Team 47 - Ranking Trump

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Team 47 – Ranking Trump
Date: December 14, 2025
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Special Guest: Bill O’Reilly
Theme: Revisiting Trump’s Presidential Legacy, Economic Perceptions, Historical Context, and Hot-Button Political Issues

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show features a wide-ranging discussion on President Donald Trump’s historical legacy, current economic and political narratives, the ongoing immigration debate, and a deep dive into U.S. presidential ranking, with special guest Bill O’Reilly. The hosts and O’Reilly analyze how Trump ranks among historical presidents, the impact of inflation and affordability on politics, the challenges within the health care system, and touch on controversial historical events with direct listener engagement.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump’s Historical Legacy and Presidential Ranking

[04:11–09:10, 37:34–39:17]

• Clay Travis introduces Bill O’Reilly, prompting him to weigh in on Whoopi Goldberg’s claim that Trump would leave no legacy, and to rank Trump among recent presidents.
• Bill O’Reilly asserts that while Trump constantly asks about his legacy (“Am I number one yet?” [06:26]), he will “never be number one,” with Abraham Lincoln holding that spot.

  “Abraham Lincoln will always be the best president the United States.” – Bill O’Reilly [06:47]

• O’Reilly places Trump in the “top 10” for his “work ethic,” calling him the “hardest working president of all time.”

  “No president has ever approached the work ethic of Donald Trump – and it’s not even close.” – Bill O’Reilly [06:47]

• By contrast, Joe Biden is labeled the “second worst president in history,” citing a lack of problem-solving accomplishments.

  “In four years, Joe Biden did not solve one problem in this country.” – Bill O’Reilly [07:32]

2. Affordability Crisis, Economic Messaging, and Trump’s Policies

[09:10–12:31, 24:38–29:33, 39:17–50:41]

• Bill O’Reilly shares anecdotes of Trump seeking advice about the “affordability” issue, describing a phone call from Trump concerned about economic perceptions.
  • O’Reilly stresses the one exception to generally healthy economic stats: “insurance costs are killing working Americans … health insurance, car insurance, house insurance.” [11:05]
• Discussion shifts to political strategy:
  • O’Reilly urges Trump to offer concrete plans to reduce costs and claims the Biden administration is vulnerable on affordability in upcoming midterms.
• Clay Travis and Buck Sexton pick up on health care, expressing bipartisan discontent with insurance and Obamacare, calling the latter “a huge game of hide the ball” that mostly benefits insurance companies:

  “Everyone’s least favorite thing almost in the world is having to get on the phone with an insurance company adjuster …” – Narrator/Announcer [24:46] “Obamacare is a setup to make insurance companies rich ... And I want to pay the people and I want the people to go out and buy their own health care.” – Donald Trump (clip) [24:03]

• The team highlights the demographic strain on U.S. health and welfare systems, with a growing older population:

  “The whole system is a redistribution of wealth via healthcare.” – Clay Travis [27:19]

• On inflation and economic perception, Buck argues the focus must be both on blaming Biden for past inflation and outlining future improvement:

  “The two big issues, it’s going to be the affordability and immigration. … That’s what’s going to move the needle.” – Buck Sexton [44:20]

3. Immigration Policy, Enforcement, and Political Messaging

[29:33–33:49, 37:39–39:17]

• Trump’s approach to immigration is credited with “solving things so quickly on the border” (Clay Travis [31:58]), with reference to a reported increase in illegal self-deportations and declining non-citizen birth rates (citing Ryan Girdusky).
• A clip from NYC Assembly member Zoran Mamdani outlines protections against ICE, which the hosts use to illustrate the Democratic Party’s stance on immigration enforcement:

  “For Democrats, illegals are a protected class of person … This is what is going to continue to be a huge problem.” – Buck Sexton [33:17]

• The federal judge’s ruling on MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia is briefly mentioned, illustrating the ongoing legal and political controversies tied to immigration policy.

4. Historic Mysteries and Listener Engagement: The Death of General George S. Patton

[12:31–19:17]

• A caller’s father, alleged driver of the car in Patton’s fatal accident, recounts details challenging conspiracy narratives.
• Bill O’Reilly references his book “Killing Patton” and keeps the possibility of foul play open, notably citing a “suspicious turn for the worse” in Patton’s hospital stay:

  “At the end of his life, many very strange things happened to George Patton. None of them added up.” – Bill O’Reilly [12:59] “Here you had motive, you had accessibility, you had enemies abroad and at home.” – Bill O’Reilly [18:32]

• O’Reilly calls for exhumation and forensic examination, referencing similar investigations done for President Zachary Taylor.

5. Trade Policy & Global Economic Dynamics

[39:17–44:20]

• Buck highlights positive numbers on the U.S. trade deficit ([40:10]), arguing Trump’s tariffs and “America First” position are shifting the global economic balance.
• However, he emphasizes the need to address persistent high consumer prices and focus Republican messaging on how to further reduce costs in key areas like housing and health care.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Trump’s Quest for Ranking:

  "Every time I see President Trump ... he's asking me the same question ... So what's my legacy? Am I number one yet?"
  – Bill O'Reilly [06:26]

• On Biden’s Presidential Record:

  "In four years, Joe Biden did not solve one problem in this country. Not one."
  – Bill O'Reilly [07:32]

• On Obamacare:

  "Obamacare is a disaster."
  – Donald Trump (via clip) [24:38]

• On Immigration Policy Success:

  "Trump immigration policies are working in ways that aren’t even necessarily at the center of the conversation ..."
  – Clay Travis [32:04]

• On Affordability & Politics:

  "The two big issues, it’s going to be the affordability and immigration. Election midterms. That’s what’s going to move the needle."
  – Buck Sexton [44:20]

• On Health Insurance Costs:

  "Insurance costs are killing working Americans, killing them. Health insurance, car insurance, house insurance."
  – Bill O'Reilly [11:05]

• On Economic Messaging:

  "Isn’t this the most classic move that the Democrats could possibly come up with? They made it so prices get all jacked up. ... Then they just blame it all on Trump."
  – Buck Sexton [47:48]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------| | Introduction of Bill O’Reilly, Trump's legacy discussion | 04:11–09:10 | | Bill O’Reilly on Trump’s ranking and work ethic | 06:47 | | Biden’s legacy and problem solving (or lack thereof) | 07:32 | | Trump's focus on affordability, economic strategy | 09:53–12:31 | | Deep dive: The death of General Patton (with caller story) | 12:31–19:17 | | Health care, Obamacare & insurance cost debate | 24:38–29:33 | | Discussion: Immigration policies, ICE enforcement, birthrates | 29:33–33:49 | | Economic segment: Trade balance, inflation, housing, demographics | 39:17–44:20 | | Concluding thoughts: Political messaging for Republicans | 44:20–50:41 |

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Tone & Style

The episode mixes humor (often at the expense of political figures), directness, and a fast-paced, sometimes argumentative conversational style, in keeping with the “Clay and Buck” brand. Both hosts and O’Reilly favor blunt assessments, especially regarding presidential rankings and economic policy, while engaging listeners actively with real-world anecdotes and sharp critique of both parties’ approaches.

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For Listeners Who Missed It

• This episode offers an inside look at Donald Trump’s ongoing concern with his historical legacy and how conservative media figures honestly and sometimes humorously handle that question.
• Economic issues, especially inflation and insurance costs, drive much of the political analysis, emphasizing their centrality to future elections.
• The team calls for a sharper, more proactive Republican messaging strategy on both affordability and immigration, warning that failing to address these could endanger GOP fortunes in upcoming midterms.
• A memorable mid-show detour covers the mysterious death of General Patton, keeping listeners engaged and showcasing Bill O’Reilly’s storytelling and investigative style.

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Transcript

[Clay Travis]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Bill O'Reilly]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

While we're spending time with family this holiday season and Buck is stuck in a sound booth recording his new book, you can listen to us on the podcast Clay don't rub it in.

[Clay Travis]

But that's right, just fire up the iHeartRadio app and kick back with the Sunday hang guaranteed laughs. Or check out any of our other great hosts in the Clay and Buck Podcast network.

[Narrator/Announcer]

There's so much content you won't even miss us.

[Clay Travis]

But we'll miss you and look forward to speaking with you again in the new year. Until then, Shield time.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The Team 47 podcast is sponsored by.

[Clay Travis]

Good Ranchers Making the American Farm strong again.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Team 47 with Clay and Buck starts now. We are joined now by Bill O'Reilly. You can find him certainly all over the Internet [e-mail] he's got regular articles there. He is a best selling author who has got one bestseller after another. And we were just actually talking about Whoopi Goldberg said, Bill, that Trump will just have no legacy whatsoever and he will vanish on the idiot show the View that she enjoys appearing on. And Buck and I both feel like Trump is definitely the most consequential figure of the 21st century. And Bill, I said I would put Trump right now behind only Reagan in my life as the best president. Now you're a little bit older than me, but I was born in the last year of Jimmy Carter's presidency. You're a history guy though. Where would you put Trump and how do you assess Biden since we know Biden's 10 years over. How do you think history views this era, those guys?

[Bill O'Reilly]

Well, first of all, we have to take Whoopi Goldberg seriously because she was in a movie called Ghost where she could see everything that happened. So I'm sure that carried over to her real life. And we know she has a PhD in history and political science, a combination which is extraordinary. So we can't just dismiss Ms. Goldberg out of hand. I'm being, of course, facetious. I read a book called Confronting the Presidents, which is right behind Confronting Evil, which is out now. We twinned them up. By the way, you can get both books on Billorilly.com for a very fine price. Now, every time I see President Trump, and the Last time was five days ago in the White House, so he spent 40 minutes with him, he's asking me the same question that you just asked me. So what's my legacy? Am I number one yet? And, you know, I, I can't be blunt. He's never going to be number one. Abraham Lincoln will always be the best president the United States.

[Narrator/Announcer]

So hold up the President. You're in the Oval Office. This is, this is a great scene. You're in the Oval Office with the President. And the president, who trusts your historical acumen, is saying, hey, Bill, how do you rank? This is very, very funny. So he's asking you directly, hey, where do I rank right now? And you told him, I mean, I love this. You told him what exactly?

[Bill O'Reilly]

I told him that, you know, he's going, I should be number one. That's the statement he makes. I said, you'll never be number one. You know me, I mean, I don't pander to anybody. I said, you're never going to be number one because Lincoln was so extraordinary and held the Union together when few other presidents would have been able to do that. But you're in the top 10 right now, and you're the hardest working president of all time. No president has ever approached the work ethic of Donald Trump. And it's not even close. There's not even a close second to that. And I said, but a lot of your policies are yet to be known as far as their effectiveness is concerned. You got the border in your pocket, okay? And you also have accomplishments because you followed the second worst president in our history, Joe Biden. Only James Buchanan, who led up to Lincoln and who was an abject coward and allowed the south to arm itself for four years in preparation of the war of rebellion and began and did nothing, knew it, was too afraid to do anything about it. Worst President ever. Biden's number two. Why? Because in four years, Joe Biden did not solve one problem in this country. Not one. And all my liberal friends who voted for him and Kamala Harris, when I say to them very politely, because I don't get angry about political differences, that's foolish. When I say. All right, give me one thing that he did.

[Clay Travis]

Joe. I'm sorry, Bill, I gotta jump in real quick. You're leaving out that President Biden solved Hunter's legal issues, which, to be fair, he swooped in on that one.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, well, I, I'll. I'll debate you on that anytime you want, but they, The. The people who voted for him cannot come up with one.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, well, they certainly don't care that Hunter got a pardon. Or if they do, I think they don't like it.

[Narrator/Announcer]

But you're right.

[Bill O'Reilly]

If it were Donald Trump Jr. President Trump would have done the same thing. So I'm an honest guy.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Bill O'Reilly]

All right. So Trump has.

[Clay Travis]

I was kidding about the pardon thing. I'm not, I'm not trying to divert you from what you're saying. He clearly is a terrible president who didn't manage to solve much of anything. But I also wanted to ask you, Bill, if I could. The president, the current president, who you say is excellent, not number one, he probably was a little miffed at that, but that's ok. He's an excellent president. He's going on a affordability tour of sorts, going to eastern Pennsylvania, because I think there's a recognition even in this White House that despite the excellent policies, there's frustration with the economy. On affordability. Do you think Trump's making the right move here by going. Do you think that this is something that the White House can successfully address so we don't lose the control of House in the midterms?

[Bill O'Reilly]

Well, on the night before Thanksgiving, I was at the Islander hockey game and the puck was about to drop, and I got a phone call from President Trump right at the game. Now, when a president calls you, you got to take the call. He can't go to voicemail. All right. So I got in a private office, the owner of the team is a friend of mine, and President Trump can proceed to yell at me for 10 minutes. All right. Which is not unusual. And when he gets going, you can't interrupt. He's essence of the disenchantment with O'Reilly was that I was reporting that the affordability situation could very much hurt him because all he has to do is go back to 2018 midterms he got whacked, Trump got whacked and Obama got whacked. And midterms are very difficult to hold power. And the press is pounding every second. Affordability, affordability, affordability. Now, the stats are not bad for Trump. They're not, in fact, on the no Spin news tonight. I'll lay them all out for you. But if you have a specific stat you want, I'll give it to you. Now, the economy is in pretty good shape. Stock market's good, 401k. People, retirement plan, people prospering. You can get a job if you want it. Wages are up, bacon is up. If you like bacon, you're paying more for bacon, okay? But a whole number of other foods are down. So this is a contrived thing with one exception. Insurance costs are killing working Americans, killing them. Health insurance, car insurance, house insurance. That after President Trump got through yelling at me, I said, all right, it's my job to report what's happening, Mr. President, of course, you're not going to like some of it, but I'm fair. This is what you have to do. You got to get out there and you got to tell people in 26, here's what we're going to do to bring down these prices very specifically. So I think he followed my advice, but I'm sure he got that advice from other people as well. I'm not taking credit for it. And he's out in Pennsylvania tonight.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Bill, this is a little bit of a pivot, but the last time we had you on, we had a caller who wanted us to ask you about Patton's death and whether you bought into, and I know you wrote about the death of Patton in your Killing series, what you thought about his death.

[Clay Travis]

He wrote a book, Killing Patton.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yes. Whether what your take is on that death and what occurred.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, first of all, you get all the books, and this is a shameless plug, but you guys are nice. You can get all 13 killing books in the two confronting books in one package on billow reilly.com which will save you hundreds of dollars, Christmas gift expenses because people want these books, okay? So you get 15, you dole them out, you add up the money that you spend on that as opposed to what you would spend on 15 individual gifts. You're way ahead, Billo reilly.com killing Patton. We walked through the whole career of the best American general in World War II, second best in history next to John Pershing. Pershing was the best, okay? Patton was second. At the end of his life, many very strange things happened to George Patton. None of them added up. He should not have died in that hospital in Luxembourg. So a lot of people, including me, suspect that he was murdered. Who would want to murder him? Russia, Stalin, Soviet Union. And they had access because, remember, they were our allies in World War II. Because Patton wanted to fight them. He did not want to stop because he knew that the Soviet Union was going to be replace Hitler and the Nazis as our main enemy.

[Narrator/Announcer]

So when you say he was killed. Sorry to cut you off. Do you mean that in the. Oh, poisoned in the wake of the car accident while he was recovering.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, poisoned in the hospital. And the car accident itself did not make any sense. And we trace it in killing Pat, you can. It did not make any sense. So anyway, that. I'm not a conspiracy guy. You guys know that. I don't deal with that. I am a reporter and what I lay out is 100% accurate. The only resolution to this is to exhume the general's body, which is in Europe and test. They did that for Zachary Taylor. Zachary Taylor got that treatment. Then they won't do it for Patton.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, we have a caller.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Bill.

[Clay Travis]

We had a caller who called in who said. Who claimed that his father was the driver for the car when Patton was in that accident you mentioned. Just wanted you to hear this. This is 31.

[Narrator/Announcer]

You say your dad was driving the car when Patton was killed? When he died in the car accident?

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yes, he was.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Okay, well, what did your dad tell you about that?

[Bill O'Reilly]

He actually died nine days later. He was driving a 38 Cadillac limo and Patton was sitting in the back on the edge of the seat as usual, and they were waiting for a train to pass. And he passed, he pulled away. Got up to about 25 miles an hour. And there was a personnel carrier about a quarter mile down the road that pulled out at the same time. And when they got to each other, the personnel carrier turned right into the Cadillac and Patton flew forward, hit his forehead on the partition between the front, the back, scalped his, you know, put in a scalp himself and broke his neck.

[Narrator/Announcer]

And so from your perspective, your dad told you there is no conspiracy there. It's for people out there that have bought not believe that this was a traffic accident and it was a freak accident in some way based on the speed. But Patton died.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yeah, my dad never talked about any conspiracies about it or anything like that. But I mean, there's three junk TI's that all disappeared. You know, they were in the. That were in the personnel carrier and you know, Patton was starting to do a lot better. And then he died all of a sudden.

[Clay Travis]

Bill, take it away. What do you make of it.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Man? I believe that his father was the driver, the three soldiers he cited that that is unbelievable evidence. I mean, when you get a general, a four star dying in this kind of a circumstance, you interview everybody. Nothing was done. Nothing was done. Washington feared that Patton, that would be Harry Truman, the Democratic Party, because Patton was going to run for president. He's going to come back to the United States and run just as Eisenhower did. And Eisenhower, of course, won. And so there were a lot of reasons that Patton had a lot of enemies. But the big enemy was Stalin and Stalin had access. So I'm not saying that Patton was murdered because I cannot prove it. What I am saying is that you could find out if this general was poisoned or not. And nobody is apparently wants to do that.

[Clay Travis]

So that's the, but the, the, the point about he had a turn for the worse in the hospital. I mean that was, it's interesting that, that he was, it seemed he was getting better then all of a sudden. And so you're saying that all of a sudden to you is very suspicious. You'd like to get to the bottom of it or people to get to the bottom of it with the testing of, of Patton's remains.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Yeah. If you read Killing Patton, anybody very interested? Should we really walk through it in a non hysterical way? So we have all the eyewitness reports in there. And you know, in my style, my style is I'm not boring you. I am moving this story along. But I'm not a guy who ordinarily buys into this stuff. But here you had motive, you had accessibility, you had enemies both abroad and at home. And George is a tough guy. He was a big strong guy. And it just doesn't stack.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Bill, thank you for hanging out with us here. Good Christmas gift, as you said. Bill O'Reilly.com for not only killing Patton but many of the other books in the series as well.

[Clay Travis]

Get the whole series. It's going to get you a great deal.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Bill O'Reilly.com well, I appreciate you having me on guys all year. I wish you the best on the holiday season. One just a footnote real quick. I know you got to hit a break. President Trump asked me to give him Confronting Evil specifically for the chapter on Putin because we trace what has happened to Putin. He's not the same guy that Trump was dealing with in the first term. And the president wrote me a really nice note after he read confronting evil. So I just want you people to know that that is out there.

[Narrator/Announcer]

That's outstanding. Thank you for the background stories. We'll talk to you again probably after the first of the New year. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year to you.

[Bill O'Reilly]

Okay, guys. You too. Have fun. Thank you.

[Buck Sexton]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Bill O'Reilly]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Buck Sexton]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Pressure is coming down.

[Buck Sexton]

This is Trainer Games.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Watch it on prime video.

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[Clay Travis]

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

[Narrator/Announcer]

How are USDA staff cuts and budget challenges affecting farmers?

[Bill O'Reilly]

My dad and I both have a.

[Clay Travis]

CSP contract, but staff can't check the fields to approve them for us to get paid. We're going through a very bad economic time. If we don't have the funds to support our conservation practices, we're going to see a major drop off in producers. I don't know, guys.

[Bill O'Reilly]

This is scary.

[Clay Travis]

I got a young family, a young business and have no idea what's going to happen.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Protect conservation funding and staff that supports farmers paid for by investing our land. Clay Travis with the Clay and Buck show, wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

[Bill O'Reilly]

You're listening to Team 47 with Clay and Buck.

[Clay Travis]

We're just talking to Bill O'Reilly about the situation of affordability. And Bill is saying that that's there's a lot of perception driving that, more so even than the actual cold hard numbers. If you look into it, which I'm sure that is, that is the case. But Trump at an Econ roundtable. Look, he's going to Pennsylvania to address affordability because it's a political issue, whether the numbers bear that out entirely or not. And a lot of people do feel like, well, first of all, prices are high. They've remained high. So you have to get into, ok, is it that affordability is not an issue or is that it's not Trump's fault that affordability is an issue or a whole range of things? But one thing that that is definitely the case that came up is Obamacare. Clay, these new Obamacare premiums, they're just going up and up, up, and networks are getting smaller and smaller. And sure enough, the whole promise of Obamacare has fallen apart. And that's been the case for a long time. Trump here, this is cut 21 was saying, look, it's been great for the insurance companies. It's been really bad for people that actually need health care.

[Pete Hegseth]

Play 21 the insurance companies stock has gone up by 1700%, 1800%. They're taking in trillions of dollars. I don't want to pay the, the insurance companies anything. And I know a lot of them, but they're owned by the Democrats and the Democrats have. Obamacare is a setup to make insurance companies rich. And I want to pay the people and I want the people to go out and buy their own health care. And that's what we want to do and that's what the Republicans want to do. Because Obamacare is a disaster.

[Clay Travis]

Clay. It is a disaster. And it's time Republicans dig into this so that Democrats can't control the messaging going into the midterms, all of health care.

[Narrator/Announcer]

It is a disaster. And I don't care if you're a Democrat, Republican or Independent, nobody has any idea what things cost. Nobody is happy. I would submit to you that everyone's least favorite thing almost in the world is having to get on the phone with an insurance company adjuster and try to explain why you're Being overcharged to the extent that you can even tell what your bill has on it. It is all just a huge game of hide the hide the ball. And what Trump is saying is in essence a very real position. And honestly, I think most people in, out there would probably prefer this. It's let you have the money and then make your own decisions about what health care you need. I don't even think most people realize if they're not the employer, what percentage of your overall salary goes for health care now. But this is crazy. I mean, there are lots of people out there paying 25, 30, $35,000 a year for your health care plans inside of whatever job you get. And you don't see that money. You don't have any idea how it's being allocated. I think huge percentages of people out there listening to us would like to get all of that money tax free to themselves and then be able to make the choices about how to best allocate those resources for them and their family. And so what we basically have is a huge subsidy for all the health insurance companies of America. That is what Obamacare is. And the problem here, Buck, is the math. We have way more older people entering into needing substantial amounts of healthcare than we do young people. And by the way, this is not just for health care. This is Social Security. This is everything. All of these government policies are predicated on constantly having way more young people than we do old people. And in the next 20, 30, 40 years, the reality is we're going to have way more old people than we are young people. And that's true in a lot of countries. And the shell game, the hide the ball aspects of this are going to become more and more prominent and people are going to get angrier because they don't feel like they're getting a good value for their money. I mean, I hate to say it, but this is part of what motivated the UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting. As people are just misallocating anger and in many ways lashing out.

[Clay Travis]

When you see what the real structure of Obamacare is, you have to have a lot of young, healthy people who don't use very much in the way of healthcare resources to spend into a system that is going to put a huge majority of it on older, sicker people. And that's what so the whole system is a redistribution of wealth via healthcare. And then beyond that, there's also people who are getting subsidized in the programs and on these exchanges. That's what was really at issue in this Shutdown. Government just funneling money into it to make it seem not as bad as it really is for individuals. But you have a lot of people who are getting massive subsidies because if they had to pay what the market rate is based upon the system of redistribution, the pricing on this would be insane. I mean, you'd be paying 50 grand a year for health insurance, remember, not for health care. You're still on the hook to pay for your health care. You know, you know, 20% of the 100% of the whatever percent they say is like, you know, customary and normal or however they, you know, phrase the language so that they can play all these games, the insurance companies. So that's a giant mess. And then there's also this because we've been discussing the boat strikes in mostly in the Caribbean against the narco terrorists. This is Trump with ABC's Rachel Scott. A little bit of a back and forth here. There's now a push, Clay, to have the video released, because clearly we have video. Cuz we were. They were under ISR. They're under surveillance. This is cut 20. Trump doesn't like this request.

[Pete Hegseth]

Whatever Hegseth wants to do is okay with me.

[Narrator/Announcer]

He now says it's under review. Are you ordering the secretary to release that full video?

[Pete Hegseth]

Whatever he decides is okay with me. So every boat we knock out of the water, every boat we save 25,000American lives. That was a boat loaded up with drugs. I saw the video. They were trying to turn the boat back to where it could float. Didn't I just tell you that?

[Narrator/Announcer]

You said that it was the most.

[Pete Hegseth]

Obnoxious reporter in the whole place. Let me just say you are an obnoxious, a terrible. Actually a terrible reporter. And it's always the same thing with you. I told you, whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is okay with me.

[Clay Travis]

There you go, Clay, laying it down.

[Narrator/Announcer]

They're trying to create a fall guy here. They tried to create the Admiral as the fall guy. They tried to create Hegseth as the fall guy. They've tried to create Trump as the fall guy. This story, other than on the far left wing, has vanished. As soon as the video was shown in behind closed doors in Congress. Now, I know some Democrats came out and they said, oh my goodness, I can't believe this happened. But the fact that the story vanished kind of tells you what the video is going to show. And I presume the video will show what has been reported already. And the numbers came out from the Harvard Harris poll that I believe it was 58% of Americans support the strikes that are going on with Venezuelan narco boats. 42% disagree. And I bet if you show that video that it'll break down. About 60% of people will say, yeah, I agree with that. And about 40% will say, no, I disagree. But this is the world in which we're in where you kind of have people floundering in every direction trying to find something to be able to pin to Trump. And so far, they really aren't able to find anything. And I think it's going to be a challenge going forward how exactly they convey their anger over Trump. And we come back, we can play audio because Susie Wilesbach is telling everybody that Trump plans to be on the road campaigning, starting in Pennsylvania right now to sell the agenda that he has put in place. And I grabbed a picture. I need to tweet it out again. I think a large degree of Trump's success is just being ignored because he solved things so quickly on the border that almost no one is able to even contemplate how quickly he solved things. And I was reading our buddy Ryan Gardusky this morning as I was doing my prep. The White House has said about 2 million people have self deported and or been removed who are illegals. And Ryan Gardusky looked at the data on newborns in the country and he said, actually, the data does support the idea that there are increasing numbers of people leaving the country because they're not having kids. Non citizens, illegals are not having kids at the rates that they were before. But when you look at the graphic, it's really kind of amazing to see.

[Clay Travis]

Yes, the Trump immigration policies are working in ways that aren't even necessarily at the center of the conversation on immigration, but are very, very effective. On the other side of things. You have Zoran Mamdani in New York City telling people how to telling illegals how to avoid law enforcement. This is cut 24. Listen to this one.

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1.

[Zoran Mamdani]

If you encounter ice, these are the things that every New Yorker should know first. ICE cannot enter into private spaces like your home, school, or private area of your workplace without a judicial warrant signed by a judge that looks like this. If ICE does not have a judicial warrant signed by a judge, you have the right to say, I do not consent to entry and the right to keep your door closed. Sometimes ICE will show you paperwork that looks like this and tell you that they have the right to arrest you. That is false. ICE is legally allowed to lie to you, but you have the right to remain silent if you're being detained. You may always ask, am I free to go? Repeatedly until they answer you. You are legally allowed to film ICE as long as you do not interfere with an arrest. New Yorkers have a constitutional right to protest. And when I'm mayor, we will protect that right.

[Clay Travis]

I just say, imagine if he did.

[Narrator/Announcer]

This for drug dealers.

[Clay Travis]

All of that would be true as well. Let me be clear. Everything that he said there is true in general for any criminal, for any violation of law. All of that is true. But he's doing it for illegals because they're a. They're a. For Democrats. Illegals are a protected class of person, Clay. And this is what is going to continue to be a huge problem from this is what is going to continue to drag them down because they can't avoid that reality without completely inflaming the left wing base of their party.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Yeah, look. And they're on the wrong on this issue. They're on the wrong on every issue, which is why I think you're going to see them just try to pivot and blame Trump for the fact that Biden's inflation drove up the prices of goods so substantially. That's the reality. Even though inflation has come back down substantially. We're at 2.7%. I think target is 2%. People are just angry. And I get it. Because it feels like goods cost more than they should. And until that starts to settle in, that rapid increase becomes embedded into our minds as to what things should cost. This is the pernicious nature of inflation. It is diabolical in its impact to frustrate everyone.

[Buck Sexton]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Bill O'Reilly]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Buck Sexton]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Pressure is coming down.

[Buck Sexton]

This is Trainer Games.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Watch it on prime video.

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[Narrator/Announcer]

Today, we're Living through an exciting moment. When it comes to keeping our brains healthy, American innovators are cracking the code on Alzheimer's. Real breakthroughs. Helping people keep their memories, their independence. Independence, their lives. But here's the truth. Previous administration's policies could slow progress down. Our president is working to cut through the bureaucracy. That's where the Market Institute comes in. Their team is leading the fight to cut red tape, empower patients and unleash innovation. America's got the best doctors, researchers and entrepreneurs in the world ready to defeat Alzheimer's. They're just asking for the government to work for the people. Join the [e-mail] that's marketinstitute.org because when we free the market, we make America healthier. 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.

[Clay Travis]

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

[Narrator/Announcer]

How are USDA staff cuts and budget challenges affecting farmers with conservation?

[Farmer]

I've saved my soil and I provide food for my community. I wouldn't have been able to do that without the NRCS programs. A lot of farmers are thinking that they're not able to farm next year. Crop prices are below cost of production. And so these programs are what keep farmers in the business of farming, protect.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Conservation funding and staff that supports farmers paid for by Invest in Our Land.

[Clay Travis]

Buck Sexton here and the entire Clay and Buck show wish you and your family a warm Christmas season and a joyful new year.

[Narrator/Announcer]

The Team 47 podcast is sponsored by.

[Clay Travis]

Good ranchers making the American farm strong again.

[Bill O'Reilly]

You're listening to Team 47 with clay and Buck.

[Clay Travis]

There's news today that we will dive into shortly about a federal judge now saying that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the alleged MS.13 gang member who for over a year now has been at the center of all these administration efforts to deport this guy. And it's, it's turned into a huge political football. This has turned into Supreme Court weighing in. Guy got sent to El Salvador. We're going to send him to a bunch of other countries, but then we can't. And now you got a federal judge saying got to let him out right now. So we will see. And that's going on while DHS Secretary Noem is up on Capitol Hill. So that's certainly in our sights and an important story. Let's though just for a bit here talk about where we stand on the economy. People are concerned and I hear that concern from many of you that prices are quite high. And I understand the challenge here is it's really hard to bring down prices once they've gone up considerably. And this is a legacy of the madness of COVID I think everyone should keep that in mind. That many of us, well, not many, some of us, there were even some conservatives who were pretty bad on the COVID stuff, especially on, on lockdowns and all the rest of it were saying you can't just tell people, stay home, don't do anything and print money and then you can't just spend as much money as you want to juice the economy after that shutdown. Unfortunately, that is largely what happened happened and we are still dealing with the reality of that. Now I will give you some of these details or we will discuss some of these details. But first up here, CNBC. This is cut 11, Rick Santelli. He's talking some numbers talking trade deficit. Let's hear from the man over at CNBC. Play it. Trade balance minus 52.8 billion. That's a better lower trade deficit than we expected. We were looking for a number closer to 62 billion. And that follows a revised minus 59 billion. Minus 52 billion would be the lightest going back to. Wow, we're really going back. Well, my records go back to 1992 and to find a smaller number than minus 52 billion. We're all the way back to June of 2020. So this is important because Trump is establishing a rebalancing of our global trade, America's global trade with the tariffs. And as I've said all along, you don't have to be an expert in tariffs to understand that something is up. When all of these other countries have tariffs on us, we don't have tariffs on really anyone. And we're the ones who can't figure this out. Or you know, we're the, we're the odd man out, but it's cuz we're so much smarter than every other country. Or is it because we've been convinced by the globalist elite in our own country that entirely free trade that does not take an America first perspective that allows all the offshoring and all the stuff that we have seen decimate the American, for example, American manufacturing sector, auto industry, all these things that that is somehow to our benefit. Well, it's really to the perhaps the stock price benefit of A handful of companies, but. But people are changing their tune on this. They're seeing what's really going on. But the problem is prices. The problem is that stuff is still expensive and people are upset about it. In fact, even here in my home, well, I live in Miami beach, as you know, and that's next door to Miami. I didn't even know this until I moved down here. Technically, different cities, they're not part of one city. And so Miami proper just elected downtown. Miami elected a Democrat for the first time in 30 years. And it was a combination of two things that we're going to have to really get right for the next year for the purposes of the midterm election, but also just because they will be central, I think, to the success or failure of the Trump agenda in his second term. Cost of stuff, particularly housing, young people came out. Miami has become incredibly expensive as a city. It used to be a great deal. I mean, if you, if you were smart enough to come here in 2009, 10, and start buying up some condos, you've done phenomenally well. Now, not so much, but the price of things, especially housing in Miami is very high. So that factors in. We saw this also in New York City when you have mamdaniism largely built around the promise of bringing housing prices down, he's gonna bring the cost of rent down. Now, if you know anything about economics, you know that his solutions to these problems will actually make things worse. But they sound good. And you can get a lot of power by saying things that sound good, no matter how bad the results are actually going to be. One of the issues we're gonna have is that going into a midterm year. Right. We're at the end of year one of Trump's second term. Yeah. A lot of us can point to the status of the Biden economy and what was going on, but that is not going to be compelling enough to win in key in challenging races. Former SEC chair Jay Clayton had this to say about the economy. I thought you should hear this. This is cut 12.

[Bill O'Reilly]

The affordability issue is from the 22% increase in prices, inflation and inflation under Biden.

[Clay Travis]

There's this full stop right there. That's the affordability issue. And you ought to be able to explain that. Right? That's right. And look, I think that with the economic team, President Trump and the economic team led by Scott Bessant, you have people who very much understand this. And it was a. They were, they were thrown. You know what I would say the worst economy for the average American in my adult lifetime. In terms of the, like you said, the incredible increase in prices at the household. This is true and the case has to be made, but it is not sufficient on its own. All of you who call in, write in and say hey guys, hey Clay, hey Buck. The stuff is just too expensive where I am, particularly healthcare, housing, education, these things are just the price are out of control in some aspects, depends on the product. But groceries, gas prices are down. But many of you and the truckers out there, we love our truckers are saying diesel prices are still considerably higher than we would want to see them for a robust economy. Spending at Christmas time. I've seen some of the data on this one. Spending at Christmas time seems to be quite a bit down. People are not shelling out the kind of cash that they did even compared to last year. Now, I think there was tremendous ebullience about the economy because of Trump's victory. So that explains in part why last year people were spending cuz they thought, oh, we're going to have a good economy. And they were right. But now it's twofold. The challenge ahead on prices, affordability, a word I'm as I've said along, you have to prepare yourself to hear about this more than any of us are going to want to. But the power balance in D.C. and therefore the future of the country for the next few years is going to be largely determined. I think based upon that, the two big issues, it's going to be the affordability and immigration. Election midterms. That's what's going to, that's what's going to move the needle. And this is Republicans are seeing this early enough. Thankfully, I'm not having this talk with all of you in August of the election year or September of the election year. Hey Republicans, it's time to make the case. I think they're actually seeing this in advance and they have Scott Bessen, who is both very good at the job of Treasury Secretary and a very good spokesman for what this administration, the treasury, the economy, the Fed, all of this is doing. He's a very good mind, a very good mouthpiece on these issues. But this is what Democrats are going to hammer. They're going to hammer the discontent of the prices. Isn't this the most classic move that the Democrats could possibly come up with? They made it so prices get all jacked up. We told them don't. We said don't do it. This is going back to 2021. We said don't do it, guys. It's crazy. Don't spend the trillions. We've already put a lot, a lot of pressure, a lot of heat into the economy with all the shutdown spending. And that was under Trump. But that was, both sides were saying, oh, the world's gonna end. You know, the whole thing. Trump left it to the states whether to stay open or not. And with the exception of Florida, states generally did not stay open. South Dakota stayed open, but there's not very many people in South Dakota. So that was easier. Most states shut down, as you know. And so we had to do something. There was that whole emergency. But now telling people that the worst inflation in 40 years started four years ago is not really a winning strategy. Right. Or in five years ago. Whatever it's, that's not enough. I think that unfortunately is going to be insufficient as part of the narrative. Which brings me to the solutions and the things that Trump and his team are trying to do. Look at what has happened on trade alone. That's why I started with that. Look at where he is on tariffs. They said the so called intelligentsia. Trump's going to crash the economy based on the tariffs. He's going to mess everything up. No, in fact, the economy, the stock market has been booming, but prices have remained high. The only way to bring prices down is. Well, if we want to get really technical about it, technical about it, you got to see a. You can have a cessation of demand or you could have an increase in supply, but the best thing that we could see is an increase in efficiency of manufacturing of goods and services and spending and investment. And that's what will bring prices down. Mandates the Mamdani approach. Price controls. Price controls not only have made New York City and the whole state of California, but because of government regulation. But price controls in New York City have made real estate far more expensive. Anywhere where they try this, it makes real estate more expensive. And overall price controls in the economy is part of what has destroyed a large part of what destroyed the Venezuelan economy. I mean, there's many things, but price controls is at the heart of it. Oh, we're just gonna seize assets and then we can't make this stuff, we're gonna seize the factories. Right? This is the Maduro approach. We'll seize the factories and we'll make the stuff, but we can't make much money off of it and we're not very good at making it. So we'll just say it has to cost this. Well, that doesn't work that way because you can't make them at that price. So guess what happens? Shortages. And then the black market comes in with the real price. And all of this is very well established. But the Trump team has to get very dialed in on. Here is yes, talk about what the Biden inflation was. And that's why I played that former SEC chair. Talk about what the Biden inflation was, but also how it is coming down, how it is being addressed and how it is going to get better over the next year because of what Trump is doing. Republicans got to focus in on this because it is not an overstatement to say if we have a weak year of not just policy, but a weak year of messaging. And I'm going to say Republicans, where's the big legislation, guys? Ah, the big beautiful bill. Ok, it's a spending bill. Where's the legislation? Where's the, you know, the new approach to health care? Got to get, get together on this one and make some things happen. If you lose the House and you're Donald Trump, then it just turns into, all right, we got to wait for the next election. We got to wait for the, you know, the heir apparent of the Republican Party to take over for MAGA because the Democrats will just, they will, what's the phrase, cut off their nose to spite their face. I mean, they will just make everything stink and then blame it all on Trump. And you know that.

[Buck Sexton]

10 athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points. You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000.

[Bill O'Reilly]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Buck Sexton]

Someone will be eliminated. Eliminated.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Pressure is coming down.

[Buck Sexton]

This is trainer games.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Watch it on Prime Video. Starting January 8th.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Narrator/Announcer]

How are USDA staff cuts and budget challenges affecting farmers with conservation?

[Farmer]

I've saved my soil and I provide food for my community. I wouldn't have been able to do that without the nrcs. Programs. A lot of farmers are thinking that they're not able to farm next year. Crop prices are below cost of production and so these programs are what keep farmers in the business of farming, protect.

[Narrator/Announcer]

Conservation funding and staff that supports farmers paid for by investing our land.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Karen or Georgia from My Favorite Murder]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Buck Sexton]

Goodbye.

[Narrator/Announcer]

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.

[Clay Travis]

Start your seven day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now. This is an I heart podcast.

[Buck Sexton]

Guaranteed human.