Hour 3 - We Can't Avoid a Shutdown

Summary

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Hour 3 – "We Can't Avoid a Shutdown"

Date: September 30, 2025
Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Host: Clay Travis (Buck Sexton traveling)
Guests: Senator Markwayne Mullin (Oklahoma), Congressman Steve Scalise (Louisiana), Paul Finebaum (ESPN/SEC commentator)

---

Main Theme and Episode Overview

This hour dives deep into the fast-approaching federal government shutdown, exploring its causes, political dynamics, and impacts on everyday Americans. Host Clay Travis leads substantive discussions with Senator Markwayne Mullin, who argues the shutdown is unavoidable and lays its blame squarely at the feet of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Later, Congressman Steve Scalise reflects on political violence and the legacy of Charlie Kirk while providing further insight into the shutdown standoff. The conversation closes with sports commentary and a thought-provoking segment featuring Paul Finebaum, using the tragic loss of Charlie Kirk to spark broader reflection on public engagement.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Government Shutdown: Causes and Political Maneuvering

• Sen. Markwayne Mullin outlines why a government shutdown appears unavoidable:

  • Blames Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s political calculus, rooted in fear of a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or her allies.
  • Both parties previously voted for the same funding levels; nothing significant has changed except post-election political posturing.
  • Dispute centers on Democrats’ desire to extend COVID-era subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), allowing undocumented immigrants access to benefits with fewer checks—opposed by Republicans.

  “Chuck Schumer is so scared of AOC…he’s willing to hold the American people hostage.”
  – Sen. Markwayne Mullin [03:15]

• Impact for Listeners:

  • For the first two weeks, essential services and most paychecks (military, social security, Medicare/Medicaid) are unaffected.
  • After October 15–16, a prolonged shutdown means federal employees and military would see paychecks stopped.

• Democrats accused of acting out of “hatred towards President Trump” and trying to fight his agenda post-2024 election loss.

  “You can’t reason with crazy. And that’s what Chuck Schumer is right now. He’s crazy. He’s running scared.”
  – Sen. Markwayne Mullin [08:05]

  “Democrats had a choice…Or they could just double, triple, quadruple down on crazy. It seems like they chose the second option.”
  – Clay Travis [10:02]

2. Political Identity Crises and Shifting Party Lines

• Historical Comparison:

  • Mullin and Travis recall how Democratic positions in the 1990s now echo Republican ones.
  • Points out Chuck Schumer’s 1996 opposition to benefits for undocumented immigrants versus his current position.

  "A lot of Democrat talking points in the 90s are actually Republican talking points now.”
  – Clay Travis [09:25]

• Decline of Traditional Democratic Values:

  • Mullin: “JFK wouldn’t belong to this party anymore…This is the party of AOC and Bernie Sanders.”
  • Blames shift for electoral defeats and the party’s current “identity crisis.”

3. Leadership, Accountability, and Setting Standards

• Military & Leadership Commentary:

  • Mullin discusses Pete Hegseth’s viral address to the military on fitness, connecting it to leadership standards in business and sports.
  • Leaders must embody the standards they expect ("Lead from the front").

  “Fat generals and fat admirals walking through the Pentagon is no more. And I commend [Hegseth] for that.”
  – Sen. Markwayne Mullin [15:18]

4. Political Violence, Free Speech, and Turning Point Legacy

• Congressman Steve Scalise’s Perspective:

  • Shares reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination—deep sadness, anger, and painful echoes of his own experience with political violence.
  • Sees Kirk’s death as rallying a movement for open debate and resistance to cancel culture.

  “The idea that somebody thinks they can just take away a life because they disagree with you politically is insane.”
  – Rep. Steve Scalise [25:17]

  • After Kirk’s murder, more than 50,000 young people have sought to start Turning Point chapters.
  • Scalise: Outpouring of support signals a reversal against radical “cancel culture” and for free speech.

  “The days of trying to shut people up…are over.”
  – Rep. Steve Scalise [29:45]

5. Shutdown Debate: House vs. Senate Positions

• Scalise on the House’s Role:

  • Notes the House has already passed a bill to maintain current funding; blames “far left fringes” and Schumer for delay.
  • Calls Democrat tactics a “temper tantrum” rooted in opposition to Trump’s victory.
  • Stresses impacts: military pay at risk, TSA, federal parks, and more.

  “If there’s a government shutdown, it’s only because Schumer decided to cave to the far left…and disrupt the lives of millions.”
  – Rep. Steve Scalise [31:25]

6. Sports, Community, and Personal Leadership

• Brief detour into SEC football:
  • Scalise discusses LSU’s recent challenges and the cultural allure of Saturday night games in Tiger Stadium.
  • Travis emphasizes how sports offer a parallel for the resilience needed in politics and life.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Schumer and the Shutdown:

  • “You have a career politician, Chuck Schumer, who has decided that his job is more important than keeping the American people in the government funded.”
    – Sen. Markwayne Mullin [04:57]

• On History and Political Change:

  • “Bill Clinton, heck, 1992, would be a Republican now.”
    – Clay Travis [09:25]

• On Learning from Defeat:

  • “Some of the best lessons learned is when you lose. If you reevaluate it…you only be stronger.”
    – Sen. Markwayne Mullin [11:08]

• On Political Violence:

  • “This idea that you’ve got these people who think you can solve your political differences with violence is…against everything America stands for.”
    – Rep. Steve Scalise [25:29]

• On the Power of Example:

  • "Whatever your expectations are [as a leader], you need to set yours higher than what everybody else is below."
    – Sen. Markwayne Mullin [14:29]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:10–07:41] – Sen. Markwayne Mullin on inevitability of shutdown and specifics of what’s at stake
• [08:05–13:17] – Mullin and Travis analyze shifting Democratic values and "crazy" political strategies
• [13:51–15:44] – Mullin and Travis on military leadership, Hegseth speech, and standards in public life
• [24:59–28:43] – Rep. Steve Scalise on Charlie Kirk’s death and the impact of political violence
• [30:45–32:42] – Scalise on the shutdown: the House’s actions, blame on Schumer, and real-world impacts
• [41:27–43:39] – Paul Finebaum reflects on Charlie Kirk’s passing, public service, and reevaluating purpose

---

Tone and Language

• The show alternates between straightforward political critique and conversational sports banter.
• Both Senator Mullin and Congressman Scalise use vivid, sometimes confrontational language to characterize Democrats and their leadership.
• Host Clay Travis maintains his trademark blend of directness, a dash of humor, and populist appeals for engagement, whether in politics or sports.
• Throughout, the tone is combative towards Democratic leaders, personal when discussing loss and violence, and optimistic about grassroots conservative resurgence.

---

Conclusion

This episode delivers a pointed and passionate exploration of the anticipated government shutdown, framing it largely as a power and identity struggle within the Democratic Party, while strongly affirming the resilience and determination of the Republican base. Interpersonal reflections—on loss, violence, and leadership—add an emotional resonance and call to action for listeners, echoing in the personal stories of guests like Steve Scalise and Paul Finebaum. Both politics and college football ultimately cohere as metaphors for persistence, leadership, and learning from defeat.

Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an iHeart podcast. Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra durable.

[Commercial Announcer]

LG X Boom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go.

[Clay Travis]

Elevate your listening experience to new heights.

[Commercial Announcer]

Because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG X Boom and for a limited.

[Clay Travis]

Time save [e-mail] with code fall 25 bring the boom xboom there's a lot.

[Variety Podcast Host]

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]

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

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Host]

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Daily Variety and listen now.

[Commercial Announcer]

Over 300 channels, zero bills. That's TiVo plus live news, reality movies and more. No credit card, no signups available on Smart TVs powered by T Bow. Grab the remote, press play and start watching t bow plus free binge worthy always on. Learn [e-mail] a new NFL season means.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

A fresh start and fresh styles. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFL Shop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else and show up ready for every kickoff and big play fan like a pro and shop [e-mail].

[Clay Travis]

Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes on the coast, wildfires out west, natural disasters strike without warning anywhere. When the grid goes down, Rapid Radios keeps you in control. No monthly fees, just reliable communication between you and the people who matter. When power's out and panic sets in, push a button and you're instantly connected. Rapid Radios Built for the unexpected. Ready for anything. Because staying in touch shouldn't depend on luck. How lucky are you? Visit rapid radios.com today. Welcome in. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We are rolling through the Tuesday edition of the program. Encourage you to go subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already and you will be glad that you did. You can also go subscribe to us on YouTube. You can find us basically on any social media platform under the sun and you can check out the first couple of hours of the program. Buck is in Taiwan. He will be back on Monday in The meantime, we are joined. We're headed up to DC for this third hour and we are joined now by Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. And let's dive right into it. Is there going to be a shutdown? And if so, Senator, how is it going to impact the average listener of hours out there right now?

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

So Clay, thanks for having me on. And yes, I don't see there's any way in the world we can avoid a shutdown. The, you know, Chuck Schumer is so scared of AOC in his own state running against him that he's willing to hold the American people hostage. Because what we're doing here is we're putting a clean cr. Clean CR means that the same funding, same language that Chuck Schumer voted for six months ago and the same language he voted for a year ago. So this nothing has changed that. He's voted already twice on this same funding package except now he's been threatened that if he votes for it from the left that they're going to primary him and AOC is either going to run against him or going to find somebody run against him. So he's, he's running scared. He's holding American people hostage over it. If, if that happens and we do go to a shutdown, which Clay, I don't see there's any way we avoided at this point. I think we're going to Chuck Schumer shutdown. It's not really going to affect anybody for the first two weeks and it depends on what is deemed essential and non essential. That's the President's discretion at the time. But for those in the military, they get paid October 1st, all their paychecks will still go out. They'll be paid in full. On the second is when federal employees get paid. Their paychecks are already processed, they will go out and they will be paid in full when all Social Security benefits, Medicare, Medicaid benefits will still be intact, still be moving forward because that's discretionary or that's mandatory spending, not discretionary. We're fighting over discretionary spending at this point. And so the. But in two weeks on the October 15th and 16th, if we are still shut down, then federal employees and military won't be paid. Because why? Because you have a career politician, Chuck Schumer, who has decided that his job is more important than keeping the American people in the government funded.

[Clay Travis]

What is the dispute over right now, in a succinct way, so as quick.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

As you can put it there, is the dispute is really over their hatred towards President Trump. So the question is, is what is their demand? Their demand on funding levels, by the way, that they've already voted for already twice. And they voted for a CR 13 times underneath Biden. The difference now is Trump's in office and they want to slow walk any policies that he has, regardless that the American people elected the President Trump and kicked out their agenda because it was horrible for America, put President Trump in place in November. What their demand is now is they want to extend a policy that they had put in place during COVID that they could have made permanent, but they knew that it was temporary, to basically subsidize ACA affordable health care, which, you know, affordable healthcare is supposed to be affordable. Right. But during COVID 19, they put a subsidy in that waived all requirements, meaning there was no proof of citizenship, there was no proof of income that you needed help or anything. Everybody was eligible for this subsidy. And they funded insurance companies to allow them to sign up people unchecked. And this is a tune of about $350 billion to the taxpayers. Now Covid is over and they intended for this to shut down to begin with because they sunset it. They were in control of the government at the time, complete control. They could have made it permanent. They wanted to. They decided not to. And so now they're saying that they want this extended. And we're saying, wait, Covid is over. Why do we need to be paying a subsidy to insurance companies now that are making record profits, which I'm all about people making profits. But why are the taxpayers still subsidizing that? And why are we allowing illegal aliens to get these benefits for free? Because those that came here legally, they should be getting shipped back. That's what the American people voted for in November. But this extends that. That covers them. Why? Because there's no checks and balances to say that they're eligible or not. They just automatically get enrolled into Obamacare. And that's what Chuck Schumer is fighting for. So basically, to still have taxpayers pay for these illegals to have health care insurance.

[Clay Travis]

We're talking to Senator Mark Wayne Mullen of Oklahoma. Inevitably, these issues eventually decided. And by the way, along with virtually everybody listening right now, what Democrats are seeking is absurd. Do you think we'll have a resolution before October 15, before individuals paychecks could be impacted?

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Well, you know, I always tell people I'm good for a big fight and a good fight as long as I know what victory looks like and it's possible to win. But if you go into a fight which is what the Democrats are doing here. What does victory look like for them? Because it's hard for them to explain that a clean CR that they've already supported twice, why they wouldn't. What's different today than it was a year ago or six months ago. So I would assume they would come to their senses before that. But you can't reason with crazy. And that's what Chuck Schumer is right now. He's crazy. He's running scared. You got to keep in mind, in 1996, when I was a senior in high school, which was 29 years ago, Chuck Schumer then was a congressman. He went on the House floor, enrolled against benefits going to illegal aliens that came in this country illegally. That was in 1996.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, yeah.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Now he's willing to shut down the government as a senator and as a Democrat leader over giving benefits to illegals. So you can't rationalize with that kind of thinking. So I would assume that people, you know, cooler heads would come to the. Come to the table and they would accept the clean cr. But you can't at this point. You can't rationalize what they're even thinking here. You can't. Is that my mama said you can't argue with crazy.

[Clay Travis]

I think that's well said by your mama. By the way, also, we're around the same age, and a lot of Democrat talking points in the 90s are actually Republican talking points now for people like Chuck Schumer who were involved long enough. I mean, Bill Clinton, heck, 1992, would be a Republican now. I mean, in all seriousness, if you.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Go back and look at it, Democrat Party for sure.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah. When you look at the. What happened in. In the November election about 11 months ago, Trump won a landslide, won all seven swing states, won the popular vote, kicked Kamala's ass coast to coast. Democrats had two choices. One, they could look in the mirror and they could say, as I think a lot of people try to do. I don't know. I know you were involved in sports back in the day. Sometimes you get beat and you say, boy, we really beat ourselves. We didn't execute the game plan we had. You know, we turned the ball over too much. If we had played like we expect to play, we would have won. Your game plan, then you just have to go execute it better. Other times you get your ass kicked and you're like, boy, that seems a lot better than us. And either we're going to have to change our game plan, change the trajectory, or we're just going to keep getting our ass kicked going forward. Seems to me that Democrats had a choice, Senator. They could look in the mirror and say they heard our message, they didn't like it, and we got beat accordingly. Or. Or they could say we just got a double and triple and quadruple down on crazy. It seems like they chose the second option, which just means they're going to keep getting their ass kicked, probably even worse.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Well, to use your sports analogy, it's like the kid that gets beaten wrestling, because wrestling is our family, and you get beat and you blame it on the ref every time. And you don't realize it's probably your practice habits and it's your training partners and it's what you put in that you're not getting back out. And so it's easier to blame somebody else. And so you double down on the blame game. Well, that's exactly what's happening here. You're absolutely correct. Instead of them taking a licking and looking back, as we call them, from Oklahoma, right? You take a licking. That's when you get beat. When you get. When you get beat and take it and looking back and going, wow, some of the best lessons learned is when you lose. Because if you reevaluate it and you can learn what you did wrong, correct it, you only be stronger and better, or you double down and blame somebody else. They're blaming the American people, the Democrats. They're blaming the American people, saying, you got it wrong, you got it wrong. You didn't understand what you voted for. You got it wrong. Well, actually, they didn't. They knew exactly what they were voting against because they had four years of it. They had four years of embarrassment from an administration that wanted to go away what all American values have always traditionally stood for. They wanted to go away from what America has stood for and move us towards socialism. And it didn't work. It was an experiment that failed. And so now the left is running this, running the Democrat Party. You could go to JFK and you say the same thing that you did about Clinton. JFK wouldn't belong to this party anymore. And when he says they're the party of jfk, that's not accurate because this party is the. Is the party of Madame, or however you say his name, you know, a communist socialist. Yeah, this is a party of AOC and Bernie Sanders and Jasmine Crockett that go out there and openly claim to be a socialist. This is a party of Talib and Omar, who is, you know, who. You know. They go out there and hate America And I mean that sincerely. And so you go, where's the Democrats party today? They got beat because of what they stand for. And the polling shows the Democrat parties least popular now than they've ever been in history.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

And you have leaders like Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries just leading them down this, this, this tumbling path of identity crisis.

[Clay Travis]

What did you think of? I saw your push up, pull up challenge, which you absolutely crushed. I think it was like 3 minutes and 40 seconds or something, if I remember. Off the top. Yeah, Yeah. I mean, that's ridiculous for somebody, anybody, but especially for somebody who's on Capitol Hill. What did you think of Pete Hegseth's address to the war fighters of America this morning?

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Hey, man, lead from front right. I used when I was running my companies and building my companies every single day. I told my management team, hey, if you want your employees to show up on time, you need to be there 30 minutes earlier. If you want them there at 7:30, you'd be there at 7. If you want to work late, you work 30 minutes past they. They do. If you want them to answer the phone when you call, you better always answer. And by the way, if you want them to show up with a clean shirt and clean pants on every day, then your shirts need to be starched. If we're having. And this is what's always bugged me about coaches, too. Coaches are coaching athletes. They have access to every piece of equipment and every trainer that their athletes do. There's no excuse why a coach in football, wrestling, basketball, I don't care what it is that's out of shape. When you're trying to get your players and your athletes in shape and the military, you're fighting for the heart of our country. You're fighting for the existence of our country. You're protecting the freedoms of those home and abroad. And we should expect excellence. And if you're going to expect excellence, then the generals who's leading from the front need to express that and show that every single day in themselves because they set the standard. And no one's going to lead or meet that standard unless that leader is meeting that standard, too. And so whatever your expectations are, you need to put it, you need to set yours higher than what everybody else is below. So I commend Hecseth in saying this. We're going to get our butts in shape. Fat generals and fat admirals walking through the Pentagon is no more. And I commend him for that. I actually sent him a text message And I said, brady, my chest is pumping with pride for what you just said.

[Clay Travis]

Amen, Senator. We appreciate the time. Let us know when you need to come back on. And we appreciate you sharing the Capitol Hill with us.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Thanks, Clay. See you. Bye.

[Clay Travis]

Yep, that's Senator Mark Wayne Mullen with us. And I gotta tell you, gold keeps setting record highs. Buy more gold to balance the declining value of the dollar. That's what's happened to a lot of people who have benefited from the rise in gold. We all should own gold in our portfolio, no matter the quantity large or whether it's to diversify your savings and retirement counts or as a hedge against inflation. Birch Gold Group believes every single American should own physical gold Today's the last day that birchgold Group is making an incredible offer for first time gold buyers. Birch Gold is offering a rebate of up to $10,000 in free metals on qualifying purchases. To claim eligibility, start the process. Request an info kit now. Just text my Name Clay to 9,898, 98/BIRCHGOLD can help you roll an existing IRA or 401k into an IRA in gold and you're still eligible for a rebate and free metals of up to $10,000. Diversify with gold from Birch Gold Group. Make now your first time to buy gold. Take advantage of a rebate of up to $10,000 when you buy. Buy right now by the end of this month. Text my name Clay right now for that benefit to 989898 claim your eligibility to get today again text Clay 989898 that's my name Clay to 989898 Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Mic drops that never sounded so good. Find them on the free iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. In business, they say you can have better, cheaper or faster, but you only get to pick two. What if you could have all three at the same time? That's exactly what Cohere, Thomson Reuters and Specialized Bikes have since they upgraded to the next generation of the cloud. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure OCI is the blazing fast platform for your infrastructure, database, application development and AI needs where you can run any workload in a high availability, consistently high performance environment and spend less than you would with other clouds. How is it faster? OCI's block storage gives you more operations per second cheaper. OCI costs up to 50% less for computing, 70% less for storage, and 80% less for networking better. In test after test, OCI customers report.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

Lower latency and higher bandwidth versus other clouds.

[Clay Travis]

This is the cloud built for AI and all your biggest workloads right now with zero commitment. Try OCI for free. Head to oracle.com klei that's oracle.com klei Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra durable.

[Commercial Announcer]

LG X Boom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go.

[Clay Travis]

Elevate your listening experience to new heights.

[Commercial Announcer]

Because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG XBoom and for a limited time.

[Clay Travis]

Save 25% at LG.com with code fall25 bring the boom XBoom there's a lot.

[Variety Podcast Host]

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]

Featuring the iconic journalists of Variety and hosted by co editor in chief Cynthia Littleton.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Host]

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Daily Variety and listen now.

[Commercial Announcer]

Over 300 channels, zero bills. That's TiVo. Plus curated movies, new series and sports highlights. No credit card, no logins, just TV that gets straight to the good stuff. Grab the remote, press play and start watching TiVo. Plus free binge worthy always on. Check us [e-mail] a new NFL season.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

Means a fresh start and fresh styles. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else. And show up ready for every kickoff and big play fan like a pro. And shop [e-mail].

[Clay Travis]

Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show Rolling through the Tuesday edition of the program and wouldn't you know it. First ever. I think I'm getting praised for using correct grammar. Ee Wear it grammarians.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Hey Clay, Steve here, unofficial member of.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

The Grammar Police in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I want to give you kudos today for not being one who says we're going to meet someone where they're at.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Thank you for saying we will meet.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

People where they are correctly. There's plenty of things that I might.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Be able to come up with that you don't say.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Right. But I thought I'd give you kudos for once.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Thanks.

[Clay Travis]

Well, that's a credit to my mom who did instill in me. You could never end the sentence with that. When I was a kid, where are we going to eat at? She would always say after the prop, after the preposition. So I didn't even know I was doing that. But that's one of the few grammar rules that I must have picked up over the years. So thank you. You speaking of rules, one of my rules is everything Randy Weingarten says is what a moron would say. Here she is saying that she wears a clothing pin on her lapel because it's what the Nazis, what they did in Denmark when the Nazis occupied them.

[Variety Podcast Host]

Listen, there is a reason why in Norway, when the Nazis took over Norway.

[Clay Travis]

That'S why I'm wearing this paperclip.

[Variety Podcast Host]

I wear two things now.

[Clay Travis]

The American flag. Nobody can take patriotism away from me.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

And a paperclip.

[Variety Podcast Host]

What did the teachers in Norway do when there was, when there was the Nazi occupation? They started wearing paper clips.

[Clay Travis]

Uh, there you go. They started wearing paper clips when there was a Nazi occupation. Um, and so pay attention to what they are saying. Pay attention to what they are saying because they're not even hiding it. They're saying that we are occupied by Nazis right now.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Now.

[Clay Travis]

And a decent interviewer would have followed up and said, well, so you think that the Republicans are Nazis and you have to wear a paperclip. And presumably she would say yes. I mean, she's a moron. But the intent of her moronic act is quite clear. She's giving cover to the crazy people out there to kill us. They believe they are heroes in this misguided world that they are living in. We are occupying Nazi armies and anything they do to us is justified. Make it certain that you understand exactly what they are arguing. You want to have the right protection tools to defend yourself and protect your family. You want to do that with guns. But you also probably, maybe, certainly should be doing that with non lethal methods. We are in the middle of the fall. A lot of your kids and grandkids off to college, driving around in their cars for high school. Maybe they've got after school jobs, after school sports. Are they able to protect themselves? Sabers, the number one pepper spray brand trusted by law enforcement, spelled S A B r e. The website is sabreradio.com. go get hooked up there. We have every one of their protection devices in the Travis home. And with the Travis kids you can get hooked up 15 [e-mail] that saberradio.com 15 off. Check out that website today. Welcome back in Clay Travis, Buck Sexton Show. Appreciate all of you hanging out with us. We are joined now by Congressman Steve Scalise. He has been through a lot and we're going to run through all of the. All the things coming up with a big turning point event that he is going to be a part of shortly. But, Congressman, I want to start with. We haven't had you on since the Charlie Kirk shooting, but you've been a victim of political violence. You almost lost your life while you were preparing for, I believe it was the baseball game, but just practicing with other members of your team. What did you think when you saw the Charlie Kirk video and how much of it created flashbacks for you of what happened to you about eight years ago?

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Hey, Clay and Buck, thank you for having me. You know, it was such a tough day. I mean, you know, my gosh, just to. Just to see somebody, you know, at the time, we didn't know Charlie was. Was dead, but you could just see it was something bad happened to Charlie. And that alone was. Was just unearthing, I mean, alarming. And, you know, it makes you angry to see that, you know, somebody as talented as Charlie was out there just talking to people. I mean, you know, encouraging people to debate in a civil way, which is what we all should be celebrating. And the idea that somebody thinks they can just take away a life because they disagree with you politically is insane. And so I had a lot of anger. I had, you know, just a lot of feelings. You feel for Charlie personally, for his family? I mean, you know, he's got a young family, and I'm thinking all those things. And then obviously along the way, some of the, you know, thoughts go back to 2017 and the shooting, you know, with. With me and my other colleagues, you know, we had a crazed shooter that went and he wanted to kill every Republican on that ball field. And this idea that you've got these people, I think you can solve, you know, your political differences with violence is. It's against everything America stands for. And it was just a horrible day in a lot of ways.

[Clay Travis]

We're talking with Steve Scalise. He is the House Majority Leader and He's in Louisiana's 1st congressional district. I'll get into what in the world's happened to LSU's offense with you in a moment, Congressman. But you've got a big turning point event that you are a part of. What's going on there? What should people know about it and what is the importance of this event? In the wake of, as we were just talking about what happened to Charlie.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Well, I think something just remarkable has come out of a horrible situation, and that is that it really is awoken people to say, wait a minute, we are not going to live in fear. We're not going to allow a voice like Charlie's to, you know, have this movement that Charlie created just end. And in fact, I think the movement is going to grow even stronger. You've seen Erica, his widow, just powerfully, powerfully talk about how she's going to grow it into something even bigger. And it's really happening. I mean, you know, we've seen, you know, 50 plus thousand young people have said, I want to start a Turning Point chapter on my college campus or high school campus where it doesn't yet exist. And we've seen a lot of Turning Point chapters. You know, lsu, where I went to school, we've got a Turning Point chapter. And Charlie was going to be speaking in just a few days to that campus chapter. And the event will now go on. Our governor, Jeff Landry, is going to be highlighting it. And, you know, it's the old saying, the show must go on. And I think you're going to see a lot more people, including people maybe that never even knew what Turning Point was about, who now have seen it. They've gone back and looked at Charlie's speeches, and he's inspired a whole new generation of people. So this idea they were going to silence him has truly backfired. I mean, I think you've seen the movement already grow stronger and young people will not be silenced. Young people, look, they're sick and tired of these leftists telling them what to do and how to think. And you've got to hate institutions and religion. And it's also brought a new awakening in religion. People going to church for the first time and understanding. And Charlie had such a deep faith in God, as do I. People now are, I think, are maybe getting back in touch with God too. And that's a good thing.

[Clay Travis]

You mentioned the impact that Charlie's having. I interviewed Paul Finebaum. I know you're a college football fan, as was Charlie. And Paul told me he's thinking about running for the Senate in Alabama as a partly a result of what he saw happen to Charlie Kirk. He just, it left him shaken and he wanted to think about what he could do to be the most impactful in his life. I think that you are hearing, as you mentioned, a lot of people from all walks of life, regardless of what their background is, sitting around and thinking, how can I embody the courage that Charlie showed, that you showed after you were shot to help take the country to a better place.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Well, it's so true. And, you know, I saw Paul's statements and I think you're going to see a lot more things like that. More people that maybe were on the sidelines or, you know, maybe if you're in media, you know, they might have been scared to speak out because, you know, the culture and media. So, yeah, and they're worried about cancel culture. I don't think people are going to be worried about that cancel culture anymore. I think it's reversing the other way where it's, you know, the pendulums do swing in life and in politics. And I think people are disgusted by this idea that, you know, radical leftists can just shut you up if they don't agree with your point of view. They were trying to do it in social media. Those days are over. And I think the days of trying to shut people up are only presenting one point of view in mainstream media are over. Too few people are watching some of those shows anyway that do that. But I think the rest of the public wants free speech, embraces free speech and realizes how much it's threatened by the left. The left, ironically, are the ones who seem to want to shut down free speech and we're not going to let it happen.

[Clay Travis]

We're talking to Steve Scalise, congressman from Louisiana. What should we know? Succinctly, we talked with Senator Mark Wayne Mullen earlier this hour. But from your perspective, what should our listeners know about the potential shutdown that would start tomorrow?

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Well, we passed a bill through the House two weeks ago to keep government funding at funding the current, current levels. And you're seeing Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, the far left fringes that want a government shutdown, not for any particular reason, but just they don't like the results of the election last November. And they're far left base. The radicals in the Democrat Party just want to fight with Donald Trump. And a temper tantrum is not an excuse to shut down the government and disrupt the lives of millions of people. Think about it. Our men and women in uniform will not get paid. TSA agents won't get paid. You know, federal parks are shut down. A lot of bad things happen in people's lives that get disrupted just because Chuck Schumer wants to have some kind of bar fight with Donald Trump because he doesn't like the results of the election in November. Think about this. Democrats and Republicans voted for these very same Funding levels in March. Nothing's changed since March. Except the far left elements that are about to elect a Marxist in New York City are also clamoring for a government shutdown. And ultimately, it's going to be up to Democrats in Congress. Are they going to feed the craziest voices on the left? Are they going to do the right thing? And the right thing is keep the government funded. This isn't a permanent solution, but at least for seven weeks short term while we negotiate our differences. Clearly, we have differences, but you don't have a tantrum in the and disrupt the lives of millions of people during that difference to negotiation. Let's keep government funded at its current levels. The bill's in the Senate, so it's all on Schumer right now. If there's a government shutdown, it's only because Schumer decided to cave to the far left elements of his radical base and disrupt the lives of millions of people. I hope he doesn't do it, and there's a chance that cooler heads will prevail. But right now, Schumer's looking for a shutdown, and we'll see where it goes come tomorrow.

[Clay Travis]

All right, right now, the biggest story in the state of Louisiana is not government shutdowns. It is the Tiger offense. So we got a lot of people listening all over the country. But for people who don't know, LSU couldn't stop anybody on defense last year. This year, the offense has vanished. Our buddy Lane Kiffin, I think he's been on the program up at Ole Miss, celebrating a lot of Rebels fans, big rivalry there. Really enjoyed the win. Congressman, you got to solve everything in the world right now. Solve what's going on with your LSU Tigers. What do they need? What's wrong?

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Well, you know, give me about another $10 million in nil money.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

We can solve it.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

But no, look, I was in Oxford, Mississippi, and it was tough. It was tough being. I'm an LSU alum, you know, I love my Tigers and we're going to bounce back, but, you know, we've been having some offensive problems the last few weeks. And Garrett Nelson is a great quarterback. You could see his numbers from last year. He did have an injury at the beginning of this year. Not sure he's completely through that yet. Once you see him 100%, I think you'll see this team bounce back. We got some tough teams ahead. We still go to Alabama. We have A and M coming in. We go to Vanderbilt, who's undefeated. You know, we've still got some Tough games to prove ourselves. And I believe in Coach Kelly. I think they're going to bounce back. Our defense is much better. You know, it's the fcc. I mean, we just lost to the number four team in the nation, so let's not pull the panic button, but let's get better. We can, and we have the capability with a great quarterback to do it.

[Clay Travis]

The Grove is a spectacular place to go tailgate, watch a college football game. I'm fortunate to have been to a bunch of games there. LSU on a Saturday night is about as good as it gets for people who have never been and may never go to an LSU Saturday night football game. What should they know about what the experience is like?

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Well, first of all, don't deprive yourself of that treat of being in Tiger Stadium at some point on a Saturday night in your life. I mean, it's a box. Everybody needs to check the tailgating alone. You got to go up there early. I mean, just for the food experience. You know, everybody knows what New Orleans food is like. Some of the best food in the world. You have better Cajun chefs at some of the tailgates before the game at an LSU game than you'll get at some of the finest restaurants in New Orleans. It's world class. They take it seriously. And then the game itself, you know, 103,000 incredibly screaming loud fans. You know, you get Garth Brooks playing Colin Baton Rouge on the, on the speakers and man, the crowd goes nuts. It's a scene like no other on a Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. You gotta come. I'll be there. And I think we'll, we'll have to get everybody to check that box on their, on their dance card to come to do that one time in their life at least.

[Clay Travis]

No, I've been. It's an amazing time, Congressman. We appreciate the time. Always happy to have you on. Good luck with that Turning Point event and good luck with LSU figuring out what's going on with the offense.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Hey, go Tigers. In a God bless. Let's, let's, let's keep getting this country back on track.

[Clay Travis]

Amen. That is Congressman Steve Scalise, as you heard, running through all of the challenges right now on Capitol Hill and also, much less significantly, the challenges for the LSU Tiger offense. Speaking of sports, you guys know I love it and I love this company. I was in Athens, Georgia over the weekend and I was hanging out with the founder. Adam built a great company. He's a University of Georgia grad, lived in Athens, grew up in the Atlanta area. Best place out there to have some fun with sports prize picks right now. Hey, Major League Baseball playoffs underway. Really looking forward to seeing how the Mets do. Sorry Mets fans, I couldn't resist. You spent a lot of money. You didn't even make the playoffs. But there are a lot of teams in the Major League Baseball playoffs we are underway right now. So if baseball is your favorite sport sport if football is your favorite sport, which it is for me, college or pro, I'll give you picks on Thursday. We have hit three out of the four. First four weeks you can play in California, you can play in Texas, you can play in Georgia. Get hooked up right now with prize picks. Use my name Clay and when you play $5 you get back $50. That's code clay on prize picks. It is lots of fun. It's easy to use. Go ahead and download the app. Use my name Clay. Play $5. You get $50 in there and you'll be ready on Thursday. May even tell you guys, hey, pull out your phones. Here's how you play more or less. It's super easy to use, but go ahead and download the app. Let's see if we can win some more with prize picks. Go to prizepix.com use code Clay. That's my name Clay for 50 bucks when you play $5. 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 podcasts. Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra durable LG Boom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG XBoom and for a limited time, save [e-mail] with code fall25 bring the boom XBoom.

[Variety Podcast Host]

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]

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

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

The only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Host]

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Daily Variety and listen now.

[Commercial Announcer]

Over 300 channels, zero bills. That's TiVo plus live news, reality movies and more no credit card, no signups available on smart TVs powered by TiVo. Grab the remote, press play and start watching Tebow plus free binge worthy always on. Learn more at Tebow.com a new NFL.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

Season means a fresh start and fresh styles. @nflshop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score at school, exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else and show up ready for every kickoff and big play fan like a pro and shop [e-mail].

[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.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

Start your 7 day free trial today.

[Clay Travis]

Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now. Welcome back in Clay Travis Buck Sexton show. I want to play for you as we close up shop here on the Tuesday edition. I should mention, by the way, should have probably mentioned this before. I now have a television show on FS1 every Wednesday evening. So if you're out there and you're thinking, you know, I need some more Clay Travis in my life every Wednesday at 6pm Eastern gonna be we tape it on Tuesday. So but it's going up on Wednesday and I'm getting ready to to tape that and I probably will talk a little bit about Paul Finebaum and I wanted to play a couple of more cuts from this clip that has really ricocheted all over the place, this interview and you just heard me talking with Steve Scalise about the impact of Charlie Kirk. The team pulled this and I wanted you to listen to it. It this is Paul Finebaum and he is a sports commentator thinking about running for the Senate in Alabama. But in your own life, I want you to maybe reflect as he has and think what could I do to be more impactful in the country that I love? Here's cut one. What was it like for you to see what happened to Charlie Kirk and then go on the SEC network and talk about games challenging real life things compared to frankly the fun things in life. How do you balance that?

[Paul Finebaum]

I spent four hours numb talking about talking about things that didn't matter to me and it kept building throughout that weekend and I, I didn't know Charlie Kirk. I, I'd never met him so finally on. I watched all the coverage, including you on. On Fox on Friday night. I was in Baton Rouge, and Saturday morning, I woke up and went over to get ready for our show, and I saw Tim Tebow, and I said, can I talk to you for a minute? And after, you know, he finished, you.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

Know.

[Paul Finebaum]

Eating, he came over, we went outside, and I asked him about Charlie Kirk. And he was very close to him. And he said, you really. He looked at me and said, are you okay? I said, it's just. There's just. It's hard to describe not being involved in politics, not being involved. How that affected me and affected tens of millions of people all over this country. And it was an awakening. And I went out and did the show that morning, but it still nagged at me, and I couldn't get through it. Thiebaud was soothing to me because he told me a little bit about his relationship with Charlie Kirk. But I felt very empty doing what I was doing that day. That affected me in a way that I never really expected to be affected by.

[Congressman Steve Scalise]

It was.

[Paul Finebaum]

It also was juxtaposition opposed with something else that had happened a couple of days earlier. I had received a text from someone who I knew that I'd seen at an event, and it led to another conversation. And ultimately, one or two people in Washington had reached out to me about whether I would be interested in politics, something I'd never thought about before, something I didn't really think possible. I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Yeah.

[Paul Finebaum]

I wasn't there. There wasn't a lane there to get.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Yeah.

[Paul Finebaum]

To get involved. But. And I. I gave some thought to it as this weekend unfolded with Charlie.

[Clay Travis]

So that is Paul Finebaum just reflecting for him on the impact that Charlie Kerr Kirk's life and the way it was taken had on him. And I think there are likely to be many of you out there still contemplating in your own lives, what can I do to make this country better? How can I be braver? How can I be more courageous? How can I be stronger in standing for what I believe? And no matter what you do, whether it's talk on television, whether it's drive a truck, whether it's teach kids, we all can do more. That's what I'm trying to do. That's what I encourage all of y' all to do. Wednesday edition tomorrow. We'll be right back with you. Thanks for listening. Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra durable LG X boom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG XBoom and for a limited time save 25% at LG.com with code fall25. Bring the boom XBoom.

[Variety Podcast Host]

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]

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

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

Littleton, the only constant in Hollywood is change.

[Variety Podcast Host]

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

[Commercial Announcer]

Tired of flipping through apps to find something good? Meet TiVo plus your one stop free streaming network. No credit card required. With over 300 free channels you get binge worthy movies from action and comedy to Indian award winning winners. Plus top TV shows, live news, sports, highlights and family programming all in one place. Watch live or on demand right from your home screen.

[Senator Markwayne Mullin]

Free.

[Commercial Announcer]

No signups, no fees, just press play. That's TiVo plus free binge worthy and always on. Check us [e-mail] a new NFL season.

[Commercial Announcer / NFL Shop Announcer]

Means a fresh start and fresh styles. At NFL Shop.com you'll find the latest jerseys, hats and sideline gear to rep your team all season long. From rookies making their debut to legends, NFLShop.com has it all. Score exclusive styles you won't find anywhere else and show up ready for every kickoff and big play fan like a.

[Clay Travis]

Pro and shop [e-mail] Oral health goes beyond just aesthetics. It's deeply connected to your general health and well being. That's why preventing oral health problems before they start is so important. When you use the Colgate Total Active Prevention system, you're not just helping to prevent oral health problems like cavities and gingivitis, you're laying the groundwork for overall wellness. Colgate Total's three product routine includes a reformulated toothpaste, an innovative toothbrush and a refreshing antibacterial mouthwash that all support a healthy mouth. In fact, the three products were designed to work together to be 15 times more effective at reducing bacteria buildup in six weeks starting from week one compared to a non antibacterial fluoride toothpaste and flat trimmed toothbrush. Take control of your oral health and get the Colgate Total Active Prevention System today so you can be dentist ready. Visit shop.colgate.com total this is an iHeart podcast.