Hour 2 - California Politics and the National Implications

Summary

---

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.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Buck Sexton]

Guaranteed Human Let me be blunt, Gold is up around 40% this year. If a portion of your savings isn't diversified into gold, you're missing the boat. But it's not too late. I recently bought more gold from Birch Gold Group and you can get in the door now. Birch Gold will help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered IRA. In gold you don't pay a dime out of pocket. Just text my name Buck to 989-898 and claim your free info kit. There's no obligation, just useful information. Text BUCK to 989898 did you know.

[Commercial Announcer]

Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop, voted PCMag's Reader's Choice top laptop brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere and Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit LGUSA.com iHeart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag reader's choice used with permission. All rights reserved.

[Clay Travis]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[John Cobelt]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Clay Travis]

Someone be eliminated. Pressure is coming down.

[Public Investing Ad Voice]

Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th.

[John Cobelt]

Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

[Clay Travis]

Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more are back to redefine the game. Unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO.

[Public Investing Ad Voice]

Max support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index. With AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. You can generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, LLC SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures of [e-mail] Disclosures welcome to today's edition of the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show Podcast.

[John Cobelt]

Welcome everybody. The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. I'm John Cobelt filling in for Clay and Buck. I want to thank them for letting me have this opportunity today as they enjoy the vacation, enjoy the holidays off and I want to continue. I'm from KFI in Los Angeles and been talking a lot about the governor here, Gavin Newsom, because he is the leading presidential candidate on the Democratic side. And this is a dire warning not to let this happen. And I'm saying this to everybody, not just Republicans listening, but Democrats and independents. You don't want this guy. He is a disaster with his policies. And I'll go through more of that later. But I, I want you to see a little a clip of his act here. Look, I mean, he, he's, he's absolutely running for president. He's already toured primary states and he's obviously taken on the job as being chief critic of Donald Trump, bizarrely, by trying to imitate Trump's Twitter style. And this is getting him a lot of attention. This is what's boosted him up in the polls. But just last month, this is last month, he goes on NBC Meet the Press and talks to Kristen Welker, who asks about why he wants to be president. Listen to this nonsense answer.

[Clay Travis]

You've said you'll make a decision about.

[Katie Grimes]

Whether to run for president after the midterms.

[John Cobelt]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

I mean, why do Governor, let me ask you, why do you want to be president?

[John Cobelt]

I don't, I'm not suggesting I am. I'm saying in response to someone talked about it and I hate when I nothing I dislike more than the politician that sits there and lies to you. And we all just sit there rolling our eyes going, give me a break. So as it relates to that, there's nothing on the right, I'm focused on Prop 50, I'm focusing on fair, free elections. And to the extent fate, the future, there's an alignment. You have a big enough why, you have a what and a how. You meet a moment and that moment presents itself in a Year, year and a half, we'll see what happens. What the hell did that mean at the end there? He. He says that he hates a politician sitting there and lying to you, and we're. We roll our eyes while he's lying to you and we're rolling our eyes, and then he goes into this incomprehensible word salad that would put Kamala Harris to shame. Aye, aye, aye. Well, here's a woman who's got a lot of stamina because she's been covering Gavin Newsom for many years, Katie Grimes, and she writes for the. For California globe.com California globe.com and if you want to know what's going on in California news and politics, this is where to go. Believe me. You may not have heard about this particular website, but for me, it's replaced most of the regular media out here, which simply doesn't cover anything. I don't think. Think there is one local reporter in Sacramento that covers state politics. And there's nobody else in all of California. Nobody. Nobody from the LA Times, nobody from the San Francisco Chronicle, nobody from all the network affiliates, abc, NBC, cbs, all the affiliates in all these cities. Nobody covers Sacramento. It's. It's astonishing. But Katie does. Katie, how are you? Welcome.

[Katie Grimes]

Doing well, John, Good to be with you.

[John Cobelt]

Good to have you on. Well, why don't you give. Because, you know, we're broadcast across the country this time. What would you tell people about covering Gavin Newsom for all these years?

[Katie Grimes]

Well, it's a distasteful job, I must admit, if anybody kind of 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. But you have to think of, like, the worst of Tim Waltz and the worst of Gretchen Mitbeer, but just in a nice Italian suit. That's kind of Gavin Newsome.

[John Cobelt]

The suits are nice.

[Katie Grimes]

They are nice.

[John Cobelt]

I think he's. He's, you know, that's how he gets by in life. He's got nice suits, nice hair and a strong jawline.

[Katie Grimes]

Yeah. And he travels with his own personal hairstylist.

[John Cobelt]

Yeah. And. And I mean, you know, some people swoon. I mean, I see him referred to as Governor McDreamy.

[Katie Grimes]

Yeah, it's. It's gross.

[John Cobelt]

And they don't connect him to the. Everything that's falling apart in the state.

[Katie Grimes]

Yeah, it's. I believe it was Michael Savage who said, liberalism is a mental disorder. And I think we're seeing the fruition of that today after so Many years of Democrat super majority rule in California. And it got really ugly during when Jerry Brown came back as governor second time around. Which, you know, so unfortunate for all of us who've lived here for decades. But it was made worse by Gavin Newsom. I recently did an update to my top 50 disasters Governor Gavin Newsom has ushered into California.

[John Cobelt]

Top 50. Wait, I gotta just stop you a second topic. Yeah, 50 disasters, right.

[Katie Grimes]

And there's more. I have people telling me, you know, people writing me saying, but you forgot this and you forgot this. It's like we could have top 500. It would take, you know, a 20,000 word essay.

[John Cobelt]

Let's talk about some of the biggest ones because, you know, all the news is raging about Tim waltz and the $9 billion Somali scandal for the empty daycare centers and the children's feeding programs that don't exist. But he's got several here, you know, that add up to about $80 billion worth of fraud. Let's talk about the homelessness, because he has admitted that $24 billion in homeless money over the years has disappeared and is it was spent, but nobody knows what it was spent on and what if it did any good? And that's what this one fascinated me because he actually admitted it.

[Katie Grimes]

Yeah, well, he only admitted to 24 billion. The state legislative analyst upped it to 37 billion. And that money disappeared into the black hole of newly created nonprofits and NGOs, non governmental organizations. And those people hired friends and family and the CEO was making 250 a year and they just would spend the money as fast as humanly possible. I did an article that posted today just highlighting one of these organizations in San Francisco which is supposed to be providing free shots of alcohol to homeless alcoholics. And in five years, at $16 million a year, they've served 55 clients.

[John Cobelt]

No, you're making that up. This is tax money. And it buys free shots of booze to street drunks.

[Katie Grimes]

Yes, yes. And it's been going on for a number of years. It was, it was an organization that already existed, but they beefed it up during COVID ostensibly to keep these homeless alcoholics out of emergency rooms. And, you know, it's under the, you know, we're kind of trying to reduce harm to these people. And you know, as I said, I'm sorry, giving alcohol to alcoholics is like giving crack to crackheads and heroin to heroin addicts. It doesn't end it, it makes it worse.

[John Cobelt]

Well, they're close to doing that too, because I know in la, I Just saw a program that UCLA is involved with where they hand out. They hand out needles.

[Katie Grimes]

Yeah, this is.

[John Cobelt]

And they hand out. They hand out like meth pipes, right, Exactly.

[Katie Grimes]

Yeah. They claim that this is a harm reduction program. When all you're doing is you're. It's the classic codependent, you know, concept.

[John Cobelt]

But they know this, don't they?

[Katie Grimes]

Yes.

[John Cobelt]

And it's really about funneling the money to friends and family. So everybody has their own multimillion dollar empire and everybody knows that all this nutty stuff doesn't work.

[Katie Grimes]

Yes. And in California, with 40 million residents and a legislature the same size as New Jersey, it's very easy to hide this.

[John Cobelt]

And that's 37 billion right there. The high speed rail. That's a $17 billion disaster. And that's over an 18 year period now. And there is not one inch of track laid down after $17 billion in 18 years. Not an inch of track. Talk about that.

[Katie Grimes]

No, and that's exactly it. It's consultants that are getting paid, it's union employees. This was supposed to be a big boondoggle for the labor unions in the state, particularly the seiu, which is public employees. And all they're doing is spending money, as I said, on consultants on architects. It's a lot of make work and it's multi billion dollars of money just being funneled down the drain. And as you say, there's no track, there's no trains, there's no high speed, there's no nothing. It's unbelievable that this is going on. And I think it's even more unbelievable to you and to me, John, that we have the Los Angeles Times, which hasn't done a massive investigation on this because they have the resources to do it and expose where the money's actually going.

[John Cobelt]

Then another one, and this may be the biggest one of them. All during COVID the state started handing out unemployment money to anybody who claimed they were unemployed. And they blew about at least $32 billion. And much of it went overseas.

[Katie Grimes]

Yes.

[John Cobelt]

And out of state. Talk about that.

[Katie Grimes]

This was the most unbelievable scam I think our state has ever seen. And unfortunately the perpetrators failed up into the Biden administration. So what they did during COVID was took off all of the security measures that are normally in place when people apply for unemployment benefits in California. And somehow the word got out pretty fast to every prisoner in every state prison in our state and other states that there was this free money to be had. We had prisoners on death row getting unemployment benefits fraudulently.

[John Cobelt]

Scott Peterson, who Killed his wife. Lacy Peterson was getting unemployment benefits while sitting on death row.

[Katie Grimes]

Yep. Yeah, Russians were, Ukrainians were, you know, people from all over the world were applying and receiving California unemployment benefits. And the head of the agency, who should not only have been fired but prosecuted, was hired by the Biden administration.

[John Cobelt]

She became the acting labor secretary. Julie Su, right?

[Katie Grimes]

Yes, she did. She never got confirmed, but yeah.

[John Cobelt]

She forgave some of the debt California had to the federal government. She created the debt while running the California Labor Department and then forgave her own debt when she took over Biden's Labor Department. Correct.

[Katie Grimes]

And the remaining debt is now being paid by California's business owners because Gavin Newsom will not repay the debt to the federal government.

[John Cobelt]

That's crazy. Can you hang on?

[Katie Grimes]

Yes.

[John Cobelt]

We'll talk a few more minutes here with Katie grimes from California globe.com so, I mean, you add all those three scandals up and you get near $80 billion. I mean that, I mean, I mean, Tim Waltz is as a rookie compared to what Gavin Newsom has done to the state. And by the way, this is going on in a lot of states. It's not just Minnesota and California. I mean, this, this, it is a free for all now with, with local governments. We'll talk more about this. John Cobalt from KFI filling in today on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.

[Buck Sexton]

Let me be blunt. Gold is up around 40% this year. That's not speculation, that's reality. If a portion of your savings isn't diversified into gold, you're missing the boat. Here are the facts. Inflation is still too high, our dollar still recovering, and the federal government debt is not going down. This is why central banks are flocking to gold. They're the ones driving prices up to record highs. But it's not too late. I recently bought more gold from Birch Gold Group and you can get in the door now. Birch Gold will help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered IRA. In gold, you don't pay a dime out of pocket. Just text my Name Buck to 989898 and claim your free info kit. There's no obligation, just useful information. The best indicator of the future is the past. Gold has historically been a safe haven. I've got gold in my home. Safe gold bars, gold coins. You can too. My friends. Birch Gold Group is who you should contact. Birch Gold makes owning physical gold very easy. Text Buck to 98-98-98 now to claim your free info kit on gold. Text buck to 989898 did you know?

[Commercial Announcer]

Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop, voted PCMag's reader's choice top laptop brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere, and Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit LGUSA.com iHeart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag reader's choice used with permission. All rights reserved.

[Clay Travis]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[John Cobelt]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Clay Travis]

Someone will be eliminated. Pressure is coming down.

[Public Investing Ad Voice]

Trainer G on Prime Video January 8th.

[John Cobelt]

Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

[Clay Travis]

Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more are back to redefine the game. Unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max support for the.

[Public Investing Ad Voice]

Show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] disclosures welcome.

[John Cobelt]

This is the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. I'm John Cobell from KFI Radio in Los Angeles filling in today normally on in the afternoon in the LA area and we're Talking now with Katie Grimes. We've devoted a lot of time to Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, who's the leading Democratic presidential candidate. A lot of people think that, you know, he's clearly got the best chance to being the Democratic nominee. Katie Grimes is with us from California globe.com and she's been great, been chronicling Newsom and the decline of the state over the last seven years. Katie, you and I know what the, what the record is. And he's going to be running against, I don't know, six or eight, 10 other Democratic candidates right. In the primaries. Not to mention if he made it through, it would be the Republican nominee. Whether it's JD Vance or Marco Rubio or whoever. Isn't he going to get eviscerated in about 10 minutes, or do you think he's got the ability to slime and slink his way out of this?

[Katie Grimes]

Well, in answer to your question, yes, he will be eviscerated, most definitely. Just think back to his disastrous debate with Ron DeSantis, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, which was a squirming, uncomfortable experience to have to watch. Governor DeSantis was fabulous and just like pummeled Governor Newsom on his record, on his lies, on, you know, his exaggerations, on his word salads. I mean, just, it just went on and on. And can you imagine J.D. vance debating him or Marco Rubio, even any of the other potential Democrat wannabe candidates? I think other than Tim Waltz, Gretchen Whitmer could just eat him for lunch. I think it'll be entertaining to watch. It may make a lot of people squirm, though, when you see him really put to the test.

[John Cobelt]

Why do you think he survived here? He's won every election, twice for mayor, twice for lieutenant governor, three. Three times for governor because there was a recall. I mean, that's a seven and oh record. Like, what's wrong with people here?

[Katie Grimes]

Well, we are a Democrat majority state, a super majority in our legislature. We have some of the most liberal media in the entire country. And as you correctly stated in your opening, they just choose not to cover certain things. And Gavin Newsom for that very reason has never been put to the test in California. Not the way he should have been. There's never really been. He hasn't had to run a tough election is the point. I think that will change on the national stage.

[John Cobelt]

He is not really quick under pressure.

[Katie Grimes]

No.

[John Cobelt]

Every once in a while a reporter gets a hold of him and he becomes a blithering mess.

[Katie Grimes]

Yeah. And his first go to is to tell a big fat lie. You know, as he encountered the mom in Pacific Palisades or Kristen Welker in her interview. I think he thinks he can shoot from the hip on everything he does and it just doesn't work on a national stage. California media might give him, you know, a pass, but I don't think national media will.

[John Cobelt]

No, I mean it's such a rich term target environment Newsom's record it because I know a lot of people think he's going to win in a breeze. And I always think you have no idea how much baggage he carries. Katie Grimes, I've got to go. Thank you for coming on with us from californiaglobe.com thank you so much, John.

[Katie Grimes]

It's been great to be with you.

[John Cobelt]

All right. We're going to talk more about the situation out here in California on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Thank you, John Cobalt, for hosting at.

[Katie Grimes]

Clay and Buck and you and Katie.

[John Cobelt]

Grimes to letting the world know that California has gone from the land of.

[Katie Grimes]

Milk and honey to fruits and nuts.

[John Cobelt]

Now to doom and gloom.

[Katie Grimes]

I'm a 77 year old native and.

[John Cobelt]

It'S, I'm just terribly depressed. So please, we cannot let Newsom ruin our country. Well, thank you very much. And this is the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. I'm John Cobelt from KFI in Los Angeles on every afternoon on the radio here in Southern California. And yes, I'm here to let the world know just what a freaking disaster Gavin Newsom has been to the state and it's been destroyed right in front of our eyes. As I said in the opening of the show, you know, I've been here over 30 years and when I was a little kid, this looked like paradise on tv. I came here and it actually was. And it stayed that way for the first, you know, 20 plus years or so. And then it's gone really downhill and it's, it's almost entirely due to self inflicted, inflicted, bad Democratic progressive policies. 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. It is terrible and it's heartbreaking, it's very sad. And you know, it's funny. I've got, I've got three sons who are in their 20s and they all, they all moved out and none of them want to come back to California. But we visit them around the country and when I go to other states within a few hours, I look around and I go, what happened? Like, where are the homeless people? You know, where, where are all the low level criminals skulking about? What? Look at that gas price. That's 289. That's 269A gallon. It's. I feel like I've broken out of Cuba, I mean, or Communist Russia. I really have that feeling. And my sons used to hear my wife and I complain and grumble all the time about various policies and taxes and just everything, quality of life issues. And they used to roll their eyes at us until they moved out. And so now they go out and I have one son of Wyoming, one in North Carolina, one in Louisiana. They going to school or various, you know, early parts of their career, and they come back and they go, they're shocked now they're shocked by LA because they spend, you know, three, six months in peace before they return for a visit. And they go, you know, now I know what you're talking about. Because they get so used to normal life, pleasant life. I visited one of my sons in North Carolina over the summer, and then we took a road trip. We went through Savannah, Georgia. We went to Charleston, South Carolina. We ended up in Sarasota, where my wife grew up, part of her childhood as a teenager and beyond because her parents had moved. And so just seeing those four cities, seeing Charlotte, Charleston, Savannah, Sarasota, and I'm looking around, it's like, look at this. No bodies on the sidewalks. We're not looking over our shoulder. We're not afraid. And that is the single thing that makes you crazy in la. You never know when somebody's going to come flying at you because it happens. People get punched in the face, they get stabbed. There was a girl that my sons went to school with from the local school, and she'd gone to college and she was taking a job to earn money, I believe, at a furniture store. Homeless guy who'd been arrested, you know, many, many, many times walked in one day and stabbed her to death right in the furniture store. It's like, oh, my God. You know, my sons knew that girl. I used to see her, she used to work out at a park that I worked out at, and I remembered her. And this really hits home to a lot of people. I mean, we know, we know dozens and dozens of people who lost their homes in the fire because many of the people in the Palisades went to the same schools. My children. And so the pain is intense. The pain is personal. You go from paradise to what we have now, and it makes you now a Lot of people have packed up and left. And I understand. And people always say, well, why are you staying? Well, I do have a good job and we do have a lot of friends. You know, you do spread roots. And I don't really want to go to another state and not know anybody. That just doesn't sound appealing. Let me, let me tell you about, about some of the fraud we went over with Katie grimes from California. Globe.com We're going to have, oh, next hour we're going to have, from News Nation, Let me see, we're going to have Joe Khalil from News Nation and he's going to talk about the Minnesota case with Tim Waltz. And so I keep saying, if, like you think Waltz is something else with the fraud, just listen to these Gavin Newsom stories. And this week, California dropped its lawsuit. $4 billion in federal money was supposed to come for high speed rail and Trump pulled it. And Trump has done a lot of damage to Newsom. This is one example, $4 billion of federal money. Obama had originally appropriated some of it. And the first thing that Newsom and the attorney general in California does, Rob Bonta, is they hold a press conference. We're suing Trump. Big headlines in all the left wing papers. Newsom sues Trump, Banta sues Trump. Well, the follow up to that is that Newsom and Banta dropped their $4 billion lawsuit. They're not even going to try to get the 4 billion back because guess what? They did violate the loan agreement or the, or the grant agreement. They dismissed their own lawsuits. Trump's transportation department said they did a compliance review and found that California didn't meet federal grant requirements. There were too many costly changes to the contracts. The ridership forecasts were bogus and on and on. Let me tell you, when this thing passed in 2008, what the voters were told, I think it passed 52 to 48. It was a statewide referendum. Do you want high speed rail? Here's what they sold the public. I voted no. I knew it was a bunch of lies. A lot of people went for it. And I understand why. Because at the time, and this was a remnant of like the Schwarzenegger administration, they said you were going to have 220 mile an hour trains. Yeah. Really, 220 mile an hour trains. And they were going to run from, get this, it was going to run from Sacramento to San Francisco, then to Los Angeles, then to Anaheim, then to San Diego. The whole state, all the major cities from north to south would be connected by, by a single track and we were going to build that in about, I think it was going to be by, within 15 years, by 2020. And the total price was going to be $33 billion, $33 billion for the whole thing. Sacramento, San Francisco, L.A. anaheim, San Diego. And the trains would go 220 miles an hour and you'd be able to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles in like, I don't know, two and a half hours. And people got excited, right? People love, it's, it's, it's, it's science fiction, right? Shiny bullet trains speeding, you know, through the California farm regions, connecting the cities. Everyone bought into it. So now what do we got? 18 years later, we have no track. What we have is scattered out in the, the California, the, the central valleys, they call it. That's a lot of farmland, right? Well, they tore up a lot of farmland and they have left these pillars. And someday someone's going to come back to California and wonder what these pillars are for. Because they're really high. I know they're like 20, 30ft high. They're supposed to hold up the railroad track, the overhead railroad track. Except the railroad track was never built. So you have these things and it looks like Stonehenge out there. Like if you had, I know, people from a foreign country come, they'd be looking around. It's like this, this so ancient civilization that left behind. You know, were they tracking the sun here? Were they plotting the stars? Do these cast shadows? That's, that's all we have are these Stonehenge pillars to hold up track that's never been built. They have reduced the train to Bakersfield to Mercedes. Bakersfield is an oil town. Merced has a University of California campus there. Well, Bakersfield's industrial. It kind of looks like an oil town would. Merced is just, you know, a little suburb. You can't run a train back and forth. There's no market there. There are no commuters wanting to go from Bakersfield to Mercedes. And even then, the train stops are outside Bakersfield in Merced. And that's the extent of the train they're trying to build. It's going to be 171 miles. There is no Sacramento, there's no San Francisco, there's no Los Angeles, no Anaheim, no San Diego. There's nothing. There's Bakersfield to Merced. And now they, they're estimating, it's like, well, if we ever built the whole thing, which we're not going to, it would cost, you know, $130 million, which means it would probably cost 130 billion, which means it would probably cost 250 billion. Remember what I said at the beginning? It's going to be 33 billion, all five major cities. It's going to be done about 12 to 15 years. Now I, but, and when they did, they did several audits. And when the auditors went in, if somebody else says, why don't they do an audit? Why don't do the forensic audit and track down every penny. Well, when they do the audits, they find out the money evaporated. It's not written down. There's no paperwork. There's literally no paperwork. The money was withdrawn. Tax money was withdrawn from accounts and then it was gone. We agreed to borrow $10 billion that we're now paying back. They also said, well, we're going to get private investors. Way back when, well, in Newsom and Banta dropped this lawsuit this past week, somebody said, well, where are you going to get the money? Oh, we're going to get private investors. There are no private investors in the world. They've been trying for 25 years to get private investors, but it's a boondoggle. You know, when the private sector says this thing is a scam, it's a scam. But it keeps the unions employed who are busy building these Stonehenge pillars for no reason. It's astonishing. And that, that other thing that we talked about with Katie. Yeah. Death row inmates really got, really got unemployment money. Scott Peterson really got an unemployment check while sitting on death row. You just can't make this stuff up. All right, we've got more coming up on. This is John Cobelt from KFI Radio on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show.

[Buck Sexton]

Let me be blunt. Gold is up around 40% this year. That's not speculation, that's reality. If a portion of your savings isn't diversified into gold, you're missing the boat. Here are the facts. Inflation is still too high, our dollar's still recovering and the federal government debt is not going down. This is why central banks are flocking to gold. They're the ones driving prices up to record highs. But it's not too late. I recently bought more gold from Birch Gold Group and you can get in the door now. Birch Gold will help you convert an existing IRA or 401k into a tax sheltered IRA. In gold, you don't pay a dime out of pocket. Just text my name Buck to 98, 98, 98 and claim your free info kit. There's no obligation, just useful information. The best indicator of the future is the past. Gold has historically been a safe haven. I've got gold in my home. Safe gold bars, Gold coins. You can too my friends. Birch Gold Group is who you should contact. Birch Gold makes owning physical gold very easy. Text Buck to 989898 now to claim your free info kit on gold. Text buck to 989898 did you know?

[Commercial Announcer]

Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop, voted PCMag's Reader's Choice top laptop brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere and Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit LGUSA.com iHeart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag reader's choice used with permission. All rights reserved.

[Clay Travis]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[John Cobelt]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Clay Travis]

Someone will be eliminated.

[John Cobelt]

Pressure is coming down. Trainer Games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

[Clay Travis]

Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. The best women's players on the planet are running it back with even bigger moments and bigger stakes. Don't miss as Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more take the court and redefine the game. This isn't your regular season. This is unrivaled, where the pace is faster, the energy is higher and every athlete shines. Unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO.

[Public Investing Ad Voice]

Max support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year. You can literally, literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra S IP Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete Disclosures available at public.comdisclosures hey John.

[John Cobelt]

This is Timothy in Moore, Oklahoma, formerly from San Diego, California. Used to love the John and Ken show back then moved out here in.

[Katie Grimes]

22, left that hell hole California behind.

[John Cobelt]

And I just paid A$93 for unleaded gas here in Oklahoma. God Bless. Merry Christmas, happy new year. A dollar 93 he said, huh? John Cobell here from KFI Los Angeles filling in today on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. And yeah, California gas is, I think the average is 429 right now. And I don't know where the, where the cheaper stations are, but on the west side of Los Angeles where I am, yeah, I've set a stoplight. Just yesterday it was 509 at the corner. So I don't know who's, who's paying the cheap gas to ever get to that 429 average. But it, it, it's, it's, it just I look at the gas prices every day and what the reason for the gas hike here is entirely taxes. We have a $50 in extra taxes and it's all climate change nonsense and it has had no effect on the climate. The climate on earth has not cooled by a single 1/1 millionth of a degree since they started charging us, you know, the extra buck 50. It's not just the climate tax, it's all the different taxes. But this is what really boosted the gas into the stratosphere was the climate change tax. The earth is no cooler. California is no cooler. The I mentioned the other day how Trump has done a lot of damage earlier in the show how Trump's done a lot of damage to Newsom, for example, by with withdrawing the billions of dollars in high speed rail. He also got rid of Newsom's electric car mandate starting next week. Next week, 35% of the cars in California were supposed to be electric, 35% of the cars sold and it was going to ramp up from there. And in less than 10 years, 100% of the cars sold were supposed to be electric. Now a lot of the electric cars are difficult to deal with, as you know, which is why this has been a Bust. Tesla's are great. I see Teslas on the west side. There's a lot of rich people on the west side. There's a lot of guys. It's their third car. It's their weekend car. And they could pay 75 or 100,000 or whatever those things cost. But again, for the working class, for the middle class, electric cars, not feasible. For one thing, we don't have any charging stations. I mean, we really don't. And we don't have an electric grid to support the charging. If we all switch to electric, like Newsom was mandating, there's absolutely no power source to provide the electricity. And for years and years, we've been talking about this. It's like, well, if we're going to do this, we need more power. Instead, they were closing natural gas plants, they were closing a nuclear plant. And then change their mind at the last minute and then change their minds on the gas. They were going to go all wind and solar. They didn't build charging stations. They don't have a grid. But we were mandated to buy electric cars. That's part of the insanity that we, we have. All right, we come back. Joe Khalil. And Joe is with News Nation. And we're going to switch to the Minnesota insanity. Very similar. And all the fraud with the Somali community there. There's a new video out that has shocked country. 100 million views. And that's coming up next on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton show.

[Commercial Announcer]

Did you know Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop voted PCMag's Reader's Choice Top Laptop Brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere. And Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit LGUSA.com iheartra for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11 PC Mag Reader's Choice. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

[Clay Travis]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000 thousand dollars.

[John Cobelt]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Clay Travis]

Someone will be eliminated.

[John Cobelt]

Pressure is coming down. Trainer Games On Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainer games.com Season.

[Clay Travis]

Two of unrivaled basketball is here and the talent is unreal. The best women's players on the planet are running it back with even bigger moments and bigger stakes. Don't miss as Paige Becker, Snafeeza Collier, Kelsey Plum, Brianna Stewart and more. Take the court and redistribute. Define the game. This isn't your regular season. This is unrivaled, where the pace is faster, the energy is higher and every athlete shines unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5 on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max support.

[Public Investing Ad Voice]

For the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you try transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member finra, SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] Disclosures A new year.

[Clay Travis]

Is on the horizon and your 2026 savings start here. Right now you can access the Washington post for just $2 every four weeks. Head into the new year with six months of savings at the special intro rate. After that it'll cost $12 every four weeks. Cancel anytime. You'll get unlimited access to trusted journalism that helps you understand the year ahead and the world around you. Now's the perfect time to subscribe because great habits and great savings start together. Go to washingtonpost.com iheart that's washingtonpost.com iheart and start your year informed with the Post. This is an iHeart podcast.

[John Cobelt]

Guaranteed Human.