July 18, 2025 • 51 mins
Not Mad, Just Disappointed
Clay and Buck discuss a Wall Street Journal article that attempts to link President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein via a note allegedly written for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The hosts question the authenticity, relevance, and timing of the story, arguing it lacks journalistic merit and appears to be a politically motivated hit piece. They draw parallels to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings, where trivial high school yearbook entries were used to undermine credibility, and suggest this is another example of media overreach.
The show also covers breaking news that Attorney General Pam Bondi plans to unseal grand jury testimony related to Epstein, following a directive from President Trump. The hosts express skepticism about the potential impact of the release, suggesting it may be more political theater than substantive revelation.
We Can't Miss the Moment
PA Senator Dave McCormick joins the show to talk about the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) and the big takeaways from his Innovation and Energy Summit and the massive $92 billion in AI and energy investments pouring into Pennsylvania. Clay likens the current trajectory of AI to the early days of the internet in the 1990s. The hosts highlight an AI summit in Pennsylvania and the growing presence of Waymo driverless cars in Miami, emphasizing how autonomous technology is reshaping daily life.
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.
Colbert Destroyed Late Night
A cultural critique of late-night television, focusing on the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show. Clay and Buck 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.
Riley Gaines Smokes Clay
The show takes a humorous turn with a spirited debate over Clay Travis’s ability to swim from Alcatraz to the mainland, sparked by Riley Gaines’ successful swim while 31 weeks pregnant. The segment includes playful jabs from fellow radio host Sean Hannity and Gaines, with Clay pledging to complete the swim next year. The conversation touches on cold water endurance, shark fears, and the symbolic nature of Alcatraz, which President Trump is reportedly considering repurposing as a detention facility.
Make sure you never miss a second of the show by subscribing to the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton show podcast wherever you get your podcasts! ihr.fm/3InlkL8
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome everybody to the Klay, Travis and Buck Sexton Show
on this fantastic Friday, July the eighteenth. Can't believe we're
already halfway through the summer. Hope you're having a good one.
A lot of news to get into. Give you a
bit of a roadmap here where we're going today on
the show. Senator McCormick of Pennsylvania will be with us.
(00:21):
Got some very interesting things to talk to him about,
including how AI is going to transform not just the economy,
the world that we live in. And they had this
AI summit in Pennsylvania. I think the best way to
line this up is for those of us who are
I don't know if anyone's not really a believer in
this clay who's paying attention to it, But it's looking
(00:43):
more and more like the Internet circa nineteen ninety six
in terms of the way that this could really transform
business and our day to day lives if this works
the way that it is anticipated that it will, and
that it already is in some ways. So I just
think that it's a fasting discussion. And you know, I've
got the clay, We've got way moo's all over the place,
(01:05):
here now in Miami.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I love them.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I love yet I haven't I'm gonna be a waymo guy,
because you know, I always feel a little guilty. This
will not surprise anybody, but I do not like listening
to loud music. That is especially not the music that
I in general, I don't like loud music.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
So you love that there's no driver and you're completely
alone in your isolated cocoon of movement.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Because I feel a little bit like a jerk getting
into somebody else's car, being.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Like, excuse me, sir, excuse me, can you turn down your.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
You know, I just I don't love that, so I
try not to do it. And so I have learned
a lot about reggaeton and bad Bunny down here in
Miami Beach as a result, because I end up listening
to it every time I get into a car.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
But yes, it is. It is a change that is.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Coming here with Waimo and the driverless vehicles, and that
is just this is one of infinity things that are
going to be changing.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I think sometimes we don't always recognize when the future
is upon us and the Internet, I would say, because
for those of us who remember the dot com bubble,
everything they said about the Internet ended up being true,
but they said it so early and then everything imploded
that a lot of people didn't realize as the Internet
kind of took over all of our lives. That I mean,
(02:23):
I guarantee you there were a lot of people back
in the day who were saying, Oh, the Internet's overrated.
There's no way the Internet's going to change anything about
my life. And then nowadays the Internet is so fundamentally embedded.
Sometimes you do a tech thing. For me, it was
getting in that way more vehicle and I felt like
I was in the future.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
We were talking about the Jetsons.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
The other day.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
When I got in there in that vehicle with my
son and it drove us around like it did, I said,
in the future. And I know people out there get
fired up about this. Uh. I think driving a car
is going to be like riding a horse. I think
it's going to be something that people do for fun.
That is, otherwise most people don't do it. And people
(03:05):
that like say, you know, in eighteen ninety, everybody knew
how to put a horse down, everybody knew how to
feed a horse, like it was the method of propulsion.
There's an intermediary step and my older brother, who's a
car guy, loves he still drives stick shift. He's got
a stick shift car. He loves to get out there
and do the shifting with his You know, I mean
I can kind of do it not well, and I
(03:27):
probably can't really do it. I used to be able
to do it, but he loves it just because he
loves it. It'll be like that driving my driving car
yourself design cars for Ford for thirty years. He loves
in the Detroit area. Loves driving cars. Like if you
told him, Hey, you're going to go on vacation, he'd
be like, I want to drive twelve hours to I'd
be like, oh, that sounds like the worst vacation ever.
(03:47):
He loves it. So I'm not saying people, I think
in a generation this is going to be an example
of something that is profoundly different than life is today.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yes, so we'll talk to him about AI.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I just I want us to be familiar with that
conversation to start to get into this, because I know
it might sound like a little something more you'd hear
on CNBC, which, by the by the way, I didn't
even mean to transition into this, but I will just
noteb CNBC throwing big time shade at the great state
of Tennessee, and I think that Clay is going to
(04:22):
have to defend Tennessee's honor after CNBC. This is this
is madness. I don't know how this could happen. We'll
get to that later. It's a short, shorter conversation. But
CNBC has said that Tennessee, based on their metrics, Okay, Tennessee,
is the worst state in America to live.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I was like, the worst st across the bow. It's
what they to say. Hey, it's not the best. To
call Tennessee the worst place to live in America, as
CNBC did, is virtually impossible. If you want to tell
me it's not top three or top five, I'll listen
to you. But having spent a good amount of time
in Tennessee, in large part because of this show and
Clay's residency there, that is just I mean, I could
(05:06):
name a whole bunch of states that I'd be like anyway,
we can get into that.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
We can get into that later. Some news's let's pile
into some news right now.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
It's a Friday, so we're a little loose for having
some fun we'll take your calls obviously, so light us up.
We love your talkbacks. Hit us up with more talkbacks.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And vip emails as we go.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
A couple of things for the for the news cycle.
One is Attorney General Pam Bondi is saying she's going
to unseal grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein. And
this is following a directive from President Trump. So back
in the news cycle, everybody, we're not choosing to talk
about the Epstein case. It is now a thing that
is happening that is news, uh, And that's just something to.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Be aware of.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I don't think you'll see much in there that matters.
And I think every time I've told you that so
far about something not mattering, it has been accurate.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
But I could be wrong. We'll see.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
And then Trump tweeted this out. I keep saying, tweeted
whatever truth this out. Based on the ridiculous amount of
publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I've asked Attorney General Bondi
to produce any and all permanent grand jury testimony, subject
of court approval. This scam perpetuated by Democrats should and
right now, okay, Clay, that comes out from Trump and
within hours of each other. There's also a Wall Street
(06:17):
journal piece that dropped. This Wall Street Journal piece is
I don't understand what they think. The point of it
really is. It goes into we'll just give you the
summary of it, and Clay as into the details as well,
so filling anything I miss, But it's that Epstein had
a fiftieth birthday a long time ago, and a bunch
of people wrote body notes, you know, locker room talk,
(06:42):
nothing like you know, perverted per se or at least
nothing that they're saying Trump ro was perverted, at least
not that I'm aware of, but you know, writing boobs
on things and stuff like that. And they said that
Trump was part of this like birthday tribute. It was
known that Trump used to hang out at hangout in
(07:02):
Palm Beach with Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein used to hang
out with all the socialites, I believe in Palm Beach
of his era. He was just out with all these people.
He was a rich guy who liked to party. At
that time. There was a time when people didn't realize
that he was a sick pedophile. So you know, you
have to separate these things. Into different. You know, if
(07:22):
somebody told you that they thought that like Bill Cosby
was a great American thirty years ago or twenty years
ago or whatever it is, that would feel a little
different than someone's saying I think Bill Cosby is a
great American today, Right where there's what people know about
somebody's past behavior and what and when they know it.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Clay, what was the point of this Wall Street Journal piece? Why?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Why would they do this? And has kick Trump off
in no small measure which we can get into. But
why did they do this?
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I think there is an attempt and a desire to
directly connect Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. And I think
Trump saw this coming. It's why he has not wanted,
particularly to focus on the Epstein related issues. And I
read the Wall Street Journal piece last night when it
(08:10):
came out. I texted it to you. It doesn't sound
like Trump at all. It doesn't sound like something that
Trump would do. Having said that, I don't know why
it's particularly newsworthy. And I also don't know why it
wouldn't have come out in twenty sixteen or twenty twenty
(08:32):
or twenty twenty four if it was deemed newsworthy. Look,
they accused Trump of having sex with a porn star
and paying to keep it from going public. They put
him on trial for those charges. They accused him of
sexual assault in a changing room. They dropped the Access
(08:53):
Hollywood tape. I don't think there's anything you can say
about trum I'm just being honest about Trump at this
point that is going to cause anyone to change their
opinion about Trump. And so I think this is a
big swing in a miss I actually think and this
is maybe a little bit at counterintuitive, I actually think
(09:14):
it's somewhat beneficial to Trump because it makes him look
like the victim here, meaning it looks so over the
top in the way that you are pursuing him. What like,
even if this it's like the four criminal cases, you
don't have to bring four criminal cases against somebody at
once who's never been charged with a criminal case in
his life, unless you're just doing the kitchen sink routine,
(09:37):
which is what they were doing. Throw everything at him,
even if it's nonsense, and even if it were true,
Let's assume that the way that I like to look
at these things is one of the things they teach
you in law school is analyze when you file a lawsuit,
one of the things you're supposed to do as a
judge is presume everything in the lawsuit is true. And
you have to do that for purposes of summary judgment.
(09:58):
That's taking you a little bit into the legal world.
But presume everything that the Wall Street Journal reported is
one hundred percent true. Why does it matter? Jeffrey Epstein
had a fiftieth birthday party, and people that he knew
at that time before he had ever been charged with
any crime, they decided they wanted to give him a gift,
(10:18):
and that gift was basically a yearbook of joking body
commentary about him at the age of fifty. I mean,
for anybody out there listening open phone lines here, explain
to me why this would be relevant in any way
other than as a way. Because Jeffrey Epstein, we now know,
(10:42):
is a felon, and a awful felon at that right.
He's not somebody who stole some toothpaste or something and
got arrested for it. He's a sexual predator. So being
associated with someone who is negative, you're just trying to
stain that person by saying, oh he knew him, oh
he and so open phone lines eight hundred and two
(11:04):
A two two eight A two. Explain to me why
this would be supremely relevant as a story even if
it were one hundred percent tury. I don't buy that
it is okay. Secondly, what we're supposed to take from it,
I don't want to. I don't know that's what that's
one hundred percent When I'm arguing, like, even if it
were one hundred percent true, how does it in some
(11:25):
way implicate this story in a big way.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
It doesn't further the story at all.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
It feels like a throwaway detail in this because we
already knew and nobody denied that there was and we
had dershowitz on who.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Were talking about was.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Epstein's lawyer and talked about this, and it's also well
known that Epstein got creepy with a member's daughter who
was I believe the story is the daughter was underage,
and Trump was like, dude, you're being a scumbag.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
You're out of here. Yeah, so what so what? What
what are we learning about this? Like that Trump?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
And the other part of this too is you read
this thing that they that they say was a Trump note,
And I'm sorry, I do not believe for one, and
this isn't oh. I love Trump and he's the greatest
American president of my lifetime. Put that in a separate bin.
I'm really trying to be objective. If you ask me,
you know, buck, if you get this right, you get
a million dollars. Did Donald Trump write this? I'd be like, no,
I do not believe Donald Trump wrote some weird like
(12:23):
poetry to Jeffrey Epstein where he referred to him as
an enigma.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I do not believe.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I don't know that Donald Trump frankly knows the word
enigma or could use it. Let me read that to you.
But right before we go to break here, here is
what Trump is alleged to have written, drawing a picture
of a woman. Also, don't really see a naked woman?
And then he said, voiceover, there must This is what
(12:49):
they alleged Trump wrote in the Epstein fiftieth birthday book, voiceover,
there must be more to life than having everything. Donald, Yes,
there is, But I won't tell you what it is, Jeffrey,
nor will I since I also know what it is.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Donald.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
We have certain things in common, Jeffrey, Jeffrey, Yes, we do,
come to think of it, Donald Enigma's never age. Have
you noticed that, Jeffrey. As a matter of fact, it
was clear to me the last time I saw you
Trump a pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday, and
may every day be another wonderful secret. That is what
(13:32):
they allege Trump wrote. They think that Trump made up
an imaginary conversation and sounded in no way like anything
Trump has ever sounded like in any of our lives.
I don't know that it would actually be a good dive.
I don't know that Trump's ever used the word enigma
in any of his speeches or any of his comments.
(13:52):
I don't think it's used appropriately in this sort of
mess up. But I also it doesn't sound like anything
Trump would write. So point one, I don't really understand,
and open phone lines if you can tell me why
this is relevant worthy of front page storyedom in the
Wall Street Journal. Point two, I just don't believe it,
(14:13):
like it sets off the radar detector in me. Of yes,
something just doesn't add up here. I don't think that
it is real. So anyway, that is the latest. I
actually think this helps Trump because again it looks like
his enemies are being more outrageous and outlandish than he
often is life in Israel. Contrast, in Tel Aviv, you
(14:35):
see high rise construction cranes indicating growth, investment, and optimism
for the future, but you also hear sirens giving residents
a ten minute warning of an incoming missile attack. Everyone
relies on an app to find the nearest bomb shelter.
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has been placing
new bomb shelters across the country, along with necessary supplies
(14:56):
for existing bomb shelters. While I was in Israel last December,
we visited an IFCJ donated bombshelter place next to a
falawful business. Your gift to the International Fellowship of Christians
and Jews has helped countless civilians to help protect Israel
and her people. Call eight eight eight four eight eight IFCJ.
That's eight eight eight four eight eight IFCJ. You can
(15:20):
also go online at IFCJ dot org. That's IFCJ dot org.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
Making America great Again isn't just one man, It's many.
The Team forty seven podcast Sundays at noon Eastern in
the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the
iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
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.
And Senator appreciate you joining us. And I know that
you have a good, huge, successful business background, and Buck
(16:04):
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
it in your mind AI and its impact going to
be transformational on a level like the Internet was in
(16:25):
the nineties to the culture in the world. Do you
think more or less? Where are we What do you
think from a business perspective, people should know about AI?
Speaker 4 (16:35):
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 the stakes are
so high because it has huge implications for our economic situation,
our economic opportunity, has huge implications for national security. We
(16:56):
are in a fight. We are in a battle with
China for leadership in artificial intelligence, and if we we
don't win that leadership battle, we're gonna 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
(17:17):
we made on Tuesday with the President 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 we're gonna win, we have to
win in places like Pennsylvania because you have to have
abundant energy. You have to have natural gas, nuclear power,
(17:38):
fossil fuels, all forms of energy. 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
(17:59):
win this over the next decade kind of thing. This
battle is playing out over 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 1 (18:14):
Senator, appreciate you being with us. I've mentioned before that
one of my forays into AI. Was just taking a
standard blood test that I had 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 markers. And it was fascinating.
Not only did it give me incredibly detailed analysis more
(18:36):
so 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 working
(18:57):
for a mid sized company, whether you own a car dealer, ship,
whether you work at a hardware store, you're a truck driver, Like,
what are the ways that out of something like this
you can see the world is going to change and
the ways that 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 to a nuclear war, Like,
what are the things that you see really getting better
(19:20):
and more efficient, more helpful, and more wealth creation going
for people?
Speaker 4 (19:25):
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
(19:45):
of that with infrastructure, data centers, and new energy capabilities.
So at the summon, I guess the one thing that
would probably surprise people the most is the fact that
this boom is going to have huge implicationations for blue
collar jobs. Mike Row was there and he was saying,
this is unbelievable, because what's happening is that there's going
(20:08):
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.
(20:29):
So I think that's one of the maybe the 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?
(20:50):
And it laid out in excruciating detail my positions on
Ukraine and what we should be doing there, and.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
By the way, accurately in your mind when you.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
This was very extremely accurate. It drew on all sorts
of different 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 with Safti
(21:24):
Nadella 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 you know, the twenty percent or
the ten percent that's the highest value. But this is
(21:45):
going 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 unfortunate,
it's inevitable, and the stakes of not being the leader
or supp high.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
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 can you provide?
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Right?
Speaker 3 (22:27):
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
(22:48):
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 4 (23:05):
I really I agree with you one hundred percent, and
I also think you know, listen, this change changes enough.
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 UH, there's there's there's pros, and there's cons However,
(23:28):
it is coming. This is an enormous transformation, and I think, UH,
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
(23:50):
I agree with you it's uh. 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 like it's iron. The
irony is. I think those with you know, unique skills,
h in the in the in the building trades, in
(24:12):
the blue collar world may have a really unique moment.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
You know, Senator, I saw that the that that Google
is working through what is a brook Field two. And
this came up at the AI summit to yeah, to
get access to hydro electric power plants. Right, So, the
the energy needs of this AI revolution.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Are going to be.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
A challenge all on all on its own and all
on their own. And so I'm just wondering if 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,
(24:56):
but everything. We're talking nuclear, all all of the a
ball to try to meet what's going to be power
needs a surge beyond anything we've seen before.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
I mean, I'm 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 and you know,
this was something I had asked the president if he
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 uh in twenty seventeen, he
(25:28):
had made the famous line that I'm more worried about
serving the people of Pittsburgh than the people of Paris
as related to the Paris. Of course, so he comes,
we invite, we invite these CEOs. We have, you know,
a big chunk of the cabinet. There Sar tree Besson,
secretary at Lutnik, Sar try Bergham Sectory, right, Lee Zelden,
David Sachs. Just this unbelievable collection, and the CEO is there.
(25:52):
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, which is
(26:13):
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 infrastructure. Because you've got to have the
(26:33):
data centers, you've got to have the infrastructure, 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
(26:55):
new nuclear reactors six billion dollars. So to 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,
(27:18):
microsoftist did a big deal with Constellation on 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 energy.
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
(27:41):
and that we meet this big surge and create these
great jobs for Pennsylvania's.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
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 wrecking it.
I said on the show this week, as we talked
about the one year anniversary and the implications and significance
that I thought Butler pa that location should become a
(28:10):
national monument of sorts, used as a not only historical location,
but also as a testament to combating political violence. Is
this a crazy idea or do you think idea?
Speaker 4 (28:23):
I love it. I love it, Clay, and I loved.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
It too, Senator. So Clay is getting a lot of
traction here, a lot of the audience.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
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
(28:51):
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,
(29:15):
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 Dally Plaza, thankfully, but why not create
something that is significant there and longed.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
I think it's a great idea. I hadn't thought of it,
but it's a great idea. And 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, who's a Democrat, so correct, we
need to speak out clearly and decisively against political violence,
(29:48):
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 at convertible 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 of the
(30:11):
assassin missed present the president by an inch. And I
love the idea of memorialize 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.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Is he always likes to fuck He certainly has the
confidence for it. I will say, I will.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
I'm not saying everything is brilliant, but I do have
to me this is one that does make sense. Poor
Bock has 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 4 (30:46):
It's a great idea.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Let me run with it. Thank you, Claig, all right,
thank you that. 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.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Aight, a two.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
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Speaker 5 (31:55):
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 podcasts.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
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. We're gonna make
(32:31):
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 couch as men.
Because Trump gives them the vapors to tie that in.
They definitely are offended by my body language about bucks
(32:53):
and women, 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
(33:16):
pretty awesome six months so far from Trump. And it's
not only inside of the Trump 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
(33:38):
people aren't, y'all. 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
(33:59):
happened yesterday in 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,
(34:22):
Stephen Colbert was fired. They're basically ending his show. And
I dove into some of 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
(34:44):
shows cost. 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
(35:08):
be funny. The show had a budget of one hundred
and thirty million dollars. Putting that into sports context, team
looked this up. I believe the Florida Marlins, or the
Miami Marlins as they are known now, the whole baseball
team gets paid sixty seven million dollars. Steven Colbert's TV
(35:30):
show had twice the budget of the entire Miami Marlins
professional baseball player team budget. And Stephen Colbert made fifteen
million dollars on this show. 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
(35:52):
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 know, give
them you want Adam schiff On, if you want somebody
who's really funny. Look, Stephen Colbert had a platform handed
(36:13):
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.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Like we always say here, hey, this is the house
that Rush built. Our mission is to serve you the audience,
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
(36:45):
going to join the ranks of the Trump deranged and
pander to the political proclivities of a bunch of crybabies
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. Uh and the fact that
(37:05):
he was getting paid as much as he did is
an absurdity. And it's just a corporate really a corporate
legacy thing that he was able to seize for himself
to get that kind of a price tag. 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 boosh
(37:28):
for about two months play. And then he realized, wait,
no one actually really cares what I.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Have to say.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
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.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
I was really young, I was a Leno guy. Even
though I grew up in New York, I was a
Leno guy.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
Okay, So I loved the Letterman and I loved a
Letterman even when he was on after for the Late
Late Late or what was it called late Night, which
where you realized 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,
(38:09):
and a smarmy jerk. Oh jerk, oh wow. I really
liked Letterman. But what I will say is, first of all,
most of the time, when you're a kid, you're 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
(38:31):
day by myself. My kids now have a billion different
summer camps that they go to for sports, and they
go to all these different events.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
I was at home.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
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 watched 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
(39:09):
I remember correctly, and then after Jay Wino eventually if
I remember it 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.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
On Colbert, I'm goad, I always like.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
I like Craig Ferguson, I Scottish 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
five years would have been like, you know, the late nineties,
early two thousands, and I thought Craig Ferguson was maybe
(39:46):
that was even later on. I forget when he was on,
but he was pretty funny. And I'm actually I like
Conan too.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Really.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
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 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.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
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 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
(40:33):
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 do movies, they don't always they're not always
box office huge successes. If you do media long enough,
you're probably going to get fired somewhere, or your company's
(40:53):
going to go bankrupt and you're going to 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 Colbert was bombing. He decided to turn
his comedy show into left wing propaganda, and everybody else
(41:14):
followed him. Jimmy Fallon followed him, Jimmy Kimmel followed him.
Gutfeld obviously went a different direction at Fox News, but
the legacy of Colbert is not only that he's getting
canceled now, it's 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,
(41:37):
that was I think a cultural connective tissue. Late at
night people would put on those shows. 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 Gutfeld will continue. And I know a
lot of you probably watched that on Fox News at night.
But I do think it's unfortunate that that in entire
(42:00):
cottage industry is basically going to vanish. I really do,
and I'm going to 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,
(42:23):
and that's the biggest combatant. But I do think if
Colbert hadn't gone left wing political, I don't think his
show would be 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, that's all we had to do. I think
that he chose to selfish an easy route, which was
(42:45):
to just turn his show into the New York Times
editorial page with jokes.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
Yes, which is what it became.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
And it also was really sanctimonious and kind of mean
spirited a lot of the time, and instead of.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Just you know, you can make jokes. Look, Shane gillis.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Who you and I were playing playing some clips from yesterday.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
He's a guy.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
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 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
(43:29):
a little more non aligned.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
That's just my guess. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (43:33):
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
(43:53):
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 3 (44:01):
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.
(44:23):
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
(44:45):
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
(45:08):
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
(45:28):
often great comedy does make people uncomfortable. You shouldn't always
love every joke that's me on the soapbop.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
You know, when Shanon 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 know, you're
just you're you're going down the long, dark pathway of
conservatism because you want to watch History Channel documentaries like
now and that's a gentle joke.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
But I'm just saying, like, you know, that's actually meant
to be funny. I like, I like that joke. I
thought it was pretty funny. It's pttyrue.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
And now all of a sudden, people are like good things,
get comedy, not gonna stun you. But I like a
lot of comedy that others would consider to be edgy
and inappropriate. So come after me for that too, all right.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
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Speaker 5 (47:09):
Stories of freedom, Stories of America, inspirational stories that you unite.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
Us all each day.
Speaker 5 (47:16):
Spend time with Clay and find them on the free
iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (47:23):
I will have you know not all of America is
filled with haters. In fact, this text I just received
from my ten year old, This is nash Unlike the
haters I believe in. You don't give up and practice.
(47:44):
There you go. That's what you want to hear. Everybody
else doesn't have my back. Ten year old, These like
Dad's got this to be fair. This all started when
I took my seventeen year old to Alcatraz. We were
on a visit to San Francisco. Looking at colleges all
over the place. And we were standing there looking at
out across San Francisco Bay, and I said, I think
(48:06):
I can make the swim, and my seventeen year old said, no, no, no, no, Dad,
you would drown. And then we argued about whether or
not I could make the swim. That's legitimately where all
this started. But I've always thought my ten year old
was smarter than my seventeen year old, and he's right.
I would make that swim, and I'm gonna train and
I'm gonna make it happen.
Speaker 2 (48:28):
And now I feel like I need to train and
make it happen.
Speaker 3 (48:30):
So I don't even know how you train for a
swim that long, by the way, like I think, because
I'm a lot. Yeah, but in a pool or you
go to a lake. Is there a I mean, if
you were like I did a half marathon, it was miserable.
It turns out to run a marathon, which is not fun.
You also have to spend a lot of time training
(48:51):
to run the marathon, which is even less fun. But
it's easy right in theory. You know, there's lots of
places you could run long distances. Here's the way running works.
You just start like Forrest Gump, and then at some
point you can just stop, and it's miserable. And my argument,
which always gets the runners angry, is I think running
is for people with really low self esteem because they're like,
(49:14):
I don't know if I can do this. Oh look
how far I ran? I Oprah ran a marathon. I
am more athletic than Oprah. There's no doubt in my
mind that I could run a marathon. The problem with
running a marathon is you have to train for it
for a long time. But there's lots of places you
could train. How do you train to swim like a
mile and a half?
Speaker 2 (49:36):
Do you even?
Speaker 3 (49:37):
I mean, I guess you could do like one hundred
laps in the pool.
Speaker 2 (49:39):
You get in the ocean and you swim.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
But how do you know how far an ocean distance is? Well,
I mean you can, like I'm thinking about in Miami Beach,
for example, you start in front of one hotel basically,
and you swim down to South Point Park or something
and you look at the on the GPS and you
can calculate it.
Speaker 3 (49:59):
But there's tie that is water distance impacted. Like it
feels way more complicated. My my wife This is fun, Copernicus.
We could calculate this, all right, This isn't that bad.
My wife is of the opinion that I would drown.
When we were in the Bahamas, she had me swim
a decent distance and I don't even know if I've
talked about this on the air. She was like, moron,
(50:21):
you are gonna drown. I want you to swim in
the bay all this distance and so I was doing
the backstroke. She had no confidence that I could do it,
and I did it pretty easily. Because again I'm not
saying I'm a great swimmer. I'm just saying, as long
as I didn't drown, I would end up on the shore.
This is the thing that people don't understand, Like, if
(50:43):
you swim long enough, eventually you get to where you
need to go.
Speaker 1 (50:46):
I can do it, all right, Well, there we go.
I like where your head's.
Speaker 2 (50:51):
Out on this one.
Speaker 3 (50:52):
And by the way, this is up on the Sunday hang.
We had some fun with this. Producer Ali said, there's
lots of fun stuff. If you're on the road, go
subscribe to the podcast. Lots of fun Sunday hanging things.
I hate you, Sean Hannity. I also hate you, Riley Gaines,
you're off the Christmas card list.
Speaker 2 (51:09):
I just don't want to be clear.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
Carrie insists that I go and make sure that you
don't drown, and so then Laura can be certain that
I will make sure you don't drown off of Oppidron
Welcome everybody to the Klay, Travis and Buck Sexton Show
on this fantastic Friday, July the eighteenth. Can't believe we're
already halfway through the summer. Hope you're having a good one.
A lot of news to get into. Give you a
bit of a roadmap here where we're going today on
the show. Senator McCormick of Pennsylvania will be with us.
(00:21):
Got some very interesting things to talk to him about,
including how AI is going to transform not just the economy,
the world that we live in. And they had this
AI summit in Pennsylvania. I think the best way to
line this up is for those of us who are
I don't know if anyone's not really a believer in
this clay who's paying attention to it, But it's looking
(00:43):
more and more like the Internet circa nineteen ninety six
in terms of the way that this could really transform
business and our day to day lives if this works
the way that it is anticipated that it will, and
that it already is in some ways. So I just
think that it's a fasting discussion. And you know, I've
got the clay, We've got way moo's all over the place,
(01:05):
here now in Miami.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
I love them.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
I love yet I haven't I'm gonna be a waymo guy,
because you know, I always feel a little guilty. This
will not surprise anybody, but I do not like listening
to loud music. That is especially not the music that
I in general, I don't like loud music.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
So you love that there's no driver and you're completely
alone in your isolated cocoon of movement.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Because I feel a little bit like a jerk getting
into somebody else's car, being.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Like, excuse me, sir, excuse me, can you turn down your.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
You know, I just I don't love that, so I
try not to do it. And so I have learned
a lot about reggaeton and bad Bunny down here in
Miami Beach as a result, because I end up listening
to it every time I get into a car.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
But yes, it is. It is a change that is.
Speaker 1 (01:51):
Coming here with Waimo and the driverless vehicles, and that
is just this is one of infinity things that are
going to be changing.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I think sometimes we don't always recognize when the future
is upon us and the Internet, I would say, because
for those of us who remember the dot com bubble,
everything they said about the Internet ended up being true,
but they said it so early and then everything imploded
that a lot of people didn't realize as the Internet
kind of took over all of our lives. That I mean,
(02:23):
I guarantee you there were a lot of people back
in the day who were saying, Oh, the Internet's overrated.
There's no way the Internet's going to change anything about
my life. And then nowadays the Internet is so fundamentally embedded.
Sometimes you do a tech thing. For me, it was
getting in that way more vehicle and I felt like
I was in the future.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
We were talking about the Jetsons.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
The other day.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
When I got in there in that vehicle with my
son and it drove us around like it did, I said,
in the future. And I know people out there get
fired up about this. Uh. I think driving a car
is going to be like riding a horse. I think
it's going to be something that people do for fun.
That is, otherwise most people don't do it. And people
(03:05):
that like say, you know, in eighteen ninety, everybody knew
how to put a horse down, everybody knew how to
feed a horse, like it was the method of propulsion.
There's an intermediary step and my older brother, who's a
car guy, loves he still drives stick shift. He's got
a stick shift car. He loves to get out there
and do the shifting with his You know, I mean
I can kind of do it not well, and I
(03:27):
probably can't really do it. I used to be able
to do it, but he loves it just because he
loves it. It'll be like that driving my driving car
yourself design cars for Ford for thirty years. He loves
in the Detroit area. Loves driving cars. Like if you
told him, Hey, you're going to go on vacation, he'd
be like, I want to drive twelve hours to I'd
be like, oh, that sounds like the worst vacation ever.
(03:47):
He loves it. So I'm not saying people, I think
in a generation this is going to be an example
of something that is profoundly different than life is today.
Speaker 2 (03:57):
Yes, so we'll talk to him about AI.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I just I want us to be familiar with that
conversation to start to get into this, because I know
it might sound like a little something more you'd hear
on CNBC, which, by the by the way, I didn't
even mean to transition into this, but I will just
noteb CNBC throwing big time shade at the great state
of Tennessee, and I think that Clay is going to
(04:22):
have to defend Tennessee's honor after CNBC. This is this
is madness. I don't know how this could happen. We'll
get to that later. It's a short, shorter conversation. But
CNBC has said that Tennessee, based on their metrics, Okay, Tennessee,
is the worst state in America to live.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
I was like, the worst st across the bow. It's
what they to say. Hey, it's not the best. To
call Tennessee the worst place to live in America, as
CNBC did, is virtually impossible. If you want to tell
me it's not top three or top five, I'll listen
to you. But having spent a good amount of time
in Tennessee, in large part because of this show and
Clay's residency there, that is just I mean, I could
(05:06):
name a whole bunch of states that I'd be like anyway,
we can get into that.
Speaker 2 (05:09):
We can get into that later. Some news's let's pile
into some news right now.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
It's a Friday, so we're a little loose for having
some fun we'll take your calls obviously, so light us up.
We love your talkbacks. Hit us up with more talkbacks.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
And vip emails as we go.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
A couple of things for the for the news cycle.
One is Attorney General Pam Bondi is saying she's going
to unseal grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein. And
this is following a directive from President Trump. So back
in the news cycle, everybody, we're not choosing to talk
about the Epstein case. It is now a thing that
is happening that is news, uh, And that's just something to.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Be aware of.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
I don't think you'll see much in there that matters.
And I think every time I've told you that so
far about something not mattering, it has been accurate.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
But I could be wrong. We'll see.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
And then Trump tweeted this out. I keep saying, tweeted
whatever truth this out. Based on the ridiculous amount of
publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I've asked Attorney General Bondi
to produce any and all permanent grand jury testimony, subject
of court approval. This scam perpetuated by Democrats should and
right now, okay, Clay, that comes out from Trump and
within hours of each other. There's also a Wall Street
(06:17):
journal piece that dropped. This Wall Street Journal piece is
I don't understand what they think. The point of it
really is. It goes into we'll just give you the
summary of it, and Clay as into the details as well,
so filling anything I miss, But it's that Epstein had
a fiftieth birthday a long time ago, and a bunch
of people wrote body notes, you know, locker room talk,
(06:42):
nothing like you know, perverted per se or at least
nothing that they're saying Trump ro was perverted, at least
not that I'm aware of, but you know, writing boobs
on things and stuff like that. And they said that
Trump was part of this like birthday tribute. It was
known that Trump used to hang out at hangout in
(07:02):
Palm Beach with Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein used to hang
out with all the socialites, I believe in Palm Beach
of his era. He was just out with all these people.
He was a rich guy who liked to party. At
that time. There was a time when people didn't realize
that he was a sick pedophile. So you know, you
have to separate these things. Into different. You know, if
(07:22):
somebody told you that they thought that like Bill Cosby
was a great American thirty years ago or twenty years
ago or whatever it is, that would feel a little
different than someone's saying I think Bill Cosby is a
great American today, Right where there's what people know about
somebody's past behavior and what and when they know it.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
Clay, what was the point of this Wall Street Journal piece? Why?
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Why would they do this? And has kick Trump off
in no small measure which we can get into. But
why did they do this?
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I think there is an attempt and a desire to
directly connect Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein. And I think
Trump saw this coming. It's why he has not wanted,
particularly to focus on the Epstein related issues. And I
read the Wall Street Journal piece last night when it
(08:10):
came out. I texted it to you. It doesn't sound
like Trump at all. It doesn't sound like something that
Trump would do. Having said that, I don't know why
it's particularly newsworthy. And I also don't know why it
wouldn't have come out in twenty sixteen or twenty twenty
(08:32):
or twenty twenty four if it was deemed newsworthy. Look,
they accused Trump of having sex with a porn star
and paying to keep it from going public. They put
him on trial for those charges. They accused him of
sexual assault in a changing room. They dropped the Access
(08:53):
Hollywood tape. I don't think there's anything you can say
about trum I'm just being honest about Trump at this
point that is going to cause anyone to change their
opinion about Trump. And so I think this is a
big swing in a miss I actually think and this
is maybe a little bit at counterintuitive, I actually think
(09:14):
it's somewhat beneficial to Trump because it makes him look
like the victim here, meaning it looks so over the
top in the way that you are pursuing him. What like,
even if this it's like the four criminal cases, you
don't have to bring four criminal cases against somebody at
once who's never been charged with a criminal case in
his life, unless you're just doing the kitchen sink routine,
(09:37):
which is what they were doing. Throw everything at him,
even if it's nonsense, and even if it were true,
Let's assume that the way that I like to look
at these things is one of the things they teach
you in law school is analyze when you file a lawsuit,
one of the things you're supposed to do as a
judge is presume everything in the lawsuit is true. And
you have to do that for purposes of summary judgment.
(09:58):
That's taking you a little bit into the legal world.
But presume everything that the Wall Street Journal reported is
one hundred percent true. Why does it matter? Jeffrey Epstein
had a fiftieth birthday party, and people that he knew
at that time before he had ever been charged with
any crime, they decided they wanted to give him a gift,
(10:18):
and that gift was basically a yearbook of joking body
commentary about him at the age of fifty. I mean,
for anybody out there listening open phone lines here, explain
to me why this would be relevant in any way
other than as a way. Because Jeffrey Epstein, we now know,
(10:42):
is a felon, and a awful felon at that right.
He's not somebody who stole some toothpaste or something and
got arrested for it. He's a sexual predator. So being
associated with someone who is negative, you're just trying to
stain that person by saying, oh he knew him, oh
he and so open phone lines eight hundred and two
(11:04):
A two two eight A two. Explain to me why
this would be supremely relevant as a story even if
it were one hundred percent tury. I don't buy that
it is okay. Secondly, what we're supposed to take from it,
I don't want to. I don't know that's what that's
one hundred percent When I'm arguing, like, even if it
were one hundred percent true, how does it in some
(11:25):
way implicate this story in a big way.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
It doesn't further the story at all.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
It feels like a throwaway detail in this because we
already knew and nobody denied that there was and we
had dershowitz on who.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
Were talking about was.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Epstein's lawyer and talked about this, and it's also well
known that Epstein got creepy with a member's daughter who
was I believe the story is the daughter was underage,
and Trump was like, dude, you're being a scumbag.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
You're out of here. Yeah, so what so what? What
what are we learning about this? Like that Trump?
Speaker 1 (12:00):
And the other part of this too is you read
this thing that they that they say was a Trump note,
And I'm sorry, I do not believe for one, and
this isn't oh. I love Trump and he's the greatest
American president of my lifetime. Put that in a separate bin.
I'm really trying to be objective. If you ask me,
you know, buck, if you get this right, you get
a million dollars. Did Donald Trump write this? I'd be like, no,
I do not believe Donald Trump wrote some weird like
(12:23):
poetry to Jeffrey Epstein where he referred to him as
an enigma.
Speaker 2 (12:28):
I do not believe.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
I don't know that Donald Trump frankly knows the word
enigma or could use it. Let me read that to you.
But right before we go to break here, here is
what Trump is alleged to have written, drawing a picture
of a woman. Also, don't really see a naked woman?
And then he said, voiceover, there must This is what
(12:49):
they alleged Trump wrote in the Epstein fiftieth birthday book, voiceover,
there must be more to life than having everything. Donald, Yes,
there is, But I won't tell you what it is, Jeffrey,
nor will I since I also know what it is.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
Donald.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
We have certain things in common, Jeffrey, Jeffrey, Yes, we do,
come to think of it, Donald Enigma's never age. Have
you noticed that, Jeffrey. As a matter of fact, it
was clear to me the last time I saw you
Trump a pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday, and
may every day be another wonderful secret. That is what
(13:32):
they allege Trump wrote. They think that Trump made up
an imaginary conversation and sounded in no way like anything
Trump has ever sounded like in any of our lives.
I don't know that it would actually be a good dive.
I don't know that Trump's ever used the word enigma
in any of his speeches or any of his comments.
(13:52):
I don't think it's used appropriately in this sort of
mess up. But I also it doesn't sound like anything
Trump would write. So point one, I don't really understand,
and open phone lines if you can tell me why
this is relevant worthy of front page storyedom in the
Wall Street Journal. Point two, I just don't believe it,
(14:13):
like it sets off the radar detector in me. Of yes,
something just doesn't add up here. I don't think that
it is real. So anyway, that is the latest. I
actually think this helps Trump because again it looks like
his enemies are being more outrageous and outlandish than he
often is life in Israel. Contrast, in Tel Aviv, you
(14:35):
see high rise construction cranes indicating growth, investment, and optimism
for the future, but you also hear sirens giving residents
a ten minute warning of an incoming missile attack. Everyone
relies on an app to find the nearest bomb shelter.
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has been placing
new bomb shelters across the country, along with necessary supplies
(14:56):
for existing bomb shelters. While I was in Israel last December,
we visited an IFCJ donated bombshelter place next to a
falawful business. Your gift to the International Fellowship of Christians
and Jews has helped countless civilians to help protect Israel
and her people. Call eight eight eight four eight eight IFCJ.
That's eight eight eight four eight eight IFCJ. You can
(15:20):
also go online at IFCJ dot org. That's IFCJ dot org.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
Making America great Again isn't just one man, It's many.
The Team forty seven podcast Sundays at noon Eastern in
the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the
iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
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.
And Senator appreciate you joining us. And I know that
you have a good, huge, successful business background, and Buck
(16:04):
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
it in your mind AI and its impact going to
be transformational on a level like the Internet was in
(16:25):
the nineties to the culture in the world. Do you
think more or less? Where are we What do you
think from a business perspective, people should know about AI?
Speaker 4 (16:35):
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 the stakes are
so high because it has huge implications for our economic situation,
our economic opportunity, has huge implications for national security. We
(16:56):
are in a fight. We are in a battle with
China for leadership in artificial intelligence, and if we we
don't win that leadership battle, we're gonna 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
(17:17):
we made on Tuesday with the President 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 we're gonna win, we have to
win in places like Pennsylvania because you have to have
abundant energy. You have to have natural gas, nuclear power,
(17:38):
fossil fuels, all forms of energy. 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
(17:59):
win this over the next decade kind of thing. This
battle is playing out over 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 1 (18:14):
Senator, appreciate you being with us. I've mentioned before that
one of my forays into AI. Was just taking a
standard blood test that I had 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 markers. And it was fascinating.
Not only did it give me incredibly detailed analysis more
(18:36):
so 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 working
(18:57):
for a mid sized company, whether you own a car dealer, ship,
whether you work at a hardware store, you're a truck driver, Like,
what are the ways that out of something like this
you can see the world is going to change and
the ways that 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 to a nuclear war, Like,
what are the things that you see really getting better
(19:20):
and more efficient, more helpful, and more wealth creation going
for people?
Speaker 4 (19:25):
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
(19:45):
of that with infrastructure, data centers, and new energy capabilities.
So at the summon, I guess the one thing that
would probably surprise people the most is the fact that
this boom is going to have huge implicationations for blue
collar jobs. Mike Row was there and he was saying,
this is unbelievable, because what's happening is that there's going
(20:08):
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.
(20:29):
So I think that's one of the maybe the 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?
(20:50):
And it laid out in excruciating detail my positions on
Ukraine and what we should be doing there, and.
Speaker 3 (20:58):
By the way, accurately in your mind when you.
Speaker 4 (21:02):
This was very extremely accurate. It drew on all sorts
of different 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 with Safti
(21:24):
Nadella 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 you know, the twenty percent or
the ten percent that's the highest value. But this is
(21:45):
going 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 unfortunate,
it's inevitable, and the stakes of not being the leader
or supp high.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
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 can you provide?
Speaker 4 (22:27):
Right?
Speaker 3 (22:27):
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
(22:48):
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 4 (23:05):
I really I agree with you one hundred percent, and
I also think you know, listen, this change changes enough.
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 UH, there's there's there's pros, and there's cons However,
(23:28):
it is coming. This is an enormous transformation, and I think, UH,
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
(23:50):
I agree with you it's uh. 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 like it's iron. The
irony is. I think those with you know, unique skills,
h in the in the in the building trades, in
(24:12):
the blue collar world may have a really unique moment.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
You know, Senator, I saw that the that that Google
is working through what is a brook Field two. And
this came up at the AI summit to yeah, to
get access to hydro electric power plants. Right, So, the
the energy needs of this AI revolution.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Are going to be.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
A challenge all on all on its own and all
on their own. And so I'm just wondering if 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,
(24:56):
but everything. We're talking nuclear, all all of the a
ball to try to meet what's going to be power
needs a surge beyond anything we've seen before.
Speaker 4 (25:06):
I mean, I'm 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 and you know,
this was something I had asked the president if he
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 uh in twenty seventeen, he
(25:28):
had made the famous line that I'm more worried about
serving the people of Pittsburgh than the people of Paris
as related to the Paris. Of course, so he comes,
we invite, we invite these CEOs. We have, you know,
a big chunk of the cabinet. There Sar tree Besson,
secretary at Lutnik, Sar try Bergham Sectory, right, Lee Zelden,
David Sachs. Just this unbelievable collection, and the CEO is there.
(25:52):
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, which is
(26:13):
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 infrastructure. Because you've got to have the
(26:33):
data centers, you've got to have the infrastructure, 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
(26:55):
new nuclear reactors six billion dollars. So to 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,
(27:18):
microsoftist did a big deal with Constellation on 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 energy.
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
(27:41):
and that we meet this big surge and create these
great jobs for Pennsylvania's.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
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 wrecking it.
I said on the show this week, as we talked
about the one year anniversary and the implications and significance
that I thought Butler pa that location should become a
(28:10):
national monument of sorts, used as a not only historical location,
but also as a testament to combating political violence. Is
this a crazy idea or do you think idea?
Speaker 4 (28:23):
I love it. I love it, Clay, and I loved.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
It too, Senator. So Clay is getting a lot of
traction here, a lot of the audience.
Speaker 3 (28:30):
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
(28:51):
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,
(29:15):
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 Dally Plaza, thankfully, but why not create
something that is significant there and longed.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
I think it's a great idea. I hadn't thought of it,
but it's a great idea. And 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, who's a Democrat, so correct, we
need to speak out clearly and decisively against political violence,
(29:48):
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 at convertible 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 of the
(30:11):
assassin missed present the president by an inch. And I
love the idea of memorialize 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.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Is he always likes to fuck He certainly has the
confidence for it. I will say, I will.
Speaker 3 (30:29):
I'm not saying everything is brilliant, but I do have
to me this is one that does make sense. Poor
Bock has 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 4 (30:46):
It's a great idea.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
Let me run with it. Thank you, Claig, all right,
thank you that. 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.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Aight, a two.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
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Speaker 5 (31:55):
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 podcasts.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
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. We're gonna make
(32:31):
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 couch as men.
Because Trump gives them the vapors to tie that in.
They definitely are offended by my body language about bucks
(32:53):
and women, 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
(33:16):
pretty awesome six months so far from Trump. And it's
not only inside of the Trump 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
(33:38):
people aren't, y'all. 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
(33:59):
happened yesterday in 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,
(34:22):
Stephen Colbert was fired. They're basically ending his show. And
I dove into some of 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
(34:44):
shows cost. 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
(35:08):
be funny. The show had a budget of one hundred
and thirty million dollars. Putting that into sports context, team
looked this up. I believe the Florida Marlins, or the
Miami Marlins as they are known now, the whole baseball
team gets paid sixty seven million dollars. Steven Colbert's TV
(35:30):
show had twice the budget of the entire Miami Marlins
professional baseball player team budget. And Stephen Colbert made fifteen
million dollars on this show. 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
(35:52):
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 know, give
them you want Adam schiff On, if you want somebody
who's really funny. Look, Stephen Colbert had a platform handed
(36:13):
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.
Speaker 1 (36:23):
Like we always say here, hey, this is the house
that Rush built. Our mission is to serve you the audience,
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
(36:45):
going to join the ranks of the Trump deranged and
pander to the political proclivities of a bunch of crybabies
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. Uh and the fact that
(37:05):
he was getting paid as much as he did is
an absurdity. And it's just a corporate really a corporate
legacy thing that he was able to seize for himself
to get that kind of a price tag. 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 boosh
(37:28):
for about two months play. And then he realized, wait,
no one actually really cares what I.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
Have to say.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
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.
Speaker 1 (37:43):
I was really young, I was a Leno guy. Even
though I grew up in New York, I was a
Leno guy.
Speaker 3 (37:47):
Okay, So I loved the Letterman and I loved a
Letterman even when he was on after for the Late
Late Late or what was it called late Night, which
where you realized 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,
(38:09):
and a smarmy jerk. Oh jerk, oh wow. I really
liked Letterman. But what I will say is, first of all,
most of the time, when you're a kid, you're 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
(38:31):
day by myself. My kids now have a billion different
summer camps that they go to for sports, and they
go to all these different events.
Speaker 2 (38:44):
I was at home.
Speaker 3 (38:46):
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 watched 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
(39:09):
I remember correctly, and then after Jay Wino eventually if
I remember it 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.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
On Colbert, I'm goad, I always like.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
I like Craig Ferguson, I Scottish 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
five years would have been like, you know, the late nineties,
early two thousands, and I thought Craig Ferguson was maybe
(39:46):
that was even later on. I forget when he was on,
but he was pretty funny. And I'm actually I like
Conan too.
Speaker 2 (39:52):
Really.
Speaker 1 (39:52):
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 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.
Speaker 3 (40:09):
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 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
(40:33):
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 do movies, they don't always they're not always
box office huge successes. If you do media long enough,
you're probably going to get fired somewhere, or your company's
(40:53):
going to go bankrupt and you're going to 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 Colbert was bombing. He decided to turn
his comedy show into left wing propaganda, and everybody else
(41:14):
followed him. Jimmy Fallon followed him, Jimmy Kimmel followed him.
Gutfeld obviously went a different direction at Fox News, but
the legacy of Colbert is not only that he's getting
canceled now, it's 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,
(41:37):
that was I think a cultural connective tissue. Late at
night people would put on those shows. 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 Gutfeld will continue. And I know a
lot of you probably watched that on Fox News at night.
But I do think it's unfortunate that that in entire
(42:00):
cottage industry is basically going to vanish. I really do,
and I'm going to 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,
(42:23):
and that's the biggest combatant. But I do think if
Colbert hadn't gone left wing political, I don't think his
show would be 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, that's all we had to do. I think
that he chose to selfish an easy route, which was
(42:45):
to just turn his show into the New York Times
editorial page with jokes.
Speaker 2 (42:50):
Yes, which is what it became.
Speaker 1 (42:51):
And it also was really sanctimonious and kind of mean
spirited a lot of the time, and instead of.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
Just you know, you can make jokes. Look, Shane gillis.
Speaker 1 (43:01):
Who you and I were playing playing some clips from yesterday.
Speaker 2 (43:06):
He's a guy.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
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 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
(43:29):
a little more non aligned.
Speaker 2 (43:32):
That's just my guess. I don't know.
Speaker 1 (43:33):
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
(43:53):
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 3 (44:01):
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.
(44:23):
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
(44:45):
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
(45:08):
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
(45:28):
often great comedy does make people uncomfortable. You shouldn't always
love every joke that's me on the soapbop.
Speaker 1 (45:36):
You know, when Shanon 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 know, you're
just you're you're going down the long, dark pathway of
conservatism because you want to watch History Channel documentaries like
now and that's a gentle joke.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
But I'm just saying, like, you know, that's actually meant
to be funny. I like, I like that joke. I
thought it was pretty funny. It's pttyrue.
Speaker 3 (46:01):
And now all of a sudden, people are like good things,
get comedy, not gonna stun you. But I like a
lot of comedy that others would consider to be edgy
and inappropriate. So come after me for that too, all right.
Speaker 1 (46:12):
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Speaker 5 (47:09):
Stories of freedom, Stories of America, inspirational stories that you unite.
Speaker 2 (47:14):
Us all each day.
Speaker 5 (47:16):
Spend time with Clay and find them on the free
iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (47:23):
I will have you know not all of America is
filled with haters. In fact, this text I just received
from my ten year old, This is nash Unlike the
haters I believe in. You don't give up and practice.
(47:44):
There you go. That's what you want to hear. Everybody
else doesn't have my back. Ten year old, These like
Dad's got this to be fair. This all started when
I took my seventeen year old to Alcatraz. We were
on a visit to San Francisco. Looking at colleges all
over the place. And we were standing there looking at
out across San Francisco Bay, and I said, I think
(48:06):
I can make the swim, and my seventeen year old said, no, no, no, no, Dad,
you would drown. And then we argued about whether or
not I could make the swim. That's legitimately where all
this started. But I've always thought my ten year old
was smarter than my seventeen year old, and he's right.
I would make that swim, and I'm gonna train and
I'm gonna make it happen.
Speaker 2 (48:28):
And now I feel like I need to train and
make it happen.
Speaker 3 (48:30):
So I don't even know how you train for a
swim that long, by the way, like I think, because
I'm a lot. Yeah, but in a pool or you
go to a lake. Is there a I mean, if
you were like I did a half marathon, it was miserable.
It turns out to run a marathon, which is not fun.
You also have to spend a lot of time training
(48:51):
to run the marathon, which is even less fun. But
it's easy right in theory. You know, there's lots of
places you could run long distances. Here's the way running works.
You just start like Forrest Gump, and then at some
point you can just stop, and it's miserable. And my argument,
which always gets the runners angry, is I think running
is for people with really low self esteem because they're like,
(49:14):
I don't know if I can do this. Oh look
how far I ran? I Oprah ran a marathon. I
am more athletic than Oprah. There's no doubt in my
mind that I could run a marathon. The problem with
running a marathon is you have to train for it
for a long time. But there's lots of places you
could train. How do you train to swim like a
mile and a half?
Speaker 2 (49:36):
Do you even?
Speaker 3 (49:37):
I mean, I guess you could do like one hundred
laps in the pool.
Speaker 2 (49:39):
You get in the ocean and you swim.
Speaker 1 (49:42):
But how do you know how far an ocean distance is? Well,
I mean you can, like I'm thinking about in Miami Beach,
for example, you start in front of one hotel basically,
and you swim down to South Point Park or something
and you look at the on the GPS and you
can calculate it.
Speaker 3 (49:59):
But there's tie that is water distance impacted. Like it
feels way more complicated. My my wife This is fun, Copernicus.
We could calculate this, all right, This isn't that bad.
My wife is of the opinion that I would drown.
When we were in the Bahamas, she had me swim
a decent distance and I don't even know if I've
talked about this on the air. She was like, moron,
(50:21):
you are gonna drown. I want you to swim in
the bay all this distance and so I was doing
the backstroke. She had no confidence that I could do it,
and I did it pretty easily. Because again I'm not
saying I'm a great swimmer. I'm just saying, as long
as I didn't drown, I would end up on the shore.
This is the thing that people don't understand, Like, if
(50:43):
you swim long enough, eventually you get to where you
need to go.
Speaker 1 (50:46):
I can do it, all right, Well, there we go.
I like where your head's.
Speaker 2 (50:51):
Out on this one.
Speaker 3 (50:52):
And by the way, this is up on the Sunday hang.
We had some fun with this. Producer Ali said, there's
lots of fun stuff. If you're on the road, go
subscribe to the podcast. Lots of fun Sunday hanging things.
I hate you, Sean Hannity. I also hate you, Riley Gaines,
you're off the Christmas card list.
Speaker 2 (51:09):
I just don't want to be clear.
Speaker 1 (51:10):
Carrie insists that I go and make sure that you
don't drown, and so then Laura can be certain that
I will make sure you don't drown off of Oppidron
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