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The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Truth with Lisa Boothe: Rep. Byron Donalds on Florida’s Future: Affordability, Epstein Files, and the Fight for 2026
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- [00:00]
Commercial Announcer
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Lisa Booth
Welcome to the Truth with Lisa Booth.
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Where we get to the heart of.
- [02:58]
Lisa Booth
The issues that matter to you today. We've got Congressman Byron Donald on the show. He is the Trump endorsed frontrunner for Florida governor. My home state here in Florida, we've got a lot to cover with him. You know, today the House is going to be voting to force the release of every remaining federal Epstein file within 30 days. And we've already seen some new documents surface, particularly with Jeffrey Epstein texting questions in real time to a Democratic congresswoman who accepted his donations. So I'm going to ask Congressman Byron Donalds about that. How will he be voting? What could we potentially find out in all of this? Also, affordability. That's the buzzword you've been hearing about this election cycle. I'm going to ask the congressman what he plans on doing in Florida as governor and also what Republicans can do about the issue more broadly as we head into the midterms. He also just spoke to a packed at the University of Florida's Turning Point USA event. We didn't do so great as Republicans with young voters nationwide in the most recent election. So what can we do about that? How concerned should we be? All of that and more with Congressman Byron Donald. Stay tuned. Well, Congressman, it's great to have you back on the show. I guess here in the near future it'll probably be governor, appreciate you making the time. I know that, you know, running for office, particularly for governor is a, it's a busy job. So you're a busy man right now.
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Congressman Byron Donalds
A little busy. But it's good to be back with you on your show. We had fun the last time. I'm looking forward to the conversation again.
- [04:33]
Lisa Booth
And you'll be my governor as a Floridian. So you know about that. Why'd you decide to run? You've been in Congress for a little bit. You've got a big profile there. You know why, Governor?
- [04:47]
Congressman Byron Donalds
Well, I think it's now about taking our state to another level. Governor DeSantis has done a great job. Rick Scott before him did a great job for our state. And now it's about preparing Florida for its future growth, future economy, while also maintaining the foundational conservative principles that have made us the best state In America, we have people who are gonna move to our state. We have young people who wanna build careers and continue to afford Florida in. And my career, my banking and finance background, coupled with my experience being in the state House and now in the US House, I think makes me uniquely positioned to lead Florida into the future.
- [05:29]
Lisa Booth
You know, it is a tough state. We have a lot of natural disasters, obviously, you know, every hurricane season, you know, there are some issues with affordability, some concerns among, you know, Floridians. I've got skyrocketing property insurance premiums, you know, housing shortage. Affordability is sort of like the buzzword of the election cycle. What can you do about it as governor?
- [05:50]
Congressman Byron Donalds
A bunch of different things. One, you know, I really look forward to the governor in releasing his proposal on homestead property tax elimination. I support that. Want to see how he's going to navigate the state in that direction. I look forward to supporting his proposal. I think that's a big step forward. Hopefully he and the legislature can get that done so that the voters can vote on that next year. Two, continuing to push down insur rates in our state. The reforms that were done around the legal system a couple of years ago were a great start. We have to be committed to those policies. We're going to stay consistent with those policies and then think about other ways that Florida can continue to push down insurance rates. Three, one of the things that I'm focused on is reforming all local government and statewide permitting and planning offices. They have to be ruthlessly efficient. It can't take two years to put a shovel in the ground because that, that is not going to help our state in terms of affordability. So whenever you're constructing anything, if you are spending a year and a half to two years to get permits from government, what that does, it adds more cost to the overall development and that's always going to be borne by the consumer. So those are three big areas where the state can do meaningful things to help address the affordability issues of Florida.
- [07:12]
Lisa Booth
Yeah. A recent Florida Atlantic University poll found that 68% of Floridians say cost of living is top concern. You might get more New New Yorkers heading down to Florida as well after Mamdani's victory. You know, you've been endorsed by President Trump, Obviously, you know, Governor DeSantis, you know, ran against President Trump unsuccessfully in the primary. Do you feel like, is there like a turf war going on with this governor's race? Do you feel like you're caught in the middle of it at all or sort of what are you seeing as you look at sort of the broader landscape and the political landscape in the state?
- [07:44]
Congressman Byron Donalds
Well, I mean, turf war might be a bit much. I think right now, the people are trying to figure out if they can mount a campaign to rival my campaign for governor. And that's part of the process. You know, it goes with the territory. We'll see what happens. And I think some people are trying to figure out how they can get in and get their footing. I think, broadly speaking, I think, you know, when it comes to the governor, he's done a great job. I've been supportive of his policy positions and what he's done for the state. I'm going to build the state into the future. On top of the work that he's done, we're going to keep everything that he's done in place. And I think that he and I will have an opportunity to sit down and just kind of go over things and have a really broad discussion about how to move Florida into the future.
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Lisa Booth
Yeah, no, he has been a great governor. Obviously, I wasn't there when Rick Scott was there, but I've heard good things about his time as well. So we've been blessed to have some really strong governors in the state.
- [08:38]
Congressman Byron Donalds
Today.
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Lisa Booth
The House is gonna be voting because you're still there for right now, so you still got to deal with all that stuff. Yeah, you know, they're going to be voting on the Epstein files, on releasing the Epstein files. Essentially, what this would do is, you know, force the immediate release of all federal documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein in 30 days. The victim's names would be redacted. You know, how will you be voting? And, like, why has this taken so long? What might we learn?
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Congressman Byron Donalds
Well, I'm going to vote for the release. This is something I've been on the record a couple times about this. I'm going to vote for the release. I voted for the Oversight committee proposal, which allowed us to receive documents from even the Epstein estate and begin to go through those documents as well and release those. And that process is ongoing. I do have concerns. The concern I have primarily is for the victims who do not want to come forward. I think there are victims, obviously, they've been here on Capitol Hill who want everything released, and they've come forward about what was done to them, and my heart goes out to them. But there are victims that have not come forward, and actually, they don't want to have to go back through this. So whatever that redaction looks like, it needs to be very thorough because you don't want somebody to essentially be outed. That's a victim that has moved on with their life. They might have kids now, a new relationship, a husband, family, and you don't want them to have to go back and relive this. And so that's the thing that I've always thought about in this entire saga. But, I mean, in terms of releasing. Look, I think it's time for. For transparency. So I'm going to vote to release the files, and we'll see where we go from here.
- [10:15]
Lisa Booth
You know, it's always a delicate dance with all this stuff. Like, we've seen your colleague, Thomas Massey say that he is willing to name names on the House floor because he would be insulated from, you know, defamation lawsuits and things of that nature. Like, I mean, I do believe in due process. And so, like, if you name names and they don't have the, you know, the proper avenue to sort of, like, adjudicate it and to, you know, correct the record or, you know, sort of force documentation or any sort of backing of that to prove it to be true. I mean, like, I feel like that's, like, a little bit reckless. What's your sentiment on that?
- [10:49]
Congressman Byron Donalds
If you're a pedophile, hey, you. You victimized young women, and you have to reap the whirlwind of that. You have to pay the consequences. But I also do think there could be people in those files who did not do anything, but now they're gonna have to defend themselves in the court of public opinion. And that does kind of erode due process. Every American is afforded that, regardless of whatever you think of the circumstances that might surround that person. And so this is a new territory. This is new territory for Congress. We've never released criminal files ever in the history of the United States of America. We've never done this. And so I think that, you know, as this goes forward, my hope is people kind of have cooler heads as these documents come out and try not to rush to judgment against somebody who may not have done anything wrong and. Or try to leave the women alone who are victims, who just don't want to come forward. I think that's going to be critical in this whole thing going forward.
- [11:47]
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- [11:47]
Lisa Booth
Because, I mean, we saw with Brett Kavanaugh, you know, sort of he was maliciously lied about, and, you know, we had to have hearings, and then it ended up that Christine Ford was actually the one who had been lying. But, you know, it's. Yeah, like, I just. You know, I have three brothers. I have a Great, dad. Like, I just. I don'. You know, I don't believe we should just be able to smear men for the sake of it, you know, Listen, it.
- [12:10]
Congressman Byron Donalds
It takes years to build a reputation. It takes a day to tear it to shreds. We gotta be really mindful about this, but I'm gonna vote for the release, but I think going forward, we gotta be really mindful about how this is gonna happen into the future.
- [12:22]
Lisa Booth
Totally. And then we. We found out, like, you know, weird things like your colleague, Democratic Representative Stacy Plaskett, that she was, like, texting with Jeffrey Epstein during a House Oversight committee hearing featuring testimony from Michael Cohen. And then, you know, this had happened after Epstein was already a registered sex offender since 2008, and he had donated to Plaskett campaigns and owned properties in our U.S. virgin Islands district. Like, I. I wonder what else, like, sort of weird things we're gonna find. Were you surprised to find that out or. Or had you known that prior? I hadn't heard that before, to be honest.
- [12:57]
Congressman Byron Donalds
I wasn't overly surprised because we've known for a long time that the Democrats, they have these conduits into recesses of our government recesses around the country where they weaponize information for political purposes. I mean, look, what Stacy Plaskett did is that she was in cahoots with Epstein to try to get Donald Trump. I mean, that's what the Democrats have spent the last decade doing. And it's disgusting, really. So I think members on the Hill have been talking about, are they. Do they want to bring a central resolution? Because you had somebody getting texting with Epstein to try to get the President of the United States. That's disgusting and it's wrong. And it's the weaponization of government that voters across America. You don't even have to be MAGA or be a Republican. I think voters across the country are sick of this. If you have the goods and the details and the evidence on somebody, then bring your case. But to try to manufacture evidence or try to collude with some of the worst people, like a Jeffrey Epstein to try to get Donald Trump or get. Forget Donald Trump for a moment, to try to get a political rival is obscene. It's reckless. It's part of the reason why Washington is so badly broken. And that's why so many Americans are just starting to just distrust politics writ large.
- [14:17]
Lisa Booth
But it also sort of like, perfectly sums up the Democrat Party today. Like, they hate President Trump so much that they're willing to collude with a registered sex offender. To try to bring him down. Yet they're the virtuous ones. You know, like, it's like, it's like they're willing to burn the country down and like, burn down due process and burn down the rule of law and like, burn, burn it all down. Because somehow stopping Trump is better than, you know, burning it down or working with a registered sense of sex offender. I mean, I feel like. Don't you feel like that just like perfectly kind of sums up the Democrat Party today?
- [14:54]
Congressman Byron Donalds
It does. I mean, the Democrats are the epitome of the ends justify the means crowd. They will go to any lengths to maintain political power. They will go to any lengths to destroy somebody they believe is going to stop them from accomplishing their agenda, not just beat them in a political election, not win a debate or an argument on the merits. I mean, pure and outright destruction. That's how far the Democrats have gone. And so, you know, as a conservative who's been in the movement for 15 years, the thing that we always have to be mindful of as conservatives is that do we have to be tough? Absolutely. Do we have to fight back against the Democrats? Absolutely. But we also have to be mindful to not also become the ends justify the means crowd, because that's actually how you end up destroying the very republic that we wanna save.
- [15:48]
Lisa Booth
Gotta take a quick commercial break. More with Congressman Byron Donalds on the other side.
- [15:53]
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- [18:15]
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- [18:58]
Lisa Booth
Do you think President Trump took too long with, you know, calling for transparency with the Jeffrey Epstein? Because like obviously the Democrats, you know, they smell blood in the water. I think at this point we would know if there were anything, you know, deeply concerning with President Trump. And I mean, obviously he knew him. We all know that a bunch of people knew him. He was popular in wealthy circles in New York City. Right. Do you think it would have been better politically for him to just, you know, kind of get this all out in the open or. I mean, I don't know what the backstory is there.
- [19:26]
Congressman Byron Donalds
Look, I mean, I wish we just kind of got this stuff out there and moved on. But I think from if I'm a walk a moment in President Trump's shoes, he's running the country. When he came in or came back, I should say, as the 47th president, the country was a flat out mess. So he was doing all the things he campaigned on, closing the border, beginning deportations, trying to get us out of these conflicts, bring some of these wars to a close, strengthen the United States military, get recruitment up, rebuild our economy. And so he's doing all this work. But. But the Democrats and the media and some of my colleagues on the Republican side just wanna talk about Epstein. So I think he was more frustrated than anything. If I was in his shoes, I would be frustrated. Cuz I would say, why are we talking about this when I've been doing all these other things that I campaign on to deliver for the American people? So I think it was probably born out of frustration. We kind of just got the things out there and moved on. But I think people need to understand this Epstein saga. The reason why it's become so big is because the Democrats were losing on every major policy facing the United States. Every single one. And it wasn't close. So they were looking for something to fight Donald Trump on and they just, and they chose this one. And so I'm glad we're going to be voting in the House today. We'll get this thing through and then we're going to move on and we're going to get back to the business of making America great again.
- [20:51]
Lisa Booth
I think that's fair. You know, you spoke at a TP USA event recently at University of Florida. You know, we Republicans, we didn't. We, you know, we had some losses with younger voters in these recent elections. I guess I don't even know what, what day it is. Unlike on November 4th recently. I don't even know how long ago that was. I've been traveling so much and I'm sure you probably feel the same way with all the stuff you've got going on. I'm a little bit worried about this midterm election only just because, you know, typically the President's party loses seats in the House. And then I think Democrats have figured out that like, they're really weird on some of these issues. And so now they're kind of trying to focus on like affordability and some of the bread and butter issues. And I just worry like they are motivated together to stop President Trump. Right. And like, President Trump's not gonna be on the ballot this November. So I'm a Little bit worried about, like, how do we motivate our people to like get excited and to get out?
- [21:50]
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Are we doing enough?
- [21:51]
Lisa Booth
And like, what should those issues be? Like, how do we get our people out?
- [21:57]
Congressman Byron Donalds
I don't think we're doing enough to be with you. I think that the same angst and motivation that the political apparatus writ large had in 2024, we don't have that same level of urgency right now. I see it around me. Meanwhile, the Democrats obviously are extremely motivated. I'll take the governor's race in New Jersey. Jack Ciattorelli had 150,000 more votes in this election than he had four years ago. But Mikey Sherrill, somebody who you couldn't even pick out of a lineup, had 400,000 more Democrats show up to the polls. What that tells me is, is that Democrat voters are very motivated. So we have to meet that head on. I think the number one way we deal with that is being focused on affordability. And I do agree with that. Because the Democrats broke the economy, they caused the inflation. Every kid trying to figure out how they're gonna buy a home or buy a parent with kids trying to figure out how they're going to afford their insurance to put food on the table. All those issues were caused by the Democrats. So as Republicans, we cannot let the arsonist now become the fireman. Essentially, we got to take pride in our solutions to bring prices down. Gas prices are down, energy prices are coming down. Inflation rates compared to the Biden and Harris inflation rates, they're down too. Homeowners, inflation, insurance rates are also down. I think what's also gonna happen by next year, the president's agenda, where we cut taxes for middle income families all across America. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on a large segment of Social Security. I think all those tax policies are gonna come home for people. They're gonna see that in their lives by the time we get to the midterms. But we cannot give up the mantle of fighting for lower prices and a healthy economy and a strong job market or it's always the economy, stupid. And I think that we have to be uberly focused on that as we move forward. It's all hands on deck approach. I think every race matters, every message matters. It has to be about the American people putting food on a table, keeping a roof over their head, being able to afford the American dream. That's gonna be the elections of 26. And the Democrats are just gonna lie and use socialism and communism like Mamdani to say that they're gonna provide all these things, but they've never been able to do it. They've been wrong every single time economically, and they're gonna be wrong in 26. Look, I'll give you an example. Obamacare, the premiums are through the roof. And the Democrats argue for more subsidies, but the subsidies are not gonna fix the problem. The problem is their policy has allowed health insurance premiums to triple, if not quadruple, over the last decade. That's Democrat policy. They don't wanna change it. Republicans, we have to have a healthcare plan, a serious one, that brings down costs and has a market system that works for the American people. That's the type of urgency we have to have as a party if we want to win in 2026. Donald Trump is the best. Donald Trump is doing his job. Republicans can't just rely on Donald Trump to carry us across the finish line every single time. It's not fair to him. But more broadly, it's not fair to the American people.
- [25:17]
Lisa Booth
You know, you're right. It is. It's. It's. It's got to be frustrating because it's like, you know, Democrats broke it, and then, you know, we're trying to fix it, and then, you know, but then they're like. It's like they. They broke the economy, and then they're, like, running on affordability to, like, fix what they broke, you know, or you look at places like New York City. I mean, Democrats have been in charge for, I think, like, 18 years. I can't even remember, like, forever. Right. Since Bloomberg.
- [25:42]
Congressman Byron Donalds
Giuliani.
- [25:44]
Lisa Booth
Yeah. Or I think since. Or I guess Bloomberg is a Democrat. Yes. And so it's been forever in New York City. And, you know, but then they're. Instead of realizing that, like, okay, maybe we need some changes here, it's like they're going. They're like tripling down with the socialists who's going to, you know, ruin this city even more. Do you think that that is instructive of just, like, a very liberal city, which is New York City, or do you think that, like, that is the direction that the Democrat Party is heading in, more broadly speaking, like this socialism, this embrace of socialism?
- [26:19]
Congressman Byron Donalds
Well, Juan, the Democrats are definitely going down the road of democratic socialism, which really is communism. I mean, even if you look back at what the Communists were saying a hundred years ago in America, they knew they couldn't win as Communists, so they started calling themselves Democratic Socialists. So that's who they are. But I think the broader thing is if you take New York A lot of Republicans, a lot of common sense people, they came to Florida, they went to Tennessee, they went to the Carolinas. They left New York because of terrible policy. I think also, if you look at the election of Mamdani, yeah, Mamdani had a little bit over 50% of the vote or whatever the final total was. But he was running against Andrew Cuomo. I mean, Andrew Cuomo, his policy led to the death of senior citizens in nursing homes during COVID 19. He's not the greatest candidate in the world. And no disrespect to Curtis Sliwa, but Curtis Lewa was just not gonna resonate with New York today. It just wasn't gonna happen. So I think the Mamdani phenomena is, in part, the Democrats long march to Marxist policies, calling it Democratic socialism. But it's Marxism. That's what it is. But number two, he also wasn't challenged by a young, vibrant conservative who believes in sound economics, sound business principles, law and order, safety and security, better schools for young people so they can be economically viable. And I think if we actually have that debt on an election stage, I think a Republican wins 10 out of 10.
- [27:46]
Lisa Booth
No. In Congress, maybe before we go, there seems to be, at least online, so, you know, who knows if this plays out in the real world, but there seems to be a lot of fracturing in the Republican Party. I guess I didn't really realize how much of a glue Charlie Kirk seemed to be in the Republican Party and sort of keeping everyone together. And then sadly, since it's passing, it's like everyone's at each other's throats. And it's like there's already sort of this fight for 2020 in the presidential election, it seems, and, like, accusations flying. You know, we saw the whole thing with Heritage and Tucker, you know, and it's like everyone's just at each other's throats. Like, how do we keep the Republican coalition together? I'm just a little bit worried at an election cycle where it's already going to be tough and then we're fractured. Like, how do we pull this thing together?
- [28:32]
Congressman Byron Donalds
I believe we have to be united by principle. That's what our party has always been, our movement, really, to a broader degree, we've always been aligned by principle. The Democrats, they are a fractional party. They have these various segments that all believe different things, but they know the only way to accomplish it all is to stay together, and that's what they do. Our party is not that way. Our party is based upon a strong set of ideals. Republicans are the party that was formed to free the slaves. We are the party that always supported civil rights. We are the party that supports legal immigration. We are the party that supports controlled immigration, that can actually have people assimilate into the American way of life based on Western civilization and Judeo Christian values. We're a party based upon merit and opportunity. That's who we are as a party. We're a party of free speech and free expression and yes, some organizing, but that's who we are. And I think as long as we stay committed to that, a party based upon capitalism, not cronyism, not corporatism and not other policies like that. We are a capitalist party. That's who we are. We're a capitalist movement, but we believe in the free exchange of not just ideas, but the free exchange of labor for value. That's the bedrock principles of what we are. And I think as long as we stay tied to those principles, our movement will be just fine. I agree with you that I'm a little concerned about some of this fragmentation. I think a lot of this is the positioning for future elective office. But, but in the wake of Charlie's assassination, it's also in part trying to grab the wheel of the void that his assassination has created. And I think that voices in our movement or voices in the general movement who are now trying to point fingers at Israel or trying to point fingers at people who've immigrated legally to the United States, I think that's wrong. Israel is our ally. We should stand behind them. It doesn't mean we agree with everything that Bibi Netanyahu does. But I'll tell you this. I'd rather stand with Israel than stand with utter chaos in the Middle East. Definitely not gonna stand with the Iranian regime. They're crazy and they wanna see a demise of the United States and a demise of Western civilization. So I think we just have to be very clear about where we stand. I think people who decide that that's not good enough for them. I don't know what to tell em, but I would tell those folks who are really concerned about their economic futures and looking for somebody to blame or hold accountable. The best thing to do in my opinion, is to stay committed to the principles of liberty, the principles of freedom, the principles of strong capitalistic economic growth. Because those principles are what allow most people to thrive. And that's what will allow the United States to continue to thrive not just for another couple of years, but for another 250.
- [31:19]
Lisa Booth
All right, Congressman Byron Donalds. We'll leave it right there. Appreciate you for making the time, sir. Thank you so much. Always great to catch up with you.
- [31:26]
Congressman Byron Donalds
Always take it easy.
- [31:27]
Lisa Booth
That was Congressman Byron Donald. Appreciate him for taking the time to come on the show. Appreciate you guys at home for listening every Tuesday and Thursday, but you can listen throughout the week. Also want to thank John Casio, my producer, for putting the show together. Until next time.
- [31:41]
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Then the space hamster flew his hot air balloon all the way to the bottom of the ocean.
- [31:48]
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Nope.
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