The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode Title: Hour 1 – Dirty Dem Playbook
Date: February 19, 2026
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

In this first hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve into the major news stories dominating the headlines—specifically the arrest of Prince Andrew in relation to the Epstein emails and the political uproar over the James Talarico interview on Stephen Colbert's show. The hosts discuss these stories with their signature mix of humor and political commentary, questioning media priorities, the fascination with the British royal family, and Democratic Party maneuvering. They also touch on Buck's new book, "Manufacturing Delusion," and briefly preview looming geopolitical news.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Buck Sexton's Book Success & Amazon Rankings

• Clay opens the show by highlighting the early success of Buck’s new book, Manufacturing Delusion, which has reached No. 4 on Amazon’s bestseller list.
• Clay jokes about the books ahead of Buck’s: Theo of Golden and Jelly Roll’s wife’s autobiography.
  • “So that’s a tremendous accomplishment. Thanks to everybody out there who has been buying it. Congrats to Buck and can you take it to number one?” — Clay Travis (03:40)
• The book’s visibility (or lack thereof) in bookstores is discussed, with Buck making pointed comments about bias in physical retail book placement.

2. Prince Andrew’s Arrest and the Epstein Fallout

• The main news topic: Prince Andrew, King Charles’s brother, has been arrested, not for a sex crime, but for allegedly leaking classified or trade-related information connected to the Epstein files. (05:01 – 11:53)
• Clay and Buck emphasize that American news consumers are misinterpreting the story, expecting a sex crime charge:
  • “The royal—a bunch of inbred clowns. Who cares? This whole thing is absurd. And yet here we are.” — Buck Sexton (04:53)
  • “A lot of people are focusing on this in America and they're saying, oh, they're arresting him not for any sex related crime… It's for the idea that he might have disclosed inappropriately private information...” — Clay Travis (06:11)
• Discussion of UK laws: Buck explains the difference in speech protections and legal standards around "trade secrets" and the Official Secrets Act:
  • “The UK does not have freedom of speech…They can basically throw the book at you…they do not have a First Amendment." — Buck Sexton (10:51)
• They highlight public misperceptions:
  • "People are clicking on, 'Prince Andrew arrested,' and I think everyone is assuming they got him…on being, you know, a sex criminal, underage girls. It’s trade secrets." — Buck Sexton (11:53)

Royal Family Critique

• Both hosts take shots at the relevance of the royal family in America:
  • “These preposterous grifters…Meghan and Harry, the whole thing. Can we just stop with all this?” — Buck Sexton (12:42)
  • “They're original Kardashians on some level.” — Clay Travis (13:23)
  • "The King of England right now is a moron. Why do we care?" — Buck Sexton (13:26)
• Clay acknowledges the American fascination, especially among women, referencing his wife's consumption of British royal podcasts (15:00).

Implications for the Epstein Scandal

• They debate why the UK is acting on the emails while the U.S. is not:
  • “What it does do, Buck, is it keeps the Epstein story front and center.” — Clay Travis (11:53)
  • "They're not holding Prince Andrew responsible for anything having to do with Epstein sex crimes." — Buck Sexton (16:24)
• Relevant age of consent and legal angles are explained to illustrate why sex charges are not currently brought.

Notable Quote:

• “I have never seen a bigger threat to the future of the monarchy than what is unfurling right now.” — Piers Morgan, quoted/discussed by Buck and Clay (23:57)

3. The “Dirty Dem Playbook” – Colbert, Talarico, and Party Manipulation

• Discussion moves to the James Talarico interview controversy: an interview with the Texas Democrat was kept off broadcast TV supposedly due to “equal time” rules, but the YouTube version gets millions of views after Stephen Colbert raises a stink.
• Clay argues it’s a manufactured controversy benefitting Talarico’s primary campaign—a “rig job” by Democratic elites (28:50).
  • “The real victim here is not Stephen Colbert or James Talarico…it's Jasmine Crockett.” — Clay Travis (29:48)
  • “There’s nothing that could have been more clear than this was an op.” — Buck Sexton (31:12)
• CNN’s Harry Enten data is cited to show Talarico’s spike in search interest and prediction market odds (30:08).
• Buck makes comparisons to previous Democratic Party moves against Bernie Sanders and media manipulations in Trump-era CNN coverage.
• The hosts predict Talarico will ultimately lose in Texas, likening him to Beto O'Rourke.

4. Media, Book Industry, and Manufactured Narratives

• Buck shares his own experience of being marginalized in big box bookstores compared to liberal authors.
  • “There’ll be like 15…there’s a huge display of Meacham. But my book, you can’t even find it… It’s almost like you’re going to buy, you know, the naughty book that you’re not supposed to know exists.” — Buck Sexton (34:22)
• Clay highlights an Amazon review he wrote for Buck’s book, keeping the tone light and bantering about literary culture and Taylor Swift (36:00).
• The conversation reflects broader themes of information control and manufactured popularity—tying in Buck’s book title.

5. Geopolitical Tensions and Priorities in the News Cycle

• The absurdity of societal focus: Clay notes that while possible war with Iran looms, America’s media is fixated on the Prince Andrew story:
  • “We could go to war with Iran this weekend, but everyone wants to talk about Prince Andrew…” — Buck Sexton (17:47)
• Guests Steve Yates (on Iran) and Carol Markowitz (day’s issues) are teased for later hours (25:35).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the royals:
  "Just famous for being famous...they didn’t do anything and generally they're a bunch of losers and they're deeply unimpressed. I mean, the King of England right now is a moron. He's a…Why do we care?" — Buck Sexton (13:26)

• On media distraction:
  "We could go to war with Iran this weekend, but everyone wants to talk about Prince Andrew in the news right now." — Buck Sexton (17:47)

• On the Talarico controversy:
  "So we obeyed our network and put the interview on YouTube where it's gotten millions of views. And I can see why Talarico is an interesting guy… I wish we could have put it on the show where no one would have watched it." — Stephen Colbert, quoted by Clay Travis (28:10)

• On the “dirty Dem playbook”: "It's like the Democrat party ordered the hit. They used Colbert. And the real victim here…the bad guy is not Donald Trump...it's all Jasmine Crockett just getting dunked on by her own party." — Clay Travis (30:44)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | | ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | 02:36–04:51| Buck Sexton's book success, Amazon ranking discussion | | 05:01–14:41| Prince Andrew arrest and royal family/media analysis | | 14:41–17:53| Criticism of royal family, American fascination | | 23:09–24:20| Piers Morgan soundbite: monarchy under threat | | 25:35–32:46| Colbert/Talarico controversy, Dem primaries, media ops| | 33:48–37:04| Media bias in publishing, book industry experiences | | 41:21–47:21| Closing comments, audience call-ins, book promo |

Conclusion

The episode examines the intersection of media priorities, elite narratives, and public fascination with tabloid stories over substantial geopolitics, highlighting how manufactured controversies benefit select political players. With their usual wit and skepticism, Clay and Buck expose the inner workings of the media and political ecosystem, all while keeping Buck’s book—and their listeners’ engagement—at the center of the conversation.