The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Team 47 – Trump Calls Out Subsidizing Fraud
Date: January 18, 2026
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton (iHeartPodcasts)
Main Guests: Donald Trump (audio clips), Brooke Rollins (Secretary of Agriculture), Ryan Gardusky (Data Analyst/Podcaster)

Episode Overview

This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show delivers a sweeping discussion on health care subsidies and fraud, Trump-era policy shifts, the food pyramid overhaul, inflation in agriculture, and the seismic impact of immigration and census math on American politics. With humor and candid exchanges, the hosts investigate how entrenched government and corporate interests shape rural health care, food policy, and voting power, while shining a light on the underpublicized fraud in federal programs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump on Rural Healthcare and Obamacare Subsidy Fraud

• Trump’s Criticism of Obamacare ([03:33])
  • Rural hospitals devastated by rising health care costs.
  • Only 7% of Medicaid spending reaches rural hospitals; the rest goes to cities and insurance companies.
  • "[Obamacare] was a bill to make insurance companies wealthy. And they did. ... We're going to have that money spent to the people and given to the people, ... circumvent the insurance companies."
• Hosts’ Analysis of Obamacare Enrollment and Subsidies ([04:19]–[06:12])
  • Many enrollees never use benefits; health insurers get paid for non-users.
  • Fraud rampant: Companies profit from unnecessary enrollments.
  • Clay: "A lot of the people in Obamacare never use Obamacare at all, Buck. They don't pay even $5. So the health care companies are getting paid to cover people who either don't need the coverage or don't even know that they have it." ([05:00])
  • It's an elaborate system of subsidies and corporate incentives, not genuine insurance.

2. The Rural Healthcare Funding Shift

• Trump on New Funding for Rural Health ([10:27])
  • $50 billion increased funding for rural healthcare over five years.
  • "We increased funding for rural health care by an unprecedented record setting $50 billion... which will benefit Americans in all 50 states."
  • Clay emphasizes the political and practical importance: “Rural tends to mean red in this country.” ([10:18])

3. The Pervasiveness of Federal Fraud

• Quantifying the Problem ([08:16]–[08:23])
  • Guest Scott Bessen (referenced) and Elon Musk echo: 10% of the U.S. budget—$600–$800 billion—is lost to fraud.
  • Health care and state subsidy programs are the major sources.
  • "We could probably increase GDP by a substantial margin if we just reallocated those resources outside of the fraud category." (Clay, [08:23])

4. Changing the Food Pyramid – “Make America Healthy Again”

• Brooke Rollins (Secretary of Agriculture) on the New Dietary Guidelines ([18:49])
  • Recent overhaul: Pyramid now emphasizes real foods—protein, butter, whole milk, fruits, vegetables.
  • "We have a massive chronic disease crisis ... 40 cents of every American tax dollar goes to treating chronic disease, most of which is tied to poor diet." ([19:49])
• Policy for SNAP Retailers
  • Now required to double healthy food offerings if they accept SNAP, making “real food” more accessible.
  • The shift aims to improve national health, support U.S. farmers, and reduce medical costs.

5. Agriculture Inflation and Cost of Living

• Impact of Biden Administration Policies ([21:19]–[24:19])
  • Rollins details inflation: agriculture labor up 47%, fuel up 32%, interest rates up 73%.
  • Biden-era food stamps (SNAP) up 40%, fueling inflation further.
  • Early Trump 2.0 administration claims some cost indicators are dropping, with more improvement expected.
• Long-term View:
  • Aligning school lunches and nutritional programs with new guidelines incentivizes local food sourcing—"a golden age" for U.S. farmers is predicted.

6. Demographic Shifts and Political Power

• Ryan Gardusky on Census, Immigration, and Electoral College ([36:32]–[47:54])
  • Mass exodus of Americans from blue states, replaced (to varying extents) by immigrants—insufficient to stop seat loss.
  • Projected seat and electoral vote losses for NY, CA, IL, MN, RI; gains for red states like FL, TX, AZ. Impact: Increased difficulty for Democrats to win the presidency post-2028.
  • The inclusion of illegal immigrants in House district apportionment gives blue states extra seats and shifts political power.
  • Gardusky: "The threshold for Maxine Waters ... is much, much lower [to win], because so many are ineligible to vote because they are foreign born residents." ([44:41])
  • If illegal immigrants were not counted in the census, Democrats could lose as many as a dozen House seats.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Clay Travis on Obamacare Fraud:
  "Does that sound like a good system to you? It's waste with fraud." ([05:11])

• Donald Trump on Rural Funding:
  "We increased funding for rural health care by an unprecedented record setting $50 billion over five years, which will benefit Americans in all 50 states." ([10:27])

• Brooke Rollins on the Food Pyramid Shakeup:
  "We flipped the pyramid to your point, and instead of focusing on ... carbohydrates and breads ... we flipped it to eat real food, protein, butter, whole milk, fruits, vegetables. That ... will fundamentally transform our nation." ([19:07])

• On Health and Security:
  "We have a national security issue in this country when three out of four young adults, 75% ... cannot pass our military readiness test." —Rollins ([25:57])

• Ryan Gardusky on Congressional Representation:
  "If you look at a regular district in Ohio, a Republican has to get a quarter of a million votes to win. ... The threshold for ... Democrats in these big blue states is much, much lower..." ([44:41])

• Lighthearted College Football Exchange:
  "Buck. Other than fighting for America, there is no greater pastime than college football, period. Full stop. No arguments, no question." —Brooke Rollins ([29:40])

Timestamps of Important Segments

| Time | Segment/Topic | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 02:54 | Opening: Rural health care roundtable, Obamacare fraud | | 03:33 | Trump audio: Medicaid spending, rural hospitals | | 06:12 | Insurance subsidies, fraud, and Medicaid waste | | 08:16 | Extent of federal fraud, impact on GDP | | 10:27 | Trump: Rural health care funding increase | | 18:49 | Brooke Rollins: New Food Pyramid and health policy | | 21:19 | Rollins on agriculture inflation, SNAP, and Biden era | | 36:32 | Ryan Gardusky: Blue state exodus, census math | | 44:41 | Effect of counting illegals in the census; seat loss | | 47:54 | Political power, decade-long impact |

Tone and Style

The conversation is energetic, direct, and colored by skepticism of government efficacy and progressive policy. The hosts mix humor, data, and pointed critique, giving voice both to political grievances and hopes for reform.

Summary Takeaways

• The Trump team argues that rural America suffered under Obamacare due to subsidy allocation favoring urban and corporate interests—massive fraud and waste prevail in current systems.
• New funding and policy adjustments aim to redirect resources toward rural health and reform SNAP to encourage real food consumption, potentially benefiting both the nation’s health and U.S. farmers.
• The U.S. is facing a crisis in chronic disease, much of it preventable through dietary change and better food policy.
• Blue states are losing population and therefore political power; counting illegal immigrants in the census artificially props up their representation.
• Addressing fraud and changing demographic trends could redefine the balance of power in Congress and the Electoral College for years to come.
• Lighter moments touch on college football rivalries, bringing much-needed levity to complex topics.