Real Time with Bill Maher - Overtime - Episode #502: Marianne Williamson, Hakeem Jeffries, Jennifer Granholm, Buck Sexton, Josh Barro

Episode Date: August 3, 2019

Bill Maher and his guests answer viewer questions after the show. (Originally aired 8/2/19) 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 Maugh. Okay. Buck Sexton, you know I love that name. I was waiting for that. I mean, I can't be the first one to note. I know, but I can't be the first one to notice.

It does sound like a gay porn star. I mean, or any porn star. Buck Sexton, that's a fantastic porn name. You don't need to like, what's your porn name, your address? No, this is it. I got off easy. I thought we'd start the show this way. No, no, no.

So what do you think of Trump's offer to help Putin with the Siberian wildfires after he threatened to withhold funding for California? You guys were... Wait, what? No, he did. He offered to help Putin with the wildfires in Siberia. He was talking about it today, terrible, terrible fires.

But he didn't help us. So I know that there's a big narrative out there about how everything that Trump does... Look, he is personally very familiar and friendly with him, I think that Kim Jong-un stuff is weird. Just, I couldn't defend some of the things he says about Kim Jong-un. Good. But on the policy...

Look at that. Yeah. All right. No, but on a policy level, it speaks for itself. I mean, he's opposing Maduro in Venezuela. He opposes Iran, which is most... These are important Russian allies. These are not things that Russia would want him to do.

We blew up 200 Russian mercenaries in Syria, folks. People just skip past that like it was no big deal. That was in the Trump administration. There are sanctions still against Russia. There's plenty of stuff on. policy level to show that he's not in their pocket. We just pulled out of a nuclear treaty today that is because

of a violation that occurred to the Obama administration. That's my way of saying, I don't know anything about Siberian fires, but he's not a Russian stooch. But he did in that call to Vladimir Putin, the reporters asked, did you raise anything about the election meddling? And he says to the reporter, yeah,

oh, you don't believe that, do you? This, of course, after the Senate had come out. They talk a lot. They talk a lot. What's he going to say? What would be enough to say to Putin about the election meddling, other than don't meddle in the election. And when he says that, people would say, well, that's not enough. And then he doesn't get the bill, he doesn't even

tell McConnell pass the election, to hurt him a bill. I mean, it's... Anyway, we did that. Yeah, I know. Sorry. I think Putin says to him things like, you know, well, kill some of our soldiers in Syria. It'll look better. Make it a little good. That's right. I do. I think, you know, like Putin cares about 200.

That's exactly what happened. All right. Josh, isn't the Fed cutting rates now? just going to make the next economic downturn worse. What's your prediction? I've been hoping for a recession. People hate me for it, but it would get rid of Trump, so you shouldn't hate me for it. I mean, recessions are really bad. People lose their jobs and their phones, and we shouldn't wish them.

It's worth it. But I don't, I mean, a recession is always possible. I don't see any particular reason to think that it's likely. I think, you know, really? Aren't we overdue for one just by the cycle of economic? This is such a misconception. People sort of feel like, oh, you know, well, about every eight years or something you're supposed to have it. Recessions don't come because they're due.

recessions come because there's some sort of overheating, something goes wrong in the economy, like with the tech bubble in 2000 and like with the housing bubble in 0708, the economy gets frothy and people invest in things that don't turn out to be useful, and then everyone figures out that, you know, there's all these tracked homes way out in the high desert that people don't want to buy, and then you have a crash, and it has domino effect, and you get a recession. There's nothing that I look at in the economy right now that looks like that's about to happen. Now, there are good signs that the economy is slowing down, that we had faster growth in 2018 than we'll have in 2019. Some of that was there was a little temporary effect from the tax cut.

And so that is a political problem for the president. The economy won't be as good going into the election next year, probably, as it has been this year or last year. But I think more likely than not, it will still be growing, just not as fast. Wow. That's going to make it tough. Recession happens, Trump loses. I mean, I think that much.

That was my point. There you go. That's all I was saying. Because all this stuff about people saying right now, the economy is really bad. Democrats have been trying to make, just doesn't fly, guys. I disagree with you. 43%... I mean, 43% of

Michiganders, just for example, can't even afford the basic expenses. We have this two-tiered economy where you've got low unemployment because people are working two and three jobs. And if you don't have retire... If you don't have even a decent basic wage... But it's who votes.

If everyone who was in that... Category. Yes, voted. But, you know, people like that, first of all, they're cynical. Second of all, they work. They work. They can't get to the...

voting place sometimes. They're more likely to be shut out because of Republican cheating. Yes, they do. Cheat with elections. And make it difficult. So, you know, I agree. I look at those figures. How could this country be in where you see these polls?

There's so many people think the economy is great when something, like you said, 42% of people are making minimum wage or less. And they don't have money for an emergency if it happens a week out. $400. They don't even have $400. But they don't. They got a vote. and they don't, it's a shame.

But you can't scold people into voting. I'm not scolding. Everything that Jennifer was saying is true, not just in Michigan, but across the board. And I think that many people who have not voted, that you've just described, have voted however dysfunctionally, as an act of rebellion, because they do not believe

that they are being offered an alternative to what is happening now. They feel the system is so deeply rigged. And that's why we have to create, through a much more truthful conversation, about how corrupt it is, a sense among people that there is a reason to try one more time, that there is

a reason to vote because this time will be different. Can I say something nice about, Marian? Yes, please. We like nice. We actually did an interview a little while ago. Your willingness to speak positively, I think, is one of the main things that separated you from those other Democrats on that stage. And I think that that really resonated, including

with a lot of conservatives that I know, I'm not going to name them, because I want to get anybody in trouble, but just someone who took a perspective of vision instead of just, everything is terrible, things are going to hell in a handbag. I mean, the stats don't. prove that out in a lot of... She did say dark psychic.

Yeah, there's that, but no, but she... And she didn't call the other ones wunks. There's always going to be that in politics, but... About the people, the conversation. Right. A vision look. Obama won because, yeah, he said there were problems. We also said there was inspiration. I think a lot of people...

Good on you. That's why I'm the one. But Hillary's very nearly won, despite all of her fairly unique problems as a candidate. Hillary? She did win the popular vote. She won't, yes, but that's not... That's not how you become president. That's not how you become president.

That's not... I know, but like, it's so boring to, like, always be like, yeah, let's cheer for our thing that didn't help. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It's a waste of everyone's time to keep. Yes. A woman candidate for president to win three million more votes, I speak for a lot of American women who say, it sure does matter. Okay.

Okay. Oh, great. Are you satisfied with the format of the Democratic debates? I'm not. I think it's ridiculous. I said this is the last debate after that one that this is not a serious country. The way we do debates is not serious. You must have hated that format.

I mean, it's a... You did well, though. You did well, but I mean, it's a Thunderdome because they let... How would you change it? Well, first of all, I wouldn't give it to the fucking networks. Why should they be doing it? They only care about profit.

Right. How old are you... They didn't used to do it. The League of Women Voters did it. First of all, no audience. Because you get this same bullshit. Applauding for stuff that isn't... You're not talking about you guys.

The audience in the debate. The audience is there for the anchors. And the anchors are there for themselves. And they set everything up as like, hey, this guy just said, that's shitty thing about you. What do you say about that? They're trying to get a fight together. Maybe they're not all going to be given to the networks. Maybe they're going to be done.

I mean, there's a bunch of them to come. But I feel having been there, actually, that that's not really the candidate's fault. It's the way the moderators made the question. I'm saying. That's it. And you're right. It's not just about the networks. It's about the political parties.

And the fact that it used to be, as you said, the League of Women voters. It's all so much theater. It's so much dog and pony show. Right. as opposed to the serious conversations about our democracy that need to be held. I didn't hate the format that much. Really? I mean, I think, first of all, you're never going to have a satisfying format with 20 candidates.

People were saying, you know, well, it's too long, and the answers were too short, and they didn't talk about enough topics. And so, like, all three of those, you can't fix all three of those things. But I think, you know, the moderating, a debate is about finding differences among the candidates. So people say, or they wanted them to fight. They should fight. They should make clear the ways in which they are different from each other. So voters know how to choose.

My hope was that every candidate would be their best. And then let the voters see every candidate be their best. And then the voters can decide for themselves through their own intelligent analysis. Speaking for, looking at this from the... What country are you running for President? All right. All right. That's it.

Thank you very much, everybody. Catch all new episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher every Friday night at 10. Or watch them any time on HBO on demand. For more information, log on to HBO.com.