Overtime – Episode #726: Kara Swisher, Rahm Emanuel, Jake Sullivan

Summary

Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime – Episode #726

Guests: Kara Swisher, Rahm Emanuel, Jake Sullivan, Scott Bessent, David Sacks
Date: April 21, 2026

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Episode Overview

This Overtime panel discussion, following Real Time with Bill Maher (Episode #726), explores major current anxieties around artificial intelligence (AI), the power and accountability of tech moguls, the regulation of prediction markets, lessons from political shifts in Europe, and cultural contrasts between the U.S. and Japan. With edgy, often humorous candor, the panel lays bare the dilemmas of insider tech culture, government inaction, and the need for collective moral and civic responsibility.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Risks and Regulation of Artificial Intelligence

• General Consensus on AI Danger:
  The panel opens with agreement on the risks of AI, likening society’s current approach to “lemmings marching off a cliff” and highlighting that even AI’s creators are warning of potential disaster.

  • Bill Maher: “We all know that it's going to kill us, but we just keep going toward the cliff like the lemmings. Is that about it?” [00:46]

• Insider Warnings and Tech Leader Contradictions:

  • David Sacks: “The very people building this technology are warning us ... and all of us are just kind of like, oh, I guess we'll see what happens.” [01:25]
  • Rahm Emanuel: Emphasizes that tech leaders like Elon Musk, despite expressing fear, continue to invest heavily. “Elon Musk did not say, it's so dangerous. I'm terrified of it. Now I want to stop. He's suing to get control...” [01:42]

• Failure of Federal Action & Need for Regulation:

  • Scott Bessent: “The federal government is going to have to finally do something. ... Industry, academics, public policy people all around the table. ... This is going to have to be real time, constantly updating things, but the federal government cannot do, which is this wild west.” [02:18]

• Low Bar for ‘Morality’ in Tech and Control Issues:

  • Kara Swisher: Points out supposed moral restraint is inadequate when AI models are released to 40 companies—"Give it about a month” before it leaks to the world. [03:17]
  • Rahm Emanuel: “It is a low bar. That's what it is. He's the best, and it's a low bar.” [03:26]

• Lobbying and Political Capture:

  • Concerns about tech’s lobbying power decimating any meaningful privacy bills or AI safety regulation.
  • Rahm Emanuel: “They get mowed down by lobbyists and PACs ... Now there's a new AI PAC that they're funding.” [03:29]

• Public Frustration and Accountability:

  • Kara Swisher: “People are sick of this shit. Like the suicides. I've interviewed all those parents … still trying to skate out of culpability. ... someday a perp walk. I'm sorry, it has to happen.” [05:06]

2. Political Implications & Global AI Concerns

• International Cooperation and Distrust:

  • Scott Bessent: Suggests even adversaries (Xi, Trump) might find common ground in AI safety due to mutual fear, but notes Trump's motivations are questionable. [05:22]
  • Kara Swisher / Panel: Skeptical Trump is truly concerned with AI. [06:21]

• Public Backlash Against Tech Elites:

  • Recent fast jury verdicts against social media giants seen as a “slap down,” reflecting public loathing toward Silicon Valley moguls. [05:32]

• AI and Political Panic:

  • David Sacks: “AI is almost as unpopular as the Democratic party right now.” [06:05]

3. Insiders, Influence & the Mythos of Power

• Insider Control and Financial Risk:

  • David Sacks / Scott Bessent: Address concerns that too few, closely-knit tech elites wield enormous (potentially catastrophic) power.

• Notable Exchange:

  • Kara Swisher: On Peter Thiel being asked if humans should continue to exist: “It was like, I'm thinking, you know.” [07:18]
  • Scott Bessent: “That's not an SAT question.” [07:31]

• Kurzweil and The Singularity:

  • Kara Swisher / Rahm Emanuel: Discuss Ray Kurzweil’s predictions—dividing technological prophecy from intent.
    • Rahm Emanuel: “He wants it.” [07:46]
    • Kara Swisher: “I don't want to be half robot.” [07:51]

4. Proposal: Taxing Prediction Markets

• Scott Bessent’s 10% Tax Proposal:

  • Suggests a 10% tax on online gaming and prediction markets (e.g., Polymarket) to fund crucial research (fusion, quantum, life sciences).
  • Scott Bessent: “We have $400 billion and growing spent on gambling. I want to bet on America, not bet against America.” [08:28]

• Insider Trading and Ethics:

  • Links prediction markets to insider trading and ethical hazards, especially regarding government employees’ participation.
  • Scott Bessent: “Everybody in the federal government ... banned from participating in the online markets ... You have kids from Peoria and Pontiac fighting a war and you got a bunch of Nepo babies down in Palm Beach betting on it.” [09:37]

• Rahm Emanuel: Names the involvement of Trump Jr. in companies tied to these practices. [10:33]

5. Political Upheaval & Media Narratives in Europe

• European Authoritarianism: Overstated or Real?
  • Kara Swisher: Questions whether media has exaggerated the durability of Viktor Orban’s rule in Hungary after his defeat, observing that the public simply got tired and voted for change. [12:10]
  • David Sacks / Rahm Emanuel / Scott Bessent: Explore the nuances of Orban’s regime and his manipulation of the media, juxtaposed with the relevance of corruption to everyday pocketbook issues.
  • Scott Bessent: “The lesson from Orban ... is making the corruption relevant in how you're getting screwed.” [13:49]

6. Cultural Contrasts: Learning from Japan

• Question to Rahm Emanuel on Japan’s Best Practices:
  • Scott Bessent: Moved by young children independently, and safely, commuting in Japan—symbolizing societal trust and community.
    • “The most beautiful thing I've seen—5 year olds walk to school all alone ... all the cars stop. No, it's sublime. It makes me cry...” [17:46]
  • Kara Swisher: Skeptical such a culture could be transferred to the U.S.: “No, we're not good people.” [18:24]
  • Scott Bessent: Praises Japanese sense of respect and community—wearing masks for others and nurturing childhood as American society moves in the opposite direction. [18:29]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tech Leader Hypocrisy:
  “Every one of those people who yell safety is also taking money from venture capital to grow bigger.”
  —Rahm Emanuel [01:42]

• On Federal Inaction:
  “We set a regulation, we wait 30 years to see if it’ll work. This is going to have to be real time, constantly updating things...”
  —Scott Bessent [02:18]

• On Public Loathing for Tech Moguls:
  “These media moguls do not understand the loathing people have for the way they are acting.”
  —Scott Bessent [05:32]

• On AI & Political Parties:
  “AI is almost as unpopular as the Democratic party right now.”
  —David Sacks [06:05]

• On the Japan Example:
  “They go across the streets, they walk eight blocks and it is—it is sublime. It makes me cry when I think about how gorgeous that is.”
  —Scott Bessent [17:46]

• On Politicians' Loyalty:
  “He likes to punch down and kiss up. That’s what this president does.”
  —Scott Bessent on Trump [17:37]

• On Lecturing the Pope:
  “As one Jewish kid, that takes a lot of chutzpah. ... but that is a lot of chutzpah.”
  —Scott Bessent on J.D. Vance [15:27]

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:46]–[03:57]: AI risk, lack of regulation, tech leader hypocrisy
• [03:57]–[05:22]: Political influence of tech, Elon Musk, AI PACs
• [05:22]–[06:14]: International political concerns, social media backlash
• [07:41]–[08:07]: Technological singularity, Ray Kurzweil
• [08:07]–[10:44]: Prediction markets, insider trading — Bessent’s tax proposal
• [12:10]–[14:02]: Authoritarianism in Europe, Orban, corruption
• [17:37]–[18:57]: Cultural lessons from Japan

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Summary: Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is sharp, irreverent, and driven by a deep skepticism of both tech titans and government inertia. Multiple panelists invoke moral urgency, public anger, and the need for regulation—especially as the power and money behind AI and digital markets outstrip current systems of accountability. Throughout, humor and anecdote serve to both lighten and underscore the seriousness of these looming societal challenges. The panel’s camaraderie illustrates a blend of exasperation and expertise, with memorable lines crystallizing their collective anxieties and prescriptions.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

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[Bill Maher]

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

[Kara Swisher]

CNN's new series Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever, airing Saturdays at 9. Kara Swisher, he's a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, former national security advisor under Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan and he was Obama's White House chief of staff, Mayor of Chicago, ambassador of J. Emanuel Wow, what a, what a resume we have here. Okay, so you probably just watched. You're on overtime here. The show where I ended with that thing about AI, all of you said to me right after it ended, I'm right. So we all know that it's going to kill us, but we just keep going toward the cliff like the lemmings. Is that about it?

[David Sacks]

You said something very powerful in your statement there. You said the very people building this technology are warning us about what is going to happen. They're saying, we're doing this. We're on the cutting edge of this and it's really dangerous. Do something. And all of us are just kind of like, oh, I guess we'll see what happens.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Here's the thing. They did this a long time ago. I was at dinner parties where they're like, we don't know how it works constantly. This is a decade ago. And one of the things I started warning about the social media was the same thing. This is dangerous. And they're more interested in the journey and the money because all of those people, Elon Musk, took billions of dollars to develop it more. It's not like they're stopping. Elon Musk did not say, it's so dangerous. I'm terrified of it. Now I want to stop. He's suing to get control of open air, paid by it or funded. So every one of those people who yell safety is also taking money from venture capital to grow bigger.

[Kara Swisher]

So what can we do?

[Scott Bessent]

The warning sign here, which, well, the federal government's going to have to finally do something. Correct. They can't kind of go the three monkey routines. See, no evil here, no evil people. When Dario at Anthropic says, I'm not putting this product out, I'm not living in a world where one CEO's moral compass is what saves us. That is not how this is going to work. And the federal government is going to have to finally do something. You're going to get industry, academics, public policy people all around the table. And what we do in federal government is we set a regulation, we wait 30 years to say it'll work. This is going to have to be real time, constantly updating things, but the federal government cannot do, which is this wild west, because these guys, as you put their pictures up there, it looks a little bit like an FBI photo shot. Cannot be in control. They have to have adult supervision.

[Kara Swisher]

But can we go back to. Dario is not releasing this because he's got a moral conscience. He is. He's just releasing it to 40 big companies.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Correct.

[Kara Swisher]

You think it's not going to get out? You think you can release something to 40 major companies and it's not going to get out to everybody? At a certain point, I give it about a month.

[Rahm Emanuel]

It is a low bar. That's what it is. He's the best, and it's a low bar.

[Scott Bessent]

Right.

[Rahm Emanuel]

And what's really interesting is that we're not going to regulate it. They have so much money. You know how much money they have? Elon Musk is about to become a trillionaire, and it's absolutely going to happen. And the reason, with that much money and that much influence, they can't even pass a basic privacy bill. I've been screaming about it for 20 years. They get mowed down by lobbyists and PACs and everything else. And now there's a new AI PAC that they're funding. All of these same people are funding the AI PAC they're funding.

[Scott Bessent]

Only be outdone by the Crypto Pack

[Rahm Emanuel]

pac, which got rid of. I mean, they can buy anything. And that's.

[Kara Swisher]

But you know Elon pretty well.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Not anymore, but.

[Kara Swisher]

Right, okay. Well, it's been a little more.

[Scott Bessent]

But he knows you.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Little more. Elon won. I know Elon won.

[Kara Swisher]

Those quotes I read from him, they're from a few years ago, at least. Right? It was. It seems like he was the guy. Because I do remember when he first said that statement, and it was the first time I'd ever really heard anybody say anything like that.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Well, he said it to me at an interview that we did.

[Kara Swisher]

Right but it was a while ago, over 10 years ago. And I was like, oh, this has not been on my radar. Okay. Elon says it, maybe it is a thing, but lately I don't hear that from him.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Of course you don't. Because he wants to be part of the rush of winning. And one of the things when he said that, and he said it at a conference, because that's when he started OpenAI with Sam Altman and with others. Cuz they were scared of the power of the Googles and the Facebooks and the apples and it was to protect people and create guardrails. And instead it's so much money they have to go for it, I think. And now it's a dick measure.

[David Sacks]

So Kara, is there any answer to this then? I mean, because you've, I think you've sketched out this money. Motive is massive, but we've got to be able to do something.

[Rahm Emanuel]

You know, I think people, because people are sick of this shit. Like the suicides. I've interviewed all those parents whose kids have died and these people are still trying to skate out of culpability. Like as if it's not accountability, legal lawsuits and someday a perp walk. I'm sorry, it has to happen.

[Scott Bessent]

One thing, one. First, I actually think it's one place that actually Xi and Trump, when they meet in about a month actually can agree on something because both of them are scared of this, right? Not fully knowledge. The second thing.

[Kara Swisher]

You think Trump is scared of it?

[Scott Bessent]

No, I don't think Trump is. But he's desperate for a deal, anything with Xi. So he looks good desperate. And I think this could be the one place. Second, I would just say you had two trials slightly off sides. I mean off to the side which is on the social media and kids, they all went to jury and the jury took like 10 seconds, boom, slapped them down. That tells you how angry and anxious people are. It's a separate issue than AI. But these media mogul, technology moguls do not understand the loathing people have for the way they are acting.

[David Sacks]

AI is almost as unpopular as the Democratic party right now.

[Scott Bessent]

The

[Kara Swisher]

polls, it's right there.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Guess who his new boss is going to be like. They're buying everything. Whether it's Apple, it's not just Larry Ellison. They're all buying the media properties.

[Kara Swisher]

See, I don't think it's on Trump's radar. I can't think of anybody in that administration and this is why I fight back. So people say you shouldn't have had dinner with Trump. I should have dinner with him again because I'd bring this up in two seconds and he would listen. I can't. Who is bringing it up in that administration?

[David Sacks]

Whose radar it is on now? The person whose radar it is on now is Scott Bessen, who called in all these guys.

[Scott Bessent]

Why?

[David Sacks]

Because he's worried that this Mythos gets out. You get cyber attacks, you get a complete collapse of the financial system with the whole.

[Rahm Emanuel]

More than that. No, he did have people. He brought in data.

[Kara Swisher]

We know that for a fact that Scott Besant is aware that he's actually summoned.

[Scott Bessent]

And the Federal Reserve, they both called and said, okay, wait a second here. Time out.

[David Sacks]

This has been a wake up call for the.

[Rahm Emanuel]

David. But who did they put in place? David Sacks was the AIs. He's a longtime Silicon Valley investor. Tight with Peter Thiel and Elon and the rest of them. They brought in Emil Michaels of the Pentagon, who did that ridiculous thing around Anthropic, like calling them never called an American.

[Kara Swisher]

Peter Thiel, who was asked, like, should humans keep living? And it was like. Not a immediate answer.

[Rahm Emanuel]

No.

[Kara Swisher]

It was like, I'm thinking, you know,

[Scott Bessent]

that's not an SAT question.

[Rahm Emanuel]

That is not an SAT question because

[Kara Swisher]

they think we're going to be the. We are the. You know, this is the singularity. I remember when Ray Kurzweil was talking.

[Rahm Emanuel]

He's still doing it.

[Kara Swisher]

What?

[Sponsor Voice]

Singular.

[Rahm Emanuel]

He's still doing. He's still around.

[Kara Swisher]

He predicted this a long time ago.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Oh, he wants it.

[Scott Bessent]

That's what he wants, right?

[Kara Swisher]

The difference between predicting it and wanting it.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Yeah.

[Kara Swisher]

I don't want to be half robot. I mean, look, the parts that are not my brain.

[Scott Bessent]

Yes, as your doctor. You're not half robot. Okay? It's not happening to you. Okay? It's not everybody else, but for you, you're not going to be a half a robot.

[Kara Swisher]

You're not a doctor. That's your brother. All right, let's move on. These are from the people you ever proposed. This is for you. 10%. You have proposed a 10% tax on prediction markets. A 10% tax on them. Okay. What kind of impact would this make? Give me the bones on this.

[Scott Bessent]

The bones on this. 10% on online gaming.

[Kara Swisher]

Prediction market.

[Scott Bessent]

Meaning, you know, poly market. Polymarket. Yeah. And calcium. As Karen said when you guys were doing the interview, we're cutting National Institute of Health, National Science foundation, ndarpa by 40%. Xi in China is doubling up every year on their research. We're losing the race. We're sitting on fumes and we have to increase our research and development dollars. We have $400 billion in growing spent on gambling. I want to bet on America, not bet against America. And that's what we're doing right now. And plow all the money into doubling up on research so we don't lose this race on fusion, nuclear energy, quantum computing, life sciences to the Chinese, which we are now losing.

[Kara Swisher]

So you think the poly market thing are that influential?

[Scott Bessent]

I think the poly. Oh absolutely. And I also think there's inside trading going on and I do think there is online sport. Gammy, when you put them all together, $400 billion and growing. I'm for 40 to $50 billion of additional money going into finding a cure for cancer, finding a new energy source around fusion. We're not doing it. And the Chinese are competing, winning and we're sitting here on the sidelines.

[Rahm Emanuel]

The Chinese created a pack for that. The gambling.

[Scott Bessent]

Yes. I can't tell you the sense. So my view, 10% and the 10% across the board to create the revenue goes in the lockbox. The second thing, everybody in the federal government, everybody, you are banned from participating in the online markets. I'm going to say this. You have kids from Peoria and Pontiac fighting a war and you got a bunch of Nepo babies down in Palm beach betting on it. That's not how we do this in America.

[David Sacks]

And making a lot of money too.

[Scott Bessent]

Right?

[David Sacks]

They pick the moment when are we going to hit the supreme leader? There's a bet on that hours before it happens. Because they know that's the insider trade.

[Scott Bessent]

We have seen more trades on oils on the oil market within minutes before the trade. That is. You don't need AI to know insider trading. It's against the law and nobody the cop's not showing up. So my view, 10% tax. And if you get a federal check,

[Rahm Emanuel]

the Trump Jr. Is in those two companies.

[Scott Bessent]

I did say Nepo baby. Palm Beach.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Okay, got it.

[Kara Swisher]

And you are a suburb.

[Scott Bessent]

My new quality.

[Kara Swisher]

You're the only person at this table who has suggested that. I saw there people running for government now at McDonald's wake up to a $4 breakfast meal deal. Wake up to a sausage McMuffin or a sausage biscuit to hash browns and wake up to a hot coffee. Get your four dollar breakfast meal deal. Limited time only.

[Scott Bessent]

Prices and participation may vary.

[Kara Swisher]

Prices may be higher for delivery.

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[Bill Maher]

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[Kara Swisher]

rise of authoritarians in Europe and around the world? What do you think of Viktor Orban's defeat last week? I did have that exact thought. Like, again, the media kind of played me. I mean, for years all I've been reading about is he's the second coming of Stalin, there will never be democracy again in Hungary. And then, oh, actually, well, people got tired of a guy just like they do in every democracy. They didn't like him and they wanted somebody with different policies and they voted him out and he went and conceded the next day. So I do feel a little used.

[David Sacks]

Well, I'll say one thing about this. This guy, little hurt.

[Rahm Emanuel]

This guy, he's an ally of him,

[David Sacks]

did everything he could to tilt the playing field in his favor. And yet when you add up all the harms that he did to Hungary and this new movement that came in that you would like, because it set aside all the old constituencies, all the old specialists, including politics, it said, we're going to bring everyone together, we're not going to wilt. As you were saying before, this young guy, Peter Magyar, and they went, they had to run through new media because they couldn't use the old media. In fact, this guy went on television now, having won the election, went on state tv, which would not let opposition figures appear, and said, the first thing I do as prime minister is shut you down. So he was rigging the game, no doubt about this.

[Kara Swisher]

But I agree. But then he got not a bad guy.

[Scott Bessent]

But here's the lesson for Democrats. I mean, this and the rest of Europe, he made Orban's corruption relevant to your inability to pay. So in my case, president of the United States gets A plane from Qatar. You get six bucks a gallon. Great trade. As my mother would say, such a deal, who would not think? I mean, here's it. He's going to get his arch and you can't afford the golden arches. And I stole. Right.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Well done.

[Scott Bessent]

Okay, thank you. But my thing is, it wasn't, you know, all the elite say, oh, oh, it's corruption. Corruption never sells, you idiot. It's making the corruption relevant in how you're getting screwed. And that's the lesson from Orban.

[Kara Swisher]

You're the only person at this table making that case. And I think it is a great point. It is. You're not going to let go of that. Not for the rest of your life. Cannabis use is on the rise among women. Oh. In the United States. And for the first time recently. Perfect for 420 coming up on Monday. For the first time, recently outpaced men. Why does the panel think that is?

[Rahm Emanuel]

No idea.

[Scott Bessent]

Can we go back to AI?

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah. I don't know. I mean, because men are bad.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Who's the expert?

[Kara Swisher]

And we need to get high on pot and women. What do you think of J.D. vance saying the Pope should be more careful when talking about theology?

[Rahm Emanuel]

Can you take that one?

[Scott Bessent]

No.

[David Sacks]

I'm one of the Catholic right.

[Scott Bessent]

Wrong.

[Rahm Emanuel]

I mean, as I've said, he has the charm of a cybertruck as a politician,

[Scott Bessent]

but.

[Rahm Emanuel]

I have one. I mean, look, the Pope is also an American citizen and should be able to say whatever he feels like under the First Amendment.

[Kara Swisher]

Yeah, of course.

[Rahm Emanuel]

And he just looks like a putz.

[Scott Bessent]

I don't know.

[Kara Swisher]

Well, he's such a recent convert.

[Scott Bessent]

The Pope is an Augustinian trained Pope. Augustine is the one that developed the concept of just war. You're going to lecture the Pope on the concept of just war? I think as one Jewish kid, that takes a lot of chutzpah. I mean, that takes a lot of chutzpah and I got a lot of chutzpah. But that is a lot of chutzpah.

[Kara Swisher]

Lecturing that wasn't like Augustine's main thing. His main thing was that you're born with original sin, you're evil to begin with. And that's why you need the Catholic Church.

[Scott Bessent]

That's why you need him to tell you. What a joke.

[Kara Swisher]

Augustine was not a good guy either.

[Rahm Emanuel]

He's going to out Catholic human.

[Scott Bessent]

I'm not going for the Catholic. I'm not for Jews for Jesus, but I am for Jews for Pope Leo. I'm setting that up as my new not for profit.

[David Sacks]

JD Manus did not have a great week. I mean, lecturing the Pope.

[Kara Swisher]

No.

[Scott Bessent]

Okay.

[David Sacks]

About theology, which I don't know what Latin for chutzpah is, but that is crazy.

[Kara Swisher]

Right?

[David Sacks]

Going and showing up with Orban saying, vote for this guy and then getting absolutely repudiated. Then 21 hours in Pakistan and he comes home and is like, I got nothing. That's like in.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Don't leave out the hall he couldn't fill.

[David Sacks]

Well, there you go. So that's in one week.

[Scott Bessent]

That's. Don't assume that Trump's not also setting him up.

[David Sacks]

And meanwhile Marco Rubio's with Trump at the UFC fight.

[Scott Bessent]

America. Yeah, don't assume that there's not some evilness. By Dr. Evil,

[Kara Swisher]

You mean plotting to discredit JD Ben, why does he have to do that? It's his pick anyway. But all he has to do is say, my pick for my successor is. And his people will follow.

[David Sacks]

He doesn't have to do the plot.

[Rahm Emanuel]

It's not as delicious unless you're pulling out someone's toenails. That's how it goes with this guy.

[Scott Bessent]

When was the last time he's ever showed any loyalty? No. Yeah. And what he wants to show is that the Republican Party is nothing without me. He is going to walk out and he's going to show them there's a one way street on loyalty.

[Kara Swisher]

I know that personality trait of him because I've seen it in other people. He likes, he wants, needs ass kissers around him. But then he does not respect them. If you do it, he doesn't respect you. He actually likes me because I didn't do it.

[Rahm Emanuel]

Yeah, I can tell you

[Kara Swisher]

exactly.

[Scott Bessent]

He likes to punch down and kiss up. That's what this president does.

[Kara Swisher]

Rahm, what is one thing Japan does well that America should consider adopting?

[Rahm Emanuel]

Oh, goodness.

[Scott Bessent]

It's the most beautiful thing I've seen 5 year olds walk to school all alone.

[Kara Swisher]

Yes.

[Scott Bessent]

And they don't. There's no fear. They go across the streets, they walk eight docks and it is. It is. I told all of you Japanese business leaders, you can have Mount Fuji, a five year old this big, a backpack this big, with their little uniform. They come to a street, they put their hands up, all the cars stop. No, it's sublime. It makes me cry when I think about how gorgeous that is.

[Kara Swisher]

Yes. And it is. But you're trans.

[Scott Bessent]

That's the one person that's done it right.

[Kara Swisher]

But you think you can transfer that to America? No, we're not good people.

[Scott Bessent]

That's all they said, what can we learn? I'll tell you this. They have a sense of. Of respect and sense of community. We wear masks to protect ourselves. They wore masks to make sure you didn't get sick. And respect for others is a quality that, if you ask me what we could learn, Japan has it in spades. And it's an unbelievably beautiful quality. And you see it where they nurture these children and give them back. We've stolen our children's childhood. They have given it to them. And that, to me, is one thing we can learn from them. Oh, good.

[Kara Swisher]

Say that when we run. All right, thank you, everybody.

[Bill Maher]

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