Ep. #698: Whitney Cummings, Stephanie Ruhle, Jonah Goldberg

Summary

Real Time with Bill Maher: Episode #698 Featuring Whitney Cummings, Stephanie Ruhle, and Jonah Goldberg

Release Date: June 7, 2025

In Episode #698 of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," host Bill Maher engages in a multifaceted discussion with comedian and writer Whitney Cummings, MSNBC's senior business analyst Stephanie Ruhle, and political commentator Jonah Goldberg. The episode delves into pressing issues such as the escalating feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the rapid advancements and societal implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, government inefficiencies and fiscal challenges, immigration's impact on technological innovation, domestic terrorism, and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. The conversation is interspersed with Maher's signature humor, culminating in his satirical "New Rules" segment.

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1. The Musk-Trump Feud and Current Events

Timestamp: [01:40 – 08:18]

Bill Maher opens the episode by addressing the intense and publicized conflict between tech mogul Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump. He humorously likens their rivalry to a clash of iconic monsters, referencing Musk's appearance with a black eye at Trump's "Little Going Away Party" and the subsequent verbal sparring on social media:

• Maher: "It's like Godzilla versus King Kong. If Godzilla was on ketamine and King Kong had a com."

Maher critiques Musk's attempts to reduce government bloat juxtaposed with the administration's spending, highlighting Musk's tweet calling a government bill a "disgusting abomination" and Trump's dismissal of Musk's grievances as "Trump derangement syndrome." The discussion underscores the broader implications of their conflict on corporate America and political discourse.

2. The Rise of Robots and AI with Whitney Cummings

Timestamp: [08:18 – 20:00]

Comedian Whitney Cummings joins the show to explore the burgeoning relationship between humans and robots. Drawing from her experience with a robot replica created for her Netflix special "Can I Touch It?" Cummings delves into the uncanny aspects of AI:

• Cummings: "If you do get a robot in your likeness, what happens is that you age and they don't. So you end up having... just have this bitch in your podcast studio that's just your former face before the life was drained out of it."

She expresses concerns about anthropomorphizing robots, leading to misplaced compassion and altered human interactions. Cummings humorously recounts her robot breastfeeding her child, highlighting unintended consequences such as microplastics in breast milk:

• Cummings: "My robot breastfed the baby, which was a big part of why there's already microplastics in our breast milk."

The conversation shifts to societal behaviors, with Cummings observing that humans are increasingly exhibiting "robotic" traits, programmed responses, and difficulty distinguishing genuine human interaction from artificial engagement.

3. Government Inefficiency and Fiscal Challenges

Timestamp: [20:00 – 35:51]

Stephanie Ruhle and Jonah Goldberg join Maher to critique the U.S. government's handling of fiscal policies and inefficiencies. The discussion centers on former President Trump's failed attempt to cut government spending using Elon Musk's Dogecoin initiative, which ultimately did not address the substantial allocations towards entitlements like Social Security, Medicare, and defense:

• Ruhle: "Elon Musk... he said he was going to cut 2 trillion, then it was 1 trillion, then we were down to 150 billion. And he didn't even show the receipts."

Goldberg emphasizes the fundamental misunderstanding by business leaders when attempting to manage government budgets, stating:

• Goldberg: "Government isn't a business. And when you come in like a Silicon Valley guy where you say we're going to break everything and then rebuild it... that doesn't work for large government bureaucracies."

The panel underscores the bipartisan challenge of addressing long-term fiscal sustainability, particularly concerning entitlement programs that are politically sensitive and crucial for senior citizens.

4. The Economic Impact of AI and Job Displacement

Timestamp: [35:51 – 43:32]

The conversation transitions to the disruptive potential of AI on the job market. Maher and Goldberg discuss predictions that AI could eliminate a significant portion of entry-level white-collar jobs:

• Maher: "AI could wipe out half of all entry level white collar jobs."

Goldberg acknowledges the disruptive nature of AI but maintains a cautious optimism about the technology's ability to create new opportunities:

• Goldberg: "It can do a lot of jobs. It's definitely going to be disruptive. But the history of technology has always been disruptive."

They debate the balance between AI-driven productivity gains and the socio-economic challenges posed by job displacement, emphasizing the need for strategic adaptation in the workforce.

5. Immigration, Brain Drain, and Technological Innovation

Timestamp: [43:32 – 49:40]

Immigration's role in sustaining technological advancement is a focal point, with Ruhle highlighting that half of AI-related doctorate graduates in the U.S. are immigrants:

• Ruhle: "Half of the people who start AI companies are immigrants. Let's totally agree with that here."

Goldberg introduces the concept of a "brain flush," criticizing current immigration policies that deter foreign talent:

• Goldberg: "This is a brain flush. This is a deliberate attempt to push out foreign students, professors, all that kind of stuff."

The panelists argue that restrictive immigration policies undermine America's competitive edge in AI and other high-tech industries, exacerbating the brain drain and stifling innovation.

6. Domestic Terrorism and Anti-Semitism

Timestamp: [49:40 – 54:00]

A sobering discussion ensues about recent acts of domestic terrorism, specifically referencing a flamethrower attack in Boulder, Colorado, motivated by anti-Semitic sentiments:

• Maher: "He was screaming, kill Zionist. What the fuck do you need to tell?"

Goldberg criticizes the government's failure to adequately fund and staff agencies responsible for combating domestic terrorism and anti-Semitism:

• Goldberg: "They just gutted the Office of Civil Rights that actually studies and goes after anti Semitism. So the actual groups that work on this, let's continue to work on it."

The panel highlights the dangers of defunding critical security and civil rights institutions, which hampers effective responses to violent hate crimes.

7. Foreign Policy: Ukraine-Russia Conflict

Timestamp: [54:00 – 59:00]

The discussion shifts to the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war, assessing the effectiveness of U.S. foreign policy and military support. Maher references a sophisticated Ukrainian drone attack that showcased tactical ingenuity:

• Maher: "They hid all these drones inside a truck, had a guy, did not know it was in his truck, drove it into Russia, and then they came out the roof all on their own and destroyed the planes that Russia was using to bomb Ukraine."

Goldberg critiques the Trump administration's inconsistent approach to Russia, suggesting that Trump's personal affinity for Putin has muddled strategic priorities:

• Goldberg: "The only reason why I think these guys are against it is because they, you know, like Trump has always had this man crush on Putin."

The panel underscores the necessity for a more coherent and principled foreign policy that balances realist and idealistic motivations, advocating for sustained support to Ukraine to counter Russian aggression.

8. Satirical "New Rules" Segment

Timestamp: [59:00 – 60:19]

Concluding the episode, Bill Maher delivers his trademark "New Rules" segment, offering a satirical take on contemporary social and political phenomena. He mocks the superficiality of social media trends, the decline of print media, and the perceived disconnect of celebrities with their public personas:

• Maher: "New rules. Stop trying to help me understand how Kim Kardashian both is and isn't a lawyer."

He lampoons the proliferation of niche Instagram pages, the commodification of personal struggles by public figures, and the superficial marketing strategies of modern brands, all while maintaining his characteristic sharp wit.

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Key Takeaways and Insights

1. Elon Musk vs. Donald Trump: The unresolved feud between Musk and Trump reflects broader tensions between tech innovation and political governance, highlighting the challenges of integrating business acumen into government operations.

2. AI and Robotics: Rapid advancements in AI and robotics present both opportunities and ethical dilemmas, including job displacement, human-robot relationships, and the potential for AI to mirror human behaviors and biases.

3. Government Fiscal Health: Persistent government inefficiencies and unaddressed entitlement spending pose significant threats to the nation's fiscal stability, necessitating bipartisan efforts to implement meaningful reforms.

4. Immigration's Crucial Role: Restrictive immigration policies risk undermining America's technological leadership by contributing to a brain drain, particularly in high-demand sectors like AI.

5. Domestic Security Concerns: Defunding critical agencies designed to combat domestic terrorism and anti-Semitism exacerbates vulnerabilities, highlighting the need for sustained investment in civil rights and security infrastructure.

6. Foreign Policy Coherence: The U.S.'s strategic approach to the Ukraine-Russia conflict must be grounded in clear principles and effective support to allies, avoiding the pitfalls of personal political biases influencing national security decisions.

7. Cultural and Social Satire: Maher's "New Rules" segment underscores the superficiality and fragmentation of modern social interactions, emphasizing the need for deeper societal reflections amidst technological and cultural shifts.

Notable Quotes

• Whitney Cummings on Robots:

  • [09:30] "If you do get a robot in your likeness, what happens is that you age and they don't."
  • [12:08] "We'll anthropomorphize them and start to have compassion. I'm not so worried that the robot itself is a threat, but what humans are going to do to each other trying to protect robots that they've projected onto."

• Jonah Goldberg on Government vs. Business:

  • [23:00] "Government isn't a business. And when you come in like a Silicon Valley guy where you say we're going to break everything and then rebuild it... that doesn't work for large government bureaucracies."

• Stephanie Ruhle on Fiscal Policies:

  • [22:57] "Elon Musk would have been happy to cut those things. He's the guy who considers Social Security to be a Ponzi scheme."

• Bill Maher on AI's Job Disruption:

  • [35:51] "AI could wipe out half of all entry level white collar jobs."

• Jonah Goldberg on Immigration:

  • [39:13] "I'm very much in favor of fighting antisemitism at Harvard. I don't get the flex of canceling cancer research to fight anti Semitism."

• Bill Maher on Domestic Terrorism:

  • [42:44] "He was screaming, kill Zionist. What the fuck do you need to tell?"

---

This episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher" offers a comprehensive exploration of some of the most critical and timely issues facing society today, blending incisive political analysis with thought-provoking discussions on technology and culture. Maher's dynamic interaction with his guests provides a balanced perspective on complex topics, ensuring that listeners are both informed and entertained.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

On WhatsApp, no one can see or.

[Whitney Cummings]

Hear your personal messages.

[Bill Maher]

Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family.

[Whitney Cummings]

No one else, not even us.

[Bill Maher]

WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Put us in a box. Go ahead. That just gives us something to break out of. Because the next generation 2025 GMC terrain elevation is raising the standard of what comes standard. As far as expectations go, why meet them when you can shatter them? What we choose to challenge, we challenge completely. We are professional grade. Visit gmc.com to learn more. Welcome to an HBO podcast from the.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

HBO late night series Real Time with Bill Ma.

[Whitney Cummings]

Start the clock.

[Bill Maher]

Thank you so much. How are you down there? Thank you. Thank you people. I appreciate it. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the show. Oh, thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Please, there's so much going on. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. And thank you for putting on a brave face because I know you're all probably upset. You know, what happened with Elon and Donald Trump, it's all over and, and even worse, it's pride month. It's just. Are you having a good pride month? Are you out there priding it up? I. Oh, wow, that's fantastic. Well, you know, I gotta say, it's a little less pridy this year because, you know, ever since Trump and the administration has been on the warpath against anything dei now corporate America is a little skittish about going, oh, Trump. All pride stuff. So, you know, a lot of these companies, the Gap, Nordstrom's, Macy's, they've all kind of pulled back. No more ostentatious displays at Home Depot. They won't even let you get wood. But, but I'm not going to pretend I can really think about anything other than the Trump Elon. Well, I mean, when you think about it, the richest man in the world and the most powerful man in the world. It's like Godzilla versus King Kong. If Godzilla was on ketamine and King Kong had a com. I mean, these guys were so close. It was like Brangelina or Bennifer. No, you know that Elon and Trump, they had their own couple name Elump. And you know what happened? What happened this week? This has been brewing for a while. Okay, people, the first sign was last week at Elon's Little going away party. Remember that in the. In the Oval Office, and Elon showed up with a black eye? No, it's not that. No. He said it was because he was roughhousing with this kid and the kid clocked him. And. Yeah, I believe that, but. And so Trump said, I offered him a little makeup. This is what happened. This is serious. People said, I offered him a little makeup, and he turned it down. And then Trump said. Which was interesting. Yeah, weird. Elon, what sort of man turns down makeup? But then it just. See, what really would put it over the edge is that, you know, Elon came in there to reduce the government bloat and all that stuff. And then they have this big, beautiful bill that's nothing but government bloat, which Elon tweeted out. He said it was a disgusting abomination. And then Trump said, well, he has Trump derangement syndrome. And then Elon said, well, your tariffs are going to cause an erection, all right. Oh, boy, a recession is what I meant to say. I don't know where I am. And then Trump said, he's just mad at me. Elon's mad at me because I took away the mandate for his electric vehicles, which nobody really wants anyway. And then Elon said, you know, without me, he wouldn't even won the election. And then this shit got real. And Trump said, well, you know what? Mars is a shithole planet. And Elon said, oh, my God, you are not the same man I used to heil. Now, for those keeping a score at home and who watch the show for the news, I made the last two up, but it's very hard to tell which are the ones that I made up. Just the last two. The other ones are real. And now it's gotten even nastier. They asked Trump yesterday about the fight, and he said, I don't think about him. And then Elon put out, well, you know what? Think about this. Trump is in the Epstein files, and that's why they haven't released it. And now this is just a war that is going back and forth and back and forth, and the stakes are so high because the winner faces Blake Lively. So that's. That's where we are with this. The latest update is tomorrow. Apparently, Elon is going to be coming by to the White House to pick up his CDs and the mixtape they made together. And he said for the both of us, Trump, maybe it's better if you're just not there. But it looks like it may go from a war of words to other stuff because Trump is now saying he might cancel Elon's subsidies and Elon's contracts. So I guess in the end, Elon did save the taxpayer money. And let's enter this coda to the whole situation. Elon now says he might start his own political party. Wow, that could be interesting. I don't know if we're ready for a party from a guy who's on ecstasy, mushrooms, and ketamine. Although the convention does sound like a blast, doesn't it? All right, we have a great show. We have Stephanie Ruhle and Jonah Goldberg. But first up, she is one of my favorite people, one of my favorite comedians, writer, producer, host of the good for your podcast. She's currently touring nationwide with her latest stand up show, Big Baby. Whitney Cummings is here. Hello, you.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Hello.

[Bill Maher]

How you doing?

[Whitney Cummings]

Wild news day.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, yes, thanks.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Hi.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. Wild news day. Yes. There's so much to be upset about.

[Whitney Cummings]

I'm good. If you grew up in an alcoholic home, this is your comfort zone.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I know, but listen, I wanted to. I sent out the bat signal for you because, I mean, yes, we're going to talk about debt, and that's really horrible and the environment's horrible and this is horrible, but I am obsessed with robots, okay? Lately, they're taking over. I can.

[Whitney Cummings]

I have a sex robot. You. I'll give it to you for a steal. I will negotiate with you.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

$10.

[Whitney Cummings]

Final offer.

[Bill Maher]

No, I heard. I'm telling you, I want you here because the last special, maybe not your last one, but one of the recent ones, it was a lot about robots.

[Whitney Cummings]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And you did a lot of deep diving into this subject. And I thought, oh, I gotta get her here to talk about this, because it's the only thing I can think about because it's happening. It is changing so rapidly. And I don't think people are, like, onto it. So where were you with what's going on with robots now? You were especially. You had your own robot. You have robot Whitney.

[Whitney Cummings]

I do, I do.

[Bill Maher]

There's robot Whitney.

[Whitney Cummings]

So can you tell which is which? Look, I had a robot made in my likeness for a standup special when I was talking a lot about robots and sex robots and the implications special called can I touch it? It is on Netflix now. And I did learn a lot. I thought that it would end up looking like a crappy scarecrow. I thought it was gonna be like a joke. And I went down there and the technology was so good that I ended up just putting her in the special.

[Bill Maher]

What year is this?

[Whitney Cummings]

This was maybe five years ago.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, so a lot's changed.

[Whitney Cummings]

I would say a lot's change.

[Bill Maher]

Well, especially before ChatGPT.

[Whitney Cummings]

This is before all of it. Right? But here's the deal. I do still have the robot, and this is what nobody warns you about. If you do get a robot in your likeness, what happens is that you age and they don't. So you end up having. You just have this bitch.

[Bill Maher]

In your.

[Whitney Cummings]

Podcast studio that's just your former face before the life was drained out of it. And so I don't really know what to do with her now. Do I age her. Her up, or do I. I'm not getting Botox. I quit getting Botox, by the way. I just. I. You know, I find it odd that we're all like, I want to look as young as possible. Like, why are we trying to bait pedophiles with our face? You know, I don't want. No one's gonna think that I'm 20, you know, so I also. Thank you. I also want people to know when I'm mad at them, and I think it's helpful. But I wonder, with the robots, I guess I'm not as scared because I feel like humans are already turning into robots in a way. Like, I think we're behaving in such a robotic way. We're saying things we're sort of programmed to say without thinking. Like, humans right now look like glitching robots to me. And I wonder sometimes. Like, half the time I take that quiz on a website that asks me if I'm a robot or not. Half the time I get the quiz wrong. I'm like, does a shadow of a bike count as a bike? Like, I don't even know. Why am I looking at a grainy photo of a crack house? Like, am I a robot? Like, we might already, you know, and all the people, you know, that complain about being online and trolls. Half of online activity, I guess now is trolls. So we're engaging with them and talking to them, you know, acting as if they're human. So it's sort of hard to tell. We all know someone, me, who just strolls like a robot, and you're sort of like, are we already there with our own flesh bodies? At this point, it's hard to tell.

[Bill Maher]

All right, I see you're not taking this seriously.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

I am.

[Whitney Cummings]

Okay, so I'll tell you what I'm really worried about.

[Bill Maher]

It's okay.

[Whitney Cummings]

I'll tell you what I'm really worried about with the robots is that we will anthropomorphize them and start to have compassion. I'm not so worried that the robo.

[Bill Maher]

People have boyfriends and girlfriends that, you know, they have. AI boyfriend.

[Whitney Cummings]

Oh, totally. Yes. And it's fascinating because, you know, I'm one of those people, when you see a Roomba get, like, stuck under the couch, you're like, oh, buddy. You know, like. And I have this robot, and everyone's like, where is she? I'm like, I would love to throw her away, but I can't. You see a face. And even when I leave the room, I'll like, do you want me to leave the TV on? Like, I feel bad. It's like. So I think we project. So I, of course, worry about the robots are gonna do, but I also worry about what humans are gonna do to each other trying to protect robots that they've projected onto.

[Bill Maher]

I'm afraid to insult it. I mean, I used to, you know, swear at my car. I'm not proud of it, but I would talk to my.

[Whitney Cummings]

Well, a car is a she. Fair. I think that's why guys yell at their cars so much.

[Bill Maher]

Well, the voice is a woman.

[Whitney Cummings]

Why does it have to be a woman?

[Bill Maher]

I didn't make the car.

[Whitney Cummings]

No, I don't.

[Bill Maher]

But I mean. And I would talk to it in a way I don't because I have the inanimate object in a way I don't in real life because it would say, you left your phone in the car. And I'm like, no, you dumb bitch, I did not. And now I'm literally afraid to do that. I treat my car very politely. That's sick. I get out of that car, and it's like, I treat the car like I'm on a date and the father has money.

[Whitney Cummings]

It is wild, though, because, you know, looking at this whole thing with Elon taking these drugs, I kind of am like, maybe this is good, because the robots are gonna be as compassionate as the people making the robo. So I'm like, take all the mushrooms you need to take. You know, whatever you need to do. We need to make sure that basically the people building robots aren't robots.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, so you had a baby. How does the baby fit?

[Whitney Cummings]

Why are you looking down here? What were you.

[Bill Maher]

You look great. You didn't. You don't look like you had a baby.

[Whitney Cummings]

Thank you.

[Bill Maher]

You look thinner than ever, actually.

[Whitney Cummings]

Okay, thank you.

[Bill Maher]

So how does the baby fit in with the robot? Does it. The big.

[Whitney Cummings]

My robot breastfed the baby, which was a big part of why there's already microplastics in our breast milk. I figured it's probably safer. You know, it has been a very sort of enlightening experience. I'm really glad that I did it. I didn't have a child till way later in life. I never thought it was gonna happen for me. And, you know, I just had a kid with a stranger out of nowhere at 40. White trash till I die.

[Bill Maher]

And.

[Whitney Cummings]

We'Ll never take the West Virginia out of this one. And, you know.

[Bill Maher]

So you're raising it alone.

[Whitney Cummings]

I am co parenting with a complete stranger.

[Bill Maher]

Well, then they're not a stranger if they're co parenting. You must have to make arrangements.

[Whitney Cummings]

Yeah, someone. Yeah, that's where the robot comes in.

[Bill Maher]

I don't want to pry.

[Whitney Cummings]

No, please. And also, it's been fascinating because I've been on this sort of journey through motherhood where, you know, I've always been a very liberal person, maybe even a libtard. But once you have a kid, you start, like, having thoughts that have been characterized as conservative. As soon as I had a kid, I was like, I need a gun now. Not for myself. Cause I've got coyotes in my yard. I've got coyotes everywhere. And before I had a kid, I was like, they coexist with us. Coyotes were here first. Like, I'm in the coyotes home now. I'm like, let's make hats out of them.

[Bill Maher]

Let's make hats.

[Whitney Cummings]

Let's make coyote boots. Coyote earrings out of their eyeballs. Like, it's just.

[Bill Maher]

Do you take the kid on the road?

[Whitney Cummings]

I take him on the road sometimes.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Whitney Cummings]

It depends. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It depends on where I'm going.

[Bill Maher]

How old now?

[Whitney Cummings]

He's a year and a half.

[Bill Maher]

A year and a half.

[Whitney Cummings]

Thank you. I don't know why I get applause. It's literally the least impressive thing I've ever done. I mean, all I did was lie there.

[Bill Maher]

Usually an audience applauds when you're very old. Like, I'm 92. Oh, that's fantastic. Like a year and a half. Oh, he made it to a year and a half.

[Whitney Cummings]

Yeah, I know. I think it's because maybe I'm older. They are shocked. I survived childbirth or something, but I don't know. I had a kid naturally 40 years old. I'm convinced it was a vaccine injury.

[Bill Maher]

So you were in a hotel. How does that work? How could you have a kid on the road who watches it when you're on?

[Whitney Cummings]

Well, his biological mother, my nanny, takes very good care of him. This is why not deporting people. So, yeah, So I have someone that helps, but it's just been kind of like a wild way to sort of see things, you know, from a different perspective. Like, once you have a kid, you're just, you know, you start looking at everything differently. Like, I used to be obsessed with scientific studies. You know, I think that's one way that people like us feel like we have some control in the world or are getting some facts. But I look at things so differently now. Like, you know, the study, like, girls mature faster than boys.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Whitney Cummings]

Like, I've always kind of been like.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, you need to study to know that.

[Whitney Cummings]

I don't know. I have a girlfriend who's 43 years old. She's still a Coachella. It ended two months ago. So are they. She's looking for her charger, and she's says it's cause Mercury's in retrograde. I don't know. Maybe girls mature faster than boys. But I now look at it now that I have a kid, I'm like, who is putting boys and girls in a cage to study them? Like, who's maturing faster? Like, what are you. I don't know if we need this study. Like, you just start seeing things, like, slightly differently.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I know you have said I'm too left for the right and too right for the left.

[Whitney Cummings]

I think so.

[Bill Maher]

Which is such a great saying, because I feel like I'm in the same place. And like, when people disagree with people like us, they say we're conspiracy theorists. You get that a lot. You know, you've changed. I hope I changed, by the way.

[Whitney Cummings]

I hope so.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Whitney Cummings]

Yeah, right. I really hope I don't have the same thoughts I had when I was 20 years old, you know, but that's fascinating to me that people come at you and say conspiracy theorists. Like, I had this journalist from the New York magazine, and she just wanted to hate me so bad. Like, she just. After I did this thing on cnn, New Year's Eve where, you know, it was live, and I basically just like, rattled off a bunch of things that I just thought the establishment media would never cover. It was just, you know, more for comedy. And I said, you know, how come two chefs drowned? You know, presidential chefs. How come two presidential chefs drowned? And she came over and she was like, you know, Cause you said that conspiracy theory about the chefs. And I was like, oh, I'm. So is that. Is that a conspiracy theory? Because I had researched it, you know, pretty hardcore. I called Joe Rogan and asked. And so she. I was like, do you want some Time to look it up. And she was like, oh, I didn't know about that. Because there was the guy. Walter Schlieb is his name, I believe he was, you know, Bush and Clinton's chef who drowned in Taos. And then there was the Obama chef recently that drowned. And she was like, oh, I didn't know about that. And it's like, just because I knew it before you doesn't make me a conspiracy theorist. Right? And so there's this new thing where I guess if we're in different algorithms, you know, we're gonna think different things. I called a girlfriend of mine that is one of my oldest, best friends, and Avril Lavigne has a new song out. And I called her and I was like, avril Lavigne has a new song out? You know, going to her show was like, one of our things. And. And she goes, whitney, Avril Lavigne's been dead for 10 years. It's like, I feel like our algorithms are tearing us apart, you know? So it's fascinating. But after I did that on cnn, conspiracy theorists do think I'm like, their leader.

[Bill Maher]

And this is still the way you talk on the phone, you know, I.

[Whitney Cummings]

Guess it's actually a banana.

[Bill Maher]

As long as we're comics, we will do this.

[Whitney Cummings]

Well, what should it. Also, what is the.

[Bill Maher]

I know. You have to.

[Whitney Cummings]

What do we do? This.

[Bill Maher]

I know, but the robots will have taken over. It'll be the 29th, and we'll still be doing this.

[Whitney Cummings]

It's fascinating, but I don't know. I just. You know, people come up to me now and, you know, they'll be like, in the airports, and they'll just be like, hey, Whitney, you love to get on cnn. You know, pandas are fake. Like, it's a little far for me. You know, pigeons or drones, like, you.

[Bill Maher]

Know, that one is true.

[Whitney Cummings]

Have you ever seen a baby pigeon fuck.

[Bill Maher]

All right, you. Thank you for coming by.

[Whitney Cummings]

You're the best, Whitney.

[Bill Maher]

Thank you so much. Whitney Cummings, everybody. New mom robot owner. All right, I'll see you soon.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Thank you so much.

[Bill Maher]

All right, let's meet our panel. Hey. Hey, everybody. All right. He is the co founder of the Dispatch and host of the Remnant podcast. Jonah Goldberg, back with us. Too long away. And she's a senior business analyst and host of MSNBC's the Eleventh Hour with Stephanie Rule. Stephanie Rule, of course. Okay, well, welcome. Like I said, there's just so many problems to think about. The robots are taking over. I'm going to dwell on it until you realize it which will be about four weeks when it happens. And we are going into debt. And of course, Mommy and Daddy are fighting, and this is terrible. I just want to say, and you can comment as you will, I feel like the upshot of the whole Doge thing and the Elon era is going to be when all the dust clears and all the silly fighting is over that we did get some closure about government. We sent in a guy who was as mean as he could be about it to look for all the bloat. And I see in the paper today, they're rehiring people. You're unfired. They're sending out. You're unfired. The money is where it's always been. Not with the post office, not with the people who are just doing their regular jobs. It's the Social Security, it's the Medicare, it's the service on the debt, and it's the Pentagon. It's where it's always been. It hasn't changed. And now that Trump has his big, beautiful bill, we're seeing no one ever has the guts to attack where the money really is. Am I wrong?

[Stephanie Ruhle]

So that's why Doge was a colossal, wasted opportunity. Because the American people would say, the government doesn't work for me. We do waste a tremendous amount of money. So there was a chance to go inside the government with actual experts. Right. People to look, agency. Agency. We know we have too much regulation and actually work on it. But instead, Elon Musk rolls in. Rough shot. He has tremendous business experience and absolutely no government experience. He said he was going to cut 2 trillion, then it was 1 trillion, then we were down to 150 billion. And he didn't even show the receipts. And you made the point. Now they're rushing to hire people back and firing scores of people that work for the weather service or scientists that study black lung in West Virginia was pennies. It was a colossal waste of time. And if you actually wanted to take a swing, it is at the big, giant things like Medicaid, like Medicare, like Social Security. And the truth is, Elon Musk, and I'm not saying I want to cut those things. Elon Musk would have been happy to cut those things. He's the guy who considers Social Security to be a Ponzi scheme. The problem was Republicans can't. We can debate that, but Republicans can't get elected if you want to cut those things. And that's where the rubber comes.

[Bill Maher]

And he had to go, no one can get elected if you cut them.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Correct.

[Jonah Goldberg]

That's a big part of the problem. And I basically agree with you. I think part of the problem was that, look, I actually think there's a lot of, there is cost savings to be done in reforming and streamlining and modernizing. But like take the buyout thing. Al Gore tried that in the 1990s too. The problem is if you're the kind of person who can get a better job on the free market, you take the buyout because your skills are competitive. If you're the kind of dead weight that knows the only thing you're useful for is this job, you don't take it. And so you end up firing talented people or losing talented people and keeping a lot of dead weight people. The basic problem, which I think you're right about, is that Musk didn't know anything about government. And the real lesson here is people have been saying since the 19th century, we need someone to, we need to run the government like a business. The problem is government isn't a business.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Bingo.

[Jonah Goldberg]

And when you come in like a Silicon Valley guy where you say we're going to break everything and then rebuild it and all that kind of stuff, that doesn't work for large government bureaucracies. And you're absolutely right that the money, the real money is in these big entitlement programs that they do need to be reformed.

[Bill Maher]

We have, you know, but they're not going to. I mean, that's the thing. The debt is now $29 trillion. The. I think the service on the debt is either the most expensive thing in the budget or very soon will be.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Like the second most with the bullets.

[Bill Maher]

But it's gonna, with a bullet, just servicing it. Just servicing the debt. Right. Which gets you nothing except paying banks off. Okay. And Social Security gonna go insolvent in 11 years, is that right?

[Jonah Goldberg]

Early 30s.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. And Medicare also.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

And if you think about Social Security, think about the divide. Senior citizens are saying, I worked my ass off all these years, I paid into the system, you're damn well going to pay me those benefits. And young people are saying, and those senior citizens are all showing up to vote. And young people are saying, this system doesn't work for me. I'm never going to get paid out. I want to break the system. And now you've got politicians in the middle. They cannot get elected unless they address this system. And if we don't address the system, we, we're going to have a huge problem.

[Bill Maher]

And the people who vote are older. That's right. They're never going to vote for that.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And what is it like when Social Security started? How many workers paid in, like, 42.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah, it's over 40.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah. And now it's 2.7.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Something like that. Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. So we went from 42 paying in to 2.7, and we live longer. People used to live deceased.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

And when Nikki Haley even raised the idea, raising the age, people. And I'm not saying she's right or wrong, but people, even Republicans, you know, went ballistic on her. So how do we address our problems? The issue is we don't want to. And it's why so many people said, I'm going to vote for Trump. He's an original G, let's break the system. And now all the things that he's broken aren't solving the Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security issues. Look at tariffs.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah. So look, my big problem with Doge is, first of all, it proved that this run government like a business thing was always horseshit. But more importantly, look, the idea that you were going to bend that cost curve, that debt curve, by getting rid of woke basket weaving at the NEH was always sort of ridiculous. I'm for getting rid of the woke basket weaving or, you know, that kind of stuff, but that's fractions of a penny on a dollar. And at the end of the day, the way you got to fix this is by doing something that, you know, that Paul Ryan was demonized for. They showed ads of him pushing old ladies off of cliffs where he said, anybody over the age of 50 will get the benefits that they get. And by the way, the benefits you get on Social Security are far more than you pay into it. That's one of the reasons why it's going broke. But he said, anybody below 50, we're going to change the structure of this so that we can extend the life of this thing. And it was demonized. The problem now is that the Democratic Party, which is completely bought into this mythology that these entitlement programs can go on forever and that there's no problem with them, that's now a bipartisan thing. Donald Trump does not give a rat's ass about trimming entitlements.

[Bill Maher]

They never do. That's not just Donald Trump. They never did. They just.

[Jonah Goldberg]

At least they lied about it.

[Bill Maher]

At least they lied about it. Yes. At least they lied about it. You're right.

[Jonah Goldberg]

And I'll say this. Look, Paul Ryan's a friend of mine. Paul Ryan really believed it. He just couldn't close the deal. And now neither party is actually interested in fixing it. And that's the real dilemma.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

And we're going to look back on Dogecoin that was supposed to be there to cut and the only thing it did was hurt. It didn't cut anything significant. Significant. I mean, remember we were all going to get $5,000 checks. Give me a break. It was Bill Gates who took a look at it and honestly said, the richest man in the world is killing the poorest children in the world. And what does that get anyone? It only hurts humanity.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I have more bad news. So there will also be no one left with a job to pay taxes, to have anything left in the budget because.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Are you taking us to the robots?

[Bill Maher]

I am taking you to the robots, yes. The CEO of Anthropic, that's one of the world's most powerful creators of artificial intelligence, he said the government needs to stop sugarcoating the possible mass elimination of jobs, which it's completely understandable to me. I mean, we see it already. He says AI could wipe out half of all entry level white collar jobs. Now we know it's been going on with blue collar jobs. In fact, I saw last week some trucking company, I think they were called Aurora, they have a truck already that drove 1200 miles. It didn't. Waymo did.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

And this is, you know, there's like three and a half million truckers and this is also going to be Uber drivers and they're all going to be Waymo. And is it going to be Waymo misery?

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah, about one in ten.

[Bill Maher]

No one's going to have a job. Well.

[Jonah Goldberg]

I actually agree with something that Whitney alluded to earlier is like the thing that scares me most about the AI stuff isn't that AI is going to run our lives. It's that the people who think AI should run our lives will make the case that AI should run our lives. Right. That the people who want to turn it into a cult thing and hand us over to robots are going to get too much power. That's said. It's. I don't trust anybody who runs an AI company who says that it's going to have this radical effect because that's them talking up how great their own company is to a certain extent. Doesn't mean they're entirely wrong. But they. There's a lot of hype that comes from people in the AI business about how transformative it is that we haven't seen yet.

[Bill Maher]

That said, no, it can do a lot of jobs.

[Jonah Goldberg]

It can do a lot of jobs. It's definitely going to be disruptive. But the history of technology has always been disruptive.

[Bill Maher]

This country not like this. I think it's different. And by the way, there were going to be guardrails. I mean, Biden had a program called the AI Safety Institution. Howard Lutnick, he's the commerce Secretary, he says, quote, we're not going to regulate it. He's changed the title. Now it's the center for AI Innovation. You see, they're just going to whistle past the graveyard. I think we're doing the same thing. The environment, the debt, fucking robots. Yes, we're all doing the same thing. And the argument of course is always, well, we can't let China win. Is that really the argument? I mean, does that. I get the rationale for this. It's an arms race of sorts, right? But what if not letting China win makes us all lose? What is that a victory?

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Having no guardrails serves no one. But these AI innovators that want no rules. This is like my son's saying, we want no rules and we want an unlimited allowance. Great. They're going to want that for two weeks. And then in two weeks all the furniture is going to be in the pool and there's no food in the house. But boy, did those boys have a great experience. Like these AI innovators, right? And these AI innovators and Elon Musk and others will get on their rockets and go, well, we don't. What we need is smart regulation. There's this idea that it's regulation stands in the way of progress. We need no regulate. We need smart, good regulation.

[Jonah Goldberg]

I'm fine with for some regulation of AI. I'm not a huge AI booster. I think most of the. I think you said before about it not being too far left for the right and too far right for the left. I am much more skeptical when I listen to people who are huge AI boosters. And I'm much more skeptical when people totally dismiss AI. The quote you read, I think is right. Entry level jobs, a lot of like scut jobs. If you're a paralegal, if you do that kind of like document review kind of thing, AI is coming for your job. That doesn't mean that. That increased productivity doesn't translate into new jobs and new things being creative. It is going to be really disruptive for a while. This country. Someone point out the Wall Street Journal, like what?

[Bill Maher]

Give me an exam. I hear that. Give me an example of that. AI goes through this company. It takes all the programming jobs, the entry level jobs. Consultant, Consultant. That bullshit job is Definitely going away. Yeah, I mean I see people do it already, just chatgpt on their phone. What do you. What? Okay.

[Jonah Goldberg]

These companies are adopting AI to produce something, right? That is mean money.

[Bill Maher]

That's. That's money. Fireworkers make more money. That's what they're producing.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah. And that money gets spent on things for services. The jobs that require that no one.

[Bill Maher]

Has any money to buy anything with.

[Jonah Goldberg]

You're not going to be replaced by AI. We're not going to have a robot that can do another robot. Right.

[Bill Maher]

This is not a typical job. Okay, let's not put me into the mix here. You're right. I hope I will not be replaced by AI. I mean, but it already can write jokes. They're just not fucking good. Okay, I agree with that.

[Jonah Goldberg]

That's one of the reasons why I am underwhelmed by what AI is doing.

[Bill Maher]

Let me give you this quote. This is a guy, the cybersecurity platform Huntress, the CEO said, you know, when it comes to decisions of how we have to implement it or secure against it, six week basis, in other words, we can't plan anything more than six weeks. Cuz that's how fast it's changing. Yeah, that's the problem.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

But what we need is the smartest people working on it. And I want to go back to Howard Lutnick who's saying we're not going to regulate it. In 2022, half of the graduates in the United States that received doctorate degrees in an AI field, do you know what they were? Immigrants. We are now saying we don't want international students here. We're defunding universities, research universities. If we want to have the smartest and the best, let's have those people here working on it. Because half the people who start AI companies are immigrants. Let's totally agree with that here.

[Bill Maher]

Going to get to that issue in a minute. But let's get all the bad news out of the way now. I have one more bit of terrible news. Oh, In Touch magazine. This is the favorite. This is the last issue. I mean this, I saw this. It's going out of business. We all grew up on it. Just go with the premise. But yeah, I mean the age of magazine is really dying and you know, we're in the TikTok age and social media, so too bad. I love In Touch magazine, but there's a new magazine coming out called out of Touch I don't know if you've heard about, which is really leaning into the fact that, that it is not the age of magazines anymore, and they're leaning into it. Would you like to see some of the articles that are in? They're right on the COVID 25 must own DVDs. That's pretty bad right there. Ellen Page. Fun, flirty, short hairstyles for summer. Okay, well, that's very out of touch. Planning your plantation wedding? Oh, this is. These people are out of touch. Three easy eggs, recipes for under $5. That's. Win an internship with P. Diddy. Oh, well, that's. Does Jared from Subway still want kids? Out of touch. Sexy man. Sexiest man alive. Bruce Jenner. Wow, that's. That is just. Oh, something political. Can anything stop Beta o' Rourke? Well, that's New York, New York. Perfect destination for healthcare. CEOs out of touch. And Gene Hackman. Where is he now? Okay.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Too soon.

[Bill Maher]

Everything I do is too soon. That's the brand here. There you go.

[Whitney Cummings]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want is a great feeling. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with a personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts, and savings and eligibility vary by state. Get into your body's vitals with the Vitals app on Apple Watch. The Vitals app tracks key overnight metrics so you can spot changes in your health before you feel them. The Vitals app ON Apple Watch iPhone XS are later required. The Vitals app is for wellness purposes only and not for medical use. Hey there, travelers.

[Bill Maher]

Kaylee Cuoco here.

[Whitney Cummings]

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[Bill Maher]

But let's go back to what you were saying about immigration, because I couldn't agree more. We're having a brain drain in this country. It could wind up being one of the worst things with all the things that we don't like that are going on in this administration, that we are having a brain drain. We used to our secret sauce was always we steal the best brains from all around the world. And now a lot of the best brains are bugging out. And you know, for the Democrats, the immigration thing, they really did not do their brand a favor by being having open borders. Because I'm sure you saw this week a guy named Mohammed Salman yelling free Palestine and kill Zionists, turned a garden hose into a flamethrower and attacked elderly Jewish people. Boy, when these people do heinous, they really do heinous, because the global intifada is coming here. You know, you say this often enough, as they have on campus. Bring the global intifada here, let's have it. All over the world, people are going to do this kind of thing. So that's the reason why idiots then look at something like that and say, let's get everybody foreign out of the country. And this is where we are.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah. So the only place I agree with you entirely, when people say globalize intifada, that's what they mean. I agree with that entirely. What I disagree with is the metaphor of brain drain. Because a brain drain is like something that you try to fight. States have brain drains of young people and all kinds of stuff. This is a brain flush. This is a deliberate attempt to push out foreign students, professors, all that kind of stuff. I mean, look, I'm very much in favor of fighting antisemitism at Harvard. I don't get the flex of canceling cancer research to fight anti Semitism. Right, of course. And this is sort of a Stephen Miller thing, which is they basically have. They're trying to claim that we are in the middle of a civilizational crisis and that anybody who is an immigrant here is a threat to the society. And I think it's gross.

[Bill Maher]

Not any. Of course that's what they're saying, but some people are for sure.

[Jonah Goldberg]

But it's like we can make distinctions.

[Bill Maher]

Right, but is there a case to be made for asking someone before they come into this country? Or what are your values? Are they so far afield from where America is? I mean, this guy said something about how he didn't think, oh, jihad, he said, was more important to him than his wife, his mother and his children.

[Jonah Goldberg]

That should have been a red flag.

[Bill Maher]

Gotcha.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Clearly.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Clearly that should have been a red flag, but this misfire.

[Bill Maher]

So you're saying we can say you can't come into our country if you believe.

[Jonah Goldberg]

You know what it reminds me of is the 911 guy who went and talked to the person at the aviation school and said he didn't want to know how, he didn't want to learn how to land.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Jonah Goldberg]

He just, you know, like that should have been a red flag too. So I think you can draw these distinctions, but this idea that the gardener down the street or the French cancer researcher should get lumped into all this stuff and that's, I mean, if we're going to have big, large government bureaucracies doing things, it's to make distinctions for those kinds of things. And the system is just broken on that.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

But now we have become, sorry, but now we have become so divided and so angry. We're meeting hate with hate. And one could reasonably argue a guy like Stephen Miller shouldn't be the one deciding what decency is. And we should be able to come together and say, rather than just fight more hate, how do we get to being pro decency, pro compassion and actually love? Because when you talk about patriotism, patriotism is about love of country. And when I hear this administration talk about the things that they. It's all about grievance and anger. And if you get us back to a place of common decency and loving thy neighbor, it's not about anti immigrant.

[Bill Maher]

It'S about ok, but I hear people, I can just imagine people out there hearing this and saying, well, the guy with the flamethrower, he wasn't exactly full of love.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

No, he wasn't full of love. But that's somebody who's rolling their eyes and dismissing the idea of love and the actual idea of love. There's nothing more powerful. It's what starts wars, it's what ends.

[Bill Maher]

You've said flamethrowers are very powerful.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Flamethrowers are very powerful. But we're not going to set government policy based on what one horrible individual and a terrible act. What we should be thinking about is those victims and what do we need to do to protect them.

[Bill Maher]

Well, it's not just one.

[Jonah Goldberg]

I agree with the thrust of what you're saying. But at the same time, you have lots of college campuses, including these elite schools that do not teach patriotism and love of country. It's this narrative of colonial oppressors. You have schools bending over backwards to say to police speech, where if you say men can't get pregnant, you get kicked out or thrown into reeducation. But if you say gas the Jews, you gotta, well, you gotta hear both sides, free speech and all that kind of stuff. That stuff matters too.

[Bill Maher]

Right after, after the attack, right after flamethrower man did what he did. The Boulder, this is Boulder, Colorado. Very far left city. I've been there. Loved it. I did. It's a great place to play. The police chief said we are not calling it a terror attack at this point. It's way too early to speculate motive. Speculate motive. He was screaming, kill Zionist. What the fuck do you need to tell?

[Jonah Goldberg]

Get.

[Bill Maher]

And you know.

[Jonah Goldberg]

He also wrote down and recorded videos confessing what he wanted to do. Yes. Like, Emerson has this great line. He says some circumstantial evidence is very persuasive. Like when you find a trout in the milk. Right. When you have a dude. When you have a dude shooting flamethrowers at Jews, saying he wants to burn all the Zionists, you don't need to have a debating society about whether or not you call him a terrorist.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

But you know what we should do? Stop defunding. We're no longer funding or staffing the groups in our government that study domestic terrorism. We just gutted the Office of Civil Rights that actually studies and goes after anti Semitism. So the actual groups that work on this, let's continue to work on it.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, okay. Maybe now that Elon's down the line, as long as we're back to that subject, got one more thing to say about the whole budget thing, is that I thought when I saw the drone strike from Ukraine last week, if you missed this drone, the Ukrainians did something that was just way cooler than the Mission Impossible movie that's out now, which is pretty cool, I hear. But they remember the beeper attack with Hezbollah that was pretty cool about a year ago when they killed all the terrorists with beepers. Well, this really upped the game. They hid all these drones inside a truck, had a guy, did not know it was in his truck, drove it into Russia, and then they came out the roof all on their own and destroyed the planes that Russia was using to bomb Ukraine. Not all of them, but plenty of them. And I thought, this really. This puts the lie to the other big part of the budget, the Pentagon, which I've been saying forever here. And Elon said he was going to go after it with Doge. They never did. Trump said, oh, we could find billions. They never did anything that never gets touched. And it just puts the lie that we need all that defense contracting, obviously, this is where the game is. Drones, they cost like $2,000 apiece, and we're spending a trillion dollars on tanks and submarines and other things which we'll never use because they're already obsolete.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

But the game is also about being an ally and being A trusted ally. The fact that Ukraine didn't trust the United States enough to tell us about that, what does that say about our position in the world?

[Bill Maher]

I don't think any ally would. That's just not the thing you tell other people. The more people know, I mean, they don't trust us and they shouldn't trust us, but I don't think they would do it under any circumstances. Why would you, why would you have more people knowing about it who are not involved? Why would you just take that risk? But my question here about this is, does this change the game? Because, you know, up until this moment, I think a lot of people were coming over to the idea Trump, the Trump Doctrine, which is, you know, look, this, his thing was, I don't like war and this thing is going to end up with Russia getting its peace anyway. Why are all these people dying for something that's going to be inevitable? Russia is going to get its little bite of Ukraine now? I don't know.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah, no, I think that's right. I think the, you know, the so called foreign policy realists, they're basically ideologues who lose an argument and they say, oh, those people are crazy. I'm the realist here. The so called realists, the J.D. vance crowd, have been saying that Ukraine cannot win and that it's not in our interest and that we shouldn't put boots on the ground when not a soul was ever saying American troops should be on the ground in Ukraine. The idea Russia just hit the mark of a million casualties. The idea that it is not in our cold, I think it's in our interest for idealistic reasons. I'm for the underdog wanting to be an independent democracy and all that kind of stuff. But as a matter of cold realism, having Ukrainians degrade and destroy the Russian military for a decade, that is the real realist argument. They're willing to fight for their own country and all they're asking from us is a little help to do it. It is saving us pennies on the dollar. And the only reason why I think these guys are against it is because they, you know, like Trump has always had this man crush on Putin. He loves his musk, and that's putting it like that. And I think that, like, they just got it in their head that Ukraine was on the wrong side of the first impeachment and therefore Zelensky didn't play ball. And Russia, Russia, Russia, and Putin's my guy. And they just have let Trump's weird, you know, personality drive foreign policy and.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Why do you think they got it in their head? Because Vladimir Putin said, donald Trump, this is what I'd like. And Donald Trump said, yes, sir, thank you.

[Bill Maher]

But last week. But last week, unlike this week, which was all about Trump's feud with Elon Musk, last week it was all about Putin. He was feuding with Putin.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

Was he, though?

[Bill Maher]

He's crazy. I don't know what I thought I knew the guy. He was saying, I thought I knew him. And you think you know a guy, and then he turns out to be a vicious dictator.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

And tell me one sanction Donald Trump has put in place. He's tariffed the whole entire world, except guess where. Russia. So I'd love to say, yes, he said, I think Putin's being crazy, but show me one thing he's actually done to hurt Vladimir Putin and I'll throw a part.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah. So the reason, I think the reason why Trump. I think Trump was legitimately angry and pissed off at Putin. I do. I think the reason for it was Trump lives in this world where he's surrounded by these sycophants and yes, men, these, you know, sort of head past the sphincter ass kissers who tell him he's the greatest, smartest guy in the world and he has the. This transactional relationship with him. You know, it's like that old dictator phrase, you know, for my friends, anything for my enemies, the law. Right. And he's being really retributionist and that kind of thing with the law going after his enemies. And they came into office and made concession after concession after concession to Putin without asking for anything in return.

[Bill Maher]

Exactly.

[Jonah Goldberg]

And then what happened was Trump discovered that Putin is not actually Trump's bitch.

[Bill Maher]

No. And that he's the guy who stole a Super bowl ring off a guy's finger.

[Jonah Goldberg]

Yeah. And he was like, I thought he was my guy. I thought, like, we were all in this working together and we're going to hang at Mar a Lago. And Putin's like, no, I want to reconstitute the Russian Empire. And it pissed Trump off. And so now he's like, I don't want anything to do with this because I'm not getting my Nobel Peace Prize.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

But the problem is he's only got a pair of deuces in his hand and he has no other trick to. To play. Putin is sitting there going, great, what do you want? I'm negotiating with Steve Witkoff, who has zero experience in foreign policy or government, but gosh darn it, he's a great real estate developer.

[Bill Maher]

All right, I got to stop it there. Thank you, guys. Time for new rules. Okay, all right. New rules. Stop trying to help me understand how Kim Kardashian both is and isn't a lawyer. It's like how light is a particle and a wave or how Jesus is his own dad. You win. I give up. Last month, Kim had a one student graduation ceremony for her home school law degree. But she still hasn't passed the bar, so she still can't practice law, or what's left of it under Trump. And yet somehow, she's now the head of the Justice Department. Neural. Not everything needs an Instagram. I don't know what's more depressing. The fact that there's an Instagram page dedicated to reviewing sticks or the fact that it has 3.2 million followers who make comments like, nice stick, bro. And that's a good stick. And the best stick I've seen in the last month. Congratulations. Official stick reviews. Somehow you made social media even bigger. Waste of time. The makers of Skinny Confidential bamboo toilet paper, who boast that it's chlorine and formaldehyde free, BPA, PFA and plastic free, non toxic, 100% sustainable with no inks or dyes. Can't stop there. I need to know if it's carbon neutral, non gmo, low salt free range, cruelty free, not mentioned, manufactured in a plant that also processes peanuts and kosher. I can't take any chances. This is the paper I'm going to use to pick up a dead June bug. New rule. Someone has to tell lore who just told Rolling Stone that she received psychedelic drug therapy, has an eating disorder, and is gender fluid. We get it. You have a new album coming out. It's okay. Spelling tea is how people promote new projects. So good luck, but you're never going to beat I'm a Nazi and I suck my cousin's dick. New World celebrities have to stop writing children's books. Look, we get it. You need to feel like a good parent because you're never around and your kid has started calling. Your kid has started calling the nanny mama. But look on the bright side. If your nanny is deported, then your kid might finally get the love of the person who's forced to take over the parenting. You're inside your assistant, Enrique. And finally, new rule. It's never too early to strategize. Democrats have been having a lot of donor retreats lately where liberal strategists hold ideathons where they try to figure out why they keep losing elections. You know, apart from using Words like ideathon. And now one idea that's getting a lot of attention is the Dems need to find their Joe Rogan. A liberal Joe Rogan, because that's why Kamala lost. Republicans have a podcast. Okay, maybe. Or you could consider, instead of conjuring up a new Joe Rogan, ask yourself why you lost the old one. Because he used to be on your side. He smokes pot on the air. I don't think he's that much of a far right ideologue. I don't think his mind is completely inflexible. His neck, yes, but not his mind. And he's expressed unease with some things Trump is doing, as has a certain destroyer disgruntled former employee named Elon Musk, who, like Joe, is another guy who five years ago was thought of as a liberal but got driven into the other camp by bad attitudes and bad ideas. A reversal I completely understand, although I would never emulate. I also see the woke mind virus. I just don't jump from frying pans into fires. But I watched the evolution of both these guys. This didn't happen overnight. In 2022, before he owned Twitter, Elon tweeted this chart depicting how he felt about the liberal side having shifted so much that it left a basically liberal centrist like him now labeled a conservative. I related. I related to the kind of mean girl shit you get from the cool kids in Wokeville when you're perceived that way. They tried real hard to cancel Rogan a few years ago, and when Elon hosted Saturday night live in 2021, well before he was a Trumper, some of the cast members gave him the cold shoulder for the sin of being rich. You think people don't remember when you do this shit to them that it's not going to have blowback. Now me again. You don't have to win me back because I never left. But all the guys in America like Joe and Elon, yeah, you do have to win them back. The good news is you can. Elon has gone from saying, I love Donald Trump as much as a straight man can love another man to a week ago saying, I'm a little stuck in a bind here. I don't want to speak against the administration, but I also don't want to take responsibility for everything they're doing. And now I have proof he's in the Epstein files. Okay. I think we call that a gettable voter, someone who's mulling a change. Maybe this will put quietus to the nonsense that Elon and Rogan too. Went to the dark side. I hear that all the. They went to the dark. Yeah, like they got that the last of us fungal infection and became zombies. No, they just got driven away. Because that's how politics works these days. One side gets elected precisely because the other side was just in power and pushed their agenda way too far and drove people in the opposite direction. Direction. The pendulum swings back and forth with people not voting for anything, but just to get rid of the latest extremist assholes who tried to remake America in their image instead of just governing. Well, right now it's the Republicans who are the very definition of drunk with power. And also sometimes just drunk. But the drunk with power part, that's what Democrats should pay attention to. Because you know who's easy to beat in a fight? A drunk. Really? I've done it now. I was also drunk. So it was a draw. But the point is, Trump owns the lowest hundred day job approval rating of any president. Only 39% approve of his handling of the economy, which was always his forte. You know, it's not like anyone was asking for tariffs. Do you think the bros and the bras, you think they want to pay $150 more for a PlayStation? You think they want the government to ban abortion and ban pornography and do lots of other far right stuff? That's in the Project 2025 blueprint. Please. Their project for 2025 is trying to get laid. Yeah, it's. But it's not just Democrats who aren't really digging Trump too. Adding trillions more debt is not sitting well. And even the likes of Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro have called out the corruption. Even the deporting of illegals, which America generally supports is pissing people off. Now, I read a story last week about this town of Kennett, Missouri, where just about everyone voted for Trump but now is pissed because ICE removed their favorite waitress, a beloved local mother of three named Carol Hui, currently facing deportation back to Hong Kong. One local woman said no one voted to deport moms. We were all under the impression we were just getting rid of the gangs. This is Carol. Yeah, well, yeah, when you elect a bull to run to the china shop, sometimes the china that gets broken is you. Republicans have taken full advantage of how snobby and out of touch Democrats have become to claim the title of party of the working class. But Trump's big, beautiful budget cuts Medicaid by $723 billion. Steve Bannon says a lot of MAGA is on Medicaid. Yeah, it is. 42% of MAGA voters say Medicaid is important to them. Let's see if they miss it. All right, that's our show. I want to thank Jonah Goldberg, Stephanie Rule and Whitney Cummings. Club Random drops every Sunday on YouTube or listen whenever you get your podcast. Now go watch over time on YouTube. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. You are terrific. Thank you, guys. Catch all new episodes of Real Time.

[Stephanie Ruhle]

With Bill Maher every Friday night at 10 or watch him anytime on HBO On Demand. For more information, log on to hbo. Com.