Overtime – Episode #735: Sen. Raphael Warnock, Larry Wilmore

Summary

Real Time with Bill Maher: Overtime – Episode #735

Guests: Sen. Raphael Warnock, Larry Wilmore
Date: June 30, 2026

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Episode Overview

This Overtime episode of Real Time with Bill Maher features comedian and writer Larry Wilmore and U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock. The lively post-show discussion focuses on topics including historical and political revisionism, the intersections of religion and policy, political accountability, and the ongoing culture wars in the United States. With thoughtful, candid dialogue, the guests explore the meaning behind current political developments and past precedents, drawing parallels between yesterday’s norms and today’s challenges.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Watergate and Political Revisionism

Timestamps: 01:10–03:36

• The panel examines J.D. Vance’s recent comment: “Watergate would be a 12-hour story” today, reflecting on how historical scandals might play out in today’s media and political climate.
• Panelists agree this reflects a decline in political standards, with one noting, “Trump commits like five Watergates before breakfast.” (01:40, Political Commentator)
• Larry Wilmore remarks on revisionist history:

  “There are people now who are like, who was the bad guy in World War II? ... Maybe it was Churchill. You know, are we sure it was Hitler? ... Everything has to be revised.”
  (02:07, Larry Wilmore)

• The discussion moves toward the concept of “Soviet-style revisionism” and “Pravda” as an analogy for truth manipulation in both history and current narratives.

2. Immigration Policy and Local Pushback

Timestamps: 05:02–06:38

• Panel discusses the closure of “Alligator Alcatraz” in Florida and the Trump administration’s immigration stances.
• Sen. Warnock highlights his work with communities opposing federal detention centers:

  “They were going to build a 10,000 bed detention center in Social Circle, Georgia. … Those folks began to stand up … and they backed off. So they’re not going to build this detention center.”
  (05:39, Raphael Warnock)

• He emphasizes the importance and effectiveness of public resistance:

  “Standing up makes a difference.” (06:38, Raphael Warnock)

3. Religion in Public Education and Policy

Timestamps: 06:38–09:04

• The Texas State Board of Education’s decision to require Bible study in schools is critiqued as a breach of church-state separation.
• Larry Wilmore facetiously points out educational priorities:

  “Well, they can't read anymore, so I don't care.” (06:42, Larry Wilmore)

• Sen. Warnock, a pastor, reflects on religious performance versus substance:

  “I don’t want to live in anybody’s theocracy ... The covenant we have with one another is that we are a diverse democratic republic.”
  (07:14, Raphael Warnock)

• Warnock notes the alienation of younger generations from religious institutions due to perceived hypocrisy:

  “They are deeply interested in things spiritual, but they are deeply suspicious of institutions … What they don’t have tolerance for is hypocrisy.”
  (09:04, Raphael Warnock)

4. Religion and Public Office

Timestamps: 09:42–10:07

• Wilmore questions the practicality and legality of clergy serving in government; Warnock confirms it is legal and that he continues to preach as a Senator.
• References to historic figures (Jimmy Carter) weaving religious roles and public office.

5. Political Accountability—Then and Now

Timestamps: 10:58–13:04

• Wilmore asks Warnock about his book’s assertion: “January 6th is exactly who we are and who we have always been.”
• Warnock provides nuance:

  “There’s a way in which that is who we are, not all of us. But the good news is ... all families have a complicated story, and I think we have to be honest about the ugly side of our story in order to get to a better place.”
  (11:12, Raphael Warnock)

• The panel compares past and present approaches to scandal and accountability (Watergate, Al Gore in 2000, Nixon in 1960), and the differences in partisan loyalty, conceding that political actors today seldom “take one for the team.”
• Wilmore laments,

  “Back then, people were different. They were like the good of the country.”
  (13:04, Larry Wilmore)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Trump commits like five Watergates before breakfast.” (01:40, Political Commentator)
• “Everything has to be revised.” (02:07, Larry Wilmore)
• “There’s Soviet style revisionism going on in this country.” (03:12, Political Commentator)
• “I don’t want to live in anybody’s theocracy.” (07:14, Raphael Warnock)
• “What they don’t have tolerance for is hypocrisy.” (09:04, Raphael Warnock)
• “There’s a way in which that is who we are—not all of us. But the good news is …” (11:12, Raphael Warnock)
• “Back then, people were different. They were like the good of the country.” (13:04, Larry Wilmore)

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Important Timestamps

• 01:10 – Discussion opens with J.D. Vance and Watergate revisionism
• 05:39 – Sen. Warnock shares story of resisting local detention centers
• 07:14 – Warnock on not wanting to live in a theocracy
• 09:04 – Hypocrisy and youth attitudes toward religion
• 11:12 – Warnock discusses “who we are” in the context of January 6th
• 13:04 – Wilmore reflects on political self-sacrifice and the “good of the country”

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Summary

This Overtime episode dives into the challenges and contradictions in America’s political and cultural self-understanding—from the shifting standards for presidential scandals, to the surface-level return of religion to public schools, to deep questions about national identity in the wake of events like January 6th. Warnock’s thoughtful input, informed by his roles as senator and pastor, frequently grounds the conversation in questions of substance and honesty, while Wilmore’s incisive humor keeps the critique sharp and engaging. Both highlight the tension between the country’s ideals and realities—past and present.

Listeners are offered both sobering critiques and touches of levity as the guests unpack just “who we are” as a nation.

Transcript

[Bill Maher]

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[Bill Maher]

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[Raphael Warnock]

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[Bill Maher]

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

[Larry Wilmore]

Okay, he's my friend who's an Emmy award winning comedian, writer Larry Wilmore, and he's a Democratic senator from Georgia and author of the Crooked Places Made Straight. Senator Raphael Warnock. Okay, these are questions from the people. What does the panel think of J.D. vance? Oh, yes, he made news today. I forgot to ask him, saying Watergate wouldn't take down a president today. He said Watergate would be a 12 hour story.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Well, see, my opinion on that, that's not because, you know, Watergate wasn't that bad. It's because our standards are so low right now. That's what it is. Because if you look at his boy, Trump commits like five Watergates before breakfast. You know, I mean, just the fact. So it's like, yeah, Watergate, ye. All he did was obstruct justice. Why are people talking about that?

[Larry Wilmore]

But it is amazing revisionism. Like if you hang around long enough, you know, like there are people now who are like, who was the bad guy in World War II? I don't know, maybe it was Churchill. You know, are we sure it was Hitler? Was he the bad guy? And now it's like he was. Not that Nixon is on the level of Hitler. Of course not. I'm not saying that. But it's like everything has to be revised. He's saying now, no, I like Nixon and I didn't. I never thought I'd hear a politician, even Republican, go back and like, go ahead.

[Raphael Warnock]

No self awareness that, you know, as a result of the Trump Vance administration, what we see every single day, he's like, It'll be a 12 hour news story. As if that's a good thing.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

You know, I think the.

[Larry Wilmore]

How many people remember Watergate?

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

I really think, I think it's a little deeper than that. I was thinking about this, you know, because I read that story. This is like a Soviet style revisionism. You know, Soviet Union had, you know, their big news outlet was Pravda. Pravda means truth.

[Larry Wilmore]

Yes.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

It was anything but the truth. Right. You know, kind of like truth social. It's not social.

[Larry Wilmore]

It's not right out of the book. 1984.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Correct. Right. So the whole point of Soviet style truthiness, if you want is to revise the truth, is to make up their own version of the truth. So a lot of this retelling of even American history make us numb to things. Retelling of American history, the getting rid of a lot of history and all this. That to me is Pravda. There's Soviet style revisionism going on in this country.

[Larry Wilmore]

Okay, that's my take.

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[Larry Wilmore]

What's the panel's reaction to the closing of Alligator Alcatraz in Florida? Is the Trump administration backing down from their aggressive approach to immigration? Boy, it's a first thing I tried to get JD To. I tell you, he's going to get a big clap on the back from the boss tonight. He didn't go with me on anything, you know, I'm sure he doesn't want to be in the doghouse.

[Raphael Warnock]

Well, the bar is pretty low. You close Alligator Alcatraz, you know,

[Larry Wilmore]

but they do. I mean, they do have a way of pulling back, you know.

[Raphael Warnock]

Well, we've seen that, but when we push back, they were going to build a 10,000 bed detention center in Social Circle, Georgia. And this is a 5,000 citizen town. It's a. They mostly voted for Donald Trump, but they didn't think that the federal government would step in and triple the size of their town. And those folks began to stand up. I went in and others elevated their concerns and they backed off. So they're not going to build this detention center in Oakwood and in Social Circle, Georgia. We saw the same thing last week when they were getting ready to gerrymander the maps in Georgia. Hundreds of people showed up at the state capitol and the legislators got nervous and said, well, you know, so at least they tabled it. We saw it in Minnesota. I think standing up makes a difference.

[Larry Wilmore]

What does the panel think of the Texas State Board of Education voting to require millions of students to study Bible stories? Well, they can't read anymore, so I don't care. You used to bother me, but I,

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

you know, it's like you're going to read. You didn't get a chance to read.

[Larry Wilmore]

It's like the pool or the ballroom. I can't. I just can't, you know, I just can't. Everything. Like, is it really going to. I mean, it's wrong. It should be. To me, it's wrong because it's favoring one religion. But, you know, how about get us

[Raphael Warnock]

home some health care so the childcare, livable wage. For me, you know, religion can just show up as performance rather than substance. And I will say this, I'm a Christian pastor. I don't want to live in anybody's theocracy. Christian, Jewish, Muslim. The covenant we have with one another is that we are a diverse democratic republic.

[Larry Wilmore]

Right?

[Raphael Warnock]

A place where people of various faith Traditions, people who claim no faith, tradition, people of moral courage can come together and we have this pact with each other. E pluribus unum. Out of many one. And so, you know, I get worried

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

when folks perform the religion or mixing religion and politics. Like Jesus never ran for mayor. You know,

[Raphael Warnock]

I'm a.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Sorry, I didn't mean that to cut.

[Bill Maher]

No.

[Raphael Warnock]

I'm a pastor who serves in the Senate, but I don't bring my creeds.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Yes.

[Raphael Warnock]

I don't bring my creeds to my work. I bring my values, which I think are resonant in all the faith.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Here's the sad part, though. Part of this, and I apologize for this because it's kind of my observation of religion in our culture right now. It's kind of an admission that religion in many ways has diminished in the popular culture as a given. And so a lot of the movement on the right started with the Moral Majority was, well, how do we pull religion back in to our political system? It has to get back in the schools. Whatever happened to Sunday school? When I was a kid, there was a thing called Sunday school. There's a thing people accepted that you got your religious teaching in a religious place.

[Raphael Warnock]

Well, the question becomes, whose religion are you going to teach?

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Well, that's a separate issue. But the movement is the feeling that it's leaving the culture. How do we hold onto that?

[Raphael Warnock]

I talk to young people all the time and I think that they are deeply interested in things spiritual, but they are deeply suspicious of institutions and the way there's a disconnect between what people say and what they do, between their creeds and their deeds. When they see the speaker of the House gather with other legislators, say a long prayer, join hands, and then go and cut a trillion dollars out of Medicaid, they're trying to understand what's the relationship between that. What they don't have tolerance for is hypocrisy.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

So

[Larry Wilmore]

you can legally be a senator but also be a pastor. Is that true? Of every level of government. Could you be a president and also a pastor?

[Raphael Warnock]

I don't know that it's practical to be the president and be a pastor, but yeah, you, of course you could. I serve in the Senate. I'm pastor of Ebenezer Church. I return to my pulpit.

[Larry Wilmore]

Yeah, I think Jim Carter Church Sunday School. Didn't he.

[Raphael Warnock]

Well, yeah, certainly after he left. I don't know if he did.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

You could be president and be a felon. That's okay. Hey, guys, stop it.

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[Larry Wilmore]

Bill, you know, I gotta say I love our audience. They love that. They love that joke. And they also gave the vice President a standing ovation when he came.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Senator Warnock turned to me, Bill, and he said, did he bring in all his people when they did that? But right after they applauded your thing, like, probably even bigger, you know? So there you go.

[Larry Wilmore]

Okay, one more question.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Wait, before you get the last question, can I say congratulations to Bill Mueller for receiving the Mark Twain Award?

[Larry Wilmore]

Okay. In your book, the Crooked Places Made straight, you wrote January 6th is exactly who we are and who we have always been. Who we have always been. What did you mean by that?

[Raphael Warnock]

I mean that in the wake. In the wake of January 6th, there were those who were well meaning, and they said, that's not who we are. And I think that that makes us feel good to say that, but it's dishonest. There's a way in which that is who we are, not all of us. But the good news is that's part of it, but it's part of who we are. January 5th. January 5th is when Georgia, a state in the old Confederacy, sent its first African American senator and its first Jewish senator to the Senate. And one fellow. All families have a complicated story, and I think we have to be honest about the ugly side of our story in order to get to a better Place.

[Larry Wilmore]

Yeah. January 6th is also Mike Pence, who was here recently, who also very well.

[Raphael Warnock]

In the insurrection. This president got reelected, so we are still.

[Larry Wilmore]

No, but he wouldn't go along with it. A guy who I never.

[Raphael Warnock]

Yeah, Mike Pence. Yeah.

[Larry Wilmore]

Never had one good thing to say about it.

[Raphael Warnock]

He didn't go along with it. But.

[Larry Wilmore]

But at the end of the day, he did the right thing. I mean, that's America, too.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Yes, you talked about. Nixon even resigned. You know, as crooked as he did, he was. He did what was good for the country at that time.

[Larry Wilmore]

Well, that's not why he did it.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

No, but. Well, but it turned out that way.

[Larry Wilmore]

Yes, but he did it because he lost the support of even the Republican Party, which never happened today. That's the difference between 1974 and today. He lost the Republicans. That does not happen.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

But who wouldn't have resigned instead? Even though with that going on, who wouldn't resign?

[Larry Wilmore]

No, but you know who does get that kind of clap on the back of his head was Al gore, because the 2000 election was. You know, he could have just kept going with that. And at the end of the day, he was like, you know what? You take one for the team. Nixon did that in 1960.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

He did.

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[Larry Wilmore]

1960. He probably won that election. And Kennedy's Mafia friends probably stole it.

[Panelist (Political Commentator)]

Yeah, there are some.

[Larry Wilmore]

And he still was like back then, people were different. They were like the good of the country. Well, happy Fourth of July.

[Bill Maher]

Catch all new episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher every Friday night at 10. Or watch him anytime on HBO on Demand. For more information, log on to hbo.com

[Larry Wilmore]

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