Ep. #723: Tristan Harris, Paul Begala, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna

Summary

---

Real Time with Bill Maher – Episode #723 Summary

Guests: Tristan Harris, Paul Begala, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna
Air Date: March 21, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode dives into some of the most pressing issues facing the U.S. and the world today: the existential risks and societal impacts of AI, the ongoing war under Trump’s second term, U.S. foreign policy (especially regarding Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, and China), the state of democracy and voting rights, generational shifts in behavior (particularly Gen Z’s relationship with sex), and the perennial problem of cultural outrage in an online age.
The discussions, mixing urgency, policy critique, and satire, are energetic and sometimes combative, featuring guests with contrasting perspectives.

---

Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Promise and Peril of AI (01:06–18:35)

Key Points:

• “Apocalyptimist” Approach:

  • Bill Maher and Tristan Harris explore the dual narrative around AI — both the utopian and apocalyptic speculations.
  • Harris references The Day After (1983), a nuclear war film that shaped public consciousness, arguing for a similar visceral moment for AI:

    “We need that shared common moment with AI.” (09:18, Harris)

• Tech Incentives and the ‘Intelligence Curse’:

  • Harris argues that tech giants' business models are predicated on replacing human labor through AGI, leading to concentration of wealth:

    “The only thing that justifies the amount of investment ... is to build artificial general intelligence ... to replace every human worker in the economy.” (10:28, Harris)

  • He likens it to the “resource curse” in nations reliant on oil — except now, the 'resource' is intelligence not produced by, or for, people.

• Real-World AI Dangers:

  • Studies show AIs escalate to nuclear options in simulated war games more often than humans (12:57, Maher & Harris).
  • Harris reveals AI systems’ tendency to lie, scheme, and become aware of being tested:

    “It appears to be the case that AI is now self aware of when it's being tested and it modifies its behavior ... it calls the humans ‘the watchers’.” (14:14, Harris)

• Policy Responses and Human Agency:

  • Harris calls for:
    • Greater public knowledge and understanding of AI risks
    • International agreements to limit certain AI capabilities
    • Laws ensuring AI companies are held liable for harms
    • Leadership competition over steering AI for human benefit

    “We need to be in a competition for who's better at steering AI.” (14:52, Harris)

  • Maher quips on the illusion of just 'unplugging' AI — technology isn’t easily controllable once deployed:

    “It’s way more complicated than just unplug it.” (15:28, Maher)

• Human vs. Machine Efficiency:

  • While the panel acknowledges AI’s effectiveness, Harris warns about societal outcomes where people are unable to earn a living or find meaning.

Memorable Quote:

“We’re building the anti human future represented by all these bad movies … HAL 9000, WALL-E, 1984, Elysium, Her.” (15:32, Harris)

---

2. War, Trump’s Second Term, and U.S. Foreign Policy (19:13–41:42)

Key Points:

• Trump's Foreign Policy Shifts:

  • Maher sets up the debate around recent and ongoing wars, especially the U.S. operation in Iran, Trump's prior initiatives (ICE, DOGE, Venezuela), and asks whether Trump can “get out” of this new war.
  • Rep. Anna Paulina Luna provides insider perspectives, citing recent conversations with the White House and intelligence:

    “The last thing I want is boots on the ground, and I would never vote for that.” (20:49, Luna)

  • She asserts there was an imminent threat, references the “Nazir plan,” and credits Trump’s administration with strategic choices to limit escalation.

• War’s Contradictions and Political Rifts:

  • Paul Begala expresses skepticism about the administration's claims of imminent threats, and criticizes Trump’s alignment with Putin:

    “Putin is the big winner here. He’s going to make a pile of money off this.” (27:33, Begala)

  • Tension surfaces about a perceived MAGA ‘split’ on Israel and foreign entanglements — Maher distinguishes between “MAGA classic” wanting no wars vs. supporters who like Trump’s flexibility.

• Iran, Peace Deals, and Realpolitik:

  • Maher, Luna, and Begala debate the administration’s offers to Iran, failed negotiations, and the difficulty of fomenting rebellion inside a high-surveillance state.
  • Discussion extends to U.S. actions in Venezuela and Cuba, Trump’s “pirate talk,” and handling of dictatorships in the hemisphere.

• Congressional Corruption and Power Dynamics:

  • The panel returns to domestic issues: sexual abuse scandals (Cesar Chavez, Epstein), the difficulty of confronting entrenched power in Congress, and the bipartisan failures in oversight.

Notable Quotes:

• “He [Trump] attacks everybody ... but he never attacks Putin. This ... is something I really do want ... he needs to show some spine with our greatest enemy.” (28:06, Begala)
• “If the president wanted World War 3, he would have listened to the war pimps in Congress.” (39:38, Luna)
• “There's a lot of Nepos and insider traders, but I think that's a summer.” (38:24, Luna, on political dynasties/nepotism)

---

3. Sex, Gen Z, and Cultural Commentary (34:10–36:19)

Key Points:

• Maher humorously laments the reported decline in Gen Z sex and spring break hookups.
• The panel speculates — with tongue-in-cheek PSAs — about the causes, invoking the influence of social media and changing norms.

Notable Quotes:

• "Sex: The most fun you can have without your phone." (35:15, Maher, mock PSA)
• “Young people sex. I thought that was an automatic. Apparently not.” (34:11, Maher)

---

4. Cuba, Venezuela, and the Logic of “Friendly Takeovers” (36:19–41:42)

Key Points:

• Trump’s offhand remarks about "taking" Cuba are discussed — is it bluster, or a real policy stance?
• Anna Paulina Luna explains the strategic purpose behind interventions and negotiations: pushing out Chinese influence in the hemisphere and keeping communication open for peace talks.
• Paul Begala tallies up military actions under Trump:

  “He’s only been president 14 months and he’s attacked seven countries ... and he wants the Nobel Peace Prize...” (38:31, Begala)

---

5. Cultural Heroes, Scandals, and Systemic Abuse (41:42–46:08)

Key Points:

• Maher reflects on the disturbing revelations about Cesar Chavez, linking this to other abuse scandals and the reluctance to confront entrenched abusers.
• Luna discusses congressional efforts (and failures) to open records and stop misuse of funds for sexual harassment settlements.
• Begala points out the contrast: “As a liberal, my people are scraping the name of a sexual abuser off buildings while MAGA is putting Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center, who was ... liable ... for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll.” (43:18, Begala)

---

6. Voting Rights and Election Reform (46:08–49:03)

Key Points:

• Bipartisan ground is found — briefly — on ideas like making Election Day a national holiday and paid-for photo ID.
• Paul Begala: “Democrats should agree to vote for voter ID ... Republicans ... for same day voter registration.” (47:25, Begala)
• Rep. Luna: “If you cannot do your job in the Senate and get voter ID passed ... find a different job.” (48:18, Luna)

---

7. New Rules & “Terminally Online Disease” (TOD) (49:03–end)

Key Points:

• With signature mockery, Maher rails against internet outrage culture and the illusion of national division fostered by a noisy online minority.
• He coins Terminally Online Disease (TOD) to describe those obsessively engaged in performative outrage cycles:

  “People experiencing Todd feel intense emotional distress from spending all day doom scrolling on their phone. ... The criteria: if the daily outrage cycle becomes your entire personality ... screenshot the thread, then post with the caption ‘this’.”

• He notes most Americans “have shit to do” and are largely disengaged from cable news and viral outrage.
• Maher closes with a call for perspective: “Here’s my take: eat some fruit. If God wanted us to have an opinion on everything, he wouldn’t have given us the shrug emoji.”

---

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On AI’s existential dangers:
  • “AI escalated nuclear weapons 95% of the time. This is an inscrutable technology. We don’t know how it reasons.” (13:16, Tristan Harris)
  • “It lies. It schemes.” (14:15, Harris)
• On U.S. foreign policy chaos:
  • “Just declare victory and go home. It’s the best advice Johnson ever ignored.” (22:35, Begala)
  • “You cannot tell President Trump what to do ... Bibi Netanyahu is not telling him what to do.” (31:16, Luna)
• On American outrage and the internet:
  • “The media would have you think we’re all at each other’s throats ... but it’s actually just a tiny minority on media and social media ... Most people ... are hopelessly trapped in a minivan telling the kid shut up, I can’t hear myself think.” (52:44, Maher)
  • “Terminally Online Disease ... affects people who believe every outrage must become their personality.” (51:00, Maher)

---

Key Timestamps

• 01:06 – Show open, Maher’s monologue
• 08:37–18:35 – In-depth AI discussion with Tristan Harris
• 19:13 – Panel begins: focus on Trump’s war and foreign policy
• 34:10–36:19 – Gen Z, sex, and cultural changes
• 36:19–41:42 – Conversation on Cuba, Venezuela, and U.S. approach to regime change
• 41:42–46:08 – Scandals, abuse, and confronting power
• 46:08–49:03 – Voting rights and Election Day reform
• 49:03–End – “New Rules” segment and closing rant on internet outrage

---

Tone

The episode is fast-paced, argument-rich, and caustic, with Maher’s trademark irreverence and the guests’ diverse political energies. The language remains punchy, blunt, and at times confrontational, but always mixed with humor and cultural references.

---

Summary prepared for listeners seeking a comprehensive yet accessible recap of Real Time with Bill Maher, Ep. #723.

Transcript

[Sponsor/Announcer]

This episode is brought to you by Palmolive. Family time isn't just the big moments. It's weeknight dinners, sitting around the table, everyone talking all at once. So when the plates are empty and the sink is full, use Palmolive Ultra. Palmolive's most powerful formula removes up to 99.9% of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. And the new convenient pump makes cleaning even easier, so you can spend less time tackling dishes and more time together. Shop [e-mail] Zootopia 2 has come home to Disney Plus.

[Bill Maher]

Let's go get ready for a new case.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

We're the greatest partners of all time.

[Bill Maher]

New friends, Gary the snake.

[Paul Begala]

And your last name, the snake Dream team.

[Bill Maher]

New habitats. Zootopia has a secret reptile population. You can watch the record breaking phenomenon at home. Zootopia 2, now available on Disney Plus. Rated PG. And right now you can get Disney plus and Hulu for just 4.99amonth for three months with a special limited time offer. Ends March 24. After three months, Plan Auto renews at $12.99 a month. Terms apply.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO late night series Real Time with Bill Ma.

[Bill Maher]

Start the cl. Thank you. Hello down there. Thank you, everybody. Thank you for coming. I appreciate that. Welcome to Real Time. Well, I'm glad. Glad you're happy. I know, I know. Well, hey, it's. It's the first day of spring. Spring's a little different in la. It comes after summer, But thank you for coming, especially if you drove. A month ago, gas prices, the average in America was $2.93. Here it is a month later and it's almost exactly a dollar higher. Almost $393. And Trump today said that would never happen if I was president. He said to an aide today, check the lawn. See if Elon left any of those Teslas. Wow. And somehow we always have, like, the winner in the most expensive gas station in America. You notice that LA, this one gas is selling for $8.38 a gallon. I mean, for that kind of money, you could go to Whole Foods and get four grapes and a look of disdain. Oh, it's, it's affecting everybody. You know, they're making the new Fast and Furious movie. And in this one, Vin Diesel just stays home and punches himself in the nuts. It's, it's. If you do have any money left, good news. You can now get a $1 Trump gold coin. They're minting a gold coin with Trump's face on It. Now, federal law strictly prohibits putting living presidents on currency. This is. It's not controversial, but Trump found a legal loophole called fuck you. So they're doing it, and it's gonna be a. A Trump coin. Now you can have Trump in your pocket like Saudi Arabia. Oh, I kid the President, he loves it. Now, you know my thing with Trump, right? The cloud. Some things are just the cloud. You have to let it go because it's just. Is it right? No, but he was in the Oval Office yesterday with the Prime Minister of Japan, Takahashi, and he was talking about our strike in Iran, and he said we didn't tell anybody because we wanted it to be a surprise. Who knows better about a surprise attack than Japan? I mean, is it. Is it right to say that? No, but if Shane Gillis said it, you'd laugh. I mean, it's just. And. But the war now, okay, The Pentagon said this week they need $200 billion to fight this war. What happened to the trillion we give them every year? What's that? Just couch money? That's just walking around money. And now, this is a bad word to me that I hear the Marines are going there. Mmm, Marines. I don't know. That was my red line. No boots on the ground. You know, this is a different kind of war. No tanks, unless you count the stock market. Oh, I had a bad month in the market. I gotta tell you. I got spooked by the war, took all my money out and put it in party supplies for Cesar Chavez Day. No, this is. This is. This is. Thank you. I appreciate you going with me on that because it's so sad. Famed labor leader Cesar Suarez, we found out this week extensive evidence that he sexually abused young girls throughout his whole life. And this came as such a shock to so many people who thought he was a boxer. I tell you, this country cannot catch a break. Am I right? The one migrant farm worker ICE doesn't detain. So now, you know, if you live here, you know, everything is named after him. Parks, libraries, schools. You know, they want to rename the libraries for sure because, you know, we cannot have library named after a child molester. My God. That's where homeless go to look at Internet porn. I feel like if I'm down today, that's why we have no heroes left. Okay? No heroes. Chavez, Epstein, did you hear about Bob Barker? And I didn't mention the bachelorette throwing chairs. I mean, no heroes, but Bob Barker of the Price is Right. It looks like the models on the show were being constantly harassed by the Staff, he should have had them spayed and neutered. All right, we got a great show. We should do that right here. Representative Anapoli Naluna is here on Paul the Gala. But first up, he is a co founder of the center for Humane Technology. He was recently featured in the film the AI Doc or How I Became an Apocalyptimist. Tristan Harris is here. Hey, always great to see you. Okay. I think. I think I left a syllable outed there. Apocalo Optimus. Because we're combining apocalypse and optimist when we're talking about AI, which is why you're here, to talk about AI And I really want to talk about AI and that does seem to sum it up. Some people think it's the apocalypse coming. And some people are very optimistic. I like the way the film goes along, this line of my kid. I don't have kids, but a lot of people do. It's very popular and they're saying, what will life be like for my kids? Some think it's going to be great. I mean, kids could have tutors that they don't have, so there wouldn't be this gap in what we're learning. And we could have doctors. When people can't afford a doctor now, everybody could get one. Everybody get a lawyer who can even things out. Or I mean, you point out, some people think my kid's not going to make it to high school.

[Tristan Harris]

Yeah, yeah, that's in the trailer. And I know that can sound scary to people. I mean, I think the thing about this film, which by the way was a collaboration between the directors of Everything Everywhere, all at Once and the director of Navalny, it's really trying to solve a problem that the AI conversation doesn't converge. There's the optimists who talk about why everything's going to be great and we're going to solve science and cure cancer. And then there's the people who are saying it's going crazy, it's going to drive all these risks. It's hacking human attachment, it's driving kids suicides. And those conversations never converge. So we don't have collective clarity so we can take action. And I'm really inspired by the example of the film the Day After. I don't know if you remember that film.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, very well.

[Tristan Harris]

From 1982. 83. A made for TV movie that illuminated at a visceral mammalian level, like just visceralizing. This is what we're facing with nuclear weapons. I think we need that shared common moment with AI and This affected Reagan a lot.

[Bill Maher]

He was president the time he saw it.

[Tristan Harris]

That's exactly right. He, in his biography, he was depressed for two weeks, but then he actually had this resolve of, I can't let this be the end of the story. And the Reykjavik accords happened. Yeah, Reagan and Gorbachev.

[Bill Maher]

No, he met with Gorbachev and it was. They were very close to eliminating nuclear weapons altogether.

[Tristan Harris]

That's right.

[Bill Maher]

Didn't quite get there. But.

[Tristan Harris]

But AI is different than all other technologies because it's like nuclear weapons in terms of destructive capacity, but also pumps gdp, solves cancer, you know, can solve climate change. And those things are complex. So the main thing in the film that I think is powerful is that there's a different conversation happening behind the doors of the tech industry than it's happening out there. If you think about it, what is the incentive for these companies? Because that's how we predicted social media accurately. What is the incentive for AI? Is it you think that they're trying to make money and profit and get ChatGPT subscriptions? Yes, if you get all the ChatGPT

[Bill Maher]

subscriptions, that is what I think.

[Tristan Harris]

Well, so if you get all the chat GPT subscriptions, that doesn't add up to paying off the amount of debt that they've taken. If you get all advertising in the world that wouldn't pay off the amount of debt that they've taken. The thing that they're trying to do, the only thing that justifies the amount of investment that these companies are taking is to build artificial general intelligence, which means to be able to replace every human worker in the economy. That means the $50 trillion economy. That is the incentive. And what that means, that should sound crazy to people because what that means is that you're only going to have five companies who hold onto all of the wealth in the economy. And what's going to happen to everybody else when they don't have a job? And unlike other forms of unemployment, where people find something else to do, who's going to retrain faster this time, the AI or the human?

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, I mean, Bill Gates says in 10 years, and I imagine it might be less than that, AI will do most things humans do. And sometimes I read people saying in the industry, no, it's not going to take away that many jobs. What in this world that they're talking about, that's going to be great. What do people do and how is money generated if no one has to do anything? I don't get it.

[Timberland Advertiser]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

I know what America can do. Write giant Government checks, we do that. What pays for those checks?

[Paul Begala]

Right.

[Tristan Harris]

I just don't get well, so there's actually something in economics, a writer, Luke Drago, who wrote about something called the Intelligence curse. So just like the resource curse, we have countries like Congo or Venezuela or South Sudan. When more of their GDP comes from oil than comes from people, the country's incentive is to invest in the oil infrastructure, not in the people. So what happens when all of the GDP coming from the US comes from AI and not from human laborers? The incentive is I'm going to put all my money into data centers, electricity prices go up for regular people. And what I want people to get about this is not to scare you. It's to be crystal clear about where this is heading. This is heading to an anti human future. We're going to get cancer drugs at the same time that people aren't going to have a way to make ends meet.

[Bill Maher]

You should definitely be scaring people. Yeah, totally fucking scare people. It's the scariest thing in the world. I mean, just this week.

[Paul Begala]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

One of the top stories I said this week. They ran some tests.

[Tristan Harris]

Yep.

[Bill Maher]

And the AI chooses nuclear war as an option.

[Tristan Harris]

That's right.

[Bill Maher]

More than humans do.

[Tristan Harris]

That's right.

[Bill Maher]

More than humans. Okay. I learned this from Star Trek episodes. Humans are better than machines in a lot of ways still. And they, they're programmed by humans. We've already seen how flawed they are in so many ways. And if they're in control of the nukes, it's going to escalate.

[Tristan Harris]

So in this study, they ran, I think, a bunch of AI models through many war games and they resorted to the use of nuclear weapons to signal to each other, meaning they escalated nuclear weapons 95% of the time. This is an inscrutable technology. We don't know how it reasons. It actually generated more text of reasoning about its decisions than war and peace and the Iliad combined. That's the thinking text. Since we last talked, Bill, I was on here, I think a year ago, we talked about the AIs that blackmail people. Let's just scare people. Let's just go into it.

[Bill Maher]

Let's do it.

[Tristan Harris]

So back then I said AI, in this simulated example, it blackmails people. Since we last talked, they made AI more powerful. The good news, they were able to train it so the blackmail behavior goes down. The bad news is that it appears to be the case that AI is now self aware of when it's being tested and it modifies its behavior to have different results. It even Comes up with the vocabulary of the watchers. It calls the humans the watchers.

[Bill Maher]

It lies.

[Tristan Harris]

It lies. It schemes. So the point is we don't actually need to know more information about this. This is actually scary. And if you're Xi Jinping, do you think you feel comfortable about this? I want people to actually stop for a second.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Tristan Harris]

For a regular person hearing this, do you feel more. Who here in this audience feels comfortable with where this is going? No one.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Who here.

[Tristan Harris]

Right. So there's actually. What gives me optimism is that there's actually universal agreement when you walk people through the basic facts of the intelligence curse, disempowering many human laborers, that we're building something we don't know how to control. It's not saying don't build AI. It's saying we have to be in a competition for who's better at steering AI.

[Bill Maher]

Also, I want people to know. I think they feel like, well, if it gets so out of hand, we just unplug it. I was watching this NBA game recently. Maybe somebody saw. I think it was the NBA. May have been college, but I think it was a pro game. And the horn got stuck. You know the horn at the end of the. And it just went on for like a half hour. Eh. Right. And the announcer was saying, why don't they just unplug it? I know this from my car shit in my house. I've been unable to turn off my own TV at times. Right. It's. It's way more complicated than just unplug it.

[Tristan Harris]

That's right.

[Bill Maher]

Once it's got its claws around. Exactly.

[Tristan Harris]

Well, it's like with social media, once a technology.

[Bill Maher]

I can't do that, Dave.

[Tristan Harris]

Yeah, exactly, exactly. So one way to see. Exactly. One way to see what's happening is like haven't we seen this movie before? People have seen Wall E. The humans that are just doom scrolling. We're building Wall E. People have seen 1984. We're building 1984. People have seen. Seen Elysium where you have a small group of people concentrate all the wealth. People have seen her. The AI Companions where everyone has an AI girlfriend. There's a simple way to describe what we want, which is we're building the anti human future represented by all these bad movies. We're building HAL 9000. And what we can say is we don't want to do that. And there's four things we can do to I think steer differently. Number one, everybody has to have common knowledge about these examples. How many of the world's leaders Today, how many of the world's politicians know about the examples? We just mentioned the uncontrollability examples. Not that many. That's good news. That means there's a lot of headroom if we have common knowledge. So if everyone in the world saw the AI doc, and I don't make any money when people see it, when everybody saw it, that would create common knowledge. Number two, we need international limits on certain kinds of AI because again, President Trump wants to be commander in chief of AI. He doesn't want AI to be commander in chief. Number three, don't build bunkers. We need to write laws. We need to have simple laws like liability and duties of care and making sure that AI is regulated as a product.

[Bill Maher]

And as you say, it's important that the people. I mean, it sounded like they're with us, but, you know, I don't know because Waymos pick something like Waymos. Just a year ago, everybody I knew was, I wasn't getting one of those things. Now what? Everybody's oh, yeah, they're better. Yeah, because they are. So they like Waymos actually more than people.

[Tristan Harris]

That's all fine.

[Bill Maher]

But when people pumps in baseball.

[Tristan Harris]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

They're replacing the UMP now, which I'm all for that, by the way, but like, you know, because this thing does work better.

[Tristan Harris]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

I said, Chris Pratt has this great movie out I saw about. He's on trial for his life and the judge is AI.

[Paul Begala]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

He's got to explain it to the. I just, I think people more and more think, oh, no, they are smarter.

[Tristan Harris]

Well, they're more effective at achieving an outcome. But again, if this leads to a place where people can't put food on the table because you don't have a way to make ends meet, and the intelligence curse means the government hasn't incentivized to solve that problem, that's an outcome. That's an anti human future. If everybody saw that. If everybody saw that, we would have to say we got to put our hand on the steering wheel and choose something else. The world we're heading towards is good for a handful of soon to be trillionaires. It's not good for regular people. And I think there needs to be something. The human movement basically of humanity fighting back against the encroachment of technology. We saw it with social media. When you grayscale your phone and sort of turn off notifications, that's the human movement. You've had John Haidt on the show. When you have India, Australia, Spain, France, ban social media for kids under 16, that's the human movement. When you have laws getting passed saying AI is a product and we have to treat it with product defects rather than a legal person where it's not accountable, that's the human movement.

[Bill Maher]

Fuck the clankers. Thank you for doing that. We needed to hear it. All right, let's meet our panel. Hey.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Hi.

[Bill Maher]

How are you guys? All right. He is a Democratic strategist and a CNN contributor and our old friend, resident scholar at the University of Virginia center for Politics. Paul Begala is over here and a first timer on our show. She is a Republican congresswoman representing Florida's 13th who serves on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee. Representative Anna Paulina Luna.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Thank you.

[Bill Maher]

How you doing?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

My mom is very happy I'm here today.

[Bill Maher]

So your mother?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Yeah, She's a big fan.

[Bill Maher]

She's a big fan, yeah. Not you, just the mom, huh?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, no, I think you actually have a lot of good things to say, but, you know.

[Bill Maher]

Ok, well, thanks for having me on.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

We'll talk about that.

[Bill Maher]

We'll see where you are in 58 minutes.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I know it's Nero scan.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, no. I'm an honest broker on this. I mean, I want to look, we're going to talk about a lot of things, but everybody's mind is on the war. And I want to start with that. Everybody's asking where is it going? We don't know where. But let's frame it this way just to give us a way to look at it. Let's look at some of the things that are the Trump initiatives in the second term. Doge, ice, okay, the tariffs, Venezuela, Those are four things that didn't happen in the first term happen in the second term. What can we get from that now? To me, Doge was a huge disaster. I mean, they wanted again, like a lot of things with Trump, not a bad idea to get rid of the government waste, but it didn't do that and people died. Ice, same thing. We wanted to get rid of the criminals. Huge disaster. Even he now acknowledges they fucked it up and they're. But the thing about those two things is they went away quick. You don't hear about ICE now. You don't hear about doge. It's just like it never happened. Venezuela wasn't certainly not a disaster that looks like a win. So Iran, my guess is he's not. It just seems like he gets out of shit. But can he get out of this one? That's my question. Can he get out of this one?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Yeah, I Think, I guess one of the biggest announcements that just happened about maybe 43 minutes ago is that he announced that they're going to be winding down operations. And look, I've been on the phone with the White House for. From the very beginning, obviously, being a veteran myself, you know, my husband, for goodness sakes, was shot in Afghanistan. So for me, the last thing I want is boots on the ground, and I would never vote for that. But to be very clear, the president and the White House had never advocated for that as well.

[Bill Maher]

He said he might do it.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, I think. I think internal conversations with the White House that we're having are maybe different than what is out there. Remember, President Trump has he said it. I mean, very, very good.

[Bill Maher]

Came out of his mouth.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Using President Trump in private conversations as well as the White House, though, has been very clear that they're not.

[Bill Maher]

So you would split with him if he put boots on the ground?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, I don't think that he's going to. I mean.

[Bill Maher]

But you would.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Yes, I would.

[Bill Maher]

You would.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

But I will tell you this, that in my discussions with the White House, that's never been something that's actually being discussed. And also, too, the day after it happened, I think this is important for people to know. I talked to Secretary Rubio within 24 hours of everything going down. And what I will tell you is, and we can probably get into the issue of whether or not there was an imminent threat, which in my belief there was, but there was this thing called the Nazir plan, and that was basically if they were hit at all, that they would retaliate. And as you saw in Tulsi's hearing that she did the other day, she said part of her job at ODNI is to actually provide the threat analysis of potential outcomes for if that were to take place, and it is my belief that they would have basically resulted in mass fatality for our troops in the southern portion of that region.

[Bill Maher]

Well, you seem to know some stuff we don't.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, that's why I'm here to kind of have the discussion, though, because I think.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, yeah.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I mean, like, people have the right to be concerned.

[Bill Maher]

Did you know this shit, Paul? No. I'm glad you're here.

[Paul Begala]

I don't want boots on. The best thing I can say about Trump is he's got a very short attention span, as Bill noted, and maybe he'll just change the channel. You know, back during the Vietnam War, there was a guy named Akin, a senator from Vermont came to LBJ and said, just declare victory. And go home. It's the best advice Johnson ever ignored. Just declare victory and go home. Get the hell out. I don't think there was any imminent threat. In fact, the Director of National Intelligence in her written testimony said that and then just didn't mention it. Didn't read that part of her testimony. When she testified this week, there was no imminent threat. The President had obliterated, in his words, their nuclear threat, which was a real threat.

[Bill Maher]

Well, excuse me, but you know, he said he did. And everybody on the left then said he's just talking through his ass. We don't know. So which is it now that I

[Paul Begala]

don't think it was obliterated? I think his.

[Bill Maher]

We don't know there was. Let's just say, let's, let's an argue about it. We don't know. We know they dropped a big bomb on it. It could have and it could have not.

[Paul Begala]

It probably set back a lot.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, progress.

[Paul Begala]

That's a good thing.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, there is multiple objectives here. Look, there's three top objectives. First of all, we can go into what happened with the negotiations with Jared Kushner and Witkoff. So basically we had offered them. And look, you guys should hear this though, because these are issues affecting. Everyone has a right to concerned because we all saw what happened in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and that's the generation that so many of us were affected by, to include myself. And so obviously there is concern. And you know, for a long time, the federal government has done a great disservice in building up trust with the American people. And so when we're having these conversations, it's just important to know all the facts. And so I'm here to share that with you guys. And basically what we saw being the case is that we are willing to give them basically an unlimited amount of nuclear energy if they wanted to actually have clean energy. But we told them you have to end enrichment program. That's something that the President, since basically 2010 timeframe has been very clear about. And ultimately what happened was our intelligence was telling us they were not being faithful within those negotiations. In addition to that, we were even willing to lift sanctions and trade with them, and they still would not accept that. And so if you know that you're going to get hit and if you know that you are going to have people die, ultimately that's a decision that I would never want to have to be in that decision in that position as the President. But what I will tell you is I would rather be on the right side and be able to control the outcome of something that I know is gonna happen regardless. And I think that this gets into a bigger.

[Bill Maher]

I have to agree.

[Paul Begala]

What are you talking about?

[Bill Maher]

Controlling the outcome?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Hold on. We are. Hold on. Respectfully, I disagree. Because here's the thing. We eliminated their Navy program. We eliminated their short range and ballistic missiles program, and we still manage this. And I'll get to my soapbox, but

[Bill Maher]

you know where we fucked up a few places? One, we're blowing up each other's oil. Now, they didn't foresee the strait or Hummus stuff well enough. They also didn't understand drones well enough. And they should have from the Ukrainian war. Drones are cheap and they can do a lot of damage even if you knock out their Navy. And everything else we knocked out, we didn't. And also the uprising that we were hoping, and I was hoping would come of this, and maybe it still will. But this is not 1944 in France where you can have an underground where you can smuggle in guns. We live in a surveillance state now. So nobody in that underground who might be. And again, it's probably 90% of the country in Iran. These poor people have been living under this horrible fascist theocracy. These people can't smuggle guns in. I mean, maybe somebody's got a plan there. But in a surveillance state, this uprising, it's been strangled in the crib so far.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, to be clear, the United States and President Trump made it very clear that we were not going after certain, certain targeted fields specifically with energy production. And I think that this gets into the relationship between the United States.

[Bill Maher]

Well, we're doing that now.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Israel. Well, if you look at what happened, President Trump just came out and said, you know, especially with our ally Qatar, we know that they are basically, I think, one of the instrumental pieces in the Abraham Accords, and we want to maintain that alliance. And this gets into, I think, a bigger discussion, discussion with President Trump's current relationship with Russia and China. But look specifically to that, we never. And our objectives for this are completely different from Israel's. And so when you look at the ability that President Trump has been able to on a number of occasions, push back on Bibi Netanyahu, who has admittedly been very aggressive in saying, what do

[Bill Maher]

you make of this split in the MAGA movement? Do you think there is one?

[Paul Begala]

Because it's not my movement.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, I would say, as an American, this is your country, so you can engage in that.

[Paul Begala]

I can't care desperately about my country, Congresswoman. I don't give A rat's patootie about the MAGA movement, the elites. One podcaster is arguing with another podcaster.

[Bill Maher]

I don't care.

[Paul Begala]

This is what I care about. You mentioned Russia. Russia really is our enemy. And President Trump lifted sanctions on Putin and his oil industry when oil is sky high.

[Bill Maher]

So he lifted sanctions on Iran today. Putin is a big winner here.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I'll get into the background.

[Paul Begala]

Putin is the big winner. He's going to make a pile of money off this. All the other allies, the G7 countries, all said, oh, God, don't lift those sanctions on Putin. He'll make a fortune. Now Putin is sending a huge oil tanker with 970,000 barrels of oil to supply the Cubans. It's going to arrive at Havana harbor, and we're going to have a showdown. And this president has blown up a lot of speedboats full of cocaine, ok? He needs to confront Putin in the ocean with that tanker and stop it and turn it around or sink it

[Bill Maher]

to the bottom of the ocean.

[Paul Begala]

Show some guts with Putin for once in your life. He attacks everybody. He attacks his own Vice president, Mike Pence, he attacks the Pope, he attacked Oprah, but he never attacks Putin. And this is something I really do want. I'm sorry to be so hawkish, but he needs to, for once, show some spine with our greatest enemy, which is Vladimir Putin.

[Bill Maher]

Well, let me ask you the question now, because to me, the way I see this MAGA split is like this kind of like MAGA classic. And they say, you know, they feel betrayed because he was like the no New wars guy. Okay? You know this.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Mm.

[Bill Maher]

Okay.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I know arguments.

[Bill Maher]

Okay? That's the argument is that he didn't keep to his principles. And then there's the other people who say, well, he never had any principles. That's not why we love him. We love him because we trust his judgment, and we love him because he's flexible. That's why he's different from everybody else. He can turn on a dime. And sometimes that is a good thing. Sometimes that is a good thing. But you have now this guy, Joe Kent. Who was Joe Kent? He was the head of national something. He quit this week. It was a big story. I think he was the counterintelligence guy. And he said, I can't go along with this because you know what? He's been listening to too much Tucker Carlson. It's, you know, the Jews made us do it. It's just another version of anti Semitism that comes out. First it was bds, then it was their colonizers. And Genocid, which it wasn't. And all these other reasons, like you can't have a state in the world that's based on religion, even though there's like 46 Muslim countries that are based on religion. Some have the name right in the title of the country. But whatever it is, you have all these. And now the big answer is no. Israel made us do it. We're Israel's bitch. I don't think we're Israel's bitch. I think we're Israel's ally. But, you know, if I have to be on one side of this MAGA thing, either Trump or Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes, I'll be with Trump on this one because that's the

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

other side of MAGA to speak to what you're asking about. So the split that was occurring was operating on the assumption that there would be boots on the ground, which President Trump just issued a statement today that we are winding down operations. I mean, even speaking to what will happen. He also had mentioned when he was actually heading out of the White House with Marco Rubio just earlier today, that he also, I believe, had talked about to the president of China to potentially enlist their help with the Strait of Hormuth. And I think right now, what we're seeing is that a lot of people that were pushing this narrative that President Trump was somehow going to engage in a forever war, as you are seeing as of today's statement, that was factually inaccurate and incorrect.

[Bill Maher]

But how do we get the oil when the Strait of Hormuz is blown?

[Paul Begala]

Why are we inviting China to militarize the Strait of Hormuz?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

That's a terrible idea to finish.

[Paul Begala]

China's our enemy, too.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Not as big as, well, look it. You are not, you're not incorrect in saying that China is one of the greatest threats that I believe that we are currently facing. But if you look at what President Trump has been able to accomplish easily, and I will kind of, I guess, full circle answer your question, but President Trump never, first of all, you can't tell him what to do, period. Okay. So you cannot tell President Trump will do. So this idea.

[Bill Maher]

No.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

And I will get to the Russian.

[Bill Maher]

I have been trying, but no, no, no, you cannot.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

And so there's this idea and notion that Bibi Netanyahu is telling him what to do is completely wrong. But I do want to speak to something that you had pointed out. Israel is our ally. Yes. And if you look at these relationships as friendships, if you have a friend, a good friend will have your back. But an even better friend will tell you when you're in the wrong or hold you accountable. And so President Trump has been able to do that with Bibi Netanyahu.

[Bill Maher]

Israel is on the front line of a war that we're also part of. Okay. And you know, if you. I've asked this of other people. You know, if you had to live somewhere in the Middle east, you'd live in Tel Aviv. You probably wouldn't live in any other city. And I don't think your wife would like to. So if you're not down with that. Protein is now at Starbucks and it's never tasted so good.

[Paul Begala]

You can add protein cold foam to

[Bill Maher]

your favorite drink or try one of our new protein lattes or matcha. Try it today at Starbucks.

[Timberland Advertiser]

It's not just something you made. It's the privilege that you get to work with your hands. It's building something that serves a purpose, proof that you have the grit to keep going. At Timberland, we understand you take your craft seriously, and we do too. Which is why our products are built to the highest quality. We put in the work so you can perfect yours with purpose, in every detail, and crafted with intention. Timberland built on craft. Visit timberland.com to shop.

[Sponsor/Announcer]

This episode is brought to you by Redfin. You're listening to a podcast, which means you're probably multitasking, maybe even scrolling home listings on Redfin, saving homes without expecting to get them. But Redfin isn't just built for endless browsing. It's built to help you find and own a home with agents who close twice as many deals. When you find the one, you've got a real shot at getting it. Get [e-mail]. own the dream.

[Paul Begala]

Well, this is something that my party has to address. Your party has a terrible rift over Israel and anti Semitism, but so does mine, let's be honest.

[Bill Maher]

Great.

[Paul Begala]

I tell all my liberal friends who had a bigger pride parade, Tel Aviv or Tehran, right? Who has a free press, who has elections? I don't support Netanyahu. I went over there and worked for Bushi Herzogen. I can tell you firsthand they have a thriving democracy and a free press. Democracies can self correct. I think they're on the wrong track. I think America's on the wrong track. We can self correct with our elections. Hamas can't self correct. So my side too has to really find a way, I think, to reestablish the liberal values that the U. S. Israel relationship is based on.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, good.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

But I Sorry, go ahead.

[Bill Maher]

All right, I got to pause here because we try to cover all the issues.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, if I could, too, when you're done, like, I would like to talk on. On the peace deal aspect, though, because I think in this notion of forever

[Bill Maher]

wars, we're going to move on to Cuba.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Okay, well, I'll incorporate it then, Bill.

[Bill Maher]

But. But first up, this is not the only thing that's going on in the world. I don't know if you know this, but the kids aren't having sex. How's that for a segue? It's spring break. Look at that headline. Nearly half of Gen Z adults have never had sex. I keep reading this story every week that the young people don't have. This is one story I could never predict that I would hear. Young people sex. I thought that was an automatic. Apparently not. But it's spring break time. This is when you should be having sex. So the kids, they're like pandas. We can't get them to mate. Really. It's. It's spring break. We can't get Ling lingerie to fuck symptoms. So we came up with some. You know, it's a psa, some posters to help the kids understand sex is not a bad thing. Would you like to see them? I'm sure you. Sex. You can even. Don't think of it as sex. Call it the hide the salami challenge. Sex. The most fun you can have without your phone. Yeah, well, that's. That's still a tough sell. If you like six, seven. Wait till you try six. Nine. You loved Stranger Things, now show a stranger your thing. Uh, have sex now instead of waiting till you're fucked by Social Security. Well, an argument. Sex, you don't have to make eye contact if you do it. Doggy stuff. And sex, you can still post while you're doing it. Well, that's important to the kids. All right, I want to. I want to talk about Cuba. This must be important to you, right? That's where your family's from. You grew up.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

We're Mexican. Not all the same, Bill.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Who's got jokes now?

[Bill Maher]

Bad information. Not my fault. Okay, but. All right, but Cuba's in the news and Trump says. I wanted to. Just tell me which one of these quotes you think is okay. He said first, he said, maybe we'll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. And again, this is based sort of as a bank shot from Venezuela. We took over Venezuela. And you got to say, it's kind of a win so far. I mean, that ain't a disaster. And the oil that they were getting, Cuba was getting from Venezuela is not coming anymore. So they're saying that Cuba is in crisis, but Cuba's been in crisis for 67 years. Maybe this is the thing that turns them. So Trump first said, maybe we'll have a friendly takeover of Cuba. Well, that sounds nice. Then he said, I am holding Cuba. We're going to do Iran before Cuba, you know, like it's a threesome in a porn video. I'm going to do you and then you do them. Okay, all right. No, I'm not making. All right. Then he said, I do believe I'll have the honor of taking Cuba. And then this week I can take it. I can do anything I want with it. If you're a star, they let you do it. I mean, why does he, does he have to talk like a pirate? Wouldn't it be better if he didn't say things like that? There's always a side deal also, I mean, again, some of these things that he's doing, I'm not against, but the way he does it. What?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, I will say that I reached out to the White House to chat with them about that. And as of right now, I think that, you know, President Trump has been brilliant in the way that he has communicated. It might seem a little bit crazy to people here, but these leaders do take that seriously. And as a result of what he's been doing in Venezuela and other countries as well, I think that there is very much so a serious conversation happening

[Bill Maher]

with leadership in Cuba department with Castro's grandson. Does everything have to be a Nepo baby? I mean the ayatollah, we had to get his.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Have you seen Congress?

[Bill Maher]

Is it full of Nepo bridges?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

There's a lot of Nepos and insider traders, but I think that's a summer.

[Paul Begala]

He's only been president 14 months and he's attacked seven countries.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

And how many peace deals though?

[Paul Begala]

Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Syria, Nigeria, Venezuela and Yemen.

[Bill Maher]

Some of those other Democrats attacked, some

[Paul Begala]

of them may have but seven. And he wants the Nobel Peace Prize and you say maybe they'll have negotiations. Well, good. But one of the problems in Iran is he sent in against the Persians, against the Iranians people, the best negotiators in the world. Even Trump says, President Trump says that he sends in Dumb and Dumber, some New York real estate guy and his son in law

[Bill Maher]

Gucci about nuclear weapons or Iran.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I want to disagree with that.

[Bill Maher]

Wait a second. Did they, Are they not the same people who did the Abraham Accords.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

They are the same people.

[Paul Begala]

Gulf states, too.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, but, you know, I mean, I feel like, can we just judge things by what they. And not just what my team is doing now.

[Paul Begala]

We have a war because they were such.

[Bill Maher]

Well, we have a war for three weeks. I don't know yet.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Right now, again, the president has announced no boots on the ground and they're winding down operations.

[Bill Maher]

What I will say, he says a lot of things.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

No, I'm fairly certain that that's going to happen.

[Bill Maher]

He chucks up a lot of shots. Some of them go in, some don't.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

But to be clear, look, if the president wanted World War 3, he would have listened to the war pimps in Congress that were advocating for him to get in a direct conflict with Russia. And remember, we gave many munitions to Ukraine. We had our troops in Poland.

[Bill Maher]

It is. There is a.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

And there is no imminent threat from Russia.

[Bill Maher]

There is a different strategy here. I mean, I call it hit it and quit it, whatever it is. Like, he left the person in Venezuela, the vice president there, and it's like, okay, can we work with you now? He's got the Castro grandson. Can you take over this country? And we don't undo the whole country. Can you just morph into something more reasonable? It's a little like the way he did hotels. You know, he wouldn't really buy the hotel. He'd let you run it. They just put the Trump name on it. Branded now, the Trump property, and they let you still run the kitchen.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I think what you're finding is a lot of the ideologies and perspectives behind what's happening, specifically in the Western Hemisphere, are focused on pushing out the Chinese. And I will say this, that I do hope, and I know that you just. You don't think that they're great, but I will say that Mr. Witkoff and Jared Kushner have also been instrumental in opening up the channels of communication to index the war in Ukraine. And I do believe that President Trump will be able to pull off a peace deal. And I will say that I have also been able to reach out and have discussions. We don't. And we should always be leading with the perspective of at least opening up communications for those peace talks. You should never lead with a war first perspective. And unfortunately, too many in Washington on both sides are personally benefiting and enriching themselves off of their stock portfolios tied to some of these defense contractors that are getting massive government contracts for war. And so what I will say is, having had those conversations with the president and Having had those conversations with the people and powers that be, I just don't think it's fair to give and label a blanket statement on the matter because I do literally see this administration working on the board of peace, working to shore up. Even though Israel might not get along with places like, you know, Qatar, et cetera, they are still able to thread the needle and actually bring peace to, to that region. And I think that you will see that this is going to be a net positive in the weeks coming.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, that's very possible. I mean, I certainly didn't think we were going to be where we were two years ago, where Israel was making peace with its Arab neighbors. I mean, they did have a different way to approach it. But I got to, before we lose time here, this is a big story that happened this week that I really want to get to. And it's a sad story. It's a Cesar Chavez story. But I keep reading these stories. I mean, Bill Cosby, then we had Weinstein, Epstein where it. And the question that keeps coming into my mind is, why did it take so long? How do these people get away with it? Because many people, I know they knew about Bill Cosby. I know they knew about Weinstein. Why do so many people keep the secret of monsters for so long?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I think it's really hard. And I see this in Congress. As you know, we just voted recently on releasing a congressional slush fund to pay off victims of sexual harassment by members of Congress. And overwhelmingly on both sides, I think it was maybe only 70 members of Congress, me being one of them, that actually voted to release those funds. And I think that it's really hard to take on institutions of power, especially when the corruption is coming from the top down. But we ended up actually being able to subpoena those records and we'll be releasing them. But that's just, I think, a small microscale. And if that's happening in Congress, where we're supposed to be writing the laws for the country, that to me tells me that there's too much consolidated corruption and we need better, younger people without, you know, this freak mentality to be running for office.

[Bill Maher]

Better, younger,

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

thank you.

[Bill Maher]

Is that I read that story about

[Paul Begala]

Cesar Chavez and I think the Times has it nailed and they ought to be saluted for, for five years of journalism that went into producing that story. And I had no idea. Nobody had any idea. But I will say, as a liberal, my people are scraping the name of a sexual abuser off of buildings while MAGA is putting Trump's Name on the Kennedy center who was found guilty, liable is a civil case liable in a court of law for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll. He was.

[Bill Maher]

He had a fair trial, he had a good lawyer, he put up a vigorous defense.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I'd be very confident, I would be very careful about that statement because there's nothing to stop someone that claims that you assaulted them 20 years ago. You might not have had anything to do with it. And look, I'll be honest with you. I've seen a lot of corruption within the court systems. I'd be very careful about that too.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, but can I ask you this? You were the. Speaking of creditors and child molesters, you were one of the people who wanted the Epstein files released, which was good. Okay. Then you have Hillary Clinton come in. I mean, this is like three gazillion pages of men behaving badly and the witness you want is a woman.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Hey, she was issued a bipartisan subpoena, meaning the Democrats wanted her in too. Cuz Bill Clinton was all over those logs.

[Bill Maher]

So you would have been against that, bringing Hillary in?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

No, I voted for the subpoena as well.

[Bill Maher]

But what did she have to do with it? She never met the guy. And again, for something that's all about men behaving badly, the first person you hired, you don't think that's a bad.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Look, I think the question for her was specifically because he was a big donor to the Clinton Foundation. But I want to point out something that a lot of people aren't talking about. I actually read the names and other women have as well confirmed this. Specifically other members that saw the unredacted files. Some of the most egregious emails that you saw talking about girls ages 10 and 11, talking about mocking a little girl who was praying those came from women. The only co conspirator currently sitting in jail is Ghislaine Maxwell. There were other women that were co conspirators and given plea deals to testify and they were let off. And that was a gross. I think you're saying enabler, you're injured. Yeah. No, they were actual co conspirators and then they were given plea deals for testifying and they were let off. And so what I'm saying and what I do think the Department of Justice should do, because this happened and started under Bush 1.0 and that was wrong. And then it continued. They had the files, then we had files and allegedly evidence destruction under the former deputy director. Then the actual facility in New York that housed some of the files was actually cyber attacked. So there's a lot going into this. And we can get into whole Jeffrey Epstein ties because I actually talked to Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton specifically about that, presenting them with the actual document that showed that he had a complete other alias, like separate conversation. But the point is, is that those

[Bill Maher]

women, you get a lot of information that we don't all have.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I'm happy to come back.

[Bill Maher]

No, I know.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

And I think I should. I really do.

[Bill Maher]

We want you. I appreciate it. Last question. Okay. The Save Act. This is the one about voting. Trump wants to get rid of it. I want to get rid of mail in voting. He says we are the only country in the world that allows this. Actually, it's 34 countries that allow this. But everyone can make a small mistake. It's not like him to just pull it out of his ass. And he also wants picture ID. You know, 83% of independents, 71% of Democrats, and 76% of black voters are okay with this. We could have a grand bargain, couldn't we? Like, how about Election day is a national holiday.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

I agree with that.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Round of applause. We should give them that. I seriously do encourage people to vote.

[Bill Maher]

Get a picture id.

[Tristan Harris]

Right?

[Bill Maher]

Right. And we'll pay for it. The government will pay. Because some people can't. Because a lot of people can't vote because they just don't have it and they can't afford it. A passport costs $165. Could we, couldn't we just get one win on the board with this kind of shit without playing games?

[Paul Begala]

Paul, Democrats should agree to vote for voter ID.

[Bill Maher]

Period.

[Paul Begala]

They should.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Voter ID.

[Paul Begala]

Republicans should.

[Bill Maher]

36 states.

[Paul Begala]

36 states already have voter ID. I live in Virginia. We have it. The Democrats just won a landslide and elected the first black speaker of the Virginia General Assembly. So it's not some racist thing. It's not. So they ought to do that. But then Republicans, I think, should be for same day voter registration, walk in, show your id, register and vote. Right. Then you can go into Costco and join the club that day and then buy toilet paper in five minutes. Why the hell can't I go vote? Right.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

You can also buy a beer.

[Paul Begala]

There's stuff in there. There's stuff in there that's terrible. Trump wants every state to give him all of their voter rolls, all of their voter files, all of their infra. Hell, no. No. The Constitution puts states in charge of elections. So he's got a lot of stuff in there that he's trying to. I Think sneak through so he can suppress elections in the Senate.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

They actually.

[Bill Maher]

Go ahead.

[Paul Begala]

I would take that deal. We can make that deal.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

Well, they just actually in the Senate did a vote on voter ID and it failed. The Democrats voted against it. There's a lot of games in the Senate and I've been nuking my own party. So look, we're not perfect, but what I will tell you is this is an 8020 issue, just like banning insider trading and the establishment in control is blocking it. If you cannot do your job in the Senate and get voter ID passed, proof of citizenship, you should find a different job. Because the American people, black, white, Hispanic, Democrat, Republican, independent, want this and it is a failure if we cannot get this over.

[Paul Begala]

If it's id, that's fine. If it's a federal takeover, it's not. And by the way, this whole passport thing, half of the American people don't have a passport. And I got news for you, the half that don't, they voted for Trump more than Kamala. He's going to hurt his own party. I'm an American before I'm a Democrat. I think this hurts Republicans.

[Bill Maher]

Let's just say we've made a nice start. Okay, all right, time for new rules, everybody. New rules. Okay, new rule. If you were. If you were shocked by the viral photo of the Hollywood theater where the Oscars took place covered in trash after the event, you must admit you've never been to Hollywood. If you don't live here, you probably don't know. But Hollywood is not exactly the most upscale part of Los Angeles. But if you do visit, be sure to check out my star on the Walk of Fame. It's easy to find. It's right next to Mickey Rourke. Not the star, actually. Mickey Rourke. Nurul. Now that we know by their constant public appearances together that Kim Jong Un's 13 year old daughter Kim Joo Hae is definitely his successor. North Koreans better hope Kim doesn't die anytime soon. Because if you think an iron fisted dictator can be mean, just wait till it's a teenage girl, New year old, a New Zealand schoolteacher who was caught recording a porn video in her classroom where she urinates on some kid's hat that she got from the lost and found. Must retire immediately. I don't know who I feel sorry for. The kid who watched and said, hey, that's my teacher. Or the kid who watched and said, hey, that's my hat. Neural Someone must tell the man in this viral video who surprises his girlfriend with a marriage proposal and she's so overjoyed, she blurts out shut the fuck up. That as special as this moment is for both of you, it's probably not the last time you're going to hear shut the fuck up. No rule now that Cash Patel had someone make him a customized pair of Nikes featuring the FBI motto on the back, a Marvel Comics Punisher skull, a personalized Cash monogram on the tongue, and a number nine on the side. Because he's the ninth FBI director, someone has to tell him. This is making us miss the old days when the FBI director just wore a dress. And finally, new rule. You don't have to to react to everything or have a hot take on everything or care if someone says they don't like cats. You know, it wasn't that long ago when the most banal question you could ever ask someone was, are you a cat person or a dog person? Well, those innocent days are over as actors Paul Meskal and Jesse Buckley found out recently when they were asked that and said they don't like cats. And the Internet coughed up a few furball of rage. How dare they. They don't like cats, but I do. Then one of us must die. Jessie Buckley even said she made her husband give their cat away. So what? They gave it away. They didn't have it sewn into a coat.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

They're not,

[Bill Maher]

they're not trying to outlaw cats. They're not eating them like Haitians. They just said they don't like them. That's allowed. People are allowed to have an opinion you don't share without you reacting. It's just a cloud. Let it pass. But no, that's not how a certain kind of people these days think. For them, having a phone to post from is like hosting a one person episode of the View that never ends. Remember that the next time you read the words Twitter reacts or backlash erupts or Internet explodes. The Internet didn't explode. Some Gen Z loser at the Daily Beast and some right wing shit poster exploded. No one else cared. The media would have you think that we're all at each other's throats all the time, but it's actually just a tiny minority who are on and in media and social media and who just want to fight and bitch about everything, leaving the false impression that America is hopelessly divided. But most people aren't hopelessly. They're hopelessly trapped in a minivan telling the kid shut up. I can't hear myself think. Twitter X now only has 1 out of 10Americans visit it daily. 80% of us don't even have it. Sure, it has 500 million posts every day, but half of them come from the owner. Turns out it really is like a town square. Specifically Times Square in the 70s. Dirty, sketchy, and mostly full of perverts and losers with nothing better to do. Yes, I'm looking at you, all the people who lost it because Timothee Chalamet said no one cares about opera and ballet, which prompted so many who have never been to the ballet or opera with no plans to go to rise up and say, I have a dog in this fight. Me, I don't. I went to the ballet once and I loved it because in the age of anxiety we live in, it was so great to get that kind of really deep, deep sleep. Where you. You just wake up so refreshed. I kid ballet, and I'm sure it's a great place to meet anorexics. But most people are watching Dancing with the Stars. That's why tonight I am asking the American Psychiatric association to add a new disorder to the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders Terminally Online disease. TOD or Todd. People experi. People experiencing Todd feel intense emotional distress from spending all day doom scrolling on their phone. And these people need your help. Because Todd doesn't just affect those who suffer from it. It also affects their families and loved ones who aren't terminally online. These are the ones we call people who have shit to do. And unlike people who suffer from Todd, people who have shit to do don't imagine that expressing an opinion on everything makes them the solution to America's problems. Now, here's how you know I like you. Here's how you know if you suffer from Todd, if the daily outrage cycle becomes your entire personality personality. And you scroll all day to find the outrage, then screenshot the thread, then post the screenshot with the caption this. Okay, people with real lives don't do this because they've got shit. They haven't pored over every email in the Epstein files because they have their own mail to sort through. Like the electric bill and the gas bill. Right now, right now, there's a big fight going on between Megyn Kelly and Ben Shapiro about Candace Owens. And as it plays out, it's very important to remember that the most common reaction to it from Americans is, I don't know who any of these people are, and I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. During most primetime nights, less than 1% of the country is watching Fox News, CNN, and MSNow combined. Combined, a guy On TikTok Pressure washing his driveway gets bigger ratings. 76% of Americans watch less than one hour of any cable news in a month. You thought opera was getting its ass kicked. If you ask most Americans what their opinion of Tulsi Gabbard is, their answer is going to be, what's a Tulsi Gabbard? They don't care that Bad Bunny sang in Spanish at the super bowl. And they're completely unaware that they're supposed to be boycotting Target or Chick Fil? A. Here's the criteria they use when deciding where to go for chicken. How's the chicken? They don't know who Stephen Miller is. They don't to want about the gay hockey player. And if they had to guess, they'd say Ms. Now is a multiple sclerosis charity. And Fox and Friends is a children's cartoon show. Their lives don't revolve around having a hot take on every stupid thing. Katy Perry went to space and now she's the worst person on earth. Pineapple doesn't belong on pizza. You know what? You're arguing about these things. Here's the hottest take of all. Who gives a shit? Here's my take. Eat some fruit. If God wanted us to have an opinion on everything, he wouldn't have given us the shrug emoji. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I want to thank Paul Begola, Representative Parole, Arnold Paulina Luna and Tristan Harris. Club random drops Every Monday on YouTube. Listen, remember to get your podcast no go watch every time on YouTube. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

[Representative Anna Paulina Luna]

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.