Hour 1 - Masterclass on Handling the Press

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 1 – Masterclass on Handling the Press
Date: January 7, 2026
Host: Clay Travis, Buck Sexton
Producer: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton dissect breaking news and controversy surrounding the White House’s press strategy amid major U.S. foreign policy decisions – particularly the high-profile Venezuela oil operation and talk of acquiring Greenland. They analyze how the administration is mastering White House press briefings, how politicians and cabinet officials are outmaneuvering the press, and how these moves fit into a broader rethink of American power and expansionism. Purveying their signature mix of political insight and humor, the hosts take a deep dive into U.S. foreign strategy, Western civilization’s influence, and the effectiveness of the Trump administration’s communications team.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Venezuela Operation and U.S. Leverage on Oil

Timestamps: 01:00 – 07:45; 09:00 – 10:05; 30:09 – 34:27

• The administration’s bold move: seizing 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, to be sold on Venezuela and the United States’ behalf.
  • Clay Travis: "They have the Venezuelan regime, they have the country of Venezuela by the jugular. Without oil, the whole thing collapses." (02:03)
• Deep concern from the press over how oil sale proceeds will be allocated and safeguarded from corruption, given Venezuela’s notorious kleptocracy.
• Global ramifications: Lower oil prices threaten Russian revenue for the war in Ukraine.
  • Clay Travis: "Russia, if oil and gas moves into the $40 a barrel range, they aren’t able to actually fund much of what they're trying to do with Ukraine." (06:41)
• The unsung role of U.S. oil companies in national security, with fracking and energy independence undermining adversaries like Russia and Iran.
  • Clay Travis: "The unsung heroes of the last 20 years are the oil companies that fracked and brought America into energy superpower status. It's never talked about this way." (07:21)
• Trump’s direct message on the plan posted to Truth Social:

  • "I am pleased to announce that the interim authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 million barrels of high quality sanctioned oil to the United States...that money will be controlled by me as President...to ensure it's used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States." (30:20)

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2. Expansionism and the Greenland Proposal

Timestamps: 09:42 – 16:46

• Breaking news: Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly reaffirms the administration’s intent to buy Greenland.
  • Marco Rubio: "That's always been the president's intent from the very beginning… He talked about it in his first term… Not only did Truman want to do it, but President Trump’s been talking about this since his first term." (09:45)
• Clay and Buck challenge why buying land is now taboo, discussing America’s history of advantageous land deals like Louisiana, Alaska, and the Virgin Islands.
  • Clay Travis: "Why does that story stop right now? What's the rationale behind that?" (10:05)
• They probe the logic and morality assigned to colonization and territorial expansion, hitting on the perceived hypocrisy that Denmark can “own” Greenland but U.S. interest is controversial.
  • Buck Sexton: "If owning countries is so wrong, why is Greenland owned by Denmark? ...if what we are proposing to do is so wrong, why would they have a property interest?" (15:17)
• Proposal for self-determination: hold a Greenlandic plebiscite and offer cash payments.
  • Clay Travis: "Why can't we make Greenland an offer that they don’t want to refuse? …Why can't they have a plebiscite and say, you know what, America actually is making things pretty sweet for us and our heirs and our posterity." (16:32)
• Historical context: U.S. Virgin Islands acquisition (1917, $25 million in gold), referencing shifting global perspectives on territorial purchases.

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3. The Western Civilization Debate

Timestamps: 11:05 – 14:10; 34:27 – 36:47

• Clay & Buck offer direct, provocative defenses of Western civilization and its legacy.
  • Buck Sexton: "Almost everyone in the world is in a better position now... because of western civilization. And Western civilization spread through colonization and it made every country ultimately better off today than it would have been..." (11:05)
• They criticize what they see as a simplistic condemnation of colonization and celebrate the spread of technology, medicine, and law.
  • Clay Travis: "Maybe it's time for a little rewrite of the colonial narrative. The global colonial narrative. I don't know. A little bit of thank you here and there might be nice too. A little bit of thanks for the roads, the medicine, the technology and the laws..." (13:34)
• Urge Americans to stop apologizing for Western civilization and affirm its positive contributions.

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4. U.S. Border Security and Trump Administration Effectiveness

Timestamps: 21:33 – 22:51

• Recognition of the administration’s swift success in securing the border—an issue previously deemed intractable.
  • Clay Travis: "No one even talks about it anymore. It's not even a topic of discussion."
• The show positions the Venezuela operation alongside the Osama bin Laden raid in terms of complexity and national achievement.

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5. Masterclass in Handling the Press

Timestamps: 22:53 – 27:21

• Praise for key Trump officials—Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance—for their media acumen and ability to dismantle hostile press narratives.
  • Pete Hegseth: (mocking CNN’s cost questions) "Now that they're in our hemisphere… you're asking the question of cost. It’s a disingenuous question to begin with. You're trying to find any angle possible to undermine the success of one of the most historic military missions the world has ever seen." (23:35)
• Analysis that the administration’s media skills outstrip those of journalists, thanks in part to TV experience.
  • Buck Sexton: "What Pete Hegseth is demonstrating here is something that I think you and I...are able to demonstrate quite frequently is most media that are trying to drive narratives are not actually that smart. And so what he’s doing is he’s rebutting the premise of their question because he already recognizes what the intent...is." (24:37)
• Emphasis: effective communication is not a liability but an asset for government leaders.

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6. Trump’s New Housing Policy Proposal

Timestamps: 37:58 – 40:31

• Trump’s statement about banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes to keep homeownership accessible to Americans.
  • Clay Travis (reading Trump’s post): "For that reason and much more, I'm immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single family homes. And I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations." (37:58)
• Discussion on practical considerations and definitions: What constitutes a ‘large corporate interest’? What are the implications for the housing market and individual investors?

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Clay Travis: "The unsung heroes of national security in America are the oil companies." (07:21)
• Buck Sexton: "Climate change is a religion for sanctimonious wimps with low T." (07:53)
• Marco Rubio: "This is not new. He (Trump) talked about it in his first term." (09:45)
• Pete Hegseth: "You're trying to find any angle possible to undermine the success of one of the most historic military missions the world has ever seen." (23:35)
• Buck Sexton: "If owning countries is so wrong, why is Greenland owned by Denmark?" (15:17)
• Clay Travis: "Maybe it's time for a little rewrite of the colonial narrative." (13:34)

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Segment Timestamps

• Venezuela oil operation context and strategy: 01:00 – 07:45
• Discussion on U.S. energy independence and global security: 07:21 – 08:27
• Greenland purchase proposal and historic expansion: 09:42 – 16:46
• Western civilization and colonialism debate: 11:05 – 14:10; 34:27 – 36:47
• White House/Trump Administration press handling & communications: 22:53 – 27:21
• Trump’s housing market proposal: 37:58 – 40:31

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Summary Takeaways

• The Trump administration’s approach to Venezuela is framed as a model of both decisive action and shrewd resource leverage, with broader geopolitical aims (undercutting Russia, stabilizing a hemisphere).
• The show forcefully revisits historic American expansionism, criticizing recent taboos against territorial acquisition and colonial legacy critiques.
• Communication skills are depicted as indispensable tools for 21st-century governance, with Trump’s team commended for outmaneuvering the press and “selling” their policies directly to the public.
• Listeners are urged to reexamine assumptions about Western civilization, colonization, and the mechanisms of American power.

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(Note: Ads and promotional segments were skipped as requested. Timestamps provided in MM:SS format for ease of reference.)

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Buck Sexton]

Guaranteed Human.

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[Clay Travis]

As a consumer, you decide which companies succeed with your purchasing power. PureTalk wants to say heartfelt thank you for choosing them. Because of you, PureTalk had a record breaking year. You've helped them donate over half a million dollars to America's Warrior Partnership to help prevent veteran suicide. You also help provide 1000 hand sewn made in America flags to veterans. And you're supporting US jobs by choosing a proudly American company from the PureTalk family. Thank you for your trust and God bless America. A new year means new financial goals, like making sure your savings are secure and diversified. Will this be the year you finally talk to someone from Birch Gold Group? There are forces pushing the dollar lower and gold higher, which is why they believe every American should own some physical gold until January 30th. If you're a first time gold buyer, Birch Gold is offering a rebate of up to $10,000 on qualifying purchases. To claim eligibility and start the process, just text my name. Buck to 9898 98. Take advantage of this rebate, but you got to do it by January 30th. Text my name Buck to 9898 98. Today. Welcome in everybody to the Wednesday edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show. Oh my. We've got. I think we got Caroline Levitt right now. Addressing the White House press corps, we just had some big statements from Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the Venezuela situation. We are going to bring that to you. The first White House briefing since the Maduro arrest is underway. The press is frothy and feisty in their pushing on the various issues here. They were very upset, very upset. I think Clay, in part because the incredible success of the actual raid, the mission itself, overwhelms their desire to turn January 6 into a national day of continuous mourning forever. You know, everyone was much more interested in what's happening now in the world and the big moves the administration is making even over at MSNBC or Ms. Now, as it is apparently called. Not that anyone knows, because very few people are watching. They weren't able to give the same kind of gusto to it. But we will focus on what really does, in fact, matter. There's also a hearing going on on the Minnesota Somali daycare fraud situation. We have updates on a whole range of things relating to Venezuela, including Trump just straight up saying, we're going to handle the oil situation for the foreseeable. And this is the plan, this is the strategy, Clay. They have the Venezuelan regime, they have the country of Venezuela by the jugular. Without oil, the whole thing collapses. They control the oil, they control the country and essentially everything that happens within it at a certain level.

[Buck Sexton]

And oh, by the way, Marco Rubio.

[Clay Travis]

You want to do Venezuela or Greenland first here?

[Buck Sexton]

Because Marco Rubio did just say something.

[Clay Travis]

Pretty big about Greenland.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, they're putting that in because this just happened in the press conference. So what I think they're connecting. Do we have it now? Here is. Guys, do we have that clip in yet?

[Clay Travis]

Not yet. Not. Let's. Let's talk Venezuela.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah. Has basically said as a tease that we intend to buy Greenland. We talked about this some yesterday, so we'll get to that in a little bit because there's lots of expansionist discussion. But yeah, let's talk about Venezuela. The decision to basically take charge of 50 million barrels of oil, sell them on behalf of Venezuela and the United States. That is the latest news as it pertains to what is going to happen inside of Venezuela.

[Clay Travis]

And this is also answering, I think, some of the questions that are coming up already about what is the plan here? Well, the plan is to take a. We will direct, to the degree that we can, the future of Venezuela. But the actual on the ground, what's happening will be left up to the Venezuelan people. And it's very straightforward. You can either play things the right way and you can be collaborative with the United.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I think we lost Buck there for a second. So the question that is going to be asked is what is the plan in place to put these 50 million barrels of oil on the market? And how in the process of putting them on the market, do we allocate the dollars in each of those Places. So what percentage of this money goes to the United States as sort of the broker, I would imagine, of the 50 million barrels of oil? And also then how do we handle this in terms of Venezuela getting the money so that we know that it's being spent in a way that is not going to be detrimental to the overall country? And frankly, the kleptocracy is what has led to much of the collapse of the Venezuela oil industry. Also, in a larger context here, this is really important too, and it hasn't been talked about a great deal, but basically Russia funds everything that they are doing in Ukraine with all of the money that they make off of their oil and gas. So what happens when Russia is having to deal with a collapsing oil and gas price, by which I mean oil and gas. If you're out there driving around right now in your car, the price of oil and gas is at four year lows. And I know whenever I say this, somebody sends me a picture of whatever the local gas station in your neighborhood is, it's different, right? California, because they have all of the ridiculous anti fuel standards that they have put in place. It costs way more to fill up your gas tank in California than it does in Texas or it does in basically any red state in the country. And so as the price of oil and gas has come down, gas is way cheaper now than it was during the peak of the Biden era. As we have worked our way through the cost of oil and gas, Russia, if oil and gas moves into the $40 a barrel range, they aren't able to actually fund much of what they're trying to do with Ukraine.

[Clay Travis]

And well, this is why the, the unsung heroes of national security in America are the oil companies. That's right. The unsung heroes of the last 20 years are the oil companies that fracked and brought America into energy superpower status. It's never talked about this way. The climate change lunatics get all the what's going on?

[Buck Sexton]

I'm not even hearing. But buck on that point. Climate change has just vanished. Have you noticed that? They just don't even talk about it anymore.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, it's a religion for sanctimonious wimps with low T. I mean, honestly, it's preposterous the whole climate change thing.

[Buck Sexton]

I actually think part of this is the cost of AI is so substantial when it comes to energy that a lot of the climate change bros are also tech bros and they've just stopped talking about it because in order to win the AI race, we're going to have to have even more power. And so this, this idea that we're going to eliminate the oil and gas or gas powered vehicles, they've just abandoned it. It is kind of interesting.

[Clay Travis]

Also, all the predictions are wrong. So how many times are you going to listen to people who are wrong every time about how terrible things are going to get because of climate change before you realize that you're being had and that there are just people who are benefiting enormously from this with all kinds of boondoggles, everything else. Anyway, I don't want to get too deep into climate change, but fracking has brought America and the natural gas exploration as well in America has brought America to energy superpower status. Clay that gives us a whole lot more. Not only does it help our economy tremendously, but it creates a situation where some of the, specifically Russia, but also Iran, some of these countries that rely on or really benefit from those high oil prices are in a different situation. So it's been really a really good thing for national security. Speaking of natural resources, it's what we call a transition in the business. Greenland is a large place, a large, frosty place that may soon be part of America. I mean, that's possible here because we have Secretary of State Marco Rubio just moments ago from the White House saying the following play it does the US.

[Buck Sexton]

Intend to buy Greenland? Can you clarify your comments to lawmakers this week?

[Marco Rubio]

Well, that's always been the president's intent from the very beginning. He said it very early on. I mean, this is not new. He talked about it in his first term. And he's not the first US President that has examined or looked at how could we acquire Greenland. There's an interest there, but. So I just reminded them of the fact that not only did Truman want to do it, but President Trump's been talking about this since his first term.

[Clay Travis]

Clay, the American story involves some of the most important and most advantageous land purchases in all history. Why does that story stop? In our lifetime, that story has continued and continued. Why would that story stop right now? What's the rationale behind that?

[Buck Sexton]

Look, the idea that we have been dealing with for the last, I would say, 30 or 40 years. It's only been the last 30 or 40 years is we have decided that the worst thing that ever happened in the history of the world was colonization. And this, this whole idea that, that if you were ever colonized, I mean, heck, they even turned an entire Marvel movie into it. Right? The whole Black Panther movie is just about colonization and how Awful. It is. And because a lot of Wakanda.

[Clay Travis]

Wakanda was the. Is the most amazing place with the best science. The best science.

[Buck Sexton]

And the reality is this, almost everyone in the world is in a better position now. I would say everyone in the world because of western civilization. And Western civilization spread through colonization and it made every country ultimately better off today than it would have been quality of living wise if there had never been anyone reach those other countries. Right. If you just went back in time and let's pretend that Columbus had never sailed the ocean blue and the New World had never been discovered. Everyone that lives in the so called New World, let's pretend it was still isolated, would be far better off. Far worse off. Right. Than today. Than they are today, right now. Your Amherst, your. Your Lord Amherst who I was reading about recently, did they bring a lot Jeff?

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, he was willing to roll up his sleeves and get it done. That's all I can tell you brought.

[Buck Sexton]

It may have intentionally spread disease and killed people. Look, because the immediate response they say this smallpox blankets.

[Clay Travis]

We didn't understand microbiology at the time. People thought that this stuff just transited in bad air like miasma or something they called it. Everyone's hating on Lord Jeff. Lord Jeff was a fantastic administrator in his day.

[Buck Sexton]

So someone is going to clip this. Yes, germs. And the death of that was brought by really the germs that were brought to the New World. I'm leaving aside that. Right. But modern civilization is better. We're better off everywhere around the world by taking the best of whatever exists in the world and spreading it as widely as possible. Which is why, you know, a cultural assimilation. Remember when people started to say assimilation was bad and you were taking other people's cultures. And it's actually kind of this story of civilization is we take the best things that every culture creates and we spread it as widely as possible and that makes the world better. So all of this, I think Buck is originating in this. This idea that somehow there's something wrong with western civilization and it shouldn't have been spread. And all of it comes back to the idea that colonization was wrong.

[Clay Travis]

You know that in the little island of Tasmania, famous for its devils, when the European explorers arrived in the beginning, very beginning of the 19th century, Tasmanian natives were living in the actual st. I mean they were anthropologically at an. At a stage of advancement equivalent to the Stone Age.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

So. So you think about what was going on 500 years or sorry, 300 years earlier. The Renaissance, Sistine Chapel. You go back A thousand years. You go back a couple thousand years, you got the Parthenon, you got all these amazing things going on. Stone Age 1803. Tasmania. Hmm. Maybe it's time for a little rewrite of the colonial narrative. The global colonial narrative. I don't know. A little bit of thank you here and there might be nice too. A little bit of thanks for the roads, the medicine, the technology and the laws that might not be so crazy if you're actually living in reality.

[Buck Sexton]

Every single person in the world today has benefited from the fact that Western civilization was spread to their country. Country. And so this is the idea that, that, you know, sort of undergirds all this. So the question you asked is, why did we suddenly stop? And it's a good question. When was the last acquisition of a new territory by the United States? 1920s. Virgin Islands, I think may have been the last purchase with funds. I think it was like $25 million in gold. We bought the U.S. virgin Islands. I think that's maybe the last time.

[Clay Travis]

For those of you who want to go on the most expensive vacation probably on the planet. Saint Barts. Saint Bartolome in the. In the Caribbean. There's a reason why the. The main city is like, what is it like Gustavsson or something? I forget some Swedish name. It was a Swedish colony for a hundred years. And you know what happened? The French were like, it's really better with us. And the Swedes were like. And they sold it to the French. They sold it. What's the big deal? This happens. And you know what? It's a very nice place. It's way too expensive, but very nice.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, this is my point about Greenland. That is super interesting. And again, this is going into nerd nerdism. And I actually happen to have a great deal of knowledge about this. Do you know who we bought the US Virgin Islands from? Denmark. We bought it from Denmark about a hundred years ago.

[Clay Travis]

Now you are something of a Virgin Islands expert. This is true.

[Buck Sexton]

I am a lawyer in the U.S. virgin Islands. There are not a lot of us. I'm still licensed there. So territorial law is what governs in the U.S. virgin Islands. You're not technically able to vote for a president. You're not in a state, you're a part of a territory. And there are other territories, Guam among them. But we bought this from Denmark 100 years ago. Why? The question that no one is asking, and I think it's actually super, super fascinating with Greenland. If owning countries is so wrong, why is Greenland owned by Denmark? Like, why would we have to pay Denmark anything for Greenland. If what we are proposing to do is so wrong, why would they have a property interest that we would have to compensate them for in any way? They are the proprietor. They are the owner. It is a territory of Denmark right now. Why can't they do it and we can't?

[Clay Travis]

Well, why can't we make Greenland an offer that they don't want to refuse? Meaning the people there. Why can't they have a plebiscite and say, you know what, America actually is making things pretty sweet for us and, and our heirs and our posterity. So guess what?

[Buck Sexton]

Why couldn't we give, I mean we had an email about this yesterday, but why couldn't we negotiate with all of the people who live in Greenland, give them a one time cash payment to become territorial part of the United States. It's far more affordable than probably actually purchasing from Greenland. Let them actually make the decision to leave. Why does Greenland have any property interests that they are able to. Why does Denmark have any property interest they can claim in Denmark at all?

[Clay Travis]

It's a very good question. Very good question. One we're going to continue to ask here on the show. Look, so many people use the beginning of the year to cut back on expenses and you may be one of them. Look, I spent a little too much over Christmas or maybe Care Bear, my wife. Maybe we spent a little too much of the Christmas season. Things got a little pricey around here. So if you want to save some cash. I know I do. How about saving $600 a year by switching your cell phone service to Pure Talk, which is my cell phone company. Switching to Pure talk and saving 50% or more without sacrificing any quality of service is a good thing, particularly with their excellent customer Support. In fact, 100% of their customer service team is US based. Pure Talk's monthly price of $20 gets you unlimited talk, text and 3 gigs of high speed data on Pure Talk superfast nationwide 5G network. As a veteran led company, who cares about giving back to those who serve? If you're active or former military or first responder, you'll save an additional 20% every single month. Just dial pound250, say Clay and Buck. Pure talks US customer service team will help you switch in minutes again talk, text and data for just $20 a month. Dial pound two five zero, say Clay and Buck. You'll save an additional 50% off your first month. Pure talk, America's wireless company.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay, Travis and Buck Sexton. Mike Drop. That never sounded so Good. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. I looked it up during the break, Buck. I was right. I was a little bit off on the years. In 1917, the United States bought the U.S. virgin Islands that St. John, St. Thomas St. Croix for $25 million in gold. In that current dollar figure, I think that's supposedly now like 640 million. Pretty good price. $25 million in gold for the smart purchase. Smart purchase, Very smart purchase. Bought it in 1917 from Denmark. Why is it considered to be so ridiculous to talk about buying more assets of land from Denmark now? And Buck asked a good question. I think the answer is it's the legacy of colonialism suddenly deciding, oh, this is unacceptable to just to even be involved in. But why is the idea of acquiring territory today considered to be so verboten relative to past history?

[Clay Travis]

Also, as I understand it, not that I'm an expert in the ethnography of Greenland, but they're essentially like Inuit. Like, they're not Danish ethnically. So why does, why do the Danes have this?

[Buck Sexton]

No, it's a, it's a fantastic question. Why did that. Why does the Danish people have any control at all over what the future of Greenland might be? Maybe unique, your future to be filled a little bit more testosterone, a little bit more energy, a little bit more vitality, vigor, all of that. If that sounds good to you, then you could be checking out Chalk 2026, a lot of brand new resolutions from so many people out there to try to get in a little bit better shape than you already were. That's what chalk's here to help with. They can give you a boost in your strength, mental clarity. Check out chalk.com, choq.com use promo code clay. You get a $99 bag of chalk Chalk lip powder with your first delivery for free. That's chalk.com when you start a subscription with my name Clay. Choke.com. my name Clay. That's shock.com. my name Clay. Start your year off strong. So put some testosterone back in your life with choq dot com.

[Clay Travis]

You know, there's a lot that this administration is getting done and accomplishing on the global front, domestically, here at home. Let's not forget year one. Month, I'm going to guess here, Clay. I'd say by month three of the administration, maybe it was even quicker. Maybe it was month two, the border was secure. The border.

[Buck Sexton]

No one even talks about it anymore. It's not even a topic of discussion.

[Clay Travis]

We have been led to believe, honestly, for my entire adult life, like the border, you can't. It's just crazy. It's pandemonium. You can't stop all these illegals. If you refuse to stop them, you can't stop them. But it turns out if you enforce the law, you can stop them. Very, very important revelation and a huge win for the Trump administration. Now, now we go into 2026 with the Venezuela operation, which is tactically, logistically, and perhaps strategically, we'll see the implications play out. One of the most impressive military operations in certainly modern American history. I mean, it goes alongside the bin Laden raid as a wow moment for the United States military and the operators and the pilots and everybody involved, intel, intel officers. So that's pretty impressive.

[Buck Sexton]

But we also have a lot of.

[Clay Travis]

People in this administration who are really good at handling the press in some cases because they have as much time in the press as Clay, you and I do. Pete Hegseth and I started in media. We used to sit together at Glenn Beck's the Blaze, at the real news table table, and talk national security in 2012, 2011. It's been a. It's been a long time. So Pete, now Secretary of War, is pretty good at handling the media. And they need a reminder of that sometimes. Here he is dealing with cnn, talking about the oil situation with Venezuela and what's playing out today. Let's hear how Secretary Warheadseth had to deal, had to say it.

[Pete Hegseth]

I want to emphasize that question from cnn. The questions never asked, how much does it cost when they're in the Mediterranean or the Red Sea or the Indian Ocean or the Pacific. But now that they're in our hemisphere on a counter cartel mission or ensuring that an indicted individual comes to justice. Now you're asking the question of cost. It's a disingenuous question to begin with. You're trying to find any angle possible to undermine the success of one of the most historic military missions the world has ever seen. The level of, of sophistication that Senate just was briefed on and the House was briefed on a classified level is something only the United States of America can accomplish. The world is taking notice of that. Certainly Venezuela is taking notice of that. And it continues because two oil tankers, two overnight, were seized by the United States of America.

[Clay Travis]

Clay Secretary Warheadseth is spiking the football in the other team's end zone, running up into the stands and high fiving the home fans.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, look, you know, I hate to brag or draw attention. It's just not my thing. There's other people that are, you know.

[Clay Travis]

You are a paragon of humility.

[Buck Sexton]

That is true. Maybe the humblest person on the planet. What Pete Hegseth is demonstrating here is something that I think you and I hopefully are able to demonstrate quite frequently is most media that are trying to drive narratives are not actually that smart. And so what he's doing is he's rebutting the premise of their question because he already recognizes what the intent of the question is designed to create and he's getting ahead of where they are able to analyze it. And I think this is. We have talked about this so much, and I like to think that Twitter is helping to change. Twitter X is helping to change that. The power of the legacy media is in deciding to cover the stories that they choose to cover. All of you out there that are listening to us, all of you that are out there that are watching us right now, you are as a group, far better informed than the average person is on the left. That doesn't mean necessarily that you're that that what it really gets to is if you are in the echo chamber of the left, you are typically not in any way engaging in the arguments made by the right. Whereas because of the cultural power of the left, even if you disagree with the arguments of the left, you're aware of the arguments that they're making. And what Pete has done, and I would argue Marco Rubio, JD Vance, the top trio that Donald Trump put at the top of his administration is they're all smarter than the media that are covering them. And that's why we always see, I mean, frankly, when you see, like, Margaret.

[Clay Travis]

Better at doing media, by the way.

[Buck Sexton]

Better at, better at communicating media, better at communicating than the media people. So when you see Margaret Brennan, who we played earlier this week, try to go after Marco Rubio, it, it's like a, it's like a kid trying to argue with an adult. There's just a different level of sophistication and knowledge from Rubio. And what you saw with that clip of Hegseth is he is, I mean, as a guy who's been in media for a long time, aware of what the intent of that question is, and he's blowing it up on its face. And this is why I, I think a lot of the criticisms that came to bear. People came after Trump early in the 2.0, and they said, oh, he's got Pete Hegseth. He's just a TV guy. He's got Judge Jeanine, she's just a TV gal. And they tried to make that as an attack. Actually communicating is, I would argue, the primary job of most of the people that are at the top of these businesses. So if you can't explain why you're doing what you're doing, you're not very useful. And Trump gets that.

[Clay Travis]

You know who else they said is just a TV guy? President Trump, who, no matter what one thinks of him, will go down as one of the most consequential political leaders in world history of the 21st century. That is already where we are, the Trump era of American politics. I don't even think people are going to remember what Biden. Biden is going to soon be one of these presidencies, Clay. You know, it's going to be like people who are trying to think back, like, what was the, what was the Pierce administration like, you know, or what was, you know, people are going to say, was that guy really president or was he vice president? No one's even going to remember.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, it's Jimmy Carter, right? Jimmy Carter, unlike. But he was young enough when he was president that he had a post presidency that helped to redeem the era of his presidency.

[Clay Travis]

Well, I think he's remembered for being terrible, and maybe Biden will be remembered for being a terrible president as well.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I think that's the. But the difference is Carter was able to redeem himself because of his post presidency. Biden's not going to have any kind of redemption. I think Biden's going to go down as the worst president any of us have ever seen. And by the way, what you got at is the job of a president. And the job by and large of most of these cabinet secretaries is really twofold. When you distill it, what do they do? They make decisions, judgment, and they communicate. That's the entirety of the, of the job communication. When you're on television, when you're in media, that's our job. We have to make sense of complex things and explain why they matter. Figuring out who's good at that and putting them in your administration is actually a huge part of the decision that's being made. Now, you can quibble with the judgment, but buck the judgment. They're very. I can't even hardly point to anything. Maybe I don't like Trump taking a shot at the, the reiner right. Like I wish he wouldn't done that after he got murdered. Right? You can go into judgment occasionally and say, hey, there's things that I think Trump bull in a China shop could do better. But I agree with 95% of the decisions that have been made by the Trump administration so far. And from a communication perspective, we have the best and most available. Nobody takes more questions in the history of media that I can remember in the history of modern politics than the Trump 2.0 administration. So again, I think that they are really getting ahead of the criticisms and cutting the legs out from underneath them in the process. And by the way, I think we should buy Greenland. I think we should take over Cuba. I have an expansionist view of what American power should look like. That doesn't mean that I want our soldiers on the ground in those countries, things like that, but we should be, I think, setting the table for generations to come in a better fashion than we otherwise would be.

[Clay Travis]

So on that, on that front, Clay Trump put out the following. I am pleased. This is on Truth Social. I am pleased to announce that the interim authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 million barrels of high quality sanctioned oil to the United States of America. This oil will be sold at its market price and that money will be controlled by me as President of the United States to ensure it's used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States. I've asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan immediately. It will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States. Thank you for your attention in this matter. And that's from the President himself. This is the plan and I think this plan is likely to be very successful. What is a better situation a Venezuela with the United States keeping pressure on for it to. What do we want in Venezuela? We want it not to be a hellhole. We want it not to be a communist launch pad in our hemisphere. We want the people of Venezuela to have enough food to eat, not to be at the whim of prison gangs that are allied with the communist thug government. And we want the oil to flow and we want them to honor contracts and honor, you know, the market of we give them money, they give us oil. That's all we want.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes.

[Clay Travis]

We don't.

[Buck Sexton]

We don't.

[Clay Travis]

We're not sending 82nd Airborne to walk the streets of Caracas. We're not trying to make them all male feminists or whatever. You know, we get it right. The lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan, I think are very much in this administration's mind and in the minds of all of you listening. And I think that Clay understanding the leverage point here means that there's a good. It's going to be ugly for a while. There's going to be some reprisals that happen on the streets. We're already seeing some of that. It's not going to be perfect. But what's the alternative? How much worse could it be, everybody, than what Venezuela has been for the last 20 years?

[Buck Sexton]

I think also this is important because we do get some response and I welcome it. By the way. 800-282-2882. You can get us with talkbacks as well. People say, well, how is this different than Iraq? The answer is. And we've tried to hammer this home, but I think it's important. Venezuela used to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world on a per capita basis, certainly in the Western hemisphere. There is no. You've talked about this quite a lot, Buck, because you were in Iraq. There is no Sunni, Shia divide. There's no religious fundamentalism that is embedded, ingrained in the aspect of Venezuelan life. All we're seeking here is for Venezuela to look somewhat like it did in 1995 and for the people to be able to flourish in a capitalistic market based economy, much like we have here.

[Clay Travis]

Here's what we want. We want the Venezuelans who are in, you know, whatever's left of the, of the bureaucracy. And let me. We know that this guy Diaz, Dalo Cabello, he's a scumbag. He's probably gonna go to, you know, we'll see, right? I mean, Trump, they're all, all on notice. They've all. It's been made very clear. You can either do things that the United States wants you to do or we're gonna show up in the middle of the night. We're gonna have the best operators in the world show up in the middle of night, put a bag over your head, and you're gonna end up in a US Federal prison. Okay? That's it. This is. This is the world they live in now, the people that are still left behind. To the Margaret Brennan question, why didn't you take all of them? I don't know. Because we don't live in a fantasy land where you can do five of the most amazing operations at once. So, Clay, I think that the administration's very sober minded about this. I think they understand that there are challenges here. You know, people are saying, oh, but what about these insurgents? And what about the border with Columbia? Yeah, we're not pretending that we're fixing this thing tomorrow. We're not pretending that they're greeting us with flowers. And this is a Jeffersonian democracy. Everything's great. But there is, to your point, a tremendous natural resource here that can provide a whole heck of a lot of infrastructure and benefits to the people of Venezuela, as well as to the global oil supply and in our hemisphere specifically. And we can do all these things because they used to do all these things. Right? Venezuela was in a very good place, and it was ruined by the commies.

[Buck Sexton]

Really what we need as we go to break here is. And this is why I think it's such a bigger part of the conversation. Western civilization makes everything better. And we have to stop apologizing for Western civilization. And I think it is connected to so much of the criticism that we have allowed to embed in so much of the left in this country. I mean, I. It is just. Western civilization is a profoundly good thing, and we should encourage it to flourish everywhere. What does that mean? Open markets? It means a robust and uninhibited marketplace of ideas. That is First Amendment protections. You can say whatever you want to say. These are the things that lead to a better quality of life for everyone across the entire world. And we have to stop apologizing for supporting that everywhere. And we want you to be able to get in touch with everybody. You know, I was talking about during the Christmas break, rapid Radios, how many of you were traveling on the road? How many of you were with friends and family? How many of you had kids running around the houses, grandkids, all the chaos out there? How many times did you just want to open the door and say, go outside, Go entertain yourselves, come back for time for dinner. You're driving everybody crazy here, but you want to be able to stay in touch with people. That's what Rapid Radio is all about. Modern day Walkie talkies I remember when I was a kid how much I loved walkie talkies. We had GI Joe walkie talkies. They didn't work very well, they didn't work very far. But we thought they were so awesome we ran around and played with them. I've got kids, my 11 year old, he loves his Rapid Radio walkie talkie. And it's not just kids, right? You can use this in the time of catastrophe if you're going to end up losing your ability to rely on your Wi FI networks. If you want something that's going to withstand if the power's down, five day charge for these things, they're awesome. You can get them for 60 off right now and at rapid radios.com all you have to do go check them out. They're ready right out of the box. No cost to keep them running. Just go to rapid radios.com exclusive deals you're going to love rapid radios.com ready right out of the walkie talkie. Want to be in the know when you're on the go the Team 47 podcast Trump highlights from the week.

[Clay Travis]

So Sundays at noon Eastern in the.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Buck Sexton]

Travis Buck Sexton show we appreciate all of you hanging out with us as we are rolling through the Wednesday edition of the program. One bit of news that is out there. And by the way, we'll take some of your calls in the second hour and the third hour of the program. Also get to some of your talkbacks President Trump has just posted and Buck and I were talking about this off air. Let me read you the most recent post from President Trump. For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American dream. It was the reward for working hard and doing the right thing. But now, because of the record high inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans. For that reason and much more, I'm immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single family homes. And I will be calling on Congress to codify it. People live in homes, not corporations. I will discuss this topic, including further housing and affordability proposals and more at my speech in Davos in two weeks. Super interesting idea. Now, Buck, you were just looking up the data. What percentage of individual homes are owned by big corporate interest? A lot of times they buy these and they rent them out and it's around. You said 20%? Roughly. Varies depending on city and state.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, so it's investors. So I got to see whether that's corporate investors or individual investors. Oh, sorry, no, that's a combination. I'm looking at cnbc real estate investors, individual and institutional bought one third of all single family properties in the second quarter of 2025. So institutional investor, I got to break.

[Buck Sexton]

Devil is in the details because what you're hitting at here is already the challenge. What is a big corporate interest? I bet a lot of people out there listening to us right now may own a home that they rent out, right? As a part of their overall family perspective. Maybe you own a home that you rent out to a family member. Maybe you've owned one home and you kept it and you've continued to rent it out. All right, what is a big corporate interest? And let's talk about this a little bit more because there has been a lot of discussion about the cost of homes and how much prices went up starting in about 2019, 2020. Now the prices have begun to ameliorate. That has slowed down and a bit. We'll discuss that and the impact when we come back. Also, more on Venezuela and Greenland. Thanks for hanging with us.

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[Buck Sexton]

Guaranteed human.