The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 2 – We Never Wavered
Date: October 13, 2025
Hosts: Buck Sexton (solo this hour), joined by guest Carol Markowitz
Main Theme: Unpacking President Trump’s Middle East peace breakthrough—the end of the Gaza conflict, released Israeli hostages, geopolitical shifts, and the unwavering American conservative support for Israel.

Episode Overview

This hour is dedicated to the historic day marking the effective end of the Gaza war and a comprehensive new Middle East peace agreement brokered by President Trump. Buck Sexton, hosting solo, is joined by columnist and podcast host Carol Markowitz. Together, they analyze the peace deal’s mechanics, the role of various regional actors, the reaction in Israel, and the significance for American Jews and the conservative movement. The episode also features live reaction to President Trump’s address from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and critical listener commentary.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Celebration and Context for the Peace Deal

• [03:03] Buck congratulates Carol Markowitz on her two-year show anniversary, setting an upbeat, historical context.
• Clay Travis is away, interviewing a sports legend in Mississippi.
• The episode’s central theme hinges on Trump’s announcement of a Middle East peace plan—described as a world-changing accord.

2. Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan and Hostage Release

• [03:12] Trump is quoted, hailing the deal as a 3,000-year-in-the-making breakthrough.
  • “This took 3,000 years to get to this point. Can you believe it? And it's going to hold up, too. It's going to hold up.” — Donald Trump ([03:12])
• 20 Israeli hostages returned; the emotional impact and the horror of their captivity are discussed.
  • “It's a huge moment for the Israeli people today with the return of those 20 hostages who were still held alive in captivity in Gaza.” — Buck Sexton ([04:06])
  • Carol calls the world’s silence on hostage treatment “appalling” and shares a personal anecdote about teaching her son the morality of not taking hostages.
    • “Civilized countries don't do this... they don't steal babies and their mothers and kill them in captivity.” — Carol ([04:39])

3. Trump’s Pivotal Role and Regional Dynamics

• Trump credited as irreplaceable in achieving this peace; even detractors admit it wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
  • “Even his biggest detractors... are admitting that without Trump, this deal doesn't happen the way that it did.” — Buck ([05:30])
• Regional states (especially Qatar, Egypt, Turkey) pressured Hamas, changing the calculus.
  • Carol stresses the need for the Arab world to enforce peace and accept Israel’s permanence.
    • “The countries in the Middle East need to enforce this as much as anybody else does. They need to say to Hamas... the days of killing innocent people... is over.” — Carol ([06:10])

4. Hamas, Factionalism, and the Path Forward

• Discussion of Hamas’s internal power struggles and potential outcomes if civil war erupts in Gaza.
  • “If Hamas starts breaking the deal, there's no question that they're going to have to go back in. But the real question is what if that area breaks out into a civil war?... What do all the countries that are involved in this peace process do at that point?” — Carol ([07:44])

5. Mindset Shifts and Regional Realities

• Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas are all severely weakened; unprecedented regional pressure for a new era.
  • Buck and Carol note Trump allowed Israel the freedom to finish the fight, contrasting with prior U.S. presidents’ approaches.
    • “Donald Trump gave Israel so much space to do what they needed to do and to not prematurely end the conflict, which is generally what happens... This time, Donald Trump said no, they're going to get to do what they need... Donald Trump has been a miracle for that region.” — Carol ([11:02])

6. American Jews, Political Divides, and the Conservative Movement

• Carol reflects on the last two years as an American Jew and how the left/right divide affected Jewish communities.
  • “I've been grateful to be a conservative these last two years because my... friends have been so behind us and so amazing... my liberal Jewish friends have been scrambling... their friends don't say a word.” — Carol ([12:41])
  • Buck relates left-wing Jews to left-wing Catholics—questioning their political choices ([13:50]).

7. On-the-Ground Israeli Sentiment

• Carol describes scenes of joy in Israel, with Hostage Square renamed Freed Square.
  • “Just such joy and gratefulness... I have to say that I think a lot of Israelis believed this moment as possible... That hope being realized today, it just smiling faces. National holiday. Biggest deal ever over there.” — Carol ([14:23])

8. Live: President Trump’s Speech from Egypt

• [21:29] Trump’s address emphasizes U.S. commitment, demands demilitarization of Gaza, and vows the Middle East will avoid becoming a flashpoint for global war.
  • “There were so many people who said the Middle East... World War III will begin in the Middle East. It's not going to happen... for the first time anyone can remember, we have a once in a lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us...” — Donald Trump ([21:29])

9. Behind the Deal: Diplomatic and Strategic Details

• Buck provides background on how the deal came together, referring to Wall Street Journal reporting:
  • Initial Hamas rejection turned by collective Arab/multinational pressure (“holding hostages was becoming a strategic liability”).
  • Trump’s direct style, with Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, is credited for the breakthrough.
  • Regional shift: even Turkey distanced from Hamas.
  • Comparison of State Department (bureaucracy) vs. Trump-style dealmaking.
  • “Trump comes in there and he's got sleeves rolled up. He's got his team led by Marco Rubio, whom I might point out Trump is saying is going to go down in history as the greatest secretary of state in our history.” — Buck ([24:05])
  • The result is essentially a “Hamas surrender.”

10. Rebutting Criticisms and Rewriting the Narrative

• Buck adamantly refutes past allegations of genocide and starvation against Israel as lies.
  • “The people who were telling you that there was mass starvation... were lying. The people who are saying that Israel was engaged in a genocide were lying... it was a slander and it was morally obtuse.” — Buck ([24:05])
• Buck and Clay’s unwavering stance: they “never wavered” in support for Israel.
  • “We never had static on this show. We never had a sense of, oh, but maybe Israel has gone too far... that never entered into our consciousness on the show for one second.” — Buck ([24:05])

11. Prospects for Gaza and Regional Peace

• Buck speculates on Gaza’s future—hoping it morphs into “Amman, a stable and boring city,” rather than a “terrorist hellhole.”
• “America and other partners... are willing to be there in assistance to build a Gaza where the lights stay on, the water's clean to drink, the businesses can flourish. We can do that... Gaza can be a stable, reasonable place, too.” — Buck ([24:05])
• Praise for IDF’s conduct and Trump’s resolve.

12. Listener Interaction: The UN, Irrelevance, and American Leadership

• [45:56] Caller Jim in Pittsburgh suggests the UN has been sidelined and may be “irrelevant” after Trump's direct diplomatic success.
  • “No one's talking about who's not involved in any of this, and that's the UN... hoping this is the beginning of the end for the UN in as much as it's no longer relevant.” — Jim ([45:56])
  • Buck agrees, likening the UN to “the Emmys,” existing but inconsequential ([46:54]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Trump on Peace's Historic Moment ([03:12], [21:29]):

  • “This took 3,000 years to get to this point. Can you believe it? And it's going to hold up, too.”
  • “For the first time anyone can remember, we have a once in a lifetime chance to put the old feuds and bitter hatreds behind us... this is the first time the Middle East crisis has brought people together as opposed to driving them apart.”

• Carol on World Silence and Moral Standards ([04:39]):

  • “Civilized countries don't do this... they don't steal babies and their mothers and kill them in captivity.”

• Buck on the Deal’s Diplomacy ([24:05]):

  • “Trump comes in there and he's got sleeves rolled up. He's got his team led by Marco Rubio...”
  • “It’s a surrender with guarantees. But surrender is what this is, and that's what it should be.”

• Carol on Conservative Allies ([12:41]):

  • “I've been grateful to be a conservative these last two years... heartwarming and comforting and secure, really. I felt so secure in my conservative beliefs because my side was on the right side.”

• Buck on Show Consistency ([24:05]):

  • “We never had static on this show... that never entered into our consciousness on the show for one second.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 03:12 — Trump’s “3,000 years” breakthrough peace statement
• 04:39 — Carol’s critique of world response, moral standards
• 06:10–06:59 — Discussion of regional pressures on Hamas, prospects for lasting peace
• 11:02 — Carol on Trump giving Israel the space to finish the job
• 12:41 — Carol discusses her experience as a conservative American Jew
• 14:23 — Israeli reaction: Hostage Square becomes Freed Square
• 21:29–24:05 — Trump’s live speech from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
• 24:05–29:00 — Deep dive: Negotiations, State Department vs. Trump, role of Marco Rubio
• 45:56 — Caller Jim on UN irrelevance and Buck’s analogy

Tone and Style

The tone is celebratory, proud, and resolute, with humor and camaraderie between Buck and Carol. There is strong emphasis on clear moral judgment (“right side of history”), criticism of media and political left, and enthusiastic acknowledgment of tangible American-led diplomacy.

Summary

This episode captures a moment the hosts describe as “the best day in Middle East history.” It weaves together the practical (the deals, the negotiations, the regional chessboard) and the personal (the feeling in Israel, the American Jewish experience). The hour features both reflective analysis and real-time reaction to President Trump’s actions and words. Throughout, the show maintains its hallmark: directness, moral clarity, and a refusal to indulge in what they see as equivocation or propaganda.

For listeners who missed the broadcast, this summary provides a complete picture of the episode's content, key arguments, and the hosts’ unyielding support for Israel, President Trump, and a new era in the Middle East.