Ep. #682: Jesse Eisenberg, Stephen A. Smith, Rep. Ro Khanna

Summary

Real Time with Bill Maher – Episode #682: Jesse Eisenberg, Stephen A. Smith, Rep. Ro Khanna
Release Date: January 25, 2025
Host: Bill Maher
Guests:

• Jesse Eisenberg – Award-winning actor and filmmaker
• Stephen A. Smith – ESPN Host
• Rep. Ro Khanna – Democratic Congressman from California, member of the House Oversight and House Armed Services Committees

---

Introduction

Bill Maher opens the episode with his characteristic blend of humor and political commentary, addressing recent events impacting Los Angeles, including devastating fires and the controversial reinstatement of Donald Trump as President. He satirizes Trump’s return by mocking his handling of environmental policies and his immediate executive actions upon inauguration. [00:00–07:22]

---

Interview with Jesse Eisenberg

Discussing "A Real Pain"

Maher welcomes Jesse Eisenberg, praising his latest film, "A Real Pain," which has garnered an Oscar nomination. He jests, “If you haven't seen this movie, I hate you,” setting a lighthearted tone. [07:22–09:00]

• Plot and Inspiration:
  Eisenberg explains that the movie is a comedy centered around two cousins embarking on a Holocaust tour in Poland. He emphasizes the personal connection, stating, “I wanted to reconnect to a country that my family lived in far longer than we lived here.” [09:08–13:08]

• Dual Citizenship and Cultural Connection:
  Discussing his dual citizenship, Eisenberg shares his gratitude towards Poland for preserving Jewish history. He remarks, “I just had this overwhelming feeling of complete gratitude and indebtedness to the people who are preserving Jewish history.” [13:08–15:02]

Collaboration with Woody Allen

Maher inquires about Eisenberg’s past collaborations with Woody Allen. Eisenberg responds thoughtfully, preferring to focus on activism over casting judgments, stating, “Please donate money to the Middle Way House...don’t ask an actor to have an opinion about something that they don’t really know about.” [15:02–17:42]

• Critique of Tech Bro Personas: Eisenberg reflects on his roles portraying Mark Zuckerberg and Lex Luthor, critiquing tech elites for not utilizing their wealth for societal good. He asserts, “Why are you not spending your days doing good things for the world?” [16:37–17:42]

---

Panel Discussion: Stephen A. Smith and Rep. Ro Khanna

First Week of Trump’s Second Term

The panel delves into the initial actions of Trump’s second term, critiquing his reliance on executive orders and controversial policies.

• Executive Orders and Constitutional Issues:
  Maher criticizes Trump’s numerous executive orders, including attempts to alter birthright citizenship. [19:41–20:13]
  Notable Quote:

  Ro Khanna [19:41]: "If you're born in America, you're an American, period."

• Immigration Policies and ICE Detentions:
  The discussion shifts to the Lake and Riley Act, debating the balance between deporting convicted criminals and ensuring due process for others. Khanna advocates for deporting only those convicted of serious crimes while protecting long-term residents like nannies and students. [37:35–40:29]

• Democratic Party’s Disconnect with Voters:
  Stephen A. Smith laments the Democratic Party’s focus on niche social issues over economic concerns, arguing that Trump’s populist messaging resonated more effectively with the electorate. [22:28–32:21]
  Notable Quote:

  Stephen A. Smith [22:28]: "You could have politicians saying, I disagree with this person, I disagree with that person... Trump will call them every name under the sun."

Trump’s Popularity Among Tech Leaders:

The panel explores why prominent Silicon Valley figures like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos seemingly shifted support to Trump, attributing it to past interactions and subsequent disillusionment with his administration. [42:24–43:46]
Notable Quotes:

Stephen A. Smith [43:09]: "They were bullied. They remembered."

Ro Khanna [43:46]: "When they deserted him was Charlottesville. That's when a lot of these tech leaders said, I'm done."

• Discussion on Celebrity Politicians:
  Khanna contrasts Obama’s effective use of celebrity connections with Trump’s superficial celebrity appeal, emphasizing that Obama had substance and policy-driven initiatives. [30:17–31:00]

Respecting Diverse Viewpoints within the Democratic Party:

Khanna and Smith discuss the need for the Democratic Party to embrace diverse social and cultural viewpoints without compromising core principles. Khanna stresses civil discourse and respecting differing opinions as essential for party unity and voter connection. [44:33–45:25]

• Notable Quote:

  Ro Khanna [44:47]: "We have to ensure we respect people who have different social and cultural viewpoints than our own."

---

Satirical Monologue by Bill Maher

Transitioning from panel discussion, Bill Maher delivers a satirical monologue critiquing the complexities of the U.S. healthcare system and societal frustrations under Trump’s administration. He mocks the convoluted processes of insurance claims and hospital billing, intertwining humor with sharp criticism. [32:39–45:25]

• Healthcare System Critique:
  Maher highlights the absurdity of healthcare billing, comparing it to navigating a “maze like Mosaic of analysts” and sarcastically suggesting that shooting insurance executives would simplify the system. [37:35–40:29]

• Generational Attitudes Toward Violence:
  Using dark humor, Maher comments on the shifting societal norms where older generations condemn violence, while younger ones show disturbing acceptance. [40:16–44:43]

• Cancel Culture and Liberal Values:
  He addresses the phenomenon of cancel culture within the liberal community, criticizing the intolerance for differing opinions and the resultant exclusionary behaviors. [44:33–45:25]

---

Conclusion

Bill Maher closes the episode with his signature blend of humor and critique, summarizing the discussions and reiterating his frustrations with the current political and social climate. He thanks his guests and promotes upcoming content, maintaining his role as a provocateur and commentator on contemporary issues. [45:25–End]

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Bill Maher [09:00]: "If you haven't seen this movie, I hate you."
• Jesse Eisenberg [13:08]: "...I wanted to reconnect to a country that my family lived in far longer than we lived here."
• Ro Khanna [19:41]: "If you're born in America, you're an American, period."
• Stephen A. Smith [22:28]: "You could have politicians saying, I disagree with this person, I disagree with that person... Trump will call them every name under the sun."
• Ro Khanna [37:35]: "I'm sensitive to the plight... I'm going to try to repair Polish and Jewish diaspora relations."
• Stephen A. Smith [43:09]: "They were bullied. They remembered."

---

Key Insights and Conclusions

• Populist Appeal: Trump’s direct and confrontational style continues to resonate with a significant portion of the electorate, overshadowing traditional Democratic messaging.

• Party Disconnect: The Democratic Party faces challenges in aligning its priorities with the broader voter base, particularly regarding economic issues versus social policies.

• Cultural Shifts: There is growing frustration with cancel culture and a perceived intolerance for diverse viewpoints within progressive circles, as highlighted by both Khanna and Smith.

• Healthcare Frustrations: The U.S. healthcare system remains a source of widespread frustration, with systemic complexities exacerbating public dissatisfaction under Trump’s administration.

• Generational Divide: A notable generational divide exists in attitudes toward violence and societal norms, contributing to broader cultural tensions.

---

This detailed summary captures the essence of Episode #682, highlighting key discussions, insights, and the dynamic interactions between Bill Maher and his esteemed guests. Whether you're a longtime listener or new to the show, this overview provides a comprehensive understanding of the episode's central themes and takeaways.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

Hey there, Ryan Reynolds here. It's a new year and you know what that means. No, not the diet resolutions.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

A way for us all to try.

[Bill Maher]

And do a little bit better than we did last year. And my resolution, unlike big wireless, is to not be a raging and raise.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

The price of wireless on you every chance I get.

[Bill Maher]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first 3 month plan only. Taxes and fees, extra Speed slower above.

[Stephen A. Smith]

40 GB on unlimited.

[Bill Maher]

See mintmobile.com for details. Be honest, when's the last time you had a homemade meal? We get it. Between meetings, workout classes, and the kids after school sports, who's got time to cook? That's where hellofresh comes in. No matter how busy you get, hellofresh has everything you need to get an easy home cooked meal on the table. With flavor packed recipes like Parmesan herb crusted salmon, you'll be filling your kitchen with the cozy aromas of a homemade meal in no time. So go ahead, try hellofresh. It's homemade made easy. Learn [e-mail] welcome to HBO podcast from the HBO late night series Real Time with Bill Maher. Hey everybody. How you doing? Sorry, put together already. Thank you, Leonard. Thank you. Please. Thank you. How you doing? All right. Thank you. Oh, I'm glad you're. I appreciate it. Thank you so much. Glad you're in the. I know. Hey, please, I know it's been a tough time here for us Angelenos, right? I mean, last week a lot of people lost their home to the fire. This week a lot of people lost their gardeners to ice. You know, and we're not out of the woods yet with the fires. Right. They came up again. Some of them came up so quickly the mayor barely had time to book a trip. Also in the news this week, Donald Trump is president again and he's only 13% contained. He is. He's here in LA today. He's touring, touring the fire zone. He saw all the pink flame retardant. He said, I had no idea this place was that gay. Oh, he's quite an expert on what we should do here about the fires. He said, I don't think we should give California anything aid he's talking about until they let the water flow down. Okay, first of all, you're not. I said I wasn't going to lose it this year. You're not giving us anything. We're Americans. Thank you. This isn't a casino and you're comping our room. Okay. And he's obsessed, as he gets obsessed with things like windmills. He's obsessed with this small fish called the smelt. Now, there is a story about this, and it's too complicated to go into, but, you know, it's a fish. We changed the laws, environmental, whatever he said, no wonder it's endangered. It's not getting any water. Okay, no, Don, the fish has the water because we took down the irrigation dams in order to. Oh, fuck it. Just do your dance and get out of here. Just do the dance and. But, boy, the inauguration was Monday and this guy hit the ground running. There's so many things have changed so fast. I can't even go through them all. Just basically, if you are not in prison, report. And if you were in prison, get out. That's basically no. He signed a lot of signing. He signed, had ceremonies all day long. 26 executive orders, 12 memos and four proclamations about everything. Windmills and the Kennedy assassination and renaming things and crypto and DEI and going to Mars and signing, signing, signing. Lauren Boebert was there. He said, boy, you think your hand gets tired? Yes. And one of his proclamations, by proclamation, we will now only recognize two sexes. And if that doesn't grab you by the pussy, I don't know what. Also, here's something kind of interesting. I'm sure it's just coincidence, but before the inauguration, Trump increased his wealth by 89%. Yeah. Like, in a day, to $58 billion. Now he's one of the richest 25 people in the world with meme coins. You got meme coins? You do? Oh, well, that's not good. He released one of him and one of Melania. And this, a meme coin, is a cryptocurrency that's inspired by an Internet meme. It's kind of like if Bernie Madoff sold Pokemon cards. It's just so Trump voters, help me out on one thing. You voted for him because you couldn't afford eggs, but you can afford the Melania magic coin. Ok. All right. And finally, come on, this is la. The Oscar nominations came out this week. Very exciting. And most nominations went to Amelia Perez. Have you seen this one? It's a Spanish language musical that celebrates a Mexican drug lord who becomes a better person by having a sex change operation. I'm just glad the proud boys got out of prison in time to see it. All right, we got a great show. We have Congressman Ro Khanna and Stephen A. Smith. But first, he's a friend of Mine, an award winning actor, a filmmaker who wrote, directed and co starred in the Oscar nominated movie, A Real Pain. Jesse Eisenberg. Jesse, nice to meet you. It's been so long.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

It has been long.

[Bill Maher]

Thank you so much. You look the same.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

I know.

[Bill Maher]

You look the same.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

You look the same too. You got the glasses though.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I got the glasses. No, we used to hang out. What happened? You moved to Indiana or some crazy.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah, I did. I was living in Indiana actually. Yeah, I was living in Indiana for a while.

[Bill Maher]

That's fair. I'm not that at knocking it. It's great.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

One of the greatest towns in the world. Bloomington, Indiana. It's a college town and you know, it's this great place. My wife was born and raised there. We went back there to help with family stuff and we stayed for a while.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, and do you like being in the heartland? Do you?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

I do. And I'll tell you like, you know.

[Bill Maher]

Because I, I always did.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

I've been listening to you for so long. I always love that you kind of like defend. You're like, there's a lot of people there who are not, you know, what you brush the whole state with. You know, Bloomington is this like incredible. My mother in law ran the domestic violence shelter there for 35 years. And so like all of our circle, there are like people like progressive activists and you know, Indiana gets painted with quite a specific red brush. But like when you're there, you know, you're surrounded by people who are far more engaged than, you know, where I am in New York City.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. And even some red people are not horrible people.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Well, of course that. But I just mean.

[Bill Maher]

Of course that.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

No, no, no, no, no.

[Bill Maher]

I'm saying of course that.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

But I'm saying also you have, you probably feel like.

[Bill Maher]

Right, I get it. But listen, let's not bury the lead. You got an Oscar nomination. I'm so, you know, I'm just really happy for you because. No, because you are so prolific. You've done so much for so long and of course you've had a great career, but I feel like you're finally getting recognized as an auteur and this movie is fantastic.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Thank you.

[Bill Maher]

If you haven't seen this movie, I hate you. Oh, is that for a plot?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

That's our quote. Yeah, exactly.

[Bill Maher]

No, it's just so good and it's. Do you want to give the basic premise of it for people who don't know?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah, sure, sure, sure. Yeah. It's different than Amelia Perez. It's what that movie isn't no, it's basically, it's these two cousins who. I play one of the cousins, Kieran Culkin plays the other, and we go on, like, essentially, like, a Holocaust tour to Poland to see where our grandmother is from and to also see the sights of Poland.

[Bill Maher]

But your grandmother in real life was in the Holocaust?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

No, my. So my family, like, the character in the movie is kind of like a combination of two people. My cousin, who survived this woman, Maria, who just actually died of COVID but, you know, spent her life in Poland after the war, and my Aunt Doris, who left before the war and who was like, a real mentor to me in my life.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I read that you were gonna play the other part. I mean, I love the dynamic here because.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Thanks.

[Bill Maher]

I've seen this in my life so much. One person. I feel like I'm this person would be like, you're the person you were in this movie.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You know, they're the reasonable person. And you have this great speech where you go, like, we're all in pain. Whereas the other guy, he acts out on everything. I think he's a giant pain in the ass. But he is charming. You know, there's that kind of person. I don't relate to that kind of person.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Ye. Karen Kalker already won the Golden Globe. I mean, he's brilliant playing.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah, he's really great.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. I read that you were gonna play that part.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah. I mean, that was a terrible idea. Well, you know, that's what actors do. You know, I don't have to be that. Kieran's not exactly that person either, you know, so, like, much closer. Much closer.

[Bill Maher]

You made the right decision. Oh, thanks a lot.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

It wasn't even my decision. You know, I was, like, told not to play that part, like, by, like. One of my producers is Emma Stone. And, you know, she was like, like, don't try to direct a movie while you're, like, managing a group of people while also playing this character who, as you kind of, you know, said is kind of like this unhinged, spontaneous, like, live wire.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. And the tone of it, you know, you are making a movie that's about a Holocaust tour.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, it's so perfect, but it. I can't imagine that you weren't aware of that at every moment when you're making. It's. Cause it's a funny movie. I mean, it is a comedy. But you don't want to make Harold and Kumar go to Auschwitz.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Right, right, right.

[Bill Maher]

What was that like? I mean, does that happen in the writing before you do it. Does that happen on the set? Do you.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, there's a scene where you're actually in the camps.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And you see, I mean, I once went to Dash Dachau and saw that. I mean, it's an incredibly sobering experience. Of course, to fit that into a comedy is tough. And you pulled it off.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Oh, that's so sweet.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

I mean, I was. The only thing I was very conscious of was, like, trying to not make a movie that felt, like, sanctimonious. You know, I think a lot of, like, Holocaust movies. And of course, there are so many. And there are so many wonderful ones, but a lot of times it feels like they're kind of like, I don't know, patting themselves on the back at the same time that they're showing you their movie. And I just wanted to make something that felt like. And it felt like people I know that I can relate to that. I can understand talking about real things. They go to that camp and at night they sneak onto a roof to share a joint. Like, that would be what I would do if I was in that situation. And you too.

[Bill Maher]

And that's what I mean about relating to your character. Like, you guys go to Poland and the other guy has a big thing of pot sent over there.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And I'm a big pothead. But that would freak me out. I was like, we're going to be in a Polish prison for the rest of our lives, you stupid. What are you doing?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah, but he. He says in the. Kieran says in the movie, he goes, what, they're gonna arrest two Jews for a little bit of pot in Poland? That's a good look for the Polish people, you know.

[Bill Maher]

But I understand you are now a Polish citizen.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You have a dual citizenship.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

I do, I do, I do.

[Bill Maher]

Now, why would you. Why were you moved to do that?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Because I just had this, like, overwhelming feeling there of just complete, like, gratitude and indebtedness to the people who are there preserving, like, Jewish history. You know, we would go to all these sites, you know, Jewish trauma, Right. And they're all now run by these incredibly, like, well meaning, non Jewish people who've devoted their lives to, like, you know, kind of memorializing my family's history. And I just felt like it's such a shame that, you know, a lot of American Jews of Polish descent, you know, have this kind of, like, negative attitude towards Poland that, oh, it's anti Semitic. I just had the exact opposite experience there. And I wanted to, like, just reconnect to a country that my family lived in far longer than we lived here.

[Bill Maher]

Well, they were very anti Semitic.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

But, I mean, the Nazis killed almost all the Jews there.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yes, the Nazis.

[Bill Maher]

And when they pulled out the Polish people, some of them were not. Still not very nice to the Jews.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Listen, I know you're a history buff and we could talk geopolitics for a long time, and I'm happy to do that.

[Bill Maher]

Jew politics.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Nice.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Very nice.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

But, like, I'm sensitive to the plight.

[Bill Maher]

Of the polls historically, and also that was a long time ago. The Polish people there are. But what do you have to do? What entitles you to become a Polish citizen?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

I really, you know, I wrote a letter to the government saying I really want to do what I can. This movie is an example. But I want to do what I can to try to repair Polish and, you know, Jewish diaspora relations.

[Bill Maher]

You think they would have let you do it if you were just Joe Eisenberg?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Well, you know, might have a cousin Joe Eisenberg, and maybe they might abuse the connection.

[Bill Maher]

So. All right, so, you know, some people say Putin, after going for Ukraine. I mean, there is worry that he. I don't think he's going to invade Poland. It's a NATO country, but I've heard that.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, what if he does? As a Polish citizen, do you go over there and fight the invasion?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

You know, I've really only been a citizen for a very short time, so.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, you went right into your Woody owl.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I. I don't mean to be the language.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

I wouldn't be good on the unit. Yeah. You know, and also, I just. I have an appointment here on the Upper west side.

[Bill Maher]

Well, speaking of that, you did two movies with Woody Allen.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And it's interesting the way this town is a little divided. Some actors will not work with him.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Some Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson, Diane Keaton say it's a witch hunt.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

Other actors, let's call them gutless pussies, they say they regret working with them and wouldn't work with them. Which are you?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Well, you know, I, you know, saying like, first of all, thanks for bringing that up. You know, you know, I'm of a few minds on this, and that's like, you know, to say I regret it, you know, something seems a little bit like passing the buck. The other thing I think about all the time is like, you know, if I can use my platform to say something like that, I'd rather say, please donate money to the Middle Way House. And Bloomington, Indiana. It's a domestic violence shelter. And if you're really concerned with issues surrounding domestic violence, please don't ask an actor to have an opinion about something that they don't really know about. Please give money to this amazing shelter.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. All right. All right. What about you played Lex Luthor in the Superman movie. And it was, it's interesting because I see Zuckerberg now at the inauguration, and he's right at the seat of power. You kind of played Lex Luthor as a tech bro.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And you must have some feelings playing because you also played obviously famously in the Social Network. Mark Zuckerberg. What do you make of all that's going on with the tech bros?

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Oh, you know, I just, I look at it from a very specific perspective, which is just like, if you're so rich and powerful, why are you not just spending your days doing good things for the world? Like, so I don't, like, it's hard for me. It's hard for me to understand, like, the specifics of what they're doing. But I just know, like, you know, I married a woman who's like, this amazing activist. All she thinks about all day is, how can I help the people who are most in need? And so when I watch these, like, incredibly powerful people, I just think, like, why are you not spending your day helping people? Why are you, like, getting mired into this weird stuff, stuff I don't really understand, and, like, taking, you know, privacy concerns away, you know, hurting people who are already hurting marginalized people? Like, to me, I just, I can't even understand that. So I'm not exactly thinking about them in politics. I'm just thinking, why are they not spending every day helping people?

[Bill Maher]

I think you should get an Oscar just for that speech.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Thank you.

[Bill Maher]

The movie is fantastic. If you haven't seen it, please do. Jesse Eisenberg, great luck. The movie. It's great to see you again. Don't be a stranger. Come on. All right, let's lead our panel. Hey, guys. All right. He hosts First Take on ESPN and the Stephen A. Smith. Stephen A. Smith is here and he's a Democratic congressman from California, Silicon Valley, and a member of the House Oversight and House Armed Service Committees. Ro Khanna is back with us. Okay, so week one of the Trump administration. Look, I said from the beginning I'm not going to pre hate anything this time, but now he's been in office for a week, I'm going to hate something. No, really. I mean, I hated pardoning people who attacked cops. Even if you took the politics out of it. Even if they were at the Capitol that day because they were a polka band. I don't care. You know, even the cops didn't like that. I also don't like the same thing I didn't like from the first time. Trump has no understanding of how this country works or he does not care to learn. In his view, I'm the leader, so I can do anything TikTok. I mean, both House and Senate voted. You know, you either have to sell it or he just got rid of that in a just said no by Clark proclamation. Birthright citizenship is another one. Now. I didn't even think birthright citizenship is a good idea to begin with. It seems kind of crazy to have that in the. But you. It's in the Constitution. So. So it seems like people are talking about this imperial presidency. We have a president can just do anything. What are you in Congress going to do about it? That's my question. Everybody in Congress. It keeps happening. What are you going to do?

[Ro Khanna]

Well, first of all, we're going to speak for basic American values. I mean, if you're born in America, you're an American, period. And when he's going after that, you know, all the Republican lecturing, we're for the Constitution, we're for the founders, until they're not. You know what makes America exceptional? The fact that your parents can come from any country, be of any faith, not have wealth, not have fame. And if you're born in America, you can go as far as you want. And that's what Donald Trump is taking away.

[Bill Maher]

And then the part the people, I mean, come on, man. Rich Chinese people come here, just they fly over here and then they have the baby here just so they can be an American citizen. It has been bastardized. You can't say that this is just all for the good.

[Ro Khanna]

This is like the Reagan welfare quiz. They pick out some extreme example. But you're going to change the Constitution.

[Bill Maher]

No, you're going to change. You have to change the Constitution. That's what I'm saying. You can't do things by proclamation. He does not understand that.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He doesn't care.

[Bill Maher]

He does not care. He does not care to learn.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He doesn't give a damn. He's not interested. And by the way, that's how he got in the office. We got a backtrack around the clock. When he walked down, he strolled down escalators in 2015. He was basically sitting up there and saying, what you seeing going on in Washington is so disgusting. It's not in the interest of you as the American people. So I'm going to do it my way. And I've answered this question on so many occasions when I've talked about him, guys, I've said this. You could have politicians saying, I disagree with this person, I disagree with that person. Except, etc. Trump will call them every name under the sun. He will mock them, he will insult them. He will be as annoying and as disgusting as you will allow him to be. And the voters will say, ha. We love the fact that you talk to Washington that way, because as American citizens, that's how we feel about Washington. And the fact that you're speaking our language is what makes us trust you because we believe you resonate on our behalf. This is why he got into office in 2016. This is why a whole bunch of people were acting like, you know what, in 2020, with the insurrection. Because it was an insurrection, regardless of what people want to admit. The way those folks were acting. Not everybody, but some of them. And then ultimately, he wins back in office. In 2024, just like in 2020, we said Biden, it wasn't about votes for Biden. It was about votes against Trump. In 2024, it wasn't about votes for Trump. It was votes against some of the nonsense that was taking place within the Democratic Party because they have not been able to find a voice that would resonate with the American people. When you're speaking their language, where they look at you and they say, hey, we get where you're coming from, you relate to us. The Democrats went a different direction. Trump capitalized on it, basically. He played everybody like a fiddle and has won reelection again. That's really the bottom line.

[Ro Khanna]

I agree, I think, with a lot of what? I mean, look, I think Trump came in there and said, politics are broken. They're all beholden to donors. There's been a country which has had all this economic wealth in some areas, other parts of the country, offshoring of jobs. Your communities haven't been helped. I'm going to come and fix it. And there's a history in this country. We love James Dean, we love Miles Barber. We love people who question rules. But what is he doing about it? Like, how is freezing cancer research, freezing diabetes research and freezing Alzheimer's research doing anything to help people's lives? Now they're saying, oh, he's cool.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I mean, talk about cherry picking. I mean, I didn't even hear about those. I'm not surprised he's doing it, but I don't have all the facts on that, and there's a lot of other stuff. I mean, some of them are not that crazy. Again, how he does it, you know, by proclamation. No, but to your point, you know, this country never reacts. It only overreacts. And some of this is brought on by the left. You're right. You brought it on yourself. I mean, penises in the locker room, penises in women's prisons. Of course he's going to go the complete opposite direction now. And now we have. There's only two sexes, whereas obviously there's a middle ground, which is there's not just two sexes. This goes back to hermaphrodites in ancient history and chicks with dicks. And there's just. It's just not that simple. But it's also not the case that every baby born, which is what we had for the last four years, is kind of a jump ball of, oh, I don't know, just as likely. Let's not even put the sex on the birth certificate. Let's let the kid decide when they're five. That was crazy. So there's going to be this backlash, and that's what you have now. You did bring it on yourself in a lot of ways.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Here's the deal. The man was impeached twice. He was convicted on 34 felony counts. And the American people still said, he's closer to normal than what we see.

[Bill Maher]

Exactly.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That's what they're saying. He's closer to normal. Why? Because something that pertains when you talk about the transgender community, for example, and you're talking about issues that pertain to less than 1% of the population the Democratic Party came across as if that was a priority more so than the other issues. And so he comes into office, now you're talking about child, you know, childbirth, citizenship and what have you. He knows that's not going to pass the mustard, but he knows that he made that promise. So when he shows up week one on Capitol Hill and he says, this is what we're going to do through an executive order, even though it's going to be shot down through the courts and what have you, he's saying, I kept my promise. A lot of other things that he's going to point to that he's going to try to do. I kept my promise. Then you turn around and you look at the left and you say, what promises did you keep? Now you might know the answer to that. I'm certainly not questioning your knowledge about that at all. What I'm saying is what resonated with the voter. What voter out there can look at the Democratic Party at this moment in time and say there's a voice for us, somebody that speaks for us, that goes up on Capitol Hill and fights the fights that we want them fighting on our behalf. They didn't do that. And that's why they're behind a home and that man is back into the White House and they want to sit up there and talk. You look at the networks right now, they're talking about, look at it. This is the latest. Look at him, here he goes again. Well, you know what? Here he goes again means he's doing what he said he was gonna do. He promised you he was gonna do these things. And he walked into office week one and that's exactly what he's doing. And he's saying, y'all do something about it. And when you try to do something about it, he's gonna say, look at them now. Now they're concerned about these issues. Were they talking about that during the campaign? Hell no. That's really it.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. Yes.

[Ro Khanna]

Well look, I think that people voted for him cuz they were upset at a system where they didn't feel that their kids lives were getting better. He went to places like Galesburg, Illinois, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He said, I'm going to bring the factories back, I'm going to get good paying jobs. Your kids don't have a future. I'm going to bring the cost of living down. And then he's doing nothing. Nothing. Nothing with wages, nothing with the economy. He's doing, you know, he's putting out a meme coin. He's putting one.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I mean he just got five days.

[Ro Khanna]

I get the American people, they've been voting everyone out for the past 20 years. But you know what, at some time they're going to say who's actually making our lives better? How are we actually getting our kids to have a shot?

[Bill Maher]

But you keep talking about kids. He also won because parents were a little fed up with parents coming in second in a who says what goes with my kids contest.

[Ro Khanna]

Right, but which Democrat is for that? I mean every I have kids. I mean most Democrats believe that parents should have a say in their kid's education.

[Bill Maher]

These have been here in California and I think the governor here used the word snitch like a parent. If you time them out, telling the.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Parents, point them out, the parents will be in trouble.

[Bill Maher]

If the kid switched genders in school, you know, they hid that from the parent. Or you could, I mean, I don't think snitching really takes place in my.

[Stephen A. Smith]

And as a guy, I'm not a parent, born in the Bronx, raised in the streets of New York, I can assure you, snitch has an entirely different meaning than what they put out. I can promise you. I can promise you.

[Bill Maher]

But, I mean, let me put it this way. Here's how bad the Democrats fucked up. Trump is cool now. He's not just the most powerful guy in the world and just made himself, like, the richest.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Mm.

[Bill Maher]

He's actually kind of at 78.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, rappers like him, the athletes are doing. I was making fun of him. Jerking off two guys at one time, and now he owns it and they're doing it. I mean, the Village People are gay for Trump now.

[Ro Khanna]

Ymca, he's always been. He's always been a celebrity. Bill, he had the Apprentice.

[Bill Maher]

He was a joke.

[Ro Khanna]

He had the Apprentice. He used to do movie cameos, he did wrestling.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He was a joke. But you know what the problem with that is? He was a celebrity, but he was made to be a celebrity by a whole bunch of Democrats. Think about that. I mean, I'm telling you, listen, Trump, and I've said this many occasions, I knew Trump before he ran for president. When you're hosting your fights at, you know, Trump Casino and you're showing up to Knicks basketball games with Bill O'Reilly and stuff like that, we would see him, the players would talk to him, the rap artists would talk to him. Celebrities all over the place, from Hollywood, from LA to New York would talk to him. And they all loved him until he ran for office. So then when they talked about him the way that they talked about him, they were like, you didn't feel that way about him before. What changed? And they asked, a lot of people ask themselves that question, and they weren't satisfied with the answers the Dems gave them.

[Ro Khanna]

You know what would be nice in this country? I mean, just hypothetically, do we not. Do we have to have the celebrity president? I mean, is it all about coolness? How about being cool as a president is actually about helping people? How about, you know, when we look at our great president, they weren't out doing dances. They were figuring out how to get higher wages for people. They were jobs.

[Bill Maher]

But that. That horse has left the barn.

[Ro Khanna]

You really think so?

[Bill Maher]

This is. You're living in America, dude. Come on.

[Ro Khanna]

We just celebrated Jimmy Carter's. Jimmy Carter was a great American, and he did a lot of great things. And by the way, the FEMA agency, Department of education that he established, Trump now wants to Take it down. I, I think.

[Bill Maher]

But we know a lot.

[Stephen A. Smith]

We know a lot. We listen, we know that there's a lot that has to be done. A lot of us don't have the greatest confidence that Trump is the right man that's gonna do it. We'll see what happens. Okay, second go round. But when you bring up celebrity, it's pretty hard to make that argument. When you see politicians that are on X, on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok because you have to reach an audience. You can't complain about that when you're a Dem. When that assistant Obama win an election in 2008 and 2012. But Obama, I mean, he utilized it is what I'm saying.

[Ro Khanna]

I have a celebrity exception. Stephen A. Wants to run. I'm all for it. I mean, that.

[Bill Maher]

That's it.

[Ro Khanna]

That's unexpected.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That ain't gonna happen. No. I like my life. I like my life. That ain't gonna get.

[Ro Khanna]

Obama used the tools to make his message go, but he had substance, he had actual ideas.

[Bill Maher]

Exactly. And the difference is they used to say Obama was a celebrity. Obama became a celebrity because he was great at his job of being a politician.

[Ro Khanna]

You know the difference.

[Bill Maher]

That's different. That's a huge difference.

[Ro Khanna]

You know, the difference between the Obama and Harris campaigns was Obama connected with people. And all the celebrities wanted to do concerts because they wanted to be with Obama, cuz he was with the people in the Harris campaign. They went after the celebrities to do the concerts to get the people. They got it backwards.

[Bill Maher]

I'm just saying.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I don't know. Okay, let's be honest here. First of all, one could argue that, that Obama resonated more because the people chose him to be the Democratic nominee for the presidency of the United States of America as opposed to somebody backdooring their way into that position. Let's just be honest about it. You had Biden. I know that you supported Biden. Obviously you spoke about his mental acuity and all of that other stuff. But we all saw what we saw before the debate on June 27 when the debate happened. And by the time that was explained, exposed, yet waited three weeks after that before he decided to walk away. But it was too late for anybody else to get it. So Kamala Harris, who didn't resonate during the primaries in 2020, couldn't even get to Iowa suddenly as the Democratic nominee. And then y'all go. Then you roll up at the Chicago, at the convention in Chicago and everybody's like, she's a rock star. So it was like, wait a minute, how that happened, how that happened? I don't know how that happened. So you're looking at all of those things and you're saying, yes, I voted for her. A lot of people voted for her. But in the end, we end up feeling like damn fools because we supported it. We fell for the Okie doke, as they say. You know, she didn't. If you had a primary, the likelihood is that she would not have been the Democratic nominee. And you can't say that about Trump in this style.

[Bill Maher]

You can't. That's water under the bridge. That's water under the br. The point is, we have a new sheriff in town and it's okay to be a dick. It's okay to be a dick again.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

REI Co Op presents a mini mindfulness Break. Take a deep breath in.

[Bill Maher]

Picture yourself on a mountain. As you hold your breath, look down at your skis, freshly waxed thanks to your REI membership. Carving through powder like a knife to warm butter.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Breathe out slow.

[Bill Maher]

Slowly. Let the air leave your lungs like you'd leave your local co op with all the gear, clothing, classes and advice you could hope for. Make time to opt outside rei.com I have some information about Pete Hegseth. I mean, we were waiting before we went on. We're taped this Friday. Oh, there's Pete. He's apparently going to be the next Defense Secretary. It's the most controversial appointment that Trump has made. We didn't get the news right before we went on it or probably this weekend, but here are some things that have been leveled against. Now, Pete denies all of this, but his ex sister in law signed a sworn affidavit. I'm just going to read the highlight phrases. Passed out at family gatherings, dragged out of strip club, throwing up Abusive wife once hid in a closet. Wife needed a safe word and said the phrase women shouldn't have the right to vote. Now the wife's the wife. This is the sister in law says there was no physical abuse in my marriage. We need to enter that in the record. Here are some phrases from he was a part of two veterans groups. Here are some phrases what they said Forced to step down repeatedly intoxicated while in official capacity. Sometimes needed to be carried out. Had to be physically restrained from joining dancers on stage at a strip at a strip club. Well, I've done that. Not the physically restrained part, but the joining on stage. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. So we thought it'd be a good time to do 24 things you don't know about Steve Hegset, one of our favorite refillables. All right. When Trump first asked me to be Secretary of Defense, I said, secretary, I ain't no woman. I don't know the meaning of surrender or last call. I got the idea for Concerned Veterans for America from veterans saying, we're concerned about your drinking. My favorite sex position is where my wife lies face down and I'm 10 miles away fucking a cocktail waitress. My ancestors are Norwegian, which is why you'll often find me sleeping outside with the dog. I hold the Guinness record for a number of times being told by a bouncer, please don't touch the. The dancers. I think Amelia Earhart is proof women can't drive. My drag name is Ms. Oginous, and I have a tattoo on my penis that reads, you must be this tall to ride. All right, what that means. All right, so let's go through again, first week of the Trump administration, some of the things we're going to do. Take over the Panama Canal, take Greenland. Man on Mars. He's talking about we're going to put the American flag on Mars. I mean, I'm not sure if it's a man, but the flag's going up there. Pulling out of the Paris Accords. Pulling out. Out of the World Health Organization open. Well, I mean, the border closed. The border and the DEI and. Okay, so let's talk about the border one, because ICE is now detaining people. This is very. A lot of people concerned. The Lake and Riley Act, I'm sure you voted on that. I think you voted no. Okay. But it did pass with 46 Democrats in the House voted for it, and in the Senate, it passed 64 to 35. So I think about 12 Democrats there. This is a law that says that ICE can detain any illegal who is charged, arrested or convicted of a crime, not merely an accusation. So don't get excited. Karens has to be charged, arrested or convicted. Now, Ruben Gallego, who we've had on this show a number of times, I think has bigger ambitions that he's now. He's now the senator from Arizona. He voted for it. He said, I'm bringing the perspective of working class Latinos from Arizona. That perspective, I think, has been missing. And he talks about people who are largely out of touch with where your average Latino is. It sounds like he's calling out people like you who voted no.

[Ro Khanna]

I like, proven there are a lot of Latinos. I do. I think he ran a hell of a race, but there are a lot of Latino leaders who also voted no. Here's the basic thing in this country, if you're convicted of a sex offense, of a violent offense, absolutely, you should be deported. But if you're just arrested, we are a country which we have due process and you should have a trial. I think that's a reasonable position. I think most people can agree also that, yes, let's deport convicted felons, convicted criminals, but let's not deport our nannies and students or dental hygienists who have been living here for years and have kids in communities. We could have a common sense position on this.

[Bill Maher]

I get that.

[Ro Khanna]

That makes a lot.

[Stephen A. Smith]

That makes a lot of sense. But there's a flip side. So, for example, if I remember correctly, based on my research In Sacramento in 2023, there was a law passed in terms of empowering the governor of California to really force environmentalists and the courts to move quickly. 270 days, if I remember correctly, something along those lines. Why do I bring something like that up with a subject like this? Because here in your state, they can drag their feet and prolong certain things, and as a result of that, things don't get done nearly as fast as they should. When we're talking about immigration and we're talking about immigrants who may be criminals, you're talking about them being arrested. Let's have due process. But if it takes too damn long to address it, that pisses people off. That's one of the problems that exist in this country. You're looking at stuff and you're like, okay, you arrested him. Was he in jail? All right, you let him out. Recidivism is an issue in this country. You let somebody, you arrest them, you're letting them out the same day, Stuff like that. You got law enforcement officials that are getting discouraged because they're looking at it and they're saying, wait a minute. Why are we out here risking our life and taking care of this stuff when y'all are just letting people out? You gotta handle business. And a lot of times we hear about the red tape and all of that stuff. And you're talking about a candidate right now who now doesn't be the president of the United States. Now he's sitting up there and he's talking about expediting the process at every turn. Let's just get stuff done. Let's just get it done now. I don't know if I trust that. I don't blame you for not trusting it. But we have to understand the American people are Saying, you know what? Enough's enough. We've tried it that way. We've been doing it that way for decades. We sick of y'all. Let's wait, let's go through the process. Let's arrest somebody. Let's let them out. Let's put them back out on the streets. Oh, let's make sure they have due process. You think somebody wants to hear about due process with somebody that's in this country illegally? They want to hear that. You in the country illegally. How would your process. You got the audacity to admit a crime after you got here illegally? We ain't trying to hear that. Nobody's trying to hear that. So they say, wait a minute, what are you going to do about it? Where is the common sense in that?

[Ro Khanna]

I get that. But that's what makes America different than every other country. We have a constitution. We give people rights. We don't just say, let's convene.

[Bill Maher]

Well, we give citizens rights.

[Ro Khanna]

No, we give every person here rights. A basic due process.

[Bill Maher]

Maybe that's what people are saying.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They're saying they want the citizens to have the rights.

[Bill Maher]

Were you at the, you weren't at the inauguration?

[Ro Khanna]

I went to the inauguration.

[Bill Maher]

You did? I did. I didn't go to the inauguration. I didn't even watch it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Neither did I.

[Bill Maher]

You know, and, and the ratings were way down. I think not until. Since 2013.

[Jesse Eisenberg]

Sure.

[Stephen A. Smith]

You, if you did. Yes. Trump about it was the biggest audience ever.

[Ro Khanna]

Let me just say one other quick.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Everybody watched.

[Bill Maher]

Everybody could not watch.

[Ro Khanna]

You know, one of the things people like about Donald Trump is he stands on his convictions. When have you heard Democrats saying vast majority of immigrants in this country contribute to this country. They don't commit crimes. They are law abiding. They're patriotic. Our party needs to stop being scared of her own shadows. Stand up for what immigrants have actually contributed. You know what we should have done? Kamala Harris should have gone to Springfield the day that Trump was doing that garbage about they're eating the dogs and cats. She should have stood there in Springfield meeting with the Haitian immigrants who are contributing to this country. We will win when we stand on strength of our values.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Well, I can.

[Bill Maher]

I don't know. I'm getting from the applause, he's more popular than you. I'm just saying.

[Ro Khanna]

He's got an ESPN show.

[Bill Maher]

I'm just saying what he, what he's saying is getting up there and you're getting like, yeah, that's true what you say.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Okay, what you said.

[Bill Maher]

I don't know.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Sounds beautiful. Here's the problem. We're a couple of minutes removed from talking about the senator from Arizona. And y'all talked about Rubin, and y'all talked about the position that he took. One could easily argue is that's the kind of Democrat people are looking for. That Democrat listened to the people in his state. Instead of saying, you elected me. To hell with what you want. Listen to me, do what the party wants me to do. He is following. He said the citizens of Arizona said this to him and that is why he voted that way. A guy like that will get a Democrat back in office.

[Ro Khanna]

I like it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I'm just talking about that position.

[Bill Maher]

I started by your constituency a little first because I saw them all at the inauguration. I think they called it Tech Row. All the billion. I think it was the three richest people in the world. Zuckerberg, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos. But they. But wasn't Peter Thiel there?

[Ro Khanna]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

Marc Andreessen.

[Stephen A. Smith]

He had everybody there.

[Bill Maher]

Tim Cook. Okay. This is your constituency, your Silicon Valley. Why do you think they turned? Because I think it's very interesting that all these guys who were not conservatives. Zuckerberg, Joe Rogan wasn't. He was there. Elon Musk certainly wasn't. I got a guess.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Want my guess?

[Bill Maher]

Tell me.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They were bullied.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Four years ago.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They remembered.

[Bill Maher]

They don't like it.

[Stephen A. Smith]

They said they don't like it.

[Bill Maher]

It's very personal.

[Stephen A. Smith]

It's personal. And we gonna go in the other direction. It's get your behind up out of here. We don't want to deal with that anymore. That's what they say.

[Bill Maher]

That's exactly.

[Ro Khanna]

Because they're looking at also their business interests. They went and met him in 2017. A lot of them did. Tim Cook did. A lot of these business leaders said, you know, when they deserted him was Charlottesville. That's when a lot of these tech leaders said, I'm done. And we'll see how long they stick with the Trump administration in what he's doing. We'll see.

[Bill Maher]

But it gets, I think, to the problem with the Democratic Party and that part of the left that I've always been complaining about. It's also why they don't like me anymore. And they can go fuck themselves.

[Stephen A. Smith]

I agree with you a thousand times over. A thousand times over.

[Bill Maher]

The difference between me and all those guys is they're not going to drive me into the worst pile. I still understand why that party is worse. Okay. But that attitude, that exclusionary mean girl. If you don't agree with me 100%, then we're going to go after you. We're going to try to cancel you. You. And these are not stupid people. These are brilliant people. Some of them are a little on the spectrum. This guy, yes, but I don't think he's a Nazi.

[Ro Khanna]

But come on, who's the party that is out there intimidating people? You know the pardon. The guy who was just pardoned says, I want to be Secretary of Retaliation. I mean, come on.

[Bill Maher]

That's why I said I'm not in that party.

[Ro Khanna]

My party. Does my party have an issue?

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Ro Khanna]

What my party needs to do is make sure that we respect people who have different social and cultural viewpoints than our own and we don't look down on people. But that doesn't mean you have to give up your principles to do that.

[Bill Maher]

That's true.

[Ro Khanna]

You can have. Look, I like you. I'm on the left. I'm a proud progressive Democrat. I come on this show because you have a civil conversation. We don't always agree. I don't pull my punches.

[Bill Maher]

And we voted for the same person.

[Ro Khanna]

And we voted for the same person.

[Bill Maher]

To a lot of people in your party, that's not good enough.

[Stephen A. Smith]

Exactly.

[Bill Maher]

I've said it to this. Politics is a different. You voted for the same person. I thank you for the vote. What?

[Ro Khanna]

I thank you for voting Democrat.

[Bill Maher]

You don't have to thank me.

[Ro Khanna]

Well.

[Bill Maher]

Come on, mix it up.

[Ro Khanna]

Mix it good.

[Stephen A. Smith]

But I think it's important. I think it's important that you understand, see, you're a likable individual because you're sensible. I know Wes Moore, the governor of Maryland. Likable man. I think he has incredible potential. Issue resonates with people because he sends a message to them. Not just that he cares about them, but that he's listening to them as opposed to trying to guilt them with fear mongering and everything else to get them to do what you as a politician want them to do. You have to understand, respectfully, in my opinion, that you are in the minority within the Democratic Party based on what we've seen over the last four to six years. It's entirely different now because like Bill said, it's not enough for you to vote for them, you gotta side with them. The same people that you voted for, you uttered the. They made you feel. They got to a point where if you uttered the wrong pronoun, they was ready to cost you your career. I'm working in television and I'm having people who are hyperventilating, scared to Death. Taking deep breaths, making sure that when they go on a diatribe or Iran or whatever, they're uttering every syllable correctly. This is the kind of world that the Republicans didn't create, that they're guilty of a whole lot of stuff, but they didn't create that. And when you create that, when somebody is scared to utter the wrong word out of their mouth, and we all know what, some words are taboo. But damn, it got to a point where he or she was taboo amongst some Democrats. Now, how the hell that happened?

[Bill Maher]

Well, I have to say two words. Show's over. But you guys were great. Time for new rules, everybody. New rules. Okay. All right. New rule. Now that Trump has dead, named Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley and changed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, he has to rename the Great Lakes. Lake Terrific Lake Fantastic. Lake Michigan, a state I won by a lot. Lake was White Superior and Lake like nobody's ever seen before. And the Grand Tetons are now Mount Tit. This young woman has to explain why if the revolution is now, she's the only one there. Revolution? You don't even have enough for a snowball fight. There were more people in prints in the revolution. Nobody remembers. Okay, new rule. The New York Times Style magazine has to hire someone with a memory that goes back before 2018. I saw this cover story with Robert Pattinson as the last movie star, and I thought, but where have I seen that before? Oh, yeah, everywhere. George Clooney, the last movie star. Tom Cruise, the last movie star. How Leonardo DiCaprio became Hollywood's last movie star. Why Denzel Washington may be the last real movie star. The last movie star is Paul Newman and Joanne Orbit. Stop writing the same stupid story. There are always going to be movie stars. It's magazines that are dead. New rule. The Pakistani ad agency that created this ad for Pakistan Airlines that says, paris, we're coming today, and appears to show a plane flying into the Eiffel Tower. Has to admit they're fucking with it. This is what happens when you hire someone whose LinkedIn says his passions are graphic design and jihad. New rule. If you're a grown man and watching another man become president and it makes you cry, you are banned from the manosphere for one year. Sorry, no Joe Rogan podcast for you. No TikTok videos of a guy cooking steak on a rock in Alaska. No MMA knockout compilations for one year. Every time you try to watch something manly will instantly cut away to Taylor Swift in the luxury box at a Chiefs game. And finally, new rule. Let's look on the bright side. I know we're all obsessed these days about the fires and the anxiety from Trump taking office again. But one hopeful thing did happen when we were on our break. A health insurance executive got shot in the back, on the street in broad daylight. And the kids couldn't love the guy who did it anymore if he was the leader of a terrorist organization. That's right. Last December, 26 year old Luigi Mangione, fed up with the health care system in America, stalked and murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, thereby raising awareness of the problem of insurance companies denying people's claims. And Lord knows that is a problem people are justifiably sick and tired of. Of paying through the nose only to get the runaround and a mountain of forms to fill out. And yes, infuriating claim denials based on petty technicalities. Something, by the way, that is increasingly now done by AI, a robot programmed to find a way to fuck you in the ass, which is not covered. Look, we've all been there. Ever get a prescription filled and they say, that'll be a million dollars, please. And you say, is there an alternative? And they say, oh yeah, there's one that's basically the same for 10 bucks. I didn't mention it because it didn't seem like something people would be interested in. Or how about when help something they know is already covered just to see if you'll pay it anyway? Because they have the ethics of a Nigerian prince emailing you for a loan. Every doctor's office has a medical billing specialist who has a particular set of skills to fuck you. And what the hell is a pharmacy benefit manager? I'm not sure, but I think I was one back in 1980 when I sold pot. Oh, it's a shifty business, all right. Navigating between all the different players is like trying to find the bathroom in a casino. It's just so unbelievably complicated. Like an electoral college that does prostate exams. A maze like mosaic of analysts, regulators, administrators, consultants, advisors, hospitals, insurance companies, drug companies, bus ad trial lawyers, and the actors in drug ads portraying eyelash crust mites, they love to party. So I guess my question is, why shoot just the insurance guy? The profit margin for the US health insurance industry is only 2.2%. For drug companies, it's over 65%. And for hospitals, it's really hard to say what it is because their accounting is done by the Corleone family. So, okay, a guy from the insurance industry is dead. That's Great. But he's not the one who decided that the box of Kleenex next to your hospital bed costs 60 bucks. Hospitals set the prices that insurers pay, and costs vary wildly. The same procedure can cost up to 10 times more. Not just within the same city or same state, within the same hospital. It reminds me of clothing stores. 80% off. Off of what? Oh, right off of a number you pulled out of your ass to begin with. That seems to be how hospitals work. So shouldn't we really be shooting hospital execs first? I mean, it's only right. I have a feeling it's insurance people get blamed more because there's no insurance company version of Grey's Anatomy where hot young insurance agents steal away to fuck each other on bunk beds during their work day. So, okay, hospital execs first. Then we shoot insurance guys, then drug company people. Oh, and the tech bros who create those medical website portals that are impossible to navigate. And what about the people who make the shit that makes us sick in the first place? Watch your back, whoever makes fucking Twinkies. But here's what's so interesting about this. The reaction from different generations. Older people think it's bad to shoot a guy in the street, but 41% of 18 to 29 year olds say it's completely or somewhat acceptable where only 9% find it so extra. Which confirms something I wish wasn't true, but unfortunately is about certainly not all but too many gen zers. They're fucking stupid. I don't. I don't know what they're teaching them in college these days, but they all seem to have majored in simplicity. Oppressed and oppressor? No, in between health care. Good guys and bad guys. Simple. When Trump said nobody knew that health care could be so complicated, he was wrong. It's not complicated. It's simple. It's as simple as shooting your insurance agent. Bad guys get shot. Hello? You never saw John Wick? Yeah, I'm thinking now maybe it wasn't a great idea to make every single movie about someone who's a hitman. And so here I am again, feeling like an old school liberal at odds with the new politics of the far left. Because it wasn't that long ago when liberals thought shooting people who don't share your politics was bad. Or at least a microaggression. Doesn't pumping someone full of lead verge dangerously close to mansplaining? And what about gun control? When Sarah Palin posted a map with crosshairs on the districts of House Democrats, she hoped to defeat in 2010. Liberals went nuts. But now vigilantism is okay when it's someone you want dead. And where does all this lead? Both parties having death squads. So, Luigi, I say to you, good luck in prison where being handsome always makes you popular, and congratulations on being a folk hero. But just know you're not Robin Hood, but you're not a hero. You're a typical member of your generation, too lazy to do the work to really understand an issue, but happy to pose as a social justice warrior for it. This is the same mentality I saw this month when Internet lowlifes posted about their glee in watching the well off people of Pacific Palisades lose their homes in the LA fires. It's a very popular mindset these days, summed up in the phrase eat the rich. But kids, I've seen your media consumption and I've seen your social media posts. You can't fool me. You don't hate the rich. You hate that you ain't the rich. All right, that's our show. My Club Random Podcast has some amazing guests coming up. Watch it on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcast. And I want to thank Stephen A. Smith, Bro Khanna and Jesse Eisenberg. Now go watch Overtime on YouTube. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you guys. Catch all new episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher every Friday night at 10 or watch him anytime on HBO on Demand. For more information, log on to hbo.com I'm Evan Ross Katz, the host of the White Lotus Official Podcast from hbo. Over eight episodes, you'll hear from season one and two cast members and we'll together unpack some of our favorite storylines. I started writing in August and we were shooting in October. I didn't even know who was gonna die. I was literally just writing by the seat of my pants. Listen on Max or wherever you get your podcasts.