CLAY: We’re joined now by Eli Crane, former Navy SEAL, small business owner, husband, dad, and native Arizonan. Eli, the week after 9/11 you left school to join the Navy, five wartime deployments, three to Iraq as a sniper with SEAL Team 3. Tell me how this all came to be post-9/11.
I think another guy in Arizona did basically the same thing, Pat Tillman, who a lot of people know that story. How did you make the decision to leave University of Arizona, what has your life been like since, and what district are you running for so everybody listening to us in Arizona can make sure they vote for you?
CRANE: Hey, thanks for having me on, Buck. I appreciate it. So I’m Running In Congressional District 2 against the country’s most vulnerable Democrat, Tom O’Halloran. You know, like thousands of Americans, the week after 9/11 I actually decided to drop out of school, and I just really believe that it was my time to step up to this country. I know many men and women in generations before me did the same thing for this country to protect some of the freedoms and the prosperities that we have here.
And I knew that was a pivotal moment in our history, and I knew the next generation needed to step up. And I realized, Buck, that I could go back to school at any time. So I wanted to do that. I did that. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t make it through SEAL training my first time. I had to go back and do it a second time. But I’m grateful just that I got a chance to serve my country and serve with some of the finest men on the planet.
BUCK: Hey, Eli, the district you’re running it, I mean, obviously you’re spending a lot of time talking to the people, your constituents and figuring out what is top of mind for them. Clay and I have been discussing this. It looks like right now the polls aren’t quite as strong nationwide for Republicans in some of these races as we’d like to see them. The Red Wave is feeling more like it could be — at least some people think — a red ripple. I’m actually still pretty confident. What are people telling you? I mean, what are the top-of-mind issues for the voters that you’re speaking to in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional?
CRANE: Well, I think the economy and immigration are two of the big ones here. People also in this district and in Arizona generally are really upset and fired up about our elections as well. They don’t feel like our elections are tight or as transparent as the mainstream media would have us believe. You know, so those are a couple really big things right there that Arizonans, especially in this district, want to see turned around.
And the worst part about it, Buck, is I think we can all agree that when it comes to the border and also the economy it’s our own fault, it’s our own doing. And so that’s I think what rubs people the wrong way so hard is that they’re trying to struggle just to make ends meet. Make sure their kids can go to school. Make sure that they have gas in the tank and they can afford groceries. Meanwhile, this administration continues to promote bills and legislation and uncontrolled spending that continues to put us into a deeper and deeper hole.
CLAY: We’re talking to a guy who I hope all the voters out there are going to support, Eli Crane. Eli, again, I encourage everybody to support you. But you mentioned something that I wanted to unpack. You said you had to try twice as a Navy SEAL. This is grueling. This is unbelievably difficult. You made it as a second time. What happened the first time that you tapped out? And how tough was this? I know our audience loves the dedication Navy SEALs bring to bear. What was that training like for you? And why did you make it a second time after not making it the first?
CRANE: You know, it was brutal. And it’s designed to be that way and for good reason. And I think that’s why SEAL teams produce some of the best warriors on the planet. But for me honestly the first time I showed up, Buck, I wasn’t as prepared as I could have been. You know, I wasn’t as mature as I could have been. You know, I was more focused on myself and staying inside my comfort zone.
And I wasn’t as quick to get out of my comfort zone to help one of my brothers when they were carrying more weight or when they needed help. And that’s something that the SEAL instructors, they’ll smell on you real quickly. Are you more focused on your own comfort or will you get outside your comfort zone to help one of your brothers in a time of need? And they have a bunch of different ways to expose that.
And I just wasn’t ready. I wasn’t mature enough. And I actually made it through Hell Week my first attempt in SEAL training, but they told you, young man, you’re not ready, and we suggest that you come back in a year. It took me two-and-a-half years to come back, but I’m grateful, Buck, that they held the standards where they were. I’m grateful that I learned a tough lesson in life, and I’m grateful that I actually came back and made it through.
BUCK: We’re talking to Eli Crane. He’s running for Congress in Arizona. It’s Buck, Eli, and I’m just wondering what you think about the $3 billion I think it was yesterday that they just decided was gonna — additional $3 billion gonna — go to Ukraine. I mean, you know the face of warfare. You know what it’s like to be outside the wire and in a conflict zone. What do you think is going on over there?
CRANE: Well guys, when I look at this issue like I look at every issue, I’m an America First candidate. So, I try and put that America First lens between everything I look at, and when I look at the war in Ukraine and I look at all the money that we continue to send over, I look and I see the fact that we still don’t have a southern border. We have people pouring over that border every single day.
We’ve got over $30 trillion in debt, people are really struggling just to make ends meet. And as an America First candidate, it’s not that I don’t have any sympathy or empathy for Ukrainians — or anybody else, for that matter — or want to see unchecked Russian aggression. It’s just that I have to ask myself, are we putting Americans first? And I don’t believe that we are. And so that’s something, when I continue to see us send more money that we don’t even have — we have to print this money because we already are, I think, $33 trillion in debt.
You know, it really bothers me, because we continue to spend money that we don’t have protecting somebody else’s sovereignty and border. Meanwhile, we have no sovereignty, no border down south. And that’s paying heavy dividends to communities and people all over this country when you see fentanyl pouring through that southern border, when you see sex trafficking pouring through that southern border, when you see MS-13 gang members coming through that border. You know, and I think that’s why we need America First candidates now more than we ever have just because of this country being on fire like it is.
BUCK: Eli, where can folks go to learn more about your campaign and help out?
CRANE: Thank you, Buck. I appreciate it. People can go to EliForArizona.com if they want to help us out. Like I said, we’re running against most vulnerable Democrat in the country, and so this is definitely a very winnable race.
BUCK: Well, Eli, thank you for your service, sir, and we will have you back when you are Congressman Crane. Looking forward to it.
CRANE: Thank you, brother.