Bonus: Daily Review with Clay and Buck – February 17, 2026

Podcast: Verdict with Ted Cruz (Premiere Networks)
Date: February 17, 2026
Hosts: Clay Travis & Buck Sexton
Featured Guest: Congressman Jim Jordan
Special Topic: Buck Sexton's book launch – Manufacturing Delusion

Episode Overview

On this special episode, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton present a news-packed day reflecting on media, politics, and societal debates, with a strong focus on Buck’s new book Manufacturing Delusion. The show marks the 5-year anniversary of Rush Limbaugh’s passing and includes an extended conversation with Congressman Jim Jordan about immigration, House control, and the Democratic Party’s direction. The episode's tone oscillates between somber reflection, direct political critique, and light-hearted banter.

Main Themes & Purpose

• Honoring Rush Limbaugh: Remembering the influential broadcaster five years after his death and reflecting on his legacy.
• Book Launch: Buck Sexton's Manufacturing Delusion is out, prompting deep dives into left-wing “brainwashing,” propaganda, and mind control as themes.
• Transgender Issues & Mass Shootings: The hosts engage in a contentious discussion linking transgender identity, media handling, and high-profile mass shootings.
• Immigration & Sanctuary Policies: Congressman Jim Jordan unpacks America's immigration challenges, focusing on sanctuary jurisdictions and legislative efforts.
• Media Bias & Campaigns: Analysis of mainstream media's political leanings, FCC equal time doctrine, and late-night comedy's intersection with news.
• 2026 Midterm Preview: Assessing Republican strengths, campaign strategies, and the importance of House/Senate majorities, with Texas races as a case study.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rush Limbaugh's Anniversary & Show Dedication

• Clay opens by paying tribute:
  • “Five years ago today...was a very tough day for many of us and we are conscious of that and thinking about the Limbaugh family as we are moving throughout the course of today’s program.” (00:04)

2. Buck Sexton's Book – Manufacturing Delusion

• Overview of Book Content:
  • Themes: Leftist propaganda, “menticide” (mind control), CIA experiences, transgenderism, and cultural zeitgeist.
  • “It’s really about the tactics and history of mind control and how you can make people go crazy basically, or how people allow themselves to be made crazy.” – Buck (01:16)
  • “I talk about my CIA missions to Nigeria, to Mosul, Iraq, to Baghdad, to Afghanistan. I mean, things I’ve never talked about...” – Buck (02:28)
• Book Launch Appeal:
  • Buck urges listeners to buy and help him top liberal author Jon Meacham:
    • “Help me beat his book. You listening to this can help me beat the book today...do me this solid, and that is the way that you can show the libs that the right still reads.” (05:45)
• Audiobook Announcement:
  • “I did the audiobook at your suggestion...If you download the audiobook, it’s me reading it to you.” – Buck (07:27)

3. Transgender Issues & Recent Shootings

• Discussion of Mass Shootings by Trans Individuals:
  • Clay details several recent incidents, lamenting media coverage and what he views as societal dishonesty:
    • “And now you see in Rhode Island, a...guy who was pretending to be a woman shot and killed two people...The narcissism on this...is off the charts.” – Clay (08:22)
• Critique of Affirmative Care:
  • Buck and Clay sharply criticize affirmation models for gender dysphoria:
    • “This is not treated necessarily...as a mental illness...It is a civil rights issue. Now, what happens if you have mutilated your genitalia...and then you turn around and someone goes, no, this was all a lie?” – Buck (11:02)
    • “We have been sold a bill of goods on this, which is that affirming someone’s insanity actually makes them healthier...” – Clay (12:56)
• Notable Quote:
  • “Crazy people need help. They do not need applause for their craziness.” – Buck (12:34)
• Pattern Recognition:
  • Four trans-related shootings in last 18 months are characterized as ideological and psychologically unstable mass murders:
    • “Mass acts of mass murder that are really acts of domestic terrorism in a sense... this is ideologically driven. Now, these people are also crazy.” – Buck (15:23)
• Context to Book:
  • Buck ties the discussion to themes in his book, arguing these trends are the result of “systematized” cultural brainwashing (16:03)

4. Immigration, Sanctuary Policies, and the Law

• Detailed Policy Analysis:
  • Congressman Jim Jordan joins to explain Democratic threats to government funding, and the legislative battle over sanctuary jurisdictions.
  • “What’s happened in now almost a third of the country...left wing political officials tell their local law enforcement don’t work with federal law enforcement when you have...an illegal migrant who’s also been charged with some other crime...” – Jim Jordan (19:12)
  • High numbers: “31% of the population of our great country...living under [sanctuary policies] as we speak.” (21:03)
• Legislative Response:
  • Jordan outlines new bills to reaffirm federal preemption over immigration:
    • “We’re gonna try to help them by passing legislation out of our committee next week which would address that fact and say, no, no, federal law preempts.” (21:57)
  • Includes grant penalties for sanctuary states and a private right of action for victims (22:37)

5. Maintaining House & Senate Control

• Campaign Strategy:
  • “Go tell the people what you did...And you can say, we’ve secured the border, we’ve cut taxes, record tax cut, record time in securing the border. We gave school choice to parents...And then I think it’s always important...to remind the voters what happens if the left gets back in charge.” – Jim Jordan (23:47)
• Critique of Dem Moderates:
  • Clay: “She has gotten in office and...they have embraced far left wing crazy town agendas...She in one month has demonstrated that she is actually a radical leftist.” (25:10)

6. Media & FCC Equal Time Doctrine

• Colbert Show Controversy:
  • CBS pulls Dem candidate James Talarico’s appearance out of equal time concerns, which Clay connects to Dem primary maneuverings in Texas:
    • "If Jasmine Crockett is the nominee, there is a zero percent chance that Republicans have to worry about the Democrat in that race at all." – Clay (37:38)
    • “Brendan Carr is 100% right on this. You can’t have late night talk shows... and only allow Democrats on as guests to basically make their political arguments on the show.” – Clay (43:01)
• Media Bias Commentary:
  • Buck highlights entrenched media advantage:
    • “We have had Democrat dominance of the media under the guise of it being journalism, under the guise of it being neutral for our entire lives... CNN is a Democrat organ. New York Times is a Democrat organ.” (40:03)
• Comedy, Propaganda, and Politics:
  • “The Daily Show...was really a propaganda show. The whole point...was to push Democrat themes through the prism of comedy.” – Buck (44:38)
  • Trump praised as a uniquely funny politician with enormous communication power. (45:43)

7. Texas Primaries & 2026 Elections

• Republican Senate Candidates:
  • “Wesley Hunt, John Cornyn and also Ken Paxton all running on the Republican side...all three of them are seriously contending and whoever wins that Republican primary will likely be the next Republican senator from Texas...” – Clay (33:08)
• Democratic Primary Dynamics:
  • Discussion of James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett, and the establishment’s preference for a more viable general election candidate.

8. Book Culture & Conservative Media

• Reflections on Author Community:
  • “You really do in this business...find out who your friends are at book launch time. ...You see who’s for real and who is...in the cheap seats.” – Buck (48:14)
• Show's Role:
  • Clay: “It is hard to sell books and ideas matter and making strong arguments matters.” (50:04)
  • “I think we have something of an obligation with a platform this big to have people who are writing good...We need good books to be written about what we believe and about what matters to us.” – Buck (50:57)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Menticide and Propaganda:

  • “A very formerly very well known and prominent psychiatrist named Dr. Juice Meerloo coined the phrase, wrote a book called Rape of the Mind where he goes into it's really a step by step of how you break people down, how you decondition them, how you radicalize them.” – Buck (01:50)

• On Transgender Violence:

  • “We have been sold a bill of goods on this, which is that affirming someone's insanity actually makes them healthier...” – Clay (12:56)
  • "Crazy people need help. They do not need applause for their craziness." – Buck (12:34)

• On Media Manipulation:

  • “We have had Democrat dominance of the media under the guise of it being journalism, under the guise of it being neutral for our entire lives. This is just finally now faded away...” – Buck (40:03)

• On Political Authenticity:

  • “Trump is maybe the most transactional president that we've ever seen in that he said, here's the list of things I'm gonna do...and then he got into office and he basically just went right down the list. Check, check, check, check, check. Whereas they [Democrats] lie and do the opposite...” – Clay (25:10)

• On the Modern Left:

  • “The divide in America today is normal versus crazy. And you can go down the list of all the crazy policies the left has.” – Attributed by Jim Jordan, quoting Sarah Huckabee Sanders (26:08)

Important Timestamps

• 00:04 — Clay opens the show, honors Rush Limbaugh
• 01:14 — Buck on contents of new book, CIA anecdotes, menticide
• 05:45 — Buck’s appeal to listeners: help his book “beat” Jon Meacham’s
• 08:22-16:38 — In-depth discussion on transgender shooters and media coverage
• 19:12–23:47 — Congressman Jim Jordan on immigration and sanctuary cities
• 29:15 — Light segment: Olympics, curling, and cross-country skiing
• 32:07 — Clay and Buck discuss Texas Senate primaries
• 36:42 — Colbert/CBS FCC equal time segment (Colbert quote)
• 40:03 — Buck on media bias and the equal time doctrine
• 44:38 — Buck & Clay on comedy as politics, Trump’s communication magic
• 48:14/50:04 — Book culture, obligations of conservative media

Episode Flow & Tone

The episode oscillates between:

• Serious reflection (Rush Limbaugh remembrance, discussions on violence and mental health)
• Aggressive political critique (targeting left-wing “brainwashing,” Democrat media bias, and policy disputes)
• Campaign strategy talk (Congressman Jordan, Texas primaries)
• Light-hearted moments (Winter Olympics, book launch commentary, inside baseball about publishing)

This summary provides a comprehensive guide to the episode's main topics, positions, and style, giving listeners who missed it a clear sense of content and context.