The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show (Daily Review) – December 3, 2025

Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Host: iHeartPodcasts
Date: December 3, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features Clay Travis and Buck Sexton discussing the results of the special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, implications for national Republican strategies, trends in current culture and politics, and a live interview with Congressman Jim Jordan. The hosts blend serious political analysis with humor, personal stories, and engaging listener calls, tackling topics such as Republican unity, the effectiveness of "running with Trump," cancel culture, media missteps, and issues around assimilation in immigrant communities.

Table of Contents

1. Tennessee Special Election Recap
2. Republican Messaging and the Trump Effect
3. Voter Base, Party Identity & Turnout
4. Cultural Commentary: Advertising, Stocks, and Cancel Culture
5. Listener Calls & Grassroots Perspective
6. Interview: Congressman Jim Jordan
7. Trump and the Somali Fraud Story
8. Assimilation, Immigration, and Media Narratives
9. Notable Quotes & Moments
10. Timestamps Reference

Tennessee Special Election Recap (03:35)

• Clay Travis opens with gratitude to the show’s listeners:
  “We appreciate all of you, especially those of you who heard the clarion call to show up yesterday, in the final election of 2025 in Tennessee's 7th congressional district…” (03:35)
• Results: Republican Matt Van Epps won by nine points against Democrat Afton Bain, despite lower-than-usual voter turnout.
• Context: District had seen Trump win by a much larger 22-point margin in 2024. Democrats hoped low off-year turnout would help them flip the seat.
• Media Coverage: Clay critiques “legacy media” for dropping the story due to the Republican victory not fitting preferred narratives.

Republican Messaging and the Trump Effect (08:20)

• Takeaway: Clay asserts the key lesson is clear:
  “You got to run towards Trump. You cannot run away from him.” (08:20)
• Supporting Evidence: Van Epps’ victory speech highlights this, saying,

  “Running from Trump is how you lose. Running with Trump is how you win.” (08:37)

• Political Ramifications:
  Clay and Buck forecast this “run with Trump” strategy will be decisive in upcoming 2026 races, warning that Republicans must energize their base, especially in off-year or special elections.
• Clay’s Caution: Warns Republican Congress members not to create unnecessary vacancies that invite special elections, as off-year races favor highly-motivated Democratic bases (09:03–10:43).

Voter Base, Party Identity & Turnout (11:47)

• Democratic Base vs. Republican Base:
  Buck and Clay discuss how the Democratic base is more “loyal” or, as Buck humorously asserts, simply “have less to do,” characterizing many as making politics their core identity (10:43–11:47).
• Quote, Clay Travis:
  “There are a lot of people for whom the Democrat Party has become their sun, moon, and stars. It's their religion, it's their life, it's their entire value system.” (11:11)
• Personal Stories: Clay recounts freezing weather during the election and seeing elderly Democrat women out holding signs, describing this as evidence of core identity-driven activism (12:16–13:28).
• Psychological Dynamics:
  Buck connects progressive politics with avoidance of personal accountability, suggesting it allows adherents to justify past decisions through a group ethos (13:30).

Cultural Commentary: Advertising, Stocks, and Cancel Culture (22:09)

• American Eagle & Sydney Sweeney:
  Clay recalls summer culture wars over American Eagle’s ad featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, and how “left wing media” outrage ironically led to soaring sales and stock performance.
• Quote, Clay Travis (on advertising):
  “Advertising agencies are among the wokest of all brands... They try to make you think that the world looks differently than it does and that you should like things that you don't. It's all going up in flames, all of it.” (23:36)
• Broader Trend: Hosts assert cultural pushback is underway against “woke” advertising and media narratives.

Listener Calls & Grassroots Perspective (24:32)

• Carmen (Florida): Praises Van Epps win as a bulwark against “AOC-style” socialism expanding outside urban blue enclaves (24:32).
• Tom (Tampa): Surprised the margin wasn’t even greater, expects deep-red areas to deliver 25–30 point GOP victories, shares personal anecdotes about family, books, and demography.
• Nancy (Michigan): Argues for trusting Trump’s political instincts, even in outreach to previous opponents (28:41).
• Truck Driver Steve: Jokes about Buck’s “man card” – injecting humor about domesticity (30:32).

Interview: Congressman Jim Jordan (35:14)

Key Topics:

• House GOP Agenda:
  • Healthcare (“focusing on choice and competition, not more Obamacare subsidies”)
  • Appropriations & Budget: Calls for following proper government funding processes.
  • Regulatory & Tax Reform
• Campaign Strategy:
  • Campaign season “officially” kicks off in August 2026, but political campaigning is perpetual due to constant attacks and off-year elections. (38:28)
• Affordability Crisis & Inflation:
  • Jordan: “Even with prices stabilizing, everything still costs too much. It's going to take a while for the big beautiful bill, the tax cuts, [and] regulatory reform...to really impact.” (40:23)
• Democratic Party Lessons:
  • Jordan argues Democrats have doubled down on progressive policies and will continue to do so rather than learning from previous electoral missteps (44:18).
• FISA & Surveillance:
  • Jordan was personally surveilled by Jack Smith’s DOJ, raising alarms over abuse of power and 4th Amendment violations.
• Legislative Priorities:
  • Emphasizes protecting civil liberties in upcoming FISA reauthorization.

Selected Quote:

“Not all Democrats are crazy, but the left that controls their party is... We gotta highlight those things as well and then point to the positives that we've accomplished that make life better for families across this country.” (43:02)

Trump and the Somali Fraud Story (58:07)

• Trump on Minnesota Somali Community:
  • Trump criticizes massive fraud in Minnesota related to COVID feeding programs, blaming Somali migrants and “88% Welfare” dependency:

    “They contribute nothing. The Welfare is like 88%. I don’t want them in our country.” (58:07)

• Media Response:
  Buck notes the “anti-Trump media, the Democrats...are all in a tizzy about what Trump said here.” (58:57)

Assimilation, Immigration, and Media Narratives (63:17)

• Feeding Our Future Scandal:
  Clay presents numbers: 125 million fake meals billed, “the scale of this fraud should have been so easy to catch…” (59:18–60:18)
• Cultural Relativism as Defense:
  Discussion of a Minnesota courtroom case where a Somali defendant’s lawyer claims sex with underage girls is “standard behavior in Somalia” and he hasn’t assimilated – which both hosts condemn as incompatible with American values.
• Historical Comparison:
  Clay dismisses the equivalence between early 20th-century European immigration and recent non-Western migration, arguing for the importance of cultural alignment and assimilation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Van Epps’ lesson:

  “Running from Trump is how you lose. Running with Trump is how you win.” – Matt Van Epps (via Buck & Clay, 08:37)

• Clay on Republican base:

  “A lot of these crazy left wing people, they're so committed to it being their identity, how they vote, that… it would require them to revoke much of their entire life's work and they're unwilling to have that, that realization.” (14:39)

• On cost of living:

  “Everyone out there knows what that feeling is. When you go to buy something and in your head it feels like it should cost 20 bucks and instead it costs 30. Everybody knows that feeling.” – Clay Travis (41:35)

• Jim Jordan on surveillance:

  “I just found out two weeks ago that Jack Smith and his team were getting my phone records, spying and surveilling me for two and a half years… That's creepy, but that's what they were doing.” (46:16)

Timestamps Reference

• Tennessee Special Election Recap: 03:35–08:20
• Trump Effect & Republican Strategy: 08:20–10:43
• Base Turnout & Identity Politics: 10:43–13:28
• Cultural Commentary (American Eagle): 22:09–24:32
• Listener Calls: 24:32–32:31
• Interview – Congressman Jim Jordan: 35:14–48:09
• Trump on Somali Fraud: 58:07–59:08
• Assimilation & Immigration: 63:17–65:38

Episode Highlights & Tone

• The tone is irreverent, satirical, sometimes combative toward Democrats/progressives, and always aiming to mobilize the Republican listener base.
• The show seamlessly blends serious political analysis with pop culture, personal stories (parenting, marriage, sports, weather), and direct engagement with callers.
• There’s recurring humor about “man cards,” cold weather, and the “virtues” of South Florida living.

For New Listeners

If you missed the episode:

• It offers a real-time, right-leaning perspective on the mechanics of electioneering in America’s heartland, the strategic importance of “running with Trump,” and deep skepticism toward both progressive identity politics and bureaucratic inertia.
• The segment with Jim Jordan provides an inside look at Republican legislative priorities and the perceived misuse of federal investigative power.
• The show punctures woke and cancel culture messaging, celebrates GOP victories, and carries the message of cultural pushback both in politics and consumer behavior.

Catch their blend of humor, grassroots engagement, and MAGA-driven optimism anywhere you get your podcasts.