Buck Brief - Smacking Down Colbert Show FCC Lies

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Buck Brief – Smacking Down Colbert Show FCC Lies

Date: February 19, 2026
Host: Buck Sexton
Guest: Danielle Gill

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on Buck Sexton and guest Danielle Gill dissecting a controversy involving Stephen Colbert’s show and claims about the FCC's equal time rule. The discussion weaves through media misrepresentation, Democratic intraparty politics, and cultural topics relevant to Texas, while also exploring broader issues in American society—from migration and urban politics to parenting. The tone is energetic, opinionated, and laced with humor and conservative commentary.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Colbert Show, the FCC Rule, and Political Spin

(03:02–05:38)

• Buck calls out a "fake controversy" over claims that Colbert’s show couldn’t host James Tallarico because of the FCC’s equal time rule, calling it a "non story" per FCC Commissioner Carr.

• Danielle suggests Colbert wanted to promote Democrat Tallarico without giving his primary opponent, Jasmine Crockett, equal time—implying bias and favoritism among media liberals.

• They observe the irony that complaints for equal time now come from within Democratic ranks, potentially putting Colbert in a difficult position.

  Notable Quote:

  "What did libs just love to cry over? Nothing. Is that what this is?"
  — Buck Sexton (03:52)

  Notable Quote:

  "I think Colbert got kind of caught red handed because he basically wanted to promote Talarico... but since there's a Trump person in now, weirdly, I guess now that Crockett is complaining, she's kind of on the Trump side."
  — Danielle Gill (03:53)

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2. Texas Politics and Migration Pressures

(05:38–06:13)

• Danielle, a Texas resident, expresses pride in the state but notes challenges:

  • An influx of liberals and tech migration changing Texas culture.
  • Issues involving sharia law and "keeping Texas, Texas."

• Buck relates as a former New Yorker now in Florida, both joking about fleeing "insanity."

  Notable Quote:

  "Texas is beautiful. It's a wonderful place, except for all of the kind of weird stuff that gets imported into Texas. We have to stop that."
  — Danielle Gill (05:46)

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3. Urban Progressivism and Cultural Clashes (New York Example)

(06:13–08:27)

• Buck highlights NYC's ballooning budget and progressive governance, celebrating his move to “sane” Florida.

• Danielle references a controversial NYC social media debate over “Muslims vs. dogs," implying incompatibility and cultural conflict from recent migrations.

  Notable Quote:

  "Once you experience the sanity of a state where adults are, you know, for the most part, adults are in charge... the communist madness just feels like untenable."
  — Buck Sexton (06:38)

  Notable Quote:

  "Why do we have so many Muslims who are taking over cities like New York? ... They really hate dogs."
  — Danielle Gill (07:39)

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4. Dogs, Parenthood, and Family Life

(08:27–09:21)

• They share anecdotes about kids, dogs, and parental decisions, with Buck encouraging Danielle to add a dog to her household.
• Both frame growing up with dogs as formative for children.

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5. Democratic Politics: Personalities and 2024–2026 Prospects

(10:53–12:58)

• Buck and Danielle critique Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ("AOC") for her international policy "word salads" and lack of substantive answers on Taiwan.

• The dialogue morphs into broader speculation about future Democratic candidates—Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, AOC—viewed as liabilities by the hosts.

  Notable Quote:

  "She didn't even answer the question... I feel like she doesn't understand international relations at all."
  — Buck Sexton (11:11)

  Notable Quote:

  "I actually thought [AOC] was a little bit more talented than Kamala Harris before, but I feel like she's really taken a nosedive. She's gotten... a lot worse, honestly."
  — Danielle Gill (11:18)

  Notable Quote:

  "He really wants it... obviously, he's been a horrible governor of California, but the Democrats seem to like that he takes Trump to task."
  — Danielle Gill on Gavin Newsom (11:57)

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6. Texas Primaries and Danielle’s Voting

(12:58–13:26)

• Danielle reveals she has already voted in Texas's early primaries but declines to endorse anyone, expecting run-offs.

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7. Parenthood: Reality vs. Preconception

(13:26–17:31)

• Buck and Danielle pivot to parenting’s joys and surprises, debunking common negative cultural messages about having children.

• Both agree the rewards outweigh supposed sacrifices, and Danielle frames motherhood as a transformative, positive identity shift.

  Notable Quote:

  "My only regret. I wish I had five kids."
  — Buck Sexton (15:29)

  Notable Quote:

  "I think there's just, like, a hierarchy of goods. And having, like, a beautiful marriage, beautiful family, all those things is just going to be so much more fulfilling in life than a lot of the side fun things."
  — Danielle Gill (16:34)

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Memorable Moments

• Media Satire: Buck’s mockery of Colbert and Democratic media manipulation (03:52, 04:57).
• Urban Refugee Banter: Shared laughs over “escaping” New York and reasons to cherish Florida/Texas (06:13–06:38).
• Cultural Critique: Danielle’s blunt take on migration and demographic change (07:39).
• Parenting Joys: Both hosts express candid, positive takes on parenting, countering “doom” narratives (13:26–17:31).

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps & Attribution)

• "What did libs just love to cry over? Nothing. Is that what this is?"
  — Buck Sexton (03:52)
• "I think Colbert got kind of caught red handed because he basically wanted to promote Talarico..."
  — Danielle Gill (03:53)
• "Texas is beautiful... except for all of the kind of weird stuff that gets imported."
  — Danielle Gill (05:46)
• "Once you experience the sanity of a state where adults are, you know, for the most part, adults are in charge... communist madness just feels like untenable."
  — Buck Sexton (06:38)
• "Why do we have so many Muslims who are taking over cities like New York? ... They really hate dogs."
  — Danielle Gill (07:39)
• "She didn't even answer the question... I feel like she doesn't understand international relations at all."
  — Buck Sexton (11:11)
• "I actually thought she [AOC] was a little bit more talented than Kamala Harris before, but... she's really taken a nosedive."
  — Danielle Gill (11:18)
• "My only regret. I wish I had five kids."
  — Buck Sexton (15:29)
• "Having, like, a beautiful marriage, beautiful family... is just going to be so much more fulfilling in life than a lot of the side fun things."
  — Danielle Gill (16:34)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Intro/Bantern, Ads: 00:00–03:02 (skip for content)
• FCC Rule & Colbert Controversy: 03:02–05:38
• Texas politics, Migration discussion: 05:38–06:13
• Urban policy & Migration in NYC: 06:13–08:27
• Dogs & Parenting anecdotes: 08:27–09:21
• Media Advocacy, AOC, and Dem 2024/26: 10:53–12:58
• Texas Primary/Voting: 12:58–13:26
• Parenthood Realities: 13:26–17:31
• Wrap Up/Show Plug: 18:02–18:12

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Tone and Style

The episode is informal, irreverent, and rooted in conservative critique—punctuated with banter, jibes at political opponents, and playful commentary on family life. Both hosts speak candidly, blending news analysis, opinion, and humor.

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For New Listeners

This episode provides incisive conservative commentary on political media manipulation, intraparty Democratic strife, and the real-life tensions facing Texas and urban America. The latter part offers a refreshingly optimistic look at parenting. Key takeaways include skepticism toward media narratives and a spirited defense of family values.

Transcript

[Danielle Gill]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Danielle Gill]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Danielle Gill]

for healing, learn more and sign the

[Buck Sexton]

[e-mail] youm're listening to the Buck Sexton show podcast. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast

[Sponsor/Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

get your podcasts back by popular demand and also with the memo to wear blue on the show. Our friend Danielle Gill is with us. She has the Danielle Gill show which is very exciting and it will be launching soon again. It's she's Been a little busy. She's got baby number two, the same age as my first baby. So we can talk about parenthood stuff as well. But we're gonna talk some news of the day with our friend Danielle. Good to see you.

[Danielle Gill]

Thank you, Bucks. Thank you for having me on. And yes, I'm such a big fan of speed. Winston's the same age as Speed, so it's. It's a lot of fun.

[Buck Sexton]

It is. It is great. Although I do feel like I have to keep my eyes on him whenever he is roaming free on his belly now because he's in that age where, like, he's just grabbing everything and, like, putting things in his mouth. And I'm like, oh, God, you know.

[Danielle Gill]

You know, I'll tell you one thing, I don't think.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, he. The dog toys. We have dog toys that, you know, people say, oh, we'll keep them with the dog. Yeah, the dog leaves them all over the house. Like the dog. We try to keep them in one place and speed goes right for the dog toys. It's pretty crazy what ends up happening. So anyway, uh, let's talk about saving the republic, things like that for a second here. Although talking about babies is far more fun, to be honest with you. Um, we have first up, the fake controversy around the fcc. You know, I talked to FCC Commissioner Carr about this, and he says the whole thing is a total non story, but the Colbert show was claiming that they couldn't have on James Tallarico because there was an equal time thing. What, what did lips just love to cry over? Nothing. Is that what this is?

[Danielle Gill]

You know, I think Colbert got kind of caught red handed because he basically wanted to promote Talarico. I think he is in with the Democrats. The Democrats know that Jasmine Crockett, she doesn't really have a chance to win a statewide race in Texas. She's running in this primary against Talarico for Texas Senate as the Democrat nominee. And so I think Colbert was like, you know what? I want to promote Talarico. And he wasn't really thinking that they would come after him to say, hey, you need to give equal time to this woman. Because a lot of the time they just operate, you know, without impunity, and they don't really care if you actually violate this. But since there's a Trump person in now, weirdly, I guess now that Crockett is complaining, she's kind of on the Trump side and she's the one who's saying that she should get equal time. And so, yeah, maybe Colbert should Give her equal time and then Democrats can see. But, you know, a lot of Colbert's fans probably like Crockett because she's so crazy liberal. So he was. He probably doesn't really want to give her the time because they'll see how crazy she is. But then it's just hard because Democrats actually do like Crockett.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, it's a weird deal because also, if the equal time rule was applied, it would just mean that they would have to have on more Democrats on his show because is a primary. So what's the censorship? I also, you know, I got a pretty deep dive into this with the. With the commissioner. This is one of these stories that you say, like, I can't even believe it. This is really a thing. But they've made it a thing because they want attention. And I think it's actually worked. So in a sense, I tip my hat to them. They're scummy and they lie, but they do know how to get attention because people are now talking about this James Tallariku guy who seems really boring and hopefully is going to get absolutely destroyed in his Senate contest in. In the state of Texas. You're a Texas resident, aren't you?

[Danielle Gill]

I am a Texas resident. Howdy.

[Buck Sexton]

How's that going? How's life down in the. In the. In the big great state of Texas?

[Danielle Gill]

Texas is beautiful. It's a wonderful place, except for all of the kind of weird stuff that gets imported into Texas. We have to stop that because there's a lot of liberals that have moved down here. And then obviously we have migration issues because of a lot of the tech jobs, and we have issues with the Sharia law. So there's definitely a lot that we're working on as far as Texas. Keeping Texas. Texas. But Texas is amazing.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, no, it's good. I mean, the one thing that keeps coming up these days, as a Floridian now, and we both formerly lived in New York, so we are like refugees from the madness. Did you see what Mom, Donnie Kami Mamdani is doing, I might add, in New York? Jacking up taxes and taking the proposed budget to $127 billion.

[Danielle Gill]

Oh, my gosh. I mean, are you loving Florida since you're not in New York anymore?

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, it is a great state, a great place. And I tell everybody who will vote the correct way, which is, of course, vote right, live the right way, vote the right way. I tell everybody who's considering it, absolutely come down here. It's fantastic. And once you experience the sanity of a state where adults are, you know, for the most part, adults are in charge. I mean, our governor is great. The state legislature does a lot of very sane, very good things. Once you experience that, the idea of going back to the communist madness just feels like untenable. Why would you ever do such a silly thing?

[Danielle Gill]

No, you can't. I mean, there was the whole, you know, the Muslims versus the dogs, But, I mean, how do you even raise kids in a city like New York? I don't know where they having all these issues with mom, Donnie. I guess it's. It's very unsafe.

[Buck Sexton]

What was the Muslim? I didn't. I didn't actually read this story. I didn't read the story. But you. You clearly did. The Muslims dogs thing in New York. What is that?

[Danielle Gill]

Oh, well, I think this was going around on Twitter where it was basically people were either kind of siding with who. Who should we choose, the Muslims or the dogs? Because this representative, Randy Fine, tweeted about it, and I think some people really came out strong against him, and some people came out the other way. Honestly, it just made me think, why do we have to ask this question, like, why do we have so many Muslims who are taking over cities like New York? Why do we even have this problem as far as the issue goes? But I think that it's just a deep example of just a cultural. Cultural rot where we have these mass, mass migration. We have all of these different cultures in a certain place. And so, you know, they. They really hate dogs. So I think you really love the dogs, then just don't. Don't get a dog.

[Buck Sexton]

Do you have a dog?

[Danielle Gill]

You know what? I grew up with a dog. I love dogs. But I think because of the two kids, I just. I'm very busy with them. So I almost got a dog, like, right before my first kid was born. And then I was like, I need to put it off for a minute because I just. It's going to be a lot. So I do. I do.

[Buck Sexton]

You weren't expecting this. On the podcast that I tell. It's Danielle. It's. I'm. I'm going to talk. I'm going to talk to the Mr. Because it's dog time. It's dog time in the Gill household. All right. You got to get this going. The puppy, my dog and. And Speed are best friends already, and they're so cute together. And once you get in that rhythm, I mean, I don't know. I. I know that you got your hands more than just full. You got two kids. We only got one over here. But I'm, I'm so pro dog for people and I think it's great to as a kid grow up with a dog in your household. A lot of, a lot of lessons

[Danielle Gill]

and a lot of kid can help take care of the dog. I'm, I'm good.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Danielle Gill]

Yeah. I mean, I think that she's just so much like Kamala Harris now. She just has the word salads. I actually thought she was a little bit more talented than Kamala Harris before, but I feel like she's really taken a nosedive. She's gotten, like, a lot worse, honestly. I guess there's her. There's Jasmine Crockett. I guess all the Democrats are going to compete with each other over who's the most, who's the most left, but then also who's the most crazy. So I, I, I don't know at this point what would draw someone to that, but I guess on the left,

[Buck Sexton]

who's gonna be the Democrat? Who's gonna be the Democrat nominee? Who's gonna be the Democrat nominee? Come on.

[Danielle Gill]

Is the most, like.

[Buck Sexton]

Yep.

[Danielle Gill]

That's what I see going for it. He really wants it. He's really put himself out there. Obviously, he's been a horrible governor of California, but the Democrats seem to like that he takes Trump to task. I just. I just don't see how they can run Kamala again. Even though I think some of the, you know, online polling kind of shows that she's up there. But I just don't think they. They'll run her again. I aoc. I guess they could run her. That'd be awesome, because I just don't see how she could ever potentially win anything. Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay and I have a bet over whether Kamala will run. I said initially, I'm like, I don't think she's gonna run because she was so horrible, but somehow she has the name recognition and the delusion. I think that she may run again. Now I might have to buy Clay a steak, which is going to drive me nuts because I should be winning all of our bets. But she is terrible if she runs. The good thing is, I think Republicans are in a great spot if she becomes the nominee, are in a great spot to win in the next election. Are you. Are you endorsing or picking anybody in the Texas primary coming up, or are you staying out of that one?

[Danielle Gill]

The Texas prime, like the Senate, Ag Senate.

[Buck Sexton]

Any of the above. Yeah.

[Danielle Gill]

Your Senate race. No. Have not. Have not gotten involved in those. But early voting's already started. Already voted. And so our primaries are really early. They're already underway right now. And I think it's going to be potentially two runoffs, honestly, for both races, the center race and the AG race. So I am excited to see who makes it to those.

[Buck Sexton]

And we're moving all over the place on topics here today. What is the best but unexpected thing about being a mom?

[Danielle Gill]

Oh, wow. The best but most unexpected thing. Gosh, I feel like you, before you have kids, you think it's a certain thing and then once you have kids you realize it's totally different, but it's so much better than you thought it was going to be. So it's actually great. So I would say everything is basically was unexpected. For me anyways. I would say the best, most unexpected thing is probably just all the things that when you don't have kids you think, oh, that might be annoying. Maybe that gets in the way of my adult life. It's actually kind of just awesome because you realize you didn't really want those other things anyways. So I think it's just kind of a new identity, especially for the moms because the baby like needs you so much and you're the one taking care of a baby a lot. So I just feel like it's, it's actually a great change in your identity as a person because you can just really focus on your kids and focus on your family and even when you're married before you have kids, you just don't have that like full re. Like shift of identity in that way.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I, I really am happy to hear you say that because before I had a kid, first of all, I've been talking about these things for a long time on the radio. Disease, different kinds of issues about a whole range of things. And one of them would be, I would say, I don't know why people, for example, let their kids misbehave so much in public or even like bring a baby that's hysterically crying to like a quiet romantic restaurant on a Friday night at 8 o'. Clock. And I would always have these people who would write in things or you know, calling to yell at me on radio and be like, just wait till you have kids. Well, now I've had a kid for 10 months and I can tell you I've never done that. I've never actually brought him. Now I'll bring him to a restaurant, we'll bring him to restaurants. But if he gets so fussy that we can't, I'm either taking him out or I'm taking them home. I'm not going to sit there and let people try to, you know, eat their, you know, 80$80 filet mignon or whatever, which is what it costs here in Miami beach while my baby is crying his head off. So I feel like people create a lot of excuses for Themselves, which I don't. I just think that that's become very apparent to me. But the other one, and this is people take a negative view of some of these things. The other one is people like, oh, it's so much work. And I sit here, I'm like, you know, if you tell us if you're, like, encouraging someone to go to the gym, which is going to have great health effects for them and a whole range of things. Yeah, like, it's going to be hard, but of course, like, it's good. I don't know. I just think that there's a weird. Oh, just wait till it happens. Like, your life is never going to be the same in our culture, where people are trying to convince you that having kids is this almost like this burden. And I'm sitting here and I'm like, my only regret. I wish I had five kids. Like, I wish I had the time with my wife to, like, try to pop out five of these little guys or gals. I just think it's. And we just need more people to realize the truth of what you just said, which is the biggest surprise is that you are excited about it, it's good, and you really wanted this more than anything, and it's even better than you thought it would be. I feel like that's the lesson that parents should know they're in for, as long as they approach it with love in their hearts and the right attitude.

[Danielle Gill]

Yeah, totally. It's like there was some, like, meme circulated on X where, I don't know, some woman was like, I don't have kids, so I can go to Italy and eat pasta and all this stuff. And some other women would be like, oh, but I, you know, can do both of those things. So it works great. Another one's like, you know, And I guess I would just say that even if you can't have both of those things, the baby is so much better than your trip or the. Or the dinner example or any of those things. So, yeah, you know, that's great if you can take your kid to dinner. But also, you never want to give up having kids or all those things so that you can go to dinner. So sometimes I think those things are, like, pitted against each other. It's almost like compared, where you can, you know, kind of have both or have one or the other. And I think there's just, like a hierarchy of goods. And having, like, a beautiful marriage, beautiful family, all those things is just going to be so much more fulfilling in life than a lot of the side fun things.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. It turns out that avocado toast at brunch isn't the timeless necessary exercise that some people are led to believe in their, like, 20s and maybe into their early 30s. Like, it. It's okay. You can actually still eat toast and avocado while you have kids, in fact. And it. And it tastes good. Yeah. All good. All right. Well, thank you so much, Danielle Gill, for hanging out with us on the show. Do you know when your show is going to launch? Relaunch, I should say. Or is it still tbd?

[Danielle Gill]

Yes, on Monday. So I am really looking forward to it. So you can find it on Apple, so Spotify, social media, all the places.

[Buck Sexton]

Danielle, great to see you. Thank you so much.

[Danielle Gill]

Thank you. People at work supported me while I was going through treatment by not treating me like somebody who was going through treatment. Treatment sucks. Cancer sucks. Being engaged with work really helped, too. Oh, I just knew I was going to beat this thing.

[Buck Sexton]

Research shows there is a significant connection between the ability to continue to work and cancer recovery. We can make work a better place for healing, Learn more and sign the

[Danielle Gill]

[e-mail] this is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.