Maureen Dowd | Club Random

Summary

Podcast Summary: Club Random with Bill Maher – Episode Featuring Maureen Dowd Release Date: March 30, 2025

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Guests:

• Bill Maher – Host
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – Author and Environmental Lawyer

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1. Welcome and Introductions (03:21 – 04:05)

Bill Maher welcomes Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Club Random, noting that despite having a cold, RFK Jr. is committed to showing up. The friends exchange light-hearted banter about the cold and Bill’s ability to keep his appearance despite not liking to travel.

Notable Quote:

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [03:57]: "Thank God I'm in Bobby Kennedy's America."

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2. Personal Anecdotes and Health (04:05 – 09:12)

The conversation shifts to health and personal experiences. RFK Jr. shares a humorous yet serious story about an accidental overdose from a cannabis edible disguised as candy, leading to intense paranoia and a temporary mental health struggle. They discuss the importance of proper labeling for edibles to prevent such incidents.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Maher [07:10]: "It's kind of like I have framed the flyer that the Westboro Baptist Church handed out."
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [09:07]: "I wanted to kill my computer."

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3. The Changing Landscape of Media and Technology (09:12 – 22:33)

Bill and RFK Jr. delve into the evolution of media, particularly focusing on how technology has transformed communication and journalism. They critique the rise of virtual interactions over face-to-face communication, discussing its impact on relationships and professional settings like newsrooms.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Maher [12:37]: "I stayed right where I've always been keeping it real about both sides of that."
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [19:05]: "There's a bunch of hippies who suddenly became billionaires."

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4. Political Climate and Party Dynamics (22:33 – 41:27)

The discussion navigates through the current political climate, addressing the fragmentation within political parties, the influence of figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and the challenges faced by the Democratic Party in maintaining unity and appeal. They examine the shifting alliances and the emergence of cancel culture within political discourse.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Maher [30:56]: "I'm not a conspiracy theorist like that."
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [42:14]: "They want to turn their back on this. Well, also, that's Western civilization."

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5. Media Representation and Cultural Critique (41:27 – 56:00)

Bill and RFK Jr. critique the portrayal of characters in classic and modern films, using "Double Indemnity," "Body Heat," and "Shakespeare in Love" as examples to discuss themes like femme fatales and the evolution of gender roles in cinema. They also touch upon how media representations reflect and influence societal attitudes.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Maher [50:39]: "She's a writer who's not selling anything."
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [55:28]: "This is my favorite genre."

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6. Reflections on Personal Lives and Relationships (56:00 – 79:35)

The hosts share personal insights on relationships, marriage, and societal expectations. Bill Maher discusses his own bachelor status humorously, while RFK Jr. reflects on his aspirations for marriage. They explore the dynamics of dating in the modern age, influenced by technology and changing social norms.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Maher [90:55]: "Men are necessary."
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [97:05]: "But the serious... Even cut off somebody's head with a helicopter."

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7. Future Outlook and Closing Thoughts (79:35 – 108:32)

In the concluding segment, Bill and RFK Jr. contemplate the future of American politics and society. They discuss potential strategies for the Democratic Party to regain its footing, the role of charismatic leaders, and the importance of openness and dialogue across political divides. The conversation wraps up with light-hearted remarks and plans for future meetings.

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Maher [86:05]: "We all have to go sometime."
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [107:39]: "I'm too scared."

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Key Themes and Insights:

• Separation of Church and State: Emphasized early on, highlighting the importance of secular governance.

• Impact of Technology on Communication: Critique of how virtual interactions diminish genuine human connections.

• Political Polarization: Examination of the increasing divide within and between political parties, and the influence of high-profile figures.

• Media and Cultural Representation: Analysis of film noir and modern cinema in shaping and reflecting societal attitudes.

• Personal Relationships in Modern Society: Exploration of how dating and relationships are affected by contemporary social norms and technology.

• Future of Democracy and Governance: Discussion on the need for charismatic and relatable leadership to bridge political divides.

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Conclusions:

Bill Maher and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. engage in a multifaceted discussion that intertwines personal anecdotes with broader societal critiques. They underscore the challenges posed by technological advancements, political fragmentation, and evolving cultural norms. The conversation advocates for maintaining individual liberty, fostering open dialogue, and seeking balanced perspectives to navigate the complexities of modern American society.

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Note: This summary focuses exclusively on the content-rich segments of the podcast, omitting advertisements, intros, outros, and non-substantive sections to provide a coherent and comprehensive overview of the episode's discussions.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

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[Maureen Dowd]

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[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Was that you?

[Bill Maher]

It was you fool.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, really? I was going to say great line.

[Bill Maher]

You don't remember it? Produced by Harvey Weinstein.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, yeah. Well, there's that.

[Bill Maher]

But yeah, go ahead, Marine. Yeah, keep liking it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Club Random.

[Bill Maher]

Hello.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Hello.

[Bill Maher]

It's around the corner. How are you? Good, you know. You have a little cold.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, don't.

[Bill Maher]

And you still showed up. Yeah, well, I love people who keep a booking.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Thank God I'm in Bobby Kennedy's America. Don't worry when I get sick.

[Bill Maher]

Well, let's not start fighting about that, right? All right. Let's wait like 10 minutes before we get into. You look fantastic. I don't know what you're doing to get through this cold. What are you doing to get through a cold?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, I had to cancel my first day on the book tour. I was supposed to be on CNN with Kaitlan Collins and, you know, I just slept. But when you're on book tour, it's hard to get enough sleep.

[Bill Maher]

Man, you're a trooper. I mean, you go places in the world. I mean, I wouldn't go in the world. I don't.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I know. You don't like to travel, right?

[Bill Maher]

I'm done. I did it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Done.

[Bill Maher]

Not like.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Like Larry David is like that. I mean, Europe. What's the point?

[Bill Maher]

No, he. He was in Europe recently because he officiated at Ari Emanuel's wedding in Italy.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, really?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I think he married them.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, my gosh. I didn't know that.

[Bill Maher]

Well, any. Anyone can do a wedding, you know, I'll do yours. So. So I'm not going to pass you this joint, okay? Because, you know, you have a cold. And we. We also know that you once had a very bad experience with marijuana.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right. And then you gave me some advice on your show publicly. But if they ran that advice on a loop in dispensaries, that would be good.

[Bill Maher]

What was the advice? I Forget. Because I'm a pothead.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, they didn't. I mean, the problem with wind. Denver, Right.

[Bill Maher]

You ate it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But can I just clear up something which I keep trying to clear up, but no one believes me? It was a five square chocolate caramel candy bar. I had one half of one square. Everyone said, you shouldn't have eaten the whole candy bar. Cause that's like guzzling a bottle of Jack Daniels. But I didn't. But here's the thing. It was a bunch of hippies who suddenly became billionaires. And they didn't want to put in a speed bump for new people where they labeled it with instructions or had a thing on a loop, like your instructions, where they said if you take an edible, you've got to wait an hour and a half because that's how long it takes to kick in. So. But the funny thing was they. They put up. They hired a model who looked like me and put up billboards all over Denver with the message something like, don't be like Mo. Go slow with, like, me with my head in my hands.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, that's really kind of a cool feather in your cap.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I have a picture of it in my office.

[Bill Maher]

It's kind of like I have framed the flyer that the Westboro Baptist Church handed out. Remember them? God hates fags people? Yeah, it's one of my prized possessions.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, well, I actually got the laws changed there because all I thought was that they should give you better instructions. I didn't want to slow them down, but they were all furious at the idea that they would be slowed down, you know, But a lot of new people were coming in and older people, and they just needed to tell them how to do it.

[Bill Maher]

Well, exactly. They need to. Yeah, you're right. There's. There's some.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I still want you to tell me how to do it. I still haven't gotten back on the horse, so to speak.

[Bill Maher]

Well, first of all, don't eat it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Unless you can get. I mean, there are people who do. I don't want to tell everybody how to do their own thing, but for me, eating it was always problematic. I wanted to eat it because it's better for you, I think. You don't have to put smoke in your lungs, but it's just too much of a commitment. And you know how I feel about commitment. But it is. It's a giant commitment sometimes a terrible commitment. And it's like an acid trip sometimes. That's what happened to you?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, what happened was. Yeah, so I was with a girlfriend, Alessandra. Stanley. And she and I did this tiny bit of this candy bar and we were suddenly, you know. Well, we were fine. Then nothing happened for an hour and a half. So we figured we'd get a glass of wine and go to bed.

[Bill Maher]

Well, that's.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

So then suddenly.

[Bill Maher]

That's the big mistake.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. I felt paralyzed, but I also felt super paranoid. I was sure that the hotel officials were gonna come in and kick me out of the room. And then we were sort of both parents paralyzed for 12 hours. And then when I got up, for some reason, I took a glass of water and walked over to my computer and poured it into it.

[Bill Maher]

What?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, I like killed my computer. I forgot to put that in my piece. But.

[Bill Maher]

Well, that to me speaks of some sort of psychological thing that was lurking.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I wanted to kill my computer?

[Bill Maher]

Well, yes, wouldn't it? I mean, I don't have to be Sigmund Freud to see that.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But you know what I suspect, but I never prove, was that I think they were using a lot of medicine at that point. So you didn't quite know what you were getting. I think it might have been a little stronger even. And also they were disguising it as candy, Remember? Little kids were. And that was all I said. I said, don't. Now you're in the game. Don't disguise it as candy and just give people instructions.

[Bill Maher]

Well, of course, that certainly is. That's the low hanging fruit that they could do. And I own a pot store with Woody Harrelson.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, yeah. I want to go over there, the woods.

[Bill Maher]

It's fantastic, everyone. It's amazing.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. My researcher is here with me and he's still upset. He didn't take. Woody Harrelson was giving out gold, like gold finger, gold foil joints the night of your show in dc. Can you get him one of those?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, but you know cnn. I was gonna say it's a conservative organization, but they're not that conservative. I'm on there now. When I, when they asked me to. Would you like to be. I was like, yeah, be honored. Cnn? Are you kidding? But what are you gonna do about all the fucks? We don't care. You don't care?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

CNN doesn't care about. Fuck.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Wow. Things have changed. When I first went on the Tonight show, you couldn't say ass.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

David Zaslav.

[Bill Maher]

Well, you think he did it?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, I'm kidding. He's a looser guy.

[Bill Maher]

He is. He's a great guy.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, I love him too.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, no, he's.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He's a Guy from Jersey and Mark Thompson Arol.

[Bill Maher]

Not Jersey, but near.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Mark Thompson Arol CEO, is now running Sienna.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I just had lunch with him.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He's a great guy.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

You have to trash someone soon. Oh, we love everyone. Oh, you have my picture with Chico. I love that song.

[Bill Maher]

It's like that. If I had to take another thing out of my house besides the Westboro Baptist Church flyer saying that I am Satan and I'm praying to Obama like this. And he's got devil horns, which is awesome, I would save this. You got me this when my book came out last year and you interviewed me and Chico photobombed. If you're not watching this, if you're listening, Chico photobombed the picture. And it's mostly I'm in the background, which is perfect, because, you know, when you're older, it's a great place to be. But Chico, with this one fucking eye, just.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I love that picture.

[Bill Maher]

I do, too. It is my prized possession. But, no, there's plenty of people. I mean, first of all, the book is fantastic. I very often get two stoned and forget things. But I'm not gonna do that today. Not to you. Not to the awesome Maureen Dowd, who's been so good to me. I read, you know, Notorious, it's called, and it's a collection of all your pieces, your profiles of not just people in show business, but whoever's a big mocker. I mean, I love the ones you do about fashion. I love the ones you do about tech titans. That's a big thing. But anybody who's in the culture like that, on that level. And some of these. I mean, I remember all of them, and I have a very, shall we say, selective memory. But some of them came back, like, from the 90s, like Al Pacino. Some of them are from, like, early 90s, when you and I were both first kind of. When did you get your column? I mean, I remember the 88 election when you covered Bush.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I started in 95.

[Bill Maher]

95 is when your column started. Okay, so Politically incorrect started in 93.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right. I did a story. It's more of a column. Not one of those pieces, but about. Remember I trashed Ari at the White House for. He was criticizing you for that crime.

[Bill Maher]

Trashed who?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I trashed the Bush White House when they were criticizing you about, you know, during the Iraq war, When. Or it was. Sorry, it was after 9, 11, when.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, when they fired me. It's so funny, Maureen, you know, like, here's the arc of my career. You could see it through that lens of Islam because I was a big hero to the left after 9 11, because six days after the attack, we did our first show. And somebody said, Dinesh D'Souza said, you know, the people who were attacked, they were not cowards. And I wholeheartedly agreed and still do. You can be evil and not be a coward. I mean, they stuck with the suicide mission. Now, I've heard some of them on the plane didn't know it was a suicide mission. And they were like, wait, what kind of a mission?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, but you came back. Nobody.

[Bill Maher]

But they did it. And I think they probably did know. So I was a big hero to the left because I said, you know, terrorists don't necessarily. Aren't necessarily coward. Which was true. And then I became a big enemy of the left because I kept saying true things about Islamic extremism which they didn't like because they think that's Islamophobia. So it's interesting the way it came. I stayed right where I've always been keeping it real about both sides of that. But it just came around. I mean, and now we are. I'm not surprised that we've reached this place where wokeism is somehow aligned with info. Tata is the only solution that the people that look and dress and admire terrorists and Infitada, which is not a benign word or concept, they're aligned now. That's the end of that cycle. And I'm very happy with where I stayed, despite all the people who threw me out of their little club for it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, that's why people love you. People ask me about you all around the world when I travel. Customs agents, really.

[Bill Maher]

And where.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Because people want someone to just tell it straight, not be spinning for one side or.

[Bill Maher]

No, I get that in America, but where in the world do they know me? I mean, Ireland. So they get where they see it on YouTube.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I'm proud of you as a son of Ireland.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I remember when my. I visited there in 99, and I never really thought, oh, you know, I'm Irish. But I was always very unsentimental about it. And I truly believe in my heart that you can't be proud of something you didn't actually achieve. I'm not really proud I'm Irish. It just happened. You know, I'm. I'm not. I'm not proud. I'm white. It just. It just happened. I'm proud that I stayed on the air after they tried to get rid of me. That's an accomplishment.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, nobody puts baby In a corner.

[Bill Maher]

Well. But when my plane landed, I was crying, and I don't know why. I mean, I didn't expect it or I just. Maybe something in the earth or. I don't know what it was. But when the plane was touching down, I guess somewhere in me, I know what my roots are.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That is a great story.

[Bill Maher]

It's not much of a story. It just happens.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, I love that, though.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. Yeah. And then I had the best time driving around.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Ireland has changed a lot. You know, they had a gay Indian.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, they're super woke.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Prime Minister. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, yeah. For people who don't know, there's, like, stupider woke in other countries, even in many places. I mean, New Zealand, I think I've heard some things. They had a young woman prime minister, you know, who had said things during COVID very much like, you know, if.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

We are the Jacinda Arden, I did one of these pieces on her.

[Bill Maher]

We are the only truth.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

She was great. I mean, she was great when I interviewed her.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I'm just saying.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

She did. Yeah. She got in trouble over Covid. That's why.

[Bill Maher]

Well, also, just this. This attitude that I do hate on the left of like, we own the truth.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I think Fauci said, almost as I am the science.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, I think they took his mural down in Washington.

[Bill Maher]

Trump.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

What's it like? I mean, that's been your home your whole life. For people who don't know.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, I was born there.

[Bill Maher]

Born and raised there. And your father was detective and sergeant at arms. What, in the Capitol?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, he was a D.C. police detective who was in charge of Senate security. Got shot for 20 years. He didn't get shot. He captured the gun of. He ran from the Senate to the House and tackled and took the gun away from one of the Puerto Rican terrorists.

[Bill Maher]

Puerto Rican terrorists?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. So he shot up the house that you can still see the gunshots on some of the desks. And he took the gun. And then there was a trial, and the defense attorney asked him how he knew that it was his client's gun. And my dad goes, because I carved my initials on it, which you can see if you look at it.

[Bill Maher]

Holy shit. Now, that's a story.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He was. My dad was very magnetic and cool and anyway, Washington is one big ball of stress. They need some weed there. I mean, they're always ripping it. Yeah, ripping from the inside out.

[Bill Maher]

You mean now? It is now, but it wasn't before. You're just saying it's worse. No, it was it must be people just getting fired. There's nothing more close to home than that. And the. He's tearing through the government firing people.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

So that's really what I was asking is like, what is. I mean, do you see that in Starbucks when you.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Everyone's head is spinning. I mean, this wolf pack or brat pack of young doge kids with backpacks and pizzas shows up. They had a confrontation today or yesterday at the US Institute of Peace where they didn't want to let them in and they were trying to sneak in. And you know, it's scary because it was. I think you said something. I'm elaborating on it. But it's like if you want to get rid of your stomach, you don't use a John Belushi samurai sword to cut it off, you just use a Zimpic. Like there's a more careful way to do it. I mean, it would be nice to save money and have a leaner government. But these kids show up and they're trying to get into agencies. It's very disorienting because there was no planning in the sense of. There's no, you know, disclosure agreements. Nobody knows what they're getting. They're getting taxpayers information and a lot of it probably is illegal. And you know, it's just an insane situation. And Elon Musk, there's a piece about him in the book.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, yes, 2017. I mean, it's the old. When he did the old.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. When he didn't like.

[Bill Maher]

Funny. He also was a liberal hero.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Not that I'm a. A conservative hero now.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

He fully went all the other way.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

As Joe Rogan used to also be quite liberal.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

But the Elon piece is from what, 27.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, Silicon Valley was liberal and now it's very.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. And he Republican, he did the Tesla. You know, I mean, there was lots.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

You know, and everybody in Hollywood had to test.

[Bill Maher]

And I remember when, it wasn't that long ago when he was just posting things before he owned Twitter that were fairly benign and similar to the way I thought were like, I remember once he put like a graph of like here I am and here's where, you know, the common sense used to be the middle. And here's its move. Here's how it's moved. And you know, he had the left abandoning it, which it has in many ways.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

So he, you know, sees himself as in the middle while the, While the shift has happened. I see that too, but I didn't go all the way.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I then didn't.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He's gone. He's gone very far. But I think the problem is he does not believe in government. So he's perfectly happy to eviscerate government and he's treating it like a business or something. And it's government. You know, you can't do that. No, I'm not saying I don't want to get rid of stupid and wasteful things, but the way they're doing it, you know, just imagine Washington and this crazy pack of kids running around getting everyone's information.

[Bill Maher]

Even if you were going to metaphorically demolish a building, say a building does need to be demolished, wouldn't you go in first and take out whatever is valuable?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right, right.

[Bill Maher]

You know, you'd go into the building.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But they just show up. I mean, I can say, yeah, Trump is treating it. I used to like this TV show when I was a little cold treasure chest where Jan Murray would open the treasure chest every week. Remember that?

[Bill Maher]

Vaguely.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I don't remember.

[Bill Maher]

Sounds vague. Was it a game show?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. So there's that thrill of them getting into an agency and finding the things that are stupid to cut. But there's more to it than that, you know.

[Bill Maher]

Club Random is brought to you by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Yay. You ever been on a road trip where one person insists on controlling the music? Well, you're just trying to enjoy the ride, but now you're stuck listening to nothing but their favorite band. No discussion, no compromises, just their way or the highway. Who would do that? Well, that's the kind of what's happening with Christian nationalism. Some folks want to take over the wheel and force everyone to follow their beliefs, shoving religion into our laws, our schools, and even our personal choices. But hey, this country was built for everyone, not just one group. That's where the Freedom From Religion foundation comes in. Think of them as the gps keeping church and state in separate lanes, just like the founders actually intended. So whether you're always been secular or left religion behind like me, if you don't want someone else dictating the trip for you, FFRF has your back. Join us. Go to FFRF, US Freedom or text Club to 511-511 and become a member today. Text Club to 5 11, 5511 or go to FFRF, US Freedom. Because when it comes to freedom, we all deserve to choose our own route. For membership information, text Club to 511-511. Text fees may apply. You know, if your daily uniform is baggy sweats, it might be time for an intervention just to show society we haven't fully given up. Well, luckily there's True Classic. These guys somehow figured out how to make clothes that feel like sweats but won't make you look like a schlub. With True Classic, I don't necessarily feel like I'm dressing down. And the clothes are extremely comfortable. They fit like they're tailored and for a fraction of the cost. The shirts like this are snug where you want them around the arms and chest and more forgiving around the midsection. They're also versatile. I can use the same shirt to shoot some hoops on the court or throw a blazer on over it and go out to dinner. Wow. I actually do that. Their activewear is moisture wicking and even fights odor. And if you're like me, you actually give a damn about the environment. So for the Pima crew trees, they use 100% Pima cotton. Maybe that's this. No synthetic fibers, which is good news for the planet, which could use some good news. Also good news for you because Pima cotton feels incredible. This actually does feel very nice. But they don't just sell T shirts. True. Oh, obviously these are jeans. I mean pants. I mean sweats for your legs. True Classic has great fitting clothing for all seasons, including long sleeve Henleys, fleece hoodies, button ups, joggers, even jeans. Plus they offer free shipping on all orders with a 100% perfect fit guarantee and easy returns. I mean, they're trusted by over 4 million customers and have over 200,000 5 star reviews. Whether you're bundling up for the cold or getting ready for spring, level up your style with clothes that actually fit right. Just go to my exclusive [e-mail] random to save. That's trueclassic.com/random. Shop now and elevate your wardrobe today. Well, the thing I worry about the most, which now will probably get us on what we're going to argue about health wise, is during. Well, before COVID we had a little group in China, a little group of like eight scientists and doctors who were supposed to monitor if anything was brewing over there. I forget what it was called. It was like a five word name, a very long. The biomedical establishment Committee. Whatever it was, it was just. It cost $0.03 basically. And he got rid of that. And I don't feel like he's ever confronted with that enough. And now that's what they're doing all over the world. And diseases start in other countries and then they come here. How can these People who. Some of them are not stupid at all. How can they not see that that's the smart thing to do? And that if another virus comes here, it could be worse? Ebola, you know, Stop it in Africa.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

I just don't.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, like, when he had this presidential address, you know, recently, he had a child there who he said had gotten cancer, maybe from chemicals. But then they're cutting the things at NIH that are watching that. Like when he talked to Zelensky today, he said, oh, I want to help you with these children that the Russians have kidnapped. They've kidnapped all these Ukrainian children. But then Doge cut a Yale program, which tracks the children and tries to. You know. So this is what's going on. Everybody wants to get rid of waste, but this is a crazy. Nobody knows what anyone's doing. Everything's spinning.

[Bill Maher]

So are people in Washington. How do you see it? Like, when you go out drinking more? Are the cars crashing off the side? Were there just people like, I want to know how you actually. What you actually.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That's what it is.

[Bill Maher]

Just like in a movie where the car is starting, just driving off the road, and people are just. Their guy's running out, he's on fire. That kind of. That's it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That Mary.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. Well, you know, on the disease thing, I gotta say, when I read the byline in your paper about these news stories, I can't help but remember that this is the person who said that any even hint that Covid could have come. Escaped from a lab was racist.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

So you can't really blame me. And maybe she's your friend. I'm sorry if she works across the cubicle or whatever, but you can't blame me for being skeptical.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I don't blame you.

[Bill Maher]

Okay.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I don't.

[Bill Maher]

Thank you.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Go ahead.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. All right. No, I'm glad, because I know we've. I know you and I have slightly different views. And, like, I mean, I know RFK is easy to. I said last week, he's, like, having a bipolar girlfriend. You know, sometimes he says crazy shit, and you just. You know, he's the girl you. You're sorry you started to talk to at the party, right? You know, yeah. But just from what I basically know, I mean, we used to treat natural immunity as a little more valuable than we do now. I'm not saying this is the pharmaceutical industry taking over America entirely. I'm not a conspiracy theorist like that. But like any industry, they're very influential. And the solution always seems to be more of their. What they're selling. And this is the first one, Covid, I recall, where we really didn't count natural immunity at all. Even if you had it, which is really usually the best kind, you still had to get the vaccine. That seems strange. And they fired medical workers who wouldn't do that.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, I know that, Covid, was hard for all of us, but I do know it was hard for you because I feel like I kept sending you pink ties to cheer you up because.

[Bill Maher]

And I wore them here. We shot the show. I did the monologue there. We did the interviews right here. I did the editorial outside in the backyard. We did it once in the rain. I will treasure that moment. I. I did a monologue with holding an umbrella. Yeah, I mean, you got through it. I. You know, it was. It was terrible. I know it was terrible. You know, it was. The terrible part is I would do the show. The show? Yeah. Okay. It was still the show. We. We kept it pretty much like it was. We had a laugh track for the. You know, we tried that. We cut. We had old footage of people laughing from other errors. It was funny. People thought it was a good bit. Yeah, we got through it. But after we finished the taping, I would walk out that door and I'd walk the 50ft to my house and I'd just be silently all alone again. And that's. You can't come down from a show like that.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right. I know. I was working.

[Bill Maher]

You get keyed up and you just. It was like. It reminded me of the first time I took mushrooms. And when the mushrooms wore off, when they had eaten all my serotonin, and I was just like.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, yeah, I know. I was at my dining room table working by myself for two years. I thought I would go mad. You know, it was. It was a horrible period for the country.

[Bill Maher]

You go into the office every day.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, I try, but they just did a crazy six month redecoration of our office. So we haven't been there. But I will be going back after book tour.

[Bill Maher]

But really, why would you need in your job to go into an office?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

You don't need to. But I don't like working alone. I mean, if I had known I was gonna be working alone so much, I would have become a cocktail waitress. I don't want to be a journalist enough to do it alone. You know, it's.

[Bill Maher]

So you like to hear the clacking of the other.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, that's the whole point. The newsroom, right?

[Bill Maher]

You know, his girl Friday.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

All these kids have not even experienced a newsroom I don't know how they meet people to date. I don't know how they get mentors. I don't know how they imitate. You know, I used to, like, watch reporters, and then I would know how to do it. I don't know who they model themselves on. I think it's. It's horrible for young people, but some of them seem to not want to be in the office, which I don't get at all.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, most of them, yeah. Well, I think when historians write of this era, they will say that the great divide was no longer the things that we obsess over. It wasn't economic, although these divides all exist. It wasn't racial. That certainly exists. It was virtual versus not real. Like, there is somewhere in the chart of ages and generations a place where people like you and I have so little, so little in common with someone who lives on the phone. Oh, yeah, I was watching. Rewatching. You know, I watch things in the bathtub. I watch things in the kitchen. You know, the news is too different.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

You have a TV in your bathroom?

[Bill Maher]

I got a TV in my drawers. I got a TV everywhere. I love tv. But yes, in the bathtub. I watch movies. I love that. And I was watching one from. I think it was from 2011 called Crazy Stupid Love. Not a genius movie, but not bad.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, it's fun.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, it's fun.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Ryan Gosling, they do the Patrick Swayze, Leap, right? Don't they Dance? Is that the one? Yeah. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

[Bill Maher]

Emma Stone and Steve Carell, they do the.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Matt. Patrick.

[Bill Maher]

I'm not up to that part. There was a part where he takes his shirt off and. Of course you remember.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I didn't mean to ruin it.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, no, no. I've seen it before.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, it's fine.

[Bill Maher]

I'm just saying I'm watching this and it. It takes. Okay, so here's my review or recap. Okay? I'm not going to ruin it. It's 15 years old. If you haven't seen it, you didn't miss the great. It's not Citizen Kane, but it's cute. Okay, so it's. It. Most of it takes place in a bar. Steve Carell is married to Julianne Moore, and in the first scene, she wants a divorce. Okay? And so he's like this, you know, schlubby guy who's out there now, single. So he goes to this singles bar. This is why I'm telling this story, because the singles bar, and I'm thinking this is 2011. And this is like, it could be from the 1300s. This is so out of date that people go to a. That's the main set. He goes to a single bar where. Where Ryan Gosling, every night is scoring with hot chicks who go to singles bar to be chatted up by guys who have lines to. And it's like, okay, first of all, today guys can't even talk to girls, so that's not going to happen. They'd all be on their phones. Women are afraid of places like that because they get roofied by the incels.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

Again, this is only 2011 and already this is, again, to somebody who's just starting out going, you know, in their dating life, 18, 19, 17, whatever it is. This is like you might be in the Civil War. Why don't you just have something in the barn where we're sitting on barrels and churning butter before we meet somebody? And that's the dividing line, I think.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And we're strangers in a strange land. And they're cyborgs. I mean, you know, they have the phone. They're almost like part computer. And they don't. It's funny with journalism because they don't want to make calls. They'll text someone, but they don't want to pick up the phone.

[Bill Maher]

Even texting, sometimes it's too much. It's a challenge.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

Which is amazing. And the idea of actually confronting somebody and saying, this is just not working out.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right, Right.

[Bill Maher]

That's. That would just never. In fact, even putting it in text, they just go, now, have you dated.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Someone where you had that divide where they were very.

[Bill Maher]

When am I not? Yes, but I found one who isn't. But, yeah, man, you have to kiss a lot of computers. But I mean, it's. Yeah, it's. That, to me, is going to be. And already people are identifying this, but I don't think they know how much, like you say cyborgs. I was watching the Taylor Swift Endless concert. It's taken months to get through that. Nikki Glaser made me do it. She said, okay, I've talked about Taylor. She's fun. I like her. She's a sweet person. I don't get the music. Enough said. But like everybody, when they cut to the audience, all you see are phones. No one is experiencing this through their eye.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

They have to put this artificial filter that somehow makes it better. And they're also recording it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right. So, yeah. So when I'm covering, let's say I was on deadline writing about the Trump address recently, and my assistant is Watching it through his phone. He's not watching the TV with me. And I'm like, let's both look at the tv. But no, that is not.

[Bill Maher]

Even the TV is not real. No, I mean, it's real. Yeah, but you know what? I mean, it's not like Lincoln, you know, where. Oh, there's Lincoln.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But I.

[Bill Maher]

That's the motherfucker himself right there. You know that.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But there's some, like, filter in there. And I'm like, let's just, you know, pay attention to this.

[Bill Maher]

But no, I didn't know what my World War II parents would say if they just suddenly Rip Van Winkle back to life. And I just can't imagine what they would think of anything. I mean, they were lifelong liberal Democrats. They put that in me, and I think I basically kept the faith. Although I won't go to stupid Woketown with you. But I don't know. They. I don't think they would either. I don't know. My father was as Irishy Democrat, loved Kennedy and Pope John. Mine, too, as you get.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

We had a huge picture of John.

[Bill Maher]

I cannot 100% predict that he wouldn't be a Trumper.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, I wonder. My father wouldn't, but I wonder. I don't think my mom would, but I can see parts of Trump she would like. Yeah, she did feel we were sending too much foreign aid and a lot of the things he harps on, you know, and I think she would like. She liked. Like, she liked. Funnily enough, she was. She became a Republican with Reagan because she loved Ronald Reagan, especially in the tuxedo. She loved him. But then she loved Clinton because he was optimistic and talked to her. I think she would like the fact that Trump keeps talking to his fans.

[Bill Maher]

You know, he talks to anybody.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. But also he talks to them in a way. Barack Obama or, you know, other George W. Bush don't talk to fans the way they would talk to their wife or a friend. And Trump does, you know, it's very. He would tell people at rallies anything. He would tell Melania, probably more.

[Bill Maher]

If Trump and Obama were sitting here right now. Yeah, they wouldn't agree on a lot, but you know what they would both say, Boy, that Maureen Dowd was hard on me.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, it's my publisher.

[Bill Maher]

Confirm or deny?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Confirm. But my publisher. Trump called us after the 2016 election. He called the Times, and he came over and we had a big meeting with him, and he began complaining about me. And the publisher said, Mr. Trump or President Trump, it's not your fault. It's just your turn.

[Bill Maher]

Wow. Now, that's a great title.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Remember that?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, I should have used that as the title. Well, I have another shot at it.

[Bill Maher]

That's. There's the title. So next time the title thing comes up and you email it about the title, I'll forget this because I'm a pothead. So you remember. I'm remembering.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

So I have become, partly because of some things I've been reading in your columns because you love to reference them, a big, like, classic movie fan lately.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, wow.

[Bill Maher]

I never did it. There were a lot of ones I had missed. I never. I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's, and I know you and I have talked about horrors in movies.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes. And I loved your editorial.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I thought that was.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

It's so funny, because when I was.

[Bill Maher]

At Columbia, horrors are having a moment.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. I was at Columbia getting my graduate degree in English Literature a couple years ago. Yep. I got it.

[Bill Maher]

Wow.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And I was in a class of pre Renaissance plays, and the teacher, this British guy, goes, what? This woman character, he goes, what is she? And I look down at the footnotes and I go, oh, she's a whore. And the whole class, all the students and the teacher were like. And the teacher goes, maureen, she's a sex worker.

[Bill Maher]

Just like, whore.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Shakespeare, right? Yeah. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Can't say whore. So your degree is from Columbia?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes, it was much more valuable. You know, I didn't have rich parents to pay for it, so it was.

[Bill Maher]

So when you go to Colombia, do they give you the Kefaya when you first get there, or is it when you go on the.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Thank God. My.

[Bill Maher]

Because. Infitada.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

The only global solution, Maureen.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

My time there was before that. And so it was very peaceful.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, it was before that.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right? Before.

[Bill Maher]

But Breakfast at Tiffany's. They're both. See, I never. I always.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, that's the same with Pretty Woman. They're both.

[Bill Maher]

He's not a whore. Well, he's a businessman.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right. But he's.

[Bill Maher]

Bill, listen to yourself.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But he's. It's funny.

[Bill Maher]

He's a businessman.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

This is funny. You would like this. Listen. They're cutting words out of.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, Jesus Christ.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

You know, they're. They're saying we shouldn't use certain words. Like, there are eight different gender words, but one of the words that they're trying to cut out as prostitutes. And that's such a useful word in Washington. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Well, you. But prostitute, you know, is a word. If you look it up in the dictionary, the first definition doesn't mention sex. It Just says it's doing something you hate for money.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. There's so many men.

[Bill Maher]

And you can prostitute yourself, but that's politicians. Okay, but that's. That's not. But in Breakfast at Tiffany's. No, he's a man whore. He's got this lady who you see in a few scenes, and she writes him.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Patricia Neal. She takes care of him.

[Bill Maher]

Takes care of.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He's a boy to it.

[Bill Maher]

A boy. He's a whore.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Nothing wrong with it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He's more of a capped man, whatever it is.

[Bill Maher]

He's a writer who's not selling anything. And he gets by. But that's what I never. I always heard, oh, it's Audrey Hepburn. She's a hooker. And it's like, oh, wow.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, well, you know, originally, Truman Capote wanted it to be Marilyn Monroe, which would have made. Well, it would have made more sense. Cause she's supposed to be kind of a hillbilly and a singer.

[Bill Maher]

Right, right.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

You know, and because it was Audrey Hepburn, they completely whitewashed what she did for a living. So you just thought she was a party girl?

[Bill Maher]

No, no, no, no, no. That. No. Whitewashed is not what they did. The times were just so different. Here's what it is. She goes out with gentlemen. Of course, this is a chaste era where you don't ever see any sex. She goes out with gentlemen who give her $50. Which.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

To go to the ladies room.

[Bill Maher]

To go to the wash. Yeah.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, well, $50 in 61 was what, a thousand?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, so they give her a.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

So you didn't believe the washroom thing.

[Bill Maher]

We might go to the washroom broke, but you're coming back, ready for action.

[Maureen Dowd]

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[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

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[Bill Maher]

So I'm telling you, that's their way of saying she's a hooker.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But tell me what other movies you've been watching.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, okay.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Any other romantic.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I did a triptych of the double Indemnity. Had. Never seen that.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, I love that. Except for her wig. It makes her look like George Washington.

[Bill Maher]

Talking about Barbara Stanwy.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, I love Barbara Stanwyck.

[Bill Maher]

Is she not cute?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

She was my dad's favorite actress. She has a sexy way about her.

[Bill Maher]

I guess for the era. I mean, in the first scene where he sees her, I mean, she's got an ankle bracelet which apparently gives him wood like you can't believe. And he's like. But it's so funny. Again, the sensibilities of different eras. This is like, I think about the phones and like, we're of different species from 2011, but from 1944 or whatever that movie was. I mean, okay, he meets her, the first scene, she's married. This is the old one about the femme fatale who gets some stupid schlub to kill her husband for. Right. That's. That's always a SAP. And then I watched two other movies with the same plot. Body Heat.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Because it's always.

[Bill Maher]

It's great. It's a great plot.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. The woman's a vixen and the guy's a SAP.

[Bill Maher]

Right. So. But. And then I watched one that came out just a couple of years ago called Careful what yout Wish For. Nick Jonas is the SAP. Right. Okay.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

So you gotta watch out of the Past. That's my favorite.

[Bill Maher]

Is that the same plot?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes, but it gets a little twist at the end of the day. It's Robert Mitchum. Kirk Douglas. Our friend. Our old friend. And Jane Greer. It's the perfect film noir. Oh, I base my past. Never heard of it.

[Bill Maher]

Out of the Past.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. I base my whole. When I started in journalism, it was mostly men and I was terrified. So I would watch film noir to see how the women kind of dominated, you know, and take tips from them. Not as a femme fatale, but as somebody, you know, they would always come in and say, Something like Quite the Hacienda. Or they'd say something that would put the men back on their heels. So I wanted to be coached by.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, there's a lot.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Very strong.

[Bill Maher]

There's a lot of snappy dialogue in Double Indemnity. But of course it does. I mean, it makes so little sense unless you lived in that era and you understood that things were so chaste, on the surface, at least in media, that you just had to indicate things. So he meets her for five minutes in the first scene. He's an insurance guy. He goes to the house. She's married. The husband's not there, and he immediately is hitting on her. Okay. And nice ankle bracelet, baby. And, you know, it's. So there's an attraction. We see that. Then he goes back a second time and kind of gets it that she wants him to kill her husband.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

So he's like, I'm not the SAP was going to do that. Get another SAP in here. I'm not a SAP.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

So goes to his apartment. Of course, that night, a knock on the door. It's her. By the end of that scene, they're kissing and saying, I love you.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

It's like it just. They're not.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But she didn't mean it, Bill.

[Bill Maher]

But they're not. They're just not concerned with realism the way later decades were.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Thank God. That's what I love about it.

[Bill Maher]

I get Kim. Pat.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, my God. Wait.

[Bill Maher]

I love.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I love you. Giving the plot of classic movies to another.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, so that's that one.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And, you know, this is like Masterpiece Theater.

[Bill Maher]

Sorta.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, so body heat is 40 years later and much better. And hot. I mean, wow. I forgot, like, how much, like, nudity and, like, grabbing his Johnson on screen. It's for the early 80s. It was, you know, ahead of its time. I think maybe that's why it was such a big hit, because that probably was taking it to another level. But it's the same thing. It takes place in Florida. It's super hot. The heat is like a character in the movie. They're always sweating completely. So he's this guy. He's a lawyer, but he's not doing great. He's kind of down on his luck. But, you know, hot. You know, gets laid a lot. And she's the lady who wants to kill her husband. Who, in this one isn't bad. And Double Indemnity. The husband's mean. This one, he's just kind of like. It's Richard Crenna. Not that bad. It's like, she Just wants to kill him.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

This plot goes back to Macbeth. Macbeth had a nice boss, but the wife said, no, you've got to kill him. Take his job.

[Bill Maher]

You're right. It is a little Lady Macbeth.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And also.

[Bill Maher]

But she stayed with Macbeth, right?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, or she would have. No, she.

[Bill Maher]

Because these ladies just want to. They want to kill two birds with one stone. They want to get rid of the husband and then get his money.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And cut out the SAP who helped them.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. This is my favorite genre.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, really?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. I'll think of some more.

[Bill Maher]

So Body Heat is much better and hotter.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And there's that funny scene with the little girl.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. I didn't quite understand that. Like, the little girl witnessed him. He comes over one night. He's been fucking the lady who wants to kill her husband, Katherine Turner. And he sees a woman standing there who looks just like her from behind. And because they've been fucking, he says, hey, lady, you want to fuck? And she turns around and it's not Kathlyn Turner, it's her friend who looks just like her who we find out. I won't ruin the plot at the end, but that's very important to the plot. And he's embarrassed. But now somebody else knows about them.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And then the little girl who's her daughter, she sees. No, she sees Kathleen Turner blowing him.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And then she doesn't identify him because she said it was a bald man. Remember?

[Bill Maher]

A bald man. Why?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Because she saw his.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, she's talking about his dick.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. See? Just called me.

[Bill Maher]

I didn't explain this. They were joking about that. It's Ted Danson, by the way, who plays the friend.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, yeah. I'm not good at doing that. I do. Really. That's one thing I've always needed a girlfriend for when I haven't had a girlfriend. I just don't understand movies. I watch them, but I'm always the guy going, is that the same guy who was in the other. Okay.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

What is your all time favorite movie?

[Bill Maher]

Saving Private Ryan.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Wow. So you didn't think Shakespeare in Love should have won the Oscar?

[Bill Maher]

You know what you could test me on almost any other year and I wouldn't know what the movies were that year. I remember vividly because I was so bitter.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. See, now we're going to have our disagreement.

[Bill Maher]

You like Shakespeare?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I loved it. And I have an interview with Tom Stoppard.

[Bill Maher]

Because you're a Shakespeare freak.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. And I told Tom Stoppard how much I loved it. It's in the book. And even he didn't seem to, like, defend it that much.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I mean, yeah, maybe. Maybe this has to do with the fact that my parents were in World War II. Met there.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. My dad was in World War I.

[Bill Maher]

No.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Well, he was 61 when I was born.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, right.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, my God.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

So there's still time, Bill.

[Bill Maher]

No, I'm past 61.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

There's time.

[Bill Maher]

There is not time. But that's. Okay. That's. I find that liberating, but.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

So go ahead. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. So, like, my father had died, I don't know, a few years before this. Now, to say I was a puddle who couldn't get out of.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

How old were you then?

[Bill Maher]

When.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

When he died.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I was in my 30s.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh.

[Bill Maher]

You know, it was. I was not a. Yeah, but, you know, I mean, we all got to go sometime. I'm just saying that, you know, you don't process something always right away. And in that movie. Well, first of all, I love World War II movies and I love Spielberg, and it is just an amazing movie. But it starts with Private Ryan as present day, it's the 90s. And, of course, he looks just like my father. Like, men look like that with the same exact kind of bad shirt my father would wear. So already I'm like, verklempt. I don't know what the word. You know, shpilkas is one of those Jewish words that means you have an upset stomach and then the movie, and then that reverts back at the end. And so, like, I think I stayed in. I think it took me, like, 20 minutes before I could leave the theater.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, my gosh.

[Bill Maher]

I know. I was so. Yeah. And I was like, on a first date or something.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, my God. So how did that go?

[Bill Maher]

I know. That poor glass.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

How did that go?

[Bill Maher]

She must have loved that everywhere.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Did she love?

[Bill Maher]

I don't remember, because, I mean, she wasn't bad about it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Okay. So When I was 13, my brother took me to see Hamlet in, you know, our park in D.C. and I immediately decided Hamlet was my boyfriend. And then it turned out that he was the worst boyfriend in literary history. Like, a few. You commit suicide, and he treats her terribly, and he's indecisive, which is.

[Bill Maher]

Which gives women the ick.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, I think that explains a lot. But in the meantime, I did fall in love with Shakespeare. So I love Shakespeare in Love because of that.

[Bill Maher]

Was it a good movie?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I loved it. I just thought it was super clever.

[Bill Maher]

I love Tom Stoppers, produced by Harvey Weinstein.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Well, there's that but, yeah, go ahead, Maureen. Yeah, keep liking it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, I didn't.

[Bill Maher]

First you tell us you're a drug addict.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No.

[Bill Maher]

Now you're supporting rapists.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Shakespeare loving drug addict. But, you know, I did one of these pieces on Judi Dench and I loved her, but I didn't use it because she had Harvey Weinstein's name tattooed on her bum. And I'm not sure she would want to read about that now.

[Bill Maher]

Who did?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Judi Dench?

[Bill Maher]

Hazard. Why?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Because he provided her with a lot of great roles, including that role as the queen in Shakespeare in Love, where she was only on screen for 12 minutes and she won an Oscar.

[Bill Maher]

She's probably the only girl he didn't try to fuck. That's why she got his name tattooed on her hair.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, there's a story about Uma Thurman and Harvey in the book.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, in the book, yeah.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. And it's funny because a lot of.

[Bill Maher]

Guys was that where.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And a lot of guys told me they read it twice, which.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I remember it vividly. Well, it was one of the more jarring ones. I mean, that's like a reporter's dream there, when you get somebody to open up about.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

It was a complicated story, though, because it involved Quentin also. But, you know, they're still friends. But she wanted, you know, she wanted to get out this story of how he had been careless in the Carmen Ghia scene and Kill Bill, and she was hurt by that. But they. Then he talked about it and said she was right. So.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, I mean, I'm sure everybody could be more careful. On the other hand, he didn't cut off anybody's head with a helicopter. Remember that guy?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yep.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I'm just saying movie sets are relative, dangerous places. And it's all relative. I mean, they really are.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, you know, Tom Cruise.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

How many movies were you in?

[Bill Maher]

I. Well, let's see. I did my first Tonight show in August of 82 and it went well. So they asked me back in November and then I did it New Year's Eve. This was a big feather in my cap going into 1983. My third Tonight Show.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

What did that feel like?

[Bill Maher]

It felt like time to move to California. And that's what I did. I used their ticket because they would, you know, you had to pay and then you could. And it was first class because that was the union. Thank you. Union got that first. I would trade it in, as we all did back then, and it was like $1800. I'd fly coach for 200 and make $1600 on the ticket, which was four times what I made for the show.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

So I was like, oh, I'm moving to California. And I put three suitcases together and I moved to California. And that night, Joel Schumacher was watching the Tonight show and cast me in DC Cab, which I've always thought was a horrible movie, but people still like it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Was that set in D.C. it was.

[Bill Maher]

Set in D.C. i was there for six weeks.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, wow.

[Bill Maher]

In a hotel room with Gary Busey. You try that. You think you had trouble with the pot? I kid Gary, but he is crazy. But, yeah, I mean, it was. It was fun. I mean, to be 27 years old and in a movie and, you know, so that was my first movie. Then I did, you know, the classic Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death, which actually is a funny movie. Pizza Man. Same director. What was the plot of Pizza man pizza Donald. It's 1990 and. But Donald Trump is in the movie as a. Oh, my God, a lookalike with it. And yet he's like the punchline to the whole thing. It's about a cab driver who's just trying to collect his $15 and it takes him on. It's a film noir. You should see it. It's a film noir.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I am going to see it.

[Bill Maher]

Good luck getting it. It's a film noir parody.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But you're not a sop.

[Bill Maher]

No, I'm bogey. I'm the hardy.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, you're a bogey.

[Bill Maher]

I'm the hard boiled detective.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, well, you know, this is funny. When Trump was thinking of running for president in, like, 2015, shortly before he did, he was to play the president in Sharknado 3. True story. That is a true story, I'm sure. So it was one, you know, leader.

[Bill Maher]

When was the last time you talked to him, interviewed him, saw him?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He. Well, when I promote. I had a book about Trump and Hillary in that election, the Year of Voting Dangerously. And I was on Michael Smarkanish at CNN on Saturday morning at 9:00, and I'm thinking, who is up watching this at 9:00? And Trump was. And I was critical of him. And afterwards, I ran into Jared Kushner and Ivanka at a dinner party in D.C. and Jared took me aside and he said, you know, my father liked you, but now he thinks you've gone crazy. And I said, well, I think he's gone crazy. And Jared said, well, if you do two tweets and a column or two columns and A tweet. You can get back on his good side.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, God.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And I was like, no, that's not going to happen.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, my God. It's like a priest saying three Hail Marys and two Our Fathers.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

Which I often had to do tweets in that column.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. We were bargaining over it.

[Bill Maher]

Everything is so transactional.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

But I'm curious, what kind of dinner party is there in D.C. where you find yourself with the Kushners?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, we have a journalist dinner. David Bradley has it. And it's. You know, he's a Victorian gentleman. He doesn't make his guests feel uncomfortable, so they feel safe there, and they invite newsmakers, and it's a bunch of journalists, and then we talk to them, and, you know, that kind. It wasn't. I don't.

[Bill Maher]

But can you be in the same room with the Enemy? I mean, I can. I pride myself on don't fucking tell me who I can hang out with.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

You know, if I want to take Ann Coulter to the opera, I will, you asshole.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And I think we need more of that, not less of that. But you just don't see that the Kennedy center, which I'm sure is close to where you live. Okay, I get how awful it is what Trump is doing to it, because it is an art center, but you know what? I know where that comes from. Now, maybe I'm wrong about this, because I only getting it from watching the TV show, which I've watched every year, where they give away five Kennedy Center Honors to great people of the arts, and it's always a big movie star and somebody else, you know, and then an opera singer and some dancer and, you know, like culture vultures know, but I don't. So you skip through those, and then you get to. And this year, it was the Grateful Dead and Francis Ford Coppola.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, I didn't see. Again, maybe I'm wrong, but watching it, I did not see one face on that screen either in the audience. And there are a lot of audience shots where you see, you know, and of course, it's a very uptight audience. I would hate to have to, like, you know, there's always that. That announcer and, you know, here to present, you know, and please welcome Morgan Freeman. And then, you know, he comes out and they do a tribute, and it's very polite, and you really wouldn't want to be edgy. I would be, like, the totally wrong person to be in this room under any capacity, and I'm sure I never will. Okay. But, like, I did not see one face either on the stage or in the audience. Shots that looked like they might have voted for Trump. And I just thought, you know, invite Ted Cruz. Would it kill you? Don't you think he likes the Godfather, too?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

Don't you think somebody in the Senate is a Grateful Dead fan who's a Republican? You know, you just lost an election, right? Maybe now's the time to reach out a little. I didn't vote for them either, but would that kill? So I get it a little bit when they get into office and they go, you know what? Assholes who stuffed our heads in the locker.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right?

[Bill Maher]

Here's what you get now.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, but this is what is so crazy about watching Trump, because he's got these two sides. So one side is kind of scary because it's authoritarian. He and Elon are trying to undermine the judiciary and Congress. You know, Congress is in charge of these agencies, not these Doge kids. And the press. Elon keeps saying that the people on X are the press now, and legacy press is dead. So in a way, like Dick Cheney, they're messing with checks and balances. But on the other hand, Trump still has that wacky kind of funny side where he goes down and takes over the Kennedy center, and now he wants to give the awards to dead people. He wants to give the awards to Elvis, Babe Ruth, and Pavarotti. And then he goes down, he starts making this speech about how he thinks they should do Cats, which was also George W. Bush's favorite play.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes. And so he, you know, the movie.

[Bill Maher]

Is like a joke of all time, right?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But Trump says at first he didn't get it, but then he began to look at the beautiful bodies of the men and women in gold tights, and he got mesmerized. He's giving this, like, kind of semi homoerotic. Then he did say, well, I like the women better. But then he's got that wacky slide. So he's redecorating the Oval Office and making it like Mar a Lago. He hasn't brought up the gold. He has a gold thing with him on Mount Rushmore, but he has, like, a gold tv. Wait, let me tell you. A gold TV Remo. And he put gold leaf around the famous mantelpiece in the Oval Office that, you know, from tv. And he wants to hang a chandelier, and they're trying to talk him out of it, and he won't be talked out of it. You know, he wants to make it like Mar a Lago. And you Know, I think that you see it actually, I think in the SNL impersonation that that wacky, humorous side is what makes people less afraid of the authoritarianism.

[Bill Maher]

It's so human. And not only less afraid, but, yeah, less afraid. Because what we always fear about politicians is that they're not telling us something. They're just not to be trusted.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

Spin. What does spin mean? It means, like, there are people in this world who, when you talk to them, like when I talk to you, I know I'm getting the complete unvarnished truth. And then there are people in this world who, when you talk to them, you never feel that. You always. You can't put your finger on it maybe, but you just feel something is being elided, or it's being exaggerated, or it's being spun, but it's just not the complete truth. And here's a guy who, I mean, as he sees the truth, it isn't often.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, it's a mix of lies and.

[Bill Maher]

Well, it's his impression of the truth. If he doesn't, like Zelensky, his approval rating is 4%, but it's really 57. Okay, but you know, impressionistically, poetically, it's 4%.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And his fans accept that. But not just that. It's like, can we trust this guy? Well, he just voices his interior monologue. The thing that we're all. We all edit. No one just says what's in their head except him.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

So you could, like, if he is thinking homoerotically about it or Arnold Palmer's cock, you know, he'll just. That'll dominate the news for a week.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, it's interesting because, you know, I have my sister Peggy on book tour with me, and she's a Trump voter and a Republican and.

[Bill Maher]

And all the brothers. Right?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes. But it's interesting to see things from her point of view. But even she kind of rolls her eyes and says she wishes he wouldn't keep saying he won the election. She doesn't want him to sell gold sneakers and tacky things when he's president. So, you know, there are a few things she's got to.

[Bill Maher]

You got to put up with a lot. And they do. They're like, you know that celebrity spouse who always has to act humble on the red carpet? She puts up with me. Shut up. You're George Clooney. It's fine. I'm sure she's fine. You don't seem like that much of a nightmare.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

She said to tell you that she saw one of your early shows and it was the funniest thing she's ever seen. I mean, my family is in love with you because you are not just on one side or the other. You just say it as it is.

[Bill Maher]

I love you. I. You know, it's funny that you really have to reiterate over and over again where you are, because the side, each side wants to only, like, pick the things, right. That they agree with and then pretend that the other side of you doesn't exist. But it does exist and I have to always say it. But my big problem with liberals is that they basically, I mean, liberals is one thing, but woke, okay, they basically forgot and don't defend and don't want to defend what liberalism is. I mean, all the things that I think make us great, like personal individual liberty, rule of law, you know, what we would call Western values, Scientific inquiry, human rights, women's rights, gay rights, freedom of speech, trial by jury. All these things that were, I'm sorry, invented in Athens and Rome and Paris and London and Philadelphia. I guess they're bad because they came from white people. I don't know. But they want to turn their back on this. Well, also, that's Western civilization. That guy that they just threw out of the country. And I'm against it because he didn't break any laws. It's just a freedom of speech thing. I defended him even though he's a dirtbag who I hate. But his slogan was, they want to tear down Western civilization. I mean, saying it out loud, the out loud part, tear down. Well, Western civilization, I think is a good thing. And basically that's where the liberals lost me and lost their way. They forgot about Western civilization. Because WOKE is all about identity and not about ideas.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right. Well, so my dad was so excited the night Harry Truman was elected, he stayed up all night. My brother was so excited the night Trump was first elected, he stayed up all night. And Democrats weren't paying attention to what happened here with the working class. And also they just stopped being any fun. I mean, they made everything, everyone feel that everything they said and did and every word was wrong. And people don't want to live like that, feeling that everything they do is wrong.

[Bill Maher]

No. You think we're over that era? You think that?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, I think, I mean, I think Democrats are just in a coma they haven't figured out.

[Bill Maher]

Right. But no, the woke are not giving up on that. I mean, we saw with the Seven Dwarves movie just came out.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, right.

[Bill Maher]

And the.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No dwarves. Right.

[Bill Maher]

They fought about the Dwarves. It's so funny, though, this is, again, my. One of my big problems with progressives. They just. They're so stupid so often about things that they find their way back to something that's very unprogressive. Like, you'd think getting jobs for people very progressive. Not if you're a dwarf. Because, like, there are Dwarves out there who wanted to play these parts, who couldn't because it was somehow politically incorrect to portray Dwarves as, I don't know, miners who know Snow White. It's a fucking crazy character that somebody invented for children. And you're. And you're arguing about whether it's right if real dwarves play dwarves. There are dwarves in the world, and there are jobs for them that you lost on there. And then Snow White loves Palestine. Like, I wasn't gonna see this movie anyway, but you know that people who get their news from TikTok, just. Just please shut the fuck up.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

It was. I think the Democrats just got to have a suffocating Persona where you just couldn't do anything or say anything that wasn't to be criticized.

[Bill Maher]

Somebody once wrote, the politics of purity makes people stupid and mean.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Was that you?

[Bill Maher]

It was. You fool.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, really? I was gonna say. Great line.

[Bill Maher]

You don't remember it?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Not at the moment. I'm scared. I'm too scared.

[Bill Maher]

Scared of what?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I'm scared of TV and you and me, everything.

[Bill Maher]

I'm scary.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, because I know if you chose to, you could eviscerate me.

[Bill Maher]

I could say the same about you.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, that's true.

[Bill Maher]

But mine will happen on Sunday.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

This is a good film noir. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

The last person in the world I would ever want to eviscerate. Really? It was you.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That's how I feel about you two.

[Bill Maher]

I know. So why are we scared?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I know.

[Bill Maher]

I can hear my heart beating, but we basically agree.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Gonna have a dream.

[Bill Maher]

We basically. Basically agree. I've had, like, three. We basically agree. I mean, honestly, I wish you would write more. I wish you would turn your poison pen more on the woke. Because when you do it, it's great. I understand why there's so much more on the right. And look, you know, I mean, now.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

The right is kind of getting like that. They're kind of getting into cancel culture. I told you about the wrong.

[Bill Maher]

They would never left it. They canceled Colin Kaepernick.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Nothing more quicker or cancellier than that, right? Oh, they're total babies. There's total snowflakes about. I mean, please.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No.

[Bill Maher]

Except for one guy, the one guy who can get away with any insult, and they all come running back is Trump. I mean, everybody who works for him, Lil Marco, Steve Bannon, they are. So.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I'm shocked about that. I was watching Ted Cruz on TV today or yesterday. I was thinking, why did he come back, you know, after Trump? In fact, my sister Peggy got one of the few apologies that Trump ever gave, because I was interviewing him, and he's like, how's your sister? He knew she was a Trump voter. And I said, she is not going to vote for you because you'd been trashing Heidi Cruz and talking about women in these horrible terms. And I said, why don't you just apologize to Trump, you know, for that? That was horrible. And there was this long pause, and finally he's like, okay, you know, I'm sorry I said that about her.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I had Ted Cruz on, and, like, everything I ever read was, like, the most disliked guy ever.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

Like, just this. This cyborg who was, like, programmed to be president when he was three years old and has never faltered. And I don't doubt he wants to be president. When he was on the show and I talked, I just did not meet that guy Matt Gaetz sat there.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

I did not meet a monster. That's my line now. Everyone's a monster till you talk to them.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, I disagree with a lot of stuff, and there's some real deal breakers in there. But, I mean, Ted Cruz, he had a sense of humor. He just. So you must have had more encounters with him than I do. And I have heard that people, even in the Senate, even his own party, really don't like him. I just couldn't find why.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, that's what I love. I love that you talk to these people. And that's what's horrible about being in Washington now, because everybody's in their trenches, and, you know, it's just like, we picked up the Civil War where we left off or something.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I mean, I was at a big party the other night. Michael Kivis, no secret. It was in the paper. 44th birthday party, and Bill and Hillary were there and Oprah and, you know, I mean, Michael Kivis is the most connected guy in the world, and he knows everybody. And you know David Geffen and, you know lots of Billy and Bezos and, like, in the past, Elon would have been there, too. I met Elon a number of times at Kivas's house.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right. What'd you think of it?

[Bill Maher]

Pleasure.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, this is before he went full on.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. My piece in the book is.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, yeah. Right, right.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, I mean, I still think he's gonna be the one. If there's killer robots or killer AI, he's gonna be the one to save us. I'm sure nobody wants to hear that.

[Bill Maher]

But to give him his due.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

He was talking about how we need to be on our guard against AI Before I was. It was even on my radar.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He called it summoning the demon.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. When many other people were saying, you're crazy. What is this?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But he also wanted to be an advocate for carbon based beings. He wanted to be humanity's advocate. That's why he started this whole Mars thing. He said he wanted to die on Mars, just not on impact.

[Bill Maher]

I'm. You know, I've done a number of things on how silly it is to go to Mars. I'll never understand that or his population thing, but the Mars thing, I mean, I always thought Elon would be the one to save us from global warming because we have to plainly have to invent our way out of it. But now I don't think we will because he doesn't give a shit about Earth. He wants to go to Mars. He treats planets the way he does baby mamas. Next.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

You know, so he and Trump and Elon remind me of like, you know, people always ask me if they're Shakespearean, but I think they're more like Greek gods. You know, they're sort of capricious and cruel and they do what they like. It's like watching Zeus and Dionysus, the God of fertility, you know, it isn't like watching Shakespeare, but I can't.

[Bill Maher]

Like, in times past, he might have been at this party.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Now he's in Washington. He was. You know, I don't know if he was invited. I don't know if, like, that is just a deal.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He's very busy, Bill.

[Bill Maher]

I know he's busy. No, I'm just saying.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Destroying the gun.

[Bill Maher]

I'm just saying. I don't know if he could be in that room. And it wasn't all. It wasn't all. Michael Kivis has friends on both sides. It wasn't all just liberals, but, you know, it's. He worked for Hillary Clinton and he's very close to the Clintons.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

So, yes. I mean, mostly. But, you know, I mean, he has friends. A lot of billionaires friends. And billionaires are very often Republicans. But could Elon Musk be there now and not feel unwelcome?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, you were talking about movies that are.

[Bill Maher]

Maybe that's on him.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Like Advising Consent, where you see both Parties. Mingling at dinner parties and solving problems and Gene Tierney's a lovely hostess and. No, people do not do that. They're in their corners. No.

[Bill Maher]

So what's. What, how does that end?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, I was gonna ask you. How do you think? I mean, do you think.

[Bill Maher]

I think we have to have the scene at the end of the movie where the Statue of Liberty's arm is just sticking out of the sand.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Where I don't think it gets better before it completely crashes. I know that sounds pessimistic, but do you think. But I don't know how to get back because the hatred is so deep.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But do you think that Democrats should fight fire with fire and get a showman? I mean, it's funny because Elon Musk.

[Bill Maher]

Well, Fetterman is who I suggest.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Elon Musk was known as the P.T. barnum of sci fi. Sci fi. P.T. barnum. And then Trump is P.T. barnum. But do you think. I mean, you know, I interviewed George Clooney. I had an interview with him and I'd always heard people say he was charming. And I was like, ah, I'm sure he's not that charming. And he gave me a five hour interview. So day went tonight. So, you know, yeah, the guy is charming. I said to him, what do you think of running? Because basically the Democrats need an attractive host body to stuff all their issues into that people will be drawn to.

[Bill Maher]

I don't think George Clooney really suggests regular guy, working class.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, I know, I know. But I still think. But people are drawn to a guy who's in shorts. Celebrities. Oh. So your interview with Josh Shapiro was great.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, thanks.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I had never really heard him talk that much. He was so appealing and that, you know, I was watching it with my sister today and she said I would vote for him. I mean, that's what the Democrats need. Yeah. They need someone who could lure people back to their party.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, yeah, I saw this thing. They're going to lose. California, New York, Illinois are all losing seats because people vote with their feet.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And they're going to Texas, Florida, Utah, all red states. Some other state, Arizona maybe or something. But yeah, that's. And this is just because we're overtaxed, we're over regulated, we can't afford a house here. They. And if that trend keeps going, even, even this many seats lost is, you know, the house is very often 218 to 216, something like that. Okay. We're talking about six or eight seats that are definitely gonna be Read. Now you're gonna have to do something drastic.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

And do you, you like Gavin, too? No.

[Bill Maher]

Especially now. I always thought he was the guy because he's great at being a politician. Looks great, you know, just gift of gab.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And also very smart, you know, has the facts in his head. He doesn't have to look up something. He does the work.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right. And unlike Obama, he was willing to go spar on Fox.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. And now, I mean, you saw this. He, he, he, he name checked me saying I'm doing a podcast and I'm. I want to do like Bill does. We'll talk to both sides, not be ideologically captured necessarily by the left. Well, this is a big change. He's on the show next week.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, wow.

[Bill Maher]

He's top of the show on the 28th. Yeah. So.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Well, I mean, there are people who think because of Kamala having Beyonce and then and Taylor and people on her side that Democrats should just stay away from celebrities altogether.

[Bill Maher]

They should. I think it's a negative. I don't think it's far from working. I think it turns people off, turns me off a lot of the times. Like Rachel Zegler, not going to vote for her.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But they've got to find someone who's alluring and, you know, charismatic. Yeah. I mean, I thought Josh Shapiro and Gretchen Whitman would have been a better.

[Bill Maher]

Last week about Gavin. Like the same things they say about him. They said about Clinton, he's too slick. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he's so slick. He wins.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

You know, I see your paper, like, already tried to shit on him for this, and I'm like, you know, you know what you call a Democrat who infuriates the New York Times? Electable.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, he was out front on a lot of things.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. And he has the credibility. He has a kind of like, I did my time in the liberal trenches, Mayor of San Francisco and all that, and it's like, if you can't understand about moving to the center and saving the party. Yes, there will be so much carping about it, but that's the other reason why I think he'd be good, because I think he'll take it. He's not a bitch.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Who else do you like?

[Bill Maher]

Well, I say Fetterman. I love that he just says that. He is Trump esque in a number of ways, minus the things I don't like about Trump. I mean, he seems like just a regular guy. He doesn't give a shit what he says. He's got a brand, you know, I mean, he's Just, you know, he definitely has. I mean, that was my joke about it. It was like if he ran with Pete Buttigieg, disability plus gay equals one person of color. You could get away with it in the Democratic Party.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. You know, the way he dresses in Congress is quite startling because it was only in the last few years that they allowed women not to wear, like, they used to be banned for sleeveless.

[Bill Maher]

Come on.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. One of my former assistants who's a big political writer star now, Ashley Barker Trump, trashed her recently on Social. His social truth. Social. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, he truthed it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Yeah. But she went in there one time. I forget if she had on cowboy boots or a sleeveless blouse or something. And they told her, you know, she couldn't.

[Bill Maher]

But I feel like the Republican Party has, I mean, apropos of what you said before about, you know, the Democrats, no fun anymore. I feel like all the ladies who, you know, like. I'm not saying you really want to have relations with anyone in Congress or a politician at all, but if you were bent that way, I mean, the ones who, like, you know, Eric Idle is going, yeah, she's a goer. She's a goer. She goes, right? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. She goes. I mean, they're all in the Republican Party. I'm not saying they're doing anything.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But the serious.

[Bill Maher]

Well, the Kristi Gnomes, who is your sister, the Lauren Goldberg, they all just seem, you know, is she a goer? I think the answer is, yeah, they have. Whereas, like, aoc, you know, she's attractive, but you just. Oh, my God. You know, you just wouldn't. I wouldn't want to be on a date with her. I know she's married, and I'm not asking.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I think she is married yet.

[Bill Maher]

No, I think she is.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Is she?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, now. She got married.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, I miss that. But, you know. Yeah. Washington was very titillated recently because Lauren Boebert, after some big thing, got in a cab with Kid Rock. And also, I was going to ask you, do you have a crush on Christina, given how you feel about dogs? Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

No. In fact, Chico just lost his other eye when you said that.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, exactly.

[Bill Maher]

No, but you know what I mean about the Republic. I mean, they just.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, Democrats kind of lost sex appeal, too. I think they used to be kind of the sexy fun party, and they're not.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. I mean, it's true. When I used to do jokes about, you know, where the punchline was, something, something stick up your ass. It was about Jerry Falwell.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You know, and now it's about the kind of prigs who are always up my ass.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right, exactly. Yeah, I know what you mean.

[Bill Maher]

So do you watch or listen to Two Angry Men, Harvey Levin's podcast about lawyers?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, it's him and Garagos. What's his name? I forget.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, Mark Garrigos. Yeah. Who was one of the. What? Susan McDougall's lawyer.

[Bill Maher]

Because I'm watching this Trump thing. I'm thinking, like. I mean, this is. I love this podcast because, like, it's not just the people or whatever their opinion, it's like, what the lawyers say.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, I love that.

[Bill Maher]

Because, like, I'm watching this thing going on between Trump now and the judges and, you know, do I want Venezuelan gangs out of the country? Yes. I mean, it's always my fucking dilemma.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But that's like.

[Bill Maher]

Like living in this America.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Exactly. So that's not the mountain anyone's gonna die on. We're happy to see them leave. But then you're unraveling the Constitution.

[Bill Maher]

I know.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

So, like. And I'm bringing the lawyers up because, like, I said this for years, like, everybody talks about the law. Like, it. The law is whatever they say it is at any given moment. That's why, like, when you see a lawyer, he's always in a room with a giant wall of law books behind him. Somewhere in one of those fucking books is something that will justify what I want to do anyway.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

So Trump is just, like, cutting out the middleman.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That's another good film noir kind of thing. Double Jeopardy. Have you seen that? With Ashley Judd?

[Bill Maher]

Ashley Judd? I betcha I have. What's the plot? Who else is in it?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Her husband.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I have seen it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Her husband frames her for his own murder, and she goes to prison. But then one of the inmates tells her that because of Double jeopardy, she can get out and kill her husband.

[Bill Maher]

And she does, right?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, not quite.

[Bill Maher]

There's also one called Aya, the Beholder.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I love that.

[Bill Maher]

Explain it. He falls in love with her because he's looking at you.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. I haven't seen it recently, but I thought it was really good and atmospheric.

[Bill Maher]

I feel like it was a ripoff of Shar Sharkey's Machine. Do you remember that movie?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Vaguely. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Burt Reynolds.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

He's like a. He's got a. He's in the. He's a cop. He's got to surveil this woman and then falls in love with her. Isn't that the basic thing?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, I love that plot.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. By the way it was not Burt Reynolds. It's a stalker. It's creepy. Even if he's a cop. You don't want to think about it. But if he's a cute guy.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, you wrote that in the why Men Are Necessary book.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes, I did.

[Bill Maher]

Isn't it funny?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

My mom begged me before that book came out. She goes, please change it from a question to a declarative sentence. She wanted me to call the book Men Are Necessary. I was like, mom?

[Bill Maher]

She goes, men are.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. She wanted me to call it Men Are Necessary. And I said, mom, you know, they're gonna be fine with it. They get that. Teasing them. And she's like, no, they'll have their feelings hurt. Sure enough, no man would pick up that book. And I realize now, I always listen to your mother. I should have called that Men are Necessary.

[Bill Maher]

Wow, that's interesting, because you are.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Especially you.

[Bill Maher]

We are. We are for. Not just for procreation. Yes. I mean, Orwell had that quote, something like, most people sleep peaceably in their beds at night, knowing other men do violence in their stead.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Wow.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Bill.

[Bill Maher]

What? I'm like, before that, I thought. You thought I was an idiot.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, I like all these weighty quotes.

[Bill Maher]

But it's true, you know? I mean, we live cushy lives.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And it's another thing that the kids really piss me off about. They have no perspective on how good they have it. They think they. Some. They somehow think they live in the worst time ever.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And they're so burdened by so many things, and some of them are just. Did. Did you see the woman from Love is Blind who jolted her husband? No. You know.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Okay, I don't watch any of.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I don't watch. Oh, are you crazy? But I read about it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah. Okay.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. So it's Love is Blind. It's some. You know.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Are they on an island?

[Bill Maher]

No, no, they're. I guess they're. They're blind dates. And then they're gonna get married. I don't know. Some. It's. You know, one of those. Anyway, she's at the altar. She's kind of about to marry this guy, and at the last minute says, can't do it. Why? Because she found out that he didn't really think that much about Black Lives Matter when that. Not that he said anything terrible. He just. She asked him about it, and he was like, I don't know. I haven't read that much about it.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Oh, my gosh.

[Bill Maher]

That was the.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That was the end.

[Bill Maher]

And I just have this one question for her, which is like, what have you actually done? Do you think that you're coming up short, husband. To be who you just publicly jilted? What do you think you've done to actually improve whatever the situation racially you're upset about? And I don't think she can answer that question.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Did you ever have a situation like that where someone said one thing and you were just totally turned off?

[Bill Maher]

You mean got the ick?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Mm.

[Bill Maher]

That'S a really interesting question. Because it's so easy and so common for guys to give women the ick, Right? Guys who want to get laid. Yeah, it's so hard to give us the ick. I used to do a joke about that. Like, I could. Like, if I was. When I was in my 20s, she could say anything. She could say, I'm a Nazi. And I'd be like, were you always interested in Germany or was it more of a political. Yeah, nothing would deter us. So it's. The older you get, one of the nice things is, yeah, you become more of a human being. You're less horny, so you can be more discriminating. And, yes, it's very easy to give me the ick.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Now I remember this. I had this very, very good friend, Michael Kelly, and he had to move to Cincinnati for a couple years to be a reporter. And he didn't know anyone and he was trying to date. And he finally went out on a date with this really cute girl. And somehow in the course of the evening, when he was ordering wine, he realized she thought that Burgundy wine was Burgundy because it was colored Burgundy. And he said to me, I had to decide if I was going to say anything or I was going to be very, very quiet because I really needed to go home with her. So he was very, very quiet.

[Bill Maher]

And did it work?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, but he was an onophile. You know, he loved wine. So I don't think it had a.

[Bill Maher]

Long term future on a file. I. I know that word from the New York Times crossword puzzle. I've got to give them credit for that. They need O, E, N, O or letters that you really need when you're doing a puzzle.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, that's the right word. Right.

[Bill Maher]

I remember sometimes watching my mother do the Time Sunday puzzle with my father, and she'd say, they need the letters. True. Sometimes you just need the letters. I mean, we're trying to write a crossword. It's not easy. They need the letters.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That sounds like a Woody Allen line, like the end of Annie Hall. They need the Eggs.

[Bill Maher]

But I tell you, of all the decisions I made, so many bad ones and so many stupid things, but never getting married. Priceless. Do people, don't you think? I mean, you're one of the few people like me and Oprah. Oprah and the Pope who have never gotten married.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah, no, I would love to be married. I think I would be really. I think I would be really good at it.

[Bill Maher]

You would. I'm sure you'd be good at anything.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Thank you.

[Bill Maher]

But, you know, I mean, the sacrifices just seem. It's very hard to, like, make your life and another life when you think about how hard it is just to get your life each day to now. It's like two dragonflies who have to fly in tandem every. You ever see them fly? And everywhere they go, they're in tandem. If you get out of tandem, then fighting and, you know, Gunny sacking grievances that build up over the years. I mean, that's always what deterred me was that it just. How do you avoid that?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, there's a great part in the Al Pacino piece in the book where, you know, I'm pressing him, and he did not like to talk about his love life. And I'm asking him why he never got married. And, you know, he said, well, if he could find someone who wouldn't mind living down the block, he might do it. Like, didn't Bette Davis or some. Some of these people, like Sartre and, you know, they had apartments next door or. But he. He wanted someone down the block.

[Bill Maher]

The modern rich people have solved that problem by building houses that take up a whole block, and then you can officially live in the same house, but you're really living down the block.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Well, there is one person in the book who's like you and does. Has absolutely no interest in marriage or kids, and that's Ralph Fiennes. And it was interesting to talk to him about that. He's a very interesting combination of. He's a real gentleman. Like, I went to the wrong restaurant and missed half our interview. And he said, don't worry, we'll do it tomorrow morning at breakfast. And very few movie stars would do that.

[Bill Maher]

So he made your breakfast?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No, but he, you know, he also has a kind of a hedonistic streak. He's a bit of a libertine. And he said he was the oldest and he raised, you know, guy in Shakespeare in Love was his brother, and he said he got rejected for Shakespeare in Love because Julia Roberts didn't fancy him. But he just has, you Know, just no interest. He likes. He likes.

[Bill Maher]

It's funny you mention him, because I just saw him. I never met him. I think I did meet him, but I saw him a couple of nights because it was just Oscar weekend and the Vanity Fair party. And the party, probably Friday night, the agency parties, the WME CAA parties. And I'd only seen him in the movies where he very often plays a very serious character. Very serious actor.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Boy. Not that guy out at a party.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

No.

[Bill Maher]

You know, he always had a big smile on his face. And he's a goer. You're right. I can say he is a goer.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But you should have him on this show. He's a really fascinating guy. And Andy, you know, he's.

[Bill Maher]

Look it up.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He's friends with Andy Cohen, and Andy Cohen said he loves all kinds of women, whatever age, whatever shape.

[Bill Maher]

Wow.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

You put a woman in front of him, and he can appreciate her.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, wow. That's a. That's a superpower.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I can't. Yeah, no, he's a. He's a goer.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

He's fun.

[Bill Maher]

Let's get him over here.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Let's get him over here.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Let's have a party. But I did want to tell you that people keep asking me what Shakespearean character Trump is like, and I finally found a similarity. You know how in Richard iii, Richard is very malevolent, but he's funny. He's the husband. Yeah. He gets the audience on his side because he's funny. And he walks up to the stage and he tells the audience what bad thing he's about to do. He brings them in on it, but with humor. And I feel like Trump is like that, you know, and that binds him. Like, a lot of audiences love Richard iii, even though he's doing terrible things, he wants to kill his nephews and, you know, but if you bring. If you make them feel like you're confidants, you know, that can take you a long way.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I could talk to you all night, but I have to pee.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Good night, sweet prince.

[Bill Maher]

I could lie and do a smooth exit, but that's really what it is.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I'm so happy two hours with you.

[Bill Maher]

Goes by like that.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That was fun. Thank you so much.

[Bill Maher]

I'll probably be in DC Shortly, so if you'd like to have lunch, I will be around.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Anything you want to do. That would really fun.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I'd love to go to one of those power restaurants where they. Powerful people. Is that. What was the place? The Grill or what was the place that like the power. I want to go to the power.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

There was like a place called Duke Seabirds and they were all steakhouses.

[Bill Maher]

Of course. We had a Men are making decisions. I need steak at lunch.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Yes. Women are over steak and lunch.

[Bill Maher]

Steak and decisions.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

We had our day. Now men are in charge.

[Bill Maher]

Pretty good.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

That was fun. It like went in five minutes.

[Bill Maher]

I know.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I was afraid to drink, but now we're gonna drink.

[Maureen Dowd]

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