The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Episode: Hour 1 - Toxic Empathy Exposed
Date: August 28, 2025
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Guest: Mary Margaret Olahan (Daily Wire White House Correspondent)
Episode Overview
In this episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the aftermath of a recent school shooting in Minneapolis involving a trans-identifying shooter, drawing parallels to the Nashville Covenant School shooting. They scrutinize what they call “toxic empathy” and its societal impacts—particularly regarding trans issues, mental health, and policy responses. The hosts also discuss rhetoric from Democratic leaders, the consequences of political language, and failures in school security. Special guest Mary Margaret Olahan shares her reporting on Minnesota’s response to school safety threats and offers guidance to parents navigating gender ideology.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. School Shooting in Minneapolis: Tragedy, Patterns, and Toxic Empathy
- Opening Reflection (00:40): The hosts react to the news of a "trans terrorist shooter," noting disturbing findings like “kill Donald Trump” written on the firearm and antisemitic statements.
- Clay Travis (01:05): “It’s time for good people... to really significantly stop trying to be kind and be willing to acknowledge that almost everyone who is claiming that they're trans has a severe mental illness.”
- Emphasize “toxic empathy": the idea that well-intentioned acceptance of trans-identifying youth is worsening their mental health.
- Pattern Comparison:
- Both the Minneapolis and Nashville shooters were trans-identifying former students of religious schools, who targeted Christian children after thorough surveillance.
- Clay Travis (03:41): “Demons live among us. And this person was a demon. And there are so many, unfortunately, different factors that go into this.”
2. Media, Political Rhetoric & Consequences
- Media Memory-Holing and Blame (05:48): Recalling other acts of violence (e.g., the Dallas police shooting and the Scalise baseball field shooting), the hosts argue that radical rhetoric can contribute to unbalanced individuals committing violence.
- Dems’ High-Level Rhetoric (07:28–08:54):
- Critique of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s suggestion that Trump would try to prevent a 2028 election; concern over how such statements influence fringe elements.
- Clay Travis (08:38): “He is a dictator in the making. You will lose everything you hold dear. He's either a liar, which we all know he is, or he's so crazy that he doesn't understand that people hear this and they take him seriously.”
- Buck points out a previous Trump assassination attempt where the attacker cited “Trump is Hitler” as rationale, connecting this to hyperbolic left-wing rhetoric.
3. Health & Psychological Profiles: Political and Societal Implications
- The hosts criticize the Democratic Party as fostering psychological instability and emotional dysfunction, arguing that their rhetoric justifies extreme actions by unstable individuals.
- Buck Sexton (10:45): “The Republican Party is the party of psychological stability in America today. Just a fact.”
4. Toxic Empathy and Youth Transgender Care
- “Toxic Empathy” Defined (14:17): Parents are emotionally blackmailed into permitting medical transitions, often told by professionals, “your kid will kill themselves unless you listen.”
- Buck Sexton (14:56): “It's emotional blackmail on parents, and it makes me sick, honestly.”
- Veterans with PTSD analogy: The hosts argue that affirming trauma as normal would be negligent, so why should gender dysphoria be treated differently?
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Political Rhetoric & Violence:
- Clay Travis (08:38): “You will lose your country, Clay. He’s a dictator in the making. You will lose everything you hold dear.”
- Buck Sexton (09:43): “These lies have consequences, because in the brain of broken people, they accept them as truth.”
- On Medicalizing Youth Transgender Identity:
- Buck Sexton (14:17): “They are manufacturing delusions and emotionally creating empathy, which actually is toxic for many of the people the empathy is being created for.”
- Clay Travis (15:04): “Imagine if veterans came back and they had severe PTSD and we said, no, no, no, no, no... That would — it's completely insane. It's destructive.”
- On Empathy and Parental Responsibility:
- Mary Margaret Olahan (26:23): “My advice would be: do your research… Don’t trust medical institutions. Do some basic research and realize you’re not alone.”
Deep Dive: Interview with Mary Margaret Olahan (20:58–33:16)
School Security Failures & Government Response
- Key Reporting: After the Nashville shooting, Catholic and private school leaders in Minnesota warned Governor Tim Walz about security threats, requesting increased support. Nothing substantive was done.
- Mary Margaret Olahan (22:36): “They expressed these concerns to [Gov. Walz]... But ultimately nothing was done.”
- Mary Margaret Olahan (23:13): “When I asked Tim Walz’s team... they gave me an evasive answer and didn’t even address that actual question.”
- Minnesota instead prioritized legislation establishing the state as a “trans refuge.”
Advice to Parents Navigating Gender Identity in Children
- Olahan's Guidance (26:23+):
- Do not panic or trust blindly—do research, seek community, remove kids from toxic school environments, and strictly limit access to online trans content.
- Highlight organizations: Defending Education, Do No Harm, and detransitioners like Chloe Cole.
- Mary Margaret Olahan (27:43): "Take their phone away from them—no laptops upstairs. These are some of the biggest dangers that our kids are facing these days.”
Rationale Behind Trans Surgeries
- The hosts question the logic: If gender is not about biology, why pursue surgeries and medications to alter physical sex?
- Olahan (30:25): “What they try and do to rationalize it is to just give you these platitudes, these ideological sayings... it’s as simple and basic as that. This is just crazy. We shouldn't have to put up with this anymore. We need to protect our kids.”
Other Important Segments
5. Media, Language, and Prayer
- Clay Travis (18:04, 18:49): Criticizes Democrats' denigration of “thoughts and prayers” after tragedies, with Michael Steele declaring himself "beyond that nonsense"—interpreted as a dismissal of prayer’s value in public discourse.
6. Listener Calls and Audience Sentiment
- Caller Dwayne from Asheville (37:00): Criticizes perceived hypocrisy among doctors who perform gender surgeries on minors but do not support participation in executions.
- Clay Travis (36:05): “Now things have changed. Now you can speak the truth about gender, which is a huge, huge step in the right direction.”
Timestamps for Crucial Segments
- 00:40 – 04:50: Initial breakdown of the Minneapolis shooting and toxic empathy thesis
- 07:28 – 08:38: Reaction to Gavin Newsom’s comments on future US elections and their dangers
- 14:17 – 15:49: Definition and critique of toxic empathy in trans youth medicalization
- 20:58 – 33:16: Mary Margaret Olahan interview: school safety, parental advice, investigative reporting
- 36:05 – 37:40: Listener call and commentary on medical & ethical inconsistency
Summary
In a charged, unsparing tone, Clay and Buck argue that misguided empathy—especially regarding transgender youth—entrenches mental illness, puts children at risk, and feeds dangerous political narratives. They draw direct lines between left-wing leadership rhetoric and a climate conducive to political violence, while heavily criticizing both media framing and government inaction on school safety. Their guest, Mary Margaret Olahan, brings investigative rigor and practical advice for parents, warning against institutional and cultural pressures. The episode stands as both a call to “speak hard truths” and a challenge to dominant progressive orthodoxies in education, media, and politics.