The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Buck Brief - Did You Hear What Trump Said About Somalis?
Date: December 15, 2025
Host: Buck Sexton
Guest: Priya Patel, conservative commentator

Episode Overview

This episode dives into recent comments made by Donald Trump regarding Somali immigrants, using Minneapolis as a focal point to critique mass immigration and its consequences on local communities and public resources. Buck Sexton is joined by Priya Patel to discuss challenges in Somali-American communities, broader issues surrounding assimilation, welfare dependency, and the political implications of these social issues. The conversation then pivots into generational politics, California governance, and economic trends, particularly focusing on the impact of progressive policies in major cities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Somali Americans, Assimilation, and Welfare Concerns

[02:44–06:00]

• Allegations of Welfare Dependency

  • Buck Sexton states: “About 80% of Somali American families in Minneapolis are on some form of public assistance, which is a violation of immigration law or rather a violation of what's supposed to happen with our immigration process.” [02:44]
  • Contrasts Somali Americans’ average household income ($40,000, including benefits) with Nigerian Americans ($80,000), emphasizing assimilation and economic prosperity.

• Cultural Incompatibility & Assimilation Gaps

  • Priya Patel: “Somali individuals... are unfortunately a part of this cult-like behavior... [forming] little gangs ... they don't assimilate to our American culture. They don't conform to our norms here.” [03:37]
  • Patel argues that some immigrant groups are not integrating and are “mooch[ing] off of our system... not contributing to American culture, they're not contributing to American society.” [04:13]

2. Trump's Controversial Comments & the Reactions

[04:30–05:32]

• Buck references Trump’s recent remarks:

  • “He basically said it's like a garbage country. Like we don't need people from Somalia coming here. Which is, it's fascinating because... the elite media... want you to say, how dare he.... but our immigration system is supposed to bring us the best.” [04:30]
  • Connects the controversy to longstanding claims about the lack of vetting and the strain on public systems.

• Priya Patel supports Trump’s assessment:

  • “President Trump's comments about Somalia are very accurate. Somalia has not been a functioning country for decades... the people are just contributing to society and there's this alleged excellence, as Ilhan Omar likes to say, it's just simply not true.” [05:32]

3. Immigration Burden on Public Services

[06:00–08:53]

• Impact on Cities and Taxpayers

  • Buck describes consequences of high immigration in New York, such as increased ER wait times and hotel usage for migrants:
    • “30% of emergency room visits were these migrants ... The wait times exploded through the roof. They were taking schools and shutting them down... 20% of all hotels in New York City... were going to house these migrants.” [06:00]

• Socialism, Economic Strain, and Tax Fairness

  • Priya Patel: “It really takes a toll on the American taxpayers... Somalis on average pay about a tenth of the taxes that the rest of us Americans do.” [08:12]
  • Buck warns: “We cannot be the world's soup kitchen ... if we're just going to take in everybody who arrives and pay for all of their stuff, we're going to be $40 trillion in debt here really soon.” [08:53]

4. Government Spending, Millennial/Gen Z Political Shifts, and Economic Anxiety

[08:53–13:38]

• Bipartisan Reluctance to Cut Spending

  • Buck: “What Elon figured out is people don't want to cut this stuff. You say you want to cut ... but then where the spending is, it's bipartisan.” [09:51]

• Economic Frustrations of Younger Generations

  • Buck on political realignment: “Us millennials, we have increasingly moved to ... The millennials are figuring out reality faster and faster because they... deal with that reality. We were Gen Z... Gen Z just delivered Mamdani a victory in New York City… Miami just elected basically a socialist. And one of the big reasons for that is again, Gen Z coming out.” [10:44]

  • Priya Patel reflects on Gen Z views:

    • “We’ve kind of had the short end of the stick. ... Boomers... take a lot from the system... We have issues with interest rates, debt, cost of living ... Student loan debt is a whole other problem.” [11:50]
    • “Socialism is what caused these issues and it's not going to fix them.” [13:21]

5. California Politics, Governance, and Voter Attitudes

[13:38–18:21]

• Newsom's Record and State Finances

  • Priya Patel critiques California's leadership:
    • “Gavin Newsom and the California Democrats just spent over $3.3 billion on a special election to redistrict here in California. Where exactly is that money coming from? ... We had a balanced budget and when Gavin Newsom came into office ... he's completely destroyed that.” [15:05]
    • “Doing the same thing over and over again and not changing the results is not going to change anything. ... We have to change something here in California and that starts with the voters.” [15:57]

• Voter Fraud Concerns & Engagement

  • Priya Patel: “We do have a lot of fraud in our voting system here and ... it basically deters them from coming to vote.” [16:56]
  • She stresses Republican and independent disengagement compared to energized Democratic voters, and frames Newsom’s strategy as opposition-based, not constructive:
    • “He stands for nothing other than going against the president.” [18:16]

6. Closing: Where to Follow the Guest

[18:21–18:44]

• Priya Patel shares her social media handles for further California commentary and political analysis:
  • “You can find me on X, Instagram, TikTok.... It's my first name followed by two E’s and yeah.” [18:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Assimilation:

  • “They stick together like these little gangs ... they don't assimilate to our American culture. They don't conform to our norms here.”
    — Priya Patel [03:37]

• On Immigration System:

  • “We cannot be the world's soup kitchen because there are a lot of poor people ... if we're just going to take in everybody who arrives and pay for all of their stuff, we're going to be $40 trillion in debt here really soon.”
    — Buck Sexton [08:53]

• On Generational Economics:

  • “We’ve kind of had the short end of the stick.... Boomers... take a lot from the system economically that we aren’t going to see ourselves.”
    — Priya Patel [11:52]

• On California Governance:

  • “Doing the same thing over and over again and not changing the results is not going to change anything. ... We have to change something here in California and that starts with the voters.”
    — Priya Patel [15:57]

• On Newsom’s Political Strategy:

  • “He stands for nothing other than going against the president.”
    — Priya Patel [18:16]

Key Timestamps

• 02:44 — Start of Somali American and Minneapolis discussion
• 03:37 — Priya Patel on cultural incompatibility and assimilation
• 04:30 — Trump’s comments on Somalis and media reaction
• 05:32 — Priya Patel defends Trump’s assessment
• 06:00 — Buck on New York City’s migrant-driven public resource strain
• 08:12 — Priya Patel on economic impact to taxpayers
• 08:53 — Buck links immigration to runaway government debt
• 11:50 — Priya Patel on Gen Z’s economic struggles and political leanings
• 15:05 — Priya Patel critiques Gavin Newsom’s fiscal management
• 16:56 — Patel asserts voter fraud deters GOP/independent turnout in California
• 18:30 — Priya shares her social media links

Tone & Style Notes

The conversation is direct, heavily critical of mass immigration and progressive policies, and features a mix of statistical claims, anecdotal observations, and strong opinion. Both guests emphasize cultural and economic impacts, advocate for fiscal conservatism, and urge political change, especially in blue states like California.

This summary captures all major arguments and notable statements, providing a clear guide to the content and perspective of the episode for those who haven't listened.