Overtime – Episode #722 Anthony Scaramucci, Lloyd Blankfein

Summary

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.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO late night series Real Time with Bill Maher. All right, here we are on overtime with the former White House communications director, podcast host and author Anthony Scaramucci and the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and author of the book Streetwise Getting to and through Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfunn. All right, so this is for you, Lloyd. You suggested the current moment has echoes of the run up to the 2008 financial crisis. No one was more in the middle of that than you. What warning signs should we paying we paying more attention to? I read this about. You're talking about the private credit sector.

[B]

Yeah, just generally what is private? Private assets on the balance sheets of asset managers. Things that are illiquid can't be mark to market. And so you like what, when is it like, like private credit in some cases like private equity. Obscure securities that don't sell that get marked to what the money managers are marking them to. But since they are private, they don't transact in the market. So we're really, you really can't ascertain the true mark to market value. And there's some suspicious, some suspicion that some of these things are overmarked.

[A]

This is why this shit happens. I can't even understand, I can't even understand the dumbed down explanation.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

I'm gonna get.

[C]

They buy shit.

[A]

It could have been in Chinese and it would have been absolutely.

[C]

No, they buy shit that they can't properly.

[A]

Are we talking.

[C]

Okay, so they, they loan money to a business and the business is private and no financials are disclosed and now they're guessing at what the valuation is and the markets are rocking and the economy's dipping and they probably have the position overmarked in their book. And so when they start to mark it down, it's going to put pressure on the banks.

[A]

That didn't help anymore.

[C]

Try one more time.

[A]

It's like any priesthood pries, they have their own little language, whether they're lawyers or actual priests or financial guys. We don't know what they're saying. And then we get to the robust

[B]

people buy stuff and it may not be worth what they say it's worth.

[A]

Right? Okay, well I mean like houses, I mean that's what it was the last time.

[B]

Like, like stocks, like loans, private businesses, like businesses.

[A]

Anything you said, the article I read quoted you as saying people say the world's not leveraged. But that's what they said in 2008. And then we found out about the, about there was a Lot of mortgage risk in Iceland. Right?

[B]

That's right.

[A]

Is that literally there was.

[B]

That's literally true. And it's literally true that people say this now. And the thing about a bubble, the thing about people being wrong about values, is that when you're wrong, you're wrong, and everybody gets caught up in it. And then in hindsight, which is always 2020, you find out that everybody was. Everybody was living the same dream. That's the problem. And so you wonder about it.

[A]

Okay. All right, one for three.

[C]

Loy.

[A]

Here's one. Anyone can answer for the panel. The FBI is.

[B]

Oh, gosh.

[A]

Is bringing in UFC fighters to train agents. Is there any value to this, or is it just a publicity stunt? UFC fighters to train agents. I don't know what to do about that. Agents of what? The I.

[C]

Agents. G men. G men, yes.

[A]

FBI agents. Most of whom, I assume.

[C]

And was there any value to Kash Patel?

[B]

Like shaking beer with more competition for Goldman Sachs and hiring interns? Huh?

[C]

It's absurd.

[A]

I mean, I put this in the category of many things with Trump, which is like, I can't. There's too many things. Some you just have to let pass like a cloud. I just can't worry about this one. I just can't.

[C]

I do know what that is. That's for the audience. One the cash. Patel's looking at the June UFC fight, and he's sending a little UFC balloon over to Trump at the White House.

[A]

But I could understand maybe Navy seals or somebody who's going to be involved in hand to hand combat. I don't think of FBI guys as needing to be, you know, this kind of UFC fighter. I mean, I'm sure they do get into some scrappy shit sometimes, but I bet you some FBI agents retired, just like some cops, having never fired a weapon and having never had use for this. So I'm not sure whether it's not just performative. I'm sure it is.

[B]

You just don't take it seriously.

[A]

I don't.

[B]

It's not real.

[A]

Okay. Congressman James Clyburn just announced he will seek another term at 85 years old.

[B]

Young.

[A]

What?

[C]

What's young? You got the other guy from Iowa. He's like 97, I think. Chuck Grassley, right? I mean, he's a spring chicken.

[A]

That's the question. How old is too old to serve in Congress? I guess what they're really asking is, do we make a law about it?

[C]

I think we have to. I don't know what you think, but I think it's ridiculous.

[A]

But what if we make a law in the next two years, AI changes the game and then 85 year olds are.

[B]

No, it's a democracy and people can vote for whoever they want. Who's anybody to say that? If the democratic population wants to vote for somebody who's 86 years old, who's to say they're not allowed to do that?

[A]

I think that's right.

[C]

Then make the case. We should have no term limits and we should end the term limits. You gotta have some guardrails, in my opinion. So what you just said is true to an extent. But then why do we have term limits for the president?

[B]

Well, as I get older, I find a guardrail premise on old age.

[C]

Can I just talk. Why you have to end it. You get too much of a consolidation of power as a result of someone spending four decades in the position. And I don't think the founders wanted that. I think we need a recirculation.

[A]

Okay. Gas prices are climbing because of the Iran situation. Do you think moments like this permanently push people toward electric vehicles or is it just a short term reaction? I mean, I've had one for a while. I mean, once you have one, it just seemed barbaric. Going to a gas station. You just never want to do that again.

[C]

Yeah,

[B]

it's just a short term reaction, in my opinion.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yeah. I think the problem now, eventually technology will get better, battery lives will get better. But 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 and have it take two hours if I do.

[A]

Lloyd. Mine goes 360.

[B]

OK. I'd like to. Then I know to get away, I'll need to go 400 miles that day.

[A]

All right. This week is the sixth anniversary of COVID Happy birthday. This is the. I remember. It was this exact day I was

[C]

on the show with you, Bill. You were March 6, 2020. We were doing the show then we went to Craig's together.

[A]

And you were the cause of that.

[C]

I was probably patient zero. You didn't get Covid because of me, man. You got it later. You got it later.

[A]

Patient zero. Is that the last. I thought we. Today's March 13th. I thought that was the last show we did. Maybe that was the first time I

[C]

was on the show before.

[A]

But it was around that time when people, we were just. Everyone was at home shitting in their pants. We couldn't even think about going near anybody. And I would get. I mean, I never thought it was what it was. Okay, I'm not saying I'm Nostradamus. I just thought everybody overreacted. Looking back up to six years, any agreement there that we overreacted?

[C]

No question. Also, we put up so much disinformation. Not only did we overreact, the whole vaccine controversy made us more polarized. So it was a. Was a disaster on a lot of different fronts.

[A]

Well, what are your thoughts on the vaccine?

[C]

Well, I'm not a vaccine conspiracy theorist, but I will tell you, I know people that have had vaccine injuries, so I think they rushed it.

[B]

I was so glad to get that vaccine.

[C]

I got the vaccine. I took it. I took several doses.

[B]

I don't like to judge, but anybody who thinks otherwise is nuts.

[A]

Well.

[C]

Well, hold on a second. It's not that I think otherwise. The vaccine.

[A]

Good for you. I'm glad you liked it.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

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.

[C]

I got it.

[A]

But do you think everybody who got it needed it? You're nuts.

[B]

I think that there's some things that only work if people. You know, there's. I mean, again, I don't want to say there's a. You know, there's a herd. You know, this herd sensitivity. Look what's going on with measles today. People are electing not to get the measles vaccine. And now something that had really gone by the boards is now becoming epidemic because some people are choosing. It's kind of selfish and it's antisocial because we as humans aggregate together and we pass things to each other. So it's a little bit.

[A]

But that would be fine if we absolutely knew that the vaccine was safe for everybody or that we didn't. So some of us didn't want to choose to fight something with our own natural immune system. Now there are one. There are pathogens that are probably out there where I would fight you to get the vaccine. That wasn't one of them. I shouldn't have that, right?

[B]

No, but the thing is, is that your infection can infect me. And so.

[A]

I know, but you're saying you want to put something in my body that I don't want in my body.

[B]

I think that's kind of been established for a long time. People have. Have forced inoculations on people because society requires it. Just like we all have to stop at red lights and we all have to pay taxes.

[A]

They didn't Stop it. Everybody got it. They told us that if you got the vaccine, you couldn't pass it and you couldn't get it. And they were both lies, I think. No, I'm not. I'm saying they don't. I'm not saying they deliberately lied about it.

[C]

My point, though.

[A]

You could get it and you could pass it.

[C]

I think they polarized us really badly. And it came out, in my opinion, with hindsight, without a lot of data, it came out very, very quickly, and it created a lot more distrust and,

[A]

well, it needed to come out quickly.

[C]

And those vaccines actually hurt the vaccine movement that you're describing.

[A]

I mean, they were working on it for a long time. It wasn't like Covid came along and they were, oh, let's do this MRNA thing.

[C]

They had a lot of data.

[A]

They've been working on it a very long time.

[C]

They had a lot of data on the success of it.

[A]

No, they still probably are going to find out things in the future. But basically, you know, I got it too. I didn't want to. I just couldn't continue my life if I didn't get it.

[C]

I got it.

[A]

Yeah, you got it. Well, you couldn't. You couldn't go anywhere. You couldn't do it. 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. Again, depending on how bad the pathogen is. And I think everybody should have to. Should be able to make that decision for themselves.

[C]

You're in the flu shot category, which is more optional. But what about measles? Do you think measles should be mandatory?

[A]

I loved having the measles. I'm not saying we should encourage it or not try to stop it. I don't have kids, but I remember just being home watching reruns all day. It was awesome. No, I mean, back in the. When I was a kid, I mean, you probably got measles too.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, they used to have measles parties. They would actually.

[B]

Because you'd want to get an infection when you were young.

[A]

But they also wanted all the kids to get it at the same time. No, look, I'm sure that there are bad things that can happen from measles.

[B]

There are just some things that we all can give to each other. We're in a community, and look, they oversold it, obviously. Maybe they did it intentionally. Maybe they didn't know what they were doing. Maybe it was just not even negligent. We just didn't have enough experience with the disease, but it prevented in a lot of cases and it made the effects of it a lot milder in many, many more cases.

[A]

Absolutely. Yes.

[B]

And so it was a good thing. But I wouldn't want to go into a room where there were a lot of people that were unvaccinated because then despite my best efforts, I'm going to get urine.

[A]

So don't go in that room.

[B]

Well, who don't know that people don't self identify.

[A]

I know, but you know, if you want to lock yourself at home, then you do that.

[B]

But I just think there's some decisions that we have to make collectively.

[A]

Other societies treated it differently.

[C]

Florida did better.

[A]

Other societies, what they did, you know, and I'm talking about like I think Sweden did it this way more and Florida, you know, other societies where they laser focused on the vulnerable, that would have been better and let the younger, more the people who probably were not going to get too sick from anyway go on with their lives as opposed to.

[C]

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, you know.

[A]

But you know, like you're giving it to toddlers and masking 2 year olds and some of this was just really over the top. But let's hope there isn't another one. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, Catch all

[C]

new episodes of Real Time with Bill

[A]

Maher every Friday night at 10 or watch him anytime on HBO on demand. For more information, log on to hbo. Com.