The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 - Global Terrorism and Domestic Policy Collide
Date: December 23, 2025
Guest Host: Brett Winterble
Notable Guest: Bill Roggio (Foundation for Defense of Democracies / LongWarJournal.org)

Episode Overview

This episode, guest-hosted by Brett Winterble, blends sharp commentary on breaking legal and education news in California, ongoing debates about gender identity and healthcare policy, and hard-hitting analysis of terrorism’s global and domestic intersections. A major segment features terrorism expert Bill Roggio, offering listeners vivid insight into the post-ISIS threat landscape and concerns over financial flows potentially fueling radical organizations abroad. The latter part of the hour brings in callers for an economic and political debate about tariffs and trade policy, reflecting the show’s mix of current events, listener engagement, and right-leaning critique.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. California Education Policy Ruling

(03:16 – 13:52)

• Summary:
  Brett Winterble discusses a federal judge’s ruling that struck down California policies enabling schools to hide students’ gender identity switches from parents. Judge Roger T. Benitez’s injunction emphasized parental rights, religious freedoms, and teachers’ ethical conflicts under the old policy.

• Notable Arguments:

  • The policy’s “trifecta of harm:” to children (who lose parental guidance), parents (denied information and their role), and teachers (forced to deceive parents).
  • Winterble reflected, “The regular teacher, the average teacher does not want to have to go and deal with gender pronouns or anything like that at all. They don’t want to be a part of that because it makes them feel obviously that they’re deceiving the parents.” (09:34)

• Concerns Raised:

  • Potential confusion and risk if a student is injured at school and parents arrive unaware of the new identity.
  • Ethical unfairness toward teachers tasked with navigating complex circumstances beyond education’s scope.

2. Gender Affirming Care and Medicaid Debate

(16:35 – 22:34)

• Summary:
  Representative Ayanna Pressley’s remarks on Medicaid and gender-affirming care are played and critiqued. She equates gender dysphoria with childhood medical conditions like broken bones or diabetes, arguing for Medicaid coverage of gender-affirming treatments.

• Winterble's Reaction:

  • Strongly questions the parity drawn between gender dysphoria and physical medical emergencies:
    “How do you say diabetes, a scraped knee, gender dysphoria... and just package that in the middle?” (17:58)
  • Concern over federal funding for transgender surgeries when "[you've] got people, homeless veterans, people who can't get eyeglasses." (20:29)

• Pressley Notable Quote:

  • “Care that for some children is the difference between despair and hope, between isolation and community, between surviving and thriving.” (19:08)

3. Global Terrorism: ISIS and Threat Vectors

With Bill Roggio (22:34 – 34:17)

• Bondi, Australia Attack Analysis (23:32):

  • Despite official statements, ISIS remains active and capable. The recently exposed plot in Australia, targeting Jews at a Hanukkah celebration, involved operatives with ties or training in the Philippines.
  • Roggio: “Just because we want this war on terror to be over doesn’t mean that the jihadists themselves... think it’s over.” (24:44)

• ISIS Funding and Organization (26:10):

  • Extensive funding networks through criminal enterprises, taxation in controlled areas, and hawala (informal banking/honor-based transfer systems).
  • Terror groups maintain training and recruitment even when out of public spotlight.

• Minnesota Money Laundering Concerns (29:05):

  • Discussed the probability that fraudulently obtained welfare funds from Minnesota could have been channeled via hawala to terrorist groups in Somalia.
  • Roggio: “Not only is it a possibility, it's a probability… there’s a large Somali cadre from the United States that has supported Shabab, which is Al Qaeda's branch in Somalia.” (29:05)

• Soft Targets, Domestic Radicalization (30:39):

  • Violence at non-ISIS-related settings (e.g., shootings at Brown University) can inspire, and be mimicked by, terrorist actors—tactical overlap helps spot vulnerabilities.

• Key Ongoing Global Hotspots (32:41):

  • Recent deadly attack on US soldiers in Syria—points out how accountability is muddied by shifting alliances; the US might be retaliating against one group for attacks carried out by another.
  • “There’s some cover being provided here… our response is to go after the Islamic State, which, by the way, is the enemy of the Syrian government, which is responsible for killing Americans.” (33:01)

4. Economic Policy: Tariff Debate

Listener Call Segment (37:17 – 40:55)

• Caller 'Mike' from Minnesota Critiques Tariffs:

  • Believes tariffs are merely “a tax on top of all the other taxes we pay. Nothing good can ever come out of tariffs.” (37:57)

• Host Response:

  • Engages in live debate about fair vs. free trade, reciprocity, and America’s leverage in global markets.
  • “Our market is such an important place… everybody wants to trade here. We can knock back all of these tariffs… as long as everybody’s playing ball. But if they’re not playing ball, we have to hit them with it. Like, why should we give anybody a free ride?” (39:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On California’s School Gender Policies:
  "The permanent injunction includes language that bars any employee in California's education system from misleading the parent or guardian of a minor child... whether by directly lying to the parent… or using a different set of preferred pronouns and names when speaking with the parents."
  – Brett Winterble quoting Judge Benitez (06:10)

• Winterble on Teachers and Parental Rights:
  "Teachers don't want to be a part of this. By and large, the regular teacher, the average teacher does not want to have to go and deal with gender pronouns or anything like that." (09:34)

• Ayanna Pressley:
  "For some children, [gender-affirming] care is the difference between despair and hope, between isolation and community, between surviving and thriving." (19:08)

• On Global Jihadist Networks:
  “We have to keep in mind that just because we want this war on terror to be over, doesn’t mean that the jihadists themselves... think it’s over.”
  – Bill Roggio (24:44)

• On Money Potentially Funding Terrorism:
  “Not only is it a possibility, it’s a probability... there’s a large Somali cadre from the United States that has supported Shabab, which is Al Qaeda’s branch in Somalia…”
  – Bill Roggio (29:05)

Timestamps for Core Segments

• 03:16 – California ruling on gender policies in schools
• 16:35 – Debating gender-affirming care and Medicaid (Ayanna Pressley audio & reaction)
• 22:34 – Interview: Bill Roggio on ISIS, terrorism funding, and Syria
• 37:17 – Call-in: Tariffs and trade policy debate

Tone & Style

• The episode balances serious, critical commentary with energetic engagement and opinionated banter, maintaining a conversational—sometimes confrontational—style that both informs and entertains.
• Listeners are directly addressed and invited to contribute, keeping the show fast-moving and interactive.
• The expert segment with Bill Roggio adds depth and specificity, while the open lines segment reflects the populist, crowd-sourcing spirit central to the show.

For further information on terrorism and global security, visit:

• longwarjournal.org (via Bill Roggio)

Listener Line: 800-282-2882

This summary covers the substantive content of Hour 2, skipping non-content sections, ads, and promotional material.