Hour 3 - Border, Crime, and the Culture War

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 3 – Border, Crime, and the Culture War

Date: August 26, 2025
Podcast Host: iHeartPodcasts
Theme: Examining the Trump administration’s shift from the border crisis to tackling violent crime, the culture war, and the intersection of pop culture and politics.

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Brief Overview

In this episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton analyze the Trump administration's latest focus on reducing violent crime in major cities, now that issues like the border crisis and tariffs seem resolved. The hosts discuss Democrats’ resistance to Trump’s rapid anti-crime initiatives, highlight the cultural resonance of the Taylor Swift–Travis Kelce engagement, and dig into the broader culture war. With their signature blend of political critique, humor, and pop culture commentary, Clay and Buck illustrate how "politics is downstream from culture"—and sometimes vice versa.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Shift from Border Crisis to Crime Reduction

Timestamps: 00:28–08:00

• Border Resolution & Tariffs:
  Clay opens by noting that, with tariffs resolved and the border "completely shut down," the administration has turned its focus to violent crime, particularly in cities like D.C., Chicago, and Baltimore.

  • “Given that the border is completely shut down...Trump has solved much of the border crisis. Crime is the economy.” – Clay (00:44)

• Trump’s Success and Democrat Response:
  Crime has become the next big “battle" after the border, with Clay highlighting irony in Democratic pushback.

  • “Democrats are now arguing...he’s trying to lower crime too fast.” – Clay (01:15)
  • Buck agrees, criticizing Democrats for failing to offer alternative solutions:
    “Democrats just have ‘shut up, there is no problem,’ even though we all know there’s a problem.” – Buck (05:40)

2. Trump’s Statements on the Crime and Transgender Issues

Timestamps: 03:30–05:27

• Transgender Participation in Sports:
  Trump is played responding to the trans sports debate:

  • “You can’t have a seven-foot guy playing basketball with the women...we all have our place.” – Trump (03:30)
  • Clay calls it a “common sense issue” critical to Trump's political rise (04:02).

• Crime and Accusations of Dictatorship:
  Trump addresses critiques that his anti-crime efforts are “dictatorial”:

  • “I'm a dictator but I stop crime...So a lot of people say, you know, if that’s the case, I'd rather have a dictator. But I'm not a dictator. I just know how to stop crime.” – Trump (04:34)

3. The Morality and Politics of Crime Reduction

Timestamps: 08:00–12:47

• Broad Support for Anti-Crime Measures:
  Clay underscores the public’s near-universal desire for less crime and the tragic impact of violent crime, especially on young people and their families.

  • “Politically, it’s smart because being against crime is something that the vast majority of Americans…care a great deal about.” – Clay (08:00)
  • He also credits Trump for focusing on solutions rather than status quo:
    “Trump’s radical gift is he looks at problems and he actually tries to come up with solutions.” (09:46)

• Class & Media Disconnect:
  The hosts criticize elites for failing to address urban crime due to political tribalism:

  • “Left wing journos…live in gated communities…they don’t want to acknowledge the problem because Democrats aren’t solving it.” – Clay (10:47)
  • Trump’s policies, per Clay, aim to help even non-supporters for moral reasons.

4. Pop Culture Segment: Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Engagement

Timestamps: 15:46–32:59

• National Dog Day Interlude:
  Buck briefly celebrates National Dog Day with stories about his labradoodle (15:46–17:20).

• Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Engagement Analysis:
  The engagement becomes a centerpiece for discussing culture’s influence on politics.

  • Clay asserts:
    “What you are seeing from young men right now, I believe is directly connected to the way that the culture has shifted around them.” (20:42)
  • Buck offers a counter-theory, suggesting Trump has made culture "downstream from politics" (21:06), which Clay acknowledges is “super interesting.”

• Why Taylor’s Engagement Matters:
  Clay argues Taylor is “talking left but living right”—publicly progressive, but privately upholding conservative family values by waiting for marriage and aspiring towards a "nuclear family".

  • “She is pursuing a conservative lifestyle while saying she supports left wing politics...Taylor Swift might be just about the best role model there could be for a little girl out there in pop culture.” – Clay (24:00)
  • He predicts many girls will emulate her life choices and sees this as positive for American culture.

• Listener Pushback & Humor:
  The hosts read emails/calls from older listeners (“Rosemarie", “Gerald”, “Randy”) who deride the focus on Taylor Swift, with Clay defending the relevance, insisting many women 14–40 are invested in the story.

  • “These are old dudes who don't understand modern culture. I'm trying to explain to you how to win.” – Clay (27:53)
  • “Your granddaughters are texting about this right now and they're going to be talking about it at Thanksgiving.” (27:59)
  • Humorous aside: “That was like the Gettysburg Address of Kelsey Swift analysis.” – Buck (26:18)

5. Trump Reacts to the Engagement

Timestamps: 36:16–38:24

• At a press conference, Trump responds amiably to news of the Swift-Kelce engagement:

  • “Well, I wish him a lot of love. I think he’s a great player...and I think that she’s a terrific person. So I wish them a lot of love.” – Trump (36:49)

• Clay and Buck note how Trump is “uniquely aware of what people are talking about," with Clay stating:

  • “Trump is uniquely aware...and has an intuitive sense for how to cut through the noise.” (37:10)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Crime & Democrats:
  “We would like to think that the people who are empowered...would at least have an alternative solution...Democrats just have ‘shut up, there is no problem.’” – Buck (05:40)

• On Trump’s Practical Morality:
  “Trump is actually trying to save the lives of people in cities who either didn't vote or were highly unlikely to vote for him...it's actually an incredibly noble goal.” – Clay (11:39)

• Pop Culture & Politics:
  “Politics is downstream from culture.” – Clay (20:42)
  “I think that Trump has actually reversed that maxim...culture is now downstream of politics in the Trump era.” – Buck (21:06)

• On Taylor Swift as a Cultural Model:
  “She talks left and lives right.” – Clay (18:57)
  “Clay, that was like the Gettysburg Address of Kelsey Swift analysis.” – Buck (26:18)

• Listener Reactions:
  “I don't care about that at all. That there's more important stuff to life.” – Randy (30:25)
  “F. Taylor and Travis. I could care less. And I both. And I find them both annoying as hell...” – Gerald (32:03)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Border & Crime Discussion: 00:28–08:00
• Trump on Trans Issues & Dictator Critique: 03:30–05:27
• The Morality of Crime Reduction: 08:00–12:47
• National Dog Day/Listeners Segment: 15:46–17:20, 27:59–32:59
• Swift/Kelce Engagement & Culture War Analysis: 20:35–26:49
• Trump Reacts to Engagement: 36:16–38:24

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Tone & Takeaways

The tone is lively, often humorous, and unapologetically opinionated. Clay Travis drives home the importance of cultural moments as political bellwethers, maintaining that what happens in pop culture deeply influences (and sometimes reflects) American political realities. Buck Sexton complements this with some skepticism and grounded analysis. Both agree that Trump’s solutions-oriented, populist style sets him apart, particularly on crime—an issue they see as both politically and morally urgent.

The episode is a microcosm of the show’s blend: hard politics, culture war analysis, and the recognition that what people care about—be it crime or celebrity engagement—shapes the country’s trajectory.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Clay Travis]

Now you can stream Fox News Live on the FOX One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen, all from the Fox voices you trust bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your 7 day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox One for complete terms and conditions. Fox One we live for live streaming now.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with the true love edition of the program as Buck has just been glowing with the news coming down that Taylor Swift and her football playing boyfriend Travis Kelce have become engaged. Oh, true love wins again. We are running through a bunch of different stories out there. The ongoing battle of Trump deploying resources to Washington, D.C. crime coming down, the discussion about whether it should also happen in Chicago, Baltimore, potentially other New York City. I think he even mentioned potentially other blue cities out there. This is going to continue to be the battle as Trump has made. Is it fair to say Buck the story of the summer 2025, what he is trying to do. It comes to violent crime. I think it's fair to say that given that the tariff panic appears to be over. We have set all time record highs in the stock market this summer. Given that the border is completely shut down, I said and I think you signed off on this for years that the election was as easy as ebc economy, border crime. The border is secure. Now we're going through the process of deporting many different illegals that were here. But that scenario of the border being wide open and millions of illegals continuing to flood in as occurred under Joe Biden, that's solved. Trump has solved much of the border crisis. Crime is the economy. With the tariffs now basically agreed to with the big beautiful bill passed which locked in the Trump tax cuts for the next decade plus the economy I think is on very sound footing and continuing to get better. And Trump has now pivoted his attention to a large degree to crime and he's managed to do the impossible. He has managed for Democrats to now be arguing he's trying to lower crime too fast. We are opposed to his attempts to lower crime to that is where we are right now. I wanted to play a couple of cuts of what is going on. Trump has been doing his press conference. So our team has been running on that. We've got several different Trump takes. Let me hit you with all of these. Trump on the trans issue as this has come back to the forefront. State of Virginia win some Sears running Against Abigail Spanberger. I believe there was today news about Roanoke College allowing the women on the swimming team there to sue for what they were put through here. Is Trump reacting, I would imagine, somewhat on that? Cut 31, they said that's an 80 20.

[Donald Trump]

Now it's a 97 3. It's 97 3, like transgender for everybody. They fought for it. They're still fighting for it. I saw a guy today, a politician that you all know very well, fighting like hell for men playing in women's sports. You don't understand, they're human beings also. Well, I agree they're human beings, but you can't have a seven foot guy playing basketball with the women. You know, just one of those little problems in life and we all have our place. That's okay. I've got my place too.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so that is Trump weighing in common sense issue that I think is one that honestly put him into the White House. That's the thesis of my new book that's coming out in November. Uh, and then he got asked a ton about crime. And we played you, the epic Times reporter who pointed out, hey, I had a gun pulled on me. I was pistol whipped. Now, I appreciate everything you're doing to try to lower crime in D.C. here is Trump saying, they say I'm a dictator, but I'm just trying to stop crime. Cut 32.

[Donald Trump]

And they're going to fight me. Like this slob of a governor you have in Illinois. This poor guy got thrown out of his business by his family. Know the family? I was partners with the family. Nice family. I like the family. But he was no good. He was. They threw him out. He's governor of Illinois and he goes about Trump, we don't need his help. Chicago is the worst. These places are really bad. But then he goes on television says, oh, Trump is a dictator. He's a dictator. And a lot of people. So, so the line is that I'm a dictator, but I stop crime. So a lot of people say, you know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator. But I'm not a dictator. I just know how to stop crime. And you would think that Illinois would have such a problem with crime, such a bad governor, he should be calling me and he should be saying, could you send over the troops, please? It's out of control.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so this is the topic. Trump has pivoted it and buck Democrats are now arguing, as Trump said, he's a dictator. He's working too hard to try to lower crime. Kind of crazy.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, I hope the Democrats continue on this, because when there's a problem, we would like to think that the people who are empowered, politicians and others empowered to deal with it, would at least have an alternative solution to what the Republicans have on this issue. Democrats just have shut up. There is no problem, even though we all know there's a problem. And that's why this won't work. And that's why Trump is right to continue to pound this, continue to hammer this. You know, we hammered Democrats on the border, and sure enough, that was a critical issue in this last election cycle and one that we were able to now, with Trump in charge, prove beyond any doubt was a choice, not an inevitable reality. As in, the open border did not have to happen. Trump showed that the people saying that it was a choice, that was correct. It was a choice. And we've made another choice. Now we can do the same thing with crime. And this is, I think a. You see people say this, Clay, online too. Hey, you know, you can just do things when you're in power. You don't have to actually, you know, mother may I? With the Democrats all the time, you can find areas where things can be improved and just do them and show people. And then that affects the political outcome, too, because results are nice.

[Clay Travis]

I think we grew up in a.

[Buck Sexton]

Political climate, Clay, just very broadly speaking of politicians all lie. Nothing ever gets done. It's all a unit party. It's all. I think Trump has shattered that narrative more than anybody else we've seen in our lifetime, where it's just, oh, it has to be this way. Go along to get along the Potomac, two step, all this stuff, nonsense. And on this issue of crime, it's a. By the way, the timing on this is perfect. You know, things are a little slowed down with the news cycle. It's August, a lot of journos are on vacation. Less stuff is happening. Like people in general are on vacation. You know, all of Europe is on vacation. So this is a great moment to bring focus to this issue and to show people where the two sides stand. So, I mean, saying he's a dictator, it's just so pathetic. After all, what is the dictatorship? What's the issue here, really? Ask this. What's the downside of what he has done? What are we going to pretend the Democrats care about spending all the, all the overtime, you know, that's been spent on this? Oh, no, I'm sorry.

[Clay Travis]

This is, this is where I come back to, both politically and morally. This is the right choice. Politically, it's smart because being against crime is something that the vast majority of Americans are connected to and carry and care a great deal about. So it's good to be on the side morally. It's better if less people die, especially young people who are overwhelmingly victims of violent crime. We're talking about people with decades of their life. We played the clip of the. Of the I. This even makes me a little bit sick. And I bet it's gonna make you sick to the stomach to even think about two buck now that you're a dad. We should play the woman who talked about being a victim of violent crime getting pistol whipped. And as she said now she's, she feels very fortunate. She's pregnant and she's gonna have a baby and she wants the city to be safer. One of the worst things, and I'm going to be dark, one of the worst things that could happen to anyone out there is that your child is a victim of violent crime. That woman in the press conference, I give her credit from the epic times, talked about the psychic trauma that she still feels from the attack that she had levied against her, the violent crime attempt. I would also point out that anyone who loses a child is dealing with psychic trauma for the rest of their lives. And when you consider who tends to be the victims of violent crime, it is overwhelmingly young men and their moms are never going to recover. So leave aside politics. We should do everything we can to make it the case that there are less victims of violent crime in America. And I just, I give tremendous credit to Trump for this because a lot of politicians assume that things should stay as they are. Trump's radical gift is he looks at problems and he actually tries to come up with solutions. Hey, why don't we fix this? And again, I think it's the builder background, because any of you out there that have worked in housing or building it, and it does, by the way, it doesn't have to be just a building. Can be building a business. All you do all day long is find problems and try to solve them. That's how you build a business. A successful business is really just an exercise in problem solving. How do we increase our profit margin? How do we hire the right people? How do we look at this situation and solve it to create a better situation? Trump comes in with fresh eyes because he's not a lifelong politician. And I think, frankly, when he looked at the data and realized we have a 30x murder rate in Washington, D.C. compared to London and Paris, that's unacceptable. And I think a Lot of left wing journals. They're rich, they live in gated communities. They oftentimes have security to help protect them at their jobs. And they don't want to acknowledge the problem because Democrats aren't solving it. And if Trump comes in and solves it like he solved the border, it would require them being honest and giving him some credit. And what's unique about this is Trump is actually trying to save the lives of people in cities who either didn't vote or were highly unlikely to vote for him based on statistics. So he's doing the right thing, even though it doesn't necessarily benefit his base. The reality is Washington, D.C. voted more than any community in America against Trump. And Trump's still saying, okay, they may not have voted for me, but I want them to be safer. I want less of them to die. It's actually an incredibly noble goal.

[Buck Sexton]

Look, when I lived in New York City and Bloom, look, Bloomberg was essentially a Democrat. I know he's technically ran as a Republican, but he was doing a good job and he was keeping crime down, and I was thankful for it. And I actually remember early in my career saying some nice things about Mayor Bloomberg as mayor and people getting angry at me because, yeah, is he bad? You know, was he a little nanny state on the big sodas? Sure. Is he horrible on guns? Sure. Is he. But did he keep the city running in a way that it was efficient and safe? Yeah. And so that matters. So you would think that there are some things that can transcend just the most basic tribal politics. Like if you're doing a good job making me safer in my city, I am thankful for that. And I, I approve of or I agree with that. No Democrats, it's. They would rather be unsafe and Trump be wrong than be safe and have to say thank you to Trump. I think that's really an explanation of Trump derangement syndrome.

[Clay Travis]

Yes. I mean, they had that one. Did you see the lady that went viral where she said, in Chicago, I was attacked and my wrist was broken in a violent assault, but I don't want crime to decline because I don't want Trump to be involved. And this is someone.

[Buck Sexton]

I didn't see that, but I just, I know that mentality is pervasive. Unfortunately, these.

[Clay Travis]

That's what I'm saying. This woman did a whole video that went mega viral where she said, I would rather be physically assaulted and, and have my safety question than to have Trump in position of power in any way in Chicago. And I think it goes directly to your point when you are actively supporting policies that put you and your family in danger because you disagree with the politician putting them in place. Your brain is broken and you are not behaving logically, irrationally.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Mic drops that never sounded so. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

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[Buck Sexton]

All right, welcome back into Clay Anne Buck. It is National Dog Day everybody, so if you're watching on the YouTube. Say hi to Ginger Spikes, who's now 25 pounds. She's an Australian labradoodle, and she is my little celebration of National Dog Day. And you can see she's quite cute. Clay remembers. Clay met her when she was like three pounds. It was like a tiny little fluff, little fluffy thing. Now she's a big girl. She's fierce.

[Clay Travis]

She's fierce and doing well with the baby. Most importantly, doing great with the baby.

[Buck Sexton]

She's a total sweet. Okay, I'll let you go now. Let's give her some chicken, honey. She's doing great with the baby. But National Dog Day, and if you missed that, by the way, or rather, if you want to see what Ginger looks like all grown up, you can go to our YouTube page because it'll be up there. YouTube @Clay and Buck. Also tag us. Post your own National Dog Day photos. We love. We'll pick a bunch. It's obviously very subjective. We can't get them all up. We'll pick a bunch of cute dog photos and put them up atclay and buck.com. but tag us on. On X. Or I guess you could. Can you tag us on Facebook? I don't know. I don't use everyone else on Facebook. I don't use Facebook. Really. I don't really know how Facebook even works anymore. But still have it. So just go to at Clay and Buck on Twitter or X and also on, I guess on Instagram, maybe send us your VIPs, all that good stuff. All right. I sounded like an unk there, Clay. Like an unk. I need to.

[Clay Travis]

Didn't we have a data point? Maybe we can pull that in yesterday of people who have dogs were way happier. I think we did from Harry Enton actually at cnn like doing the data on that.

[Buck Sexton]

Dogs are. I think dogs are pure happiness. Absolutely love it. Think that. I think that every American should have a dog that. That can have a dog. I know some people can't. You know, they got things they got to worry about. The. Let's allow them to have it. All right, let's get to very, very important here. We have a VIP email in Clay. Let's see. Wait, where'd it go? VIP email from Steve in Pennsylvania. He says, I'm with Buck on celebrities, Clay, and don't be a Buckeye hater. Buck's right. Who gives a. You know what about Travis and Taylor being married. That's a chick thing. Dudes don't care. And Clay, quit. Quit hating on my Ohio State.

[Clay Travis]

I didn't hate on him. I just said they're going to lose to Texas, which is going to happen on Saturday. And here's the thing. I am cautiously optimistic that this is going to be good because Taylor Swift's entire career has to this point been about trying to find the right one, whatever you want to classify that as. I believe she's around 35 years old. Ish. I think she's going to get married and immediately start having kids. And, and I think a lot of Taylor Swift fans are going to see that as the fulfillment of her romantic journey, her quest. And I think they're going to want to have their own kids. So I see this as ultimately beneficial. Whatever you want to say about Taylor Swift, she didn't have kids out of wedlock. She's getting engaged. Her music in the larger context of music is very upbeat and not particularly nasty.

[Buck Sexton]

It's not degenerate like a lot of the music that out there is.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, I, I actually, look, I understand that you might be annoyed by her because of her politics. I don't agree with her on politically, but her lifestyle so far, to me, she seems to me to be very much someone who talks left and lives right. And when she gets married to Travis Kelsey and they have kids, I think even more so the nuclear family and living on the right side of the cultural equation, even when you talk left, is going to connect with her audience. I got a theory on this. I'll share with you. In the meantime, Israel's citizens endured another devastating missile attack just last Friday. Seems to be no chance of a peaceful future free of such attacks anytime soon. Israeli citizens, all those who care for Israel and its people, know how important it is to stand by them in this time of need. There are tens of thousands of Israel Israelis in desperate need of our support and help as they contend with the continued bombing. That's what the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews does. They built an incredible partnership for all of us to help all of those in need. You can go right now to support to IFCJ.org that's IFCJ.org if you want to call, you can call 888-488-IFCG. That's 888488, IFC. J. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton on the front lines of truth. Welcome back in Clay travis, BUCK SEXTON SHOW all right. I am going to make an argument here that is potentially going to blow some people's minds and we'll probably have some fun responses.

[Buck Sexton]

We are, we, we already have some salty emails about your, your fixation on the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news.

[Clay Travis]

So I'm going to tell you why this matters. I believe that the, one of the truest phrases of all time, I think Andrew Breitbart was credited with it, is politics is downstream from culture. Right? It is. What you are seeing from young men right now, I believe is directly connected to the way that the culture has shifted around them.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't want to interrupt your train here. I just wanted to say I think that Trump has actually reversed that maxim. But that's a whole. I think that that's, that culture is now downstream of politics in the Trump era.

[Clay Travis]

But, yes, well, that's actually a super interesting concept because my argument would be Trump has co opted much of the trends that he is intuitive enough to have seen and accelerated and exacerbated them to a degree that they are impossible to miss. And, but, but, but in general, whatever you think about this, there are 100 million girls today right now. Women. Every woman in your Life who is 14 to 40 right now has got a girlfriend texting her about the Taylor Swift endorsement. I mean, engagement. And that is, I bet, the number one thing being texted about all over the country right now. And I guarantee you it may not be, hey, they're excited about it. It may be like, hey, are they going to get divorced? Or can you believe this? Every woman 14 to 40 has got a girlfriend right now texting her about this. And it may be 12 to 40. I'm telling you. I'm telling you. Every, Every single one.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay wants to see if I'm just going to, like, take a break from radio and just jump out the window and see if I'm okay, you know, if I can land in the bushes or something. Just anything to escape.

[Clay Travis]

Every single one. Every single one. All right, that has a phone. Maybe there are some out there. And if they don't, if they don't have a phone, they're calling each other right now about it. They're sending emails, carrier pigeons flying across the night sky right now. All right, why does it, what, what is the lesson that this, that they are taking from this? Taylor Swift has spent her entire career singing about, trying to find her Mr. Right. She's become a billionaire. I actually respect Taylor Swift. She writes her own songs. As I said earlier, if you wanted to pick someone in pop culture for your daughter to aspire to emulate, which I'm not saying is healthy, but we all know happens, Taylor Swift might be just about the best role model there could be for a little Girl out there in pop culture, okay? She's never had scandals associated with her that she has, she hasn't had. I just, I'm singing her praises as an individual and what she's doing. What she is doing is she is pursuing a conservative lifestyle while saying she supports left wing politics. And I think when you see this, you cannot escape it. So many people out there on the left, they talk left, but they live right. What did Taylor Swift want a man to marry so she could have kids? She wants. Her ultimate aspirational goal is a nuclear family. This is what she's been seeking her entire life, Buck. Her entire career is about finding a guy she can marry and have babies with. It's actually very conservative and positive. She didn't have kids out of wedlock. She hasn't been married and divorced four times now. She's waited, yes, into her 30s to get married. I think they will have bunches of babies. I think they will have them soon. And I think there are going to be generations of girls that will look at Taylor Swift and seek in their own lives to emulate her. I also think that when she gets married. Now, I've been critical of Travis Kelce because I think I know Travis Kelce. I covered sports. He is a lovable dolt. Not a particularly smart guy, not a particularly savvy guy, but a guy who likes to laugh and is energetic and is a good locker room guy. Every business has a Travis Kelce in it. Every team, if they're successful, have has Travis. Kelsey's in it. I think that's what attracted Taylor Swift. And I think that she is going to become more conservative. She may still say the things that they say in Hollywood about, hey, I'm, I'm endorsing Kamala Harris and all these things, but I believe that ultimately she went and got a football playing dude instead of dating all these male feminists. And I think it's going to be ultimately a net positive as politics is downstream from culture. I think a lot of little girls and a lot of teenage girls and a lot of Girls in their 20s and 30s looking for Mr. Right want what Taylor Swift has found. And the nuclear family is ultimately the salvation of America. There you go, Buck. That's a very positive take. You may not ascribe to any of it. I'm telling you, I think it's significant.

[Buck Sexton]

It's, yeah, obviously the family and having kids and not being married five times and not being a degenerate. I mean, those are all good things. But that's the most intricate analysis of Taylor Swift Travis Kelsey I've ever heard.

[Clay Travis]

Tell you why it matters.

[Buck Sexton]

That was like, that was like the Gettysburg Address of Kelsey Swift analysis.

[Clay Travis]

I mean that is a probably, probably the best take humbly that will happen on the Travis Kelsey Taylor Swift marriage engagement and why it matters. Now if they end up not getting married and she goes off and she has eight kids out of wedlock then it will not have actually materialized as I am telling you. But I guarantee you with me, with my voice, my connection.

[Buck Sexton]

Weren't you, weren't you wrong off the Wait, hold on a second. Just, just to set the record straight here buddy. Weren't you wrong about this relationship from the get go? Should we actually have Lara Trump sent I'm sorry Laura Travis not Trump, the other Laura Lara Travis sending us a talk back about what's going to happen here because she knew this would work. You sir were a doubting Clay.

[Clay Travis]

It's true. That's very well played by the way. All of that is true and that's why when the live on the air when this news broke, I lost. I've been arguing that Travis Kelce was too dumb for Taylor Swift but when the facts change and the facts are changed, they are now engaged. I am telling you that this is the big takeaway and I there is not a single 14 to 40 year and see everybody is reacting.

[Buck Sexton]

Let's, let's, let's see what the people think about this one. All right Clay, let's, let's see what the people think. The VIP emails are flowing in just to be sporting about it. I'll let you choose which one of the all caps shouting at you emails you would like to read right now.

[Clay Travis]

These are old dudes who don't understand modern culture. I'm trying to explain to you how to win. I understand if you're a 70 year old dude listening to us right now. You don't get why Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift matters. Your granddaughters are texting about this right now and they're going to be talking about it at Thanksgiving. And because you just heard my breakdown, you steal that and you're going to be the coolest grandpa on the planet when you deliver it at your Thanksgiving meal. I'm just telling you they're going to be like grandpa, how, how did you, how did you nail this? You say Clay Travis perfectly encapsulated why this matters as a cultural moment. But you don't have to give me credit. You can just be like, well I've been paying attention to the Cultural trends. Oh, my God. Clay says Rosemarie. Let me just say this, Buck. What are the odds that. Rosemary, I knew you were going to do this. Well, I'm just saying, Ro, there is not anyone under 50 named Rosemarie in the country. Rosemarie is not. Not. I'm not. It's not a negative. You know, Ethel, all the ethos out there, I'm sure to get back to.

[Buck Sexton]

ETH Usually, I don't think they. I don't think they go by Ethel.

[Clay Travis]

But ETH all the. All Ethel's out there. It's fabulous name. They're 80 or older. And it'll cycle back. My grandmother was named Ruth. Great name. It cycled all the way back. But Rosemarie here, if Rosemarie is 34, I will eat a hat live on the show, I guarantee you. Rosemarie, who just wrote in, is retired. And she said, oh, my God, Clay, enough about Swifty. You are closet leftist vomit. None of my friends texted. All caps. All caps. None of my friends texted me about her engagement. We do not care. Okay, again, I said women 14 to 40. I didn't say that. Women who are retired are all reacting to this, but the ones who are texting their granddaughters are. And I will also say this. It doesn't tell me that you do not care. When you say, we do not care. When you write we do not care, you actually care deeply, as much of America does about this. Randy.

[Buck Sexton]

Randy from Colorado wants to weigh in on this one. One of our esteemed listeners. Randy, what's going on? Just listen. Really? Who cares?

[Clay Travis]

So you called in to tell us that you don't care?

[Donald Trump]

I don't care about that at all. That there's more important stuff to life.

[Clay Travis]

Well, that's true. But you do realize there's an irony in how many times you called the show.

[Donald Trump]

Probably six times over a year.

[Clay Travis]

How many times have we had you on the air? Twice. Okay, well, that's pretty good. So you have called the show only six times in four years, yet you were compelled. You jumped out of your chair, you grabbed your phone, you left it. Do you have granddaughters? Do you have granddaughters?

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, sir. Randy, can I just say we appreciate you being a loyal listener to the program, and we appreciate the time you spent on hold to get on the air. Clay feels that way as well.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, but, Randy, more importantly, you go back and you listen to that incredible monologue I delivered about why it matters so much. You pretend it's like Romeo and Juliet and you're playing the Role of Romeo in the school play. You memorize it. You deliver it at Thanksgiving dinner to your teenage granddaughters. You're going to be the coolest grandpa of all time. And you can completely take credit for it because they're going to have no idea that you stole it from me. My gift to you.

[Donald Trump]

I'd rather listen to ZZ Top.

[Clay Travis]

Well, okay, that's fine. I mean, I understand we compete with music, but thank you, Randy. I'm just trying to make Randy the coolest grandpa of all time. That's my goal.

[Buck Sexton]

And we have. Let's see, Clay, you now. Oh, the entire inbox has. Has been now overtaken by Gerald.

[Clay Travis]

Gerald.

[Buck Sexton]

There we go.

[Clay Travis]

F. Taylor and Travis. I could care less. And I both. And I find them both annoying as hell. Maybe she will go away and. And her fans will be crying in their love. I genuinely. Look, I am I the only person who. When people get engaged, I say I hope they get married and stay married and have lots of babies. Like, does everybody else hear and see engagements and be like Gerald here and say, maybe she will go away and her FR Fans will be crying in their loneliness? That feels a little dark to me. I mean, Bach, even. Even you, the Grinch who stole the engagement here. Maybe she will go away and her fans will be crying in their loneliness. Feels a little intense to me. Gerald feels a little. And to drop an F bomb on him really feels a little aggressive.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, what else do. What else do we have here?

[Clay Travis]

Well, we gotta do a read for you. Okay, you do the. Ready?

[Buck Sexton]

We all could take a breather here. Maybe we'll come back and do news. Talk about saving the republic.

[Clay Travis]

Or maybe with the Travis Kelsey, they're saving the Republic.

[Buck Sexton]

Going to say that they're saving the republic. According to Clay, which is a remarkable situation. One of the perks of this job is meeting people who are incredible entrepreneurs. And they see that business opportunity, they take the risk anyway. And then so many people get to benefit from the fruits of their labor and the risk that they're taking. And when you meet the husband and wife that started Good Ranchers, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Ben and Corley spell. Okay. They started this business to feed their family and yours with American raised beef, pork and chicken by and from American farmers. All it took was learning that the majority of beef found in our supermarkets is raised outside the US and the spells, they were like, I got to do something about this. Good Ranchers partners with American ranchers and farmers. They're the kind of farmers that don't use hormones or antibiotics in raising their herds. So you're gonna get delicious, healthy food for your family just like the core, just like the Corley family does. It's a company delivering excellent quality beef, chicken, pork and salmon to your doorstep on a schedule you choose. We're both subscribers. Clay and I are subscribers and it's incredible. And look, Ben and Ben and Corley spell. They, they love what they do. Clay and I've met them, had dinner with them. It's Fantastic. Go to goodranchers.com today use my name Buck as your promo code. You'll get a one time $40 discount plus the $25 discount ongoing in future months plus free meat for life every month. That's code Buck for this incredible deal. When you go to good ranchers.com I am very serious about my meat. I am the red meat maestro here in the Sexton household and I absolutely love my good ranchers. And we're going to be having a good ranchers feast probably again this weekend. So go check it out. GoodRanchers.com promo code Buck Keep up with.

[Clay Travis]

The biggest political comeback in world history on the Team 47 podcast Clay and Buck highlight Trump replays from the week, Sundays at noon Eastern. Find it on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Buck Sexton]

All right, welcome back in. We're closing up shop here on Clay and Buck. Just in time after Clay has kicked the hornet's nest of Those who don't want to hear about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement, they do not care. Some other people, a lot of people, some people are saying they care a lot. In fact, President Trump has been asked about this just now. This is cut 39. Let's hear it.

[Clay Travis]

I have to tell you, the biggest pop culture news of the year broke.

[Podcast Announcer]

While we were in this Cabinet meeting.

[Clay Travis]

Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift are engaged and the world wants your reaction, sir.

[Donald Trump]

Well, I wish him a lot of love. I think it's. I think he's a great player. I think he's a great guy, and I think that she's a terrific person. So I wish them a lot of love.

[Buck Sexton]

Very nice.

[Clay Travis]

Look at this. I mean, yeah, for Trump.

[Buck Sexton]

That's very Trump. I wish him a lot of luck. I mean, I think he knows, you know, Travis is going to have his hands full here.

[Clay Travis]

But I got so many things that I could say. What I would say in general is Trump gets this right. Can you imagine Joe Biden in a press conference being asked about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce? I do think you hit on it, Buck, but we got a little bit of a different take on how the political universe impacts the larger cultural environment. Trump is uniquely aware of what people are talking about, and he has an intuitive sense for how to cut through the noise that Trump take that he just gave in the middle of a press conference. It's not like he knew that this was happening. And he's answering questions about everything under the sun is going to be everywhere. And it is the right take, I think, to give. And I think there are a lot of people increasingly becoming aware that their whole Trump as Hitler angle is going up in smoke because he's actually just kind of a nice grandpa. I mean, which you and I have been saying for some time. Yeah, he's a little bit ordinary at times as. As all of us can be, especially some of.

[Buck Sexton]

Some of the emailers are a little ornery right now, Clay. Little ornery.

[Clay Travis]

The talkbacks tomorrow are going to be. I'm just going to tell you, I'm predicting this amazing if you want to be entertained.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, if Travis and Taylor really want to bring the country together, they should, you know, ask if Trump can, like, officiate the wedding for them.

[Clay Travis]

You know what I mean?

[Buck Sexton]

Just go all. Just go all in. You know, bring America together, make marriage great again.

[Clay Travis]

If they put this marriage on television streaming, it would be the most watched wedding since Princess Di and Prince Charles. Now, unfortunately, that wedding didn't go after that. Well, living happily ever after. But I. I do wish them well. And I wish all of you well in your talk backs, which undoubtedly are going to be incredible. Go subscribe. Follow us on social media. Love you guys. We will see all of you tomorrow.

[Buck Sexton]

This is an iHeart podcast.