Ep. #727: Gov. Wes Moore, Chris Cuomo, Sarah Isgur

Summary

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Real Time with Bill Maher – Episode #727 (April 25, 2026)

Guests: Gov. Wes Moore, Chris Cuomo, Sarah Isgur
Theme: Navigating Political Dysfunction, Party Identity, and Institutional Challenges in America

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Episode Overview

This lively, issue-packed episode centers on the state of American political parties, the health of its democracy, and the ways in which legacy institutions—Congress, the courts, and the media—cope (or fail to cope) with an era of polarization, populism, and institutional decay. Governor Wes Moore is featured in a focused, wide-ranging one-on-one with Maher, before panelists Chris Cuomo (NewsNation, The Chris Cuomo Project) and Sarah Isgur (Editor at The Dispatch, SCOTUSblog, author of "Last Branch Standing") join to hash out topics including Trump’s influence, the Supreme Court’s limits, gerrymandering, and the emergence of independents.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Monologue and Satirical News Recap

[01:25 – 07:51] | Bill Maher

• Maher opens with scathing humor on U.S.–Iran tensions, economic sanctions, the Trump administration’s erratic approach to foreign policy, and rising costs of consumer goods (“condoms are now very scarce and very expensive...we’re changing the name from Operation Epic Fury to the Trojan War”).
• He riffs on the chaos and idiosyncrasies of Trumpworld, including firings, allegations of drinking among cabinet officials, and public scandals.

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2. Gov. Wes Moore: The Party System, Policy Urgency, and Governing in Crisis

[07:52 – 19:23] | Moore & Maher

Is Moore Running for President?

• Maher teases Moore about being a guest in California:

  “You must be running for president.”
  [08:00]

  • Moore laughs it off:

    “No, I am not.”
    [08:02]

Maryland Under Assault

• Moore outlines Maryland’s vulnerability due to mass firings of federal workers by Trump and J.D. Vance:

  “I’ve had over 31,000 people fired in the past year...people who have the audacity of doing things like making sure our food is safe or making sure that our planes are not colliding.”
  [08:35]

The Democrats & Delivering Results

• On potential Democratic midterm success, Moore urges:

  “We've actually got to figure out what is pushed forward actually look like, what does it mean to actually create a society that people can actually root for.”
  [10:26]

• Insists the focus must be on practical results, not just congressional maneuvering.

Party Ideology and Independence

• Maher asks about Moore’s political lineage; Moore emphasizes public-serving over party-serving:

  “The Democratic party didn’t choose me. When I ran for governor, the Democratic party put millions of dollars to try to stop me. It just happened the people of Maryland had a different point of view.”
  [13:26]

Policy Examples—Childcare, Housing, Consumer Protection

• Largest childcare scholarship investment in the nation
• Using state-owned land for affordable housing
• Maryland bans price gouging and pricing data manipulation by supermarkets

  “We made Maryland the first state in the country that now bans price gouging and price manipulation.”
  [12:32]

Education Reform

• Removed degree requirements for state jobs, quadrupled slots in apprenticeships/trade programs:

  “If you tell a fish that the definition of genius is climbing a tree, then that fish will always feel like it’s insufficient.”
  [15:54]

The “Culturally Normal” Debate

• Responding to Gavin Newsom’s claim Democrats must be “more culturally normal:”

  “Democrats don’t have a messaging problem. We have a results problem...Donald Trump was a fantastic vessel for frustration...He’s just not a vehicle for the solution.”
  [16:25] – [17:04]

Primary System Dysfunction

• Moore critiques closed primaries and the exclusion of independents:

  “The whole idea of a closed primary system is one that has to be reevaluated. Because if you believe in democracy, then let people's voices be heard and don’t make them have to affiliate with the political party.”
  [18:32]

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3. Panel Discussion: Trump, the Courts, and the Lawfare Battlefield

[19:23 – 29:24] | Cuomo, Isger, Moore, Maher

DOJ and the ‘Blocking of Trump’

• Maher and Isger detail DOJ attempts to pursue political grievances—against Fed chair Powell, James Comey, etc.—and how courts have blocked many of Trump’s actions.

  “The Supreme Court...they blocked him on alien enemies for immigration. They blocked him on federalizing the National Guard...they’re going to block him on birthright citizenship.” — Bill Maher [21:30]

But Political/Normative Damage Persists

• Isger underlines legal blocks can’t prevent all damage:

  “He may lose legally and still win politically, culturally, normatively. That’s not good.” [22:31]

• Sarah Isger calls out Trump’s unique willingness to try “obscure, absurd bullshit” and laments the normalization of ‘using power to punish political enemies’.

  “He’s doing more of it than ever.” [25:45]

Law, Courts & Last Branch Standing

• Isger (plugging her book) expands on why so much now rests on the Supreme Court:

  “It used to be Supreme Court would say yes or no and then Congress could just pass a law the next day. None of us believe that we have the power to amend the Constitution anymore...Congress isn’t doing anything anymore.” [28:15]

• Maher: “The justices, I think, go by their gut, they go by what they believe and then they find a reason in one of those law books. It’s very much like the Bible. You can find anything you want in the Bible.” [27:00]

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4. Culture, Religion, and Public Spaces

[29:24 – 32:31] | All

• Lively back-and-forth on the push to install the Ten Commandments in Texas schools, with Maher highlighting the irony of both left and right pushing for cultural indoctrination.

• Isger notes the hypocrisy of politicians pushing religious symbols without living the values they represent:

  “Show us how you live. Don’t just say what you want us to think about you. And for Paxton to say, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna put the Ten Commandments in,’ when he clearly only knows, like, two of them in terms of his own life.” [30:29]

• Maher humorously highlights how the Ten Commandments are fundamentally Jewish.

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5. Trumpworld ‘Boozy’ Administration Satire

[32:31 – 38:05] | Bill, Cuomo, Isger, Moore

• Maher satirizes the prevalence of rumors/allegations of drinking and wild behavior in the Trump administration (“If cabinet meetings begin at five o’clock somewhere...If you appear on Face the Nation with a dick drawn on your forehead, too boozy!”).
• Isger reframes her concerns:

  “Do I care if he drinks or not? No. Do I care that you put somebody who is selling conspiracies about Epstein into the highest position of power, the DOJ? Yeah, that bothers me.” [34:10]

• Maher skewers the rubbery moral standards within leadership circles.

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6. Gerrymandering: The Race to the Bottom

[38:05 – 41:28] | All

• Maher rails against both parties for escalating gerrymandering, zeroes in on recent events in Virginia; Isger explains how gerrymandering’s ‘race to the bottom’ can inadvertently create more competitive districts in wave elections.
• Isger:

  “In order to gerrymander this hard in all of these states, you actually do have to make the districts more competitive...In a wave election, the water would swamp you out.” [39:27]

• Overall, the panel agrees that much of the infighting is about controlling a branch (Congress) that now rarely performs meaningful legislative work.

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7. Rise of Independents & Decline of Party Power

[41:28 – 42:17] | Isger, Maher

• Isger notes:

  “Independent is the fastest growing part of the electorate for a reason, which is they hate the parties. And the more people are anti-party, the better a chance we have that anything gets better.” [41:28]

• Maher, echoing Isger, laments that campaign finance reforms inadvertently destroyed party discipline and policy coherence:

  “I loved not having political parties until I saw the result now. And I’m like, this isn’t better.” [42:17]

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8. Celebrity Influencers, The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and Media as "The Club"

[42:17 – 47:32] | All

• Maher and Isger marvel at the oddity of Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan serving as “bellwethers” for American politics.
• On Trump attending the Correspondent’s Dinner:

  “Now he’s going to get a chance to say all sorts of insulting things to the president just like any one of his press conferences.” — Maher [44:35]

• Isger:

  “You’ll see that all these people who are there who are saying, you know, they are not real journalists and this isn’t real one, they’re all getting along. It’s a club. And once you understand that, you realize why things don’t change.” [46:14]

• Isger jokes about not attending the “nerd prom.”

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9. Optimism & The Role of Human Connection

[47:32] | Sarah Isger

• Concludes with praise for the Supreme Court’s tradition of seeing each other as humans, a hopeful model for public discourse:

  “They actually spend time together. They have lunch three, four times a week...This is a good thing for people to actually have to see each other as humans.” [46:49]

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10. New Rules and Closing Monologue: The American Economy and Social Welfare

[47:32 – 53:30] | Bill Maher

• Maher’s "New Rules" bit and final commentary focuses on tax burdens, the persistent plight of the working poor, and the political futility of simply taxing the rich.
• Critiques both parties for failing to deliver effective social safety nets and allowing ever-widening inequality:

  “How can you be soaking the rich and failing the poor so badly? So badly that on 60 Minutes last week, they were redoing the story they did 18 years ago...about Remote Area Medical...now we're one of those countries.” [52:10]

• Calls for billionaire-driven philanthropy to address what government bureaucracy cannot.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Wes Moore on the Democratic Party:

  “We have to stop being the party of no and slow and start being the party of yes and now.” (13:26)

• Sarah Isger on lawfare:

  “He may lose legally and still win politically, culturally, normatively. That’s not good.” (22:31)

• Bill Maher on Congress:

  “Why are we fighting over Congress? What's the... that's hysterical. That's a great take on that.” (38:54)

• Maher on American inequality:

  “Are we really this incompetent and corrupt?...somehow the ultra rich keep getting ultra richer while a growing percentage is feeling truly desperate. You just wouldn't know it because everyone on TV is rich.” (53:03)

• Sarah Isger on manufactured division:

  “Trump hates you...until he doesn't. And he's going to go there and he's going to get laughs, and you'll see that all these people who are there...they're all getting along. It's a club. And once you understand that, you realize why things don't change.” (46:14)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:25 — Maher’s opening monologue and weekly satirical news
• 07:52 — Wes Moore interview: party, policy, urgency, the Democrats’ identity crisis
• 15:58 — On making education reform more inclusive and less degree-centric
• 18:32 — The failings of the closed primary system and the rise of independents
• 21:30 — Panel discussion: Courts blocking Trump, legal vs. cultural wins
• 28:15 — The Supreme Court’s centrality due to congressional gridlock
• 30:29 — Religion and hypocrisy in public policy (Ten Commandments in schools)
• 32:31 — Satirizing allegations of a "boozy" Trump administration
• 38:05 — Gerrymandering: from bipartisan failure to race-to-the-bottom
• 41:28 — Explosion of political independents and party collapse
• 42:17 — The role and weirdness of political influencers (Rogan/Carlson/Owens)
• 44:35 — Trump, the Correspondents’ Dinner, and media hypocrisy
• 46:49 — Supreme Court, human connection, possible optimism
• 47:32 – 53:30 — “New Rules”: Monologue on taxes, social safety net failures, and the “Billionaire Challenge”

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Tone & Language

• Energetic, irreverent, direct, and sometimes profane—typical of both Maher’s humor and the lively, battle-of-wits panel format.
• Guests combine reasoned argumentation (Moore’s policy focus, Isger’s legal expertise) with playful banter and sharp, unsparing observations.

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For the Listener

This episode is a fast-moving, candid debate filled with trenchant criticism, biting satire, and a palpable frustration at America’s political and institutional dysfunction. If you haven't listened, the summary captures not just the arguments, but the episode’s sharp wit, urgency, and the sometimes bleak, sometimes hopeful appraisal of the national mood.

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Transcript

[Bill Maher]

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Welcome to an hbo podcast from the hbo late night series real time with bill maher.

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Thank you, people. Great to see you. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. All right. Please, you're making me blush. Thank you so much. I know you're so glad you're in a good mood. Thank you very much. Thank you. I know why you're happy today, because Trump said today we will not be using nuclear weapons in Iran. I didn't know that was on the table, but okay, let's. Oh, great. Oh, this Iran, it's a little. It's gotten a little Groundhog Day, isn't it? It's always kind of the same story every week. We're seizing their boats, they're seizing our boats. It's less like a war and more like a Florida divorce. It's. No, It's kind of become a war of, you block me. No, I block you. Straight or Hormuz. You think you can fuck it up or we could fuck it up. That's our plan now, is to win slowly by destroying their economy. Hopefully their economy. Yeah. It was Earth Day this week, but we found out we still use a lot of oil. Nobody could afford gas. This week, Tiger woods crashed his bicycle. Wow, that is a. Eric Swalwell has been turning off the engine of the car. When he gets blown. Now he just. Really still some residual affection for Eric Swalwell. Wow. Okay. But, you know, it's not just gas. You know, it turns out everything is made of petroleum products. Did you see this week, condoms. Who knew? Condoms. Condoms. Yes. They're getting trapped in the straight o' Hormuz. So condoms are now very scarce and very expensive. More bad news for Mike Vrabel. No, the condoms situation is so serious that we are changing the name from Operation Epic Fury to the Trojan War. And yet. And yet lately, Trump on the war has been so chill. Have you noticed that? I know it's not like him to veer erratically, but, you know, a couple of weeks ago, it was, if you don't do what he would say today, I'm going to destroy your civilization, bomb the shit out of you. You think your pencils and dolls are expensive. Whoa. And now it's like, is it really a war? It's more of a situation, really, I think. And the problem is, he keeps saying, we won, and we didn't. We didn't. Hormuz is not open. The people did not do an uprising. The regime is still in place. We did not win. Sorry. And in social media, he keeps rubbing their noses in the victory we don't have. Every day. Every day, he tweets out stuff that's inflammatory and contradictory. All these bullshit claims. I gotta say, you can say what you want about his negotiating tactics. One tactic you can't get him on is the silent treatment. Turns out the one thing we are really good at is killing their leaders who are too stupid to go underground when we're trying to kill them. That's what we're. The current ayatollah, who's the son of the old ayatollah, Turns out he's very gravely wounded. He was badly burned, can hardly speak when he sentences people to death, now he has to do it with a look. Very sad. Oh, and in the middle of this war, here's big news. Pete Hegseth fired a white guy. Yeah. The Secretary of the Navy. And, wow, this guy must have done some bad shit. That doesn't happen a lot with Pete Hegseth, but it was either a war crime or knowing that administration. There was a picture of him with huge fake balloon tits. It's one of the two. Oh, there's a. There's a lot of talk this week about drinking in the Trump administration, which is ironic, as Trump is a complete teetotaler. But, you know Pete Hegseth, There was some rumors about him. Head of the FBI, Cash Patel. He is suing the Atlantic. He denies it, but they wrote an article saying he drinks too much. The labor secretary this week resigned amid allegations that she drinks too much on the job, that she had an affair with her security guy and was, you know, going on trips. And I think it's true that she might be a bit of a party girl. Well, because she once said, as labor secretary, my first priority is to improve twerking conditions. An indication, I think. And. And here's exciting news. The Michael Jack opens today, Showings are 7, 9, and 11, just like the victims. All right, we've got a great show. We have. Sarah Isger and Chris Cuomo are here. But first up, he is a bestselling author and a U.S. army veteran, and he currently serves as the 63rd governor of Maryland. Governor Wes Moore. Governor, how are you? Good to see you again. See you again.

[Wes Moore]

Hey, guys.

[Bill Maher]

All right. Look good. You're loved here in California.

[Wes Moore]

It's nice out here.

[Bill Maher]

You're in California. You're on real time. You must be running for president. No, I am not. No, no. It's so funny because, you know, the GOP is, like, historically unpopular now, and yet every week I have people on this show. Josh Shapiro, Alyssa Slotkin, you know, you. Gavin Newsom is here next week. Andy Beshear. No one's running. No one's running. You'd think it would be a great opportunity. No one wants. Maybe I should do it because no one wants to do it. I don't understand why don't.

[Wes Moore]

Well, no, listen, I think I've always said, you know, everybody can do what they want, but my thing is this, is that my state is under assault right now. You know, I've had over 31,000 people fired in the past year by Donald Trump and J.D. vance, federal workers.

[Bill Maher]

And that's because a lot of federal workers live in Maryland.

[Wes Moore]

Because a lot of them live in Maryland.

[Bill Maher]

The federal government is there.

[Wes Moore]

Yeah. And people who have the audacity of doing things like making sure our food is safe or making sure that our planes are not colliding or giving veterans like myself, making sure they can get the medication that they need. And those are the people who Donald Trump and J.D. vance went after first. So my point is this. You know, our battle is now. Our battle is now.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I mean, I do think the midterms are going to be a blowout. I think the Democrats are going to. Are going to just clean up. I mean, I guess the question is, how do you think they're going to blow it?

[Wes Moore]

Well,

[Bill Maher]

I mean, no, I don't think they can blow it. I'm not worried about that.

[Wes Moore]

But my point is, what does that mean? Right? I mean, like, listen, I think it's very important that the Democrats can win Congress, but what then are we going to do? Because we have to be very clear. And I take this from a very personal perspective where, I mean, I don't come from a political family. You know, I come from a family, frankly, who's used to suffering the consequences of policies and not used to Making them. And when you ask many members of my family about bad policies that we've had to deal with my entire life, they couldn't tell you if a Democrat was the author or Republican was the author. They just know it was just a stupid policy. And so I just think that we need to make sure that we have to be able to control what in many ways is just a completely lawless federal administration right now. However.

[Bill Maher]

However,

[Wes Moore]

our job, our job just can't be to. Now we can push back. We've actually got to figure out what is pushed forward actually look like, what does it mean to actually create a society that people can actually root for it? What does it mean to make sure that you can have childcare that people can afford and making sure that people can get back to the workforce without wondering, are my kids gonna be okay? What does it mean to make sure that we can have safe streets in our neighborhoods? So, like, if the goal of all of this in November is to say, yes, we can now, you know, do subpoenas against the president, then frankly, I think the American people are gonna look at us and say, that's not enough.

[Bill Maher]

What policies are you talking about? You say that hurt you? Yeah. Which one? Because I. I mean, Obamacare, that helped. That didn't hurt, right?

[Wes Moore]

Correct.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. Medicare, Social Security, I mean, that's going back a ways, but 1964, Civil Rights act, the Voting Rights Act, I mean, even the EPA creation of the. I mean, these are policies the government created.

[Wes Moore]

Correct.

[Bill Maher]

Mostly by Democrats, not all. What are you talking about?

[Wes Moore]

So I'm talking about, like, for example, if you look at what we're doing inside of the state of Maryland, it's just simply saying, are you going to do what you say you're going to do? So, for example, in my state, when I said we are going to make sure we're going to invest in childcare because it is ridiculous that you have parents that are trying to figure out, can I go back to the workforce or can I make sure my kids are going to be okay? And so that's why in Maryland, we made the largest investments in childcare scholarships in the United States of America.

[Bill Maher]

Right? To get people back to work.

[Wes Moore]

When we said that we're going to invest in housing and because housing is too expensive all over this country and in the state of Maryland, and I said, well, you know what? Who's the largest landowner in the state of Maryland? Guess what? It's the state of Maryland. So I said, then, you know what? We're going to take a Look at all available state owned land and land that is near transit, near trains, near buses. I want access to all that land. And we are going to build affordable housing on that land to get more housing for people. So this is about what are we doing to be able to push back, to make sure we're going out to these corporations in these supermarkets who are price gouging people when they walk into supermarkets. We made Maryland the first state in the country that now bans price gouging and price manipulation. So when you go into a supermarket, they can use your data against you when you go to the checkout counter.

[Bill Maher]

So you'd rather do that than what they're doing in New York, which is city run. I mean, that's what. Mayor. What? I see you laugh.

[Wes Moore]

Yeah. No, no, no.

[Bill Maher]

And I say good laugh because that's ridiculous. But that's what they're doing. I mean, that's. And of course, you know, we find out now that the stuff, the supermarkets that are around the areas where the city plans to put their supermarket are very pissed off because they're like, well, of course, how are we going to compete? But, you know, Mayor Mondame, that's extreme socialism, some would say communism, but. So you're not for that? Because I feel like the Democratic Party has two wings now. One would be Democratic socialists. That's the term they use. Montambi is one. Bernie Sanders. I mean, there are several others. Aoc, Right. And then there's what I would call Democratic. Classic. Which are you?

[Wes Moore]

Well, I'm gonna be very honest. I mean, like when I. The Democratic Party didn't choose me, right. When I ran for governor, the Democratic Party put millions of dollars to try to stop me. It just happened. The people of Maryland had a different point of view. And the people of Maryland made me the governor, but no party boss and no party made me the governor. And. And I like that, because there is no. I honestly believe if you just swallow a party ideology, you're probably not thinking hard enough. And I don't care what party that you talk to, but what I want to do, but when I talk about what are the things that we've got to make sure we're focusing on, you know, when it comes to. When it comes to us. I believe that oftentimes the Democratic Party is this, you know, we have to stop being the party of no and slow and start being the party of yes and now.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Wes Moore]

Start being the party that actually moves to address with the kind of urgency that people are requesting. If I'm telling you that, listen, I, the school that my kids are attending is not preparing them for college or career. I don't want to hear you tell me. And that's why I'm going to do a six year study on it.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, but you mentioned scholarships before. And I mean this is something Democrats, they are the party of education. That is their portfolio. So they should either own it for good or bad.

[Wes Moore]

Absolutely.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, but like in Pennsylvania, Governor Shapiro not running for president, he's eliminated the need for a degree, a college to do.

[Wes Moore]

I've done that too.

[Bill Maher]

You have done that too. So you're on that page.

[Wes Moore]

Yeah, because, I mean, because listen, we have eliminated this idea that somehow how we should be grading for our high schools is based on your four year college acceptance rate. Because that's not the right, that's an indicator. But that's not something that we should be looking at. So we've actually quadrupled the amount of slots in trade programs and apprenticeship programs for our young people so that we believe in our four year colleges and we invest in them. But if someone doesn't want to go to a four year college, we still need to make sure they have a path for long term economic success and economic mobility. And so we have allowed, we've allowed these four year colleges to be able to dominate the, this conversation as if they are the end all and be all. And frankly, I mean, I think Einstein, I think was the one who said it, that if you tell a fish that the definition of a genius is of genius is climbing a tree, then that fish will always feel like it's insufficient. We need to make sure that all of our young people understand that there is a place for them and there's a place for their long term success regardless of what academic pathway they choose to go down.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, so. Governor Newsom here, I think he's on our show next week, also not running for president. Completely not running for president. He said if the Democrats want to win again, they have to be. His quote was more culturally normal. How do you interpret that statement? And would you agree with that?

[Wes Moore]

Listen, I don't. What I would say is this, is that, that the Democrats don't have a messaging problem. We have a results problem. There's a results problem when we are turning around and not producing the kind of results with the kind of speed that is necessary and required. And you know who exploited that beautifully? Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump. Donald Trump was a fantastic vessel for the frustration. Right. He points things out like nobody else's business. He's just not a vehicle for the solution. Donald Trump was the one who was pointing out, you know what, we've done all this work around electric vehicles and all this kind of thing and passed a big bill around it. And do you know how many electric charging stations we had by December of 2024? 37. He pointed that out. He pointed out the fact that we are now still watching inflation continue to rise. Now he's done nothing but watch inflation rise under him as well. But again, he was a fantastic vessel for the frustration. I have an honest belief and I think about it again with my own family. I joined the army when I was 17 years old. And there's a philosophy we turned that we learned when I was 17. Leave no one behind. I think if the Democratic Party continue to embrace this idea of leave no one behind and making sure we can move with a speed and urgency that people don't feel like they're being left behind, then we're not going to have an electoral problem again. And you've actually just fixed your messaging problem by actually addressing with real results

[Bill Maher]

that people don't you think the Democrats have a problem with their primaries? I mean, everybody does because it only encourages the far extreme wing of the party. That's true of the Republicans. True. I mean, if you were to run for president, I'm not saying you are, of course, but you would have to get through the primary process. Now, we talked about this when we had lunch at my friend's and I said, I think you're a great one to do it in the Democratic Party because you wear the magic armor. It's just the truth that a black candidate can say things and has permission to be more centrist in the Democratic Party than a white candidate. Would you agree with that?

[Wes Moore]

I think that the closed primary process has run its course, you know, Cuz I think the problem is the fastest growing political party in this country right now is independents. It's people who are saying, I do not affiliate with Democrats and I do not affiliate with Republicans. Here's the problem. Independents cannot vote until November. Their voice cannot be heard. And when you're looking at the massive gerrymandering that's taking place, for example, in the Congress where over 92% of these congressional districts, they're even 92% are not competitive by November, it doesn't matter. And so if that's the system that we have, you have a system where more and more people are disenfranchised, more and more people are taken out of the process. And so I Think the whole idea of a closed primary system is one that has to be reevaluated. Because if you believe in democracy, then let people's voices be heard and don't make them have to affiliate with the political party.

[Bill Maher]

All right. Well, you're good at this. I never got you down. You never got me down. Right. Governor Westmore, I'll see you after the show. And you're coming back for overtime. Great. I'll see you again. All right. Thank you. Let's meet our panel. Couldn't get him down. All right. He hosts the Chris Cuomo Project podcast on the fastest growing cable news show. Cuomo on News Nation. Chris Cuomo is here with us. Okay. She's the editor of the Dispatcher's SCOTUS blog, whose new book is called Last Branch Standing, Sarah Isger. Sarah, great to have you back. Okay. Take a break from the war this week, shall we? It does seem to be just Groundhog Day. So this is the big story today. The Justice Department is dropping its criminal investigation of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Now, this gets to something I want to ask you about because you have this theory that, you know, we're actually blocking Trump more than people say. And I've read that, too. Now, the Fed chair, the Fed is. Is that monetary policy or fiscal policy? Right. One of them is. Okay, we're all stumped on that.

[Sarah Isger]

I was just letting you go. It's monetary policy.

[Bill Maher]

Monetary, okay. They're two different things. But it's important. And these are one of those norms we never used to fuck with. But of course, Trump fucks with every norm, so. And Jerome Powell, he's the chairman of the Fed, and he did not do what Trump wanted. And Trump has one speed when you defy him publicly at least, which is, I'm going to kill you. So he went after. Listen to this. He went after Jerome Powell. You know what for Redecorating. I'm not joking. They were building a new headquarters and there were cost overruns like Trump would not know about cost overruns in building. So he had his attack dog, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney there now go after him. The judge said essentially zero evidence in this case, but it does bring up this point. You know, is Trump being blocked more? I mean, you say it's the court, the Supreme Court is doing it, right?

Yeah. Legally, he's being blocked at every turn. The Supreme Court has blocked him on alien enemies for immigration. They blocked him on federalizing the National Guard in Chicago. They blocked him on tariffs. They're definitely going to block him on birthright citizenship. The reason that mail in voting is that going to mail in voting is coming. Although that at least is a statutory question for Congress in theory. The question of whether someone can apply for asylum at the southern border, though, that's an executive action. Lisa Cook is still a governor on the Federal Reserve because the Supreme Court blocked President Trump's ability to remove her. But, and this is where I think you and I might agree, the Supreme Court, the lower courts can block Trump every which way. All these indictments against James Comey or law firms or universities, but there is a political cost. There is still the fact that then people are afraid of being sued, people are afraid of being indicted, and it changes their behavior. So he may lose legally and still win politically, culturally, normatively. That's not good.

No, he. Yeah, Yeah, I know this personally.

[Wes Moore]

Okay.

[Bill Maher]

You know, I mean, a lot of us in the media do.

[Sarah Isger]

The club you never wanted to join.

[Bill Maher]

No.

[Sarah Isger]

Is the. What's it like to be targeted by the President of the United States?

[Bill Maher]

It's okay.

I don't know. It's kind of a fun.

I'd rather be engaged than just not engaged at all. I think as long as he. Cause he has said once, and I think he's right about these. He said, what people don't get about me is I have no permanent enemies. Like, one day you're out, next day you're in, next day, it's like it never happened. I'd rather have it that way and talk to him and keep the dialogue going because, you know, I've said many times, I think we need more people like me talking to him. You know, You can hyperventilate all you want about what he does is wrong. I agree. It should not be a government by. People are saying he should be home reading the briefing books like Obama did, but that's not going to happen. It is a government by people are saying. Be one of the people saying.

I would just like. Yes, I'm glad you're talking to him. I agree with your point. Although the problem is when you have a president who is talking to someone like you, he's also talking to Laura Loomer. And if I have to pick, I'd rather take both of you off the map.

Never been compared to her. Why me? Why would you take me off the map?

[Sarah Isger]

Not me, Bill. I'll take you off.

[Bill Maher]

What about me should be compared to Laura Loomer?

I'm saying we get the sane ones and we get the insane ones.

[Sarah Isger]

You lost him with the Loomer things.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, it really lost me there.

[Sarah Isger]

It's all right.

[Bill Maher]

I'll show myself.

[Sarah Isger]

You'll be back.

[Bill Maher]

You'll be back.

[Sarah Isger]

You can work yourself back in. I've been where you are right now. It's a little cold, but it'll get better.

[Bill Maher]

So what is the scorecard on backing drug? Because a lot of people would say the Supreme Court, when they ruled that he had, what was it, complete immunity to do whatever he wanted. What was the. What was the. Okay, the absolute immunity for. Yes, Absolute immunity for actions that relate to core or exclusive presidential powers. That does seem sweeping.

[Sarah Isger]

No, look, one shameless plug. Sarah's book is really good. The Last Branch Standing about what the Supreme Court is supposed to be about. They are in a jam now because the answer to your question about whether they're checking Trump more is they have to. He is doing more obscure, absurd bullshit as President of the United States than we have ever seen before. We have never had a president even think about, you know what I'm going to do? Let me just sign this right now and change the Constitution. Nobody has ever been ignorant and arrogant enough to try something like that. That I'm going to change birthright citizenship. I don't think that's the way it works for us anymore. They have to check them. The problem is, I feel bad for the people who voted for him because they were right to want to see the lawfare stop. They were right to want to see it stop. You should not use your power to punish your political enemies. And we saw way too much of it. Problem is he's doing more of it than ever. And for the doj, which, you know, Sarah was the voice of the doj. Glad you're not right now, by the way. You know, may help the book sales, but you know that they usually, if you hear, God forbid, they're looking at you, Bill, you better call everybody you know, because you got problems. But now they lose cases. They have like a 97% conviction rate. He's bringing it down. Why? BS cases that are just political payback. James Comey. That was embarrassing. What they just did with Powell was embarrassing. And they're losing what they're doing with the Southern Poverty Law Center. People really are going to believe that they created the kkk.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, so we agreed that he is being. He is being blocked. I always said the thing that was just the biggest thing for me. He doesn't concede elections. If you don't have elections, if you don't have the peaceful transfer of power, you don't have the country.

Another time the court blocked him unanimously on what, after 2020.

[Sarah Isger]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

He appealed and appealed to try to every Federalist Society judge said no. And the Supreme Court unanimous, like, get out of here.

[Sarah Isger]

Good.

[Bill Maher]

But I mean, Judge, I mean, he's very mad at his own justices now. He said this week certain Republican judges have gone weak, stupid and bad.

He uses all the big words.

I gotta get him if it's.

[Sarah Isger]

He knows all the words.

[Bill Maher]

I do.

[Sarah Isger]

He knows all the words. All the best words he knows.

[Bill Maher]

My 5 year old knows them.

But you know, I've always thought, I mean, look, justices, whatever judge you are, I mean, there's a whole big wall of law books behind you. I don't think they really go to the idea of what is the actual lawsuit. They go by their gut, they go by what they believe and then they find a reason in one of those law books. It's very much like the Bible. You can find anything you want in the Bible. And by the way, they're doing a Bible reading this week, the whole country, for our 205th anniversary, because we're a Christian nation. Not really, but that's what they think. They're all reading the Bible. Like Trump is taking a paragraph or something and they're all, or whatever it is in the Bible, a passage in

[Sarah Isger]

Texas, they're putting the Ten Commandments back in school.

[Bill Maher]

The Ten Commandments are back in the school. And the fifth Circuit judge in Texas said this is. Okay, where you're on that.

Yeah, I clerked on the fifth Circuit for the judge who wrote that. So look, this is actually another interesting part because have I got a book for you, Bill, to read. I think you'll really like it.

[Sarah Isger]

What's it called?

[Bill Maher]

Last Branch Standing Class. Thank you for asking that. So this narrative that the court is so conservative.

[Wes Moore]

Right.

[Bill Maher]

And it's just controlled by Trump. The 9th Circuit used to be the court that was overturned the most. That was the liberal 9th Circuit where we are now California and the West. That's not the court being overturned the most by the Supreme Court anymore. It's the fifth Circuit because of cases like this Ten Commandments case. And if you really want to look at what the court is doing these days and why it is, you know, so much part of our conversation why I can write a book about it, it's because Congress isn't doing anything anymore. So it used to be the Supreme Court would say yes or no and then Congress could just pass a law the next day. None of us believe that they will do that. None of us believe that we have the power to amend the Constitution anymore. So we keep looking to the Supreme Court to be the last word on things, when in fact it was supposed to be part of this dialogue. They're not politically accountable. And so the pressure builds because we feel like we can't be. They don't answer to us. They're not supposed to. They're counter majoritarian. They're supposed to tell all of us to go buzz off like they did in Brown versus Board of Education, in West Virginia versus Barnett. Their worst decisions are the ones where they went with the majority. In Dred Scott, in Plessy, in Korematsu. Buck v. Bell's my favorite. The eugenicist case, if you haven't.

We don't all know those just by the name, by the way.

I mean, it's a reading list.

We get it, we get it. You're the expert. By the way, Laura Loomer sued me and I won this week. Oh, man, I can't. I talk before I'm not. No commentary. That's just a fact. Okay, let me go back to the Ten Commandments just a little bit, because it seems such a clear case that you shouldn't have the Ten Commandments in a school. The school is just for learning. It should be. Now, obviously the left has. Has fucked that up too. I mean, there's lots of leftist indoctrination in schools, so both sides, but this one seems very clear. I'd also like to ask all the anti Semites out there who seem to populate both the left and the right, who love the Ten Commandments so much, Are you aware that this is a complete Jewy thing, the Ten Commandments? It's. Well, it is, it's. I mean, it was written many, many years before Christ came along. It's just Jews talking to Jews about Jews.

Chosen people conversation.

Chosen people.

[Sarah Isger]

Look, okay, I think that you get it in the picture of the guy who's fighting to put them in the school is a guy who has some of the ugliest allegations against him of immorality. And what we don't want to do with all these people of faith in our society, which is great, depending on how you use it, it live. The Ten Commandments. Show us how you live. Don't just say what you want us to think about you. And for Paxton to say, yeah, I'm gonna put the Ten Commandments in, when he clearly only knows, like, two of them in terms of his own life. What is the message for people you

[Bill Maher]

Know all those kindergartners committing adultery? Really, if they had it up there, maybe they wouldn't do it.

[Sarah Isger]

Yes, coveting is a big word in lower school these days, you know, Covet, coveted. The kids are crazy about it.

[Bill Maher]

K Pop Demon Hunters, Paja Boy's Breakfast Meal and Hunt Tricks Meal have just dropped at McDonald's.

[Sarah Isger]

They're calling this a battle for the fans.

[Bill Maher]

What do you say to that, Rumi? It's not a battle. So glad the Saja boys could take breakfast and give our meal the rest of the day.

[Wes Moore]

It is an honor to share.

[Bill Maher]

No, it's our honor.

[Sarah Isger]

It is our larger honor.

[Bill Maher]

No, really, stop. You can really feel the respect and this battle. Pick a meal to pick a side.

And participate in McDonald's while supplies last.

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All right, well, before we lose track of time, I did want to congratulate Trump on one thing this week. To smoke pot. I gotta say, all of us pot smokers have been asking somebody to make marijuana less criminalized.

[Sarah Isger]

He's got to help with hemp. Hopefully he does.

[Bill Maher]

Well, good luck trying to get high on hemp.

[Sarah Isger]

Some people use it for other things, but I take it for it's only

[Bill Maher]

useful for other things. It is a biological cousin of the stuff I smoke.

[Sarah Isger]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

It is not something you can smoke. It should never have been illegal in the first place.

[Sarah Isger]

Yeah, okay.

[Bill Maher]

But it brings me to the bigger story that, you know, Trump is a teetotaler. He really does not like liquor because I think he lost his brother to alcoholism. Okay. But it turns out that that administration does not follow the leader of the leader, the boss on this one. I mean, this week we found out the big story. Kash Patel is suing the Atlantic because they wrote this story. And he denies it, of course, but they say, you know, he sometimes didn't show up at work because he's too much the night before. And then there's. Oh, there's that picture. Yeah. I mean, we have. I mean. But you know what? That doesn't say anything. I don't believe it. Just because the Atlantic said it, it might be true. And so they got a picture of him with a bottle in his mouth. We've all had a bottle in our

[Sarah Isger]

mouth when we were babies.

[Bill Maher]

You've never had a beer in your mouth, Chris.

[Sarah Isger]

Yeah, but I've never.

[Bill Maher]

So many people.

[Sarah Isger]

I don't drink. Okay?

[Wes Moore]

And.

[Sarah Isger]

And you don't have to worry about it. And then he's literally downing the whole thing.

[Bill Maher]

Take a break. But does that really. See, this is just the.

[Sarah Isger]

Look, do I care if he drinks or not? No. Do I care that you put somebody who is selling conspiracies about Epstein into the highest position of power, the doj? Yeah, that bothers me.

[Bill Maher]

All right.

[Wes Moore]

That bothers me.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, but all. All right. So the point is, it is kind of a boozy administration because I remember Jeanine Pirro, who's now the U.S. attorney. I remember when she was on Fox News, that was always the talk about her again. I don't know if it's true or not. And then there's the labor secretary. She quit this week because apparently, the same kind of rumors. And of course, there was always Pete Hegseth. I mean, those pictures I would agree with. We don't know. But we thought we, as a psa, because we're always trying to do service to this country, we would want to put a little guideline to know if you are part of a too boozy administration. Would you like to see if you. These are just some of the ways you can tell. For example, if among all your colleagues, no one can remember who ordered the attack on Venezuela. If cabinet meetings begin at five o' clock somewhere. If RFK asked if you'd like to see a dead raccoon penis and you said yes. If you got arrested because you were climbing on the ballroom control construction equipment in the middle of the night. Yes, definitely a sign. Oh, here's one. You keep slurring your ethnic slurs. If everybody does a shot every time the straight of Hormuz opens back up, that's kind of understandable. That one. If. When you tell a Senate panel, I don't recall. You actually don't recall, You appear on Face the Nation with a dick drawn on your forehead. Too boozy. If you wake up on the couch And Lindsey Graham is making waffles in a bathroom. That is definitely a sign. I mean, I'm just. It's a public service, people. And if everyone keeps asking him, do you think Hunter Biden left any more cocaine lying around? Okay, so. All right, now let's talk about the big political bombshell that happened this week, which was the state of Virginia. They gerrymandered the fuck out of the state. And I hate to sound like a five year old, but Trump started it. He did. I mean, now it's out of control, but that's just the fact he started it. He encouraged Texas to do this where they. And I thought, like I had Eric Holder on like not that many a couple of years ago. And it was like, we're going to fix gerrymandering. We're going to stop it. Because, you know, gerrymandering is just not fair. Both sides do it. And then Trump just, of course, worse. Had to make it worse. So now Virginia, it looks like it's going to be only the suburbs. We were talking to the governor of Maryland there. Only his people, his constituents in that area. Those are the suburbs around D.C. that's part of Virginia. And they're all, mostly they do work in the government. That's why so many government workers got fired. So many people in Maryland got fired because they're government workers. They're going to gerrymander the states of the country. Almost all the votes are coming from there. And the rest of the state's a big state full of hicks. And I say that in a. Not in a mean way. Hicks don't have to be stupid. You're a hick.

Okay, I live in Virginia.

Yeah, but rural people. Oh, you do? Yeah, one of that other part. Which part do you live in?

I live right on the hick to Democrat line.

Okay, But this is just a race to the bottom, is it not? Because now, I mean, California has done it, Illinois has done it, Maryland has done it. We're just gonna get. It was like the last pillar of somewhat a resemblance of democracy that we didn't fully do this and now we're just gonna do it. Or every state is just rigged. Rigged.

Okay, on the one hand, I think it's really funny to fight over which party should control a branch of government that doesn't do anything anymore. Like, why are we fighting over Congress? What's the.

That's hysterical. That's a great take on that.

But okay, like, that's a fun, you know, tug of war Team Jersey thing to play. Virginia used to Have a bipartisan, nonpartisan redistricting commission. So we're actually getting worse. But here's the good news. In order to gerrymander this hard in all of these states, you actually do have to make the districts more competitive. So in a wave election like what we're planning to have this fall, where Democrats will take.

What do you mean, make it more competitive?

Well, this district gets gerrymandered to make sure that Democrats can win. But instead of winning some seats by, you know, 80%, now they can only win them by 54%, 55%.

Oh, I see. Right.

So in a wave election, the water would swamp you out. So Texas, my home state. Trump pressured them into doing it. Like you said, they started this. They're actually quite likely to lose many of the seats they gerrymandered. If the Democratic wave gets high enough, they will be underwater. And in a year where there's a Republican wave, these Virginia seats will actually be lost by Democrats. So, like, maybe again, I don't know what we're fighting over again. A branch that, like, sits on Instagram and, like, takes pictures of themselves and says, send me $5. So glad one party controlled that.

[Wes Moore]

Phew.

[Bill Maher]

Well. Oh, come on. If the Democrats have the kind of success a lot of us think they're going to have in the midterms, you don't think that's going to make a difference? You don't think that's going to be different? If the Democrats control all the committees

in that Congress, they will not pass so much more. Not passing of legislation. You're right. Wow. They'll do oversight, and they'll have hearings where they do more Instagram reels to raise more money. They're not gonna actually use the power of the purse, pass legislation. They might impeach someone. They're certainly not gonna convict them in the Senate. So it'll be another great.

That's the one thing they can't do, is impeach. You're right. That needs six months. They can't impeach.

[Sarah Isger]

They cannot remove. That's the problem.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, well, nobody cares about that.

[Sarah Isger]

Well, but I'll tell you, when you care is when you see six months of your life vanish because you're watching that process unfold, and you know how it's gonna end when you've been through it twice before, and they're doing it for the same reason they do the gerrymandering, which is all that matters to these people now is the retention of their own power. And I think the reason it's important this is happening is for people to see what the governor was talking to you about. Independent is the fastest growing part of the electorate for a reason, which is they hate the parties. And the more people are anti party, the better a chance we have that anything gets better.

[Bill Maher]

Although on the flip side, I mean, Chris and I were talking about this. On the flip side, the reason. So independents now are more than Republican or Democrats. For the first time in American history, more people don't identify with a political party. I would argue it's because we don't have political parties anymore. We got rid of them with campaign finance reform in 2002, which sounded like a good idea, but it means there is no one keeping all of the, you know, inmates in the asylum anymore. The parties have no carrots, no sticks to keep these people in line. No policy agenda. There's no policy platform for either party. Donald Trump defeated the Republican Party before he defeated the Democratic Party in 2016. That's because we don't have political parties. And I loved not having political parties until I saw the result now. And I'm like, this isn't better.

But all his original fans are turning on him. Have you seen that? I mean, this week, Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson both renounced the leader as Candace Owens did it. Alex Jones, all the people, all people

I look to for advice.

[Sarah Isger]

No, no, look, I respect how seriously you're laying this out. I do, I do. But just think about what it says about where we are, that we are in a place where we are looking at Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan as bellwethers of our political status. You know, like, wow, Rogan, what am I gonna do now that he's not with Trump? It's like we are in mouth breather land in terms of how we formulate our positions. It's like, oh, Tucker Carlson, he got attacked by a demon last week in his bedroom. But now he's seen the light about Trump. I don't know how to feel. You know, it's a weird place.

[Bill Maher]

We're in a weird place we're going.

[Sarah Isger]

It's a weird. I never thought I would say that. Wow. Tucker Carlson.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah.

[Sarah Isger]

Trump's gonna have a problem. He's gonna have a problem keeping the faithful in there. He's got Joe Rogan, you know, the psychedelics, you know, thank God he had that, otherwise he would have lost him completely.

[Bill Maher]

Well, I think there's a difference between Joe Rogan and Candace Owens and Alex Jones. I do. I think there's a bit of a Difference.

I hope so.

Well, I don't know. He's apparently going to the Trump is the Correspondent Dinner this year. I'm very interested to see what this is going to look like because, you know, the Correspondents Dinner, I think I did it one year. They used to have comedians, by the way. I said, because I got shit about it. Everybody, every comedian gets shit about it. It's the worst gig in the world because half the people in the audience are Republican, half of the Democrats. You can insult anybody about what they say. So they always, I said, just get a magician. Just get somebody who doesn't do political. They're always trying to get the political and it's like the worst. They now they got a mentalist. So they can have a mentalist and a mental patient there. No, I kid, I joke with the president. But you know, the president traditionally, I mean, this is why Trump, a lot of people say this is why he ran for president in the first place, because he was at the one where Obama just tore him a new asshole from the podium. And now he's going to get a chance to say all sorts of insulting things to the president just like any one of his press conferences. So there's not really that different.

I agreed to do this show so I could avoid that dinner tomorrow night. So thank you so much.

Oh, really? Yeah.

That's the reason I'm here.

[Sarah Isger]

I wasn't invited. No, I was, but I wouldn't have gone if they had invite me. I want you to know that right now.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Sarah Isger]

I would have said no. And I'm going to give that tuxedo back right away. Blue.

[Bill Maher]

But he, I mean, it's kind of interesting because, you know, when I look at the list of Paramount, which now apparently owns me, paid 16 million to settle a lawsuit. You know, this is the media that he's talking to here over the 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Disney, one of my other old sponsors that fired me, once agreed to pay 16 million over, over the George Stephanopoulos interview. I mean, they famously took Jimmy Kimmel off the air for a while. I mean, it's a little awkward, him speaking to the people who he also calls the enemy of the American people. He literally calls them the enemy, which I find to be. I mean, I would be personally affronted by it. But, you know, he does that to everybody. But it is the fourth estate. I mean, when you take on the press like that, I think you are flirting with something that really knocks out one of the pillars of what we love about this Country.

[Sarah Isger]

Well, look, I think that we all get it. We just don't know how anything gets better anymore. And I don't have any problem with nerd prom. You know, I. I get that people like to get dressed up. They like to go.

[Bill Maher]

Is that what you call it? Nerd problem?

[Sarah Isger]

That's.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, everybody.

[Sarah Isger]

Everybody calls it people.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, but we've always called it.

[Sarah Isger]

It's the nerd prom. And that's great. That's great. Well, I wasn't invited. You know, I'm too. So you know what I think you'll see there also, Bill, is how manufactured. This is the division is manufactured. Trump hates you, as you said, until he doesn't. And he's going to go there and he's going to get laughs, and you'll see that all these people who are there who are saying, you know, they are not real journalists and this isn't real one, they're all getting along. It's a club. And once you understand that, you realize why things don't change.

[Bill Maher]

Really? You think that's.

I'm glad there's a club. I mean, again, to bring this back to the Supreme Court a little. That's the branch that is functioning. That's the branch that gets along. They actually spend time together. They have lunch three, four times a week after they have oral argument where they are not allowed to talk about work. They have to talk about sports or what their kids are majoring in. Amy Coney Barrett loves binge watching slow horses. She was super pumped about the new season. Like, this is a good thing for people to actually have to say, see each other as humans. And I hope that's what happens at the White House Correspondents Dinner. I read that reality TV viewership is plummeting, and I think politics is downstream from culture, and I hope we are turning the ship slowly away from reality politics.

All right, let's end on that positive note. All right, thank you. And you're both beautiful people. It's time for new rules, everybody. New rules. Okay, okay, new rule. Don't make your babies spout your political opinions for you. You don't know what that kid believes. He looks pretty MAGA to me. I say to babies what right wingers say to athletes. Shut up and dribble. Neural. If you complain about Columbus Day because it ignores the fact that he killed Indians, and you complain about President's Day because it ignores the fact that Washington owned slaves, then you can't happily go see a movie where Michael Jackson doesn't sleep with kids, Which is the movie that's out now, where we just hear about the fun things Michael did. It's playing on a double bill with Jeffrey Epstein, super host extraordinaire, and John Wayne Gacy. Thanks for the laugh, Neural. Now that Red Lobster is reviving its endless shrimp deal two years after they stopped doing it because it had led to an $11 million loss, they must tell us, how can this work financially? Unless you're planning to sell some outdated stash of frozen shrimp that you've had on ice since 2009. Oh, I see. Nero. Let's all give President Trump credit where credit is due for forcing Iran to call off their scheduled execution of these women protesters. It was the right thing to do, and it sends a powerful message to the world. If you're a woman in Iran and you look hot, at least an eight. America has your back. Shopping in the grocery store has to stop making me feel like I'm flirting with statutory rape. What's with very young small sweet peas and tater Tots and baby carrots and extra virgin olive oil? Chief, If I wanted to feel this pervy, I'll go see the Michael Jackson movie. And finally, new rules. Someone has to explain the American economy to me. I know I've said this before. I still don't get it. Last week was tax day, and as usual, because HBO is so generous, and I'm sure so will be the new owners I paid to the government, if you add in state tax, local sales, property fees, Obamacare, probably almost 60% of what I earn. That's a lot. And I still wouldn't mind if Bernie Sanders would stop saying the rich don't pay taxes. Taxes. And while I'm sure the super rich with their army of accountants and corporate loopholes get away with murder, us regular rich people pay a shit ton of taxes. And who stands up and gives us a pat on the back? Nobody, that's who. The top 10% pay 72% of all federal income taxes and the bottom half, 3%. The Democratic Socialists talk about socialism like we don't already have a lot. Social Security, unemployment, Medicare, nutritional assistance, Medicaid, Obamacare, disability housing subsidies. Again, not against it. Just the same question. How can you be soaking the rich and failing the poor so badly? So badly that on 60 Minutes last week, they were redoing the story they did 18 years ago about Remote Area Medical. That is the program modeled after medical teams that drop into the poorest countries in the world for a few days to set up a tent where people with no access to health care can get some. And now we're one of those countries. Doctors within borders. How can it be that the federal government alone took in over 5 trillion in taxes last year and we still need that? Are we really this incompetent and corrupt? Don't answer that. Whatever it is, somehow the ultra rich keep getting ultra richer while a growing percentage is feeling truly desperate. You just wouldn't know it because everyone on TV is rich. Reality tv, rich women, day drinking, drama. Rich women whose friend got murdered. Comedy rich men shouting into cell phones. But these are the people with all the money. Get this. The richest 1/10 now does half of all the spending. Somehow we created an economy where the number of households worth $20 million or more is 644,000. Wow, that's a lot of people with $20 million. And all of them are looking for agirlfriend on Sugarbabies.com.

[Wes Moore]

yeah,

[Bill Maher]

Corporations go where the money is. Las Vegas used to be the town of $8, all you can eat buffets and hotels where every room was $29. No, not anymore. Go fuck yourself. We don't want you. Their business model now is they only want the high rollers. Are you a whale? No. Then float yourself back out to sea. Who that is not rich could afford a concert now? Woodstock was free. Now if you want to see Morgan Wallen, you have to take out a second mortgage on your trailer. I kid the Hicks. I love the Hicks. Disneyland. For a family of four to spend the weekend between the cost of the ticket plus lodging, airfare, rental cars, souvenirs, food, we're talking 10 grand to afford that the average dad would have to be cooking meth on the side. The Disneyland's staff manual used to read. We roll out the red carpet for the Jones family from Joliet, just as we would for the Eisenhowers from Palm Springs. No, you don't. Because the Eisenhowers from Palm Springs can buy a Lightning Lane Premier pass that lets you skip the lines. The Jones family can suck my dick. And Mickey could give a rat's ass. Because that's what our economy has become. In 1992, a Lego speedboat toy set costs $299. Today Lego sells Titanic for $680. It's an educational toy because you learn it sucks to be poor. And nowhere is that more true than when it's comes to health care. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure can buy healthiness. Half the country can buy access to concierge doctors, specialists, new treatments, personal trainers, nutritionists, private chefs and whatever Gwyneth Paltrow is putting in her vagina. And the other half has the place I was just talking about. Remote Area Medical. The pop up health care clinic that rolls into town once a year like a county fair, except instead of riding the tilt a whirl, a volunteer doctor pulls your infected tooth. And the saddest thing in the 60 minutes piece is that nothing has changed since they covered it in 2008. Same line of cars parked overnight so people make sure to get seen. Same people who work two jobs but still can't afford to see a doctor unless a touring nonprofit sets up shop in a parking lot. But here's the truth. You're not going to get health care to these people by threatening to tax and eat the rich you raise. Billionaires taxes. They just leave the state or they leave the country or in some cases the planet. I kid Elon, but you know he had a good idea recently that might be apropos here. During the recent government shutdown, he volunteered to pay all the TSA workers himself. You know, with couch money. That's how super rich or super rich are. They can single handedly government programs. Okay, so let's make that a thing. The Adopt a cause challenge for billionaires. Teachers who buy school supplies with their own money or people without homes or disaster victims. Whatever it is, make the rich folks competitive about solving it because that's all they care about anyway. Beating each other. Yeah, just skip the middleman. The government and the health care bureaucracies that for whatever reason, no matter how much they take in, never seem to get enough to the people and just shame the billionaires into doing it directly because they have all the money. And noblesse oblige isn't just the name of a cologne. All right, thank you very much. That's our show. I want to thank Chris Cuomo, Sarah Isger, Governor, Westmore Club random drops every Monday on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcast now go watch Overtime on YouTube. Thank you very much everybody. I appreciate it. Thank you.

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