Strategic Stability: The Week In Review

We track the week’s biggest stories and ask what actually changed once the cameras turned off, from Trump’s Beijing trip to Europe’s growing frustration and NATO’s mounting bills. We also call out how quickly the media moves on when the facts get complicated, then end with a few viral moments that show how narratives get made in real time. 
• Trump’s China visit as slow diplomacy and relationship building 
• Taiwan as the central leverage point and the risk of shifting arms policy 
• Iran and the Strait of Hormuz as shared global economic pressure 
• Britain’s Unite the Kingdom march and the backlash to immigration and speech limits 
• US troop reductions in Europe and using leverage to enforce NATO spending 
• GOP primary “infighting” versus voter alignment shown through endorsements 
• Democrats keeping the 2024 loss autopsy internal and why it matters 
• San Diego mosque shooting details and why the story disappears fast 
• Swatch collaboration chaos as a snapshot of resale culture and crowd behavior 
• Texas building the first detransition clinic with medical and psychological care 
If you feel like dropping a comment in the the show show, that would be nice too. 

Transcript

Summer Check In And Absences

SPEAKER_03 0:24

This is the elsewhere.

SPEAKER_08 0:29

Well, hello there, my friend. How are you tonight?

SPEAKER_04 0:32

I'm good. Back home, back in the cooler weather from my trip last week. And enjoying a Midwest summer.

SPEAKER_08 0:41

Yeah. Are you uh you experience a little bit of a heat wave where you are, or no? It's perfect.

SPEAKER_04 0:47

It's 60 degrees today. It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_08 0:49

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we're um high 80s. Yep. In my uh neck of the woods here. I feel I feel like I'm back. I feel like I'm in Florida, which I will be next week. So here's Clay's, here's Clay's notice. Hey guys, hey Clay, by the way, I'll be gone next week.

SPEAKER_04 1:06

Thanks for letting me know.

SPEAKER_08 1:08

Listen, this is probably the best I've done, right? Like a full week's notice I give you. Usually poor Clay finds out like the day of or the day before. And I'm like, oh hey, by the way, I'm I'm not around. I'm out of the box. It's on you. You're gonna carry the whole thing by yourself. And Clay, ever, ever the good sport is like, okay, all right, no problem. And you do you do a kick-ass job every single time. Every time I'm I'm kicking myself as I as I watch your show, and I'm like, oh, I would have loved to talk about that. Oh, that would have been so fun. Oh, that's such a good topic. I have uh what do they call that? FOMO.

SPEAKER_04 1:53

FOMO, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:57

It's okay. I love that I can leave it in good hands and uh you'll do a great job of it. So always appreciated. And of course, I'm patting myself on the back for you know giving you vaguely sort of good notice.

SPEAKER_04 2:10

One of these days I'm gonna pay you back and I'm gonna have you do it, but I'm not gonna tell you until the day before.

SPEAKER_08 2:15

I know I will be unlike you, I will be um traumatized. I will, I will like, I was thinking about this the other day, and I was like, you know what? If Clay does this, what I do to him is like, hey, I'm I'm out for the week. I'm like, I'm so not used to sitting here for an hour basically and talking to myself. I'm like, I haven't done it in ages. Like I do, you know, I do all of my my little stuff. I do my my little skits and my little commentaries, and you know, but that two minutes is a big difference, you know, from an hour. So to sit for an hour, I don't know. I don't, I guess, I don't know if I have the skill set anymore. I don't listen, I'm not even saying that I had the skill set, but you know, let's because I know somebody, somebody will jump in there like, who said you ever had the skill? That's actually enough to get me to to want to do it, just a a side side show there, like just talk about nothing for one hour straight for that one guy that's gonna jump in with that snarky comment.

SPEAKER_04 3:21

Play pulls up his calendar to find out when that's gonna be.

SPEAKER_08 3:24

Yeah, yep. Oh my goodness. All right,

Trump Lands In Beijing

SPEAKER_08 3:30

so listen, guys, we have uh a bunch of really great topics for you, as always. The new cycle never disappoints us. So we'll let's I mean we got a bunch of them, so we're gonna jump right in. Um, right off the bat, deals over drama. Trump uh touches down in Beijing, or touched down in Beijing for the first, and I don't think I really realized this because I really wasn't paying that much attention. I know, shame on me. Uh, touched down in Beijing for the first U.S. presidential visit to China since 2017. That's a that's a long time. That's a while. Three days of handshakes with uh the with uh Z. No, how do you how do you pronounce it? I always say it wrong.

SPEAKER_04 4:11

I think it's Z.

SPEAKER_08 4:13

Z, yeah. I always do that too. Some big talk on trade, agriculture buys, and chats about Iran, of course, and Taiwan. Trump, of course, calls it a historic win for American farmers and workers. Uh China agreed to hefty US uh AG purchases. Critics, of course, on the left say that the results are thin, uh, that there was no breakthroughs on the big stuff, according to them. And right-leaning voices are split. What a surprise. This is like the um, you know, this is the norm right now that the the right is split right down the middle. Um, but some cheer the art of the deal and others worry that we got played on Taiwan. So um let's figure it out together. What are your what are your thoughts, Clay?

SPEAKER_04 5:06

So this was uh, by the way, it's Wednesday. It's uh approximately 5 p.m. on the eastern shore. And uh this was happening last week uh when we were recording. So we really didn't have anything to report on on uh other than the fact that he was landing. Uh of course they spent, you know, he brought a huge delegation with him, not only I I think almost the entire cabinet, but also uh a number of business leaders, CEOs, etc. Elon was with him among others. And so, you know, they did, I don't know if you watched the uh little bit ceremony, the the pomp and circumstance that came along with it. Um you know, it's uh very ceremonial. They're very obviously centuries-old culture with tons of traditions that he collectively honored as we should. Uh and so yeah, the the probably the biggest takeaways from it were discussions about Taiwan, which is the biggest sticking point between the two nations. Sure. Um, you know, there has been this back and forth over the last, you know, 20 odd years of what will the US do if China decides to take Taiwan? Will we step in? To what degree? You know, what will we do to prevent it? You know, and all of those kinds of things. And and basically the the big takeaway from that particular topic is that President Trump didn't talk about Taiwan at all during the trip. He waited until he got on the plane, and then when reporters asked, he said, hey, listen, this is a big deal to Xi Jinping, and and you know, we're planning an arms deal to Taiwan, and you know, China has basically during the visit said outwardly this could lead to open contention between the United States and China. So the president is now rethink President Trump is now rethinking the potential arms deal to Taiwan, which I think would be a pretty significant shift in US you know posture support uh for Taiwan. So we'll have to see how that one plays out. But the theme in all of this, in all these four or five points that I'm gonna talk about, is that you know the Chinese, very much like you know, Islamic culture is centuries old, right? They have endless patience. They have they have been this is their lifestyle, this is their culture. You know, like you said, there's a lot of people, critics that are saying, Oh, did we get played? Oh, results were thin, oh, we didn't get anything out of this. Well, no, but this is a relationship building, this is a slow process to them. Um, they don't operate on American timelines, it's not how so you know, Taiwan is is the first one, Iran. You know, that Strait of Hormuz, Iran kind of issue, you know. Um Chinese president agreed they should never have a nuclear weapon. He said the same thing. Yeah, he knows that the strait should be opened and it needs to be opened quickly. Um, you know, President Trump essentially offered a little bit of a partnership, it sounded like, between the US and China to make sure that that gets open and and so on and so forth. They both understand that there's a potential global recession, you know, teetering on this, and they need some resolution. And and I think that was a good, you know, kind of collaboration. Um, you know, they did talk trade, you hit the agriculture stuff. There's uh, you know, a potential purchase for you know billions of uh tons of soybeans, um, but also Boeing jets. Uh there was this, you know, some I think uh agreement for a commercial purchase of 200 uh Boeing planes with an eventual purchase of up to 750. That's huge business for the United States. Um, and then you know, I I think what what everyone is coming to the conclusion is that Russia has played itself out of the superpower game. They are no, they are a big, they're a big nation that you cannot ignore.

SPEAKER_07 9:14

Right.

SPEAKER_04 9:14

They are so embroiled with the Ukraine, and they've taken such heavy losses, et cetera, et cetera, that they are no longer a global superpower as they once were, both as Russia and as the Soviet Union. I think that it has been now. I think this visit kind of coronated the it's a US-China. They are the two superpowers, and that the relationship is being defined with a an interesting uh term, and it's called strategic stability, which very much to me harkens back to Cold War relationship. Like, listen, you you like we're magnets, it's only we're only gonna get so close together, and then you know, there's the pushback, and we just gotta keep things stable. And I think so. Strategic stability is the term that's being used. I like it, I think it's uh a good, accurate, paints an accurate picture, I think. For most people, you can understand what that means. Um, but I I think the other probably the last point in this that I didn't like was you know, President Trump is President Trump, and his we've talked about his speech patterns and the way that he talks and the things that he says, and he was very complimentary and offering praise for Xi Jinping and is taking all kinds of flack for it.

SPEAKER_07 10:35

Right.

SPEAKER_04 10:36

And and you know, it's a it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't. Like President Trump, no matter what he does, no matter what he says, he's catching flack from somebody. But this thought was really over the top. Like it's overly complimentary of listen, he, you know, the he is the most powerful man on the planet is talking to the second most powerful man on the planet.

SPEAKER_07 10:58

Right.

SPEAKER_04 10:58

You can't walk in there uh on a visit like this and punch somebody in the mouth, right? Right, you can't this is a very, you know, respectful comp uh culture. Again, you know, they move on a very different timeline than we do, and there's no need to be overtly confrontational for no reason. Why pay the guy a compliment?

SPEAKER_02 11:24

Who cares?

SPEAKER_08 11:25

Yeah, you know, and I I think it's a a great example, you know, we do, and myself included, you know, we we comment about his lack of cooth and and decorum and all of those things. Um, but this was actually a phenomenal example of being able to read the room, right? You know, like this is as you just said, uh this is a culture that is, you know, steeped in tradition and modes of behavior and the way that they speak and act. And it it if you don't do that, it it's it's an insult. You're insulting them. You know, if you don't do these certain cultural things, they take these things very, very personally as an insult. And we're not, you know, it's it's crazy to me that people want to just keep perpetuating the the enemies, um, you know, archetypes. No, we're not going to trust them. Of course not. It's not we're not really talking about trust, we're talking about civility and uh respect and decorum and all of these things that say, hey, listen, I take you seriously, you take me seriously, we're gonna, you know, we're gonna be grown-ups about this. And I think it, you know, the other attitude of that is don't cross me, you know, and I think Trump makes that very clear all the time that listen, I'm I am as nice as for as long as nice is doable, yeah, and then I won't be nice, and I think that's great.

SPEAKER_04 13:04

And he listened he we've said this a million times, he's a businessman, this is a business deal. There are very few people on the planet who can navigate this the way that he can, okay? And so all the armchair quarterbacks in the media, I know that that's their job. We're all tired of them doing their job, um, which is essentially to criticize everything that President Trump does. But this is one of those, like President Biden wouldn't have survived the plane ride. No, he could not walk into that room and have those types of one-on-one negotiations with with you know Xi Jiping. Could you imagine your girl Kamala trying to pull this off? Good like this, you know, for those that want to criticize the how, especially in the sense that you know it's a President Trump was too complimentary when Xi Jiping was not complimentary. Okay, so what? So you go into deal making two different ways, you know. This is it's very to over-the-top judgmental in this, it's very nitpicky to me. I think it's also very uninformed, uh, and I think it's very, you know, in a very Trump term, it's very low IQ. It's very low IQ to go after the fact that he was complimentary and Xi Jinping was not complimentary. Um so it's you know, I thought that was a a wasted effort, wasted breath by the by the media, but that's what they do now.

SPEAKER_08 14:37

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, Trump's um Trump's attitude and his style has always been um leverage over lectures, you know. He's he's gonna do the art or art of the deal, as we said earlier. You know, that's that is his angle, that's his style. And, you know, frankly, it's it's I think it's worked uh many times over in different circumstances. And there is always gonna be a one where it doesn't work, you know. Iran is probably a great example uh at the moment of that, and that's where the uh peace through strength will ultimately end up coming in. I mean, let's you know, let's be realistic. That's probably the route that that's gonna go. Um, but you know, when you're talking about another superpower, as China clearly is and has been, um, what what's the saying? Keep your enemies close, right? And and I think that's a huge part of what's happening.

SPEAKER_04 15:36

Yeah, yeah, it's a um it is the art of the deal. It is exactly what president he knows what he's doing, he knew what he was doing before he walked in there. And I tell you, every single person who was standing out there, who was shaking hands, being introduced to the Chinese, to their Chinese counterpart, they were all on orders, every one of them. They were invited by the president, they were put on Air Force One with the president, they were given instructions by the president. Everybody was, I can promise you, everybody was carrying the same water, and nobody diverted from the messaging.

SPEAKER_07 16:14

Right.

SPEAKER_04 16:15

That was all very well planned, very well put together, very purposeful. Um yeah, I I think it's overblown, but I think you know, this American demand for immediate, you know, results, like, oh, we didn't get anything out of it. Well, you don't know that. You don't know.

SPEAKER_08 16:34

No idea. Nobody knows what those, you know, off-camera, behind closed doors conversations were. And you're not, frankly, we're not going to know unless they want us to know what they were, until, you know, until obviously until something concrete comes from it. So there's, I'm sure, quite a bit that went on that we are oblivious of happening. There were a couple uh little little moments there that uh caught some media attention. There was the um uh the Chinese, what was it, the their spies or surveillance, uh they kind of caught them out. Like, well, of course that's what they're doing. Uh, you know, like we didn't have anybody keeping an eye on them while everything was going. Of course we did. Come on, you know, that's silly. And then there was that moment, I don't know if you caught that one. Um, there was a moment where Chinese security, I don't know if it was like their version of Secret Service or just their um security, would not let Secret Service and reporters uh pass through whatever room that they were trying to get into. And there was, you know, a bit of a bit of a tense moment there that they caught on to. And the only one having a fit really well, you could hear one of the Secret Service guys saying, We have to move, we're going through, we're doing it. And then there's some lady shouting in the background who happened to be part of the press, and like, we are going through, we are doing this right now, we're doing this peacefully, we're not gonna act like them. And it was like this big, you know, obviously not big enough to make any kind of wave, but you know, as soon as there's something where people can zone in on it, they do.

SPEAKER_04 18:12

And listen, you've got to, it's their they're the host, it's their house, their rules that you have to abide by. Yeah, um, and and I can tell you that that is not uncommon and it happens everywhere in the world. I mean, you know, uh, I've we've talked about it on the show before. I was aide to camp for a three-star general in Afghanistan. The you know, General Rodriguez was running the ground war when I was his aide in 2010-11, and he met with President Karzai. And, you know, when he went in, it was allowed to be him and one other person and no weapons, period. Like we're in Afghanistan. This is an US Army Three-star general in Afghanistan in the middle of a war, had to leave his pistol outside. It's just the way there was, right? Um, we had the same rules inside our own embassy. Um, you know, there was a limited, you know, we my guys, our security detachment, if we walked in the embassy, weapons had to be concealed. Like, and that was inside a US embassy. So it, you know, for everybody who wants to make a big deal out of this, that it that's normal. It happens all the time, it happens everywhere. Um, and you don't get carte blanche. When you're in the United States, right, or you're with a key ally, maybe you do, but I would tell you, even in those cases, you don't, but you just don't get carte blanche to do whatever you want to do when you're not at home. And and we don't allow them to do that stuff either, right?

SPEAKER_08 19:36

So yeah, it's just so wild to hear how many armchair quarterbacks there are, right? That that just you know have no no uh experience, um anything in diplomatic relations. And they're they're weighing in like it matters.

SPEAKER_06 19:54

Crazy.

SPEAKER_08 19:55

Oh, that would be like me pontificating on how they should have done it. Like, really? Like, really? Just stop. Oh, all

Britain Pushes Back In The Streets

SPEAKER_08 20:05

right. Let's move uh let's move uh uh across the pond. Uh the Brits are fed up. Kier Starmer's labor government went from landslide to local election drubbing. I don't even know what that word means and I put it in there. I'm sorry, guys. What does drubbing mean?

SPEAKER_04 20:19

Yeah, they got beat down.

SPEAKER_08 20:21

Thank you. That's that's what it means. Yeah, they got beat down.

SPEAKER_06 20:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 20:26

Yeah. Uh let's see, in under two years. So that all happened in under two years. And we talked about this a little bit last week, too. Um, how the changeovers happen within their parties and and the whole you know, steps of uh becoming and be prime minister, and how you can just as easily get booted out. And you did such a great job of explaining that. So, um, guys, if you don't understand how that works, you can just go watch last week's show and Clay explains it to you uh quite well, quite simply and clearly, that even I understood it, Clay. I can't repeat it to everybody right now, but I I understood it at the moment. I've got one of those brains that like you hold the information for just as long as you need it, and then you send it out.

SPEAKER_04 21:12

That's the uh that's the college exam methodology, right? Yeah, you skip it until after the test's over with and then dump it. Exactly. So there was a a huge protest. It was called uh it was referred to as the Unite the Kingdom. Uh so it's a big march uh in London, anywhere from the low number is 60,000 uh to up over 100,000. Um, there were a couple of counter-protests too. There was a uh or another march that was commemorating uh the establishment of Israel and displacement of Palestinians, and then there were some counter marches to the Unite the Kingdom March. But the the big thing about the Unite the Kingdom March is the Brits are so I don't know if you know this, but displaying a King George flag or Or UK Union Jack flag outside of your home is a like the police will come and knock on your door and tell you to take it down. So could you imagine being in the United States and having the police knock on your door and tell you that American flag outside your door, you got to take that down.

SPEAKER_08 22:16

Well because it's a little bit bigger than the HOA coming and telling you you can't have it.

SPEAKER_04 22:21

And so what's in a very underground movement, what people have done is because a King George flag is very easy. So it's white with the red, you know, plus cross sign. Um people have been painting manhole covers, right? So they go white spray paint the manhole cover and then a quick red, you know, and then they're out. So um, so between that, between the uh um the internet social media postings, hate crime, right? You know, you can get arrested in the UK, you know, for put posting things on social media, um, the flat, etc. Like there's all of these things that have become very restrictive to who you know Britain has been for the last hundred years or so. Um, and you know, the the Brits are getting sick of it, and they're also getting sick of the immigration, right? Because that's what's driving a lot of these things is the the immigration, which has been happening obviously across Europe. So Unite the Kingdom was a march, and I would say just from I just from an eye test, it was probably between one out of every five to one out of every 10 people in that march was carrying a flag. Um so it that became became very simple, and it wasn't just it was King George flags, it was the Union Jack, it was also the new Iranian flag.

SPEAKER_07 23:52

Oh boy, right?

SPEAKER_04 23:53

Because you know, the the Brits have kind of sat this one out, uh right. So there was a lot of flag symbology waving in this entire thing. Um, and this is really one of the first times that it has been an overwhelming uh public display against Keir Starmer and the current leadership of the Labor Party and their policies. And uh the Brits are getting sick of it. And you know, what they're the other thing they're getting sick of is being physically attacked on the streets by you know Arab immigrant Muslims, and then when they defend, you know, these guys will come up and they will incite violence, they will come up and they will yell and they will push and they'll call you names and they'll do all kinds of things. And then when you react and do what you do, what British guys do outside of a pub, um then the cops come and arrest you.

SPEAKER_08 24:48

And yes, you know, the I've seen multiple, multiple stories of exactly that. Yeah, uh, you know, and even worse than that, uh, women being assaulted, yes, and basically being told, well, you shouldn't have been in that area. Well, what were you doing there? You know, it's your your fault that you were attacked, walking your dog and you get assaulted, like it it is pure chaos there. It is absolutely awful. And again, you always go back to like, what did you think would happen here? You know, in in every phase of this, right? What did you think would ultimately happen, you know, and all of the the violence and the crime and the assaults and everything predictable, as predictable as predictable can be. And then now this next level of predictability that people had enough. Like you can't be terrorized in your own home and and literally paying to be terrorized and and you know, silenced and subjected to uh a culture that refuses to assimilate uh at all, like absolutely refuses.

SPEAKER_04 25:59

Uh I mean not only not only refuses to assimilate, but are trying to culturally overtake what Britain has been, yeah and turn it into a new ver, you know, their version complete with Sharia law and you know, like you said, that um whatever they call those patrols where it's like they make sure that women are walking around escorted or they're not walking around uncovered in the wrong neighborhoods and all those things, and they're trying to enforce all of these, you know, Islamic tendencies and cultural norms um that they've brought with them from whatever, you know, and I agree with President Trump because I've been to a few of them, whatever shithole country they came from. Yeah, you know, and that's what they're doing. And the Brits are they're done with it. And so the like the Irish have already started. Um, and please don't include them in the UK, they get very upset when you do that.

SPEAKER_06 26:50

But don't do it.

SPEAKER_04 26:51

They have already started deporting uh Muslims, they they are done with it. Yeah, they they're loading them up on planes and they're sending them home. And so um, now at the same time, you've got this very weird, just as a very odd side topic, but you have this re uh re-emergence of an IRA type uh resistance. Um so that it's a very Irish nationalist kind of thing, uh, but they're also very caught in the middle because they have and always have sided with the Palestinians. So it's this there's a weird cultural thing going on in Ireland right now, but but the islands as a whole, um, the British Isles are being overrun. And truthfully, everybody who is from there is sick and tired of it, and they're finally pushing back. And it's something that we need to pay attention to and anticipate because it's already starting here. Um, but I think, and you know, you can call it what you want. I'm a gun guy. Um, the reason that it hasn't gone as far as it's gone in Europe is because the Second Amendment and they're gonna um it is elevated.

SPEAKER_08 28:05

You think they always want to take it away from us? Why do you think they want to get rid of it? Who take a look at who wants to get rid of it all the darn time and look at their overall agenda? Gosh, I just wish people would wake the heck up and see the big picture, you know, see the trees through the forest here because you are just getting so gaslit every single day, uh, right? Like the gaslighting is uh it is just pro-level, pro-level, and these people fall for it. Now I don't I don't, I'll never understand, you know. You can give me the logistics of it and and or the logic of it, um, the intellectual version of it of how they did this, you know, and of course they did it in increments and they did it slowly at first, and they snuck it in and they crept it in, and especially in the schools, like we all know that, but it it's so hard for me to wrap my brain around. And I think about this so often that I with with uh disgust and sadness that uh history, we never learn anything from history, we never learn our lessons, and it's so sad. And and again, I know somebody rightly will jump in and say that's because they're not teaching it, they're they're not teaching it so that they they don't know history, but us old folks, we know history. So, how are the old ones? You know, I shouldn't be calling us old, older, mature. How are we still not learning from these things? It's just it's mind-blowing to me.

SPEAKER_04 29:46

Those people choose to ignore reality. I mean, that's what that is.

SPEAKER_08 29:50

Yeah, their ideologies get in the way, right?

SPEAKER_04 29:53

Like you're the same people that you know have are have been erasing history for the last 10 years, yeah, statues and renaming things and all this other stuff. It's the same crowd, they're ignoring it. So yeah, um, yeah, but it's it's uh we do have to pay attention because it is slowly making its way here. I do applaud uh those hundred thousand or so folks that went out and marched uh carrying a flag and and you know, expressing their displeasure with the uh parliament and uh the you know prime minister, and good for them.

SPEAKER_08 30:27

Yeah, and you know, and you can't um under undermine the the actual bravery of doing that because you're talking about um a culture and a society right now that that is uh uh silencing and arresting you for doing this. So, you know, it is an act of bravery to stand up and say enough. And um, so good for them. And uh I I hope that is part of what becomes a larger and larger and larger wake-up call um for the world, really.

SPEAKER_06 31:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 31:02

Um you know, oh, and we still we still have more Europe, so we'll we'll bounce a little bit, we'll stay in the same lane here, right? Um

US Troops Shift And NATO Pressure

SPEAKER_08 31:10

the Pentagon's trimming trimming brigade combat teams in Europe. Sorry, I just read that so poorly. Uh pulling about 5,000 from Germany. Trump is pressing NATO allies to step up spending after some of them dragged their feet on Iran's support. Um, this returns us closer to pre-surge levels. Europe's mixed. Some shrug, others worry.

SPEAKER_04 31:39

Yeah, so it's more than the 5,000. And that's what people don't realize is the 5,000 are folks who are permanently in Germany, right? Okay, permanently stationed in Germany and in Italy. Um, but also what's happening is we have habitually been sending uh brigade combat teams on deployments to Eastern Europe. We've been sending a heavy combat team, uh, which you know are tanks and Bradley's and and those kinds of things. Uh currently um a brigade from the 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, who was ramped up and on their getting packed up and getting ready to go, had their tournament canceled. They that rotation has been going on to Poland. Um there's also been a brigade from the 101st Airborne Division, which is a light infantry uh organization, has been going to Romania for the last you know couple of years, and that brigade that's over there now will not be backfilled. So you're losing the 5,000 in Germany, but you're losing an additional three to five thousand uh from that's been rotating into Romania and three to five thousand rotating into Poland. And so, you know, this goes back to the argument of why are we part of NATO if when you have things like Iran going on and Spain thumbs their nose at us and says, no, you can't use our if you're doing Iran, you can't do that out of here. And so again, President Trump with Secretary Rubio, who's a masterful at this as well, has basically looked at the two probably most up-and-coming uh NATO members being Poland, who's spending about 4.8% GDP on defense, which is two which is two and a half times the requirement. Um and then Romania, who is a very young member to NATO, um and has been spending, they've been they chipped in the entire time in Afghanistan. Uh literally, like I when I was there in 2002, they had troops there. They were one of the first, they were the first non-NATO nation that I know of, European non-NATO nation. They were trying to get into NATO, who ponied up. And they've been defense spending and they've been very big supporters, and so they're worried about Russia and Ukraine and everything else. And so I know what President Trump's doing. Him and Secretary Rubio have said, hey, pull those two out, and we we look at Poland and we look at Romania and go, hey, get the rest of NATO in line and we'll send these people back. We'll help you out, but you got to help us out, hold them to the standard. And so he's using the new big boys in NATO who used to be the UK and Germany, right? And France. Um, and he's using the new guys and saying, Hey, get these people in line. If you want our help, if you're so worried about Russia and you want American troops there, you better get these people off their ass and get them in gear. And so that's what he's doing. Yeah, and that the Germany thing is an economic impact, as well as you know, Italy, if the folks are coming out of there too. That's a huge, you know, when you lose 5,000 troops and you start shutting bases, that's a lot of Germans that are out of a job.

SPEAKER_07 34:55

Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 34:56

And they they can't afford a whole lot more unemployment in those countries. So he's uh he's twisting the knife a little bit and trying to get them to uphold their their part of the deal.

SPEAKER_08 35:07

So now, you know, rightly, wrongly, or somewhere in between, there there's gonna be a you know, probably a pretty significant portion of Americans, uh, you know, you're you're Americans who are just trying to, you know, we're just trying to pay the bills, we're just trying to go to work, come home, take care of families. How would you um how do you get them to care about this? What would you say? Like, how does this because the question becomes, how does this impact me? Because I I know people who aren't following any of this stuff and who maybe just watch this segment and were like, I don't even know what you're talking about. I don't know any of this stuff means it means nothing to me. How does this mean something to you know? I I hate to keep saying middle Americans, um, but that's the term I'm gonna use. Um, how do you make this feel impactful to them?

SPEAKER_04 35:57

So I I think uh impactful in both directions, right? So, you know, we always want to have great relationships with NATO nations for things like Iran, for things like Iraq, Afghanistan, you know, things going on in Africa. We want to be able to use and utilize bases there. We want to have that good partnership with them so that we're not bearing the load for everything. Yeah, right. So we we want to have that, but when it's not fruitful for us, then it's wasted time, money, and effort. Okay. So you know, President Trump is actually trying to hold NATO to make NATO useful and to make it a good partner for the United States. So he's holding them accountable, which keeps things stable glow at least through Europe, yeah, right. Um, and lends some stability to the globe. Now you could say bringing all those folks home and not sending a new two new brigade combat teams over every nine months saves in defense spending.

SPEAKER_07 37:05

Big time, right?

SPEAKER_04 37:07

Big big time, right? Sure.

SPEAKER_08 37:09

Those are then you don't really have hands-on of knowing what's going on.

SPEAKER_04 37:13

No, right, no, and so you know, you're you're yes, you're missing some relationship building with Poland and Romania, you're missing some good cross-training between partner nations, you're missing some of those things, but what you are saving is money, yeah. Um, and right now, with our deficit where it's at and defense spending where it's at, you know, that's probably something that needs to be looked at. Unfortunately, um, if money has been allocated uh to those deployments, the DODs or Department of War, whatever you want to call it, they're not giving that money back.

SPEAKER_07 37:51

Right.

SPEAKER_04 37:52

Oh, well, we're not sending anybody to Poland. So, you know, here's the you know, Treasury Department, here's or Congress, here's the money back we were supposed to spend on that. Um you can use that for something else. There's no way they're giving that up. So it is money, it's money that money's gone in the short term, but in the long term, uh, they won't be able to ask for more. So there's pluses and minuses on both sides. Um, but I think probably in this case, you know, President Trump just trying to hold NATO accountable.

SPEAKER_08 38:22

Sure, yeah. I mean, it's ultimately about fairness, right? Like if we're gonna do this, yeah, you need to do this.

SPEAKER_04 38:30

Yeah, they all signed the document, they all know what the responsibility is, they just choose not to do it, right?

SPEAKER_08 38:36

Yeah, well, I love I love that he's you know holding them up to the fire and saying, you know, put up or shut up, basically, right?

SPEAKER_04 38:45

Listen, you've heard me. I've been saying this since the Ukraine thing started. This is a NATO NATO problem, this is a Europe problem. This is not you have been saying that, yeah. And this is what it's boiled down to. Also, by the way, side note, have you noticed that none of the Democrats are talking about Ukraine anymore?

SPEAKER_08 39:02

So funny that you've said that. I was just, you know, somebody I saw something, and somebody was like, by the way, is that is that war still happening? Like, is that going on? Because I haven't heard anything about it. I don't, I don't know what's happening. I don't see any, you know, uh, blue and gold or blue and yellow flags on anybody's profiles anymore. So are we done with that? Is that over? And I was like, oh my goodness, yeah, that's like, you know, as far as uh as far as all of the um uh the left is concerned, yeah, that's a non-topic. We've we've well past moved to the next um you know, token cause or issue, right? Or they just rotate them, they just kind of shift them in a rotation.

SPEAKER_04 39:46

President Trump basically said, Hey, we're not we're not spending money on Ukraine. So all the all the Dems in Congress who were fighting for that war to support that war because of their investments in defense contracting, you know, once he said we're not doing that, they stopped caring, truthfully, because it wasn't gonna make them any money. Right. And so, and then of course you had Israel-Palestine, you know, Palestine, quote unquote. Um, and then now you've got Iran, you know, in the middle we had Venezuela. So we're like three conflicts past that. So it's not in vogue to really change. Since then, but again, it's yeah, it's not in vogue to be you know pro-Ukraine like people were even three years ago. So yeah, yeah, nobody talks about it anymore. No, no, it's not worth it.

SPEAKER_08 40:37

Yeah, nope, exactly. Folks, when somebody tells you who they are, believe them, right? Just believe them. These are people that don't care, don't care. They show it over and over again. What you know, every time you can go back through every you know, round of this and go right to the point where they dropped off and they lost interest, which usually ties into an election cycle, right? Yeah, and you know, and and that tells you everything that you need to know. So just can we just stop falling for it, folks? Stop falling for it. I know nobody watching this show falls for any of this stuff. I know you don't. The ones that don't watch. Oh, what do we got next here? All

GOP Primaries And DNC Secrets

SPEAKER_08 41:27

right, let's move on to the uh primary fights. And and I I love this. Um, I love that that title. I lost it out of my thing. Here it is. Uh buried autopsies. I love that. So GOP primaries showing some public infighting, which we already know has been going on. Um, or has it? I want to talk about that aspect of it a little bit too. Um, so is it healthy debate or messy? Meanwhile, Dems are still hiding that full 2024 election autopsies. DNC chair Nix releasing the deep dive into the Harris loss, my girl, and uh, which is classic. One side argues in public and the other sweeps failure under the rug, kind of look we were just saying, like when it's uh doesn't give them yield the results that they were looking for, they just they just sweep it under the rug and move on to the next thing. Just move right along. Don't don't look behind that curtain, guys. Don't worry about that. But yeah, um I want to go back first before we get into the meat of this topic. The public infighting part, uh, as far as we're talking about the the right, you know, what appears to be the right, because this is what they keep saying, the right is fractured, it's divided and blah, blah, blah. And I just, I honestly, I don't know if I necessarily agree with that. And and, you know, I feel like that, you know, if we're talking about, if we're naming names, let's, you know, talk about the Tucker Carlsons and the Megan Kellys and, you know, a my proxy Candace Owens, which is a joke to even talk about, but uh people are still hanging on with every gasping breath to that one. Um, but you know, that faction, and there's plenty more, those are just the the biggest names of that. Um the question does become in light of the things that you were reading and hearing and seeing, I mean, were they ever, were they ever really, you know, were they just playing a role? So I don't know if this is necessarily infighting or if it's people just showing their true colors. And and I I don't I don't know the answer to that. I honestly don't, but I'd I'd love to hear your your thoughts on all of that.

SPEAKER_04 43:29

Yeah, I there has been a divide. Um really the Trump loyalists. I I hate the term MAGA as as a descriptor of people.

SPEAKER_08 43:40

I do too. I I avoid it.

SPEAKER_04 43:42

Yeah, so you've got the the Trump loyalists, and then you've got the you know, it's a spectrum of anywhere from rhinos to um you know, those folks who you know are Republicans but just don't align with what President Trump. Thinks. You know, it's not any, it's just a different belief system or at least a different set of priorities. But the you know, the reality is is that he went 26 for 26 uh yesterday in the primaries. All 26 of the candidates that President Trump endorsed won. He did not miss one. And so, you know, the party itself or the the voting public um is clearly aligned with President Trump, who he endorses. It's a President Trump endorsement has become the most powerful thing in politics right now. Yes, yeah. And so now, obviously, folks, these are primaries, but when you've got people like um uh Massey, who got you know an incumbent who got who is a vocal, outspoken at odds, you know, with President Trump. Um he got defeated, he got primaried by his own party. Yeah, he lost in his primary yesterday, and will not be running as the you know, as the Republican candidate for the seat that Massey current currently occupies.

SPEAKER_06 45:14

Right.

SPEAKER_04 45:14

And he was not alone. That happened a couple of times yesterday in a couple of different states. Um, but I whatever fracture, whatever divide, whatever there is or was within the GOP, when when a president when President Trump goes 26 or 26, um there that divide is gone. Yeah, like yeah, this is this is a you know, go back a year and a half and and say, you know, we talked about this obviously when the election happened. He won every um right, every uh what do you call it, uh state, you know, I mean all the those all those flip-flop borderline, you know, states, he won them all. Yeah, um, and and one, you know, one house, one the senate, um, all of those things. And now he did this.

SPEAKER_06 46:09

Right.

SPEAKER_04 46:09

The party is aligned under him, very much as that whole half 52% of the voting public. They're they're in support of President Trump. They listen to what he says. When he gives somebody the thumbs up, that's who they're supporting. And that is of everything that happened yesterday, that is the biggest thing, I think. That's my that's a big, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 46:32

I that is that is the biggest takeaway here, really. Like we could talk all day about uh, you know, the supposed infighting when when it comes down to it, Clay, it's really like it's just pundits, it's just pundits fighting each other, basically. And what's happening with that? Well, they get clicks and they get you know um money and and attention and all of the things. So, you know, uh is it manufactured? Uh, you know, not a hundred percent, of course. There's certainly uh genuine um dissent uh among the party on certain issues. Obviously, Iran is uh a big conversation where there is divide and um Israel, of course, Israel as a whole, as a standalone as it relates to Iran, uh Israel is probably uh within the party the biggest uh conflict and conversation that's going on. It's incredibly disturbing, actually. Um, but you know, I don't know. I mean, the American people who's really the ones that matter the most, uh, they they spoke. They spoke with their vote. And that's that. You know, at the end of the day, everybody can fight and disagree all they want, which I do think is actually healthy. I think it's good. I think what's right, I think what's not healthy is just going full bore uh in in lockstep with what one or two or three, what this one group says. I I I hope that people are using uh, you know, discernment. I hope that they're using research tools and they are and I hope that they are not living in those echo chambers and just listening to the things that they want to hear and that they listen to what everybody's saying and then make some informed decisions, you know, and don't just follow the herd. Um, but we'll see. There's a little bit of everything there.

SPEAKER_04 48:33

And I I think the worry is that when you have President Trump going 26 for 26, that people say that that does usurp the open dialogue, uh adult discussion, disagreement is okay, you know, kind of atmosphere. Um, because if you're not a loyalist to President Trump, if you're not on his team, then you're cut out of the conversation as it stands right now. Um, you know, on the surface of it. Now, on the flip side, you know, there's a couple of significant Democrat Democrat candidates uh that exposed themselves yesterday. One of them is the Democratic candidate for the House of Representatives for the district that holds Philadelphia, which is truthfully one of the bluest cities in America. And so this guy, it's another squad-endorsed, so you know, approaching or socialist, outwardly socialist candidate um that will have oversight your representation in Congress for uh, you know, the district in Pennsylvania that that has that owns Philadelphia. That's a problem. But there was another lady in Texas who is a state house candidate. I cannot remember this this woman's name. I don't have it. I don't have it on here. She stated that she was going to take the ICE uh and Border Patrol facilities. She was going to turn them into prison prisons for Zionists, right? She was going to jail and prison Zionists and also take the ICE agents and put them in those facilities because all they're doing is human trafficking. And then she went on to say that um, and okay, I I agree with this in part, but all ped all pedophiles would be castrated.

SPEAKER_06 50:30

I love that.

SPEAKER_04 50:31

Love that except she tacked on the end that that would basically be all the Zionists that she already had in the facility because that this one, like I can't believe this is real life, Clay. This is like this, this is Adolf Hitler. Like, this is I I can't how how in the world, and even the Democratic Party was like, Whoa, we gotta get away from this. They cut bait on her. Um I I don't I'm pretty sure that her attempt at being elected was uh did was not successful.

SPEAKER_08 51:04

Yeah, then you got the other who's the one that's twerking all over the place.

SPEAKER_04 51:08

Oh, yeah. I don't know if that's the same lady or not. Got it.

SPEAKER_08 51:10

Oh my gosh, if it is, that would be wild. Actually, if it is, it would make perfect sense.

SPEAKER_04 51:15

Yeah, yeah. Lunatic, yeah. But yeah, there was that one. I I don't know if it's the same lady where yes, she thought that men would vote for her simply because she would twerk on social media, right? And and that would get her elected. Um, but you know, we've got all of that, and then as our initial headline said, there are folks, leaders at and elected officials within the DNC that are still asking for the post-mortem, the autopsy, whatever you want to call it, the after act review of the 20 failed Kamala Harris Tim Waltz presidential run, right?

SPEAKER_08 51:52

And they're not giving it up.

SPEAKER_04 51:53

They're not and the DNC is holding it. They and they won't even give it to Kamala Harris. Really? Yeah, she hasn't even she's asking for it, and there's probably they're like you you probably don't want to read that document.

SPEAKER_08 52:06

Like, that's I don't think it's gonna give you the warm fuzzies, Cami.

SPEAKER_04 52:11

Um, but I you know, there's people that are anticipating that they didn't want to release it before the primaries or even the midterms coming, you know, later in the year, and that they'll hold it for afterwards. I don't think they're gonna release it ever. Like I they'll keep it as an internal document, they'll use it for planning for 2028, but it will never, unless it gets leaked, it will never become public.

SPEAKER_07 52:35

Right.

SPEAKER_04 52:35

I don't think that's their intent at all.

SPEAKER_07 52:37

It's so crazy. It's just so crazy. I can't even. Yep.

SPEAKER_08 52:42

Oh my goodness. And speaking of crazy, let's touch on this one quickly here.

San Diego Mosque Shooting Questions

SPEAKER_08 52:49

Um, the San Diego Mosque shooting. Uh, so the tragic shooting at San Diego's Islamic Center. Three were killed, uh, security car security guard and two others by two teen gunmen who then took their own lives. Um you know, interesting to me how quickly they were to call it a hate crime. Feel like they weren't so quick when it was a Christian church or, you know, or Christian school. Feel like it took them a real long time, if ever, before they called it a hate crime. I'm gonna let that go for the moment. Just gonna let that go. Um, more interesting, maybe perhaps, is that uh as soon as it was released that these were transgender, they're boys, uh, who thought they were girls, I guess. I don't I don't really know. Um, how quickly that dropped out of the news cycle, right? That's that's weird, that's suspicious, right?

SPEAKER_04 53:52

Yeah, it tracks with every virtually every mass shooting in the last couple of years is executed or done by you know transgender individuals. And so, you know, there's gonna be pieces to this, folks. And like I always say, first reports are usually wrong. Wait for this story to develop because what you have are two uh reportedly Hispanic young, young men, biological men, at least one of them, if not both of them, are transgender, but you've got one who goes to high school, was even a high school wrestler, um, and one that has been homeschooled since 2021. Um, so they're if they're friends, which their parents, their families have said acquaintances, they have not said, hey, you know, like they're buddies, uh they're acquaintances, they don't go to school together. They don't right, so where is the social interaction coming from?

SPEAKER_07 54:50

Right, right.

SPEAKER_04 54:51

And where, you know, is this a hate crime? Supposedly it is, but there was a note left by one of the young men uh that has not been released by my mother, has it? I think it's been given to the police, but it hasn't been released to the public. Um but there's pieces and parts of this that that aren't being made public that they don't know or don't have an explanation for yet. And truthfully, watch how quickly this just disappears off of the news feed. Absolutely, and you'll never already ripped in a way, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 55:27

Never it's gonna be one of those stories. Um, months from now, somebody will say, Hey, whatever happened with you know that, whatever happened with that. And everybody will say, you know what? I don't know. I don't know, because that's what they do.

SPEAKER_04 55:42

Yeah, and they're both dead, so there's no court case that's gonna go beyond this, right? Yeah, for the most part, as far as San Diego PD is concerned, you know, they'll maybe try to find a motive if one presents it, but you know, for the most part, this is a closed case, and and you know, the media will allow it. Actually, they'll probably be the force that drives it out of you know, line of sight. So keep an eye on it, folks, because it's not gonna be around for long. I would bet by the time we are on the air next week, yep, it is a non-story, all gone.

SPEAKER_08 56:20

It'll be all gone. Uh, another thing that comes and goes so quickly, crazy, crazy things like this, guys.

Swatch Collab Chaos And Resellers

SPEAKER_08 56:31

Swatch, watch madness. Uh it's I I saw this clay, and then I was actually oblivious of it because I just was. I'm like, swatch Rob, isn't that from like the 80s? Is that from the 80s? Yeah, everybody had one. And I don't wear, as you can see, I don't wear watches. I actually just don't like the feel of anything on my wrist. So I don't even wear bracelets very often. And when I do, I'm usually taking them off within like 10 minutes because I can't stand it. Um, yeah, like just one another one of my weird quirks, guys. We could have a whole show on that. Um, but yes, I I did have one. Everybody did, everybody had one. But this is a little bit, this is a little bit grander, right? You want to explain it a little bit?

SPEAKER_04 57:16

Go ahead. The only reason this caught my attention, truthfully, is because one of the stores that affected this is in like the one of the malls where I hung out as a teenager, right?

SPEAKER_07 57:26

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 57:27

That's it, it was in my my my local news feed, not just my normal newsfeed. Um, so Swatch went into a partnership with a uh you know a high-end watchmaker, uh uh Automars PQMars. Um who normally makes you know Rolex-ish, Brightlingish kind of expensive watches. So they did this partnership between Swatch and this high-end watchmaker, limited quantity available at limited locations, only $400, right? So at all of these available locations, people mat they went to buy them with the intent of immediately reselling them to collectors because it's limited edition or limited release, yeah. Right. So, um, and there were some delays. My understanding is on the U.S. side of this, in the stores in Chicago, stores in New York, they were late, like the the shipments didn't come in for the Friday release date or something to that effect. But in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Paris, and other places, the crowds, because it was almost like you remember when iPhones, the new iPhone, people would stamp out from the new iPhone. This was very similar in that, but of course, because kids today are super rowdy, um, you know, things got out of control, and then they ended up having to shut stores down. Riot police were uh brought in. In fact, I saw NYPD. This was probably the funniest one. You had all these people outside of the swatch store in New York, right? And they're inside the barriers and they're being rowdy, and the New York cops were literally taking their pepper spray and just hosing the crowd. Like good, totally indiscriminate, spray down.

SPEAKER_08 59:19

Whoever gets hit gets hit.

SPEAKER_04 59:20

Yeah, but like Chicago, it was Friday, and they shut everything down, and then they said, Hey, just come back Saturday. Saturday, the crowd came back, same thing, like craziness happened, right? And so it's been perpetuating. But I think we've talked about this a few times is this is indicative of the teens and 20s of today, where you can't mass them together without something stupid happening. Yeah, and if they don't get what they want or they don't get their way, they you know break things and they throw stuff and they throw a fit and they become unruly. And this is just more of that, it just happens to be global.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:02

Yeah, it's so tragic. So I you know, I remember as a kid, the only thing I can equate to this is you know, as a kid, we would camp out uh for concert tickets. Yeah, right, like that was the big thing. We camp out for concert tickets, and you know what would happen? You know what would break out? Spontaneous partying, spontaneous partying, the music would be playing and everybody would be having fun, and you'd make all these new friends, and yeah, you got to be good friends with the people in front of you and behind you in line, and yeah, it was so great. Like to the point where you're like, Okay, I really need to go get something to eat. I'm so starving, I forgot to bring something. Will you hold my place? Of course, absolutely, no problem. And you'd come back and you're you'd still have your place, and your stuff did not get stolen, and you know, you didn't get kicked out of line.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:48

It's just you know like, hey, I'll see you at the concert, right? Now you got new friends, you know.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:52

Yeah, new friends, see you in there.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:54

How it works now.

SPEAKER_08 1:00:56

It's so sad, so tragic. They miss out on such fun experiences, and of course, you know, I mean, we could certainly address the whole absurdity of going crazy over a material thing like this, as such as it is it. Did you say it's like a a pocket watch?

SPEAKER_04 1:01:12

It's not even it's not even a wristwatch, it is a wristwatch size, okay, a little bit bigger, but it's on a tab, it is a pocket watch, it's not even a wristwatch. But again, this has nothing to do with anything except buying and upselling it to people who want it. That's all this is. This is people basically trying to run up the market and make money.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:37

That's all about and listen, you know, brilliant move on on the marketers of this product because they said, watch this. I've got an idea. Here's what we're gonna do. Watch. And sure enough, you know, the person who came up with this idea or team of people that came up with this idea, and they're like, No, trust me, trust me, it's gonna work, it's gonna work. Just trust me. And they're sitting back going, I'll take that bonus right now. Thank you.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:04

You know, and listen, the upselling is working because these watches are being sold. Like, there was one, a guy literally, I think it was in London. He walked out with one, and before he got to his car, he sold it on eBay for $2,500.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:19

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:20

And and people are selling them for six thousand dollars and eight thousand dollars. They're they're they're already they're achieving what they wanted, but of course, it had to be unruly in the process, which is yeah, it's just it's also profoundly dumb to me.

SPEAKER_08 1:02:34

There, there is no material thing that I could even imagine like valuing like that, you know. And I and I'll tell you what, there are a few things like you want to laugh at me, you guys can all laugh at me. I don't care. So, my childhood idol, the you know, the the man that I said I was gonna marry when I was in fourth grade. You're really probably some of you will laugh at me, Steve Perry, singer from Lee from Journey. That was, you know, that was my childhood everything, all the way into adulthood. And I saw, I don't know, maybe like a year ago, he was doing some auction. He was uh donating the the funds to maybe it was the wildfires. I don't know now. I forget what it was for. I think that's what it was. It was very recently. And um, I saw that he was auctioning things and it was like lyrics signed, handwritten lyrics. I was very close, guys. I was very close to losing my mind over that and and wanting it. And then I was like, you know what? Stop. What are you gonna do with it? What are you gonna do with it? Like nobody but you, me, myself, will care. Like my grandchildren are not gonna want this, they're not gonna care. And it's like, it's just it's an object, it's a thing. It was for a great purpose, of course. Uh that it alone would be worth buying it for, of course. But you know, they're just things, guys. They're just things. Stop, stop, make memories, not all right. I'm done. I'm not I'm not gonna lecture everybody on on that kind of stuff. All right, we've got uh we've technically got two more. We're gonna do it. We've got this. Uh let's talk about this. This is uh actually really um really interesting, of course. Um, oh, I skipped it on here. Um, I don't see it. I don't see it, Clay. I don't even have it in my notes. Go ahead, Clay.

Texas Opens First Detransition Clinic

SPEAKER_04 1:04:17

Yeah, so this folks, as it says on the you know, on the headline, we have the first detransition clinic being built in Texas. So this is part of a $10 million settlement. Um, Texas Children's Hospital is uh going to build the very first in the United States detransitioning clinic. As seen this increasing trend of kids who have transitioned, who go on to later parts of their life and regret a very juvenile, very uninformed uh decision allowed by either allowed by their parents, uh in some cases encouraged by their parents, or hidden from their parents, yeah and and being facilitated by other adults. So that's what this clinic is for. It is not just medical, which is great. It is a very realistic look at this, it's psychological. It is the medical, obviously, it's psychological that goes along with it. There's therapy and and and other things, plus, not only do you get the the um surgery, you have five free five years of free care following to make sure because you know this, and this happens like uh you can even talk about people who've had um you know uh belly band, whatever you want to call it, stomach wrap, right? Yeah, gastric bypass and whatever. Like, there's a psychological therapy component that you're supposed to go with that teaches you to change your diet, right, and and all of those things, and you're supposed to follow up with that after. Surgery.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:02

You're supposed to do that too when you actually have a transition surgery, which I'm supposed to, right? Most people don't. But this is all it's a package, right? It's with the best outlook and intention to take care of people who have regretted making that transition. Um this is the first one in the United States. There is no timeline for when it's going to be opened.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:26

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:27

Or operational. But it is uh, like I said, this is part of a lawsuit, and uh, and it is uh part of the settlement. So $10 million settlement for the very first and super important, in my opinion, de-transitioning clinic.

SPEAKER_08 1:06:45

Absolutely. And of course, you know, there are opponents that are are you know completely against it and think that it's a terrible thing and that you know they shouldn't be doing this and blah, blah, blah. And you know, how absurd. What what an awful and ridiculous stance to take. So you mean to tell me that you know it's it's okay and and um good and right to encourage a 10-year-old, a 12-year-old who thinks they were born in the wrong body because you've convinced them of that, um to go through mutilation surgery and not get psychological help for this body dysphoria that they're experiencing. But it's bad for them to want to return to what God made them or what their parents made them, if you don't want to use God as your you know reference. Um to be mad about it, to be mad that that somebody might say, I regret this decision that was made and I want to fix this. I want to, I want to be healthy and I want to be whole again. Um just so such a wild, wild world we live in. But uh, I'm I'm so glad for those who um want to, you know, detransition that they will have the opportunity to get not only the the physical help that they need to do that, but the psychological help, which is really the core of every part of this right here. It is it is a you know mental issue that they're having. And I don't mean that in a mocking way. This is, you know, this it's it's sad and it's heartbreaking and it's tragic, and I can't even fathom. You know, if you if you put the compassion back in the conversation, not that we we weren't, uh, but uh generally this becomes a very toxic conversation. When you put the compassion back into it, how heartbreaking is it to uh to just even imagine being somebody who cannot even look in a mirror without hatred for themselves and feel that they need to change every part of themselves in order to feel happy. That is heartbreaking. So um shame on anyone who's got a problem with that, really, with wanting to help them. Yeah, so yeah, yeah. Um, we have one more topic for you. Normally

Viral Clips And Media Overreach

SPEAKER_08 1:09:13

we would be doing the uh comments section, but uh right, but Clay and I are like, you know what? I well, I said to Clay and Clay agreed, I'm like, you know what? I have these clips that I want to uh talk about. They're just some fun, there's just a few really good viral-ish clips that have been um circulating the past week. And we thought we would do a little segment called uh this week's virals, viral clips. I I got really creative with that title, guys. It was uh you know, deeply thought out. I took hours to think of it. Um, but I have a few clips for you. And the first one here we're gonna share with you guys is uh in case you missed it, uh Pete, I'm gonna take that banner off of there. Uh Pete Hexeth uh does an impression, a pretty darn good impression of President Trump. In case you missed it, here it is.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:02

President Trump told me when he first offered me this job, he said, Pete, you're gonna have to be tough as shit. Sorry. He did. Ready?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:26

They're gonna come after you. And boy, was he right. He was right.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:32

Very cute, very cute. I thought that was a good one. I thought that one was pretty funny. And then we have this moment here. This was uh President Trump and uh of all people, Mark Cuban sharing a stage. So here's that one.

unknown 1:10:48

Right?

SPEAKER_02 1:10:49

Remarkable seeing you and Mark Cuban up there, and the fact that obviously Mark endorsed Kamala Harris back in 2021. Well, he made a mistake. It was a big mistake. What does this say about what you two are building here?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:02

Well, it says we love people, we love our country. He wants to, he's got a a good company and he's gonna do a lot of business with this, and uh, I'm gonna get drugs out through Amazon through President Yeah, so I thought that was a really good one too.

SPEAKER_08 1:11:16

Um, you know, so funny enough, so while uh while well, when I was doing all of my uh Kamala Harris uh impressions, like more, more you know, because she was running and she was relevant at the time, um, one of them went, I guess it went like kind of viral. And uh Mark Cuban commented on it. You remember that? And and here's what here's you know what I have to say on the positive. Now, I I have not liked the guy, I have not liked uh his stance on things. I haven't liked his delivery and the things that he has said and what he affiliates with, which obviously would be namely Connell Harris. Um I will say his comment, though it was uh certainly not pro-me, uh, it was respectful. It was nothing, you know. I don't to be honest with you, I don't even remember what he said. Uh I I could go back wasn't jerky though.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:14

I remember that.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:16

Yeah, he was not jerky. Uh he just kind of made a pro Kamla uh statement that was actually kind of neutral. And I was like, of all uh that's so bizarre. Like it was so bizarre that he even commented on it that I was like, I I don't even I don't even know what to make of this. And I we went back and forth once or twice on it, and that was the end of it. Um, so I will give him that. That um, you know, he's he was respectful and it was fine and it was all good. But uh, you know, I don't know. We can think whatever we want uh of their partnering up here. If it's for, I mean, uh simply, simply it if it's for the good of Americans, I'm good with it. I I think it's great. If it benefits us, um, which it certainly sounds like it it would and it will, then let's go for it, right? Um, you don't have to like people to like what they can do, you know what I mean, right? Like it's okay to fundamentally not like somebody and still be okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:16

It's called being a grown-up.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:18

Exactly. Just be grown-ups, guys. Um, so Spencer Pratt is uh, you know, very quickly has become a favorite of a lot of people. And uh his ads have been, his political ads have been so good. And I want to just I just love this one because uh this was, you know, a show I watched. Uh he does a great job of so here's what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:47

Now, this is a story all about how my life got turned upside down, and I had to take a minute to run for mayor and tell you how I'll become the prince of a town called Bel Air. I'm not about seven array. I yelled to the rope, you'll hope smell you later. I moved to my kingdom, I was finally there.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:49

Love, love, loved it. And his all of them have been, he's got another one out there that uh he's a pro. He's a pro.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:57

Yeah, he's a pro. And he's more power to him. He's just as good on X. So there was you posted it today, actually. Said something about, oh, well, he doesn't even live in LA, he lives in Santa Barbara or whatever, and and he went after the guy. He's like, My house burnt down. Like, yeah, I had to move my two kids in with my parents so they're not you know inhaling all this crap, you know, right? And so he's very good, he's very sharp. I was just while you were playing that, I was looking at Kalshi. So he's at like a uh 29 to 30 percent uh chance of being the mayor, uh what his odds are now. So we'll we'll see what happens, but uh yeah, he's great. I think he's great for the race itself, whether it's successful or not, is awesome. He also has almost a 40% chance that President Trump will endorse him as the candidate. Yeah, you know, so we'll that happens, that'll be huge.

SPEAKER_08 1:15:53

That'll be huge.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:55

But going back to the first clip, talking about people reading into things, um, you know, that was at a an event for um, I screw up his name, but it's the guy who beat Massey in Kentucky. Oh, yes, yeah. So that was Secretary Heggs at that event, you know, and so people took that as oh, he's he's setting himself up for a 2028 run for president. Oh boy, because he's getting involved in the political process, right, right, you know, which the Secretary of Defense and historically has stayed out of, you know, election kind of stuff. But uh, you know, now they're saying, oh, well, he's he's did he's dipping his toe in and he's probably gonna run in 2028. Like there is no way there even he knows, even he knows with the level of ego that he's got that he cannot he would be a very, very distant third place, right?

SPEAKER_08 1:16:53

Yeah, it's not not true. And maybe maybe at some point down the road that's something for you to give a try at if you so choose, but this is not gonna be the time.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:02

And maybe he's posturing himself for a VP run.

SPEAKER_08 1:17:05

Who knows? That certainly could be that that would actually make more sense. I could I could see that more plausibly in his mind for that. But geez, I would I would hope he's not thinking of a presidential run.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:18

That would be that's that was horrible analysis by anybody and everybody in the media who jumped on that bandwagon and said, Oh yeah, he's at an event, he's at a campaign event for a you know, for Republican, he's he's looking at running for president. I think that's that's that was a leap that we haven't seen in a while.

SPEAKER_08 1:17:37

Yeah, yeah. I think it's just you know, we're we're at a point now where people just, you know, people with a microphone, uh, they just say words. They just say words, they just throw words out there and like whatever sticks, if it gives them a little bit of traction, that's what they do. So yeah, ay, yeah, yeah. Hey, we did it. We got all of our topics in. We didn't

Final Thoughts And Sign Off

SPEAKER_08 1:17:56

miss anything, right? No, we didn't miss a single thing. All right. Uh guys, thank you for watching as always, and we thank you for participating and joining us in the comment section. Um, we always love that, we always appreciate that. We know you comment more on the clips, but yeah, I mean, if you feel like if you feel like dropping a comment in the the show show, that would be nice too. Um, but you know, do you, whatever you want. But thanks for watching. Clay, you go ahead and close them out.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:23

Hey folks, uh, it sounds like it's me and you guys next week. I you know that uh it's no other. So I I guess uh I guess it's me and you guys. And so until I see you next week, keep moving, keep shooting.

SPEAKER_08 1:18:39

You be nice to my friend next week. You hear me? You know I'll come for you. You know I'll come for you. You'll be nice to my friend next week. All right, guys, take care. We'll see you in the next one. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:52

The headlines will change by tomorrow, but the patterns won't. Thanks for spending this time with us. We'll be back to keep asking the harder questions and telling the quieter truths. Until then, stay grounded, be discerning, and we'll see you next time.