Team 47 - Trump IS Fixing the Economy

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

Episode: Team 47 - Trump IS Fixing the Economy
Date: December 21, 2025
Hosts: Clay Travis & Buck Sexton

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the latest economic numbers under President Trump’s return to office, specifically focusing on falling inflation, surging stock markets, and key new policies. Clay and Buck use humor and historical analogy to break down how the economy has shifted from the Biden era’s high inflation to the current recovery, tackling the challenges of public perception, the housing market gridlock, immigration's effect on rents, and recent policy changes like the “Warrior Dividend.” The hosts also engage with live callers—including dissenting voices—to offer a broader debate on immigration and economic priorities as the 2026 election approaches.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Inflation and Economic Indicators: "Falling, But Can People Feel It?"

• Headline: Inflation drops to 2.7%, the lowest since Spring 2021, approaching the Fed’s 2% goal. Markets hit near-all-time highs.
• Clay recounts inflation surging after “trillions poured into the economy” under Biden post-COVID, leading to peak inflation at 9.1% in June 2022 and rapid interest rate hikes.
• “A big part of the 2026 election is going to be based on cost of goods affordability.” —Clay Travis (03:37)
• Notable Quote:
  “As we speak to you, the Dow is near an all time high. The S&P 500 is near an all time high and the NASDAQ is near an all time high. And there’s no other way to spin it.” —Clay Travis (06:33)
• Experts’ reactions (Montage clips: CNBC, Fox Business, Ken Rogoff) echo surprise at the rapid improvement in core and headline inflation numbers.

2. The COVID Aftermath & Economic Pain Under Biden

• Clay outlines how the Biden administration “juiced the economy coming out of COVID,” causing “too many people [getting] cash,” resulting in a "plummeting" dollar.
• Everyday impact: Fast food, groceries, & dining became “shockingly expensive.” (“That $50 used to be, hey, I can go have a sit down meal… Suddenly, everything was over $50 for my family at Chick-fil-A.”—Clay Travis (10:13))
• Skyrocketing mortgage rates froze the housing market: “A lot of you out there listening to me right now, you’re still in those homes. …The overall housing market froze.” (12:05)
• Many with low mortgage rates (2-3%) are reluctant to move, which, alongside high prices, stalls mobility and locks out others from homeownership.

3. Trump’s Economic Approach and Policy Updates in 2025

• Clay describes Trump’s focus: “bringing down interest rates and bringing down inflation and putting more money into your pocket. And it is working.” (14:33)
• But, perception lags reality: “Telling that story is really challenging because you risk sounding like you don’t understand…when you tell people things are getting better, but they can’t feel it yet.” (15:42)
• Historical parallel: Cites Reagan’s slow climb out of Carter-era stagflation; it took time for public sentiment to catch up with economic improvements.
• “By 2028 everything is going to be firing on all cylinders.” —Clay Travis (15:32)

4. Notable Trump Policy Announcements

• The "Warrior Dividend":
  • $1,776 non-taxable payouts to over 1.45 million active military service members announced.
  • “Nobody deserves it more than our military. And I say congratulations to everybody.” —President Donald Trump (20:28)
• Major Tax Cuts and Predicted Refunds:
  • Legislation bundles 12 bills into “one beautiful bill” eliminating tips, overtime, and Social Security taxes for seniors.
  • “Under these cuts, many families will be saving between $11,000 and $20,000 a year. And next spring is projected to be the largest tax refund season of all time.” —President Donald Trump (22:45)

5. Immigration, Reverse Migration & Rents

• Trump claims for the first time in 50 years, more people are leaving than entering the U.S.
  • “For the first time in 50 years, we are now seeing reverse migration as migrants go back home, leaving more housing and more jobs for Americans.” —President Donald Trump (21:46)
• Clay discusses how reduced immigration and increased supply are driving rents down.
  • “Illegal immigrants leaving is driving down the people who are buying up and renting…cost of goods back down to a reasonable area.” —Clay Travis (26:05)

6. Caller Interactions: Perspectives from the Ground

6.1. Andy from Minnesota: Housing Gridlock

• “We’re stuck because we’re at a 2.5% interest rate. I couldn’t afford half the house nowadays at the new rate… We’re stuck here whether we like it or not.” (24:08)

6.2. Gary in Houston: Immigration and Rent

• “The impact of the illegal aliens, the millions of aliens had huge impact on rent, but everything else was… a result of inflated demand and no more supply, everything goes up.” (25:36)

6.3. Bill in Wisconsin: Defending the Biden Economy and Immigration

• Pressed on unemployment numbers, Bill points to historic low joblessness under Biden.
• Advocates for open borders, supports Kamala Harris for her “honesty, integrity, diplomacy and humanitarianism.” (28:41, 29:16)
• Clay challenges him to define an “ideal number” of immigrants, sparking debate on the limits of open immigration and public resources.
• Memorable Moment: Bill identifies as a “white dude for Kamala,” appreciates the open debate, and Clay offers mutual respect for candid conversation.
  • “Thanks for at least having an open end debate. I appreciate that with Americans.” —Bill (29:49)
  • “I actually appreciate when people just own what they think. Most people won’t say what Bill said.” —Clay Travis (30:00)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “That with that is how you feel better about your wallet, about your pocketbook, about the money that you [have]. Trump is trying to tell that story. Now, the challenge is people are angry because of how bad Joe Biden was.” —Clay Travis (14:57)
• “Nobody understood that one until about 30 minutes ago. We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs and the bill helped us along…Nobody deserves it more than our military.” —President Donald Trump (20:28)
• Listener Bill: “Because [Kamala] had, as a frail lady, she had a backbone. She stood. When she made a mistake, she dealt with it. She didn’t blame it on somebody else. She had character.” (29:26)
• Clay Travis: “My argument would be that we should have almost zero people who come into this country and aren’t able to immediately make a living. If you’re going to become a ward of the state…you should never be allowed to come in here.” (33:21)
• Historical analogy: “It took a while for Ronald Reagan to actually start to get popular in this country… By ‘84, the ravages of the Carter era are fading, and Reagan can go out and win 49 states.” —Clay Travis (14:56)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:51] – Show begins, economic data: inflation at 2.7%.
• [04:52]–[07:20] – Expert sound bites & analysis of new inflation numbers.
• [08:00]–[15:30] – Deep dive: Inflation’s effects, Biden’s economic legacy, housing market freeze.
• [20:28] – Trump “Warrior Dividend” announcement for military.
• [21:46] – Trump: First reverse migration in 50 years claim.
• [22:42] – Largest tax refunds expected, policy details.
• [24:05] – Caller Andy: Interest rates and housing market gridlock story.
• [25:36] – Caller Gary: Immigration’s impact on rents.
• [26:49]–[33:21] – Caller Bill: Debate on Biden economy, open borders, and presidential qualities.

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Conclusion

The episode highlights the political challenges of translating economic improvement into voter optimism, and uses a mix of expert analysis, personal anecdotes, and direct listener engagement to illuminate the complexities and “ground truth” of today’s economy as 2026 approaches. With a blend of humor, combative dialogue, and historical context, Clay and Buck offer listeners a pointed but open forum to debate the current and future direction of American economic and immigration policy.

Transcript

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Clay Travis]

Pressure is coming down.

[Buck Sexton]

Trainer Games on Prime Video.

[Clay Travis]

Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

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Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more are back to redefine the game. Unrivaled basketball Season 2, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy tips off January 5th on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max.

[Buck Sexton]

Nothing in life is free except this free $10 that better picks is offering. Download the Better app, pick more or less on player stats, watch the games and win some cash. It's that simple. Must be 21 or older in a jurisdiction where Better Picks operates. Terms and conditions apply. Better Pick Sports just got Better Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you backtested against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures [e-mail] Disclosures A new year.

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[Clay Travis]

Whether you're lighting a candle on the Menorah or placing Baby Jesus in the Nativity, we hope your holiday is full of grace, wonder and love. And maybe even a little snow. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah from all of us at the Clay and buck show. The Team 47 podcast is sponsored by Good Ranch Making the American Farm strong again. Team 47 with Clay and Buck starts now. Inflation has just come in at the lowest level since the spring of 2021, when cost of goods began to skyrocket under Joe Biden as he poured trillions of dollars into the economy in the early days of what I think it's fair to call the worst administration in any of our lives. Inflation comes in at 2.7% again. The inflation goal for the Fed is 2%. We have been fighting our way back down since I believe it was June of 22. Team can correct me if I'm wrong or right on that. I think it was June of 22 that inflation hit 9.1% in this country and necessitated a rapid rise overall in interest rates. I'm going to actually break this down for you because a big part of the 2026 election is going to be based on cost of goods affordability. But I want to give you the latest information. I'll give you a couple of different ways that that this broke down. This was from CNBC economics reporter Steve Leesman. Here he is on cnbc reacting in surprise to the numbers on inflation coming in much lower than expected. Cut to the number of the morning. The CPI. Oh, maybe coming in a little bit better than expected.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

2.7%.

[Clay Travis]

A little light here. I'm not calling. I'm just reading the headlines here.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

Year over year 27 x food and energy core 26 so 410 off.

[Clay Travis]

That is a very good number here. All right. Very good number. That is cnbc. Here is Maria Bartiromo. Side note, I got to meet Maria Bartiromo for the first time. I think it was in early November at a Fox event. And I was just giddy and Buck would tell you this and my wife would tell you this. I got to meet Joe Kernan. I was a kid who liked to watch CNBC back in the day. So Maria Bartiromo, Joe Kernan, for those of you who remember that era when there was no competition. I was so excited to meet her and she, I was just giddy. And the fact that she knew me and she said, oh, I love what you and Buck are doing. That was awesome. Which reminds me, we should get her on the program. But here is Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo as this news comes out, reacting to it. Cut one.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

Inflation's running at maybe 2.9% right now.

[Podcast Announcer]

2.7% year over year. Let me interrupt you. I'm sorry, Steve. 2.7% year over Year is the number we were expecting. 2.6% is on core, 2.6% is core and 2.7% is headline. This is better than expected. We were expecting 3% on core. We got 2.6% CPI for the month of November. We got headline number of 2.7%. Much better than the 3.1% expected. Markets are on the move. Dow Industrials now at the highs of the morning, up 165 on this number.

[Clay Travis]

Okay. As we speak to you, the Dow is near an all time high. The S&P 500 is near an all time high and the NASDAQ is near an all time high. And there's no other way to spin it, says Harvard professor of Economics Ken Rogoff here. He is reacting to it as well. Again, cut three. I mean, I was surprised. It was a better number than anyone was expecting.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

Look, inflation's been very high.

[Clay Travis]

It stayed high.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

It has not been coming down.

[Clay Travis]

But you know, people were expecting it.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

To be above 3%.

[Clay Travis]

It was well below 3%.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

I mean, I think the president will take this as good news. The investors will think that interest rates will get cut more. So, you know, it was, it was a positive news.

[Clay Travis]

There's no other way to spin it. Okay. We're going to get into President Trump's address last night, but this news has come out since then. And you might be saying, okay, Clay, what impact does this have on my life? Why does this matter? Let me kind of lay it out for you a little bit. I get that people are frustrated with what things cost. And let me take you on a little bit of a, of a journey and try to make sense of what, what happened and why you are angry, many of you, including me, at what the cost of goods actually are. When Joe Biden came into office In January of 2021, inflation was right around 2%. That is the Fed's stated target. Very low inflation that is hard to recognize in general cost of goods, 2% inflation almost immediately. The decision that Biden's team made on the economy was we have to juice the economy coming out of COVID There is danger in not spending enough money. We have to make sure that the federal government is the fire hose that is trying to spray as much economic growth as we can create. And remember, Biden came into office and immediately passed and spent trillions of dollars in spending increases because that was their idea. Hey, we can't go too small. We got to put as much money from the federal government into this economy as we can. And what happened almost immediately, overall inflation started to skyrocket because we were giving too many people cash. We were still at that time telling a lot of people, stay home, eat Cheetos, the government's got your back. You don't have to worry about income, you don't have to worry about paying for your cost of goods. And the value of a dollar began to plummet and inflation skyrocketed. And By June of 2022, everything had gone up. We were at a 9.1% inflation rate overnight. And I know many of you felt this. You would go out to get fast food or buy a pizza for your family and everything just started costing way more than it should have. You were looking around, you were saying, how in the world did that pizza cost this much? I have talked about it a lot because the place that my family goes the most often is Chick Fil a. I love Chick Fil a. My boys love Chick Fil a. I've got three growing boys suddenly going through the Chick Fil a drive thru Starting in 2021, 2022, everything was over $50 for my family. That $50 used to be, hey, I can go have a sit down meal. I can go to Logan's Roadhouse. I can go to Applebee's, I can go to Chili's. I can eat an affordable sit down meal with an actual waitress coming to take our order. And all of you felt this. And it wasn't just cost of goods. Because inflation skyrocketed so fast, the overall rate of the fed interest rates also began to skyrocket. And this is where the cost of home started to explode. At the same time that interest rates took off. And for those of you out there that were fortunate enough to buy homes in 2020 or 2021, you got two and a half percent mortgage rates, 15 year, 3%, 30 year rates, all sorts of unbelievable mortgage rates. And then suddenly the mortgage rates skyrocketed to over 7%. And a lot of you out there listening to me right now, you're still in those Homes. And you're saying, clay, I'm not going to move. I've got a 2 1/2% interest rate locked in. I've got a 3% interest rate locked in. So the overall housing market froze because a lot of people that otherwise might have been considering moving to another home because interest rates skyrocketed so fast as inflation skyrocketed so fast, money was so cheap that suddenly we had to raise the cost of interest rates to try to bring down the overall rate of inflation. And this was effectively the story of the Biden administration. So many people got locked in to homes, and so many people got locked out of homes. And instead of in the spring, typically when moms and dads out there say, hey, we got a new kid, it's time to move to a new school district, you're saying, hey, we're not moving. We're locking in our 2 1/2% interest rate. And maybe your kids have left school, going off to college. Maybe you're thinking about retiring. You don't need the same size home you've already had. You're sitting around saying, why in the world would I sell my home when I'm going to have to take on a mortgage that's a lot higher? Price of homes has gone up so much, everything was broken. That's the world in which Trump returned to office in January of 2025. And what he has tried to do is focus on bringing down interest rates and bringing down inflation and putting more money into your pocket. And it is working. Now, the challenge is, I'm not sure that it's going to work fast enough for people to feel it in 2026. If we were having this conversation next year, I think the economy is going to be firing on all cylinders. I think the thing that you care about the most, which is more money in your pocket and the cost of goods increasing at a lower rate than your overall wage growth, is that's the number one. If you told me, hey, Clay, what is the number one economic issue that you think matters the most? It is you need to be making, on average, more money in wage increase than the cost of the goods that you are buying. That with that is how you feel better about your wallet, about your pocketbook, about the money that you There. Trump is trying to tell that story. Now, the challenge is people are angry because of how bad Joe Biden was. And as a result, telling that story is really challenging because you risk sounding like you don't understand what's really going on on the ground when you tell people things are getting better, but they can't feel it yet. That is, to me, the story of 2026. How much does the reality of things getting better start to pierce into the expectations of people on the ground out there? Because things are getting better. The numbers all reflect that. But it takes a while of things being better for people to start to feel it and for the anger of the unprecedented economic failures of the Biden tenure to start to diminish. And this is why I have made the argument. As you guys know, I love history many of you lived through. Took a while for Ronald Reagan to actually start to get popular in this country. He took over for Jimmy Carter, who was an economic disaster. Reagan. It took four years for him to catch fire and for people to recognize that all of the supply side decisions he was making were starting to juice the economy. And the inflation from Jimmy Carter and the interest rates that everybody had to pay on their mortgages. It took a while for people to recognize that things were starting to get better. And some of you who lived through that, remember, people weren't sold on Reagan in 81, 82, 83, and then, lo and behold, by 84, the ravages of the Carter era are fading and Reagan can go out and win 49 states. I'm not sure that we're going to see a huge victory in 2026. I am very confident, based on the decisions that are being made right now, that by 2028 everything is going to be firing on all cylinders. And if you question me, remember where we were before COVID hit in February of 2020. Trump. Trump was cruising to reelection. The economy was probably at that time the strongest it had ever been. Virtually no inflation, mortgage rates were incredibly low borrowing cost. Everything was starting to fire on all cylinders in Trump 1.0. And then what happened, Covid? And suddenly everything got shut down in March of 2020. And we bore the brunt of the disastrous decisions made really, in the early part of the Biden administration.

[Podcast Announcer]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.

[Buck Sexton]

You.

[Podcast Announcer]

You are the fittest of the fit. Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for $250,000. This is where mindset comes in. Someone will be eliminated.

[Clay Travis]

Pressure is coming down.

[Buck Sexton]

Trainer games on Prime Video January 8th.

[Clay Travis]

Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

[Podcast Announcer]

Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more are back to redefine the game. Unrivaled basketball season two, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5th on TNT, TruTV and HBO.

[Clay Travis]

Max, yo, do you know Ball well? Come through with a free $10 from Better Picks. Download the Better app, pick more or less on your favorite player's stats, watch.

[Buck Sexton]

The games and win some cash.

[Clay Travis]

It's that simple. Must be 21 or older in a jurisdiction where Better Picks operates. Terms and conditions apply.

[Buck Sexton]

Better Picks Sports just got better Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like EFTs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors, llc SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosure is [e-mail] Disclosures A new.

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Clay Travis]

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. But that's right. Just fire up the I Heart Rate radio app and kick back with the Sunday hang guaranteed laughs or check out any of our other great hosts in.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

The Clay and Buck podcast network.

[Clay Travis]

There's so much content, you won't even miss us. But we'll miss you and look forward to speaking with you again in the new year.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

Until then, shield time.

[Clay Travis]

You're listening to Team 47. With clay and buck inflation 2.7%, lowest in over four years and the core inflation 2.6%, we are narrowing and increasingly almost to the Fed's overall goal for where inflation should be. Positive news for those of you out there. I think 1.45 million of you that are in the current armed services. Trump announced a warrior dividend. 1700 $76 non taxable lump sum payment. This going to be very popular as we head into the holiday season.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

Cut four because of tariffs along with the just passed one big beautiful bill tonight. I am also proud to announce that more than 1,450 thousand. Think of this. 1,450,000 military service members will receive a special we call Warrior Dividend before Christmas. A Warrior Dividend in honor of our Nation's founding in 1776. We are sending every soldier $1,776. Think of that. And the checks are already on the way. Nobody understood that one until about 30 minutes ago. We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs and the bill helped us along. Nobody deserves it more than our military. And I say congratulations to everybody.

[Clay Travis]

That is very, very positive. So Merry Christmas to many of you out there in the armed services. Let me hit you with a couple of more comments and then we'll go into the phone. Reactions. President Trump, for the first time in 50 years, we are now seeing people leaving the country as opposed to illegals coming into the country. Cut 5.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

The worst thing that the Biden administration did to our country is the invasion at the border. The last administration and their allies in Congress brought in millions and millions of migrants and gave them taxpayer funded housing while your rent and housing costs skyrocketed. Over 60% of growth in the rental market came from foreign migrants. At the same time, illegal aliens stole American jobs and flooded emergency rooms. Getting free health care and education paid for by you, the American taxpayer. For the first time in 50 years, we are now seeing reverse migration as migrants go back home, leaving more housing and more jobs for Americans.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, and one more cut and then we'll go to some of your reactions. Get ready. Trump is saying that the spring tax season unfortunately that we are projecting the largest tax refunds of all time.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

Cut six Next year you will also See the results of the largest tax cuts in American history that were really accomplished through our great big beautiful bill, perhaps the most sweeping legislation ever passed in Congress. We wrapped 12 different bills up into one beautiful bill that includes no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors. Under these cuts, many families will be saving between 11,000 and $20,000 a year. And next spring is projected to be the largest tax refund season of all time.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so that was President Trump last night. We have been laying out exactly what happened. Let me hit you with this, Andy from Minnesota. This is exactly what I'm talking about when it comes to the housing market. So many people who were fortunate enough to get great low interest rates are just not going to move because the interest rates have not come back down anywhere close to what they used to be. Here is Andy in Minnesota. Listen to his story. I think a lot of you will understand and also not along because it is a primary factor here in the way that the economy is stuck, particularly relating to housing.

[Caller]

Andy out of Minnesota here.

[President Donald Trump (clips)]

My wife and I have been talking.

[Caller]

About moving out of this hellhole state.

[Clay Travis]

Into one that more aligns with our belief.

[Caller]

But we're stuck because we're at a 2.5% interest rate.

[Clay Travis]

I couldn't afford half the house nowadays.

[Caller]

At the new rate the housing market has done. We're stuck here whether we like it or not.

[Clay Travis]

And look, I think if you talk to people out there in the mortgage industry, we are going to get another roughly, I think this is my projection in 2026. I think it is likely that we are going to have another three quarter point or one point decline in the Fed rate, which is going to bring mortgage rates back down into the fives. Hopefully the high fours not as good as they were in 2021, but borrowing costs are going to come down substantially. And I think that's going to start to free up the housing market because you might not be willing to move if you're having to go from a two and a half to a six. But if you're going from a two and a half percent interest rate to a four and a half percent interest rate or five percent interest rate, maybe it starts to make a little bit more sense. Let's see, Gary in Houston. You want to weigh in on what President Trump was talking about when it comes to cost of rent. We got about 2 million illegals that have lost the country, left the country, and now rents are starting to dial back as a result. It's basic Supply and demand. Gary, what you got for us?

[Caller]

Well, just as President Trump said, the impact of the illegal aliens, the millions of aliens had huge impact on rent, but everything else was. Was as a result of inflated and supply and demand, a lot more demand and no more supply, everything goes up.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you.

[Caller]

The impact of the illegal aliens, we don't have any idea how much it's cost us.

[Clay Travis]

Thank you. I think he's 100% right. I believe in general that you're going to start to see some of these rents dial back. Look, there are two things that I think are moving in a positive direction when it comes to cost of rent. One is the illegal immigrants leaving is driving down the people who are buying up and renting. Two, supply continues to grow in many parts of the country, and that combination of the two will bring cost of goods back down to a reasonable area. Let's see, we got a bunch of people who want to weigh in. Oh, Bill, Bill. In Wisconsin, you think the Biden economy was actually great?

[Caller]

Well, what was the rate of unemployment? Just tell me what it was then and now. How many were more people employed or less people employed? What's the answer?

[Clay Travis]

Well, the answer is that there were actually. Most of Joe Biden's employment growth was actually in illegal immigrants, Americans who live in the country. This is true.

[Buck Sexton]

Come on.

[Clay Travis]

Come on.

[Caller]

You know, okay, let's talk about the illegals. Let's talk about them. When we didn't have these closed borders, you know, how many illegals were paying taxes to America and they weren't getting Cadillacs and they weren't getting free phones.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, you think we should have more illegal immigration in the country? What is the right number of illegal immigrants that you would like to see here? Because Biden let in around 10 million that we know of illegals into the country. What would the right number have been? Should we have let 20 million in? 30 million? What do you think the right number? We can.

[Caller]

We can do a wonderful job of bringing people into this country without concertina wire and everything else. The right amount of number. So do you want a number? Is this. Here's the right amount of number. The number that the country can handle now.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, what's that number?

[Caller]

I'm not going to say 50 million. Go ahead.

[Clay Travis]

No, what number do you think that is?

[Caller]

Okay, what number? I'll say 10 million.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so you think Biden and the border, because he let in 10 million, you think he did a good job at the border?

[Caller]

Well, were we spending all the money, the billions, maybe trillions on ice. Were we spending all that wasteful money tracking these people down who didn't have half the felonies that your president has?

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so, Bill, how often do you listen to the show?

[Caller]

I listened to a lot. I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh before.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so did you? What. What do I say? Or does Buck say that you agree with?

[Caller]

Well, you do. I mean, yeah, there's, there's points to agree with we can find. You brought up something the other day that I thought, now we're on the same page. You know, I grew up in the era of Dwight Eisenhower and I met. I'm older than you, a lot older. Back then we had something called honesty, integrity, diplomacy and humanitarianism. That's all gone presently. All gone.

[Clay Travis]

It's not for president. Did you vote for President Trump or Kamala?

[Caller]

Kamala, without a doubt. I mean, she's educated.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, so you wish that we had Kamala Harris. You were, I'm assuming, a white dude for Kamala.

[Caller]

Yes, I was a white dude. You're darn right. Because she had, as a frail lady, she had a backbone. She, she stood. When she made a mistake, she dealt with it. She didn't blame it on somebody else. She was. Had character. This guy you've got now, remember, he's a talk show host.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, so am I.

[Caller]

He's a talk show.

[Clay Travis]

How do you think I would do as president?

[Caller]

By the way, I got to say something for you on your behalf. I want to give you a pat on the back. And I'm not joking. Thanks for at least having an open end debate. I appreciate that with Americans.

[Clay Travis]

Well, thank you for listening. Thank you. I do agree we need more debate. Thank you for listening, Bill. I didn't know that Bill in Wisconsin was going to call in and be a white dude for Harris and say, hey, we need more open borders. I actually think that I, you know, some of you are going to say, oh, Bill, you know, it's crazy. I don't agree with him. I actually appreciate when people just own what they think. Most people won't say what Bill said. This is the question. Look, I would love to have Kamala Harris on this program because the question that Bill was asked is one that I think Democrats should have to answer. Ok, we need more immigration. What is the number of people that would be too many to come into the country? Right? Because look, I mean, there are 8 billion people that live in the world right now. 8 billion, okay. We are so incredibly fortunate to be around, I think the population of the United States around 340 million. And here's a great stat for you. How big is this country? Do you know that just in Texas, Every single American could live in Texas on a 1 acre yard, and the rest of the country could still be empty. Think about it. That's how big the state of Texas is, but that's how vast the country is. Okay, but at some point in time, there is a number where we sit around and say, there's 8 billion people in the world. I bet that 7 billion of them, if you ask them, would say, yeah, I would like to live in the United States. I really believe that. I think huge majorities of people in Asia and Africa and Europe and everywhere around the world. I think if you said, despite the fact that people say, oh, they hate America now, you could pick any country in the world to live in, I think about 7 billion of those people, if they were being honest, would say, I'd like to live in the United States. So for those of us that are born in the United States, we have received the greatest gift that could ever be out there, that we were born in America and we get to live in the greatest country, the wealthiest country, the freest country that I believe has ever existed in the history of the world. And the way Warren Buffett puts it is, I think, such a great way of thinking about it. He says, look, if every person in the world was a marble and there was just a big collection of all those marbles, and you had your marble and that represented the life that you are living today, would you trade your marble with a random marble that you could just pull out of that 8 billion? And he says, and this is true, basically, no American should ever make that trade. That is, no matter what life you are living right now, almost every American is wealthier than who you would draw out. This is a good stat. The poorest Americans are far wealthier than almost the wealthiest people who live in most countries around the world. The poorest Americans would be in the top 20% wealthiest people in India right now. Right? The standard of living here, even for the people who are the bottom of the economic ladder in the United States, is vastly higher than almost the peak for the vast majority of the world. So everybody wants to come here. My argument would be that we should have almost, Almost no, almost no, zero people who come into this country and aren't able to immediately make a living. If you're going to become a ward of the state, if you're going to need welfare, you should never be allowed to come in here.

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Clay Travis]

Pressure is coming down.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Clay Travis]

Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

[Podcast Announcer]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Buck Sexton]

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