taking grenades, and I had to just run
on the battlefield solo. One positive on this is I,
as I'm standing outside in the hot, baking sun, unable
to be let in because I don't have a real ID, which,
(05:02):
by the way, oh, don't be one of these people.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
The real ID. I'm like, I am, who I am?
Speaker 2 (05:10):
I've had I sound like Sam, I am, I got
the I've got the ID right. The fact that it
has a little star in the corner is that somehow
making the world safer, Like is anybody out there like, hey,
you know that terror attack would have hit, but boy,
I'm glad we have the little star circle in the
corner of.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
The driver's license. This is the most ridiculous thing ever.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So this is not there are rules, yeah, so but
positive trying to be positive. As I'm standing in the
baking sunlight and the pavement standing outside of the White House,
unable to go in. I ran into former NFL kicker
Jay Feely, who had a real ID and was able
to go in for his meetings. But he's going to
be on the show in the second hour. Because I
(05:52):
was like, hey, you just want to come on the show.
So I booked us a guest. While standing in the
hot sunshine pavement with my not real all that sweating
through your dress shirt wis worth it? I just I
think I got you earned it, So we're going have
Jay Feely on. I spoke to Tulsa d and I
Gabbard and her staff again off the record, but I
can just tell you that really good context for us
(06:16):
to understand here about some of the moves that the
administration is doing. This is really while we're here touch
base with Trump's top team and the people who are
making the big decisions. And we've got some other meetings
that are scheduled that will be telling you about. I'm
sure you can have some guesses who. But the point
is we wanted to just have time to speak to everybody.
(06:37):
What are you working on, what's happening, what's going on,
and to do it in a way where they can
just speak freely to us. And you know, look, they
know we're openly avowedly pro Trump administration, want to see
success because really, I truly believe that the success of
the Trump administration is the success of the country and
the American people. But you always get whenever you're in
(06:58):
DC and you can speak to people freely. And again
I said, can we say we've met with you, Yes,
but the contents of the discussions were off the record.
You get much better exchange because people, even if they
trust you, they don't really they don't really trust anything
in this town, so they had to keep some of
(07:18):
that stuff between all of us. With all that in mind,
the President has been talking about this. They had Leyman's
rob that I pronounced that you did that was pretty
thank you, thank you. They had the play going on
at the Kennedy Center last night, and the President was
asked about this Iran conflict and the issues associated with it.
(07:39):
And they've been pulling You know this because when you
were in the CIA, when they start pulling people out
of family members, out of embassies in the Middle East,
there is a sign that things are not going very
well and that there is potentially tension associated with how
things could go. And so the reason why I bring
that up is it's it seems to me Buck that
(08:01):
Israel is ratcheting up the pressure and really wants to attack,
and that they want to go into Iran and that
they want to do it now. And so again there's
reportedly a weekend meeting that is scheduled, But it feels
to me like the Trump administration is basically letting Iran know, hey,
(08:24):
we're not going to continue to protect you from Israel,
and if we are pulling our people out of the
Middle East, that is a sign that they don't necessarily
know how this meeting is going to go, and things
could get a lot worse. I will tell you, I
think the heat is higher right now with Iran and
this it's been I understand, the Iranian nuclear issue has
(08:47):
been playing out for many years, for decades actually, and.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
Now we have.
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Now we have a situation where there's the chance that
something would have and things could get things could ask
very quickly. I am not in favor of a strike
by the Israelis on the Iranian nuclear facilities at this time.
The Trump administration is not in favor of an Israeli
(09:14):
strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities at this time. A
deal would be much better. And I think that there's
just no general feeling among the American people that we
should be drawn into any kind of Midi's conflict right now.
That's really something that we just for most of my
(09:34):
adult life, Clay, we've been fighting wars in the Middle East.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
It's just too much.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
And I showed up in some of these war zones,
did what I could, what little bit I could to help.
But this is something that I think really guides the
Trump foreign policy on this, and this is going to
get There's going to be some tension around this issue
because there are people that really truly believe that the
Iranian regime is so so maniacal, so blood thirsty, that
(10:03):
it would use nukes against israel I. You know, this
is where you're applying the highest, the highest stakes imaginable.
You're talking about this level of war and peace. But
I do think that they're still a realistic and strong
might be too much possibility, but a realistic possibility that
Trump can get this done without without this becoming a
(10:24):
point of conflict.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
When you're talking about evacuating embassies.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
The issue isn't that we would lose for against Iran,
that we'd even necessarily be brought into a war against Iran.
It's the Iranian capability to engage in terror attacks against
US targets all over the world, which they may just
decide to go for effectively, go for broke if those
facilities get hit, because it would destabilize the regime the
(10:48):
Iranian people, something that doesn't get talked about in this country, Clay,
the Iranian people, as much as we're always told they
are very pro Western, they don't like their regime. They
do for the greatness of Iran to be a nuclear power.
This is something that does not get talked about, but
the Iranian people want a lot of them. Now, you
(11:08):
could say, how could you know with the polling? You know,
there are ways that you can assess this stuff. But
there's a national pride component of Iran getting this that
makes it more complicated. It's not quite as clear as
split with the regime on this issue as we would
like it to be. Yeah, and look, I think the
(11:28):
challenge in general, you understand why Iran wants nuclear weapons
because Kim Jong un has them and basically he's preserved
his family's ability to rule North Korea for generations to
come unless somebody internally takes him out.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
I don't think anybody externally. Is why did Ukraine?
Speaker 2 (11:46):
If Ukraine could change one decision they made since the
fall of the Berlin Wall, I bet it would be
not giving up their nukes because do you think Russia
would have invaded Ukraine if Ukraine had kept the nukes.
This is, unfortunately the the takeaway from what happened in Libya,
where the or the Obama and Hillary administration decided that
(12:09):
they were going to engage in this NATO air war
to help militias on the ground overthrow, and then of
course Benghazi happened, and we remember some of this history,
but Kadafi was actually cooperating with the dismantling of and
avoiding WMD programs, and we decided a meaning the US government,
(12:31):
you know what, not good enough, and they went in
and we saw the videos of what happened to Kadafi.
It's it's very hard to commit. And by the way,
I think it's interesting. I wonder how many people before
I just said it now knew that it is. It
is just known that the Iranian people want nukes, like
this is not some thing that I have said that
is a fringe believer theory. But it makes this a
(12:53):
more complicated situation because the Iranian regime has been promising
the secure and you know, we don't really think of
it this way because we're so used to America being
the scientific power. We're so used to thinking of America
as you know, of course we have nukes, and of
course we have you know, satellites and space shuttles and
all this amazing stuff.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
There is a pride in Iran among.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
The people about the achievement, the scientific achievement of being
a nuclear power.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Bither. This was true in Pakistan as well.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
Some people actually point to Pakistan and India as well,
they have nukes and they weren't supposed to it. It's
a now that that gets very contentious because Pakistan and
India are not Iran and aren't doing the thing.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Oh, Pakistan does some pretty bad stuff.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
But this is a moment where I think we're seeing
decisions made on this issue. I don't think Clay, the
decision has been made one way or the other. In
my mind, that's what I that's the atmospheric that I
pick up. But I will say, just talking to people
here in the vicinity of the decision making process in DC,
they're very tense talking about Iran right now. Well, I
(13:56):
think that's one hundred percent true. And remember, the motive,
according to multiple reports, for why Hamas attacked Israel on
October seventh, was that Saudi Arabia was prepared to join
the Abraham Accords. And if Saudi Arabia had joined the
Abraham Accords, then the peace in the Middle East situation
would have been far more likely. And now that Syria
(14:19):
we have in some ways normalized relations with Syria, I
think that Iran is isolated to a degree that may
not have occurred in a generation, and that this is
where Israel believes now is the time to hit them
and keep them from having nukes. Whether the United States
(14:39):
is going to agree with that Israeli perspective remains to
be seen, but I think Israel is quite clearly behind
the scenes advocating as aggressively as possible that now is
the time to go. Yes, well, the problem and I
think the Israeli government I know, Clay, you went and
visited and.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Spoke to high level officials there.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
But one of their concerns is also that without any
fear of any real military direct attack on Iran, does
that then embolden the Iranian regime to push It's what
are essentially imperial and and almost colonizing activities by running
these different proxy militias in places like Lebanon with hezbelah
(15:21):
Uh and the Shia Milicius. Why are we so worried
about Iraq and the US embassy in Iraq, Well, it's
because the most capable military forces on the ground, when
when push comes to shove and and shove comes to shooting,
are Iranian backed and trained proxy militias essentially. So this
is this is a huge challenge, a huge problem that
(15:41):
we face and and I think that this is a
test of the Trump administration's foreign policy and a test
of our relationship with well allies in the Middle East,
Israel first and foremost. So that's absolutely something we'll continue
to follow. We'll also dive deeper into the riots la
all that stuff here in just a moment. But in
the meantime, Israelis have been under attack one a kind
(16:04):
or another for more than a year and a half.
It's when they need friends and support the most, which
is why we're partnered. You mentioned buck my trip over
to Israel in December. It's why we're partnered with the
International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. They're feeding elderly Holocaust
survivors who have no one else. They're building bomb shelters
to protect kids from rocket attacks. They're providing security essentials
(16:27):
to first responders. I have seen all of this with
my own eyes. The IFCJ has risen to this challenge
with your help, and I can tell you that they
are putting your donations to excellent work. We spent time
with the IFCJ team last week in Florida, and they
continue to work hard to stand up for so many
people in need in the Holy Land. When you give
(16:49):
a gift of forty five dollars to the IFCJ, you're
putting faith into action right where it's needed, the boat,
right where it's needed the most. Call eight eight eight
four eight eight IFCJ. You can also visit IFCJ dot
org to bless Israel today with your donation. Again, that's
IFCJ dot org or eight eight eight four eight eight
(17:11):
if CJ.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
You provide an update on Iran.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
We're hearing reports that US personnel are being moved out
of the region within striking distance. Well, they are being
moved out because it could be a dangerous place, and
we'll see what happens. But they are, We've given notice
to move out, and we'll see what happens. Is there
anything that can be done to dial the temperature down
in the REJ.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
They can't have a nuclear new weapon, person, they can't
have a nuclear weapon. We're not going to allow that.
Speaker 2 (17:49):
Iran can't have a nuclear nuclear weapon. That was last
night at the Kennedy Center. Trump responding to reporters, Let's
dive into more of this but the heat is high.
My friends in the Middle East, we'll discuss. Since nine
to eleven, the Tunnel The Towers Foundation has been supporting
America's greatest heroes in their families, Heroes who protect our
communities and our country. Heroes like firefighter James Dickman. He
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(18:11):
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Speaker 1 (18:13):
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The situation escalated and James was not able to escape.
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Page and Grant.
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(18:57):
So we were just discussing before here in our nation's capital, Washington, DC.
Clan and are walking around going down Memory Lane here,
scrolling around the streets of the swamp. It is very warm,
but we're having a good time and we're having some
great conversations. Where at Langley yesterday we're at the old
Executive Office building and a lot going on. We know
(19:17):
that there have been some moves made here with respect
to the Middle East and the movement of US personnel
out of the embassy in Iraq, for example, and other
embassy staffers are on high alert. Plus here's something Clay,
the UN watchdog rules that Iran is breaking the rules
(19:42):
on nuclear activity. And this decision comes as officials say
they believe this is New York Times that Israel is
preparing to launch a military attack. Of course, tay Ran
is condemned, the motes condemned the vote. The International Atomic
Energy Agency has declared today that Iran is not complying
with the nuclear non pool of vration obligations, the first
(20:02):
time the UN i a EA has said that in
twenty years. Clay, So this is the temp is very
high right now on this and there I've never been
a Oh Israel cond struck Israel good strike person. It's
been years and years. This is the first time to
me that this has been something that could that feels imminent.
(20:22):
How much do you think, Yes, I agree with all
of that that you just said, and I think, again,
this is much of what I was told. The Israelis
have been pretty open about their desire to hit Ron,
and I don't think they've hit it at all. There
have been a lot of reports that net Nyahu has
been basically seeking Trump's approval to be.
Speaker 1 (20:44):
Able to do this.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
The Israelis believe that they have access and strong intelligence
on how to cripple the Iranian nuclear interest. Question for you,
and I don't claim to know the answer, and certainly
a lot of you can weigh how there is a
committed part of Trump's base that does not want to
(21:09):
get involved at all in basically Middle East affairs period,
and it's not an insignificant amount of people.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
I think.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
I think the Trump base does not want us there. Right,
There's a difference between wanting US involved and Israel deciding
to do it. So how does this play out? Because
I'll tell you and I understand that that there is
an element out there that disagrees with this.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
I don't.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
I think in general that it is better if Iran
does not have a nuclear.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Weapon than if they do.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I think most people out there listening to us would
not along with that, because what Iran would do potentially
with a nuclear weapon is potentially catastrophic. Now, I also
understand the Iranian perspective, which is, once we have a
nuclear weapon, our leadership is solidified, nobody is going to
(22:05):
mess with us. As we were just talking about earlier
in the in the hour, I think that Trump wants
to allow Israel to strike. I also think he wants
Iran to believe that he's willing to let Israel strike
and is hoping that if that perspective is out there,
it will lead to an agreement. Here's my ultimate question
(22:27):
for you. Do you you worked in the CIA, he
worked on a lot of different issues over the years.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Do you trust.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Iran to comply with any agreement they enter into with us?
Speaker 1 (22:39):
No at all?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Right, So this is and this is always Look, we
just had the IAEA say they're cheating, and the i
e A is not some great friend to Israel. So
this is the reality that they're they're clearly cheating on this,
and we're trying to make strategic calculations about what the
Iranian leadership strategy is. And these people all are you know,
(23:01):
there's always this thing of are The people will say
they're crazy, and yeah, I mean they operate in a
completely different moral framework than we do here in the West.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
With what they think is justified.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
I mean, their hatred of Israel and their hatred of
the Jews is unfortunately a very real thing for the
Iranian leadership, the Iranian regime, and it guides a lot
of and dictates a lot of the decisions that they make.
So so there's a deep immorality there. There's also the
immorality of the oppressive theocracy that their regime inflicts upon
its own people. You do not have freedom, You do
(23:36):
not have you know, any kind of right that we
would think are standard in America.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
They don't have those in Iran.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
So it's hard for us to they would call this
in analysis school the agency mirror imaging, right, it's hard
for us to understand really what their thinking is when
faced with the highest level of decisions on national security.
But the Iranians this has always been the problem, and
this is the problem with the Obama administrations. Iran Deal
(24:04):
is that the Iranians will always find ways to cheat,
and people I think are getting tired of having to
play this game with them. But I think people are
more tired, and I mean specifically Trump voters are more
tired of the Middle East. It's not our problem, you know,
And I'm just I'm vocalizing the feeling that a lot
(24:25):
of them have. I'm not saying that all of you
agree with that or but there are a lot of
people who especially those who fought over there, I think,
and the families of those who fought over there. We
don't want to get dragged into something. Now, if Israel
could strike the facilities and that which they've done, they
did us in Syria, right, I mean they've hit reactors and.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
It goes, oh, Israel took out the reactor.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
Well, you know, everyone wakes up the next day and
goes about their lives pretty much.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
I don't think that that's likely to be the.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Case here because of the centrality of the nuclear program
to the Iranian regime and the Iranian people supporting them
in this.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
But maybe there's a way. Maybe, but it wouldn't be.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
As much blowback as we would foresee, what we don't
want is we have to be deploying US troops in
the Middle East to protect our assets, to protect our people.
And that's where I think this is a very difficult
calculation that is being made here, numerous difficult cut If
you told me that Israel can successfully strike Iran and
(25:22):
effectively end their ability in the next decade or more
to pursue nuclear weapons, I would be in favor of it.
I would, And I understand some of you out there
are going to say, hey, I don't want to do
anything again. This is Israel striking If they could do it,
I would be in favor of it. I actually also
believe that behind the scenes, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar,
(25:49):
maybe even Syria. Now I think there are a lot
of Middle Eastern interest parts of Iraq that would also
support it, not publicly because they can't have be seen
as supporting Israel, but they don't want a stronger Iran
in the Middle East because of the power and what
it does in the Arab States. Everybody who's dealt with
(26:09):
the Iraq issue, who fought over their nose.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
The Sunni Shia thing is a big deal, okay.
Speaker 2 (26:15):
The the schism within the Islamic faith and the way
that that plays out in Mid East politics. I mean
you can see who who is Iran working with and
who are Iran's allies, various Shia proxies. Now, Iran has
also had close relations with Hamas, which is a predominantly
Sunni organization, but generally speaking Hesbulah Shia, right who this Shia.
(26:38):
You can see these these places where the Iranians have
been able to particularly dig in uh we know, put
their put their tentacles to work. That has been very
much along these religious lines. So that means, you know,
the Saudis don't want to have an Iranian Shiah combatants
(26:59):
getting strong on their hands. So yeah, I think you're
right that there'd be a lot of behind the scenes
support for them, and they're not going to say it publicly,
but that they might support it privately, which is part
of what the Trump team is doing.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
Here's the other thing, and you can go look this up.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Iran before the Ayatola, the revolution in the nineteen seventies.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Look, this was a.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
Country that Dixon high heels and miniskirt That's what I'm
talking about. You can go find these videos of Iran,
and I know there's actually probably a decent amount of
people with Persian backgrounds with Iranian backgrounds that are listening
to us right now because they live in the United
States now they may still have family over there. I
think a huge portion of the Iranian population hates the Ayatola,
(27:45):
And if I think there's some calculus here, It's hard
to know exactly how all this plays out, but if
Israel successfully struck the Ayatola, Komeni is what eighty three
or eighty four, I mean, he's very old and at
some point in time whether this is going to remain
effectively a Muslim theocracy after he is gone, those questions
(28:08):
are up in the air. If they don't have nuclear power,
I think it weakens massively the government in a position
right now. They used to have Syria as a proxy,
they used to have Hesbola as a proxy, they used
to have Hamas as a proxy. Israel's perspective on this
is Iran has never been weaker, and if we hit
them now, maybe possibly that destabilizes things enough for the
(28:33):
Ayatola that in the future, as his reign comes to
a close, maybe Iran can go back to something more
like it was in the nineteen seventies before the revolution
sort of brought down the veil of an absence of
human rights and descended Iran into a country.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
Buck They can't even keep the power running.
Speaker 2 (28:55):
I mean they had to start turning power off by
two o'clock in the afternoon. People are fed up with
just the government's ability to actually allow them to have
normal lives. Well, and this is this is where I
think you can see as you work through this. If
the US is not pulled into this, if we don't
have US troops or US personnel that are at immediate
(29:19):
well they're going to be at risk if there's a strike,
But if we can mitigate that risk enough, the downside
of striking these facilities is what. And the downside of
allowing the Iranians to continue to build this capability, which
even the IAEA says they are doing and violation of
agreements that they have signed, is what. And this is
(29:42):
what you have to balance out. For me, it's a
little bit like the way I feel about Ukraine, which
is there's there's decisions, there's there's there's back and forth
on on what the best path forward is. But my guiding,
my uh you know, north star on this if you will,
is I don't want American troops involved, and I don't
(30:03):
want the American people fighting this war. I don't want
them fighting in Ukraine. I don't want this to be
our fight in Ukraine. I don't want this to be
our fighter in the least. If Israel wants to take
this thing on and it's gonna be Israel's fight, that
makes it an easier calculation from my perspective, although none
of these calculations are actually easy, no doubt, and this
(30:24):
is gonna be something I think that plays out in
the next couple of days, whether or not we get
an attack or not.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
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Speaker 1 (31:42):
Welcome back in.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Play Travis buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging
out with us. Rolling through the first hour, we are
scheduled to be joined by Jay Feely, who I met
on the sidewalk outside the White House after I was
not allowed in because I do not have a real
id if that all happened. In case you just got
in your car, yes, and I I just want to
be very clear. I would never leave a man behind.
(32:03):
But when the Secret Service says you have to leave
a man behind, I don't know what else I could do.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
I can't.
Speaker 2 (32:07):
I can't bail in the Director of National Intelligence because
Clay comes from a state that refuses to get the
right kind of IDs.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
In everybody's hands.
Speaker 2 (32:14):
What was the reaction when you told all of these spooks,
all of these high level government intelligence agents, that your
radio show co host couldn't get into the meeting because
he didn't have a real ID. Did they totally accept it? Oh? Yeah,
they said, They said, no, you don't understand because I
was like, guys, can we make Can we make a call?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (32:35):
Can we bring him by the other side of the
velvet rope? You know, could we like slip the bouncer
one hundred dollars bill, Like, what do we have to
do here?
Speaker 1 (32:41):
They're like, oh, no, he's toast.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
There's no they said, tell him to get his passport
or he's not getting into this building. And I was like, okay,
so that is what happened. Yeah, they were sympathetic, but
there was no getting around it. I've got my passport,
so I have it in my jacket pocket now, so
I could theoretically be able to get in. I thought
about maybe just trying to do a flute solo. I
(33:03):
was willing to do whatever it might take less if
that was going to get it done. Shirtless flute solo
out of the hot sun and the DC streets. Clay
was willing to do whatever it takes, but it just
didn't happen unfortunately. I just how much right now? Have
you tried to ever kick a football through the uprights?
Speaker 1 (33:19):
Yeah? Jay Feeley coming? I actually how far do you
think you could do it? Right now?
Speaker 2 (33:23):
If you know you warmed up your hammies and your quads,
you know, if you twenty yards twenty Yeah, I was gonna.
I think I think I could do a twenty yard
It's a fun Again. I don't want anybody to tear
their groin or injure themselves, but there is a fun
chowel is growing, especially you get you get in your forties.
The groin poll yeah, that is not the not the
(33:44):
area you want to be having issues with. But there's
a fun one hundred yard challenge that I that I
used to do back in the day.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Most people can't do it.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Uh. And field goal kicking and or punting is really
the key. But if you start at the goal line
of a football field and you row the football as
far as you can and then wherever the football hits,
not where it lands like you don't get the benefit
of like the twenty yard role or something you go
to where it lands. So for a lot of people,
forty yards or so beyond. If you have a decent arm,
(34:13):
you can throw football forty yards. Some people can throw
it farther, but forty yards decent decent forty to fifty
for most people with a decent arm. Then you punt,
and then you do the field goal. You punt wherever
the ball hits, and then can you make a field goal?
So it's basically a hyeah almost like a triathlon for
foot football. Most people cannot do it, but it is
(34:33):
a fun challenge if you got your kids getting out
of school for summer, or you're listening to us and
you're a guy who's in a somewhat decent shape. It
sounds like a lot of people are listening to it
right now and they're like, oh, I could do that.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
It comes down really to how well you can tell you.
Speaker 2 (34:49):
I can do most sports things at a reasonable level,
and some at like a considerably above average level. But
I would say, Clay, and I mean this in all humility.
I think my football throw is unfortunately equivalent to your
golf swing. How you think you could throw it, not
my foot I can. I never played football grow up.
That was the one sport that you know, we just
(35:10):
didn't play it in New York City. Basketball, soccer, tennis,
you know, different things like that.
Speaker 1 (35:15):
I played.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Even lacrosse in the New York area is really big.
You just don't get that's more than the sub. But
no baseball, Oh, baseball. I played baseball growing up to No.
I can throw a baseball. I'm an American play let's
get real, all right, I can throw I was actually
pretty decent at baseball. I just never liked it that much.
There was like, oh, just like the ball is not
gonna hit you.
Speaker 1 (35:31):
I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
I've seen people get wrecked by that ball. Like I
don't think I want to get hit. But I could
throw a baseball. Do with that, But I cannot throw
in a football. I can do it, but that's that's
something that I need. I need some work on. So
maybe Jay Feeley can give you some tips. I was fifty.
I was a fifty yard guy. I could throw a
football fifty yards. I don't want to sound like Napoleon
Dynamite here. I could throw football fifty yards.
Speaker 1 (35:49):
I think I heard fifty yards play they call him easily.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
Now a forty yard guy, I would one hundred percent.
I can throw football forty yards. Punting and kicking a
football is way harder than people think, for sure. Yeah,
so most people cannot do that. Lasers are out, you
know Einhorn Fink goal with Einhorn by the way, speaking
(36:12):
of busy, we were talking about the schedule and everything else,
running around the fact that I couldn't get in.
Speaker 1 (36:18):
You know what I needed this morning. Crockett Coffee.
Speaker 2 (36:20):
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We've got some.
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Great influencers who are posting amazing content.
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That's right.
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We got our friend Ryan macanany, Kelly Mcanany's sister, she's
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We have Hannah Roperson.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
We are doing the We are doing the Crockett Coffee
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