Real Time with Bill Maher - Overtime – Episode #687: David Sedaris, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sen. Jon Tester

Episode Date: March 11, 2025

Bill Maher and his guests answer viewer questions after the show. (Originally aired 3/7/25) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Saving those children is how we all go home. From binge all episodes exclusively on Paramount Plus. Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO late month series, Real Time with Bill Maugh. All right, here we are at Overtime with the best-selling author and humorist who starts his 40-plus city tour on March 30th across the U.S. David Sedaris. And a former Democratic senator from Montana who co-host the podcast, Grounded John Tester, and a CNN political contributor and co-host of The View, Alyssa Farah Griffin. Okay. So these are the questions that the people want to know. John Tester, I don't know why this is just for you.

It says, are you concerned about bird flu like the rest of us who don't care about bird flu? And the Trump administration's ability to respond to another epidemic. Well, yes. Yes and yes? Yeah, I mean, look, I mean, I think that we should learn something from COVID, and we should treat these things seriously in the world we live in today with people moving around. And as a farmer, right, around animals and stuff, all the diseases come from animals.

Yeah. And it's because of the way we treat them. The bird flu, there's no doubt about it. It's a concentration of livestock in small areas, in this case, chickens. Did you ever try to, like, do anything about that? Like, I mean, I'm a Pete of board member, so I'm a little biased here. You're into that? I'm totally into that.

I am totally into not torturing animals. Yeah, no, no. And you know what? When you do torture animals, It winds up coming. That's how we get. That's right. That's a collateral damage of it all. Look, we have hard enough time getting a farm bill passed in Congress, for Christ's sake,

much less dealing with those kind of issues in our food system. And that, does it mean we shouldn't deal with it? No, we absolutely should deal with it in common sense ways. But in the end, we end up talking about trans and bathrooms. David Bird flu. Your thoughts. You know, I saw a video a few weeks ago, and it was. Spanish women protesting the rape of chickens. And I thought, who would stoop that low?

They meant buy roosters. And they were saying, if you have chickens outside, if you have chickens outside, and a rooster tries to rape the chicken, she can run away. But if they're confined, there's nowhere to go. And at first I thought it was crazy. And then I thought, well, it's a point. For history.

And not to be gross, but people have had sex with chicken. Larry Flint claimed that he lost his virginity to a chicken I don't think that's how it happens Yes he was serious I mean this is Larry Flint Who started hustler

You know I mean It puts some context there Any cock will do Any cock will do There you go That's why he is who he is Any cock will do This is for you

This is for you Phyllis what do you think of Republican leadership telling their members that they should avoid doing town halls. You can't hide from your own voters. It's literally... Like, they're not going to be mad if you don't show up. It's actually politically good advice from Richard Hudson because this is going to happen.

My concern is that Doge has cut a lot that we don't know. And in the next few months, there's going to be goods and services that the American public does rely on, not the fat and waste that none of us like. And if you're not getting your VA benefits, if you're not, if you're waiting at the Social Security office, you're going to want to go and yell at your congressman or you're going to vote him out of office. The other thing I would add to that is you get in Washington, D.C., and round that brick and that mortar, and it's a bubble,

and you never hear what's going on in the real world. And those town hall meetings are the only way you can hear what's really going on in the real world. It really goes against their democracy, quite frankly. Okay. What do you... For you, David, what do you think of artists like Hamilton, creator, Lynn Manuel and Miranda,

canceling tours of the shows at the Kennedy Center, now that Trump has taken it over. I've played the Kennedy Center three times. Really? And every time I've gone, I've said, why haven't you given me the Mark Twain Award? I should get it too. Yeah.

The last time they gave it to a writer was Neil Simon. Wow. Now Jeff Foxworthy is going to get it before I do. I mean, it doesn't seem fair. I've played the Kennedy team a bunch of times. And I've got to say, I don't know that I'd go back right now. Because I think the audience is going to stay away as well.

And usually when I've been there, I don't mean to sound like a dick, but, you know, it sells out. And I don't want Trump to take credit. I don't want to lead to its success if he's going to claim that as a victory for himself. You're not a dick for selling out. No, no, no, I mean a dick for saying it. Not a dick for that either. Okay. Three times sold out.

I'm angry that the building was politicized. I'm angry about that. Okay, but I will say this in defense of the other side on this one, because I watched the Kennedy Center honors this year. It was in December. It's always in December. I always watch it. And this year they honored Francis Ford Coppola

and the Grateful Dead were the two famous ones, and then they have an opera singer you never heard of. And, you know, okay. There's five people who get honored. And I just, now, maybe I'm wrong because I didn't do an exhaustive study, but I was looking at watching the show. I did not see one person in the audience or one person on the stage who you would think voted for Donald Trump. Now, this is the last month of the Biden administration. And having just lost the election, I just thought, you know what,

invite Ted Cruz. If this is supposed to be America and we're all together and you just lost, invite some of the people who you wouldn't suspect to be there. I'm sure Ted Cruz or somebody like that likes Francis Ford. Culpable. Everybody likes the godfather. I'm sure there are some Republicans who are grateful dead fans. And it's just like,

no, the mean girls were like, no, this is our last time. And this is what you get. And now, you know, Kevin Sorbo will be winning the next Kennedy Center. Listen, the arts obviously skew left of center and that's fine.

Like, I'm not looking to see Rob with all due respect perform there. But I do think that how much in Beltway Media, the story of the Kennedy Center take over has become a big story is just once again, so out of touch with the middle of this country

who doesn't even know what it is outside of watching the Kennedy Center honors once a year. So I think going overboard on it isn't the answer either. It's just a bad attitude. So what you're saying is there were no Republicans in the audience? I didn't see anybody throughout the whole show who I thought, oh, this is a person who voted for Trump.

I just felt when they cut to the audience, it was just the usual suspects. And like, okay, I get it. You're right. It does skew left. But just that's what I think that really bugs me about the left, that exclusionary attitude. And like, but you just lost. You know, you don't have the juice to pull that off anymore. And I've only been to it in person twice in 18 years.

But the truth is, both times that I went there once about three years ago, there were a lot of Republicans in the audience during the Biden administration. Okay. Maybe they just didn't show them. That could be. Look, Air Canada F.A. Canada has been a sold

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Oh, yeah, I would agree. Have you got it? Are you kidding? They're always fucking up the... How is that better? Like, first you lie on the table. It's like a massage. They put you...

What? They could screw that up, too. You know, they might miss. Well, you got like 10 guys. How could anybody... But you missed... No one ever missed a firing. Are you crazy?

No, it's over in two seconds. You have the cigarette, blindfold. You're out of there. The other thing... Oh, you get a blindfold. That helps. The other thing where they would put you first, because they had to make this...

They got the formula wrong many times. They would first need to, like, put the guy out. Like, oh, you know, the Nora Jones music is playing. It's, like, really comfortable. And then they would put in the real bad stuff. And they fucked it up a number of times. And the guy... It was just the worst.

How have we not gotten better at doing it a humane way, though? I would just imagine we have the technology to make it quick, easy, and peaceful because I'm not going firing squad personally. David, firing squad, your thoughts. Miley, they were, there was somebody on Instagram,

and he was asked what his last meal would be, and he said the all-you-can-eat breadsticks. You're allowed to request alcohol in your last meal, because I'd be like I'd like a bottle of, Jack Daniels. Right, sure. Okay. Well,

what does the panel think of Trump pulling $400 million in federal funding from Columbia University for failing to protect Jewish students from harassment? Well, two people love it. I'm for it. Listen, the devil be in the details.

Because, listen, free speech, fine. If you want to be a queer for Palestine, It's an idiotic philosophy, but you have a right to be that. You do not have a right to harass, intimidate Jewish students on campus to keep them from going to their classes at the table to keep them from going to dining hall. It is ridiculous, and I will tell you, those campus protests, those got Trump a lot of votes.

That was the one of the times that I was like, I hate this man, but this is insane that it's happening, and we need a change in leadership. So when did you go from working for him to hating him? COVID in January 6th really did it for me. I worked for Pence, I worked for the Department of Defense in the first administration, and I went over to work for him during the COVID crisis. I, to this day, think his single greatest accomplishment was Operation Warp Speed and getting the vaccine.

But then he's run away from it for the past four years rather than leaning into science and American ingenuity in the free market and how we got there. And I left before January 6th, but I saw it going that direction and the lies about the election. And that, to me, just went against my values. I just couldn't be with him. Same thing happening. Fascinating. And when did you go from loving him to hating him? I wish they were a good.

All right, everybody. 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. Lazzang sur-gillet, puissance-moyance-moyant for 15 minutes. Oh, you'd say that's their dojo.

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