Overtime – Episode #674: Tim Alberta, Laura Coates, Buck Sexton

Summary

Real Time with Bill Maher: Detailed Episode Summary
Episode #674: Tim Alberta, Laura Coates, Buck Sexton
Release Date: October 15, 2024

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Introduction

In Episode #674 of HBO’s "Real Time with Bill Maher," host Bill Maher engages in a spirited discussion with panelists Tim Alberta, Laura Coates, and Buck Sexton. The conversation delves into the intricacies of the upcoming election, exploring themes of political strategy, media bias, and the evolving dynamics within the Democratic and Republican parties.

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1. Obama’s Comments and Black Male Voter Reluctance

The episode opens with a discussion on former President Barack Obama’s recent comments urging black men to overcome their reluctance to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. Buck Sexton addresses the potential effectiveness of Obama’s approach:

• Buck Sexton [01:33]: "I think Wall Street Journal and the New York Times poll most recently has overall black support for Trump, over 20%, by the way."

Bill Maher probes further into the masculinity factor influencing Trump’s appeal:

• Tim Alberta [02:46]: "Machismo."

Buck elaborates on Trump’s appeal, highlighting his success and charismatic persona:

• Buck Sexton [02:51]: "I mean, he's a baller, success, alpha dog, the whole thing. That is the appeal."

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2. Trump’s Appeal and Minority Support

The panelists explore why Donald Trump continues to garner support among certain minority groups despite traditional Democratic allegiance. Laura Coates suggests that Democrats are increasingly anxious about their standing:

• Laura Coates [02:05]: "I think people are criticizing Obama because there are, there is blame to go around for why people choose not to support a particular candidate. It might be sexism, it might be racism."

Buck Sexton counters by questioning the Democrats' understanding of Trump’s consistent appeal:

• Buck Sexton [03:07]: "We didn't even talk about law fair today. We didn't even talk about law fair."

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3. Allegations Against Trump and Lawfare

A significant portion delves into the allegations surrounding Donald Trump and the concept of "lawfare." Buck Sexton argues that Trump is being unfairly targeted with legal actions for political gain:

• Buck Sexton [09:52]: "Well, all of a sudden, he's never committed a felony and then... he is being got politically targeted."

Tim Alberta adds that ongoing investigations are part of a broader strategy to undermine Trump before the election:

• Tim Alberta [07:57]: "I can guarantee you that there are investigative teams at the Times, in the Post and elsewhere that are."

Laura Coates emphasizes the importance of due process, cautioning against premature conclusions:

• Laura Coates [07:21]: "I think it is fair to investigate and look into matters that involve allegations of assault or otherwise. I think that's fair to do."

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4. Treatment of Hunter Biden and Double Standards

The conversation shifts to comparisons between the legal scrutiny faced by Donald Trump and Hunter Biden. Buck Sexton highlights perceived double standards in media and legal treatment:

• Buck Sexton [09:17]: "There were mountains of evidence against Hunter Biden... but he was Joe Biden's son. No, he stood trial."

He further criticizes the timing of indictments against Trump, suggesting they are politically motivated:

• Buck Sexton [10:16]: "The whole thing was meant to kneecap him before he could actually get to election Day."

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5. January 6th Riot and Its Context

Bill Maher raises concerns about the long-term impact of the January 6th riot, focusing on Trump's refusal to concede the election:

• Bill Maher [16:17]: "He still has not conceded that election. And you are fomenting something in this country that is unprecedented."

Buck Sexton attempts to contextualize the event within broader political unrest:

• Buck Sexton [15:31]: "January 6th is held in a context. First of all, I condemn January 6th as it happened every day since it's happened."

Laura Coates maintains that while the events are serious, due process must be upheld:

• Laura Coates [18:40]: "You are saying all these different aspects... you have to address before you go out and just say this is all happening."

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6. Media Bias and Reporting

The panel discusses perceived media biases in reporting on Democratic and Republican figures. Buck Sexton criticizes the media for inconsistent standards:

• Buck Sexton [08:01]: "They Daily Mail reported on that based on interviews that his law for people who worked at his law firm. So again, these are allegations."

Laura Coates defends the media’s cautious approach, emphasizing the need for substantiated reporting:

• Laura Coates [18:40]: "Duress is actually a legal term... you have to give information to people and you have to actually do your homework and background."

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7. Potential Consequences of a Trump Presidency

The discussion turns to the implications if Donald Trump were to win the presidency again. Buck Sexton reassures that Trump’s return would not spell doom for the country:

• Buck Sexton [13:48]: "But he's not going to destroy the country."

Conversely, Bill Maher expresses skepticism about Trump’s stability and potential threat to democracy:

• Bill Maher [13:30]: "He is too erratic. There's just no way you can say he's not going to do this or not going to do that."

Tim Alberta questions what constitutes "destroying the country," highlighting the importance of peaceful transitions of power:

• Tim Alberta [13:38]: "What's your definition of destroying the country? Is it sabotaging the peaceful transition of power?"

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8. Broader Discussion on the Political Landscape

The panelists examine the current political climate, emphasizing the deep divisions and strategic maneuvers by both parties leading up to the election. Buck Sexton criticizes Democratic strategies, suggesting they are reactive and struggling to define their stance:

• Buck Sexton [04:30]: "The Democratic Party. It is possible that Kamala Harris just is not good at this."

Laura Coates reiterates the need for balanced discourse and caution against conflating unrelated issues:

• Laura Coates [19:32]: "You are saying all these different aspects... you have to address before you go out and just say this is all happening."

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Conclusion

Episode #674 of "Real Time with Bill Maher" offers a robust examination of the upcoming election’s complexities, focusing on the interplay between political strategies, media narratives, and legal battles. The panelists present divergent perspectives on Donald Trump’s influence, the Democratic Party's challenges, and the broader implications for American democracy. Through their dynamic exchange, listeners gain insight into the multifaceted nature of contemporary U.S. politics.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Buck Sexton [01:33]: "I think Wall Street Journal and the New York Times poll most recently has overall black support for Trump, over 20%, by the way."

• Tim Alberta [02:46]: "Machismo."

• Laura Coates [02:05]: "I think people are criticizing Obama because there are, there is blame to go around for why people choose not to support a particular candidate. It might be sexism, it might be racism."

• Buck Sexton [09:17]: "There were mountains of evidence against Hunter Biden... but he was Joe Biden's son. No, he stood trial."

• Bill Maher [16:17]: "He still has not conceded that election. And you are fomenting something in this country that is unprecedented."

• Laura Coates [19:32]: "You are saying all these different aspects... you have to address before you go out and just say this is all happening."

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This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions from Episode #674 of "Real Time with Bill Maher," providing a valuable overview for those who have not listened to the full episode.

Transcript

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[Bill Maher]

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

[Buck Sexton]

All right, here we are, a staff.

[Bill Maher]

Writer at the Atlantic whose latest book is called the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory. Tim Alberta, she is CNN's chief legal analyst who anchors Laura Coates live on CNN. Laura Coates, and he hosts the nationally syndicated radio program the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Buck Sexton, all right. Okay. Here are the questions from the people. What did you think of Obama's comments on the campaign trail that black men should get over their reluctance to vote for Kamala? Will that be effective? Yeah, he was pretty scoldy. You don't usually see him like that. You usually see him kind of take this opposite end.

[Buck Sexton]

I think Wall Street Journal and the New York Times poll most recently has overall black support for Trump, over 20%, by the way. I think it might even.

[Bill Maher]

That's just men.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm sorry, men. But we're speaking about the Obama speaking to the issue of black men and their support of Kamala Harris. So Trump is making inroads with that demographic voting wise.

[Bill Maher]

He oddly does better each time with immigrants, minority groups. People have called the people who you.

[Buck Sexton]

Maybe it's not so odd.

[Laura Coates]

I mean, it tells me that the Democrats are a little bit nervous.

[Bill Maher]

Right. When you're losing four to one, you're still losing badly.

[Laura Coates]

You are.

[Bill Maher]

Come on. It just relatively.

[Laura Coates]

Yeah, I mean, I mean, Democrats seem, perhaps there's anxiety, but there's also the realization that I think people are criticizing Obama because there are, there is blame to go around for why people choose not to support a particular candidate. It might be sexism, it might be racism. It might be other factors as well. So I think to single out a particular group has ruffled some feathers. Having said that, if you're part of the group that believes you should not vote for someone on account of those factors, then perhaps the scolding could be doled out more diplomatically, but you should hear it as well.

[Bill Maher]

But what is the attraction to Obama?

[Laura Coates]

I can. Well, hold on.

[Bill Maher]

No, no, no. To Trump.

[Tim Alberta]

Machismo.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. Thank you. Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, he's a baller, success, alpha dog, the whole thing. That is the appeal. And I mean, every time people have this, it's like the guy who doesn't. He's a billionaire. He's a global celebrity. He's been president. Mary Garcino, model.

[Tim Alberta]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

Like, I don't know. Democrats need to stop thinking that this is some big shock.

[Bill Maher]

Who doesn't want to commit crimes and not go to jail?

[Buck Sexton]

We didn't even talk about law fair today. We didn't even talk about law fair.

[Laura Coates]

But you do realize, just think about where we are as a society, that the criteria for being the president of the United States, where we dare to say the leader of the free world, our president, is somebody that you are drawn to simply because of bravado, not because of policy, not because what they can do for you, not just your neighbor, what they can do for you and beyond, that's really what. That's a devolution of what we think about. In terms of what question.

[Buck Sexton]

Can I just. On the sexism, racism thing, which we're gonna start hearing a lot as the polls get worse for Kamala. The Democrat Party overwhelmed Democratic Party. I'm sorry, sorry. Democratic.

[Bill Maher]

I don't know why that's such a burn.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't know. It's not a burn. I just.

[Bill Maher]

All Republicans do that. I don't know why they think that's such a burn.

[Buck Sexton]

Democrat. I've never heard anyone who cared about it before. This is the first time.

[Laura Coates]

Really?

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Really?

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Tim Alberta]

It just seems so Your listeners haven't.

[Buck Sexton]

I would like maybe a few here and there, but it's kind of a potato, potato situation.

[Bill Maher]

I know, but it just seems.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't get it. Okay, but can I.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, of course.

[Buck Sexton]

The point I was trying to make is the Democrat part. It is possible. Sorry, The Democratic Party. It is possible that Kamala Harris just is not good at this. And Democrats recognize that in 2012. And to say racism, sexism right now after the performance she's put on is just preposterous.

[Bill Maher]

And many people are voting for the Republic Party for that reason.

[Buck Sexton]

But it's fine.

[Bill Maher]

What did you make of Melania's new book where she indicates that she is pro choice? I didn't read that about her book. I read a few things about her book. I don't know why she's putting out a book. I thought she was, like, super private.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't care what first ladies think about policy as a rule. Like, I don't. That doesn't. I mean. And I don't mean that. Democrat, Republican, first lady, very nice. Hope they do some good charity work. Or first husband, Doug Emhoff. No, it's true. They're not elected officials. I don't care what they think about it. Just because they're married to somebody who's been given a lot of power to represent people. So I would just say it doesn't matter to me.

[Bill Maher]

There's a lot of scuttlebutt in the news this week about Doug.

[Buck Sexton]

Believe all women, except when it comes to one who says that someone hit her across the face.

[Bill Maher]

Right. Well, of course, we don't know if that's true.

[Buck Sexton]

She says that it happened. I'm not saying that it happened. I'm just saying that the standard is to be. Believe all women.

[Bill Maher]

People don't know what is going on. The Daily Mail is reporting that three women that she talked to contemporaneously, which has been the standard very often in these cases, that she said back In, I think, 2011 or something, they were at the Cannes Film Festival, he slapped her. He thought she was flirting with the.

[Buck Sexton]

Valet, and he knocked up the nanny. Right. That's confirmed. That's confirmed.

[Bill Maher]

That's confirmed.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

He definitely knocked up the nanny.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes. That's, you know, I mean.

[Bill Maher]

But no, I don't know. Nobody ever knows.

[Buck Sexton]

Masculinity.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. What I'm saying is, if this becomes more credible and we don't know yet, I mean, a lot of the conservative outlets still aren't reporting it. So I wouldn't go after anybody for not reporting it yet, because these things have to be checked out. But if it becomes more credible, certainly on the level of Brett Kavanaugh, which was. That kind of thing was reported by everybody pretty quickly. Does the liberal media keep ignoring it? And wouldn't that.

[Buck Sexton]

Yes, they will, Absolutely.

[Laura Coates]

I don't think. No, I.

[Buck Sexton]

Wouldn't that make it.

[Bill Maher]

Wouldn't that make it look worse?

[Laura Coates]

Well, first of all, I think that. I mean, just to your point, yes, it is prudent to be cautious about any story that's reported until you have the supporting details so that the audience is able to effectively judge the veracity of a statement. I think it is fair to investigate and look into matters that involve allegations of assault or otherwise. I think that's fair to do. So what I don't think is fair is to and I'm consistent on this on all accounts is to tar and feather without more. I think you have to give information to people and you have to actually do your homework and background. I don't think by not reporting and I again, I'm not familiar with all of the allegations that are involved here, but I think it is appropriate to investigate as it is appropriate to be cautious before you simply put something into the ether that has substantiation.

[Bill Maher]

Just to be clear, though, yes.

[Tim Alberta]

Let me ask you, just politically speaking, this is a problem for the Harris campaign in large part because she is so ill defined. We see that in poll after poll after poll for months now. Right. Americans are trying to fill in the gaps around her, around her family. This is an issue for the campaign that they're going to have to deal with now in the last, you know, four or five weeks of the election. And I'm just saying regardless of whether more people come forward, regardless of what's confirmed or not confirmed, I think that there is now a little bit of blood in the water. The nanny thing was the first drop and now there's some more and it's not going to be long.

[Buck Sexton]

Now.

[Tim Alberta]

You can, I can guarantee you that there are investigative teams at the Times, in the Post and elsewhere that are.

[Buck Sexton]

Looking into the Daily Mail also had that he was basically the worst kind of office sexist predator guy. They Daily Mail reported on that based on interviews that his law for people who worked at his law firm. So again, these are allegations. I understand this. I do think it's very convenient that allegations, you know, demand more study, demand more evidence when it's really important for a Democrat that we don't all say, hold on a second, this guy seems like a huge jerk and he is being used as a surrogate on the campaign for masculinity and talking about how great things are.

[Bill Maher]

And he to be perspective here, he is not going to be president. And the guy on the Republic side who's running for president did these things himself again, I mean, certainly was accused by more. I mean there was so many women.

[Tim Alberta]

Who found guilty of.

[Laura Coates]

But yeah, you know, you know, he had in part at least in one instance talking about due process in a court of law. It was a civil matter in one instance, it was a criminal matter in another. And you have more pending. So it's not as if that only that grace, so to speak, is afforded to a Democrat that's part of what the process has been when you're looking at, as you call lawfare, of someone like Trump and many other Republicans and Democrats alike who have had accusations floated and have had to confront them.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I mean, for example, there were all. There was mountains of evidence against Hunter Biden. And we were told, hold on, hold on, hold on. I mean, the guy broke a whole bunch of different laws and actually should have gone to prison for a long time. But he was Joe Biden's son. No, he stood trial. No, he stood trial after the political pressure was ratcheted up so much when they had already let a number of the most serious crimes, including money laundering, lapse from the statute of limitations. So, but on the law, fair thing. I just. Because this is important. We didn't get to this at all today. What is more likely that Donald Trump went almost 80 years of his life never once having a criminal indictment because he's a guy who was president.

[Bill Maher]

Things change.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I mean, all of a sudden, he's never committed a felony and then.

[Bill Maher]

He becomes president and the circum. Circumstances are the same.

[Buck Sexton]

No, they were going after things that were long before he was president. But okay, fine, if you don't like, if you don't like that argument. There's one other argument. They held all of these charges until the election. It is clear manipulation. All the indictments, I mean, until the election. Of the charges.

[Bill Maher]

Except the dressing room. Right.

[Buck Sexton]

Which they extended the statute of limitations. And then she was funded. The whole thing was a hit.

[Bill Maher]

All the other ones have to do with. He was in office. He was the president.

[Buck Sexton]

He asked for civil trial for Trump. I mean, there was a civil thing with the Trump founding. There are so many that it's hard to know.

[Laura Coates]

But his investigations dealt with factual allegations that surrounded his tournament office and beyond. Yes, there is a reason he was never investigated for having interfered with the presidential election because he wasn't running.

[Tim Alberta]

You also can't have it both ways, because when the House moves to IMPEACH TRUMP On January 13, the cry from the right is, where's the due process? Why are you moving so fast? What's the deal? But then when Merrick Garland chooses to take his time and be deliberate in bringing these indictments, Republicans are saying, oh, you're dragging your feet now to wait until it's election season. So which is, I mean, I hope.

[Buck Sexton]

You do sports betting or something, because the idea, the idea that a number of these different cases, none of these, all of these charges involve conduct. That was what I mean. All of them. There's all these. Four different criminal cases at least four years ago. You're gonna tell me that all this had to wait until the election year to bring the charges? You're gonna tell me that Jack Smith. Jack Smith, for those who don't know, was moving at lightning speed with the help of Judge Tucson in D.C. they were moving. Ask any federal prosecutor, ask anybody who has actually looked at how long. I'm just talking about timelines, by the way. The whole thing was meant to kneecap him before he could actually get to election Day. And it was meant to destroy him for political reasons in an election year.

[Tim Alberta]

And yet it's only helped him.

[Bill Maher]

I know.

[Buck Sexton]

It is the biggest own goal the Democrats have ever had in their lives.

[Laura Coates]

Let's ask a federal prosecutor. One's here. One of the reasons why this was delayed, in part was not simply a matter of proactive or affirmative motions by the prosecution. There was a defense team in multiple different jurisdictions who were filing motions to then delay and ask for delays and delay after delay. If the calendar had been such that what the prosecution alone wanted, you would have had earlier resolution, at least in the form of trial, not necessarily a conviction. But he's filed motions to defend himself and that has also delayed the countdown.

[Buck Sexton]

I don't know. Hold on. There are four different criminal proceedings against Donald Trump. Okay, four of them, yeah. And there's New York, there's D.C. there's Atlanta, there's Florida. Florida's been tossed out, by the way. So that's what a great trial. That's what a great case that was.

[Bill Maher]

These were by a real Trumper of a judge.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I mean, but you know, but you can't have it both ways. I mean, Judge Chutney clearly hates Trump and was sending January 6, some of them nonviolent detainees into the prison system for like.

[Bill Maher]

Can I ask you a more philosophical question? Because there are people who are watching this, who I know people, because I live in Los Angeles and Hollywood and all that, and they will say, why are you even talking to him? And I just, I have no patience for people like this. They can kiss my ass. I will talk to you all day. First of all, half the country agrees with you. Are they all going to self deport if one of the.

[Buck Sexton]

No. And honestly, could I, first of all, thank you for that. And I just would add to it, like the people who are saying that he's Hitler and the country is going to end. It's not true. It's going to be be okay. He's Already been president. If he becomes president again, you'll probably have a Democrat who comes around in four years. It's not the end of the republic. Let's start placing the bet.

[Bill Maher]

It could.

[Buck Sexton]

You want to win this? You know what I mean, on this one. I know you got a bankroll, buddy. You know, we can start. You know what I mean? I hear stories.

[Bill Maher]

I do. I do. That's my meds. Okay. No. Well, first of all, he could. Absolutely. He's too erratic. There's just no way you can say he's not going to do this or not going to do that.

[Buck Sexton]

But he's not going to destroy the country.

[Bill Maher]

My biggest.

[Buck Sexton]

He's going to do a great job, actually. But you don't agree with me on that.

[Tim Alberta]

What's your definition of destroying the country? Is Sabbath sabotaging the peaceful transition of power? The hallmark of American democracy is sabotaging that not in service of destroying the country? I mean, how else would you define it?

[Buck Sexton]

Joe Biden became president and has had four years and the country has marched on and everything has been fine. And the January 6th, which we didn't talk about. I know there's a lot of things to talk about, but, you know, there's a part of this that's left out. You know, I do have a lot of Democrat friends and Democrat people that I talk to. I know this is. I have co hosted. I have co hosted. I'm going to throw them under the bus. I have co hosted shows with Mark Lamont Hill.

[Bill Maher]

I've co hosted.

[Buck Sexton]

No, but I, I was going to.

[Bill Maher]

Say something nice about you, but. No, I was just going to say no. Look, these people who don't want me to talk and they don't want to. They don't want you to talk to anybody who they don't already agree with, who isn't on this side. And first of all, you have done more for this country than I have, than all of those people have. And I appreciate it.

[Buck Sexton]

Thank you very much.

[Bill Maher]

Anyone who fought for this country.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, CIA, but I tried to help out.

[Bill Maher]

CIA is pretty rough.

[Buck Sexton]

We do lose people. It's a real thing.

[Bill Maher]

It's not the pta.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, it is not pta, but thank you for that.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, absolutely.

[Laura Coates]

The frustration people have, though, to be fair, is not your mere presence, which is not, I'm sorry to say, though.

[Buck Sexton]

But I just wanted like one minute of like.

[Laura Coates]

Oh, only because he. This is part of the frustration. Tim asked you a question. You didn't answer it.

[Buck Sexton]

I was about to, actually.

[Laura Coates]

No, no, no, I mean, I can't. That was the frustration. He asked you what was your definition of destroying the country? Is there a certain standard?

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, that's a pretty broad question, to be fair.

[Bill Maher]

I mean.

[Laura Coates]

Well, welcome to the land abroad.

[Buck Sexton]

Right.

[Laura Coates]

And that's a frustration.

[Buck Sexton]

Sorry, Bill. What I was going to say is that January 6th is held in a context. First of all, I condemn January 6th as it happened every day since it's happened. The people who broke laws and hurt people and committed federal crimes should pay the price for that. I've never waived from. That's absolutely the case. Should he? I don't believe Donald Trump broke any laws. What is the law that Donald Trump broke? And by the way, whenever I say this to people, they look at me and they say, that's a problem, perhaps, with the law.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, But I mean, and I'm not even talking about January 6th itself. To me, that was never. That's a bit of a red herring. The thing that he did so wrong is the thing he still does every day. He still has not conceded that election. He did not concede that election. And you are. You are fomenting something in this country that is unprecedented.

[Buck Sexton]

So here's the context, and this is where I'm trying, I swear I'm trying to come around to your point, and that is that the 2020 election cannot be taken out of the. Out of the context of a 2016 election. That Hillary, at different times, absolutely did not concede that some of my, unfortunately, former bosses in the intelligence community working with the Democrat Party, decided to bring this absurd. The Russia collusion investigation was insane. Nothing came out of this. There were no charges out of this. The whole thing was a scam. And Hillary didn't accept that she had lost the election in the early days afterwards.

[Tim Alberta]

Now, except she showed up to the inauguration.

[Buck Sexton]

No, she showed up. The inauguration, I wish, up that night.

[Bill Maher]

Before the cop crowed, she conceded.

[Buck Sexton]

But there was also, in 2020, reference, in 2020, there is a. I got your boy in there in 2020. January 6th was a riot. Riots are bad. Riots are illegal. That should not happen. It came after months of riots that were effectively a Democrat mobilization of the BLM Party. Well, I mean, I lived on my. I was on my block and people came around and they shattered all the windows. They stole stuff and, yeah, this is for social justice. And then there were people who were boarding up their stores because they were afraid that if Donald Trump won that election, then in cities across America, there would be rioting. So the election was effectively held. Under a degree of duress to begin with. And Democrats were all in favor of the riots. Not only in favor of the riots that were going on, but we had the public health experts during COVID saying, oh, it's so important that we had these lunatics running around breaking things and lighting them on fire that all of a sudden the public gathering statutes or the public gathering bans don't matter.

[Laura Coates]

I mean, when are these experts you're talking about?

[Buck Sexton]

This absolutely happened. I mean, any of you can go check it. Mayor Bill de Blasio said it. I mean, this. Absolutely.

[Laura Coates]

It was one of the things that's exhausting, frankly, is that. And this is real, is that over talking does not make your argument more persuasive. That's what's happening here, Bucks.

[Buck Sexton]

I'm not over talking anybody.

[Laura Coates]

I'm letting everyone talk. Yeah, no, you're absolutely not over talking right now. Exactly. That was sarcasm. Oh, no, no, no. My response, you weren't over talking me with sarcasm. My point is this. You are saying all these different aspects of it, of how, you know, you're conflating January 6th with BLM with health experts, and you actually just said that the election was held under duress.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Laura Coates]

In what specific ways was the election held under duress? Because people were concerned about the trajectory of America and they felt that they had to turn out. Duress is actually a legal term, and you know this quite well in terms of how it would be used from your background in the CIA and otherwise, to suggest that our democracy, that people were turning out simply because they were under duress. That's the kind of fomenting of dishonesty that makes people, A, feel very disenchanted with the entire process, B, make them frustrated by the lunacy of simply bald assertions with no substantiation, and C, wonderful where you're getting your information from. All of those are valid points that you have to address before you go out and just say this is all happening and everyone sees it when everyone does not see what you're seeing.

[Buck Sexton]

So I may respond. What you said ignored everything that I said before you started talking, which is that there were riots all through the summer of 2020 and there were business owners who were. And there are photos of this. You can see this. This is very obvious. This isn't like I'm coming up some conspiracy that were boarding up their businesses. Cuz God forbid, if Donald Trump wins. There was psychic damage done to the American people by a combination of the COVID hysteria, which it was hysteria in A lot of context, by the way. We don't have time to get into everything Covid here right now. Schools should have been. Schools absolutely should have been open. The mask mandates were bullshit. The lockdowns were absolutely pointless. This was all total garbage. Beyond that, there was a sense that the left gets to riot and Kamala Harris raises money for them when they're supposed to get out on bail in Minnesota. They burned down Minneapolis. Why, by the way? I'm sorry, I'm not clear on what.

[Tim Alberta]

Any of this has to do with sabotaging the transition of power. How did we get to this point?

[Buck Sexton]

We just changed.

[Tim Alberta]

We just changed.

[Buck Sexton]

I was talking about the election.

[Tim Alberta]

I'm talking about the election.

[Buck Sexton]

You're talking about what happened on January 6th. I'm talking about what happened leading up to November.

[Tim Alberta]

I'm talking about November, January 6th. I've studied election law in all 50 states. I know better than either of you, no offense, what happened in the election and what didn't happen.

[Buck Sexton]

I wasn't talking about anything after November. I'm talking about the election. Hell, I mean, it's like, there's lots.

[Bill Maher]

Of important things to get to. Do you think the Menendez brothers deserve to be paroled? All right, here we go. Catch all new episodes of Real Time.

[Laura Coates]

With Bill Maher every Friday night at 10.

[Bill Maher]

Or watch him any anytime on HBO on Demand. For more information, log on to hbo.com.

[Nerd Wallet]

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[Buck Sexton]

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[Bill Maher]

But we did become the nerds.

[Buck Sexton]

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[Bill Maher]

I mean.

[Buck Sexton]

Mean, your city don't have to. Nerds.

[Nerd Wallet]

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