July 18, 2025 • 36 mins
Hour 2 of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show delivers a dynamic and wide-ranging conversation centered on the transformative power of artificial intelligence, national energy strategy, political violence, and the cultural collapse of late-night television. The hour opens with Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, who joins Clay and Buck to discuss the AI Energy and Innovation Summit and the massive $92 billion in AI and energy investments pouring into Pennsylvania. McCormick emphasizes that AI is the next industrial revolution, with implications for economic growth, national security, and global leadership, particularly in the U.S. battle with China for AI dominance.
The discussion highlights how AI will reshape the American workforce, creating a surge in demand for blue-collar jobs like welders and electricians while simultaneously disrupting white-collar sectors, including software development. McCormick underscores the need for abundant energy resources—natural gas, nuclear, and fossil fuels—to power AI infrastructure, and he praises Pennsylvania’s unique position as a top energy producer.
The conversation also explores the intersection of AI and healthcare, with real-world examples of AI analyzing medical data more efficiently than traditional methods. The hosts and McCormick reflect on the importance of embracing AI innovation while addressing its risks, including privacy and national security concerns.
Later in the hour, Clay and Buck pivot to a cultural critique of late-night television, focusing on the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show. They argue that Colbert’s shift from comedy to left-wing political commentary alienated audiences and contributed to the broader decline of late-night TV. The hosts contrast this with the rise of comedy podcasts and figures like Shane Gillis, who they praise for delivering edgy, bipartisan humor that avoids the pitfalls of identity politics.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome in our number two Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show.
Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We are
rolling through the Friday edition of the program and we
are joined now by Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania. They
just had a major AI event, Energy and Innovation Summit,
lots of AI money pouring into the state of Pennsylvania.
(00:24):
And Senator appreciate you joining us. And I know that
you have a good, huge, successful business background, and Buck
and I were talking about AI writ large, So before
we have you dive into the Senate and everything else
that you're doing there, I'm just curious, as you look
at this through the lens of a business guy, is
(00:47):
it in your mind AI and its impact going to
be transformational on a level like the Internet was in
the nineties to the culture in the world.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Do you think more or less?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Where are we what you think from a business perspective,
people should know about AI?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Hey, good morning, guys, how are your I guess, good afternoon.
Thanks for having me. Yeah. I think this is the
next great industrial revolution, I think, and and the stakes
are so high because it has huge implications for our
economic situation, our our economic opportunity has huge implications for
national security. We are in a fight. We are in
(01:27):
a battle with China for leadership in artificial intelligence, and
if we don't win that leadership battle, we're going to
have everything at risk, our infrastructure, our data, our very
way of life. It's that it's that significant. And you know,
the case that we made on Tuesday with the President
(01:47):
in Pittsburgh was that the intersection of energy innovation and
AI innovation is where the future lies and that America
has to win it both. And if if we're going
to win, we have to win in places like Pennsylvania
because you have to have abundant energy. You have to
have natural gas, nuclear power, fossil fuels, all forms of energy.
(02:09):
You have to have incredible energy resources. You have to
have incredible skilled workers to be able to build that infrastructure,
and you have to have the most exceptional technology leadership,
like we have a Carnegie Mellon And I guess the
last point I'd make, guys, because this is not a
you know, we got to win this over the next
decade kind of thing. This battle is playing out over
(02:33):
the next six months, twelve months, twenty four to thirty six.
This is something that if we don't continue to have leadership,
we're going to look back and say we missed the moment.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Senator, appreciate you being with us. I've mentioned before that
one of my forays in AI was just taking a
standard blood test that i'd gotten back with all the
different numbers and the rest of it, and loading it
in and saying, tell me everything I need to know
about all my different market And it was fascinating. Not
only did it give me incredibly detailed analysis more so
(03:05):
than even what I had gotten from a pretty long
sit down with my doctor about it, but I could
do follow up questions, get incredible deep dive information in
real time about anything. So to me, that's just one
little test case of how AI. This was all through
an AI system. How AI is going to change things
for people out there right now, whether you're you know
(03:25):
you're working for a mid sized company, whether you own
a car dealership, whether you work at a hardware store,
you're a truck driver. Like, what are the ways that
at a summing like this you can see the world
is going to change and the ways that it will
affect people in their day to day. Let's start with
any of the positives before we worry about skynet, you know,
leading us in a nuclear war. Like, what are the
(03:46):
things that you see really getting better, more efficient, more helpful,
and more wealth creation going for people.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Well, you know, the funny thing about this is that
it's the marriage of this incredible new sinking about algorithms
and data and really taking this unique ability to collate
all this intelligence in artificial intelligence. But it's the marriage
(04:14):
of that with infrastructure, data centers, and new energy capabilities.
So at the summint, I guess the one thing that
would probably surprise people the most is the fact that
this boom is going to have huge implications for boot
collar jobs. Mike Row was there and he was saying,
this is unbelievable, because what's happening is that there's going
(04:37):
to be this huge demand for welders and steam fitters
and pipe fitters and electricians to build out this enormous
infrastructure because AI requires enormous energy, and so energy demand
is going to triple over the next fifteen years, and
that's going to create this enormous opportunity for skilled workers.
(04:58):
So I think that's one of the maybe surprising dimensions
of it. At the same time, it's also going to
put enormous pressure on certain types of white collar jobs.
You know, I just did a couple of AI searches
this morning on my positions, just to see what they
would say. I said, what's Dave McCormick's position on Ukraine?
(05:19):
And it laid out in excruciating detail my positions on
Ukraine and what we should be doing there, and.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
By the way, accurately. In your mind when you.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
This was very extremely accurate. It drew on all sorts
of different it was. You could have written the article.
My point is you could have basically said, if you're
a reporter, you could have asked that question and that
would have been ninety percent of the article. And so
it's going to put pressure on all sorts of white
collar opportunities which are in the software industry. I was
(05:52):
with Saki Nedela not long ago, the SEO of Microsoft,
and I asked him the impact. He said, you know,
teeth eighty percent of the development work that our software
developers used to do can now be done by AI,
which is really good in his mind because that allows
our developers to focus on the twenty percent or the
ten percent that's the highest value. But this is going
(06:14):
to put enormous pressure on certain types of jobs and listen,
this is a new reality. So my view is that
America and Pennsylvania needs to embrace this change and be
at the forefront, be leaders in it, because unfortunately it's
inevitable and the stakes of not being the leader are
so high.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I think what you just said is so interesting there
about the search that you did on your policy on Ukraine.
I have been hammering this for a lot of writers
out there, and I'm sure you've seen this a lot day.
From the background of a business guy, so much of
life is figuring out what added value.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Can you provide?
Speaker 5 (06:56):
Right?
Speaker 1 (06:56):
I mean, in whatever job you do, what can you
do that's better than the average guy or gal that
might be doing your job. One thing that I think
this is going to require of everybody is mediocrity is
going to be replaced quickly by AI. So whether you're
selling cars, or whether you're writing articles, or whatever you
(07:17):
are doing in the larger universe, I would suggest familiarize
yourself with AI because it can take you to a
different level of excellence. But if you're not pursuing excellence
in what you do, you're going to be very replaceable.
Would that be a good contextualization you think business wise?
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I really I agree with you one hundred percent. And
I also think, you know, listen, this change changes. It's hard.
I mean, there's a lot of anxiety out there and
I understand that. And there are genuine and legitimate concerns
about the national security implications of AI, the privacy implication.
So there there is UH, as Buck said, there's a
there's there's there's pros, and there's cons However, it is coming.
(07:58):
This is an enormous mistransformation, and I think we need
to lean into it and recognize that leadership UH, and
controlling our destiny is. We can't put our heads in
the sand and think this isn't happening. Controlling our destiny
as a nation, as a commonwealth in Pennsylvania, and as
individuals is the only way through it. And I agree
(08:20):
with you it's in many ways. AI is going to
ensure and enforce even more of a meritocracy, in the
sense that those who can contribute unique value, I think
are going to be the beneficiaries of it. And as
I said, it's not what it's iron the irony is.
I think those with you know, unique skills in the
in the in the building trades, in the blue collar
(08:42):
world may have a really unique moment.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
You know, Senator, I saw that the that that Google
is working through what is a brook Field too and
this came up at the AI saw it to get
access to hydro electric power plants. Right, So, the the
energy needs of this AI revolution are going to be
a challenge all on all on its own and all
(09:08):
on their own. And so I'm just wondering, do we
have some sense as to one, how much of an
expansion of the of the grid we're going to need.
And then how is the Trump administration trying to align
with the not just the the idea of drill, baby drill,
but everything. We're talking nuclear, all all of the above
(09:29):
to try to meet what's going to be power needs
a surge beyond anything we've seen before.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
I mean, I'm tinking, guys, this this thing was awesome.
I mean, I was so proud, proud to be part
of it, and it was you know, we had we
had sixty major CEOs, twenty companies that made announcements and
you know, this was something I had asked the President
if he'd be willing to do, right right after I
won the election. I said, would you come to Pennsylvania.
You know he had campaigned in twenty seventeen. He made
(09:57):
the famous line that I'm more worried about the people
of Pittsburgh than the people of Paris. As related to
the Paris, of course, so he comes. Wet we invite
these CEOs. We have a big chunk of the cabinet.
There Sartrey Besson sectary of Ludnik Sar Trey Bergham sectary, right,
Lee Zelden, David Sachs. Just this unbelievable collection, and the
(10:20):
CEO is there. Announced ninety two billion dollars of investment.
This is in Some of these things have been working
on for years. Some of these things are are brand new,
out of the blue. Twenty five billion dollar investment by
Blackstone in two major data center campuses in northeastern Pennsylvania.
And if you look at the investments, they split up,
(10:41):
which is instructive to your question about thirty six billion
dollars of data centers. There was another thirty five billion
dollars of energy infrastructure. This is transmission to meet the
needs distribution operations. First Energy made a huge fifteen billion
dollar announcement of investing in energy instructure, because you've got
to have the data centers, you've got to have the infrastructure,
(11:04):
and you've got to have the energy project. So there
was a huge announcements around conversions of coal to natural
gas plants. A Westinghouse directly related to the President's Executive
Order on Nuclear Power, announced commitment to building two or
a ten new nuclear reactors six billion dollars. So to
(11:28):
your question, to make this work, you need investment in data,
you need investment in infrastructure, you need investment in production.
And Pennsylvania is kind of unique because we've got we're
the second largest energy producer in the country, fourth largest
natural gas reserves in the world, huge nuclear installed base.
You know, microsoftist did a big deal with Constellation on
(11:50):
Three Mile Island. Who would have thought. So, you know,
there's no way to meet this energy demand, which is
going to triple in the next fifteen years without embracing
all forms of That doesn't mean subsidizing them. What they've
got to be economic all forms of energy, and then
having the infrastructure to make sure that we keep prices
low for consumers and that we meet this big surge
(12:12):
and create these great jobs for Pennsylvania's.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Last question for you, and you can tell me if
you think I'm crazy. I know you were at Butler Pennsylvania.
We've talked with you as the one year anniversary comes near.
We've talked with you about what that experience was like.
You've heard gunfire before, you immediately recognized it. I said
on the show this week, as we talked about the
one year anniversary and the implications and significance that I
(12:35):
thought Butler Pa that location should become a national monument
of sorts, used as a not only historical location, but
also as a testament to combating political violence.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Is this a crazy idea or do you think the idea?
Speaker 3 (12:52):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
I love it, Clay, and I loved it too, Senator.
So Clay's getting a lot of traction here, a lot
of the audience.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Well can I help you? And you've got a lot
more influence on this, But this is your state. I
don't want that place. And look, I live on the
battlefield of Franklin, Tennessee. You know, I'm a history nerd.
Sometimes history gets paved over and we forget decades one
hundred years later. You're like, man, I wish I could
really see this battlefield or I wish I could experience
(13:20):
the significance of this place as it might have looked
then and understand why it's culturally resonant to me. Butler
can be that not only today, but I think as
the passions of the day fade, for kids and grandkids
out there who want to study the Trump era and
understand how close we came to disaster there. I like
the idea of creating a monument that's opposed to political violence. Thankfully,
(13:43):
it wasn't a side of political violence. We don't have
to be an RFK, MLK or JFK like site, but
so it's not deally Plaza, thankfully, but why not create
something that is significant there and all that.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I think it's a great idea. I hadn't thought of it,
but it's a great idea. I do think memorializing what
happened there, and frankly, you know you've been a strong
voice in this. This is across political parties. You know,
not long ago we had an arson attack on our
governor here in Pennsylvania, wh's a Democrat, so correct, we
need to speak out clearly and decisively against political violence,
(14:17):
and I think memorializing I say that to people, you know,
as you know. I was right there on the stage. Yes,
it's like being next to the limousine when Kennedy was
shot the convertible in in Dallas, Like this is this
is an iconic moment of American history. And thank god,
yes that we missed. The sniper missed the president. The
(14:40):
assassin missed present the president by an inch. And I
love the idea of memorialized that. So that's something maybe
we can talk about offline. But I like that idea, Clay,
And you know you're listen. You're a You're a font
of good ideas. Is he always like to fuck?
Speaker 4 (14:54):
He certainly has the confidence for it, I will say.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
I will.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I'm not saying everything is brilliant, but I do have
to me this is one that does make sense. Poor
bodcast to listen to ideas like this all day. But
Senator you can help make this happen. I'd just like
to see the site preserved. And I do think it's
a it's a worthy idea for generations to come.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
It's a great idea.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Let me run with it.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Thank you, Clay.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
All right, thank you. That's Senator Dave McCormick. Thankful that
he won. Great state of Pennsylvania. We'll come back, we'll
talk more about this and more. Eight hundred and two
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Speaker 2 (16:45):
Okay, guys, body the vapors. I feel like I'm listening
to an episode of the Golden Girls. What's going on, sir,
dude declay?
Speaker 1 (16:54):
I think it's I think it's Golden Girls like eighteen ninety,
not even Golden Girls nineteen eighty.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I would agree with that. CC Rudy from Tampa.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
Hey, I just started listening to you guys a little
while ago. But when I first heard you were going
to take over the show, I thought Clay said that
his broadcast partner was gonna be bucksom and sexy. But
it turns out he was just saying bucks sex toy me.
I just didn't hear it right, Bless your heart.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Maybe I'm sexy, but
hopefully I'm not buckshom. I've been trying to work out
a bit d D Pam from Anchorage.
Speaker 7 (17:34):
Hey, Clay, the fainting couch was a real thing back
in the Victorian era where women wore corsets and they
were drawn so tight they would get light headed and
quite literally faint. So that's the story of the fainting couch.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
That's what happens to me.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
When Clay used a salty language or talks about theobs
it regularly, he gets the vapors that he grabbed his
pearls and he collapses.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
True, all right.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
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He believes.
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(18:36):
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Speaker 1 (18:50):
Welcome back in Clay Travis buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all
of you hanging out with us. We're rolling through the
Friday edition of the program. And I mentioned this off
the top, but I do, and let me just also
mention we had a quick turn there, but I think
the Butler PA Memorial Site, National monument.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
We're gonna make.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
This happen, and it's gonna make some people angry because
they're gonna be like you can imagine what they would say.
They're the kind of people who in modern day, even
without course it's on, would have such low testosterone that
they might need to fall onto fainting couches men because
Trump gives them the vapors to tie that in. They
definitely are offended by my body language about bucks and women,
(19:33):
but in general, I think this is a no brainer.
I also think the amount of winning sometimes gets lost
because there is this expectation. I think in life to
focus oftentimes on what you're not getting as opposed to
what you are getting. And we're getting a pretty awesome
(19:56):
six months so far from Trump. And it's not only
inside of the true world, it's also the larger cultural surroundings.
And I think that's significant because, yes, you all out
there listening to us right now. You know what's going
on in the world politically, you know what's going on
with foreign affairs. You are plugged in. Thank you for
hanging out with us every day. Most people aren't, y'all.
(20:19):
Most people are super busy. They don't really know what's
going on politically, but they are impacted by the larger
cultural universe. Those people are maybe even more impacted by
left wing political thought without recognizing that they're being impacted
by left wing political thought. And I bring that up
because something that I think is significant happened yesterday in
(20:40):
the cultural landscape. And it's connected NPR and PBS taxpayer funding.
After basically forty years of attempting to do it two generations,
Trump did it. The money that you and I give
to the federal government that then is routed to NPR
and PBS taxpayer money is over. Simultaneously, Stephen Colbert was fired.
(21:04):
They're basically ending his show, and I dove into some
of the the economics on this show. I know a
little bit right with the economics of this radio show.
I've obviously done a lot of Fox News, I produce
and help run, and have run digital shows for some
time through OutKick, so I'm aware of what shows cost.
(21:26):
The Colbert Show budget blew my mind. Let me hit
you with a few stats here. Stephen Colbert had two
hundred employees working on his show. They had two hundred
brains trying to make you laugh, and they failed because
he went full on politics. They couldn't remotely be funny.
(21:48):
The show had a budget of one hundred and thirty
million dollars. Putting that into sports context, team looked this up.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I believe the.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Florida Marlins, or the Miami Marlins as they are known now,
the whole baseball team gets paid sixty seven million dollars.
Stephen Colbert's TV show had twice the budget of the
entire Miami Marlins professional baseball player team budget.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
And Stephen Colbert made fifteen million dollars on this show.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
And he's now gone and the show is going to
be canceled in May, and I believe we have some
fun audio of this, the final this is too perfect,
the final guest when the first guest after shounced his show,
exactly who you'd want to have on if you're trying
to entertain people at night before they go to sleep,
and you'll give them you want Adam schiff On, if
(22:46):
you want somebody who's really funny. Look, Stephen Colbert had
a platform handed to him that he didn't build, that
he didn't honor by doing the thing that he first
and foremost should have done, the mission of that role.
Like we always say here, hey, this is the house
that Rush built. Our mission is to serve you the audience,
(23:07):
as best we can every single day and carry on
Rush's legacy. Stephen Colbert's mission should have been, obviously it's
a different platform, different role. His mission should have been
to make the American people laugh and relax, to the
greatest of his ability, all people, just to make people
laugh at night. And instead he decided that he was
going to join the ranks of the Trump deranged and
(23:28):
pander to the political proclivities of a bunch of cry
babies who can't handle that they can't live in reality.
So this was a richly deserved cancelation. Stephen Colbert destroyed
the audience that he was given, and the fact that
he was getting paid as much as he did is
an absurdity. And it's just a corporate really a corporate
(23:49):
legacy thing that he was able to seize for himself
to get that kind of a price tag.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
And now I think we don't have to really hear
much or deal with him. He's not a great stand up.
He's not going to go on to do great things.
He'll probably launch some crappy podcast that will get a
boost for about two months play. And then he realized, wait,
no one actually really cares what I.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Have to say.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
So let me ask you this. Were you, I know
we've talked about this a little bit before. Were you
a late night TV show viewer back in the day,
maybe when I was really young, I was a Leno guy,
even though I grew up in New York, I was
a Leno guy. Okay, So I loved the Letterman, and
I loved the Letterman even when he was on after
for the late Late Late or what was it called
(24:35):
late night, which came where you realized.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
It definitely two different people on the show, thinking about
very things, thinking about things in a very different way.
I always thought Letterman was a total just a total
product of the machine, not funny at all, and a
smarmy jerk jerk. Oh wow, I really liked the Letterman.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
But what I will say is, first of all, most
of the time, when you're a kid not able to
stay up, I loved staying up. I felt like in
the summers, this is a whole different the topic, but
in the summers, basically I was just home all day
by myself.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
My kids now have a.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Billion different summer camps that they go to for sports,
and they go to all these different events.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
I was at home.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
I would read, and I would watch the Chicago Cubs
and Harry Carey on WGN, and then I would watch
like baseball because the Cubs used to play only during
the day, and I would stay up late and I
would watch David Letterman most nights, and he came on
I think at eleven thirty Central Time in Nashville, and
he was after Johnny Carson back in the day, if
(25:48):
I remember correctly, and then after Jay Leno eventually, if
I remember correctly, and then obviously he left and he
went to the Late Show, and this is the show
that's now being canceled that Colbert has followed him on.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Colbert has a legacy. I'm like, god, I always like,
I like Craig Ferguson. I goottish bad. Yeah, I thought
he was. I thought he was funny. I thought he
was and very self effacing. I didn't watch him religiously,
but I remember whenever I would stumble on to him.
I really I'd say I watched Late Night from like
seventh grade maybe through high school, so about four or
(26:19):
five years would have been like, you know, the late nineties,
early two thousands, and I thought Craig Ferguson was uh
maybe that was even later on. I forget when he
was on, but he was pretty funny. And I'm like,
I like Conan too. Really, the only one I don't
like is Letterman and oh no that's not true. And
then the current crop are all garbage, garbage, Okay. I
So if you had told me when I.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Was fourteen or fifteen, hey, you get to have any
job in media, there would have been two jobs in
media that I wanted fourteen or fifteen years old, I
would have wanted to be like late night talk show host,
seems like an incredible job. You're trying to make people laugh,
you're even parts Democrat Republican, you know, ridicule. And the
other one would have been sports center anchor. I would
(27:02):
have the idea that you got to go on talk
about sports. I would have said those were the two
that I would say are the best possible jobs in media.
I think Colbert's legacy is he destroyed late night television
because it's one thing if you fail, right, if Stephen
Colbert had a show and he had failed, that happens, right.
Everybody gets canceled at some point in time. If you
(27:23):
do movies, they don't always they're not always box office
huge successes. If you do media long enough, you're probably
gonna get fired somewhere, or your company's going to go
bankrupt and you're gonna have to find a new job.
Just FYI, that's happened to Buck, That's happened to me,
Like that's life in the media universe. I will say
(27:43):
Colbert was bombing. He decided to turn his comedy show
into left wing propaganda, and everybody else followed him. Jimmy
Fallon followed him, Jimmy Kimmel followed him. Gutfeld obviously went
the different direction at Fox News. But the legacy of
Colbert is not only that he's getting canceled now. It's
(28:06):
that he destroyed late night television once and for all.
Whatever you thought about Letterman Leno back in the day, Conan,
whatever you thought about Johnny Carson, that was I think
a cultural connective tissue.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Late at night. People would put on those shows.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
They would kick back, they would laugh, and they would
get ready for bed, And now it doesn't exist. I
think all these shows are going to get canceled, and
I think they killed themselves. And I think Guttfeld will continue.
And I know a lot of you probably watch that
on Fox News at night. But I do think it's
unfortunate that that entire cottage industry is basically going to vanish.
(28:43):
I really do, and I'm gonna miss it now. People
might say, oh, well, the podcast universe, whether it's Theo Vaughn,
who is a Nashville based guy, or there's all these
different comedy podcasts. Certainly Joe Rogan has an element of this,
and maybe people watch those now that would have watched
late night television, and that's the biggest combatant. But I
(29:05):
do think if Colbert hadn't gone left wing political, I
don't think his show would be keep getting canceled right now.
I think there would have been enough longevity in those
shows that everybody else wouldn't have followed him over the
woke waterfall if all they had to do was make
fun of Democrats and Republicans.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I always had to do.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
I think that he chose to selfish and easy route,
which was to just turn his show into the New
York Times editorial page with jokes, yes, which is what
it became. And and it also was really sanctimonious and
kind of mean spirited a lot of the time, and
instead of just you know, you can make jokes.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Look, Shane gillis.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Who you and I were playing playing some clips from yesterday.
He's a guy I'm not sure he's I wouldn't say
he's conservative. I mean he's he's willing to He says
things sometimes that he plays around. He basically goes after
both sides from what I can see, Like, he'll make
fun of the wokeness, but he'll also take some shots
at the right, but not in a mean way. In
(30:02):
a funny way. And so I'm not as clear. I
think he would probably think of himself almost as like
a Joe Rogan politically, a little more non aligned.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
That's just my guess. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
You might know him better than I do, but he's
not a dogmatically right wing guy. But you get the
sense that his overriding goal is to say things that
have a little edge and make people laugh. That is
what he's actually trying to do. Stephen Colbert, you tune in,
and it was no different than MSNBC. It's just they
(30:32):
would slap a joke on the end of the line,
and that's just that's gross, and it's really an abandonment
of what that show was supposed to be.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
What I would say about Shane Gillis, and this is
my view on comedy to the extent you needed at all,
The most egalitarian fair thing you can do is make
fun of everybody across the board. So what they tried
to do with identity politics would say, Oh, a white
male comic could never make fun of a black woman.
(31:03):
That's the New York magazine headline after Shane Gillis's SP's
is basically, oh, these are unfunny jokes. You can't make
jokes about the WNBA. Why much of the WNBA deserves
to be ridiculed. So, by the way, could the NBA
or the NFL. And what I would say is basically
the South Park doctrine, which is the goal is humor
(31:25):
above everything. If there is gold in those comedic hills,
it should be mined whether the person who's getting made
fun of is white, Black, Asian, Hispanic, gay, straight, rands,
whatever your identity is. If you aren't being made fun of,
then we're applying identity politics to the equation. And identity
(31:47):
politics destroys comedy because it turns it into propaganda, which
is what Stephen Colbert became. And I think that's why
his show failed. And I think it's why a show
like South Park has remained culturally relevant for thirty years,
whatever you think of it, because they're gonna go where
the humor is, even if it makes people uncomfortable. And
(32:08):
often great comedy does make people uncomfortable. You shouldn't always
love every joke.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
That's me on the soap.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
You know, when Shane Gillis says that watching History Channel
documentaries about World War Two is stage one conservative, like
that's funny. Yeah, you know, like like you you know,
you're just you're you're going down the the long dark
pathway of conservatism because you want to watch History Channel
documentaries like no, and that's a gentle joke. But I'm
just saying, like, you know, that's actually meant to be funny.
(32:35):
I I like, I like that joke. I thought it
was pretty funny. It's prety true. And now all of
a sudden, people are like good things. Comedy not gonna
stun you. But I like a lot of comedy that
others would consider to be edgy and inappropriate.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
So come after me for that too, all right.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
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Speaker 6 (33:48):
Stories are freedom stories of America, inspirational stories that you
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find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you
get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
All right, welcome back in here to Clay and Buck.
Great to be with all of you. Want to remind
you is we're heading into the weekend. Summer weekend, you
might have some time either prepping the grill or yard work,
or hanging by the pool, driving around somewhere. The klan
Buck podcast network is fantastic. Download the shows. Well, first
thing gotta to do subscribe, go to the iHeart app
(34:23):
or wherever you get your podcasts. I recommend the iHeart
app though that it's what I use. Get the iHeart app.
Go to the Clayan Buck page. Remember it's not just
this show, but that is also pretty cool. You can
listen to every hour of this show on demand. You've
also got great podcast hosts like Carol Marko, It's Dave Rutherford,
former Navy seal. You got Tutor Dixon. Great great people
in there and they're doing fantastic shows. So go check
(34:46):
them out. Dave in Salt Lake City wants to ask
Clay a question.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Dave, go for it.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
Okay, Red Show guys, you'll get up a thirty or
listening to Rush and I show about five times play.
I know you were part of out Kick when you
were on the Foxing on Saturday college football tap deband brother,
what do you think about Fortnoye.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Well, I think look big noon.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
I'll still be doing SEC football games for those of
you out there that are big college football fans. I've
been on the road for the last four years. I
think the whole time, Buck, you've been with me. In
addition to all this, like I've been on the road
for Fox college Football. I'll still be at some of
the biggest games. I think Big Noon, for those of
(35:33):
you out there that are college football fans, is going
to be a really good show. And I love I
mean literally as you were and we just took this call,
but I was looking at the SEC media predictions on
social media for who's going to win the conference. So
college football is my favorite thing to do. That is
(35:53):
an escape right from the serious things that go on
in life. I know that's true for many of you
out there as well, whatever part of the country you're in.
Buck is great on this because he has pointed out
that I trust college football fans much more than I
do people who are non college football fans, and that's
going to continue. So I think it's going to be
(36:13):
pretty awesome for those of you who are paying attention.
Lots of good additions for Big Noon coming and I
can't wait for college football season to get here, and
I'll be on the road in addition to having a
new book out, I'll be on the road for the
big games in the SEC for Fox. So it should
be should be super cool and Slash OutKick and Slash
Fox News. We come back let's dive into the big
(36:37):
move moves NPR, PBS. Also a little bit more on
the Wall Street Journal, your reactions and more as they
came after Trump.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
This is the Friday edition.
Welcome in our number two Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show.
Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We are
rolling through the Friday edition of the program and we
are joined now by Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania. They
just had a major AI event, Energy and Innovation Summit,
lots of AI money pouring into the state of Pennsylvania.
(00:24):
And Senator appreciate you joining us. And I know that
you have a good, huge, successful business background, and Buck
and I were talking about AI writ large, So before
we have you dive into the Senate and everything else
that you're doing there, I'm just curious, as you look
at this through the lens of a business guy, is
(00:47):
it in your mind AI and its impact going to
be transformational on a level like the Internet was in
the nineties to the culture in the world.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Do you think more or less?
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Where are we what you think from a business perspective,
people should know about AI?
Speaker 3 (01:04):
Hey, good morning, guys, how are your I guess, good afternoon.
Thanks for having me. Yeah. I think this is the
next great industrial revolution, I think, and and the stakes
are so high because it has huge implications for our
economic situation, our our economic opportunity has huge implications for
national security. We are in a fight. We are in
(01:27):
a battle with China for leadership in artificial intelligence, and
if we don't win that leadership battle, we're going to
have everything at risk, our infrastructure, our data, our very
way of life. It's that it's that significant. And you know,
the case that we made on Tuesday with the President
(01:47):
in Pittsburgh was that the intersection of energy innovation and
AI innovation is where the future lies and that America
has to win it both. And if if we're going
to win, we have to win in places like Pennsylvania
because you have to have abundant energy. You have to
have natural gas, nuclear power, fossil fuels, all forms of energy.
(02:09):
You have to have incredible energy resources. You have to
have incredible skilled workers to be able to build that infrastructure,
and you have to have the most exceptional technology leadership,
like we have a Carnegie Mellon And I guess the
last point I'd make, guys, because this is not a
you know, we got to win this over the next
decade kind of thing. This battle is playing out over
(02:33):
the next six months, twelve months, twenty four to thirty six.
This is something that if we don't continue to have leadership,
we're going to look back and say we missed the moment.
Speaker 4 (02:43):
Senator, appreciate you being with us. I've mentioned before that
one of my forays in AI was just taking a
standard blood test that i'd gotten back with all the
different numbers and the rest of it, and loading it
in and saying, tell me everything I need to know
about all my different market And it was fascinating. Not
only did it give me incredibly detailed analysis more so
(03:05):
than even what I had gotten from a pretty long
sit down with my doctor about it, but I could
do follow up questions, get incredible deep dive information in
real time about anything. So to me, that's just one
little test case of how AI. This was all through
an AI system. How AI is going to change things
for people out there right now, whether you're you know
(03:25):
you're working for a mid sized company, whether you own
a car dealership, whether you work at a hardware store,
you're a truck driver. Like, what are the ways that
at a summing like this you can see the world
is going to change and the ways that it will
affect people in their day to day. Let's start with
any of the positives before we worry about skynet, you know,
leading us in a nuclear war. Like, what are the
(03:46):
things that you see really getting better, more efficient, more helpful,
and more wealth creation going for people.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Well, you know, the funny thing about this is that
it's the marriage of this incredible new sinking about algorithms
and data and really taking this unique ability to collate
all this intelligence in artificial intelligence. But it's the marriage
(04:14):
of that with infrastructure, data centers, and new energy capabilities.
So at the summint, I guess the one thing that
would probably surprise people the most is the fact that
this boom is going to have huge implications for boot
collar jobs. Mike Row was there and he was saying,
this is unbelievable, because what's happening is that there's going
(04:37):
to be this huge demand for welders and steam fitters
and pipe fitters and electricians to build out this enormous
infrastructure because AI requires enormous energy, and so energy demand
is going to triple over the next fifteen years, and
that's going to create this enormous opportunity for skilled workers.
(04:58):
So I think that's one of the maybe surprising dimensions
of it. At the same time, it's also going to
put enormous pressure on certain types of white collar jobs.
You know, I just did a couple of AI searches
this morning on my positions, just to see what they
would say. I said, what's Dave McCormick's position on Ukraine?
(05:19):
And it laid out in excruciating detail my positions on
Ukraine and what we should be doing there, and.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
By the way, accurately. In your mind when you.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
This was very extremely accurate. It drew on all sorts
of different it was. You could have written the article.
My point is you could have basically said, if you're
a reporter, you could have asked that question and that
would have been ninety percent of the article. And so
it's going to put pressure on all sorts of white
collar opportunities which are in the software industry. I was
(05:52):
with Saki Nedela not long ago, the SEO of Microsoft,
and I asked him the impact. He said, you know,
teeth eighty percent of the development work that our software
developers used to do can now be done by AI,
which is really good in his mind because that allows
our developers to focus on the twenty percent or the
ten percent that's the highest value. But this is going
(06:14):
to put enormous pressure on certain types of jobs and listen,
this is a new reality. So my view is that
America and Pennsylvania needs to embrace this change and be
at the forefront, be leaders in it, because unfortunately it's
inevitable and the stakes of not being the leader are
so high.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I think what you just said is so interesting there
about the search that you did on your policy on Ukraine.
I have been hammering this for a lot of writers
out there, and I'm sure you've seen this a lot day.
From the background of a business guy, so much of
life is figuring out what added value.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Can you provide?
Speaker 5 (06:56):
Right?
Speaker 1 (06:56):
I mean, in whatever job you do, what can you
do that's better than the average guy or gal that
might be doing your job. One thing that I think
this is going to require of everybody is mediocrity is
going to be replaced quickly by AI. So whether you're
selling cars, or whether you're writing articles, or whatever you
(07:17):
are doing in the larger universe, I would suggest familiarize
yourself with AI because it can take you to a
different level of excellence. But if you're not pursuing excellence
in what you do, you're going to be very replaceable.
Would that be a good contextualization you think business wise?
Speaker 3 (07:34):
I really I agree with you one hundred percent. And
I also think, you know, listen, this change changes. It's hard.
I mean, there's a lot of anxiety out there and
I understand that. And there are genuine and legitimate concerns
about the national security implications of AI, the privacy implication.
So there there is UH, as Buck said, there's a
there's there's there's pros, and there's cons However, it is coming.
(07:58):
This is an enormous mistransformation, and I think we need
to lean into it and recognize that leadership UH, and
controlling our destiny is. We can't put our heads in
the sand and think this isn't happening. Controlling our destiny
as a nation, as a commonwealth in Pennsylvania, and as
individuals is the only way through it. And I agree
(08:20):
with you it's in many ways. AI is going to
ensure and enforce even more of a meritocracy, in the
sense that those who can contribute unique value, I think
are going to be the beneficiaries of it. And as
I said, it's not what it's iron the irony is.
I think those with you know, unique skills in the
in the in the building trades, in the blue collar
(08:42):
world may have a really unique moment.
Speaker 4 (08:45):
You know, Senator, I saw that the that that Google
is working through what is a brook Field too and
this came up at the AI saw it to get
access to hydro electric power plants. Right, So, the the
energy needs of this AI revolution are going to be
a challenge all on all on its own and all
(09:08):
on their own. And so I'm just wondering, do we
have some sense as to one, how much of an
expansion of the of the grid we're going to need.
And then how is the Trump administration trying to align
with the not just the the idea of drill, baby drill,
but everything. We're talking nuclear, all all of the above
(09:29):
to try to meet what's going to be power needs
a surge beyond anything we've seen before.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
I mean, I'm tinking, guys, this this thing was awesome.
I mean, I was so proud, proud to be part
of it, and it was you know, we had we
had sixty major CEOs, twenty companies that made announcements and
you know, this was something I had asked the President
if he'd be willing to do, right right after I
won the election. I said, would you come to Pennsylvania.
You know he had campaigned in twenty seventeen. He made
(09:57):
the famous line that I'm more worried about the people
of Pittsburgh than the people of Paris. As related to
the Paris, of course, so he comes. Wet we invite
these CEOs. We have a big chunk of the cabinet.
There Sartrey Besson sectary of Ludnik Sar Trey Bergham sectary, right,
Lee Zelden, David Sachs. Just this unbelievable collection, and the
(10:20):
CEO is there. Announced ninety two billion dollars of investment.
This is in Some of these things have been working
on for years. Some of these things are are brand new,
out of the blue. Twenty five billion dollar investment by
Blackstone in two major data center campuses in northeastern Pennsylvania.
And if you look at the investments, they split up,
(10:41):
which is instructive to your question about thirty six billion
dollars of data centers. There was another thirty five billion
dollars of energy infrastructure. This is transmission to meet the
needs distribution operations. First Energy made a huge fifteen billion
dollar announcement of investing in energy instructure, because you've got
to have the data centers, you've got to have the infrastructure,
(11:04):
and you've got to have the energy project. So there
was a huge announcements around conversions of coal to natural
gas plants. A Westinghouse directly related to the President's Executive
Order on Nuclear Power, announced commitment to building two or
a ten new nuclear reactors six billion dollars. So to
(11:28):
your question, to make this work, you need investment in data,
you need investment in infrastructure, you need investment in production.
And Pennsylvania is kind of unique because we've got we're
the second largest energy producer in the country, fourth largest
natural gas reserves in the world, huge nuclear installed base.
You know, microsoftist did a big deal with Constellation on
(11:50):
Three Mile Island. Who would have thought. So, you know,
there's no way to meet this energy demand, which is
going to triple in the next fifteen years without embracing
all forms of That doesn't mean subsidizing them. What they've
got to be economic all forms of energy, and then
having the infrastructure to make sure that we keep prices
low for consumers and that we meet this big surge
(12:12):
and create these great jobs for Pennsylvania's.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Last question for you, and you can tell me if
you think I'm crazy. I know you were at Butler Pennsylvania.
We've talked with you as the one year anniversary comes near.
We've talked with you about what that experience was like.
You've heard gunfire before, you immediately recognized it. I said
on the show this week, as we talked about the
one year anniversary and the implications and significance that I
(12:35):
thought Butler Pa that location should become a national monument
of sorts, used as a not only historical location, but
also as a testament to combating political violence.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Is this a crazy idea or do you think the idea?
Speaker 3 (12:52):
I love it.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
I love it, Clay, and I loved it too, Senator.
So Clay's getting a lot of traction here, a lot
of the audience.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Well can I help you? And you've got a lot
more influence on this, But this is your state. I
don't want that place. And look, I live on the
battlefield of Franklin, Tennessee. You know, I'm a history nerd.
Sometimes history gets paved over and we forget decades one
hundred years later. You're like, man, I wish I could
really see this battlefield or I wish I could experience
(13:20):
the significance of this place as it might have looked
then and understand why it's culturally resonant to me. Butler
can be that not only today, but I think as
the passions of the day fade, for kids and grandkids
out there who want to study the Trump era and
understand how close we came to disaster there. I like
the idea of creating a monument that's opposed to political violence. Thankfully,
(13:43):
it wasn't a side of political violence. We don't have
to be an RFK, MLK or JFK like site, but
so it's not deally Plaza, thankfully, but why not create
something that is significant there and all that.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
I think it's a great idea. I hadn't thought of it,
but it's a great idea. I do think memorializing what
happened there, and frankly, you know you've been a strong
voice in this. This is across political parties. You know,
not long ago we had an arson attack on our
governor here in Pennsylvania, wh's a Democrat, so correct, we
need to speak out clearly and decisively against political violence,
(14:17):
and I think memorializing I say that to people, you know,
as you know. I was right there on the stage. Yes,
it's like being next to the limousine when Kennedy was
shot the convertible in in Dallas, Like this is this
is an iconic moment of American history. And thank god,
yes that we missed. The sniper missed the president. The
(14:40):
assassin missed present the president by an inch. And I
love the idea of memorialized that. So that's something maybe
we can talk about offline. But I like that idea, Clay,
And you know you're listen. You're a You're a font
of good ideas. Is he always like to fuck?
Speaker 4 (14:54):
He certainly has the confidence for it, I will say.
Speaker 3 (14:57):
I will.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
I'm not saying everything is brilliant, but I do have
to me this is one that does make sense. Poor
bodcast to listen to ideas like this all day. But
Senator you can help make this happen. I'd just like
to see the site preserved. And I do think it's
a it's a worthy idea for generations to come.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
It's a great idea.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Let me run with it.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
Thank you, Clay.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
All right, thank you. That's Senator Dave McCormick. Thankful that
he won. Great state of Pennsylvania. We'll come back, we'll
talk more about this and more. Eight hundred and two
two eight A two. But I want to tell you
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Speaker 6 (16:24):
Stories are freedom stories of America, inspirational stories that you
unite us all each day, spend time with Clay and
buy find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever
you get your podcast.
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Time into some of these. Here b B.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Brian listening on WTAG radio in what's the play It?
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Okay, guys, body the vapors. I feel like I'm listening
to an episode of the Golden Girls. What's going on, sir,
dude declay?
Speaker 1 (16:54):
I think it's I think it's Golden Girls like eighteen ninety,
not even Golden Girls nineteen eighty.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
I would agree with that. CC Rudy from Tampa.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
Hey, I just started listening to you guys a little
while ago. But when I first heard you were going
to take over the show, I thought Clay said that
his broadcast partner was gonna be bucksom and sexy. But
it turns out he was just saying bucks sex toy me.
I just didn't hear it right, Bless your heart.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Maybe I'm sexy, but
hopefully I'm not buckshom. I've been trying to work out
a bit d D Pam from Anchorage.
Speaker 7 (17:34):
Hey, Clay, the fainting couch was a real thing back
in the Victorian era where women wore corsets and they
were drawn so tight they would get light headed and
quite literally faint. So that's the story of the fainting couch.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
That's what happens to me.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
When Clay used a salty language or talks about theobs
it regularly, he gets the vapors that he grabbed his
pearls and he collapses.
Speaker 2 (18:01):
True, all right.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
According to former presidential advisor Jim Rickards, the same man
who predicted the two thousand and eight crash from twenty
sixteen victory in the twenty twenty pandemic, there's something really
big coming for this country in a great way.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
He believes.
Speaker 4 (18:15):
Rickords that President Trump is about to at leash one
hundred fifty trillion dollars state asset that's been hidden for
over a century. This could trigger an economic boom not
seen in one hundred years and send a small sector
of the market skyrocketing. You need to act quickly to
get in on this. Remember, President Trump moves fast, and
he wants to get as much done in his first
two years as possible, and once this breaks this mainstream news,
(18:36):
the opportunity could vanish forever. So go hear what Jim
Rickards has to say about this. It's exciting stuff. Check
it out at birthright twenty twenty five dot com. That's
birthright twenty twenty five dot com.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
Welcome back in Clay Travis buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all
of you hanging out with us. We're rolling through the
Friday edition of the program. And I mentioned this off
the top, but I do, and let me just also
mention we had a quick turn there, but I think
the Butler PA Memorial Site, National monument.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
We're gonna make.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
This happen, and it's gonna make some people angry because
they're gonna be like you can imagine what they would say.
They're the kind of people who in modern day, even
without course it's on, would have such low testosterone that
they might need to fall onto fainting couches men because
Trump gives them the vapors to tie that in. They
definitely are offended by my body language about bucks and women,
(19:33):
but in general, I think this is a no brainer.
I also think the amount of winning sometimes gets lost
because there is this expectation. I think in life to
focus oftentimes on what you're not getting as opposed to
what you are getting. And we're getting a pretty awesome
(19:56):
six months so far from Trump. And it's not only
inside of the true world, it's also the larger cultural surroundings.
And I think that's significant because, yes, you all out
there listening to us right now. You know what's going
on in the world politically, you know what's going on
with foreign affairs. You are plugged in. Thank you for
hanging out with us every day. Most people aren't, y'all.
(20:19):
Most people are super busy. They don't really know what's
going on politically, but they are impacted by the larger
cultural universe. Those people are maybe even more impacted by
left wing political thought without recognizing that they're being impacted
by left wing political thought. And I bring that up
because something that I think is significant happened yesterday in
(20:40):
the cultural landscape. And it's connected NPR and PBS taxpayer funding.
After basically forty years of attempting to do it two generations,
Trump did it. The money that you and I give
to the federal government that then is routed to NPR
and PBS taxpayer money is over. Simultaneously, Stephen Colbert was fired.
(21:04):
They're basically ending his show, and I dove into some
of the the economics on this show. I know a
little bit right with the economics of this radio show.
I've obviously done a lot of Fox News, I produce
and help run, and have run digital shows for some
time through OutKick, so I'm aware of what shows cost.
(21:26):
The Colbert Show budget blew my mind. Let me hit
you with a few stats here. Stephen Colbert had two
hundred employees working on his show. They had two hundred
brains trying to make you laugh, and they failed because
he went full on politics. They couldn't remotely be funny.
(21:48):
The show had a budget of one hundred and thirty
million dollars. Putting that into sports context, team looked this up.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I believe the.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Florida Marlins, or the Miami Marlins as they are known now,
the whole baseball team gets paid sixty seven million dollars.
Stephen Colbert's TV show had twice the budget of the
entire Miami Marlins professional baseball player team budget.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
And Stephen Colbert made fifteen million dollars on this show.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
And he's now gone and the show is going to
be canceled in May, and I believe we have some
fun audio of this, the final this is too perfect,
the final guest when the first guest after shounced his show,
exactly who you'd want to have on if you're trying
to entertain people at night before they go to sleep,
and you'll give them you want Adam schiff On, if
(22:46):
you want somebody who's really funny. Look, Stephen Colbert had
a platform handed to him that he didn't build, that
he didn't honor by doing the thing that he first
and foremost should have done, the mission of that role.
Like we always say here, hey, this is the house
that Rush built. Our mission is to serve you the audience,
(23:07):
as best we can every single day and carry on
Rush's legacy. Stephen Colbert's mission should have been, obviously it's
a different platform, different role. His mission should have been
to make the American people laugh and relax, to the
greatest of his ability, all people, just to make people
laugh at night. And instead he decided that he was
going to join the ranks of the Trump deranged and
(23:28):
pander to the political proclivities of a bunch of cry
babies who can't handle that they can't live in reality.
So this was a richly deserved cancelation. Stephen Colbert destroyed
the audience that he was given, and the fact that
he was getting paid as much as he did is
an absurdity. And it's just a corporate really a corporate
(23:49):
legacy thing that he was able to seize for himself
to get that kind of a price tag.
Speaker 4 (23:56):
And now I think we don't have to really hear
much or deal with him. He's not a great stand up.
He's not going to go on to do great things.
He'll probably launch some crappy podcast that will get a
boost for about two months play. And then he realized, wait,
no one actually really cares what I.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Have to say.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
So let me ask you this. Were you, I know
we've talked about this a little bit before. Were you
a late night TV show viewer back in the day,
maybe when I was really young, I was a Leno guy,
even though I grew up in New York, I was
a Leno guy. Okay, So I loved the Letterman, and
I loved the Letterman even when he was on after
for the late Late Late or what was it called
(24:35):
late night, which came where you realized.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
It definitely two different people on the show, thinking about
very things, thinking about things in a very different way.
I always thought Letterman was a total just a total
product of the machine, not funny at all, and a
smarmy jerk jerk. Oh wow, I really liked the Letterman.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
But what I will say is, first of all, most
of the time, when you're a kid not able to
stay up, I loved staying up. I felt like in
the summers, this is a whole different the topic, but
in the summers, basically I was just home all day
by myself.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
My kids now have a.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Billion different summer camps that they go to for sports,
and they go to all these different events.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
I was at home.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
I would read, and I would watch the Chicago Cubs
and Harry Carey on WGN, and then I would watch
like baseball because the Cubs used to play only during
the day, and I would stay up late and I
would watch David Letterman most nights, and he came on
I think at eleven thirty Central Time in Nashville, and
he was after Johnny Carson back in the day, if
(25:48):
I remember correctly, and then after Jay Leno eventually, if
I remember correctly, and then obviously he left and he
went to the Late Show, and this is the show
that's now being canceled that Colbert has followed him on.
Speaker 4 (25:58):
Colbert has a legacy. I'm like, god, I always like,
I like Craig Ferguson. I goottish bad. Yeah, I thought
he was. I thought he was funny. I thought he
was and very self effacing. I didn't watch him religiously,
but I remember whenever I would stumble on to him.
I really I'd say I watched Late Night from like
seventh grade maybe through high school, so about four or
(26:19):
five years would have been like, you know, the late nineties,
early two thousands, and I thought Craig Ferguson was uh
maybe that was even later on. I forget when he
was on, but he was pretty funny. And I'm like,
I like Conan too. Really, the only one I don't
like is Letterman and oh no that's not true. And
then the current crop are all garbage, garbage, Okay. I
So if you had told me when I.
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Was fourteen or fifteen, hey, you get to have any
job in media, there would have been two jobs in
media that I wanted fourteen or fifteen years old, I
would have wanted to be like late night talk show host,
seems like an incredible job. You're trying to make people laugh,
you're even parts Democrat Republican, you know, ridicule. And the
other one would have been sports center anchor. I would
(27:02):
have the idea that you got to go on talk
about sports. I would have said those were the two
that I would say are the best possible jobs in media.
I think Colbert's legacy is he destroyed late night television
because it's one thing if you fail, right, if Stephen
Colbert had a show and he had failed, that happens, right.
Everybody gets canceled at some point in time. If you
(27:23):
do movies, they don't always they're not always box office
huge successes. If you do media long enough, you're probably
gonna get fired somewhere, or your company's going to go
bankrupt and you're gonna have to find a new job.
Just FYI, that's happened to Buck, That's happened to me,
Like that's life in the media universe. I will say
(27:43):
Colbert was bombing. He decided to turn his comedy show
into left wing propaganda, and everybody else followed him. Jimmy
Fallon followed him, Jimmy Kimmel followed him. Gutfeld obviously went
the different direction at Fox News. But the legacy of
Colbert is not only that he's getting canceled now. It's
(28:06):
that he destroyed late night television once and for all.
Whatever you thought about Letterman Leno back in the day, Conan,
whatever you thought about Johnny Carson, that was I think
a cultural connective tissue.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Late at night. People would put on those shows.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
They would kick back, they would laugh, and they would
get ready for bed, And now it doesn't exist. I
think all these shows are going to get canceled, and
I think they killed themselves. And I think Guttfeld will continue.
And I know a lot of you probably watch that
on Fox News at night. But I do think it's
unfortunate that that entire cottage industry is basically going to vanish.
(28:43):
I really do, and I'm gonna miss it now. People
might say, oh, well, the podcast universe, whether it's Theo Vaughn,
who is a Nashville based guy, or there's all these
different comedy podcasts. Certainly Joe Rogan has an element of this,
and maybe people watch those now that would have watched
late night television, and that's the biggest combatant. But I
(29:05):
do think if Colbert hadn't gone left wing political, I
don't think his show would be keep getting canceled right now.
I think there would have been enough longevity in those
shows that everybody else wouldn't have followed him over the
woke waterfall if all they had to do was make
fun of Democrats and Republicans.
Speaker 2 (29:20):
I always had to do.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
I think that he chose to selfish and easy route,
which was to just turn his show into the New
York Times editorial page with jokes, yes, which is what
it became. And and it also was really sanctimonious and
kind of mean spirited a lot of the time, and
instead of just you know, you can make jokes.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Look, Shane gillis.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Who you and I were playing playing some clips from yesterday.
He's a guy I'm not sure he's I wouldn't say
he's conservative. I mean he's he's willing to He says
things sometimes that he plays around. He basically goes after
both sides from what I can see, Like, he'll make
fun of the wokeness, but he'll also take some shots
at the right, but not in a mean way. In
(30:02):
a funny way. And so I'm not as clear. I
think he would probably think of himself almost as like
a Joe Rogan politically, a little more non aligned.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
That's just my guess. I don't know.
Speaker 4 (30:12):
You might know him better than I do, but he's
not a dogmatically right wing guy. But you get the
sense that his overriding goal is to say things that
have a little edge and make people laugh. That is
what he's actually trying to do. Stephen Colbert, you tune in,
and it was no different than MSNBC. It's just they
(30:32):
would slap a joke on the end of the line,
and that's just that's gross, and it's really an abandonment
of what that show was supposed to be.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
What I would say about Shane Gillis, and this is
my view on comedy to the extent you needed at all,
The most egalitarian fair thing you can do is make
fun of everybody across the board. So what they tried
to do with identity politics would say, Oh, a white
male comic could never make fun of a black woman.
(31:03):
That's the New York magazine headline after Shane Gillis's SP's
is basically, oh, these are unfunny jokes. You can't make
jokes about the WNBA. Why much of the WNBA deserves
to be ridiculed. So, by the way, could the NBA
or the NFL. And what I would say is basically
the South Park doctrine, which is the goal is humor
(31:25):
above everything. If there is gold in those comedic hills,
it should be mined whether the person who's getting made
fun of is white, Black, Asian, Hispanic, gay, straight, rands,
whatever your identity is. If you aren't being made fun of,
then we're applying identity politics to the equation. And identity
(31:47):
politics destroys comedy because it turns it into propaganda, which
is what Stephen Colbert became. And I think that's why
his show failed. And I think it's why a show
like South Park has remained culturally relevant for thirty years,
whatever you think of it, because they're gonna go where
the humor is, even if it makes people uncomfortable. And
(32:08):
often great comedy does make people uncomfortable. You shouldn't always
love every joke.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
That's me on the soap.
Speaker 4 (32:15):
You know, when Shane Gillis says that watching History Channel
documentaries about World War Two is stage one conservative, like
that's funny. Yeah, you know, like like you you know,
you're just you're you're going down the the long dark
pathway of conservatism because you want to watch History Channel
documentaries like no, and that's a gentle joke. But I'm
just saying, like, you know, that's actually meant to be funny.
(32:35):
I I like, I like that joke. I thought it
was pretty funny. It's prety true. And now all of
a sudden, people are like good things. Comedy not gonna
stun you. But I like a lot of comedy that
others would consider to be edgy and inappropriate.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
So come after me for that too, all right.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
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get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
All right, welcome back in here to Clay and Buck.
Great to be with all of you. Want to remind
you is we're heading into the weekend. Summer weekend, you
might have some time either prepping the grill or yard work,
or hanging by the pool, driving around somewhere. The klan
Buck podcast network is fantastic. Download the shows. Well, first
thing gotta to do subscribe, go to the iHeart app
(34:23):
or wherever you get your podcasts. I recommend the iHeart
app though that it's what I use. Get the iHeart app.
Go to the Clayan Buck page. Remember it's not just
this show, but that is also pretty cool. You can
listen to every hour of this show on demand. You've
also got great podcast hosts like Carol Marko, It's Dave Rutherford,
former Navy seal. You got Tutor Dixon. Great great people
in there and they're doing fantastic shows. So go check
(34:46):
them out. Dave in Salt Lake City wants to ask
Clay a question.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Dave, go for it.
Speaker 3 (34:52):
Okay, Red Show guys, you'll get up a thirty or
listening to Rush and I show about five times play.
I know you were part of out Kick when you
were on the Foxing on Saturday college football tap deband brother,
what do you think about Fortnoye.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Well, I think look big noon.
Speaker 1 (35:12):
I'll still be doing SEC football games for those of
you out there that are big college football fans. I've
been on the road for the last four years. I
think the whole time, Buck, you've been with me. In
addition to all this, like I've been on the road
for Fox college Football. I'll still be at some of
the biggest games. I think Big Noon, for those of
(35:33):
you out there that are college football fans, is going
to be a really good show. And I love I
mean literally as you were and we just took this call,
but I was looking at the SEC media predictions on
social media for who's going to win the conference. So
college football is my favorite thing to do. That is
(35:53):
an escape right from the serious things that go on
in life. I know that's true for many of you
out there as well, whatever part of the country you're in.
Buck is great on this because he has pointed out
that I trust college football fans much more than I
do people who are non college football fans, and that's
going to continue. So I think it's going to be
(36:13):
pretty awesome for those of you who are paying attention.
Lots of good additions for Big Noon coming and I
can't wait for college football season to get here, and
I'll be on the road in addition to having a
new book out, I'll be on the road for the
big games in the SEC for Fox. So it should
be should be super cool and Slash OutKick and Slash
Fox News. We come back let's dive into the big
(36:37):
move moves NPR, PBS. Also a little bit more on
the Wall Street Journal, your reactions and more as they
came after Trump.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
This is the Friday edition.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show News
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Clay Travis
Buck Sexton
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