Real Time with Bill Maher - Overtime – Episode #410 (Originally aired 11/11/16)

Episode Date: November 12, 2016

Overtime Episode #410 (Originally aired 11/11/16) - Bill and his roundtable guests Eric Holder, Trae Crowder, John Legend, David Axelrod, Ana Marie Cox and Thomas Friedman answer fan questions from the latest show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 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 Mark. Okay, here we are. Eric Holder, will President Trump's administration face legal challenges if it tries to start waterboarding detainees again? Yes. It violates the, it violates international law, and with the removal of the OLC opinions, the Office of Legal Counsel opinions that the prior administration put in place, people would be subject to prosecution if they tried to do that again. Okay. Tom, what kind of relationship will President Trump have with Silicon Valley? With Silicon Valley? I think the same relationship...

Did I stump you there? The same relationship... The Israelis have with the Beka Valley, I think. In Lebanon, you know. All right. Will the press be able to fairly cover Donald Trump once he assumes office? I hope so.

They didn't fairly cover him. for a long time during this during this campaign. They fucked up. Because fairly, fairly means actually assessing his statements whether they're true or not,

investigating his foundation, which they didn't start doing until the end, investigating all the dealings as companies had with foreign entities. They covered the emails more than any. All the issues combined. That's why when I interviewed President Obama last week

and my first question was you know, socialism. We're still capitalist, but we got to get the money at a certain things, like health care prisons. And also I said news gathering, like it used to be, when they didn't care about ratings at the news division. But it didn't have a government run, though.

What? It doesn't make it prestige. You know, I mean... I'm not saying government run. I'm just saying that just let it be a lost leader like it used to be. I was looking at some of Pew numbers exit polling. And, you know, only less than 50% of Trump supporters even think a free press is necessary in democracy.

Right. it's sad, especially young people. Right. Because they haven't been taught civics. Like, let's be prepared. And also, if you're thinking about giving money places, I would say give money, Mother Jones magazine, I would say give money to the committee to protect journalists. Because actually, I mean, I think

we can't, I don't think we can trust the gatekeepers in Washington to do a fair job of covering him. Are they going to cover the fact that his kids are going to be running all of his property? No, this is a huge issue. This is like this is a recipe for corruption and conflict of interest. Who cares if they run

his properties? I care that they run the country. Well, there'll be no lie. He can run the country in the interest of his companies. Although, you know what? Our fate is in the hands of Ivanka. Let's be honest. I think it's in the hands of Mike Pence, honestly. And that could be dangerous. It's even scarier than

movies. Yeah. Because he told John Kisick that he wanted his VP to be responsible for two buckets of policy, domestic and foreign. They asked him, well, what Apparently, Kasich said, well, what's Trump going to do? Make America.

Where are you at? There's a rumor that he's going to keep doing rallies. Keep to, I'm sure. Yeah. That's going to be what he does as president. It's just keeping... I never thought, though, Bill, I'd live long enough to see an American election that was shaped by the KGB and the FBI.

And the KKK. Yes, is it that they both were really, really wanting Donald Trump to be elected. Well, let me fair. I mean, some in the FBI, I think, were that way. Yes, a faction. That's right. But, you know, when factions in the military and the security services want one candidate over the other, this is what the French call a coup d'état.

You know, I hate to bring up it. The FBI, they were investigating and wiretapping Martin Luther King, so I think we all have to be aware that the FBI is not always on the side of justice. That's right. 80% white men, too. John, do you think that celebrity culture contributed to Trump's election? He's a celebrity. So, I mean, I think the fact that he's famous and that people kind of associate him with wealth and success certainly helped him.

And, you know, I think that allowed him to get through a bunch of things that normal politicians wouldn't have been able to get through. Which is so ironic because the liberals have almost all the celebrity. Yeah. If a celebrity was- He has Ted Nugent and Chatsy. Right. Scott Bay. I asked for a poll, early in the campaign, to gauge

celebrity apprentice watchers versus non-apprentice watchers among Republicans and his numbers were being driven by these people who watched the apprentice who thought he was the Uber businessman, the super capable guy that was really the core of it

there was something happening, you're watching a guy talking about his stakes and his hotels and his universe and it was just like and he would do this crazy shit and he's a con man you couldn't take your eyes out of A friend of mine always says, Insanity Photographs.

And it's all a con because they weren't even his stakes. He literally, they went to the grocery store and labeled his stakes Trump. Labeled those stakes Trump, and they were just from the grocery store. Actually, as I recall, they didn't even take the labels off. Yeah, they left them on there. He's like, these are my Trump steaks.

Yes. He just slapped his name on him. We're used to candidates saying the stakes are great, but not like this. Eric Holder, the ACLU received record donations after Trump's election, will they be able to effectively challenge his administration if they try to curtail civil rights? Yeah.

Yeah, I think you can expect some epic court battles, and that's why I think it's really important to do exactly those kinds of things. Support the ACLU, the NDACP Legal Defense Fund, all the traditional organizations that have been really effective in stopping government overreach. And we can expect a whole bunch of government overreach with this guy as president. And throw a few dollars to every green organization. And subscribe to your papers, subscribe to magazines, support the investigative reporting. We have got to vote in the midterms.

If we're not voting in midterms, we're going to be in so much. But it's more than voting in the midterms. We've got to vote at the state and local level. So that's what we've got to go. Absolutely. And we've got this redistricting thing that the president and I are going to be doing so that we can affect redistricting income 2020. But the only way that works is if we get out there and vote at state and local levels. We've got to change the state legislatures.

You know that the Justice Department and all the branches and the whole country better than anybody. If he does overreach, please tell me, there are still enough sane people to provide checks and balances if he would, for example, go after comedians.

Just... Singers who oppose him in the other... I can't guarantee you that. But there are career people within the Justice Department who stay there, regardless of who the political appointees are, and they will keep a vigil

My only comfort in all of this is for the first time in a while, the fact that GOP is in control of all of the branches means they're accountable. They own it. Because they've been the sabotage party for the last six years. The only thing they've been doing is saying, note everything Obama proposed, trying to make sure America didn't succeed under his watch,

and now they have to make America succeed. But John never underestimate their ability to escape. And also to just, like I said, they will just take credit for everything. I mean, the infrastructure thing. Obama begged Congress. I remember him standing under a bridge saying, if you fix this bridge, you can give this guy a job. It's a no-brainer, a win-win.

But it was a bad idea because it came from the black guy. Now it's a great idea. But at least they'll do it. And that will employ some people and it'll help people's lives. And I don't mind if they win that battle. It's just fucking calling that when Republicans spend money, it's okay. When Democrats do, it's a lot. It's our grandkids, you know,

yes, you're saddling our grandkids with debt. Of course, of course. I got to take a break. Thank you very much. Catch 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.