Real Time with Bill Maher – Episode #715

Date: November 22, 2025
Guests: Mel Robbins, Killer Mike (Michael Render), Donna Brazile
Theme: Navigating Political and Personal Divides, Choosing Leaders, Fixing Education, and Thanksgiving Unity

Overview

The season finale of "Real Time with Bill Maher" dives into the politics of division—both national and personal—using the context of an approaching election year and Thanksgiving. The show features lively conversations about letting go of the urge to control others (with Mel Robbins), which segues into fierce debates about leadership in the Democratic party and what America needs in a president. Bill is joined by music artist Killer Mike (Michael Render) and political strategist Donna Brazile. The panel also examines the state of public education and ends on the hopeful note of maintaining family and national ties despite political disagreements.

Key Segments & Highlights

Mel Robbins Interview – The “Let Them Theory”

[08:40–20:13]

Letting Go and Taking Control

• Mel Robbins discusses her runaway best-seller The Let Them Theory, summarizing its core:

  "The fastest way to lower your stress and to have more peace and control in your life is stop trying to control everybody else. Let them have their opinions, their behavior ... and focus on my thoughts, my actions, and the way that I want to live my life." (Robbins, 10:08)

• The book resonates because it’s simple, funny, and practical. Robbins points out its viral nature:

  "We all love saying, let them. There's an Irish version... F them, right?" (Robbins, 11:32)

• On boundaries and responsibility:

  "Let them, let them, let them. But now what? Now you say, let me. Let me choose how I'm going to respond to the reality that I'm dealing with. And that's where you take your control back." (Robbins, 12:10)

When "Let Them" Isn't Enough

• Bill challenges, asking about situations like workplace harassment.
• Mel clarifies:

  "You're not allowing it. You're...recognizing the situation you're in and that you're not going to change what's happening by trying to change them. ... You get to choose what you do next." (Robbins, 13:15)

"Let Me" – Personal Agency

• The second half of the theory:

  "Once you start saying let them...now let me remind myself, I get to choose what I think about this.... You're not a victim here. You're in control of what you do in response. ... Responsibility, Bill, is the ability to respond." (Robbins, 15:30)

Accepting Family & Political Differences

• Robbins and Maher agree it’s harmful to cut off family over politics:

  "The thing that's separating us is our inability to sit with each other and allow each other the dignity of their own experience and opinion, even if it offends us. ... We have to learn how to sit with our upsetness and lean toward each other." (Robbins, 18:09)

• Extending the lesson to wider anxieties, Maher says:

  "Whatever you think the future is, it could be shitty. It's not going to be what you think it is. So stop with the anxiety and just live your life, because it's not going to be that." (Maher, 19:49)

Panel Discussion: 2026 Election & The Democratic Party

[21:11–31:32]

Who Should Be the Next Democratic Nominee?

• Maher asks Donna Brazile and Killer Mike to predict and recommend the next Democratic nominee.

• Killer Mike’s take:

  "If the Democrats were the party that truly say they aspire to be, Nina Turner would be the first black woman president... I've lost a lot of my faith in what we say we want versus what we actually want. ...I see the Democratic front runner probably being a white man, probably coming out of the Midwest. ...J.B. Pritzker." (Killer Mike, 23:55–24:23)

• Bill:

  "So the Democrats...we can't just pick the best person? ...when they get into this box checking thing, it just leads them astray." (Maher, 25:29)

• Donna Brazile corrects the idea of “box-checking”:

  "We don't really pick candidates. ... We have a very rigorous exercise that involves taking candidates through the early stage. ...On the Democratic side, yeah, we're going to have a vigorous primary. It's an open season." (Brazile, 25:57–26:23)

• Donna lists likely contenders: governors (Shapiro, Moore, Newsom, Gretchen Whitman), members of Congress (AOC, Ro Khanna), and senators (Klobuchar, Booker, Murphy).

• Donna pushes for generational change:

  "We want somebody who is forward looking, who's young and restless, searching for tomorrow with one life to live. Because the American people want something different." (Brazile, 27:20)

Out-of-the-Box Candidates

• Maher suggests Stephen A. Smith (sports commentator), and there's banter about celebrities’ political prospects.
• Killer Mike and Bill agree the party needs a candidate willing to "call Democrats on their shit." (31:13)
• Killer Mike proposes Charlemagne Tha God as another example of someone who'd challenge establishment thinking.

Women Leaders & Michelle Obama’s “We Ain’t Ready”

[35:05–39:47]

• Maher raises Michelle Obama’s recent comment:

  "She said, as we saw in the past election, sadly, we ain't ready. ...There are still, sadly, a lot of men who do not feel like they can be led by a woman." (Maher, 35:17–36:10)

• Killer Mike shifts the focus:

  "White working class women are a very peculiar voting block. ...There's a growing weird sentiment in this country that seems to be against women leadership. ...I trust a woman to lead. The question is, can you convince white working class people to do the same?" (Killer Mike, 38:00)

• Donna cites an uptick in women elected to governorships.

  "I think the future is women. We need to encourage more women to run. ... We're gonna see a female president." (Brazile, 39:02)

Public Education: “We Fucked Up”

[40:13–46:39]

• Maher points to failures of the Department of Education, referencing recent data that student achievement has “fallen off a cliff.”

• Donna defends the institution's broader value as the “great equalizer,” but acknowledges past failings and the need for more robust support for teachers.

• Killer Mike’s historical perspective:

  "Our educational system needs to look back into when we were successful. ... Trades in schools. ... Prior to '79, you had archery, physical fitness, art, music. ... Both sides have done [harm], but you have to look at Democrats...and say we need to do a better job... That starts by saying we fucked up. We fucked up by becoming test taking centers. ... School choice pulled the best premium kids out of public schools..." (Killer Mike, 43:07–45:20)

• Policy solutions:

  "Pay teachers more, give teachers the lowest home loans you can possible to live in their districts. ... We need to recommit on a very local level." (Killer Mike, 45:02)

• Bill asks about testing:

  "[If] we shouldn't test, is that what you said?" (Maher, 45:38)

• Killer Mike:

  "Testing should not be the only thing that teachers worry about because it determines how much money comes in." (Killer Mike, 45:47)

Final Monologue – Thanksgiving and Political Division

[50:10–End]

The Real “New Rule”: Don’t Cut Off Your Family

• Maher laments the rise of "go no contact" over politics, arguing it deepens division without effecting real change:

  "I'm so tired of liberals ghosting half this country. ...There’s two camps: The 'we need to keep talking' camp and the 'go no contact' camp." (Maher, 50:10–50:30)

• He blasts ultimatums:

  "Ultimatums don't make people rethink their politics. They make them rethink you." (Maher, 51:03)

• Urges empathy:

  "Most people don't decide their politics, they inherit them. ...Everyone's a monster till you talk to them." (Maher, 51:32, 51:51)

• On engaging with “monsters”:

  "If anything, we need more people like me having dinner with him [Trump]. ...You complain he's surrounded by ass kissers, but your strategy is to make sure no one but ass kissers are around him." (Maher, 53:36)

• Summing up the holiday spirit and American political engagement:

  "Do yourself a favor, get over yourself and go have [Thanksgiving] with your family." (Maher, 56:15)

Notable Quotes

• Mel Robbins, on stress:

  "Other people are so annoying, right? Their opinions, their close talking, their judgments, their expectations. And the more you try to control them, the less control you feel." (10:22)

• Killer Mike, on the working class:

  "If you want to see a litmus test for how this country is gonna bend, look at any given moment how it's treating black or working class people. ...The white working class was going to turn the tide, and they did, and they went to the wrong side." (24:30–25:09)

• Donna Brazile, on generational change:

  "We want somebody who is forward looking, who's young and restless, searching for tomorrow with one life to live." (27:20)

• Maher, on anxiety and the future:

  "Whatever you think the future is, it could be shitty. It's not going to be what you think it is. So stop with the anxiety and just live your life." (19:49)

• Killer Mike, on education:

  "We are failing public schools in this country. Both parties, we need to recommit on a very local level. We need to stop being test taking centers, we need to re-enter trades back into the schools and prepare our children for real life, including financial literacy as young as fifth, sixth grade." (45:02)

Timestamps for Key Topics

• 08:40 – Mel Robbins introduces “Let Them Theory”
• 13:08 – Applying “Let Them” in real life challenges
• 19:49 – Anxiety about the future and generational stress
• 23:42 – Who should be the next Democratic nominee?
• 25:57 – Donna Brazile on the Democratic primary process
• 35:05 – Michelle Obama on America’s readiness for a woman president
• 40:13 – Department of Education and the case for/against federal involvement
• 43:07 – Killer Mike on educational history and reform
• 50:10 – Bill’s closing “New Rule”: keep your family ties
• 53:36 – Engaging with political opponents, even Trump

Takeaways

• Let them, Let me: Powerful tools for navigating interpersonal and societal conflict—especially relevant in family gatherings and politics.
• Democratic Future: Uncertainty prevails on the next leader, but the panel agrees on the need for generational and attitudinal change.
• Women in Leadership: The path to the presidency for women is more open than ever, but cultural pushback remains.
• Education: Both parties have failed; the fix requires local focus, a return to holistic education, and greater support for teachers.
• Thanksgiving Message: Don’t let politics destroy family bonds or friendships—choosing dialogue over division is a patriotic act.

For those who missed the episode, this finale was a dynamic, candid, and humorous sendoff for 2025, packed with life advice, political realism, and calls to unity amid division.