The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Hour 2 - California Politics and the National Implications
Date: December 29, 2025
Host: John Cobelt (KFI, guest-hosting for Clay & Buck)
Featured Guest: Katie Grimes (CaliforniaGlobe.com)

Episode Overview

This episode delivers a critical, often humorous deep dive into California's political environment under Governor Gavin Newsom, focusing on state-level mismanagement, policy failures, and high-profile scandals. Guest host John Cobelt, joined by investigative journalist Katie Grimes, unpacks what they see as the disastrous consequences of progressive Democratic rule in California—issues they argue have wide-reaching implications for national politics, particularly given Newsom's potential presidential aspirations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction: Gavin Newsom’s National Profile

• John Cobelt opens by warning listeners across the political spectrum about Governor Gavin Newsom, asserting he is a leading Democratic presidential candidate and represents failed policies that should concern all Americans.
• Cobelt describes Newsom’s attempts to raise his national profile by mimicking Trump’s social media style and touring early primary states.

2. Media Vacuum in California Political Coverage

• Cobelt contends that outside of reporters like Katie Grimes, California political journalism is nearly non-existent, arguing the mainstream press fails to investigate state scandals or hold power to account.
• Quote:

  "I don't think there is one local reporter in Sacramento that covers state politics. And there's nobody else in all of California... It's astonishing. But Katie does." – John Cobelt (06:13)

3. Who is Gavin Newsom? (Katie Grimes’ Perspective)

• Grimes describes her years covering Newsom as “a distasteful job,” calling him a performative politician who adapts his messaging for each audience.
• She analogizes Newsom as “the worst of Tim Waltz and the worst of Gretchen Whitmer—but just in a nice Italian suit” (06:51), highlighting his stylish appearance as covering superficiality over substance.
• Both poke fun at Newsom’s reputation for style (hair, suits) and the way some media/fans swoon over the image while ignoring California’s deep crises.

4. California’s Big Three Scandals: Billions Lost

a) Homelessness Funding

• Grimes reports $24 to $37 billion earmarked for homelessness has vanished with little accountability, funneled into new nonprofits often enriching associates and delivering questionable services.
  • Example: In San Francisco, $16 million/year goes to an org that delivers alcohol to just 55 homeless clients in five years.
  • Quote:

    "In five years, at $16 million a year, they've served 55 clients." – Katie Grimes (09:18)

  • Cobelt: "You're making that up. This is tax money and it buys free shots of booze to street drunks?" (10:05)
  • Grimes: "Yes, and it's been going on for a number of years... Giving alcohol to alcoholics is like giving crack to crackheads." (10:15)

b) High-Speed Rail Disaster

• $17+ billion spent on California’s high-speed rail with “not one inch of track laid down after 18 years”—described as a perpetual boondoggle benefiting consultants and union employees, not the public.
  • Quote:

    "It's consultants that are getting paid, it's union employees... All they're doing is spending money... and as you say, there's no track, there's no trains, there's no high speed, there's no nothing." – Katie Grimes (11:56)

  • Cobelt laments: LA Times and other major outlets have failed to launch serious investigations (12:46).

c) COVID Unemployment Fraud

• California’s unemployment system was gutted of safeguards during COVID, losing at least $32 billion—often to fraudsters, including prisoners on death row (like Scott Peterson) and international scammers.
  • Cobelt:

    "Scott Peterson, who killed his wife Lacey Peterson, was getting unemployment benefits while sitting on death row." (13:45)

  • Grimes: The official responsible (Julie Su) failed upward to the federal administration.

5. National Political Implications

• Cobelt and Grimes predict Newsom will be “eviscerated” if he runs for president and must answer for California’s track record outside the protective bubble of state media.
  • Grimes:

    "Just think back to his disastrous debate with Ron DeSantis of Florida... Governor DeSantis was fabulous and just like pummeled Governor Newsom on his record, on his lies, on his exaggerations, on his word salads. I mean, it just went on and on." (20:05)

• Yet, Grimes notes Newsom has never faced a tough race in a deep blue state with a sympathetic press—raising open questions about his effectiveness nationally (21:17–21:56).

6. Why Do Californians Keep Voting for Newsom?

• Media bias, a solid Democratic supermajority, and uncompetitive elections are blamed for Newsom’s repeated successes.
  • Grimes:

    "He hasn't had to run a tough election is the point. I think that will change on the national stage." (21:56)

7. The Culture Shock of Leaving California

• Cobelt shares personal anecdotes about his sons moving out-of-state and experiencing “normal” life—lower crime, less visible homelessness, and cheaper gas—highlighting what he sees as uniquely Californian decay (23:31–27:00).
  • Quote:

    "I feel like I've broken out of Cuba, I mean, or Communist Russia." – John Cobelt (24:20)

  • His sons, having left, return home shocked at LA’s conditions.

8. High-Speed Rail: From Dream to Stonehenge

• Cobelt details the high-speed rail’s outlandish promises vs. outcomes—connecting every major CA metro for $33 billion versus today’s $17+ billion “Stonehenge pillars in the Central Valley” and 0 miles of operating track (28:10–32:00).

9. Electric Car Mandate Problems

• Mandates requiring 35%+ electric vehicle sales are unattainable due to lack of infrastructure and power grid capacity.
• EVs are infeasible for working- and middle-class residents, says Cobelt.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Katie Grimes, on California coverage:

  "If anybody is trying to understand who Gavin Newsom is, which is difficult because every interview he gives, he's playing to whatever audience he thinks he's performing for." (06:51)

• John Cobelt, on the scale of state fraud:

  "So, I mean, you add all those three scandals up and you get near $80 billion." (14:48)

• Katie Grimes, on Newsom debating:

  "DeSantis was fabulous and just like pummeled Governor Newsom on his record, on his lies, on his exaggerations, on his word salads." (20:05)

• Cobelt, on California's shift:

  "We cannot let Newsom ruin our country." (23:34)
  “I am no cheerleader for any political party, but I am telling you that this progressive movement over the last 10 years has utterly disemboweled the state.” (23:42)

• Cobelt’s personal anecdote:

  "When I go to other states within a few hours, I look around and I go, what happened? Like, where are the homeless people?" (24:00)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:03] – Opening remarks on Newsom’s presidential ambitions and national implications
• [06:32] – Katie Grimes joins; her perspective on Newsom and the local media’s role
• [08:18] – Listing of “Top 50 Disasters” under Newsom
• [09:18] – Discussion of homelessness funding fraud
• [11:32] – High-speed rail project failures
• [13:07] – COVID-era unemployment fraud, prisoners and foreigners gaming the system
• [20:05] – National implications: How Newsom might fare outside CA
• [21:17] – Why Newsom keeps winning in California
• [23:31] – Cobelt’s personal/family reflection on California’s decline
• [28:10] – Detailed breakdown of the high-speed rail’s failure
• [39:33] – Listener from Oklahoma compares gas prices, highlighting CA taxes
• [41:00] – Problems with electric vehicle mandates in California

Takeaways

• Systemic Problems: Host and guest argue California represents a cautionary tale of unchecked progressive governance—misusing public funds, lacking oversight, and producing impractical “solutions” to complex issues.
• Electoral Bubble: Newsom’s perceived success is attributed to a lack of serious opposition and a willfully blind press, suggesting large vulnerabilities on the national stage.
• Warnings for the Country: Both warn national listeners not to let Newsom’s “style” and media savvy mask the state’s underlying problems—“don’t let this happen to America.”
• Grassroots Journalism: Katie Grimes and similar outlets are painted as the last defensive line keeping Californians informed about state-level corruption and waste.
• Personal Impact: The changes in California have driven away not just jobs and businesses, but entire families—including the host’s own children—changing the fabric of the state.

Summary prepared for listeners who want an in-depth, timestamped guide to the episode’s key arguments, themes, and quotable moments.