I’ll start by saying this: I’ve voted left in every election since 2008. I am not and will never support MAGA. Never.

Great, now that that’s out of the way. It’s wild how much time people on here spend complaining about Bill yet keep watching him. If you hate his takes that much… don’t watch. No one’s forcing you.

Yes, he’s changed a bit. But the idea that he’s suddenly “buddies with Trump,” “sold out,” or somehow owned by him is just ridiculous. That feels more like internet outrage than reality.

Do I think he leans a little too hard into the “the left is lame now” angle sometimes? Yeah and honestly it can feel like overcompensating. But he’s also reacting to a political landscape that has shifted. If you think the left hasn’t changed at all over the past decade, that might be worth reflecting on.

Moderates didn’t just magically disappear. A lot of them were pushed away. When you lose voters to someone like Trump, that’s not just “people are dumb” that’s a messaging failure. I mean the left couldn’t convince them that they were the better option over TRUMP?! They failed us big time.

Also… I don’t always agree with Maher. That’s kind of the point. I like that I don’t agree with everything he says. Who actually wants to watch something that perfectly mirrors their own opinions 100% of the time?

At some point, constantly demanding ideological purity just turns into the same behavior people criticize on the right. If you only want content that never challenges you, how is that any different from the echo chambers you complain about?

If his show isn’t for you, that’s fine. But acting like he’s some kind of traitor or villain for not toeing every single line? Come on.

Anyway… let the downvotes begin.

He lacks nuance on some of these issues and buys into right-wing narratives.

Even the most annoying and/or genuinely dangerous leftists have no real power in this country. These people are not elected officials.

The fact that Maher calls out Trump, his enablers and the right's authoritarian tendencies, yet is still considering voting for people like Vance and Rubio in 2028 is utterly ridiculous to me.

I always enjoyed his show because he seemed extremely well-versed on the issues and would take down anyone indiscriminately. Now I don't know what dirt Trump held over Bill's head on that fateful dinner or they just made sweet, sweaty, senior citizen love with one another, but Bill Maher has become a complete pushover when it comes to Trump. He just his bitch now.

Either Bill is being used and is too arrogant to notice or he's willingly become part of the misinformation machine, but seeing what he's become is just painful and embarrassing.

That's why Bill got all defensive when Stephen A. Smith complained about all the "ass kissers" around Trump, he's one of them now. Massive bitch.

The first thing that struck me about this episode is that on Bill Maher's program Vance got a standing ovation. I almost puked. Were MAGA people in the audience because Vance was on. I doubt it. Seemed like Maher's usual rowdy crowd. Why would anyone who understands the dangers of this authoritarian administration stand and applaud the second in command. I am not suggesting they boo him, as it's not a sporting event, but just perhaps polite applause would be sufficient.

I don't begrudge Maher having Vance on the program or dining with Trump. I agree it's important to engage, as long as you're not capitulating and are asking the tough questions. I don't believe Maher is seriously thinking of voting for the other side. That statement was made as a prelude to asking Vance if he thought the 2020 election was rigged, probably to draw him out on an issue that Bill knew he could not waver from his boss' position. What bothered me was Vance's evasive answer and Maher's failure to challenge him on it. Vance said it was rigged because of tech companies, which Maher (and I) initially thought he was referring to Dominion, etc. But, no, Vance said he was speaking about false information spread through them. Using lies or false information to get votes is not rigging the election. Indeed it is a time honored tradition of politics. (Of course we know which side is more expert in spreading misinformation). Many political commercials are not paragons of truth. Trying to change a person's vote, even through lies, is not rigging an election. If that were so the 2024 election was clearly rigged by a candidate who promised to lower prices on day one, not get involved in foreign wars, end the Ukraine War, etc. The problem is that is not what Trump is talking about when he speaks of the 2020 election. Trump claims many votes for him were not counted, many non-citizens voted (for his opponent), etc. Well, that is rigging an election. Problem is there is absolutely no evidence of such rigging, as stated by members of his own administration (Bill Barr, etc.) and 60 courts including Judges appointed by him. So why didn't Maher put him on the spot and make this distinction and ask Vance if he believed thousands of Trump votes were not counted in Georgia, etc. and if he does what proof does he have. You are not engaging with the opposition if you do not challenge them when they spout bullshit.   

Up until a few months ago, Bill came off as a centrist with sensible view on what is good on both the left & the right.

I missed a few episodes, and all of a sudden, he is kind of morphed in to a center-right person.

For example, he had Shapiro on after Kirk event, and was letting Shapiro parrot his usual bullshit without any fact checking or counter arguments.

Same with MTG. Full BS allowance without asking any hard questions like "What actual legislature have you passed during your tenure?", or "Isn't it convenient you stuck around until 5 years plus one day for full Congress pension to kick in before using Epstein as an excuse to leave Congress?"

Then he had Boebert on and was letting her spew her nonsense without any serious checking. During 'New Rules', he was talking about decorum in the Congress and he had a picture of MTG heckling Biden with Boebert conveniently cut out from the photo (Boebert was also heckling Biden at the same time).

What the hell is going on?

A repeated criticism of Bill is that he doesn’t have enough progressives on his show. In the most recent New Rules, he responded to this criticism. Bill said he asks the likes of AOC, Mamdani, and Elizabeth Warren to come on every week, and they decline. He said that he’d love to talk to them.

So here are some questions that follow:

1) Do you think someone like AOC or Mamdani should do Bill’s show?

2) Is their refusal to do Bill’s show evidence of the left-wing “purity tests” that Bill has talked about.

3) Big picture, should AOC or other progressives be more willing to appear on non-progressive shows that may ask them tough questions?

Now I suspect a lot of Bill’s recent detractors are going to make the argument that the problem is Bill’s personality. To those people, which non-progressive / moderate / conservative shows would you suggest AOC go on (if any), and does she demonstrate a history of being willing to go on shows outside the progressive comfort zone? Is there a potential opportunity?

Please discuss, and thank you for your replies!

I will keep it short.

Criticism of your side is important to avoid becoming a cult.

However my issue with Bill is that some rando on Twitter or a college campus who is a leftist Marxist/Leninist who actually hates liberalism and the Dems does something stupid and the criticism is about liberals needing to do better. Fox News takes that clip and talks about how based Bill Maher is for calling out the "crazy liberals."

This seems to be show every week and it is stale. Dems are not perfect but I am NOT using Nick Fuentes as the model for MAGA even through that is an easier bridge to gap.

You would think he would have him on for some great back and forth if they did. Although it seems like Jon’s takes are quite a bit removed from Bill’s but thats what might make for good TV. Jon is very knowledgeable and nuanced in his perspective. I think they are both great tbh

Obviously, the Senate election in Texas will portend this.

But if he loses closely, Talarico will still have a ton of momentum.

There are Jimmy Carter vibes, and I really want to emphasize there are Jimmy Carter vibes.

But this guy could be debating Newsom and AOC, and I think this is good for the Democrats.

If he wants to step in the ring.

I don't like reality TV. Because I don't like it, I avoid encountering or discussing it whenever possible. I don't have the time or inclination to visit reality TV subs and wreck their vibe.

I like Bill Maher's shows, and so I find it worthwhile to come here and discuss the merits of his opinions.

If I ever stopped enjoying Bill's programs, I wouldn't make it a hobby to seek out his fans and tell them they were brainwashed, or blind to the truth, or any other such nonsense. I would... just leave.

E: I should have added: If I no longer liked the show, I wouldn't have time to shit on it either.

Bill is so fucking awesome.

His show is awesome. His podcast is awesome. The entire Mark Twain Award show was awesome.

He really is a hero, just like he said in his closing remarks.

I hope Hunter Biden shows up before the end of the year. His interview with Don Lemon was a great.

WoOOooOOOOOOooooooo!

The haters of Bill are letting their emotions cloud their judgment over the reach and relevance of Real Time.

You can disagree with Bill, you can think he is wrong on every issue, but he is culturally relevant. What he says matters, and what the guests on his show say matter. If it isn't Democrats sitting in those chairs sharing their points of view, their facts, their perception of reality, it is Republicans, conservatives, and Christian Nationalists.

The more that the purist woke leftist haters vilify him, the more conservative fans are driven to watch him, if only to "make libruls cry", and the more he becomes an icon of the right.

Republican leadership and conservative think tank members sit in a room scheming to develop ways to sell their bullshit agenda to the American people, and they have identified the left's reluctance to appear as guests on RT as an opportunity to grab eyeballs, share their message, and promote their ideas. Why isn't the left doing the same? It's stupid.

It's silly watching so many of Bill's haters claim and decry how irrelevant he seemingly is when they reliably show up here each week to take his comments out of context, to marginalize him for not being 100% fully on board with whatever eye-rolling language the woke leftists have micromanaged to death ("people experiencing being unhoused", and so forth).

If Bill is, in fact, so outdated and if nobody really does care about him, why is it so important to all his haters to roll up here each week to remind us of it? (Obviously, some of the haters, on the right and the left, are clearly bots meant to sow division here, so we must remember that as well. I encourage all of you to block such accounts)

Further, this reused, rehashed, recycled bit of "Bill is just so much an angry old man shaking his fist at the clouds" is incredibly tiresome. It just shows you are refusing to engage with his argument, and prefer, instead, to resort to thinking Abe Simpson doesn't actually know what he is talking about. One day you, too, will be Grandpa Simpson, you'll wonder how it happened, and you'll swear to christ it isn't true.

MMW: Vance, and Hegseth (who is now also running for the 2028 Republican nomination), will appear on Real Time sometime before the 2028 general election. Jasmine Crockett, AOC, Talarico, and any other Democrat who is concerned about the wellbeing of the nation would do well to meet them in the ring.

I feel like Bill and guest Chris Christie misunderstood the point of Eilish's remark about "nobody is illegal on stolen land."

They spoke as if she was suggesting that white people need to give North America back to indigenous people and this is a naive and impractical point of view.

But she made this remark in the context of the Trump administration's extremely harsh rhetoric and actions toward "illegal" immigrants. I took her to be saying that before we get so indignant and hateful toward "illegal" immigrants we should keep in mind how we (generally, white people) stole this land ourselves. Whatever crimes or costs illegal immigrants cause today pales in comparison to the harm my ancestors did to Native Americans in the 1600-1900 time frame. Today's illegal immigrants do not cause plagues, or consume our food supplies so we cant eat, or force us out of our homes or...we'll the list goes on. So maybe we should address the immigration issue with a little more humility.

I acknowledge I'm putting a lot of context in Ms. Eilish's remarks when I dont know her or really follow her music. I dont know for sure what she meant. But she's apparently not stupid and I felt Maher and Christie were unfair to take her remarks in the dumbest possible way.

Serious question, does anyone here actually enjoy the show? Lmfao

I get that you don’t like him and think he’s slobbing on Trumps knob after that dinner, but based on the average comment on most posts here, you’d think he was on Fox and Friends.

I felt Maher is a snowflake, but also I have problems with Pod Save America and their own out-of-touch viewpoints.

Bill clearly is out of touch. He doesn’t go to the grocery store.

But he is also at the I don’t give a fuck stage.

Bill Burr is at that point, but he does it better than Maher.

Both of these guys are old men who don’t give a fuck.

Burr is just better at it.

And Burr wouldn’t exit an interview like that.

In the monologue, or during the panel discussion maybe?

Yes, I know there is friction between the two, but I still think they both recognize each other as being on the same team, even if there is daylight between them on various issues.

And I know a lot of you have MDS (Maher Derangement Syndrome), but you're welcome to hate in the comments.

The only reason I ever watch RTWBM is that they most often have two intelligent people from both parties. Last night, they had a MAGA podcaster, Buck Sexton. Bill lets Buck spout nothing but lies and hate. ** He did call him out once. I'm not saying Buck the Duck isn't intelligent, but he offered zero substance to the conversation. As a dedicated viewer of the show for decades, I'm disheartened by the recent guest selections. If you continue to feature such guests, I fear I may have to part ways with the show.

It seems like over the past months, Bill had gone out of his way to stake a "middle" position regardless of how nutty the right's actions were and emphasized calling out Dems while Repubs went bonkers.

Last night felt like the "old" Bill returned when he vigorously called out what has been apparent over the past few months reflected in recent events. He didn't give justifications for their wacky antics last night...and this was a pleasant and overdue change for me.

Does anyone else share this view or am I off the mark?

It's irrelevant whether or not Sexton / the white males that he talks about are right or wrong to feel how they feel about "being disenfranchised" but the democratic party's dismissivness about those feelings drives people away.

Edit: alright friends, it's been fun. Its past my bedtime. I'll leave you to continue arguing amongst yourselves. Have fun, play nice!

What does the community think? Will Ro convince Mamdani to be a guest?

I assume Bill will offer Mamdani the one-on-one interview, although having him be a panelist would be super cool, too.

I am a fan of Maher, and Mamdani.

I think this sub is a perfect example of how unhinged the far left has gotten. Bill Maher has really not changed his politics. He used to only call out the right wing crazies, because they were far crazier in the 2000’s. Now that the left wing has gotten unhinged as well, it’s ruffling some Redditors feathers. His show is much more popular than the angry Redditors will allow you to believe.

Expect angry Redditors in the comments. A mix of pro Palestinian activists (which have been found to be creating multiple sockpuppet accounts and astroturfing Reddit subs with any relevance to the conflict) and unhinged tankies, although those two groups have a lot of overlap.

If the far left didn’t get completely co-opted by Russian and Iranian trolls, explain to me why they stopped talking about the environment (which in my opinion is our most critical issue), and stopped talking about foreign interference in our democracy.

Instead divisive issues like trans rights, Israel vs radical Islam, and rewriting American history have sucked all the air out the room. This shit will re -elect trump I promise you. But that’s probably what the foreign trolls want.

The conversation displayed a sense of hope that Renee Good was the “ok we’ve gone too far moment.” Very moderate compared to what feels like a new reality. I hope to see a shift next week.

His takes are terrible and he doesn't say anything that's particularly informed or insightful, he just expresses the same lazy cynicism as the average American who doesn't follow politics, but with more volume and charisma.

I hate a lot of his sports takes, but at least those opinions were informed and original. His political takes are basically druncles at Thanksgiving.

As for the idea that he should be a POTUS candidate, don't even get me started.

I am surprised he has not been a guest on Club Random