Overtime – Episode #700: Dave Barry, Rep. Wesley Hunt, Paul Begala

Summary

Real Time with Bill Maher - Episode #700: Dave Barry, Rep. Wesley Hunt, Paul Begala
Release Date: June 24, 2025

In the milestone 700th episode of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," host Bill Maher engages in a spirited and insightful discussion with his distinguished panelists: humorist Dave Barry, Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor Paul Begala, and Republican Congressman Wesley Hunt representing Texas's 38th district. The episode delves into pressing societal and political issues, blending humor with deep analysis.

---

1. Reaction to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Comments on Immigration

[01:01 - 02:25]

Bill Maher opens the discussion by addressing Arnold Schwarzenegger's controversial remark suggesting that immigrants should "behave like guests." Maher humorously references Schwarzenegger's immigrant journey, highlighting his rise from humble beginnings to global fame.

Bill Maher [01:01]:
"He is, of course, an immigrant himself. He came here with nothing but a loincloth and a jar of protein powder and look how far he goes."

Paul Begala concurs with Maher's perspective, emphasizing the opportunities provided to immigrants like Elon Musk.

Paul Begala [01:46]:
"We gave him freedom. We gave him an opportunity. We gave him $465 million under Barack Obama. By the way, he paid back early. I give him credit for that."

Contrastingly, Dave Barry offers a blunt critique of Schwarzenegger, suggesting language barriers as an impediment.

Dave Barry [02:11]:
"I think Schwarzenegger should learn to speak English."

Wesley Hunt [02:17]:
"Going down. Get down."
(Phrase indicating disagreement.)

---

2. Migration from California to Florida and Texas

[02:24 - 03:12]

The conversation shifts to the significant migration trend of Californians relocating to states like Florida and Texas. Maher seeks the panel's take on this demographic shift.

Bill Maher [02:24]:
"What do you make of the Californians who are moving to Florida? There is a..."

Dave Barry counters stereotypes about Florida's reputation, pointing out its substantial population and the diversity within the state.

Dave Barry [02:38]:
"Is it fair to judge 23 million people because of the behavior of 21 million people?"

Wesley Hunt adds that the allure of no state income tax is a significant draw for Californians.

Wesley Hunt [02:34]:
"They come for the culture by which I mean, we have no state income tax. And they like that. They like that a lot."

---

3. Rightward Shift of Black Men Toward Trump

[03:12 - 04:17]

Bill Maher pivots to a critical political analysis, questioning the factors behind the increasing support for Donald Trump among black men in the last election cycle.

Bill Maher [03:12]:
"For Wesley, what was behind the rightward shift of black men toward Trump in the last election?"

Wesley Hunt attributes this shift to perceived misalignment within the Democratic Party, particularly criticizing the selection of Kamala Harris as a candidate.

Wesley Hunt [03:29]:
"When you have a candidate like Kamala Harris that clearly was not the choice of the Democrat Party when she got shoehorned into that space... it just really didn't work."

He further elaborates on the demographic specifics, noting a significant portion of black men in Texas supporting Trump.

Wesley Hunt [03:48]:
"One in three black men in the state of Texas voted for President Trump."

Maher underscores the broader trend of Trump's appeal across minority groups.

Bill Maher [04:03]:
"Trump did better with minorities across the board each time he ran, including the time he lost."

---

4. Discussion on Juneteenth and Black History Month

[04:28 - 10:35]

The panel transitions to a heartfelt discussion on racial progress and the significance of Juneteenth. Wesley Hunt shares his personal connection to American progress, highlighting his heritage and the achievements of his family.

Wesley Hunt [04:17]:
"I am a direct descendant of a slave. My great, great grandfather was born on Rose Down Plantation... my strategy."

He passionately defends the preservation of historical monuments, arguing that they serve as reminders of America's complex history.

Wesley Hunt [05:29]:
"I cannot wait to show them and take them to places that that wasn't always the case... that wasn't always the case."

The conversation touches upon Whoopi Goldberg's statement comparing the experiences of black individuals in America to women in Iran, with Maher and Hunt defending the progress made in the United States.

Wesley Hunt [08:24]:
"I don't even ever want to hear Whoopi Goldberg's conversation about how it's worse to be black in America right now."

Paul Begala highlights the origins and importance of Juneteenth, lamenting President Trump's lack of support for the holiday.

Paul Begala [09:12]:
"Juneteenth... 600,000 people died so that we wouldn't enslave people anymore."

Wesley Hunt emphasizes unity and the significance of shared American values over segmented identity celebrations.

Wesley Hunt [09:46]:
"We don't see color... We're all Americans."

The panelists agree on the importance of honoring historical milestones while promoting inclusivity and unity.

---

5. Sale of the Lakers for $10 Billion

[10:35 - 12:55]

In a lighter yet significant economic discussion, Maher broaches the unprecedented sale of the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking $10 billion. He shares his personal investment experience with the New York Mets, drawing parallels to the valuation of sports franchises.

Bill Maher [10:35]:
"What do you make of the Lakers selling for a record 10 billion, the highest price ever paid for a pro sports team?"

Dave Barry expresses astonishment, prompting Maher to recount his own foray into sports investments with the Mets.

Dave Barry [10:46]:
$10 billion?
Bill Maher [10:47]:
"Yes. I mean, it's amazing."

Wesley Hunt connects the valuation to the historical and cultural integration of black athletes in sports, asserting their indispensable role in elevating the sport's prominence and, consequently, its financial worth.

Wesley Hunt [12:12]:
"The day after Juneteenth. I just really want to thank God that black people were allowed to play in sports, because otherwise it would be valued nearly that much."

Maher reflects on the broader implications of such high valuations in the sports industry, tying it back to societal progress and economic dynamics.

---

Conclusion and Sign-Off

[12:55 - End]

As the episode wraps up, Bill Maher announces a brief hiatus, signaling a temporary pause in the show's programming.

Bill Maher [12:32]:
"We're off for a summer month. Just one month. We'll be back August 1st. Thank you very much."

The panelists bid farewell, leaving listeners with a blend of humor, reflection, and anticipation for future discussions.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Bill Maher [01:01]:
  "He came here with nothing but a loincloth and a jar of protein powder and look how far he goes."

• Paul Begala [01:46]:
  "We gave him freedom. We gave him an opportunity. We gave him $465 million under Barack Obama."

• Dave Barry [02:11]:
  "I think Schwarzenegger should learn to speak English."

• Wesley Hunt [04:34]:
  "Only in America can someone like me walk into a building named after a Confederate general and then be a successful West Point graduate."

• Wesley Hunt [09:46]:
  "We don't see color... We're all Americans."

This episode of "Real Time with Bill Maher" adeptly balances humor with critical discourse, offering listeners a comprehensive exploration of contemporary social and political landscapes through the lenses of diverse panelists.

Transcript

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[Bill Maher]

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

[Bill Maher]

All right, here we are with our panel, Humorous is now memoir, new memoirs, talking Dave Barry. And he's a Democratic strategist and CNN political contributor Paul Bogala. And the Republican Congressman from the 38th and Texas, Wesley Hunt. Okay, for the panel, what is the panel's reaction to Arnold Schwarzenegger saying that immigrants should behave like guests? Well, they're truncating that a little, but that is basically what he said. And he is, of course, an immigrant himself. He came here with nothing but a loincloth and a jar of, jar of protein powder and look how far he goes. I'm not mad at it. I'm not mad at it.

[Paul Begala]

I completely agree.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, good.

[Paul Begala]

And someone should tell Elon Musk this country took Mr. Musk in. We gave him freedom. We gave him an opportunity. We gave him $465 million under Barack Obama. By the way, he paid back early. I give him credit for that. But we made him the richest man in the world and all he does is dump on America. So he ought to be a pretty good guest, too. I don't like Mr. Martin.

[Dave Barry]

I think Schwarzenegger should learn to speak English.

[Wesley Hunt]

Going down. Get down.

[Dave Barry]

If he wants to stay, I mean.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, this is for you. Dave, what do you make of the Californians who are moving to Florida? There is a.

[Wesley Hunt]

And Texas.

[Bill Maher]

And Texas, yes, my neighborhood.

[Dave Barry]

I have Californians moving in. We have lots of people coming. Everybody makes fun of Florida. Florida's got a bad reputation. But I mean, think about it. There's 23 million people in Florida. And is it fair to judge 23 million people because of the behavior of 21 million people?

[Wesley Hunt]

But they are lured.

[Dave Barry]

They come for the culture by which I mean, we have no state income tax. And they like that. They like that a lot.

[Bill Maher]

That's what I mean. He's not a humorist. He's a comic. He's funny. You know, there's the difference between a humorist and lol. Okay, for Wesley, what was behind the rightward shift of black men toward Trump in the last election?

[Wesley Hunt]

I think I touched on that a little bit. I think whenever you have a candidate like Kamala Harris that clearly was not the choice of the Democrat Party when she got shoehorned into that space. I think you tried to roll out Megan 3 Stallion and Lil Jon, the Eastside boys. Everybody was trying to say, hey, black. Hey, black men, let's vote for this now. It just really didn't work.

[Bill Maher]

Well, most of them still did.

[Wesley Hunt]

Well, one in three black men. One in three black men in the state of Texas voted for President Trump.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, well, let's use men. And in the state.

[Wesley Hunt]

Well, I'm being very. Well, I'm being very specific here, because it does matter. We are seeing a seismic shift, and that's the most vote the highest way that we can that in the Republican Party in the history of.

[Bill Maher]

No doubt about it. Trump did better with minorities across the board each time he ran, including the time he lost.

[Wesley Hunt]

You can actually talk about that next.

[Bill Maher]

Come on. But, you know, he does want to, like, take. Trump is putting the Robert E. Lee name back on buildings. I mean, are you down with that?

[Wesley Hunt]

So when I was at West Point, I actually lived in Robert E. Lee Barracks when I was there. And as I said, Robert E. Lee.

[Bill Maher]

Went to West Point.

[Wesley Hunt]

Yes, yes, he did. That's why the barracks named after him. And so my brother, sister and I all matriculated through West Point. We all graduated. And I'll never forget walking under the threshold of Robert E. Lee Barracks and thinking to myself, damn, this is one hell of a country. Because only in America can someone like me walk into a building named after a Confederate general and then be a successful West Point graduate. If we start changing the names on buildings, in every single building would be named Jesus Christ based on perfection. Let's talk about where we have come. Well, maybe not to you, but to us. Maybe not to you, but to us.

[Bill Maher]

Depending on where you're at.

[Wesley Hunt]

I bring that up because I want to talk about the progress and the idea of us changing names on buildings actually doesn't take harken us back to times where they weren't as good and statues and how can we not? Oh, I am. My wife is. I've been black my whole life.

[Bill Maher]

Yes, so far.

[Wesley Hunt]

Still my wife is white and we have three biracial children and I cannot wait to show them and take them to places that that wasn't always the case. There was a time when your mother and daddy could not be married. My children are gonna have the opportunity to be second lining down in New Orleans and then my wife is from Iowa. They'll be on the farm with their grandfather in Iowa. That is America.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Wesley Hunt]

And I do not want to take down these statues and change the names of these buildings because they're a reminder of what was and if we don't remember it, we are doomed to repeat it.

[Bill Maher]

So there's a reason for it. I see.

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[Bill Maher]

What did you think of Whoopi Goldberg saying it's worse to be a black person in America today than a woman in Iran? You know, I see we were talking about the trans issue before and the New York Times really has come over on that to the sort of the sensible, liberal, not crazy, woke position I think this is great first step toward getting the Democrats back to sanity. And a second good step would be we got to do something about the View. I really believe that. I mean, could you get huge in Iran, though?

[Wesley Hunt]

You know, when I mentioned the View.

[Bill Maher]

In Iran, I called head coverage. You can't even tell which one is which.

[Wesley Hunt]

My district in the great state of Texas is actually a white majority district that President Trump would have won by 25 points. As I said, I'm a direct descendant of a slave. My great, great grandfather was born on Rose Down Plantation. I am literally being judged not by the color of my skin, but by the content of my character. That's the progress. Because, like, a lot of white people had to vote for me a lot.

[Dave Barry]

So, wait, are you.

[Wesley Hunt]

So I don't even ever want to hear Whoopi Goldberg's conversation about how it's worse to be black in America right now. That's. That's a bit far. And my father, who's 75 years old, he was a man that was in the French quarters that had to go get a sandwich to the back door of the building, and his son is now a United States congressman in a white majority district in Texas as a Republican. That is America. That's America. So let's celebrate that.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Paul Begala]

And one of the ways we celebrate it is Juneteenth. It's a Texas holiday, began in Texas and Galveston.

[Wesley Hunt]

Galveston, Galveston.

[Paul Begala]

General Granger came and read the order number three that finally abolished slavery months after the war because the war took a time to get to Galveston. We celebrated that when I was a kid in Texas, but it becomes national a year or two ago, and Donald Trump doesn't want to celebrate that. To me, it's exactly what you're talking about. 600,000 people died so that we wouldn't enslave people anymore. And the fact that freedom won is a good thing, and we should honor that. That's what Juneteenth is about. And I don't know why Mr. Trump, President Trump doesn't want to honor that.

[Wesley Hunt]

So I don't want it. I don't want Black History Month. I don't want all these days for it to make Everybody feel special. I'm 80s, baby. Everybody's too sensitive anyway. We're all Americans. Anyway. This holiday came.

[Bill Maher]

Morgan Freeman said.

[Wesley Hunt]

Morgan Freeman said, I can't agree more with him.

[Bill Maher]

Yeah, he said that to Mike Wallace. He said, you know, I'm an American. Do you want to be called a Jew American, Mike?

[Wesley Hunt]

No.

[Paul Begala]

White people celebrate Juneteenth too. And non Italians celebrate Columbus Day.

[Bill Maher]

I'm all for any holiday.

[Paul Begala]

I'm half Irish. Do I get half the day off on St Patrick's Day? A lot of them half drunk. Everybody.

[Wesley Hunt]

Everybody gets stuck on Saint Fat.

[Bill Maher]

Dude, did you have a question for the congressman there?

[Dave Barry]

No, I. Are you telling me you're black?

[Wesley Hunt]

Yes.

[Bill Maher]

You don't see color, right, Dave, we don't see.

[Wesley Hunt]

We don't see color.

[Bill Maher]

All right, one more. This is for you, Dave. What do. What do you make of the Lakers selling for a record 10 billion, the highest price ever paid for a pro sports team? Oh, my God.

[Dave Barry]

$10 billion?

[Bill Maher]

Yes. I mean, it's amazing. I bought into the Mets in 2011.

[Wesley Hunt]

So you lived in.

[Dave Barry]

You owned part of the Mets?

[Bill Maher]

I did for 10 years.

[Paul Begala]

Wow.

[Bill Maher]

The Mets sold 40% of the team, not all to me, to a select group of minority investors. And at the time, they were about.

[Dave Barry]

But you're black, too.

[Bill Maher]

Yes.

[Wesley Hunt]

No, they have tonight. And.

[Bill Maher]

I was amazed that I was. I mean, it took like, all the pennies. I had saved my whole life, but I was amazed. How can I do this? This must be so many richer people in New York. I said, sports teams are always going to go up, especially the one in New York, the Mets. At the time, they were in the shitter. So they were undervalued at $750 million. And they sold. And they had sold out all the. I don't own the team part of the team anymore because they sold a few years ago to a billionaire for 2.4 billion. So I made a good profit off that, but that was only a few years ago. And this is the New York. New York. This is New York. That's the Hicks sports franchise. So four times that for the Lakers, $10 billion. I don't know what the question is. It blows my mind.

[Wesley Hunt]

The reason is I just. I really. I just wanted to say this. The day after Juneteenth. I just really want to thank God that black people were allowed to play in sports, because otherwise it would be valued nearly that much. Let's be honest.

[Bill Maher]

Oh. Oh. It's.

[Wesley Hunt]

The NBA was all white. I'll tell you that right now.

[Bill Maher]

It would be a. I know I was sitting at a Laker game with. I won't say who, because I'll say I'm name dropped. But a big black. Please go ahead. No, no. And. And I. I was like, bill Russell, what a great player. And he said, yeah, he played against a lot of white guys. All right, we're off for a summer month. Just one month. We'll be back August 1st. Thank you very much.

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