Real Time with Bill Maher - Ep. #652: Eric Holder, Nancy Mace, Ro Khanna

Episode Date: March 16, 2024

Bill’s guests are Eric Holder, Nancy Mace, Ro Khanna (Originally aired 3/15/24)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO late-night series Real Time with Bill Maugh. There's everybody. Thank you very much. All right. Please, we have a big show. Let's get right to it. I know, I know it's exciting,

and I know why you're happy because it's a weekend to remember when St. Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday. Are you excited about that? St. Patrick. It would be like the old days before Ozempic when you lost weight by vomiting. But I'm Irish-American,

Somewhere my Irish Americans here. Somewhere it's a big, really nice. It used to be a big thing. I guess I'm going to give you the fuck anymore, but anyway. But we used to go nuts about it. I guess they still do. There's a parade in New York. In Chicago, they turn the river green. And in Washington, you see, Lauren Bober jerks off the leprechawn.

I like kids of leprechauns. Hey, keep an eye out for leprechauns. You know about leprechauns? They're very rich. Did you know Leprechauns are very rich, and they're tiny, and they're hard to find. Like Kate Middleton. I don't know. Have you been following that story? What's going on?

Kate Middleton? Is she the princess? Whatever she is. She's disappeared. And now they say, big scandal, she's not, they've seen not wearing a wedding ring. Well, this is, you know, the royal family. This is why they always warn you, never marry outside the family. But, okay, so here's the big political news.

The rematch no one wanted is on. It became official this week. Both Biden and Trump got the necessary delegates. And listen to this. Half the country, almost half the country now, approves of Trump's job when he was president. I thought Biden had memory problems. Wow.

This week, Trump said there's so much cutting. do talking about Social Security. And then, of course, he had to backtrack. Nobody cares. Nobody listened to what he says anyway. They don't take him seriously. But that's a pretty. If anybody else said that, that would be a big thing. We're cutting Social Security. He said, no, he would never cut Social Security.

That's where his supporters get the money to send to him. The other big Trump story, you know, he's got the trial going on in Georgia. You know, the one where he asked for 11,000 votes. And the prosecutor there, a woman named Fawney Willis. Uh, yeah, I know. Well, the ruling came down today. You know, she was in this situation where she was, uh, fucking, okay, dating, whatever, in love. I don't know what it was.

Uh, with the lead prosecutor who she hired for the job. But they said now she can stay on, uh, but she has to fire the boyfriend. Uh, thus ending the people versus some good dick. I never, I never, I never understood what the scandal was in this. You know, I think the law has spoken. You're not allowed to stand the election, even if the person who caught you has a boyfriend.

I think that's the legal... I can't find anything more about it. You can't have sex with someone you meet at work. Where most people meet... What the fuck is that? No, if you're... If you're a moral, decent human being, you can find sex to strangers, you meet on the phone. That's how you do it now.

But here's the thing. The Republicans were claiming that Nathan Wade, he's the prosecutor that she hired, was completely unqualified for the task of prosecuting Donald Trump, their hero, and he was unqualified, so they got him fired. I'm starting to think these people aren't that bright. Oh, it's okay. Hey, if you have to think about it, it's not worth it. But the big story this week, of course, everyone's talking about TikTok.

I know, China makes TikTok, and it's poisoning the minds of our kids, so we got to eat shit, China. That's what I say. They know that the house voted that either it sells to an American company or they're going to ban it. Because China, you know what? You can manufacture everything else that we use. but keeping our kids stupid, that's our job. And TikTok, not the only site that's in trouble. Pornhub?

Pornhub fans? As a guy, I'll admit it. Look at that guy. And he's with his wife. That's very brave. But now their band had to pull out of Texas. And they're not the first state. No porn hub in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah.

I tell you, these red states, no porn hub, no illegal abortion. no legal weed. All these people who moved out of California recently? How are we looking now? All right, we've got a great show. We have two Congresspeople, Nancy Mason, Rilcana.

But first up, he is the former Attorney General under President Obama is now the chairman of the National Democratic Redistrate Committee. Eric Holder. How you doing? Great to see you, as always. How are you?

I'm fine. I'm fine. How are you? You look well arrested. but I know you've been busy. I guess congratulations to her in order. I read this committee that you're part of, the head of the registering committee, made it that we had

the best, most fair elections in 2022 as far as redistricting that we've had ever. In the last 40 years. 40 years, and it's going to be even better in 24. Yeah. So how did you get that done? You know, we had a state-by-state strategy,

and we decided we'd use different strategies in different states, electing people who would stand for fairness, putting in place independent commissions to draw the lines, and then bringing lawsuits where we had to do that. So we'll use the courts as well as the electoral process to make the system more fair. Okay, so both sides do gerrymander, though. Is that correct? I mean... It's true, but I think if you look at what the Republicans did in 2011, Princeton University did a study and said it was the worst gerrymandering of the last 50 years. And comparing what Democrats do

in terms of gerrymandering as opposed to Republicans, it's like comparing a pee to a watermelon. Is there really that different? Yeah, yeah. More than what? Okay, but... But I have read about places that were gerrymandered for the Democrats. So if they both do it, what do you say to people who would argue, well, how can you have the moral high ground?

It sounds to me like the other side just does it better. Well, no, because I stood against Democrats who actually did gerrymander. I stood against Democrats in Maryland. I stood against Democrats in New Jersey and Virginia who wanted to use the power that they had to try to gerrymander. and I've said that the maps, for instance, in Illinois were not maps that I necessarily would have drawn. So what we have tried to do at the NDRC

is to stand simply for fairness. Here's the deal. If the system is fair, if the maps are fair, Democrats and progressives, we'll do just fine. We don't have to put our thumb on the scale. Republicans have made peace with the notion that they're going to be a minority party in terms of popular support,

but they want to have majority power. And that's what we have to fight against. Well, okay. So as the former head of the Justice Department, I've got to ask you about these trials, the Trump trials. I mean, we're coming up on four years. I know you would never want to criticize someone who is your successor in the Post, but I have to. Really? Merrick Garland?

Sorry. Four years? Trump's going to delay his way. They say all four of them now. Might never. I mean, and we need to say, even independents, even conservatives say they want to see the trial. They want to see the results of these trials. And if he can run out the clock till the next election,

then the trials will never happen, of course. So what is your assessment of how this was handled? Why could not it have been done quicker? Yeah, I mean, I'm not familiar, obviously, with all the workings of what happened. You're not? Well, I wasn't there. I wasn't the Attorney General.

But you know more than we do. Well, but I don't know exactly what happened in these particular cases. But it takes four years to bring a case to trial like this? No, I mean, clearly the Justice Department could have and should have brought those indictments sooner. But it's also true of what happened in the States. And I'm really concerned that at this point, as you just said, the possibility exists that all four of these cases for a variety of reasons may not get resolved before the election, depriving the American people of a piece of information or pieces of information that they need to have in order to make a calculated decision who should be the next president of the United States. Now what do you make of this fawny Willis situation that I was making fun of in the monologue? I never understood what the scandal was.

It seemed like it was better for the Republicans. What was in it for them to go after her? It seemed like she's single, a little messy, but plainly that marriage was kind of over. I mean, this is something that happens all the time to human beings. What was the issue? It's all about delay. It's all about delay. by...

Oh, I see. By forcing focus on this relationship, takes attention away from the underlying charges. Now the prosecutor's got to leave. You watch, they're going to appeal. They're going to appeal. They're going to try to move things back,

moving things back. Their aim is to have these trials take place, if they take place at all, after November the 5th. That is the primary goal. Right. Well, what do you think? They're going to succeed or not?

I still have hope about the January 6th trial, in D.C. That's the big one. I think with Judge Chutkin and Jack Smith, I think you've got people there who have the ability, assuming the Supreme Court allows it to happen, because I'm worried about them. So what do you make of the fact that the Democrats, by every poll I read, are, I would

just say losing their base? I mean, if you look at non-white working class voters, there has been a 61-point shift. That's an incredible amount from 2012. That's in 12 years. Obama in 2012, when you were the Attorney General, I think won it by 67 points, that demographic. Biden won it by 48. Now he's only up by six. What's going on there? Well, I think first off, you're measuring March against November. We're looking at where people are right now. I think you'll probably see a movement with regard to working class people of all

races towards Biden by the time you get to November. You're also comparing an extremely, an unbelievably popular African-American running for the first time and who really galvanized people, you know, in all strata of life. And so I think in some ways that's not a fair comparison. But I think we should not be too alarmed by these March polls. We've got to take them into consideration. But March is a fundamentally different month than October and November. And we'll see where these things turn out when we get to that part of the calendar year. Hmm. Okay. But... I mean, the deal is, there's work to be done,

but I'm actually optimistic that if we stay committed, focused, and as the media turns its attention to making this a binary choice between a person who's got some age and cognitive issues, that would be Trump, against somebody who is actually... Against somebody who has actually accomplished a lot, I think we'll be just fine. what you said in the monologue was really good, though. I mean, Trump's

popularity rating is higher now than it ever was during his presidency. It's like, hey, America, remember? People, they're saying, are you better off now than you were four years ago? You damn right, we are. So, like, let's not lose sight of the chaos, the corruption, and all the negative

things that Donald Trump meant and put a good man back in the White House. So, so you're confident Biden can pull this out? It's going to be, he's going to to win the popular vote by five, six, seven million people, something like this is going to be easy. But in the crazy-ass system that we have in the United States, we've got to deal with the electoral college, and so I think that's going to be tough.

But you thought about running for a minute. Yeah. Did you not? For a minute until my family said that I wasn't. Well... They're here now, a few of them. They voted against that. Well, don't say that, because if you ever do run, we want a strong leader.

All right, all right. That's the answer to the wife. Well, I'll strong on them. I didn't say the wife. I said the family. It was four to one against me. Okay. And what about the Voting Rights Act? I mean, this is something that was very key to your term in office. What year was it that the Supreme Court kind of gutted it? 2013, the 2013, the Chilby County case. 13. And if people don't remember, this is the John Roberts Court. And they basically said that, yes, we needed the Voting Rights Act for a long time, but now that day is passed.

And the southern states would never act the way they did back then. But what was the repercussion for this and how did they act for real? Just reviewed that for us. Chief Justice Roberts said famously, America has changed, and therefore we don't need these components of the Voting Rights Act, which allowed the Justice Department to preclear changes, electoral changes, in states covered by the Act. And since that time, 1,700 polling places have closed. There's been a disproportionate number of purges in states that were previously covered by the Voting Rights Act and disproportionately, of course, in communities of color.

And so we have seen voting restrictions put in place. I think it would be an interesting thing now to ask Chief Justice Roberts, maybe put him on his sodium pentoth or something, you know, tooth serum. Do you think you had it right back in 2013? Because the reality is America, electorally, is a fundamentally worse off place than it was before the Shelby County decision. Yeah, but I do remember Biden saying that Georgia,

the situation there was Jim Crow 2.0. And then after that election, the polling came out, and even African-Americans said they had to. no problem voting. How do you reconcile that? Yeah, but if you look at voter participation rates before Shelby County and after Shelby County, you will see that there's always been a gap. But whites vote at a greater rate than blacks do. But that ratio has really increased fairly substantially since the Shelby County case. And it is a fundamental gap now between black voter participation and white voter participation.

You know, the reality is that black folks do everything that we have to do, stand in line for three or four hours in order to vote. But why should that be the case? Why should I have to take, all right, in 2020, in Atlanta, on the night of the 2020 election, after 5 o'clock, if you were in a white part of Atlanta, it took you six minutes to vote, if you're in a black part of Atlanta, it took you 52 minutes to vote. Now, why should it be that way? This is supposed to be a participatory democracy where everybody has equal access to the polls. Nobody can say that that is the case right now. Nobody can say it. Well, that's why we're glad you're after it.

All right. I'm doing it. I know you are. Thank you. Eric Holder, everybody. All right, you're going to stay for overtime? Great. All right. Thank you, folks.

Let's meet our panel. Hey, hey. How are you? All right, two congresspeople, no waiting. She is a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina who serves on three committees, including the House Armed Services, Veteran Affairs and Oversight Committees. Nancy Mace.

Back with us. Brave Nancy Mace. And he is a Democratic congressman who represents California's Silicon Valley. He is a member of President Biden's National Advisory Board. Rokana is back with us. So I want to continue a little bit, that discussion because we didn't really get into with the former return to general

why gerrymandering is so bad, and I think the reason why it's so bad is because it is what radicalizes America. You're a good example, I think. Maybe you can prove me wrong, but just can be some facts. In 1999, 38% of districts were considered swing districts. Could go either way.

Now that's only 19%. To a four to five, it's a foregone conclusion. When you ran in 2020, you won by one point. Correct. Then they redistrict your area, and I think it was less black people. And then you won in 2022 by 14 points. Does that explain the shift in your politics? Because you used to be a little more to the middle, I think.

I'm still very much the same person I was the last time I was here. The Supreme Court in October actually affirmed that my district, as you said correctly, I won by one point in 2020. When the state of South Carolina redistricted my seat, they made it 1.36 points better, one point better in 2022. I won by 14 points in 22 because I overwhelmingly, post-Rovie Wade, came out swinging hard to fight for women after that decision because I am in a swing district. I am in a purple district.

I outperformed. I should have only won by two or three points based on our own data. after Roe v. Wade, I was a D-plus-10 district. But you did switch on Trump. I mean, after January 6th, I could read you the quotes. You were very hard on you. I was very hard. I didn't like it. Okay. Do you still go, you said,

how do we hold the president accountable? We need to find a way to hold the president accountable. His entire legacy was wiped out yesterday. We got to start over. We got to rebuild our nation and rebuild our party. That's not where you are now. Well, we've had three years of Joe Biden. And in fact, I had a constituent.

Wow. That bad, huh? It's been that bad. But I had a constituent, yeah, absolutely. So I had a voter call me two days ago. Is it that bad? Oh, it's horrible the other morning. I just came as a spectator.

I just, I'm just marvelous in Mays. I was just going to watch. But my district, most of my district is unaffiliated or independent voters. I had an independent voter call me two mornings ago early in the morning, and he said, I voted for Trump in 16, but I did not vote for president in 20. I didn't like the options. And then he says to me, we can't have four more years of Joe Biden. And I think there are a lot of people out there that would agree.

And he cited the endless wars that are going on right now that didn't happen under Trump. We have Russia and invading Ukraine. We have Biden giving billions of dollars to Iran to fund terrorism around the world. All these things. We have inflation. We have over 8 million illegal immigrants that have come across the southern border. All these are you have to get in on this or what? I'm being polite.

I'm being civil as a letter. Polite. That's why you lose elections. Let me let me let me. Let me. Let me say this on the redistricting, actually, first. First, you know who deserves credit for it is actually Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger did it in California, and he said politicians shouldn't draw their own lines.

Citizens should. Both the Democrats and the Republicans opposed him. I love Arnold. I don't know why he won't do this show. Tell him to do the show. I've told everybody I know who's ever talked to him to do this show. I'll text Arnold to tell him to do the show. Good. If you're the one who can get him here, I'd be really grateful. We should do the show because both parties. Both parties opposed it, and he got it done, and that should be a model, frankly, around the country in terms of citizens throwing the lines.

Now, you know, California politics aren't exactly a panacea. So just having citizen redistricting is not enough. It's not our country suffers from something deeper. And that is that we have stopped listening to each other. We've stopped respecting difference. We're not willing to collaborate. You think just having citizen lines is going to magically solve a broken politics? It's not. Look, Nancy and I disagree on so many things.

We've done two bills together. That we're signing to law, by the way. People are saying, why are you going on the show with Nancy May? She just was, did this thing with stuff about it? You're in Congress together. What do you mean the show? Well, well, you know, how ridiculous. He's going to get so much.

That's what I hate about that. Well, half of Congress doesn't talk to each other. You know, they say, well, okay, if you're someone who supports Trump, I'm a proud supporter of President Biden. If you don't work with someone who supports Trump, I was like 45% and 48% and the country. I want to get an example. on this, piggyback on this because I did an IVF resolution two weeks ago. Alabama had that ruling,

didn't like it, I wanted to do a resolution. In vitro. In vitro. In vitro. Supporting, condemning the Alabama ruling, supporting access to IVF. And I had Republicans and Democrats signed up to get on the bill. An hour before I dropped it, Democrats were told to get off. They couldn't get on my bill because it was me and Republican. They

want to do their own thing. And that's just, I see it on both sides. Both sides play that game. That's not what the American people want. They don't want that binary choice. They want us working together. And Nancy and I have worked together. But here's the argument that I think President Biden needs to make. Because I said, look, Trump came in, and he basically said, you've hollowed out manufacturing. Manufacturing went to China, as you put it in your monologue.

Towns, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Ash W over hollowed out. President Biden actually is bringing those jobs back. He's actually bringing manufacturing. He's bringing semiconductors. He's bringing new industry. And I think instead of insulting people who voted for Donald Trump, why not say, we understand why you were upset. We understand your question.

Republicans that support Trump all the time. I mean, and he gave us a lot of inflation and all the spending, all those things, too, and all these legal immigrants. Were you guys both at the state? Were you both at the state of the union? I was there. Okay.

Biden said political violence has no place in America, no place. No Republican clapped. What's going on there? Well, I mean, I... Political violence has no place in America. You can't clap for that? Well, I mean, I was there. I will tell you, there was a lot of shout.

I heard Joe Biden shout a lot. My ears hurt when I left the room. That is not answering this question. I don't like any political violence. In fact, we had violent riots in my hometown two or three years ago during COVID when all that happened, and nobody was ever held account. Violence is wrong.

Nobody should be an after. Then why couldn't you clap for it? I don't remember people not clapping. He's the president of the United States making the most anodyne comment you could possibly make. Why can't you guys get along a little better than that? We need to try.

And I think, Bill, you put your point on what's... But you would applaud if a Republican had said that. I would. Yes. I would applaud. It's a big difference. Look, I went... Yeah, there were not many Republicans applaud at that speech at all.

When Trump won in 2016, half of the Democrats didn't go to his inauguration. I said, I'm going to go to the inauguration. I went to everyone of the state of the United. It's not about the person. It's about respecting the American people, and it's... respecting who they send to Congress. And then, you know, you're one out of 435 people. You don't have a monopoly on the truth.

Let's learn to figure out where you disagree and get things done. And I've been to every state of the union that I've been in Congress three years. I go every year. And I want to hear and I want to listen. It's like your prom when you're in Congress. It's like it's my job. It's like it's my job. So, do you know Carrie Lake?

You know who she was. Yeah, I know who she is. I've not met her, but I know who she is. Okay. She was the, she ran. in Arizona, right? She's the Republican. She's the Senate candidate now. Right. She said, she's a very big Trumper.

They asked her, if you were vice president on January 6th, would you have certified the vote? And she said that's a hypothetical, which it's funny, right? It's a kind of important hypothetical. Well, both of us certified the electoral college, January

2021, we both did. So if you were vice president, let me ask that of you. If you were the vice president on January 6th, would you have done what Mike Pence did that made Trump's I certified the electoral college in every single state. I mean, that was the right thing to do. It was a constitutional thing to do, and I would do it again. 100%.

100%. Well, that's great. Yeah. I must warn you, we're easy. We're so easy people. I must warn you, Donald Trump sometimes accidentally watches the show. So. I hope he's watching tonight.

I hope he's watching tonight. I hope he watches your show. He won't be happy with that answer. I hope he watches the show. Trump and Schwarzenegger, you know? That would be a great. Predator and predator. Republicans need more independent-minded voters

to win in November. We can't just have this binary Republican-Democrat. We need independent-minded people. My district is 40% unaffiliated, independent voters. And Republicans need those people to win in November in a general election. Those are just the facts. Okay. All right. Now let's ask Roe, a question that I had for Eric Holder

to make it even, right? Okay. I asked him about this 61-point shift. for non-white working-class voters from 2012? What do you make of that? I mean, I agree. It's only March, but it's not going to close 61 points. And it's obviously going in a very different direction. I could give you some other stats.

I mean, Biden, I think, is at 76%. The last election, blacks voted for him 90%. That's a 14-point loss. 41% say Trump's policies were more favorable to them, Only 18% say that to Biden for Biden. What is your answer to that? Well, we've got an issue. We've got to do better on the economy.

I have a lot of respect for Eric Holder. But you know, when the polls aren't going well, people give you the standard points of the polls will get better in a few months. I rather that we focus on having a better economic message. We need to speak to black and brown voters about wealth generation. We need to speak about how they're going to start businesses. We've got to speak about what we're doing to revitalize the economy. I don't understand how we're losing on the economy by 12 points, and we need a better economic message for this party.

And if we're not going to have a better economic message, we're going to lose. And it's time that people will be plain spoken and tell the truth instead of just sleepwalking into a loss. I mean, I read recently the numbers for when Reagan ran on Morning in America, all those numbers were way worse than what Biden is now. I mean, you really tell me that if the numbers for, unemployment where what they are now, Trump wouldn't be saying this is the greatest

unemployment. You don't think he would be running on these numbers? I'll tell you if I could just say one thing. I was having breakfast with someone today from L.A., and he grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and he had done better than his parents. He was back at his 50-year high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and he said there was not a single person there who had done better than their parents. We have a challenge in this country. The American Dream has slipped away. for many Americans. And if we just celebrate, I don't care if you're a Republican or Democrat, rah, right, everything is fine. We're out of touch with people whose wages haven't gone up,

whose housing costs are too high, who feel the American dream is slipping away. We need to talk about that and what we're going to do. It's not mourning in America in the 1980s. And if you think that, you haven't talked to people in these communities. To your point, groceries are up. I mean, you go to the grocery store, it's up 21%. You go to get gas in your car, it's up 20%. I mean, the cost of gas. goods have risen so much. And we've seen issues in the supply chain when we're talking about baby formula, trying to feed our kids. But families are having a hard time beating their families. Isn't a lot of that because we had a pandemic that we overreacted horribly to? We spent

$6 trillion. I mean, you can't just write checks for $6 trillion that you don't have and not expect. Well, the government is still doing that. Congress is still doing that today. Republicans and Democrats are spending more than we have exponentially right now. Just to push back of one thing, though, that we had the best economic recovery for any place in the world. Yes, we did. Absolutely. That was both. And, you know, for all the dysfunction in Congress, when it came to a crisis of COVID, we actually, on a bipartisan way, delivered. Now, I hope it doesn't take a pandemic to do things in Congress. But it actually was a place where people should be proud of America. We deliver vaccines. We have the best in place in an unemployment record. Okay. So, great news. The Republican National Committee has a new chairperson. And what a coincidence is amazing. It's a Trump family member. Can you believe it?

It's Lara Trump. Yes, there she is with the president. That's Eric's wife. And what happened was, and Marjorie Talley Green tweeted this, she said, MAGA has taken over the party. Maga is now in control of the Republican Party because, and so there's going to be what they call a bloodbath, this was said, at the Republican National Committee.

They fired every single person there, and they're putting in their new MAGA people. So we got a hold of the job application. form because they're going to need to restaff the whole thing. Would you like to hear what's on the job? These are just the questions if you want to get a job of the Republican National Committee now that Maga has taken over. Do you have any experience in overvaluing real estate?

How would you describe America's current president? A, crooked, B, sleepy, C, Donald J. Trump. How quickly could you forgive your boss if you shot you in the middle of Fifth Avenue? Have you ever been institutionalized for severe psychiatric problems? If so, are you interested in our referral problem? Are you able to say the sentence, an authoritarian dictatorship may be the only way

to preserve our freedom without actually laughing? Apparently you are. Where do you see yourself in the next ten Trump terms? Fill in the blank. Haiti is a blank hole. Um, logic problem. Donald Trump is an infallible judge of character, but his cabinet contained people who called him a fucking moron, idiot, an idiot surrounded by clowns, dope, kindergartner, idiot, patient, and an adult care center, empty vessel, like an 11-year-old child, sixth-grader, idiot, crazy, and goddamn dumbbell. Explain. Number eight, which side were you rooting for in the zone of interest?

and your thoughts on E. Jean Carroll are A, everyone deserves their day in court, B, a faulty memory at best, C, she wishes. It's an edgy show, you know. They're surprised at that. But can I ask you about that? Because I asked before, would you mind talking about it? Because you were much in the news last week about this issue because you were on George Stephanopoulos's show. And he was questioning about the idea that you're supporting Trump, who was found guilty of sexual assault by a judge. jury in New York for the E. Jean Carroll case. And you were a rape victim yourself. And I guess his implication was that being so that you should not support someone who is convicted of this crime.

Well, number one, to set the stage a little bit, I went on to talk about 2024. When the general election, Joe Biden versus Donald Trump, I had my 14-year-old kid with me, my daughter with me that day. It was work. I was there for work. She had no choice. She had to come with me. It was a really uncomfortable conversation afterwards with her on the way to the airport over this. And she knows my story. But number one, Donald Trump wasn't convicted of sexual assault. The 83 million was a defamation suit. It was about defamation. There was a sexual abuse claim. And she got a little bit for that. But the vast majority of it was for defamation, not rape, not sexual assault. So I think there are two types of... Is that right, Ron? That is right. Let me just say this.

That is right. Let me say this about what happened there. And from my perspective, and I, look, I have a lot of respect for Nancy Mace's courage in talking about rape and sexual assault. And I admire your being public about that. I also think, you know, I know Nancy's good at answering tough questions. And I also think, as George Stephanopoulos, as a journalist at a time where I believe in the First Amendment, he should be asking everyone. And not just her, any Republican, it's a fair question if you're saying, if there is a person who's running for president.

But maybe it gives it heads up to the rape victim, but you're going to talk to her about her own rape when she comes on your show, and that's the first thing you're going to ask. Like, that to me, like, they didn't do that. There was no, hey, we're going to film this clip. And this clip triggers me. Five years ago, I told my story on the South Carolina State House floor. We were doing a fetal heartbeat bill. There were no exceptions for rape or incest, and there were no women speaking. Rape victims and girls who were victims of incest had no voice.

I had never told my story publicly. It took me 25 years. I go to the law and I tell the story for the first time. We were the first state in the nation to have a fetal heartbeat bill with exceptions for rape and incest because I put them in there after very, after a very, very difficult time telling that story. And so it takes a lot of courage,

but then to feel like he was weaponizing my own rape for a political hit job, and it was wrong. My daughter was there. It was awful. I felt bullied. The least they could have done it said, hey, we're going to talk about this, but we're going to lead with it. And it was a 10-minute interview

about my own rape. It was completely, I think, wholly inappropriate. I will answer the tough questions. I have talked about it, but that video, that speech I gave gave it triggers me. I know I gave it publicly, but it was hard. It didn't come out of left field. There was a reason why he asked the question. It was a little bit of Trump. It was related to something with Donald Trump. And Donald Trump, I mean, you're, you went to the citadel, right? Yeah, and I will tell you, George Stephanoplas went the last 30 seconds at the citadel. That place made me tough. I will answer all the questions. I'll bet. Oh, I think in a time where I know we share a view of the First Amendment, I mean, journalists are supposed to ask

basic questions and not just of Nancy, but if any Republican, I think, here's a fair question. Should you support someone as a president who has a civil conviction of sexual assault and who didn't concede the January 6th election? Every Republican should be asked that. And I think

whether it's, you know, I go on Fox, Nancy goes on MSNBC or a Bill Mark. We have got to get in this country not only that we can talk to each other, but that we aren't censoring people asking tough questions. You know, being a member of Congress is like

one of the most privileged things in human history. You're a 0.001% privilege. So you go and you get asked a tough question. That's the job of journalists. It was more than that, you know it was. It was a political hit job. It was bullying. It was rape shaming is what it was. Asked by George Stephanel was a guy that covered for the Clintons for years and called women

demos. Like, no thank you. No thank you. And I respect for you. You're sharing your story. And that I want to make clear. I do think that took a lot of power. I appreciate you. Because you know what? You're the first, I think, Democrat member of Congress that has said that to me. Over the course of this week, I'll let a Republican colleagues come up to me and I think

you're the first Democrat to do that. So I applaud that. So thank you. Yay. We're solving America right here. Okay. But having gone to the Citadel. I just have to ask this about what Trump said about women in the military, because you

mentioned the 26,000 unreported sexual assaults in the military, only 238 convictory. And he said, what did these geniuses expect when they put men and women together? Now, that seems to imply that we can't trust men to be together with women, that we can't expect men to control themselves? I mean, what's your answer to that? And before you say anything, remember, this is for the vice presidency. You're the one, by the way, that started that rumor. You started that rumor on this show a year ago. Never start rumors.

Look, I do a lot as a rape survivor. I actually do a lot of military sexual trauma legislation. I'm on the VA committee. I'm on the House Armed Services Committee with Roe. We're both on oversight together. I work on these issues a lot. I take them very seriously, and it's something I pride myself on and working on

with people on both sides of the aisle. Okay. Hell, if she's VP, we may be out of jail. I mean, you know, that'll be our call. You think I haven't thought of things like that? Believe me, I have. All right, so as long as we're in this akimbi-a-mode where we're agreeing.

Can we fight about something that's fight? Well, actually, I want to bring up the thing that you, I think, both agree on and both voted together on, which is TikTok. Both of you have to explain this to me, because I don't understand the numbers here. Here's what's going on. TikTok owned by China, bite dance to a Chinese company. Worried about it, you know, poisoning our kids' minds. Okay, we'll do the jokes in a minute. So this has been brewing for a while.

Trump brought it up when he was president. We should make TikTok sell to an American company or ban it. Now the House has voted, and I think they passed it pretty overwhelmingly, right? They voted for that. The Commerce Committee voted to ban or sell TikTok 50 to nothing. 50 to nothing? I've never heard that in America, even when we got along. The FCC commissioner, clear in present danger.

He wants to get rid of it. Christopher Ray, FBI director. He wants to get rid of it. Who's against this? Who didn't vote for the bill? You? You? Donald Trump's against it.

AOC's against it. and Marjorie Taylor Green's against it. I know what happened. This is like the ultimate... Explain to me why the people who are lining up against the bill and against getting, you know, saying, no, we can keep TikTok Chinese.

What is the common ground there? Well, the common ground is the First Amendment and free speech. I mean, it shows how out of touch Congress is that of all the issues in the country, the thing we can get done in three days is banned TikTok. That is the...

That's what we're doing, right? That is the issue. You know, you've got... You've got 72% of Americans who say, let's pass a data privacy law. Let's make sure that our data doesn't go to China. Let's make sure your data isn't taken in an app, by the way. The data is coming from data brokers as well. No, we don't do that.

We do something which 31% of Americans want banned TikTok. How many people in Congress actually have even talked to someone who's on TikTok? A hundred and 70 million folks. There are chemistry teachers on there. They're people who are engaged in political speech. and I am a strong believer in the First Amendment. You are. It is just out of touch, frankly, of what the Congress has done.

And you've been a consistent First Amendment person. Even when the FBI and federal agencies were telling social media companies to clamp down and censor stories on Twitter and stuff, you were there defending the First Amendment. It's a First Amendment issue. I think it's potentially a Fifth Amendment issue. It's not the government's role to ban apps from the App Store, to ban websites. It's also a fifth. I miss you. No, I'm not saying I'm

not, I think I'm with you guys, I'm always a free speech person. Yes, don't worry. I got this. But, and most of it, you know, it's easy to do those jokes because most of it is absolutely innocent. But it's also there when they need it,

not to be. And we saw that after the Israeli war broke out. Because somehow the kids all wound up on the side of Hamas. So, yes, you keep it there, and you keep it innocent, and it's mostly just dancing. when you need it to change people's minds, don't kid yourself. They do have it, and they're not acting in our best interests.

Well, to big tech companies, they play in these conflicts. You see the propaganda on some of these sites, and it's there, but 60% of TikTok in the U.S. is owned by American and international interest. Investors, not China. Our data hadn't gotten leaked to China, and so I want to do with facts and not fiction. China, please. And, no, look, your monologue had the big issue. with China. The problem with China is they're making all the stuff. It's not that they've got

some bite-dance company on social media. It's why do we let all our manufacturing to go to China? And I just had a hearing on oversight where we had a federal agency by Chinese manufactured cameras knowing they're not supposed to that it's breaking trade law and they did it anyway. I mean, we should be protecting our consumers, protecting federal agencies, and we worked on a lot of cybersecurity bills together. I mean... I'm so much more concerned about AI. I mean, I heard you say this week that you think the first trillionaire in this country is going to be an AI entrepreneur. That to me is scarier than any of this, the idea of a trillionaire. And also coming from AI. And by the way, the U.S. State Department said this week, worst case scenario, it poses an extinction level threat

to the human species. I feel like, you know, we see all these glitches in it and we just doesn't pause us at all. It's like an arms race and we're the guinea pigs. And shouldn't the tech bros have been made to work out the bugs before they're? unleashed it on humanity. A little bit? Yes. I mean, look. But we're not.

We need regulation. Elon Musk has said have an AI regulatory agency like the FDA. But here's the thing. When there was electricity that was invented, no one would have thought that a hundred years later

you've had electricity running through your house and your five and six year old running around. Same thing with automobiles, with airplanes. Now, I'm glad we have regulation. We probably need more regulations

with all the planes falling apart. We need smart regulation on AI. And every time politicians say, I'm not for regulation, I think about flying on a plane and why we need regulations. We need those regulations on AI. I'm out here. We got members of Congress that don't know how to log into Facebook.

Like, these are the people that are going to make AI, regulate AI. I don't think so. I think the private tech industry should be leading the way and showing the moral compass for this. And I'm not going to fearmonger. I think that there's a lot of opportunity with AI. I think that it could all kill us one day. Well, there's that.

Yeah, there's that. I mean, the way you put that parenthetically, just parenthetically and kill us all one day, but my larger point is. America and Americans are resilient. We're always one step ahead. I think that we'll get here. Unless we're dead.

I want to see the tech industry. Unless we're dead. A.I.R. Let's kill us. But I think the tech industry should take the lead here and come up with the moral compass, the ethics, the rules, and how we're going to do this. It should not be, you know, Nancy Pelosi called it tick-tech the other day, not TikTok. I mean, come on.

Okay. But she's... Well, I represent Silicon Valley, and I'd say this, that we need more than the tech folks at the table. I mean, we also need... But we already have laws. We already have laws on the books. We already have laws on the books. You know, I hate the sense where we've lost faith

in American government. You know, Silicon Valley would not have... I've lost all faith in American government. You know Silicon Valley, my district, which is $10 trillion. Yeah, 100%. Ten trillion dollars of wealth. None of it would have existed if it weren't for John F. Kennedy, who said, go to a moon and NASA buying the semiconductors that started Silicon Valley. This country, this government has done great things.

And we are a great country when the government works with the private sector and when we have appropriate regulations. And it's time. I'm doing less of that now when we did historically. And I think the political divisiveness in this country, you see it. I mean, D.C. is toxic. I mean, the hill is toxic. It's accessible.

And we're not doing that. That innovation is less and less. So when you say you 100% have lost faith in this. That's why I do this job. That doesn't... I want to fix it. When you say 100% lost faith, though, that doesn't really mean

that you think we should have an authoritarian strongman. I'm not saying anyone in particular. You're talking about Joe Biden? You're talking about Joe Biden? Oh, Joe Biden's the authoritarian strongman? You want to kick his opponents off the ballot. I mean, talk about authoritarian.

All right. I have to end it there, but it was very enlightening. I'm glad you guys are getting along. It's got a new rules, everybody. New rules. Okay. New old people from out of town have to stop referring to our city by any of its quaint,

but at this point, really corny nicknames. So Bill, how's life in the city of angels? Yeah, I wouldn't know because I don't live in a 1940s detective novel. Right? I mean, the same goes for La La Land or a tinsel town. Please, just refer to Los Angeles same way we all who live here do.

Tenseville. No, old doctors who say a Florida man who has tapworm larvae in his brain from a lifetime preference for soft bacon, have to get a second opinion. Not only do you owe it to your patient, but also to Fuddruckers, home of the iristibly cool rare bacon cheeseburger. If that's not the best burger you ever had, you need to have your head examined. New World, before you get all incensed about this African religious tradition

where infants are paraded through the streets and tossed in the air, remember, we bring them to a church or temple and cut off the end of their dick. But I have to admit, the African thing is a first for me. Not the tossing part. A baby not crying during a flight. New Rule, now that yet another steel monolith has appeared in the UK, let's stop pretending it's a big mystery and we have no idea how it got there. I have a guess. I'm going to go with someone put it there. And it wasn't aliens?

Unless we're talking about the kind of aliens you find outside of. Home Depot who lug it there for $5 an hour, then yes, it was aliens. New rule, in addition to the rule, I laid down a few weeks ago about how in movies you don't need to get right up on a guy you're holding a gun on because this always happens. Also, if the bad guy has you tied up, don't spit in his face. Yeah, it's an awesome burn for about five seconds, so enjoy that five seconds, because then an electric drill comes out and he puts it in your nose. need. And finally, new rule. Being obsessed with your mental health is bad for your mental health.

I've been thinking a lot lately about a puzzle many are struggling with. Why are Biden's approval ratings so low when things are generally pretty good? And of course, there are problems. America's a big place. But wages are rising. Unemployment is negligible. The stock market is soaring. We somehow brushed off both the Trump presidency and the pandemic. Yes, inflation persists for a lot of things, but, you know, an actual good, nice-sized TV now? It costs 60 bucks. Who gets credit for that?

We've got next day shipping, stuffed crust pizza, legal weed, GPS, and porn on the phone. Cheer the fuck up. Stop acting like life in America in 2024 is unbearable. Biden's ratings are in the toilet, not because

he's doing such a bad job, but because a lot of Americans like to live with their head in the toilet. Let's look at the numbers. Let's look at the numbers. Almost a third of American adults have reported a depression, a depression diagnosis at some point in their life. And while depression is, of course, a very real thing,

it's also true that earlier generations never suffered from the expectation that you're supposed to feel good all the time. One in eight adults are on antidepressants, and that doesn't include the ones who steal them from their kids. And the kids? The newest TikTok challenge is self-diagnosis of mental problems because what's more of a hotbed of mental health than TikTok? In 2022, the CDC released the results of a survey on teen mental health,

and over 40% said they feel persistently sad or hopeless. And antidepressant use among young males is rapidly rising, unlike their dicks. Now, without a doubt, antidepressants can be life-saving for those who need them, but here's the thing. about three-quarters of Americans who are on them haven't been diagnosed with depression at all. They just want a magic pill. We spend $6 billion a year on drug ads,

all featuring someone emerging from darkness to play with a dog. And all with the message, you're a sad sack of shit. Now take this. Also, and don't get mad at me, I'm just citing statistics, but the people who really shouldn't be that bummed out but are acting like it anyway

are exactly who you think. white women. An estimated 35% of whom are on antidepressants, although in their defense, have you seen the prices at Lulu Lemon? These gals are so distraught, they can barely keep their appointment with the Vietnamese girl who does their nails, calling Dr. TikTok.

But every bad feeling isn't a disease, and Americans really need to stop pathologizing everything. No one's just sad anymore. They're clinically depressed. They don't merely worry. They have chronic anxiety. Do you like things neat and organized? That's OCD.

You're bummed when it's cold out? Seasonal depression. Hate being alone? Separation anxiety. Bored? That's ADHD. Shy. Social anxiety disorder. Why? Because you don't want to go to the office party? Nobody does.

Best case scenario. You have too much fun and it leads to getting fired. Are you moody? No, you're bipolar. And some people are bipolar. And some people are on the spectrum. But sometimes on the spectrum is just a whole pass for being a jerk. I'm clinically an asshole.

Nothing I can do. Yes, you are on the spectrum, but so is everyone else alive. That's why they call it a spectrum. And it's not noble to glom on to the soft end of it. PTSD is for people who fought in Iraq, not for people. people who want to bring their dog on a plane. There are people in America with real problems who deserve to feel

sad, but sometimes a bad day is just a bad day. When you constantly reinforce this message that no one's just a normal human with normal struggles, but we're all permanently fucked in the head, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maybe the solution is much simpler.

And you just went a week without sleep or sunlight. Maybe you have problems that could be solved with vegetables. Or exercise. Studies have shown that while antidepressants can be effective in serious cases, for most people, exercise is even more effective because exercise helps you get laid. Whereas antidepressants just make you listen to podcasts about murder. A couple of months ago, Elmo, the Muppet from every screaming toddler's iPad,

wrote on his Twitter account, Elmo is just checking in, how is everybody doing? and Twitter responded like he was the suicide hotline. Wife left me. Daughters don't respect me. My job is a joke. Any more questions, Elmo? Elmo, I'm going to be real. I'm at my fucking limit.

In the grand scheme of the universe, our existence is merely a blink, devoid of inherent meaning or purpose. And Elmo wrote back, you think you have it bad. Try living your life or the guy's forearm shoved up your ass. All right.

That's our show. I'll be at Arizona Field Financial and Phoenix. the Palace Theater at Albany, May 19th, and watch the Club Random Podcast on YouTube or listen to where you get your podcast. I want to thank my guest, Nancy Mays, Rokana, and Eric Holder. Now go watch overtime on CNN at 1130

or catch it Saturday morning on YouTube. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. Watch all new episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher every Friday night at 10, or watch them anytime on HBO on demand. For more information, log on to HBO.com. Sengues sur-gillet, Puisance

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