Real Time with Bill Maher - Overtime - Episode #423: Nukes, Gun Control, Obama Speeches

Episode Date: April 29, 2017

Bill and his Real Time panelists – Rob Reiner, Nick Hanauer and Tara Setmayer –answer viewer questions after the 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 Ma. Ernest, how confident are you in the ability of the Iran deal to contain Iran's nuclear threat? I'm quite confident. You worked a lot on that, right? Indeed. And the reason is something that has seldom talked about. The deal puts in place verification measures that are completely unique and apply to this deal forever. Donald Trump said it's maybe the worst deal in history of the world.

because everything he thinks of is the worst in the history of the world. So is it... This is another case where... But he's... I love the fact that information would help. You've got the Secretary of State, Rex Tillers, saying that so far,

Iran has been complied with the deal. And on the same day, you've got Trump saying, we've got to get rid of it. It is... I mean, it's... It is amazing the way, like I said, in the monologue, they start off with nobody new, and they come back to, boy, I guess what Obama was doing is actually the best, you know,

there's no great answers. There's no great answers out there. Can I add? We see what happens when you don't get in early enough and let's say not get North Korea stopped before they have a nuclear. The problem, though, is that with North Korea, you don't have as many players that you were able to put together. The Obama administration put together a great coalition to put pressure on Iran. Right now, we basically only have China.

Yeah. And that's all we have to put pressure on North Korea. So that's a little trickier. Tara, do you think more sexism exists on one side of the aisle? Or is it a bipartisan problem? Well, obviously, it's somewhat bipartisan. We know Bill Clinton. Sure, absolutely.

But did you ever work at Fox News? Have you ever been called hot chocolate? Well, I would actually probably be called like mocha, mocha, mocha machado or something, given why. Not chocolate, but no. Not at Fox News anyway. But I have appeared there, and I had appeared on Bill O'Reilly show years past, and I hadn't experienced that.

But I do have friends that have been over there, and, you know, there was a very problematic culture, obviously. But I think it also is a reflection of the generation of the people who ran it. You know, when you look at guys that are at that age. The asshole generation? The Mad Men generation. But, yeah, I mean, they come from a time where it was a kind of slap the... fucking agist about this.

No, I mean, it's, I think there was... That's the last okay prejudice. Yeah. I don't, wait a minute. I'm not saying it was okay. No, I'm not saying it's okay. Oh, yes, you were. I'm saying it's okay.

I'm saying that it's reflective. You asked the question one. I know, but you're... I feel like you're... And I'm saying that what happened at Fox News is an example of a generation where that was okay. And now when you see the way that the result of it, the generation now is saying like, that's not okay.

We've seen a lot of advances. And so, I think you're going to see less and less of this kind of overt sexism. It's not over with, but, you know, there's progress as being made. You see that people are paying a price for it. Okay. Nick, do you think there are... Yeah, and more women are coming forward.

Yeah. Nick, President Trump spoke at the NRA today. Yes. Do you think there are avenues to make progress on gun control? Yeah, I mean, and I'm deeply involved in that issue, and there's a tremendous amount of opportunity to make progress on gun violence. prevention in cities and states around the country. And the only way that we will make progress on those issues is in cities and states.

And we passed background checks in Washington State. We passed extreme risk protection orders in Washington State. And in Maine, there's stuff going around the country, and there's a lot of progress that can be made in that way. But not federally. Forget it. But to be clear, if you want to build a movement, you have to start in cities, and states, whether it's a $15 minimum wage, marriage equality, pot legalization.

If you want to change a culture, you have to do the hard work of changing hearts and minds in localities first. Okay. Is it unseemly for former President Barack Obama to earn $400,000 for an upcoming speech to Wall Street? Yes, he's doing two speeches, each for 400K, one to Canterfish Sparrow. God, I wish he had spent a month building houses for Wall Street. poor people with Jimmy Carter? Well, he was a community organizer, right?

I guess he figured he paid his dues with that. Personally, as long as he's not running for office again, I don't care how much money he makes. If people want to pay him that, it's a free market value. Who cares? I don't have a problem with this. And I think that people, a lot of the people who are being righteously indignant about it are also people who make lots of money

doing what they do. So I don't understand. But wait a second. The current president is trying to undo all of his Wall Street regulations. and then he goes to Wall Street and takes four and her isn't that what sort of cost Hillary the election are those horrible speeches she made

to Wall Street and she wouldn't release the transcripts of it because she wouldn't release the transcripts no but the difference is are you in the pocket of Wall Street and she's running for office he's not running for anything right now and you know not going to now Michelle Obama might be a difference no she could be prepped no but she doesn't want it but I don't have a problem with this It kind of looks like when he's on our team, we're okay with it.

No, no, I don't feel that way. I mean, if he were running for president, I would have, and in other words, if there was a time lapse and he had done those speeches, then I do have a problem with that, because then you get into the whole area of conflict of interest, which this administration is just one big ball of conflict of interest. Of course it is. But you could say that when a guy is president,

he's looking ahead to that $400,000 payday, and he's not going to get it if while he's president, he's going to do something that's going to piss them off. So isn't the best thing to do? Take your $10 million book deal. Can't you live on that? That's up to his choice.

It's individual freedom. If he wants to do it. It is. He's able to do it. The truth is that the country is being torn apart because a few people are doing well and most people aren't. And this is the canonical exam.

of that. It's just such a pure expression of that. I'm surprised. I'm a capitalist. I just have a problem with it. I don't know when America became, I covet my neighbor's success country. This is a country where you could come from nothing and be something.

That's not what it is. It is. It is not. If he is not going to run for office again, he's a private citizen and someone's willing to pay him $400,000 to pay his speech, I don't care if as long as long laws are broken, that's fine by me. That's America. You know what? It's never about eating...

Nobody hates anybody else's success. I don't know about that. A lot of people... There's a lot of class warfare. Why? What are you saying? Oh, I think a lot of people hate other people's success. Oh, you're talking about show business? Fuck you. That's what I'm talking about.

Politics, too. I've got news for you. Thank you very much, everybody. You were a great audience. You were a great panel. And I hope you have a great night. 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.