Hour 3 - Toxic Rhetoric

Summary

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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Hour 3 - Toxic Rhetoric
Date: September 24, 2025
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

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Episode Overview

In this dynamic, wide-ranging third hour, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton dissect the consequences of toxic political rhetoric, especially as it impacts law enforcement and popular discourse in media and comedy. They examine late-night comedy's partisan direction, the fallout from the Jimmy Kimmel controversy, the ICE facility shooting, and escalating political violence. The episode features a robust interview with Senator Rick Scott of Florida, listener interactions, and spirited debate about the media landscape and regulatory possibilities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump Presidential Library and Florida’s Political Shift

(01:35 – 04:39)

• Clay discusses Miami designating 2.6 acres for the Trump Presidential Library, calling it a major plot twist and evidence of Florida’s central role in the Republican Party.
• Both hosts reflect on Trump’s legacy and compare it to the likely tepid reception for a future Biden library.
  • Clay: “Trump is now one of the greatest presidents, certainly of the 21st century… by far the most consequential political figure.” (02:47)
• They riff on Hunter Biden’s art sales and suggest that's how the Biden family may fund a presidential library.

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2. ICE Facility Shooting & Political Rhetoric

(04:39 – 05:24 & 24:09 – 25:18)

• Clay updates on the shooting at a Dallas ICE facility, noting reports of “anti-ICE” written on bullets and multiple fatalities including the shooter.
• They discuss the danger of escalating anti-law enforcement rhetoric:
  • J.D. Vance (clip): “When you go around and lie about our law enforcement...what do you think is going to happen?” (24:09 – 25:04)
  • Clay agrees, emphasizing responsibility at the highest Democratic levels for inflaming tensions.

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3. Late-Night TV, Comedy, and the Jimmy Kimmel Controversy

(06:24 – 13:42, 33:11 – 33:39)

• Clay comments on Jimmy Kimmel's return, expecting an unequivocal apology that didn’t materialize.
  • Kimmel (clip): “Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don’t support my show and what I believe, but support my right to share those beliefs anyway.” (06:24 – 06:37)
• Jimmy Kimmel thanked Clay and other conservatives for defending free speech.
• Buck argues left-leaning audiences are “snowflakes” who can't handle opposing views, making balanced late-night shows unviable today.
  • “Stephen Miller is a brilliant guy... If Stephen Miller was on the Jimmy Kimmel show one time, there would be a complete freak out.” (09:13)
• Clay counters there’s unmet demand for truly apolitical, even-handed comedy; mentions Bill Maher and South Park as models.
• Advocates for moving late-night shows out of NYC/LA for a more diverse, relatable perspective:
  • “If you did late night comedy in Nashville...it would be more middle of the road.” (13:22)

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4. COVID-19 Restrictions: Culture Clash Recap

(13:44 – 16:41)

• Buck and Clay reminisce about the stark north-south divide during COVID, with New York’s strict measures contrasting with Tennessee’s quick reopening.
• They lampoon urban policies like masked, spaced-out late-night show audiences and facing walls in elevators.
  • Buck: “They made everyone sicker. They made it worse for your immune system.” (16:41)

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5. Listener Engagement and Political Satire

(21:08 – 22:36)

• Pam from Anchorage asks Buck to reprise his infamous Andrew Cuomo impression, satirizing pandemic bar and restaurant restrictions.
• Buck obliges with a comedic impression, earning laughs as he highlights the absurdity of “Cuomo chips” and New York’s “trial run of communism.”

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6. Interview with Senator Rick Scott

(23:42 – 34:53)

a. Political Violence and Law Enforcement

• Senator Scott applauds J.D. Vance’s remarks and condemns Democratic rhetoric that demonizes law enforcement.
  • “These Democrats have got to stop this attack on law enforcement.” (25:18 – 26:37)
• Bucks presses Scott on California’s “fascist stormtrooper” accusation against ICE; Scott says Democrats undermine community safety for political gain.

b. Government Shutdown and Senate Procedures

• Debate about the potential government shutdown:
  • Scott calls for reforms to avoid shutdowns and criticizes Schumer for weaponizing the process.
  • “If we don't, then we'll just continue to keep government open at last year's funding...better than shutting down government and shutting down services.” (29:10)
• On Senate confirmation process for Trump nominees, Scott expresses frustration at Democratic obstruction but says rules changes are streamlining approvals:
  • “This is the first time in the history of the country that the opposing party of the president will do everything they can to block all nominees.” (30:50)

c. Trump Library Symbolism

• Scott celebrates Florida hosting Trump’s library:
  • “Florida has become the center of the Republican Party...I look forward to bringing my grandkids there to see it.” (32:30)

d. Jimmy Kimmel’s Toxicity and Network Decisions

• Scott says networks should make business decisions and calls Kimmel’s show “toxic.”
  • “I remember when Johnny Carson had a show and Jay Leno...they were funny. This is just toxic with guys like Jimmy Kimmel.” (33:39)

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7. Equal Time Rule & Media Fairness

(39:49 – 44:22)

• Buck and Clay dissect the complexities of the FCC’s equal time rule and whether political talk shows like The View or late-night comedy should fall under these requirements.
  • Buck: “The comedy shows are not news programs and they’re on the public airwaves. Or are they going to argue that they are news programs...?”
• Clay advocates for regulatory solutions or market innovation to end ideological echo chambers:
  • “If they're on the public airwaves and they're basically doing Democrat propaganda, that should be seen as a violation of the law.” (43:14)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Clay Travis on late-night comedy:
  “When it’s only directed in one direction, it’s not actually comedy. It’s propaganda.” (07:36)

• Buck Sexton on partisan late-night audiences:
  “They are little snowflakes and they will scream and melt… There’s just no way that's going to happen.” (08:41)

• J.D. Vance (clip):
  “If you want to stop political violence, look in the mirror. That’s the way that we stop political violence in this country.” (24:09–25:04)

• Sen. Rick Scott on Democratic rhetoric:
  “They attack our law enforcement. What do you want in your house? …Law enforcement.” (25:18–26:37)

• Clay Travis advocating diversity in comedy:
  “I think there actually is a desperate demand for someone who is even-handed and will dispense ridicule as Johnny Carson did, as Jay Leno did.” (11:54)

• Buck Sexton mocking COVID theater in NYC:
  “They made everyone sicker. They made it worse for your immune system. They did all the wrong things.” (16:41)

• Pam from Anchorage (Listener):
  “Can you do your impersonation of Cuomo? ...I just need my impersonation.” (21:27)

• Buck Sexton as Cuomo:
  “I would pull up the charts as I was telling everybody about Foushee and the science. And then I would say to them, look at this chart. And I would get an Emmy for my daytime press conference talking to you all like this.” (21:57)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 01:35 | Trump Library in Miami and Florida’s political status | | 04:39 | ICE facility shooting & opening discussion | | 06:24 | Jimmy Kimmel monologue & Kimmel thanks to Clay | | 09:13 | Audience echo chambers on late-night TV | | 10:57 | Bill Maher, South Park, and demand for balanced comedy| | 13:22 | Why relocating late-night TV matters | | 16:41 | COVID culture war: NYC vs. South | | 21:27 | Listener Pam requests Buck’s Cuomo impression | | 23:42 | Senator Rick Scott interview begins | | 24:09 | J.D. Vance on political violence (clip) | | 29:10 | Discussion on government shutdown & funding | | 30:50 | Senate confirmation and Trump’s nominees | | 32:30 | Trump Library: Florida’s symbolism | | 33:39 | Senator Scott on Kimmel’s “toxic” show | | 39:49 | Equal time rule and network obligations | | 43:14 | Clay on regulatory solutions for fairer TV content |

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Language and Tone

The tone is colloquial, direct, and spirited, with moments of biting satire and earnest concern for American political and cultural direction. The hosts move fluidly from humor to seriousness, often using mockery, anecdotes, or pop culture references to reinforce their points.

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Summary

This episode offers a deep dive into the impact of toxic rhetoric—focused on how elite discourse in media, politics, and comedy amplifies polarization and even political violence. Clay and Buck diagnose key failings of late-night television, mainstream news, and political leaders, urging a return to common sense, reciprocal respect, and genuine free speech. Senator Rick Scott provides a sharp update from Capitol Hill, supporting law enforcement and urging government reform. The hour is enriched with listener interaction, regulatory debate, and signature banter, making for an engaging, thought-provoking listen.

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Transcript

[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

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[Clay Travis]

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[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us as we were rolling through the Wednesday edition of the program. Senator Rick Scott of Florida will be with us at the bottom of the hour. Speaking of Florida, Buck, did you see the news that your new hometown of Miami has set aside 2.6 acres to potentially be the location for the Donald Trump Presidential Library. That's a plot twist that if you had told people, you know, even a decade ago was coming, they never would have anticipated it.

[Buck Sexton]

I moved to Miami and suddenly it is just a shining beacon of freedom in America. Not a surprise. Clay, this is not an accident.

[Clay Travis]

And I also think, by the way, this is a really good move by Ron DeSantis. Remember last couple of years, a lot of the DeSantis and Trump people going back and forth. They may still be occasionally fighting. I haven't seen it in a long time in our mentions, but this is Ron DeSantis being like, hey, Trump is now one of the greatest presidents, certainly of the 21st century. I think now Trump is competing against many other decades for historical legacy and is by far the most consequential political figure of the 21st century. I don't even think it's close at this point. And so some presidential libraries, Joe Biden's. I don't. Will anybody even go visit? Maybe kids in elementary school, because they get out of school for the day. But can you imagine being like, hey, what are you doing this weekend? Oh, I'm gonna go to Wilmington or wherever it is in Delaware and go to Joe Biden's presidential library. I don't even know that he's gonna be able to raise enough money to build it. They may just, you know, turn the, the Biden beach mansion into the presidential library and, and not even worry about it. But there is talk. I'm, I'm, I'm kind of laughing about it. But there is talk that Biden can't get paid, nobody will pay him to come speak. There is substantial difficulty. I saw a quote where they said, well, we think the donors will eventually come around. Really? No, I don't, I don't think so.

[Buck Sexton]

This is why the, the brilliance of Hunter Biden's paintings is what the family should be able to fall back on. I mean, Hunter is really the van, the Van Gogh of our era. And so why doesn't that just, you know, 500,000 a painting should be easy. I don't know what the big. What the big hold up is.

[Clay Travis]

So that's one bit of news I wanted to share with you. The ICE news, of course. We started the show with that the shooting took place anti ICE written on the bullets. No ICE agents actually hit Reports that the guy fired into a van, didn't even know exactly what he was aiming at necessarily inside of the van or thought the van was loaded down with ICE agents. Two people killed. He killed himself is the reports that I have seen. But no one who.

[Buck Sexton]

So he killed one and killed himself. Two fatalities total. Two fatalities. One self inflicted.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, okay. I thought there were two fatalities. One more with him. Am I wrong?

[Buck Sexton]

No, I'm asking you. I thought you're updating this.

[Clay Travis]

No, I think it was two. He killed two People and killed himself.

[Buck Sexton]

That's what I thought. Killed two and killed himself.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, yes, team, let us know if that's changed or we got that wrong. The other bit of news that I think is, is, is circulating out there certainly is the Jimmy Kimmel return. And Jimmy Kimmel came back last night. I couldn't even see it because it's not airing in my market of Nashville because Nextar has preempted it as about 25% of the nation is not getting the Jimmy Kimmel show right now, either on Sinclair or on the or on the Next Star affiliates. But I thought that he would apologize directly and without equivocation. He did not. I thought that some of the things that he said were well said. And I will play this because he thanked me for standing up for free speech, among others. This is the part of his monologue where he started. Cut seven.

[Buck Sexton]

Maybe most of all, I want to thank the people who don't support my.

[Clay Travis]

Show and what I believe, but support.

[Buck Sexton]

My right to share those beliefs anyway.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Never would have imagined, like Ben Shapiro.

[Buck Sexton]

Clay Travis, Candace Owens, Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, even my old pal Ted Cruz, who, believe it or not, said something very beautiful on my behalf.

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I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said.

[Clay Travis]

I am thrilled that he was fired.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Oh, wait, no, not that, the other part.

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But let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying what you, the media have said, we're going to ban you from the airwaves. If you don't say what we like, that will end up bad for conservatives.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't think I've ever said this before, but Ted Cruz is right.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so there are other parts you may play, a couple of more cuts Here, here's what I would say in response to that. I Buck's gonna get fired.

[Buck Sexton]

Floor is yours, buddy. Go for it.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, but, but here's what I would say. I hope and I think that Jimmy should address and directly apologize. I've said that before for the phrasing and what he said on last week's show. But going forward, as opposed to looking backwards going forward, what I think should happen is I think that this whole world of left wing comedians and comedians in quotation marks because really the comedy show when it's only directed in one direction is not actually comedy. It's propaganda. I think that if we're going to have late night comedy shows, they should have guests that reflect the entire spectrum of American life. And this is one of the things.

[Buck Sexton]

You understand why this is not. You understand why this is not possible, right?

[Clay Travis]

Well, I think it's because they have decided in the wake of Stephen Colbert getting ratings that that is what people want in late night television. You have the opinion that is different.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm of the opinion, Clay, that the audience has been trained and the audience has expectations that they will not be subjected to anyone who offends their lib sensibilities. And they are little snowflakes and they will scream and melt if that. So this is what you're saying is. Again, I, I agree with you. What you're saying is rational, but there's just no way that's going to happen because whatever. What, how many people watch Kimmel show right now?

[Clay Travis]

A million?

[Buck Sexton]

Like a million?

[Senator Rick Scott]

Is that.

[Buck Sexton]

That's what I thought. It's like a million people. 980,000 of that million would, would not be okay with anybody. You know, Stephen Miller is a brilliant guy and actually really funny. If Stephen Miller was on the Jimmy Kimmel show one time, there would be a complete freak out from his existing audience. Right. I mean, that, that they can't. Meanwhile, we've, we're just so used to this that we're like, whatever, just put somebody on. If they're funny, I'll watch. If they're. If they're not, I won't. We just have a totally different mentality about this. But Clay, they still cannot. It's like even Bill Maher tries to tell his audience, guys, it's a better show if I have right wingers on to give the other perspective. And a lot of his people complain. Now, his audience is a little different. They're not conditioned the same way. They're used to seeing Hitchens and Coulter and these people over the years showing up on that show. But he still gets a lot of complaints. He tells me that. Or people who are like, I never want to see a MAGA person on your show, blah, blah, blah.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. And I'm unique maybe in this sense because every time somebody complains about anything that I do, I want to do it more. So I'm a bit antagonistic in that way. You know, if you complain to me because you don't like something, that's not a very effective strategy because it makes me want to do it more. And maybe that's a little bit rare in our world. But you mentioned Bill Maher. I think that's a great example. He has probably the most influential talk show on television in America. I think that's fair. Now, I'm not counting actual political shows. I think Bill Maher has the most influential comedy talk show. Maybe I should have specified in America. I see the clip clips from his show far more because I think people like the conflict of ideas. I will just tell you, south park seems to be having a moment. I see south park clips everywhere and it seems to me that south park tries to do a decent job of making fun of everyone. And so I think there actually is a, there is a market if you try to treat everyone the same. Now, in the short term, I think you're right. I think there would be a revolt. In the short term, I think if you put on Nate Bargazzi and I'll just use him as an example because he is, I think probably the foremost comedian in America right now in terms of his ability to draw an audience. I think people would watch who are Democrats and Republicans. I think people go buy tickets for his show who are Democrats and Republicans. I think he's an apolitical performer. I think if you started a new show and you made fun of everybody evenly, I think there actually is more demand for that than maybe people think. I don't know if Fox has ever talked about this. Fox back in the day tried to get in the late night game. I mean the Fox network, not Fox News. But it never really took off. I don't know why Fox wouldn't try to do this now. Maybe they don't want to compete with Gutfeld. I haven't had any conversations with the executives at Fox about this, so I'm just kind of walking through it in my own mind. But it seems to me there's actually a desperate demand for someone who is even handed and will dispense ridicule as Johnny Carson did, as Jay Leno did, as David Letterman did back before he lost his mind in an even handed fashion. I think these people mostly just follow whatever direction the currents go. And Stephen Colbert had tremendous success being a left wing ideologue politician who was doing a late night television show. Everybody else was getting their ass kicked by Colbert and so they said we have to in some way copy what he does. And I think it hurt Fallon the most because I think Jimmy Fallon, if he had like a spine, is actually the most apolitical of the, of the late night host. And when he leaned over and ruffled Trump's hair, remember when that happened, I think that he was utterly crushed by the result. I got another idea for you, Buck. I think you have to move these shows out of New York and la. I think you have to move late night comedy out of New York and la. I think if you did late night comedy in Nashville, I think you would get a totally different lifestyle. I think you would get a totally different comedian. I think you'd still get great guests, but I think it would be more middle of the road. I think it's not only the host, it's the writing staff and it's the world they're surrounded by. You know this because you lived in New York City. When you lived in New York City, you were behind enemy lines. I think it's harder to do a show that appeals to the nation from New York and LA than it is from Nashville or Atlanta or other parts of the middle part of the Cincinnati or Columbus or Chicago for that matter.

[Buck Sexton]

I lived on the Colbert block.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

So a funny thing for me was that during all of Colbert's stuff, I would see that audience. And one of the funniest things during COVID to me was when they brought it back, they would have the Colbert audience. And like I said, there I was on that block. So now I know where I lived in New York. And I would see them every day for that show. And they would have the people spaced out, clay on the street with masks on, outside. Yeah, six feet apart, masked up. And I'm talking about when it was 30 degrees outside. Okay. Waiting and waiting and waiting to go into a packed theater. So, like. And they never thought that that was weird, right? You're going to sit inside the theater for, you know, two hours with shoulder to shoulder with everybody, but outside, just to be insane, we're going to make you stand six feet apart and freeze your butt off with a mask on the whole time.

[Clay Travis]

When I came to New York City, when we had started doing this show and I got into the I heart elevators in the building we work in.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, the foot markers. You hadn't seen foot markers, had you?

[Clay Travis]

I'd never seen foot markers before. And when I got on, some of the people were facing the opposite direction because the science that they thought they needed to follow was not only do you need to space yourself in an elevator, some of the people in the back need to be faced towards the wall. I. I thought I like, did I walk into a zombie apocalypse? Like, are these people going to turn around and like, devour me? I walked on and I was like, what is going on here? Because again, where I live and you now live in Miami, I think to large part because of COVID where I live, we did Covid for like six weeks. And then everybody was like, yeah, let's just get back to normal. And so this idea that Other people out there were sitting in circles in public parks or staring into walls in the elevator or walking around in hazmat suits. I'm like, I just never experienced that lifestyle, thankfully. And I think if I had been living in that apartment that you lived in, I would have gone crazy. I would have.

[Buck Sexton]

The funny part is, Clay, that was the biggest apartment. That was the biggest. I was almost like 40 years old. That was the biggest apartment in New York as an adult that I had ever lived in. Clay's like, how do you live here? I'm like, this. This is spacious. When I started my radio show, I think I was in a 350 square foot studio apartment paying like 1200 bucks a month for it.

[Clay Travis]

Look, the only reason to live in New York City, in my always a humble opinion, is to experience New York. Unless you're so rich that you have a huge awesome place to live. Most people live in small apartments so they can experience the city. You just had to live in the small apartment. I would have gone insane. Like, you couldn't even open windows.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, that's a real thing. They. We had beautiful outdoor space actually in that building. Gardens and everything. There was a roof and everything else. They shut those areas down. They made. This is what everyone. I know you're sorry. You've got us on this Covid thing. They made everyone sicker. They made it worse for your immune system. They made it more likely you were going to get Covid. It's not that they didn't do brilliant things. They did all the wrong things. And somehow we're just, you know, Kentucky voted for Bashir and Michigan voted for Gretchen Whitmer and. Yeah, and Cuomo is trying to make a comeback. We'll come back into this year in just a second. You know, if you're running a business, connecting with your team is key, especially if they're all spread out. Sure, you have the phone and email and all that, but what about instantaneous communication with just the push of a button? Couldn't be any more straightforward. Well, you can have that with Rapid Radios. These modern day walkie talkies let you talk to people across the country as easily as the guy in the warehouse across the street. Rapid Radios make their walkie talkies with technology that connect to a nationwide LTE network. And Rapid Radios don't require any setup. Just pull them out of the box, press a button and talk. They're compact in size, carry a five day battery charge, and provide an excellent alternative to cell phone communication. Rapid Radio is 100 private, no monthly fees. Or subscriptions. Visit rapidradios.com save up to 60%, get free UPS shipping from Michigan and use code radio for an extra 5% off. That's code radio. Order [e-mail] you know them as conservative radio hosts.

[Clay Travis]

Now just get to know them as guys on the Sunday Hang podcast with Clay and Buck. Find it in their podcast feed on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

There's a lot going on in Hollywood. How are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution. Take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new Daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.

[Clay Travis]

Where do you see the business actually heading?

[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co Editor in Chief Cynthia Littleton.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

Open your free iHeartradio app, search daily Variety and Listen Now.

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

Hey there, I'm Mary Kathryn Ham. And I'm Carol Markowitz. We've been in political media for a long time. Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little Insane. That's why we started Normalely a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity. We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling, and with a healthy dose of humor. We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously. So if you're into common sense, sanity, and some occasional sassy, you're our kind of people. Catch new episodes of normally every Tuesday and Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

[Buck Sexton]

Welcome back into Clay and Buck. Let's get some talk facts here. We have. I love that we are such a robust listener. Ship play in Alaska, where you're gonna go next summer. I think you already committed to it with either the governor or the senator of Alaska.

[Clay Travis]

I think Senator Sullivan, maybe the governor, too. Laura, my wife. Well, I've never. We've never been. And I have heard that you've been. It is an incredible trip. I want to put it on the roster, maybe even do the show from up there. But yeah, you totally should.

[Buck Sexton]

It's amazing. Summer's amazing there. All right. Pam from Anchorage, Alaska, listens on KENI radio. Play it.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

Clay, you don't even know.

[Clay Travis]

I was listening to Buck as that.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Was going on with COVID He was in the belly of the beast. And Buck, just for old time's sake.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

And the COVID madness, can you do.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Your impersonation of Cuomo? You remember when you couldn't drink at.

[Clay Travis]

The bar, but you could if you ordered Cuomo chips? You were permitted to have food and beverage with your mask down for a moment? I just need my impersonation.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, Pam, I remember Cuomo chips like it was yesterday. I would pull up the charts as I was telling everybody about Fauci and the science and. And then I would say to them, look at this chart. And I would get an Emmy for my daytime press conference talking to you all like this. Yes, Clay, it was a madness that you, Mr. Tennessee, you guys were all just hanging out with your country music and your barbecue and your flags. Meanwhile, in New York City, we were getting our trial run of communism.

[Clay Travis]

It was. I would have lost my mind. And I am so glad that I did not have to deal with that.

[Buck Sexton]

Made me ornery. I will say free speech is alive and well here on the Clay and Buck show. And our society is only possible because of the freedoms guaranteed by our First Amendment. It's a principle that our sponsor, PureTalk has supported since day one of the program. So if you want to support brands that defend freedom and pro American values like free speech. We encourage you to switch your wireless service to PureTalk. You're going to get great 5G coverage on an extremely reliable and secure network. And with plans starting from just 25 bucks a month, you'll save a ton of money. PureTalk also believes in creating American jobs and supporting small business. So if you're a small business owner, you can save even more while enjoying white glove service. Stand with companies who share your values. Go with PureTalk. It's my cell phone company and I'm going to be taking them with me overseas here next week and they get the job done. Dial £250, say Clay and Buck to switch to Pure Talk. That's £250 say Clay and Buck to switch to Pure Talk. Today you'll save an additional 50% off your first month.

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We're joined now by Senator Rick Scott of Florida. We'll get into a bunch of different stories from him, But Vice President J.D. vance just spoke about the shooting that occurred earlier today at the Dallas ICE facility and this is what he said. And then we will bring in Senator Scott because I'm curious how he would respond to this. Here is J.D. vance.

[J.D. Vance]

When you go around and lie about our law enforcement and you tell them that they're mistreating five year old girls, what do you think is going to happen when Democratic politicians incur doxing when they encourage us to unmask ICE enforcement officers? What do you think is going to happen when the mayor of Los Angeles encourages violent protesters to get in the face of our law enforcement? What do you think is going to happen? What's going to happen is political violence and political violence has gotten out of control in this country. We got to stop it, we got to condemn it. And that starts unfortunately at the very top of the Democratic Party. If you want to stop political violence, stop attacking our law enforcement as the Gestapo. If you want to stop political violence, stop telling your supporters that everybody who disagrees with you is a Nazi. If you want to stop political violence, look in the mirror. That's the way that we stop political violence in this country.

[Clay Travis]

I agree with everything JD Vance, Vice President United States said there. I suspect that you do as well. Senator Rick Scott, your reaction to that here as we start the interview with you?

[Senator Rick Scott]

Absolutely. You know, it may it makes you mad. When I was Governor, we lost 51 members of law enforcement and you go to their funerals. This is These are. This is a family. Once their own personal family, then law enforcement is. Is a family. And they. Unfortunately, with. Under Democrats, under Democrat rule, under Democrat rhetoric, they're. They attack our law enforcement. What do you want in your house? You. You know, you want somebody to show up, who shows up, whether they know you or not, it's law enforcement. You want to make sure your school is safe for your kid. You want to make sure business is safe, Go get a job. You want to make a room, make sure the restaurant's safe. Who does it for you? Law enforcement. You might never know. So Democrats have got to stop this attack on law enforcement. I grew up in a country where if my mom thought I would ever talk back to a law enforcement or say something bad about him, I got the biggest whipping in the world. I would never have done that. I bring my grandkids. When we see. When they see law enforcement, they thank them. That's what everybody in this country ought to be doing. Say, thank God somebody's willing to put on the uniform and defend our freedoms and defend our safety. So these Democrats have got to stop this rhetoric. They might be principally. Kirk in dead.

[Buck Sexton]

Okay, Senator Scott, we're gonna have to have you call back in because the. I. I. Clay, I don't know if you could hear. I cannot hear what he's saying on the line.

[Clay Travis]

This is one of those things where I just. I look around, and I'm like, cell phones are never just gonna work perfectly, are they?

[Buck Sexton]

Like, I guess not.

[Clay Travis]

I don't know what's going on. Twenty years ago, we would have thought, hey, the signals will eventually be flawless. Like, but it's amazing how often you can't have a normal conversation on a cell phone now.

[Buck Sexton]

Maybe Elon will fix that. You know, Maybe Elon. We'll all have sat phones, essentially. I remember that was such a thing when I was overseas 20 years ago with the agency to have a satellite phone. I was like, ooh. And it was, you know, $16aminute or something to actually talk to anybody on it. You would think that we would get to a place where this stuff would all work much more. We got him back. We can hear him now because I want to hear what the good senator has to say.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Yeah. So we. We have got to stand up for our law enforcement, and the Democrats have got to stop this riot. Don't their families want to be safe? Don't their voters want to be safe? Don't their children.

[Buck Sexton]

Wait, but, Senator, let me ask you this. Hold on a second. Because Gavin Newsom in California. I know that the law doesn't go into effect until January, and I assume that they're smart enough to know that they can't tell federal law enforcement how they can tactically do their jobs. The state of California. But what. I mean, what message could be more clear than what he's saying, which is the governor of America's largest state, Gavin Newsom, is telling everybody that these are basically fascist stormtroopers and they're hiding their identities because there's something immoral about enforcing immigration law.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Look, they might have a mask because they're scared to death of people like Gavin Newsom. That's telling people, right, to attack law enforcement. Don't cooperate with them. Get in their face. I mean, who. I mean, like, doesn't Gavin Newsom care about the citizens of his state? I was governor of Florida. You know what I wanted? I wanted every family to be safe. I wanted every business to be safe. I wanted every restaurant, every school to be safe. So why doesn't Gavin Newsom care about the people in the state, about their safety? That's what I don't get. You don't build a business. You don't want your kids to go to school. You don't want to live in a community that is unsafe. Support law enforcement. It's real simple. They will defend your freedom and your safety.

[Clay Travis]

We're talking to Senator Rick Scott of Florida. A lot of discussion. I was texting with Senator Ron Johnson a little bit earlier about the potential for a shutdown. He's got a piece up in the Wall Street Journal about ways to end this conflict once and for all. What should our listeners know about the latest battle over funding the government?

[Senator Rick Scott]

Well, here's the way it works. We only need a majority in the House, but we have to have 60 votes in the Senate. Chuck Schumer, for whatever godforsaken reason, wants to shut down government so some services will be stopped beginning at midnight, September 30th. That's what he wants. That's what he wants. He doesn't care. He wants to shut down government. Well, Ron Johnson's proposing, which is really smart. Let's just. Let's just make sure that we just keep funding government. We should be. We should have done our budget bills, which we haven't done, again this year, which we should have done. But if we don't, then we'll just continue to keep government open. And last year's funding, which is too high. I want a balanced budget, but it's better than shut down. Shutting down government. And shutting down services. And by the way, federal workers, when they don't come to work, they still get paid. How crazy is that? When you don't go to work, you don't get paid. But federal workers, which I love them, right, we have a shutdown, they get paid. That doesn't make any sense. They don't get paid until we go back to work, but they don't come to work and they get paid. This makes no sense. That's why Ron Jobs proposal is very smart. They will never have the Chuck Schumer shutdowns.

[Buck Sexton]

Senator Scott, how is the confirmation process going in the Senate for Trump nominees there? We had, I think, talked to you about this a few months ago. There have been a lot of concerns raised for those who are paying attention that Democrats are doing everything except pull the, pull the fire alarm, so to speak, to try to prevent nominees from getting through. Has that process started to work a little bit more efficiently? Are you getting Trump's picks in place? How's that been going in the Senate side?

[Senator Rick Scott]

It's like they don't think that Trump should have anybody work with him. So he needs to put together a team. That's what presidents do. This is the first time in the history of the country that the opposing party of the president will do everything they can to block all nominees. I don't care who the nominee is. And so what we've had to do in the Senate is we had to change the rules because the Democrats are blocking every, every, every nominee, even nominees that they will vote for. They've been blocking. They don't want, they don't. So we've changed the rules. We got quite a few of our nominees approved last week. We will be back next week and we'll get. My goal, I think the goal is we're going to have over 100 nominees done in the next 10 days. So we've got to get Trump's nominees done. And we, you know, unfortunately, what Chuck Schumer is doing with all these antics is he's saying the Senate was set up to force us to work together. He's just saying, no way. You know, we don't ever have to work together anymore because Chuck Schumer is going to fight everything. And so we have to change the rules to get anything done. Schumer needs to go.

[Clay Travis]

What do you think about the Trump library on a positive side here? I mentioned this to Buck. He lives in Miami. He's one of your constituents now. Senator, I spend a lot of time in Florida as well. What does it say about the state of Florida, the trajectory of the country overall, that a big city like Miami, I think a lot of people listening to us right now in Miami are saying, this is great. We're going to have the Trump Presidential Library here. What does it say about Miami? What does it say about Florida?

[Senator Rick Scott]

Well, Florida has become the center of the Republican Party. You look at his whole team. So many of them, Pam Bondi, Susie Wild, so many of them come out of Florida. So he, and you know, as you know, the president moved out of New York and moved down to Florida. So I hope, you know, whether it's in Palm beach, whether it's in Miami, it's going to be, you know, it's going to be in, I can't imagine it's not going to be in Florida. I know the piece of property they're talking about in Miami. I was just down at the Freedom Tower just the other day that they've completely recently redone. That's where all the Cuban refugees were processed when they were coming in the 60s and 70s. So I, you know, look where, wherever it is, I look forward to bringing my grandkids there to see it.

[Clay Travis]

One last question for you, Jimmy Kimmel. The story surrounding that as we're talking to you, Next Star and Sinclair, local affiliates are not carrying the show. And they just said, you, you come out of the business world. Next Star is continuing to evaluate and we're engaged in discussions. We want diverse interest of the communities we serve to be reflected and respected. What should happen here in your mind, what's the right solution?

[Senator Rick Scott]

Well, they don't make a business decision. Jimmy Kimmel has become just toxic. His audience has gone down. People are saying they don't want to see it. Like, I remember when Johnny Carson had a show and Jay Leonardo, they were funny, right? This is just toxic with guys like Jimmy Kimmel do. So I've never seen a show. I don't plan on watching a show. I assume that they're making a decision, is this good for our audience and is it fiscal? Is it financially beneficial? And think about it, if it's not, you think why would they keep him on the air? So I heard his audiences, his viewership has gone way down. So I don't know why I'm not going to watch it. I don't know why Republicans would ever watch the guy. He just, he doesn't, I mean, what he, what he said about Charlie Kirk was, it was just completely inappropriate. It was, I mean, Charlie was a friend of mine. I did a show host Mondays and for anybody to to say that what they said so it was just toxic.

[Buck Sexton]

Senator Scott, appreciate you being here. Yep.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Yeah. All right. Well, it's going to get better, so I'm very optimistic. We're gonna make it better.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you. All the work that he is doing, positive there. Senator Rick Scott with us. We'll come back, we'll close up shop. Have a little bit of fun with you, Buck. I still do think it's very funny that Buck got Kamala Harris's book at 1201 the minute that it came out. We'll have some fun with that. But in the meantime, we also want you to have fun with prize picks. I just mentioned is a company founded by a University of Georgia grad, my buddy Adam in the Atlanta area. Price picks just sold for over $4 billion. That news in the Wall Street Journal because all they're trying to do is make sports a little bit more fun than they already are. And Adam pained me to see his Georgia Bulldogs beat my University of Tennessee Volunteers. But he's built a great company, a lot of fantastic people working there, and he's doing it by just making sports a little bit more fun than they otherwise would be. Prize picks available in 40 plus states. California, Texas, Florida, Georgia. Among them, my home state of Tennessee. When you download the prizepix app, use my name Clay and you get $50 instantly in lineups. When you play $5, we're going to give you a pick tomorrow. Two of our first three picks in the NFL have won. Maybe you're not a football guy. Do you love major league baseball? Are you excited about the Ryder Cup? Whatever you are into NFL college football. It's all out there available for you on Prize Picks. It's good to be right. Must be present in certain states. But again, when you play $5, you get $50 deposited instantly in your account. Go to prizepix.com use my name Clay. You can also go to the Prize Picks app and activate your account there. Download Use my name clay. You get 50 bucks when you play $5. That's prize picks code. Clay. Keep up with 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 podcast.

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[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

There's a lot going on in Hollywood. How are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution. Take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Where do you see the business actually heading?

[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

Featuring the iconic journal of Variety and hosted by co editor in Chief Cynthia Littleton.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

Open your free iHeartradio app, search daily Variety and listen now.

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

Hey there. I'm Mary Kathryn Hamm. And I'm Carol Markowitz. We've been in political media for a long time. Long enough to know that it's gotten, well, a little insane. That's why we started Normally a podcast for people who are over the hysteria and just want clarity. We talk about the issues that actually matter to the country without panic, without yelling, and with a healthy dose of humor. We don't take ourselves too seriously, but we do take the truth seriously. So if you're into common sense, sanity, and some occasional sass, you're our kind of people. Catch new episodes of Normally every Tuesday and Thursday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.

[Clay Travis]

Listen.

[Buck Sexton]

All right, welcome back into Clay and Buck. We're trying to figure out the equal time rule over here and how it applies to these different broadcast networks and what's going on with all this stuff. Because it's you got to spend a lot of time on this to understand where the, the ins and outs are. But I know that it was brought up just a few days ago that by the FCC chairman, Brennan Carr, saying, hold on a second. The View is a political show. The View is on abc. The View is a broadcast network. Why is the View not subject to FCC equal time? And I don't have an. I do not. I think that he asked a question to which the only answer is it should be subject to equal time. That's a rule that we're going to have.

[Clay Travis]

Yes. This is where I sit around and you know, it's one thing to notice that things are broken in the country when it comes to discourse. And you and I sit around a lot thinking about this. I feel like, and some of you can say, you know what, Clay, you're crazy. But I feel like if you give me an opportunity to talk to a room full of Democrat voters, I can convince them that they're wrong about a lot of what they believe in. Now, I understand that a lot of you are like, you're crazy, Clay. You have no hope for that. They're not going to listen to you. All those things can be true. You can disagree with me, but I feel like a lot of the things that we argue on this show, a lot of left wingers have not been exposed to. They haven't had to consider or have their own opinions challenged. And when it comes to abc, NBC, cbs, we give those public airwaves. Why would you allow Stephen Colbert to only have left wing guest if he wants to have on Tom Hanks and he wants to give political opinions? That's different. But when you're putting on senators and presidential candidates, to me, you should have to put the others on too.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I'm, I'm going through the, the rules now, and the rules are a bit of a tangled mess, but.

[Clay Travis]

And this, of course, you're suggesting that our government does not have a coherent policy when it comes to.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, maybe a little bit. A little bit, little possibility there. I would say the, there's the bona fide news program exemption. So we are a news program that does a lot of commentary. Right. And I think that this is where, this is where a lot of different shows would be clearly in the, you know, clearly in the exempt category. Because you say, well, I'm a bonaf, I do news, I'm a news program and I can have on whoever I want as part of my news coverage. And that's an editorial decision. The comedy shows are not news programs. And they're on the public airwaves. Right. Or are they going to argue that they are news programs and then give up the fact that they're comedy shows? This is where it gets interesting.

[Clay Travis]

I think this is what I'm going to. The market based solution to me is if you did a show that appealed to everyone, you would have a bigger audience, everybody would make more money. That's a market based solution. Your argument, and I think it's potentially true, I don't know that it's true, is. No, no. What would now happen is whatever audience you do have, if you had a balanced show, your actually audience would go smaller. And so being a left wing comedy show.

[Buck Sexton]

No, no, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I was gonna say yes, but Clay, I think you would have to burn down the Village in order to save it. Meaning you'd have to be willing to flush out your existing audience basically entirely and build a new audience, which would be a long and expensive proposition.

[Clay Travis]

So if the market based solution does not work, is there a regulatory solution that would work? And that's where I circle back around to. If you're going to have on, I don't know, Chuck Schumer to take shots sitting next to Stephen Colbert on the Colbert show, why should that not be considered political content and you not have to offer a seat to the equivalent of Chuck Schumer. Now, Republicans might say, I don't want to go on Stephen Colbert. It's a waste of my time. But to me, if they're on the public airwave slaves and they're basically doing Democrat propaganda, that should be seen as a violation of the law. And if you can't get a market based solution, that is Republicans buy sneakers too. Let's appeal to everyone. Why not using the standard of equal time to try to make an argument that you are violating the law and the auspices of the license that you have been given to provide a full scope of representation. This to me is a fascinating question. Maybe we need to dive into it tomorrow, nerd out on it a little bit. But I think it offers a pathway to success.

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[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

There's a lot going on in Hollywood. How are you supposed to stay on top of it all? Variety has the solution. Take 20 minutes out of your day and listen to the new daily Variety podcast for breaking entertainment news and expert perspectives.

[Senator Rick Scott]

Where do you see the business actually heading?

[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co Editor in Chief Cynthia.

[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

Littleton, the only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Host (Cynthia Littleton)]

Open your free iHeartradio app, search daily Variety and listen now.

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[Mary Kathryn Hamm / Carol Markowitz]

This is an iHeart podcast.