Hour 2 - Calculated Bias

Summary

---

The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 – Calculated Bias
Date: September 30, 2025
Host: Clay Travis (Buck Sexton broadcasting from Taiwan)

---

Episode Overview

In this hour, Clay Travis tackles the theme of "calculated bias"—particularly in how media and cultural institutions set and enforce narratives in sports and politics. Travis explores issues of meritocracy, political double standards, identity politics, and violent crime narratives, weaving in notable interviews and recent commentary. The conversation features a significant discussion with sports broadcaster Paul Finebaum on political bias within ESPN and a deep dive into Don Lemon’s recent comments on white men and violence.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Update on Buck Sexton and Upcoming Guests (02:35)

• Buck Sexton is in Taiwan; will return Monday.
• Later guests: Senator Markwayne Mullin (at 2:00 pm) and Steve Scalise to discuss the potential government shutdown and political polling.

2. Government Shutdown Poll Insights (02:35–04:00)

• Review of New York Times poll data regarding voter attitudes on a government shutdown:
  • 65% against shutdown overall; 92% of Republicans and 59% of independents oppose; only 47% of Democrats believe it should happen.
• Travis argues the Democratic Party is driven by a fringe activist minority:
  "They take their cue from the activist 20% that is completely out of touch with everything going on in the world..." (03:40)

3. Meritocracy, the Military, and Trump 2.0 (04:00–07:00)

• Citing Pete Hegseth, Travis advocates for restoring "meritocracy" in the military and across American society.
• Emphasizes Trump’s media presence compared to Biden, suggesting Trump is transparent and accessible.

4. The Left, Culture, and J.K. Rowling (07:00–10:40)

• Travis praises J.K. Rowling for "speaking truth" in the face of cultural norms, particularly on issues of sex and gender.
• Expresses frustration with terminology like "birthing person," celebrating his assistant Katie as a "woman having a baby."
• Quotes:
  "When you tell me men can become women or you start referring to women as birthing people... she is a woman having a baby, not a birthing person." (09:25)
  "You get attacked when you make other people uncomfortable because you draw attention to their untruth." (11:22)

5. How the Left Targeted Sports and ESPN’s Double Standard (10:40–18:00)

• Travis claims left-leaning activists systematically targeted sports to drive cultural change, citing selectivity at ESPN.
• Argues ESPN/Disney humanized Obama but denied equal access to Trump.
• Shares personal connection to sports, stating:
  "If you told me, Clay, you have one day left to live, I would probably say, I want to take my family and I want to go to an awesome college football game..." (11:57)

Paul Finebaum Interview Segment

• Finebaum reveals (13:50–15:31):

  • He's a lifelong Republican.
  • Never revealed his politics publicly because "it is frowned upon" for sports broadcasters.
  • ESPN managers killed his planned interview with President Trump ahead of the 2019 LSU-Alabama game, whereas Obama frequently featured on ESPN:

    “I reached out to a friend of mine in D.C.... said, you want to get Trump? I said, yeah... I called my boss and they killed it.” — Paul Finebaum (15:02–15:31)

• Travis:
  “They didn't want to treat Trump the exact same as they treated Obama, because culturally, they were using sports to try to divide us all, to take us away from the meritocracy and to interject identity politics into sport.” (16:08)

---

6. The Consequences of Cultural Disparity in Sports Media (18:00–19:29)

• Travis criticizes ESPN and broader sports media for pushing narratives that undermine meritocracy and promote divisiveness:
  • Asserts control of sports culture leads to control of greater American cultural values.

---

7. Identity Politics and Don Lemon’s Message to White Men (22:36–29:33)

• Travis previews and plays a clip of Don Lemon addressing white men:

  “Men who look like you... white men. Something is broken, something is cracked deep inside when so many of you believe the answer to fear, to loss, to change, is violence.” — Don Lemon (25:13–25:41)

• Travis critiques Lemon, arguing that this reflects the "root cancer" of identity politics.
  • Claims Lemon leverages his own identity (as a gay Black man) to make sweeping generalizations about other groups.
  • Flips the script rhetorically, suggesting Lemon would never address Black men about violence—even though the data, Travis asserts, would point there.

On Crime Statistics and Narratives

• Dissects Lemon’s statements by referencing crime statistics:
  • Argues that violent crime disproportionately occurs in Black communities (28:00–29:33).
  • Criticizes the reluctance to address crime frankly out of fear of being labeled racist.

---

8. Broader Reflections on Public Safety and Political Correctness (29:33–35:00)

• Shares Buck Sexton's observation from Taiwan about public safety and contrasts this with US cities.
  • “[In Taipei] Playgrounds were full. Children wandered...Young women crossed through wooded pathways alone. Nobody concerned...Because tolerance of a crime is a choice society makes.” — Buck Sexton (Paraphrased, 31:48)
• Argues America "accepted violent crime as a reality" because of fear of confronting racial data.

---

9. Key Rhetorical Question—What’s Really Racist? (34:00–35:00)

• Travis asks: Is it racist to ignore high rates of community violence, thus harming Black neighborhoods, out of fear of being called racist for making arrests?
  • Advocates treating all neighborhoods equally, making public safety universal:
    “What if we just decided that we're not going to let any neighborhood be unsafe?” (34:49)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “They take their cue from the activist 20% that is completely out of touch with everything going on in the world and allow them to dictate all of the choices that they make in the process.” — Clay Travis (03:40)
• “Once they can get you to admit to something you know is untrue, then they own you.” — Clay Travis (12:54)
• “I called my boss and they killed it... [Disney/ESPN] wouldn't let Trump come on and just talk about going to the LSU, Alabama game.” — Paul Finebaum (15:31)
• “Because culturally, they were using sports to try to divide us all, to take us away from the meritocracy and to interject identity politics into sport.” — Clay Travis (16:08)
• “Identity politics is the root cancer of America today, and we have to grab it and root it out, destroy it in all facets of our society.” — Clay Travis (25:45)
• “If Don Lemon is concerned about rates of violence in America, truly concerned, and wants to break it down by race and gender, the group he should be talking to is black men.” — Clay Travis (29:33)
• “Tolerance of a crime is a choice society makes. Taiwan has made the right one and benefits from that every day.” — Buck Sexton (as quoted, 31:48)
• “What if we just decided that we're not going to let any neighborhood be unsafe? ...Without the bad guys on the streets, we'd all be a lot safer.” — Clay Travis (34:49)

---

Important Timestamps

• 02:35 – Show intro; update on Buck Sexton and upcoming guests
• 03:40 – Discussion of Democratic Party polling and activist influence
• 04:00 – On meritocracy in the Trump 2.0 era and the military
• 07:00 – Reflection on J.K. Rowling and speaking uncomfortable truths
• 11:57 – Personal significance of sports for Clay Travis
• 13:50–15:31 – Paul Finebaum interview revelation on politics and ESPN
• 16:08 – ESPN’s use of sports as a vehicle for cultural control
• 22:36 – Teeing up Don Lemon’s message on white male violence
• 25:13 – Don Lemon’s viral clip: "Men who look like you...white men..."
• 29:05 – Travis critiques Lemon’s approach and compares to crime stats
• 31:48 – Buck Sexton’s tweet from Taiwan about public safety
• 34:49 – Proposing universal neighborhood safety
• 35:00 – Segment close; preview of listener reactions and more

---

Episode Tone

The tone is direct, familiar, and combative, blending newsy summary with personal asides and strong opinions. Clay Travis employs sarcasm and rhetorical questions, especially when critiquing political or media figures. The vibe is conversational, aiming to both inform and provoke thought (and at times, outrage) among listeners aligned with his perspective.

---

For listeners who missed this hour:
This episode delivers a stark critique of perceived political and cultural double standards, especially within sports media and public discourse. Travis’s dialogue with Paul Finebaum provides a rare inside look at sports media bias, while the segment on Don Lemon exposes how identity politics and societal fears around crime and race can warp open discussion. The recurring appeal: restore meritocracy, insist on honesty—and push back against “calculated bias” wherever it emerges.

---

Transcript

[LG X Boom Advertiser]

This is an iHeart podcast. Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra durable LG X Boom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG x boom and for a limited time, save [e-mail] with code fall25 bring.

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

The boom xboom there's a lot going on in Hollywood. How are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution. Take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.

[Clay Travis]

Where do you see the business actually heading?

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co editor in chief Cynthia Littleton.

[NFL Shop Promoter]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Daily Variety and listen now.

[TiVo Plus Promoter]

TiVo plus gives you 300 channels of movies, shows, sports, even kids favorites.

[LG X Boom Advertiser]

All free.

[TiVo Plus Promoter]

And no, we don't want your credit card. Watch live, watch on demand. Watching your PJs, eating pizza. It's all right there on your TiVo home screen. With so much variety, from comedy and action to live news and family programming, you'll never run out of options. TiVo plus free, binge worthy and always on. Check us [e-mail] a new NFL season.

[NFL Shop Promoter]

Means a fresh start and fresh styles. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else. And show up ready for every kickoff and big play fan like a pro and Shop [e-mail].

[Oracle Cloud Advertiser]

Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes on the coast, wildfires out west, natural disasters strike without warning anywhere.

[Clay Travis]

When the grid goes down, Rapid Radios keeps you in control. No monthly fees, just reliable communication between you and the people who matter. When power's out and panic sets in, push a button and you're instantly connected.

[Oracle Cloud Advertiser]

Rapid Radios Built for the unexpected.

[Clay Travis]

Ready for anything.

[Oracle Cloud Advertiser]

Because staying in touch shouldn't depend on luck.

[Clay Travis]

How lucky are you?

[Oracle Cloud Advertiser]

Visit rapidradios.com today.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome in our number two Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. Buck is in Taiwan and I'll read a couple of tweets that he has sent from Taiwan. He is there for this entire week. He will be back on Monday Just FYI, appreciate all of you hanging out with us. Lots of feedback, rolling in on a variety of different topics. We'll get to some of that in the next couple of hours of the show. Senator Mullen of Oklahoma going to be on with us at 2 o' clock about an hour from now. And then, Steve Scalise. We will discuss the potential shutdown that is on the horizon. Not ideal polls, according to the New York Times, on who's going to be blamed if the government. Government shuts down. And first of all, should or should not the government be shut down? 65% of all voters say the government should not be shut down. Just 27% of people say it should. 92% of Republicans say the government shouldn't be shut down. 59% of independents say the government shouldn't be shut down. Only 47% of Democrats say it should. This, to me, is just indicative of what's happened to the Democrat Party. They take their cue from the activist 20% that is completely out of touch with everything going on in the world and allow them to dictate all of the choices that they make in the process. So that is the latest there. We've been talking about Pete Hegseth's big address to the military. Basically, if I had to synthesize what he said, we're putting merit back into the military, and there will be actual physical expectations for both men and women at the highest possible standard. And in the process, we're going to send a message to the rest of the nation that the meritocracy is back as our primary focus in American life. And I would say that's one of the biggest messages that is echoing across the entire Trump 2.0 regime. Trump, I believe, is still talking to the. He's basically been talking to the media nonstop for two straight days. Remember when they would make a big deal about, oh, Joe Biden's gonna take a question now, or Joe Biden's gonna have a public event now? Um, this has been going on every day, basically, for the entire year of Trump 2.0. And it's easy to forget the fact that we didn't see Biden, that they just hit him. They did a couple of public events. He never took questions. Whenever he took questions, they turned it into a huge, epic story. Uh, meanwhile, Trump is just asking, taking, and answering questions on a regular basis. Um, okay, I told you that I wanted to play a couple of the cuts from my interview with Paul Finebaum that I did over the weekend. And yesterday I shared some cuts Paul Finebaum, I think is very likely to run for the Senate from Alabama. But some of you out there spend as much time as I do sitting around wondering how did we end up in a situation where so much insanity is governing everything that happens on a day to day basis. And I think much of it came because the left took over culture in this country. I mentioned my extreme appreciation for J.K. rowling at the end of the last hour of the program here. And I don't Even know what J.K. rowling thinks about a large percentage of the issues going on in the world. But I do believe that she'll acknowledge truth and that if you can acknowledge truth, I can work with you on other issues. But when you tell me men can become women or you start referring to women as birthing people. By the way, good luck to my 10 year assistant, Katie, who is right now in labor having baby number two. She is phenomenal. Helps to keep my work life in order and balance. And she has a baby boy who's two, some of you have seen him. He occasionally makes an appearance on the video because she's out at the house frequently. She is a woman having a baby, not a birthing person. But good luck to her. She is in labor right now. I doubt she is listening. There's probably better things for her to be consuming right now than, than this show, but she is in labor right now. So for those of you who have been through the labor process, maybe lift her up in prayer a little bit. That is a, a challenge no matter who you are. Baby number two is on the way for her, so that is very exciting for she and her family. But one of the reasons why I love what J.K. rowling did is she works in the Hollywood universe and she was willing to speak truth to that audience around her, even though many of them were made uncomfortable by the fact that she spoke the truth. And this is one of the things about speaking the truth. You get attacked when you make other people uncomfortable because you draw attention to their untruth. So that is a reality that is, I think, incredibly significant here. This is what is going on when you're being attacked like J.K. rowling is. It's not because you actually have an unpopular opinion. It's because you're saying what they know to be true and forcing them to recognize that they are liars. That's why what she's saying is so powerful. And I've spent a lot of time doing on a smaller scale in sports what J.K. rowling, I think has done in pop culture when it comes to speaking truth to people who should know better. And I want to share this cut with all of you because I did a sit down with Paul Finebaum, and I've been talking about this for a long time. The left took over ESPN as part of their attempt to take over sports, because think about it. If they can get sports fans to say there's no difference between men and women, it's actually heroic for a man to win a women's swimming championship. That's how they take over the whole culture. Because once they can get you to admit something that you know is untrue, then they own you. They have control of your soul. Because once they can get you to say one thing that you know is 100% not true, they can get you to say a second or third. And they get into the brain and they slowly take it over. And I think it's been intentional to focus on sports. I saw it. I never would have thought that I would be talking to you on this show because I was just a guy who liked sports, like a huge majority of you. I love going to a college football tailgate. I like having drinks. I like gambling on sports. I love my favorite thing. If you told me, Clay, you have one day left to live, I would probably say, I want to take my family and I want to go to an awesome college football game, and I want to spend the whole day tailgating, and I want to spend the whole day hanging out with them. And then at the end of the day, just say bye. That's probably how I would choose to spend. If you told me, hey, you only have one day left, that may well be what I would want to do. Celebrate, spend time with the people that I love doing something that we have all shared together. Some of you may think that's crazy. A lot of you out there I think can understand. And so it was intentional, and they did it in a very subtle way. Initially, they only praised left wing politicians. They had Barack Obama on ESPN all the time in completely unthreatening ways. They had him pick NCAA tournament winners. They had him talk about how much he liked sports. And you say, okay, that's fine. They're going to do that for Republicans, too, right? Right. Well, Donald Trump in 2019 wanted to go and did go to the LSU Alabama football game in Tuscaloosa. It's a big game. Joe Burrow against Tuataga by Loa. Lsu, one of the top teams. Alabama, one of the top teams. I was there. It was a fabulous electric Atmosphere. Paul Finebaum is one of the top voices in college football, the probably foremost known of all of the SEC network, the Southeastern Conference, not the securities and Exchange Commission, probably the best known of all their employees. And he wanted to do something special for that game. And so he had set up an interview with President Trump not to dive into the complexities of politics, just to talk about sports, just like ESPN had spent eight years doing with Barack Obama. But guess what? Disney owned ESPN said, no, we're not going to allow that to happen. We've got a different rule when it comes to Republicans in office than we do Democrats. And I want to play this. Cut. I've known this was going on for a long time. People have told me about it behind the scenes. Most of them have not said it publicly. I give credit to Paul Feinbaum for saying it publicly with me. This went up long form interview. If you're interested, you can go check it out on YouTube. I posted the link. Here is cut three. Listen to this.

[Paul Finebaum]

I've never said this before, but why, why, why am I going to hold this back? I just moved and registered in Alabama, but I am a registered Republican in North Carolina as of this hour. And I was a registered Republican in Alabama before I moved.

[Clay Travis]

And you've never said that publicly before.

[Paul Finebaum]

Because you said, I've never discussed politics one single time because it is frowned upon. And it's also overall not good business for somebody doing a sports show to go down that lane.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, I'm going to ask you, I'm going to put you in that lane. Did you vote for Donald Trump?

[Paul Finebaum]

Yes, but they also tell us not to discuss that.

[Clay Travis]

What do you think would happen if you told espn, hey, I'm going to have President Trump on my radio show?

[Paul Finebaum]

I almost did that once.

[Clay Travis]

What happened?

[Paul Finebaum]

You remember the 2019 game, LSU in Alabama?

[Clay Travis]

Oh, yeah. When he came in, I was there. I mean, they, I mean, that was in the borough versus tua, one of the great college football games of all time.

[Paul Finebaum]

I reached out to a friend of mine in D.C. he said, you want to get Trump? I said, yeah.

[Clay Travis]

By the way, anyone who has ever hosted a show in the history of mankind that does not want the president, whether it's Democrat, Republican, whoever the hell it is, is either lying to you or a complete moron to interject.

[Paul Finebaum]

So he said, I think he said, I was, I was doing get up and first take in New York two days a week. I said, I'm gonna be in New York on Wednesday. I'd have to come through. He Said, I think we could do it at the White House Thursday morning. Can you get there? I said, yeah, I can get there. Yeah, I'm in New York, right? He said, let me, let me, let me, let me run it down the flagpole. And he said. He texted me back saying, it's looking good. I had. I called my boss and they killed it.

[Clay Travis]

They killed it. They had Barack Obama all the time on the program, and Fein bomb acknowledged that all sorts of ESPN programming, they sent reporters into the White House with him on a regular basis. They wouldn't let Trump come on and just talk about going to the lsu, Alabama game. Why? Because people would like him. It would humanize Donald Trump like they spent eight years humanizing Barack Obama. Disney, ESPN wouldn't let that happen because Trump was a Republican. This is a big deal. You know, everybody just focused on, hey, Jimmy Kimmel made a joke and, oh, my goodness, how much bigger is it that ESPN wouldn't let Paul Feinbaum interview President Trump before a big game that he was going to attend? Orders of magnitude because of what it represents. They didn't want to treat Trump the exact same as they treated Obama, because culturally, they were using sports to try to divide us all, to take us away from the meritocracy and to interject identity politics into sport. Because if they can do that and they control the culture of sport, they get young men, they get young women. They can infiltrate their thoughts and tell them, hey, you know what? It's actually to be celebrated that a man is competing in women's sports. Hey, you know what? It's super racist. Remember when they tried to turn the NFL, they had Colin Kaepernick comparing the NFL draft to a slave market. Man, when you really start looking at it, it's so calculated, it's so intentional. And I just couldn't. Once I saw it, I couldn't start fighting it hard enough. That's how I'm sitting here talking with all of you right now. Okay, we've got a couple more cuts we want to play there. We'll dive into it more. We'll also take some of your reactions. Again, Senator Mark Wayne Mullen gonna join us as well as Steve Scalise, both from Capitol Hill, to give us the latest from there in the third hour of the program. But I want to tell you about one of our newest sponsors, Cozy Earth. We're thrilled to welcome them. They make sheets, comforters, duvets, blankets. Product line expands outside the bedroom, too. They also make sweaters, pants, quilted cozy jackets, more. October begins tomorrow. So go online to cozyearth.com get stocked up on all things cozy this season. We've even gone a little overboard in the Travis household. The number of things that my wife has bought from this website blew my mind. She loves it. Your wife is probably going to love it. Your mom is probably going to love it. And honestly, you'll probably love all these products too. Go to cozyearth.com use my name clay for 20% off all products. That's C O Z co Z C o z y earth.com code clay and you will get hooked up with the best possible products you can buy for your home. Because home isn't just where you live, it's how you feel. Cozyearth.com code clay go get hooked up. You're going to love it. Cozyearth.com Code Clay want to be in the know when you're on The Go the Team 47 podcast drop highlights from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern in the Clay and Buck podcast feed. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Oracle Cloud Advertiser]

In business, they say you can have better, cheaper or faster, but you only get to pick two. What if you could have all three at the same time? That's exactly what Cohere, Thomson Reuters and Specialized Bikes have since they upgraded to the next generation of the cloud.

[Clay Travis]

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure OCI is the blazing fast platform for your infrastructure, database, application development and AI needs where you can run any workload in a high availability, consistency, consistently high performance environment and spend less than you would with other clouds.

[Oracle Cloud Advertiser]

How is it faster? OCI's block storage gives you more operations per second cheaper.

[Clay Travis]

OCI costs up to 50% less for computing, 70% less for storage and 80% less for networking better.

[Oracle Cloud Advertiser]

In test after test, OCI customers report lower latency and higher bandwidth versus other clouds. This is the cloud built for AI.

[Clay Travis]

And all your biggest workloads right now with zero commitment. Try OCI for free. Head to oracle.com klay that's oracle.com klay.

[LG X Boom Advertiser (repeat)]

Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra durable LG X Boom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because, let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG XBoom and for a limited time save 25% at LG.com with code fall25 bring the boom XBoom.

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

There'S a lot going on in Hollywood, how are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution. Take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.

[Clay Travis]

Where do you see the business actually heading?

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co editor in chief Cynthia Littleton.

[NFL Shop Promoter]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

Open your free iHeartradio app, search daily Variety and listen now.

[TiVo Plus Promoter]

Tired of flipping through apps to find something good? Meet TiVo plus, your one stop free streaming network. No credit card required. With over 300 free channels, you get binge worthy movies from action and comedy to Indian award winners. Plus top TV shows, live news, sports highlights and family programming all in one place. Watch live or on demand right from your home screen.

[Clay Travis]

Free.

[TiVo Plus Promoter]

No signups, no fees, just press play. That's TiVo plus free, binge worthy and always on. Check us [e-mail] a new NFL season.

[NFL Shop Promoter]

Means a fresh start and fresh styles. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else. And show up ready for every kickoff. And big play fan like a pro. And shop [e-mail].

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We're going to talk about the moron Don Lemon on the backside here. I'll also get to some of your talkbacks. You can give us a call 800-282-2882 if you would like to do that. Don Lemon has a message for white men. So all of you white men out there listening right now, Don Lemon has a very important message for all of you that we will play for you here in just a moment and you will be able to here. Maybe some of you will even have a response for Don Lemon as he has decided that he needs to address the men of white America. Not by the way, the white man he's married to, not that white guy. I hope he's not the white guy that he's addressing. But we'll have to talk about that when we come back. In the meantime, we're still in hurricane season. So far it has not been a really bad hurricane season. But how would you prepare if one hit your area? Staying connected when severe weather disables regular services and everything, Rapid Radios can provide that solution as well as a five day charge. They're a Modern day walkie talkie built to communicate on a nationwide LTE network. So distance, not a problem. No monthly fees. Pre programmed simplicity. Rapid radios keep you connected. When everything else goes dark, they're ready to go right out of the box. The five day charge, trusted tested, legit. You're going to love them. We have them in the Travis household. We let my fifth grader, he's 11, we let him run around with the rapid radios. He's not going to get his own cell phone until he turns 14. But we want to be able to stay in touch with him. We use rapid radios to stay in touch with our family. You can use it to stay in touch with your own. 60% off when you visit rapidradios.com use promo code radio for an additional 5% off. Rapid radios.com welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us as we are rolling through the Tuesday edition of the program. Reminder, we'll check in on Capitol Hill, both the House and the Senate in the third hour of the program. Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of Oklahoma and Steve Scalise. Buck is in Taiwan. He may have a couple of things coming from over there before he is done, but I wanted to play this cut for all of you. This is Don Lemon and as I said, he has a message for the white men of America in particular. Let's play it.

[Don Lemon]

Men who look like you, men who vote like you, and men who sound like you white men. Something is broken, something is cracked deep inside when so many of you believe the answer to fear, to loss, to change, is violence. Are you listening to me? I hope I'm saying it loud enough for the people in the back.

[Clay Travis]

All right, so that is Don Lemon, recently fired by cnn. What I think is interesting about this is this is an example of what I was just talking about in the world of sports, identity politics. I believe identity politics is the root cancer of America today and we have to grab it and root it out, destroy it in all facets of our society. And there are many different prongs of identity politics. But essentially what identity politics is is how do you rank people based on oppression and who is allowed to say, to talk to groups and what are they allowed to say? Right. And so if you were thinking about this like a left winger does, your particular identity is a proxy to allow you to say anything about anyone. For instance, if you are a black transgender person, you would see yourself as the peak of the oppression pyramid. That is, you are the most oppressed that anyone has Ever been. And therefore you are allowed to talk negatively about everybody else because of your identity. Don Lemon is a gay black guy. He believes. And maybe we should play that again, but he believes that he should be able to lecture white men on why they are so violent. Right? It doesn't matter that it's not true. It's the identity politics worldview of Don Lemon is, as a gay black man, because of his identity, being both gay and black, he's allowed to say things that other people can't about other groups. White men are allowed to be attacked by everybody. And you guys all know this. White men are, in the world of identity politics, the great Satan. We are the cause of the left wing worldview of all negativity that has ever existed in the history of the world. And from there, you also can stair step into black straight men and Hispanic straight men and Asian hate straight men and Asian straight men. We're all to blame, right? Collectively, men are toxic. Masculinity is toxic. Heterosexuality is wrong. Football is too violent. Right? All of these things kind of roll together. But I just want to want you to think about that clip that I just played for you. What is important I think about it is the degree to which it reflects untruth. That is factually. If Don Lemon were going to lecture anyone in America about their rates of violence based on their race and their gender, he would have to talk to black men. Right? Let me play that one more time, and I just want you to think in your head, what if Don Lemon had actually addressed this clip to black men?

[Don Lemon]

Listen, men who look like you, men who vote like you, and men who sound like you, white men, something is broken. Something is cracked deep inside. When so many of you believe the answer to fear, to loss, to change, is violence. Are you listening to me? I hope I'm saying it loud enough for the people in the back.

[Clay Travis]

Okay. I mean, it would actually be an instructive element here to just strip out white men and put in black men. Why wouldn't he say that? If Don Lemon is concerned about rates of violence in America, truly concerned, and he wants to break it down by race and gender, the group he should be talking to is black men. He should be saying, black men, why are you so violent? You represent 6% of the population. You commit nearly half of all murders. That's wildly outside of what should be expected on a per capita basis. In fact, white, Hispanic and Asian men are far less violent than you are. Why are you so angry, black men? Why are you killing each other? At such incredible high rates. I want you to listen up. I'm paraphrasing what Don Lemon just said to me in particular, especially you guys in the black. In the back, all of you black guys, why are you behaving like this? It would immediately be seen if Tucker Carlson did that take, if Clay Travis did that take, if Buck Sexton did that take, if a white guy sat down in front of the camera and directly addressed black men and said, you guys are way too violent. You are the problem. You need to listen to me. It would probably go mega viral, but immediately it would be called racist. There would be demands that the person who was speaking be canceled. And yet, based on the data, it would actually have far more legitimacy than what Don Lemon just said to white men. So I just want you to think about this for a minute. And my general proposition is it's not helpful to break down racial groups and directly address them and say, you are the problem, because it doesn't create a environment where things get better. Right? Because as soon as you attack someone and say you're the problem, by and large, when you're an external figure from that group, sometimes internal figures, right? Black men can directly address black men, maybe in a way that cuts through. White men can address white men, Asian men, Hispanic men. Speaking inside the group. It's perceived as less of attack because you're seen as one of the group. Right. But in general, I think this is such an important clip because it's an example of untruth. Right? They wanted to talk about misinformation and disinformation all the time. We can't solve problems in America unless we look at the data and try to analyze it. It this is why I think Trump's decision to send troops into Memphis, to send troops into Louisiana, to send troops into potentially Chicago, and certainly to send troops into Washington, D.C. is actually important because it forces us to have a real conversation about where violent crime occurs and who the victims of violent crime are. Some of you probably know, I don't know how many of you maybe even listen to this show for years. I'm a big believer in look at a data set and try to address a problem. If you believe, as I do, that there is far too much violence in America and we want to lower the rates of overall violence. The way to do that is to go to the communities with the highest rates of violence and solve them. I live in a neighborhood and a city where there is very little violent crime. If the president of the United States surged resources in Franklin Tennessee, where I live. The rate of violent crime would barely move in the state of Tennessee because there is almost no violent crime here. But I live in the state of Tennessee. If they surge resources in Memphis. Memphis. I don't have the data in front of me, but I would bet Memphis is well over half of the murders that occur in the state of Tennessee on a yearly basis. That's my bet off the top of my head. Maybe some of you out there have the data. You can share it with me. But in order to drive down the rate of violent crime in Tennessee, you would have to go to the places that have the highest rates of violent crime. And the places with the highest rates of violent crime overwhelmingly have black residents. How can we solve it if we don't talk about it? And how can we solve it when Don Lemon is doing the equivalent of saying, why don't you surge troops in Franklin, Tennessee, where Clay Travis lives? Well, okay, the crime rate is almost non existent. That would be an inefficient use of resources if the goal is to drive down crime. If I came on here and I said, we have to drive the rate of Asian murder to zero, I will not stand for all these violent Asian men. I'm sick of all of you. We have a serious violent crime rate with Asian men. And everybody said, yeah, Clay's right. Let's surge resources into Asian communities. You know what happened? Nobody would even notice. Even if we drove the rate of Asian violent crime down to zero, it is so low that it wouldn't actually make much of us very much safer at all. Now it's good to have less crime. But rates of crime, particularly rates of violent crime, overwhelmingly skew in the black community. So when Don Lemon, a black guy, is lecturing white guys for rates of violent crime, he's actively lying about where crime comes from. And Buck asked a good question. I saw this from him. He's over in Taiwan right now, and he tweeted this. And I think it's. It's worth thinking about. What does a truly safe city feel like? Strolled through a park in downtown Taipei, Taiwan, last night around 9:30pm long after sundown. Playgrounds were full. Children wandered in grassy areas while parents calmly watched from benches under dim streetlights. Young women crossed through wooded pathways alone. Nobody concerned in the least about vagrants, druggies, mugging, or worse. Because tolerance of a crime is a choice society makes. Taiwan has made the right one and benefits from that every day. Democrat run cities in the US have made the wrong choice over and over. So we all suffer. It's shameful and cruel. He's right. He's 100% right. How many times have you thought as you were going around in a city, well, I better get this done before dark? Well, I would never take my kids to that park after dark. Well, what. Why would. I mean, I better get my jog in now. I can't be out on the streets after dark. We've just accepted violent crime as a reality in this country. Do you know why I think we have? Because people are afraid of being called racist. By looking and examining where violent crime comes from. This ties in with what I was talking about with J.K. rowling earlier. Being honest sometimes requires that you be willing to risk that people might say awful things about you that you know are untrue. But think about this. I wanted to play that Don Lemon clip not only because it's factually inaccurate, but what's the really racist choice? We're going to allow rates of violent crime in black neighborhoods to be huge, massive impediments to the success of the vast majority of the residents in that neighborhood because we're willing to deal with violent crime and allow it to continue to occur. Because people are afraid of being called racist. If too many of the violent criminals arrested are black. Much of Democrat crime positions is just calling the criminal justice system racist. Isn't it actually racist to require the vast majority of people who live in inner city neighborhoods to live in constant fear and danger because of a small segment of the population that is engaging in constant acts of violence with no justice system at all to protect them? Wouldn't systemic racism actually be forcing the vast majority of black people to live in violent, crime ridden cities instead of arresting people and letting everybody live safe and healthy and productive lives? What's the first thing that people do when they get money? Almost always it's moved to a safer neighborhood. White, black, Asian, and Hispanic. I got a crazy idea. What if we just decided that we're not going to let any neighborhood be unsafe? Yeah, for a little while. It might be uncomfortable because we'd have to put a lot of bad guys behind bars. But you know what would happen eventually? Without the bad guys on the streets, we'd all be a lot safer not doing so because you're concerned about the color of the skin of the bad guys. Guess what? That's racist. And the people that actually have to deal with it, they're overwhelmingly black. So, Don Lemon, it's a little bit of nuance for you. You wouldn't make a video addressing violent crime rates for black men. Why not? Why would you do it for white men? And I'm guessing hoping it wasn't because you just happened to get into a fight with your married partner, a white guy. When we come back, we will dive into some of your reactions, talk backs and more. But I want to tell you it's fall now. Leaf Filter it's leaf filter time and there are leaves falling everywhere and your gutters are getting clogged and the leaves are piling up next to the Nerf footballs and the Wiffle balls. At least if your house is anything like my house. Kids got all sorts of stuff up in the gutters and as a result they get combined with the leaves and then it's going to be cold soon, it's going to turn into ice. The water's not coming down. It's coming down through your roof. Before all is said and done, I want you to get hooked up right now with a leaf filter. They make a huge difference. They've had over a million people do it and right now you can save up to 30% off your entire purchase at Lee Filters website leefilter.com clay protect your home from flooding, roof damage, rotting and foundation issues. Sure, it is a big difference. A leaffilter Trusted pro will clean out, realign, seal your gutters before installing leaff filters. Go online today to schedule your free gutter inspection. No obligation Free estimate. Over a million homeowners to date have trusted leaffilter. Don't spend this fall worrying about your gutters. Schedule your free inspection. Get up to 30% off your entire purchase at leaffilter.com clay that's leaf filter.com clay free estimate free inspection 30 [e-mail] clay see representative for warranty details. News you can count on, and some laughs too. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[LG X Boom Advertiser]

Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra durable LG XBoom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because, let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG XBoom and for a limited time, save [e-mail] with code Fall25 Bring the.

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

Boom XBoom There's a lot going on in Hollywood. How are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution. Take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.

[Clay Travis]

Where do you see the business actually heading?

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co editor in Chief Cynthia Littleton.

[NFL Shop Promoter]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Promoter]

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Daily Variety and listen now.

[TiVo Plus Promoter]

TiVo plus gives you 300 channels of movies, shows, sports, even kids favorites.

[LG X Boom Advertiser]

All free.

[TiVo Plus Promoter]

And no, we don't want your credit card. Watch live, watch on demand. Watching your PJs, eating pizza. It's all right there on your TiVo home screen. With so much variety, from comedy and action to live news and family programming, you'll never run out of options. TiVo plus free binge worthy and always on. Check us [e-mail] a new NFL season.

[NFL Shop Promoter]

Means a fresh start and fresh styles. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else and show up ready for every kickoff and big play. Fan like a pro and shop [e-mail].

[Colgate Advertiser]

Oral health goes beyond just aesthetics. It's deeply connected to your general health and well being. That's why preventing oral health problems before they start is so important. Important when you use the Colgate Total Active Prevention system, you're not just helping to prevent oral health problems like cavities and gingivitis, you're laying the groundwork for overall wellness. Colgate Total's three product routine includes a reformulated toothpaste, an innovative toothbrush and a refreshing antibacterial mouthwash that all support a healthy mouth. In fact, the three products were designed to work together to be 15 times more effective at reducing bacteria buildup in six weeks starting from week one compared to a non antibacterial fluoride toothpaste and flat trimmed toothbrush. Take control of your oral health and get the Colgate Total Active Prevention system today so you can be dentist ready. Visit shop colgate. Com total.

[LG X Boom Advertiser]

This is an iHeart podcast.