Overtime – Episode #701: Rep. Jason Crow, James Kirchick

Summary

Real Time with Bill Maher – Overtime Episode #701: Rep. Jason Crow, James Kirchick

Release Date: August 5, 2025

Participants:

• Bill Maher – Host
• Rep. Jason Crow – Democratic Congressman from Colorado, New York Times opinion writer, author of Secret City
• Jamie Kirchick – Political Analyst and Author

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1. Introduction

In Episode #701 of Real Time with Bill Maher, host Bill Maher engages in a dynamic conversation with Democratic Congressman Jason Crow from Colorado and political analyst Jamie Kirchick. The episode delves into pressing political issues, ranging from legal actions against former President Donald Trump to contemporary discussions on national security, education, and political dynamics within the Democratic Party.

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2. Legal Actions Against Donald Trump

Lawsuit Over Denied Congressional Access

Bill Maher opens the discussion by addressing a lawsuit filed by Rep. Jason Crow and eleven other congress members against former President Donald Trump. When asked about the nature of the lawsuit, Crow clarifies:

Jason Crow (00:32): "We are suing Trump."

Bill probes further, inquiring about Trump's actions leading to the lawsuit. Crow explains that the suit stems from Trump's denial of access to an ICE detention center within Crow's district—a facility Crow had been overseeing since taking office in 2019.

Jason Crow (01:32): "He denied me access in the first administration, so we actually passed a law that says that he can't deny access to members of Congress to show up to do the oversight. And he just violated that law a couple of weeks ago, me and 11 others. So we are [filing the lawsuit]."

The lawsuit has been filed in the Federal District Court of D.C., with judges yet to be assigned.

Implications and Context

Crow emphasizes the significance of congressional oversight and the breach of established protocols by Trump, marking a pivotal moment in accountability for former presidents.

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3. Space Force and UFO Phenomena

Understanding Buckley Space Force Base

The conversation shifts to national security, specifically concerning the Space Force. Crow elaborates on the strategic importance of Buckley Space Force Base in his district:

Jason Crow (02:47): "Buckley Space Force Base... one of the largest intelligence fusion centers in the country. We operate a lot of the satellites around the country. And every time anyone lobs a missile up into space, so the Iranian missiles, for example, when those are launched, it's Buckley Space Force Base that sees them and starts all the warning and starts all the activation to shoot them down."

UFOs and National Security Concerns

Maher introduces a topic trending in the news—a Harvard professor suggesting an interstellar comet could be an alien craft. This sparks a discussion on the nature of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs):

Jamie Kirchick (03:58): "I don't really believe in the kind of UFO conspiracies. I tend to believe that what they actually are are maybe Chinese drones or aerial vehicles... rather have us believe that they're UFOs from space and aliens than the Chinese."

Crow adds authority to the conversation by referencing his role on the intelligence committee and recent declassified reports highlighting anomalies:

Jason Crow (04:16): "We released a report and it shows that there are these anomalies, these objects that move faster than aircraft can and then, you know, just stop and then move. So, you know, I don't think they're alien craft. I don't know."

Public Perception and National Security

The panel underscores skepticism towards extraterrestrial explanations, favoring more terrestrial threats like advanced Chinese technology. The dialogue highlights the intersection of national security and public fascination with UFOs.

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4. Trump's Educational Policies and the "Woke" Debate

Presidential Fitness Test in Public Schools

Maher brings up Trump's proposal to reinstate the presidential fitness test in public schools, featuring challenges like the mile run and pull-ups. While Crow sidesteps the question, Jamie Kirchick does not address it directly, shifting focus to broader cultural debates.

War on Academia

The discussion pivots to Trump's alleged "war on the Academy," which Jackie criticizes as a misrepresentation of the president’s actions:

Bill Maher (07:32): "Trump says that woke is officially dead... What do you make of the President's war on the Academy?"

Jamie Kirchick (08:00): "And they're continuing to racially discriminate, and that's the law. And that the Supreme Court ruled two years ago."

Crow elaborates on specific incidents, such as Trump ordering the firing of the new head of the political science department at West Point due to her political beliefs, highlighting the administration's cultural battles:

Jason Crow (09:48): "Trump had the Secretary of the army fire the new head of the political science department at West Point because he doesn't like her political beliefs... this is his woke culture war."

Impact on Higher Education

The panel discusses the broader implications of these actions, noting the decline in diversity of thought and increasing political interference in academic institutions.

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5. Kamala Harris's Political Future

Maher inquires about Vice President Kamala Harris's recent announcement that she will not run for governor of California or for president in 2028:

Bill Maher (10:10): "Were you surprised by Kamala Harris's announcement that she will not run for governor in California?"

Jamie Kirchick (10:38): "I think you should be very happy about that because I don't think that she would be a good candidate."

Jason Crow (10:49): "I don't spend a lot of time looking at California politics as a litmus test for the rest of the country."

Maher and Kirchick debate the strategic implications of Harris's decision, with Bill expressing skepticism about her potential success had she chosen to run.

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6. FEMA's Response to Texas Floods

Assessment of FEMA's Handling

The panel evaluates FEMA Acting Director David Richardson's statement praising the agency’s response to the Texas floods:

Bill Maher (10:54): "What does the panel make of FEMA's acting director David Richardson saying his agency's handling the floods in Texas was a model for how disasters should be handled?"

Jamie Kirchick (11:22): "They're not there to prevent unpreventable forces of nature killing us."

Crow discusses FEMA's proactive measures, such as community resiliency programs, and critiques potential cuts to these initiatives:

Jason Crow (11:28): "They do have proactive training programs... cutting all of that actually will have pretty significant impacts on a lot of communities."

Critique and Future Outlook

The conversation underscores the challenges FEMA faces in disaster response and the importance of maintaining preparedness programs to mitigate future crises.

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7. Democratic Primary Candidates and Political Strategy

Evaluating Rahm Emanuel and Other Candidates

Maher and Kirchick shift focus to the upcoming Democratic primaries, discussing figures like Rahm Emanuel and others:

Jamie Kirchick (12:03): "I like Rahm Emanuel. But all the things that he's been saying to appeal to center-right voters... is really going to hurt him in a Democratic primary."

Emanuel's stance on conservative social issues, particularly his comments on gender, is highlighted as a potential vulnerability:

Jamie Kirchick (12:20): "He said yes [to believing there are only two genders]. And now I have to go into the witness protection program."

Maher and the panel analyze the viability of candidates navigating the "woke" culture landscape, suggesting that conservative-leaning statements may alienate Democratic voters.

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8. Notable Quotes

• Jason Crow (01:32): "He denied me access in the first administration, so we actually passed a law that says that he can't deny access to members of Congress to show up to do the oversight. And he just violated that law a couple of weeks ago, me and 11 others. So we are [filing the lawsuit]."

• Jamie Kirchick (03:58): "I don't really believe in the kind of UFO conspiracies. I tend to believe that what they actually are are maybe Chinese drones or aerial vehicles... rather have us believe that they're UFOs from space and aliens than the Chinese."

• Bill Maher (07:32): "Trump says that woke is officially dead... What do you make of the President's war on the Academy?"

• Jamie Kirchick (12:20): "He said yes [to believing there are only two genders]. And now I have to go into the witness protection program."

• Bill Maher (12:44): "It's a little more complicated than that. Oh, but there is a default setting. For humans, there's a default setting and we don't always happen to happen, but we shouldn't have it."

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9. Conclusion

In this episode, Real Time with Bill Maher tackles a spectrum of contemporary political issues through incisive dialogue between Bill Maher, Rep. Jason Crow, and Jamie Kirchick. From legal battles against former President Trump and national security concerns regarding the Space Force to internal Democratic Party strategies and critiques of current educational and governmental policies, the panel provides a multifaceted exploration of the current political landscape. Notably, the discussions on the intersection of national security with UFO phenomena and the internal cultural wars within academia and the Democratic Party offer listeners a comprehensive understanding of the nuanced challenges facing American politics today.

Transcript

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[Bill Maher]

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[Jason Crow]

Prime.

[Bill Maher]

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

All right, He's a Democratic congressman from Colorado, Jason Crow, and he's a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and author of Secret City, Jamie Kirchick. Okay, here are the questions from the people. Oh, let's ask about your. I asked you this right when we get off, you have a lawsuit, which we didn't get to talking about on the show. You and 12, did you say?

[Jason Crow]

Yeah, 11 others. 12 of us total.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. You're suing Trump?

[Jason Crow]

We are.

[Bill Maher]

Why? What did he do?

[Jason Crow]

A lot.

[Bill Maher]

As a turnover. What did he ever do?

[Jamie Kirchick]

Leave him alone.

[Jason Crow]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

You don't have the cloud. Okay, what's yours? We do.

[Jason Crow]

So I have an ICE detention center in my district, right in the center of my district. And I've been doing oversight of this center since 2019 when I first came into office. And he, a couple weeks ago, denied me access to this facility. So we. Which is the first time in six years this has happened. I visit this facility pretty frequently. I have a Space Force base in my district. I visit that. I have a VA hospital. And this is nothing.

[Bill Maher]

Space Force.

[Jason Crow]

Space Force, Yes.

[Bill Maher]

I know what goes on there. So, I mean, finish this and then I'll.

[Jason Crow]

He denied me access in the first administration, so we actually passed a law that says that he can't deny access to members of Congress to show up to do the oversight. And he just violated that law a couple of weeks ago, me and 11 others. So we are.

[Bill Maher]

Who will rule on this?

[Jason Crow]

The. The Federal District Court of The District of D.C. d.C.

[Bill Maher]

I see. And who runs that? No, I mean, is it a Trump appointee? Is it. I mean.

[Jason Crow]

Well, we haven't been assigned the judge yet. It'll be a random assignment of the judge.

[Bill Maher]

I see.

[Jason Crow]

And then, you know, presumably appellate courts get reviewed as well. So we just, just filed this lawsuit a couple of days ago.

[Bill Maher]

Okay. And Space Force, what goes on there? I'm very curious. What's. You can visit the Space Force place.

[Jason Crow]

Yeah. Also, as it turns out, so Buckley Space Force Base in my district, actually one of the largest intelligence fusion centers in the country. We operate a lot of the satellites around the country. And every time anyone lobs a missile up into space, so the Iranian missiles, for example, when those are launched, it's Buckley Space Force Base that sees them and starts all the warning and starts all the activation to shoot them down.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, phasers. You got that there?

[Jason Crow]

You know, I can't tell.

[Bill Maher]

Space Force.

[Jason Crow]

You know, I can't tell you that, Bill.

[Bill Maher]

Okay, it does sound like a TV show. In the sevent. Space Force, what does the panel make of a Harvard professor saying this week he believes an interstellar comet speeding through our solar system could be an alien craft? Yeah, sure, maybe, you know. Yeah, well, I don't know.

[Jason Crow]

How worse could it get?

[Jamie Kirchick]

I mean, my views on UFOs. Again, I don't really believe in the kind of UFO conspiracies. I tend to believe that what they actually are are maybe Chinese drones or aerial vehicles. And the government would rather have us believe that they're UFOs from space and aliens than the Chinese.

[Bill Maher]

I would rather believe that. Right, exactly. I would rather believe that than believe the Chinese have something precisely that moves in a way that we definitely don't have anything that moves that quickly.

[Jason Crow]

Yep.

[Jamie Kirchick]

I suspect it might be that. I don't know. I don't have evidence of this, but I. I suspect it may be that as opposed to, you know, little green men coming from.

[Jason Crow]

I mean, there are things that are unanswered. I'm on the intelligence committee, the armed services, and we released a report and it shows. We actually declassified a report and it shows that there are these anomalies, these objects that move faster than aircraft can and then, you know, just stop and then move. So, you know, I don't think they're alien craft. I don't know.

[Bill Maher]

But I trust the aliens more than the Chinese. I do. That's fair. That's fair. You know, and here's where the Sydney Sweeney is a Nazi woke. People will be like, bill, you racist. No, China does.

[Jamie Kirchick]

What have the aliens ever done to us?

[Jason Crow]

Exactly.

[Bill Maher]

That's my point. I mean, China, we know, does terrible things. Totally terrible things. Terrible anti humanitarian things to their own people, to the Uyghurs. I mean, let's not go into it.

[Jason Crow]

Yeah, yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Well, we're not applauding that. We're not happy about that. But the aliens, if they have been monitoring us for a long time, they're taking a long time to size us up before they start the invasion and the extermination, which they should at this point.

[Jason Crow]

Right. I just remember balloon gate. Remember when they sent the big balloon over and it was like the slowest moving controversy since the white Ford Bronco. Everyone's like, it's be over Wyoming in 10 hours. Everyone stand by like, right.

[Bill Maher]

I mean, this is very slow.

[Jason Crow]

I'm not sure I have the attention span for this.

[Bill Maher]

If that's their balloon, I just don't think it's the Chinese.

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[Bill Maher]

What does the panel think of Trump's plan to bring back the presidential fitness test in public schools, which includes challenges like the mile run and pull ups? I never knew we got rid of it. Of course we should bring it back. And here's where we make jokes about him not getting in shape.

[Jason Crow]

Next question. Too easy. Too easy.

[Bill Maher]

Trump says that woke is officially dead. Capitals. You gotta cloud some of this shit he just officially did at Brown. After that, their settlement with the administration. What do you make of the President's war on the Academy? I Don't know what the academy. I think he means. I think the person means academia.

[Jamie Kirchick]

Academia. Well, the academy.

[Bill Maher]

This person should go to an academy. War on the academy. Yes. On academia. I'm not totally agin it.

[Jamie Kirchick]

Yeah.

[Bill Maher]

Academia needed a hot poker up the ass. I'm not saying the way. Not everything. The way he's doing it, of course, is the right way. You know, to defund scientific research is not the way to do it. But I mean, our universities have been out of control for a long time. They became indoctrination factories. They forgot there's absolutely no diversity of thought. Well.

[Jamie Kirchick]

And they're continuing to racially discriminate, and that's the law. And that the Supreme Court ruled two years ago.

[Jason Crow]

I mean, there's a lot of inefficiencies. The overhead in higher education. Why it's so much more expensive than when I went. The overhead is very high. But I also want to be really clear that Donald Trump is not interested in, like, making them more efficient or getting rid of overhead or dealing with affordability. Like, this is his woke culture war. This is his culture war against things that he doesn't believe in and want to see. And it's actually extending to our service academy.

[Bill Maher]

Well, you don't have to be Donald Trump to think that there's something. There's been something rotten on campuses for quite a long time when you cannot speak the other side of the coin, when conservative thought, whatever you think of it, is just verboten, which is basically what happened on the. And some of the ideas. I mean, why do you think they erupted, so many of them in cheers for what happened on October 7? Why do you have professors coming out there and saying they were exhilarated by this mass massacre of people? Okay, that didn't happen overnight. Yeah, something. You know, they're ivory towers. And also they're just very anti America. Now, Trump is too pro American.

[Jason Crow]

You're certainly wrong. But also what's wrong is that this week, Trump had the Secretary of the army fire the new head of the political science department at West Point because he doesn't like her political beliefs. This is an eminently qualified woman who's been in civil service for years, who actually read our. Who actually led our cybersecurity agency, of course. And literally so.

[Bill Maher]

Oh, yeah. Terrible. One does not justify the other. They're both horrible. Were you surprised by Kamala Harris's announcement that she will not run for governor in California? What does her political future look like? Yes, I was surprised. This was announced yesterday. She's also said she's not going to run in 2028 for President Trump said that makes one of us.

[Jamie Kirchick]

I think you should be very happy about that because I don't think that she would be a good candidate moving.

[Bill Maher]

Forward, but she probably would have won the governorship of California.

[Jamie Kirchick]

California, but not present, I don't think.

[Bill Maher]

No, no. What do you think?

[Jason Crow]

I think I don't spend a lot of time looking at California politics as a litmus test for the rest of the country.

[Bill Maher]

Good dodge there. There's my boy. There you go. There you go. That's how you do it. What does the panel make of FEMA's acting director David Richardson saying his agency's handling the floods in Texas was a model for how disasters should be handled? Did not see that. Since a lot of people died, it can't really be a model. Right.

[Jamie Kirchick]

Well, the FEMA comes in after is my understanding.

[Bill Maher]

Right. Yeah, that's true.

[Jamie Kirchick]

They're not there to like prevent unpreventable forces of nature killing us.

[Jason Crow]

But they also have, I mean, they do have, they do have like proactive training programs. They do stuff that like, you know, community resiliency. So cutting all of that actually will have pretty significant impacts on a lot of communities.

[Bill Maher]

Yes. So future look bright for the party. What do you think of Rahm Emanuel out there? Who? Anybody you're handicapping. Who? Gavin's out there, you know, he's gone to South Carolina. That can't just be for the grits, you know, Pete, I mean, who you got your eye on for the guy?

[Jamie Kirchick]

I like Rahm Emanuel. But I think all the things that he's been saying over the past couple months to appeal to center right voters, I think is really going to hurt him in a Democratic primary. All these anti woke things that he's been saying. He was on Megyn Kelly's show a couple weeks ago and he said he was asked, you know, do you believe there's only two genders?

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Jamie Kirchick]

And he said yes. And now I have to go into the witness protection program.

[Bill Maher]

Right.

[Jamie Kirchick]

Which is an indication of, you know, woke is not dead, Mr. President. It's still no.

[Bill Maher]

I think I'm going to do an editorial just giving them the answers, the Democrats, because it's, it's not that hard. It's not that hard because that wouldn't even be my answer. I mean, if that was the question.

[Jamie Kirchick]

What would your answer be?

[Bill Maher]

What was the question?

[Jamie Kirchick]

Are there two gender, Are there two sexes?

[Bill Maher]

It's a little more complicated than that. Oh, but there is a default setting. For humans, there's a default setting and we don't always happen to happen, but we shouldn't have it. Like, every time a baby is born, it's a jump ball. This could be anything. You know, a penis is a pretty good indicator. So just throw the penis out the window with the baby. Okay? Thank you, everybody.

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