Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime – Episode #722

Guests: Anthony Scaramucci, Lloyd Blankfein

Release Date: March 17, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of "Overtime" features Bill Maher in a lively, candid discussion with Anthony Scaramucci (former White House communications director and author) and Lloyd Blankfein (former CEO of Goldman Sachs, author of "Streetwise: Getting to and through Goldman Sachs"). The trio covers a range of timely topics including financial bubbles, age limits for politicians, electric vehicles, the lasting legacy of COVID-19, and the societal impacts of vaccine mandates. The conversation is as irreverent, blunt, and provocative as ever, full of real-time reactions and unfiltered opinions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Financial Sector Red Flags: Are We Heading Towards Another ‘08?

[00:01–02:56]

• Private Credit Risk: Lloyd Blankfein highlights the opacity and risks in private credit and assets, which he feels echo the conditions before the 2008 financial crisis.
  • “Private assets on the balance sheets... things that are illiquid can’t be mark to market… some suspicion that some of these things are overmarked.” – Lloyd Blankfein [00:40]
  • Anthony Scaramucci simplifies: “They loan money to a business and... they’re guessing at what the valuation is... and they probably have the position overmarked in their book. When they start to mark it down, it’s going to put pressure on the banks.” [01:28]
• Communication Gap: Bill jokes about the complexity of financial jargon: “It could have been in Chinese and it would have been absolutely [confusing].” [01:21]
• Bubbles and Human Nature: Blankfein observes, “When you’re wrong, you’re wrong, and everybody gets caught up in it. In hindsight… everybody was living the same dream. That’s the problem.” [02:35]

2. FBI Agents and UFC Fighters: Security or Stunt?

[03:01–04:35]

• FBI Training with UFC Fighters: The panel expresses skepticism about the utility of training FBI agents with UFC fighters, dismissing it as largely performative rather than practical.
  • “I just can’t worry about this one. I just can’t.” – Bill Maher [03:37]
  • “It’s absurd.” – Scaramucci [03:36]
• On Law Enforcement Practices: Maher: “I could understand maybe Navy SEALs or… hand-to-hand combat. I don’t think of FBI guys as needing to be, you know, this kind of UFC fighter.” [04:03]

3. How Old is Too Old for Congress? Should There Be Limits?

[04:35–05:55]

• Should Age (or Term) Limits Exist?
  • Discussion centers on the announcement that Rep. Clyburn (85) will run for another term.
  • Scaramucci: “I think we have to [set limits]... there’s too much consolidation of power as a result of someone spending four decades in the position.” [05:00, 05:42]
  • Blankfein: “No, it’s a democracy and people can vote for whoever they want.” [05:11]
• Presidential vs. Congressional Limits: “Why do we have term limits for the president?” – Scaramucci [05:24]

4. Gas Prices, Iran, and the Rise of Electric Vehicles

[05:55–06:55]

• Are Spikes Driving EV Adoption?
  • Maher passionately prefers EVs: “Once you have one, it just seemed barbaric. Going to a gas station... you just never want to do that again.” [06:00]
  • Blankfein is skeptical: “It’s just a short term reaction... I want to get into a car, know that I could drive it 300 miles and don’t have to have my fingers crossed that I can recharge it...” [06:18]
  • Maher retorts: “Mine goes 360.” [06:39]

5. Six Years of COVID-19: Overreactions, Vaccines & Misinformation

[06:55–13:02]

• Personal Reflections: The episode marks the “sixth anniversary of COVID.” The guests recall the show just before the shutdown and muse on society's state of panic at that time.
• Did We Overreact?
  • Scaramucci: “No question. Also, we put up so much disinformation… it was a disaster on a lot of different fronts.” [07:48]
  • Maher acknowledges some overreaction but downplays “Nostradamus” claims. [07:27, 07:48]
• Vaccine Mandates and Trust:
  • Scaramucci expresses nuanced skepticism: “Well, I’m not a vaccine conspiracy theorist, but I know people that have had vaccine injuries, so I think they rushed it.” [08:00]
  • Blankfein is adamantly pro-vaccine: “I was so glad to get that vaccine... anybody who thinks otherwise is nuts.” [08:08, 08:18]
  • Maher—hesitant but compliant—speaks to a feeling of coercion and loss of personal autonomy: “I didn’t want to get it and I didn’t need it... I just couldn’t continue my life if I didn’t get it.” [08:28, 10:27]
• Public vs. Individual Rights:
  • “There’s some things that only work if people... it’s kind of selfish and antisocial because we as humans aggregate together.” – Blankfein [08:39]
  • Maher pushes back: “You’re saying you want to put something in my body that I don’t want in my body.” [09:31]
• Consequences of Coercion:
  • Scaramucci: “Those vaccines actually hurt the vaccine movement that you’re describing.” [10:15]
  • Debate over the impact on broader vaccine acceptance, with measles cited as an example.
• On Mandates for Toddlers & Focused Protection:
  • Maher: “You’re giving it to toddlers and masking 2-year-olds... let’s hope there isn’t another one.” [12:53]
  • Scaramucci notes: “My own son didn’t get it because he was below the certain category. And I’m glad he didn’t get it in hindsight.” [12:47]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Bill Maher laughs off Wall Street speak:
  “It could have been in Chinese and it would have been absolutely [confusing].” [01:21]

• Blankfein on financial bubbles:
  “Everybody was living the same dream... in hindsight, which is always 20-20, you find out...” [02:35]

• On longevity in office:
  “It’s a democracy and people can vote for whoever they want.” – Blankfein [05:11]

• On vaccine mandates:
  “I was so glad to get that vaccine... anybody who thinks otherwise is nuts.” – Blankfein [08:08, 08:18]

  “I didn’t want to get it and I didn’t need it. So I’m not saying it didn’t save millions of people’s lives. It did.” – Maher [08:28]

  “Those vaccines actually hurt the vaccine movement...” – Scaramucci [10:15]

• COVID coercion:
  “You couldn’t go anywhere. I couldn’t get it in the studio. I couldn’t go on the road. I couldn’t do anything. I mean, that’s a little coercive.” – Maher [10:40]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01–02:56 — Wall Street, Private Assets & Financial Crisis Echoes
• 03:01–04:35 — FBI & UFC Fighters: Real Skill or PR Stunt?
• 04:35–05:55 — Should Congress Have Age or Term Limits?
• 05:55–06:55 — Gas Price Spikes and the Future of Electric Vehicles
• 06:55–13:02 — COVID: Hindsight, Vaccines, Mandates, and Societal Trust

Summary

In this "Overtime" episode, Maher, Scaramucci, and Blankfein dissect issues at the intersection of finance, politics, technology, and public health. The conversation swings from the technical (the perils of private credit and future financial blow-ups) to the deeply personal (COVID-19 mandates, vaccine skepticism, and generational divides in government). Their exchanges are peppered with humor, occasional exasperation, and a consistent desire to question prevailing narratives.

This episode provides a nuanced snapshot of ongoing debates in America with no shortage of provocative viewpoints and pointed exchanges—a must-hear for listeners seeking insight, clarity, and a healthy dose of skepticism about both our political leaders and societal mandates.