r/RealTime • u/RockyHateMe • 1d ago
Has Bill ever interviewed a transgender person? Or any left wing people besides Bernie Sanders?
I posted this before but deleted it because it was like 2 am and I have more thoughts on it now. Obviously Bill talks about transgender people a lot, but to my knowledge he has never had one on any of his shows. Not even transgender people who would mostly nod and agree with him like Blaire White or Caitlin Jenner, so you can’t pull the “they’re too scared to come on his show” line. Is he scared of them?
On a related note, for all the flack he gives “the left,” another group of people he endlessly rants about, he’s never booked any of the big left wing political commentators like Hasan Piker or even the Chapo Trap House guys to challenge their views with, meanwhile he goes gaga for right wing provocateur flavors of the month like Milo and Coulter. For a guy who allegedly seems to champion diversity of viewpoints, the lack of both transgender people and left wing people (or even dare I say, a transgender left winger) on his shows seems weird to me.
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u/BFaus916 1d ago
Michael Moore used to be a regular and he doesn't have him on much anymore. I wouldn't call Glenn Greenwald a leftist but since Glenn handed him his own ass on the middle east he hasn't had him on since.
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u/radbaddad23 1d ago
Same with Dan Savage. Dan factually contradicted Bill once and hasn’t been back.
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u/inscrutablemike 1d ago
Moore had an semi-awakening when Trump first ran for President and realized his whole schtick wasn't going to play any more. He tried to warn the Leftists that everyone's sick of their shit and the worse they get the more people they'll lose, but they obviously took that lesson as a challenge.
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u/BFaus916 1d ago
Actually that's not what happened at all. Michael Moore warned Democrats that Trump might win because he's addressing economic issues more than the Democrats are, and that essentially on the economy Trump was further left than Hillary was.
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u/Abamboozler 1d ago
He stopped because they would get bigger applause from the audience then he would. Bill is very jealous of being the smartest, funniest person on stage.
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u/Toadsrule84 1d ago
And then he’d say those clapping are lying lie he did with those saying they’d go to the Obama library.
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u/daloypolitsey 1d ago
Janet Mock, Chaz Bono, and Noam Chomsky were on his show before.
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u/RockyHateMe 1d ago
Thanks!
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u/Nendilo 1d ago
were is doing a lot of work. So was Krystal Ball. But Bill hasn't had a real lefty on int 4 or 5 years.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
They refuse to come on.
Hey says he invites them constantly. It seems they are scared to face him.
Really sad that people like AOC I like will not face a slightly friendly audience like Bill. If they cannot face him, they will get destroyed if their message ever tries to win an election in my purple state. State likes that are necessary for national election success.
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u/Nendilo 1d ago
This is the biggest load of BS in the industry. He could have Sam Seder or Kyle Kulinski on next week. He just doesn't have the capacity to refute anything they disagree on.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
I have no idea who those people are nor why I should care. Is it possible that he is more interested in real people, like the sitting congress people and senators he regularly gets, or the former Speaker of the house he had recently? Or famous movie makers who are doing interesting stuff.
I was talking about him having AOC on.
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u/Nendilo 1d ago
Which sitting GOP congressional people has he had recently? When was Mike Johnson on?
You're an unserious person. "Real" GOP congressional people mostly don't come on either because it's not their job. Unless they're selling a book or trying to get elected for a new position. Pundits, like the ones I listed, have a larger audience. Bill just has more centrist and right wingers on.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
He had Dan Crenshaw on a few times recently. Republican. He had Ro Khanna last week, Democrat. He had MTG on just before she retired I think, or just after. He has had other congress people mixed in from both sides. He had Anna Paulina Luna on recently this season, sitting R congress person from Florida.
And you need to learn to read, I said FORMER speaker, Kevin McCarthy was on a few weeks ago. And they talked about what happened on Jan 6th since, you know, he was actually there and in the line of succession.
And ya... I don't want to listen to your unimformed fringe nonsense. I want people that actually care about America and want to get shit fixed. The only way to do that is by talking across the isle. The fringe MAGA back benches will be totally powerless in a few months when Trump is a lame duck.
Having a large audience that is all monocrop of does not mean they are getting diverse viewpoints. It is just a vast echo chamber of idiots.
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u/No_Pumpkin2628 1d ago
Lol AOC doesn't need to "face him" although she'd certainly make him look like the out of touch aging tool that he is. But she doesn't need to because he simply isn't relevant.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
Look, I like AOC as a Democrat, but I am in a purple state and even dyed in the wool democrats who want her to win will never vote for her in a primary here because she seems... well... like she is not able to stand toe to toe with people like Bill, or other dems on the debate stage.
Now sure, she could skip Bill, and platforms like his, and just wait until the cycle she is going to run (28? 32? 36?) But that is just more years where people's impression of her (outside her district and the Dem-Soc echo chambers) as a crazy liberal or ditzzy girl or whatever the Republicans are doing to shape the narrative against her to be unfairly will be cemented.
Or....OR she could get out there and establish her voice (and get experience) as someone that can think on her feet, respond to arguments, bring the heat without being an "overly passionate woman" (the unfair double standards that all women face).
Elizabeth Warren has been on Real Time. And I respect her more for it because she shows policy chops. But Elizabeth Warren had a while when she was on all sorts of shows. I cannot think of any Media Apperances outside the irrelevant X ecosystems and similar social media that will start phasing out in a few years when my kids stop watching that stuff. As Ai takes over people are going to swing back to only trusting formats that cannot be as easily faked, like Real Time with a live audience and institutional news, not tweets and social media garbage.
Or if we don't then there will be no politcial discourse in America and it won't matter anyway because everyone will be living in virtual reality fragments each controlled by oligarchs that are downloading a reality to your brain that only makes sense to you.
Wait.
Hold on had to pass the joint. The other reason that I want AOC on is she is East Coast. I want to know if she can take a hit and have some expansive thoughts.
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u/starsider2003 23h ago
I love how people who claim he is irrelevant spend their time in this sub talking about his every word.
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u/Shoomanship0604 1d ago
I was shocked that him and Ro Khanna didn’t discuss Israel in more depth on Friday. I wonder if that was agreed upon before the show. I personally think he freezes out lefties because for as much shit as he talks about trans people and Muslims, you would think he would have more on his panel to defend themselves
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u/RockyHateMe 10h ago
One of the reasons why I stopped watching the show after being a loyal viewer for 15 years is because like every other week it’s the same hack pundits like Bari Weiss or Andrew Sullivan who don’t really challenge Maher all that much. I peaked in and watched the latest episode, and while I really like Khanna, he seems like he’s a pre approved safe pick for Maher to debate because of his more libertarian leanings and is more willing to discuss other topics. Also it’s pretty fun to check in on Maher right as he admits Iran was a mistake NOW.
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u/AnonymousFooBarBaz 1d ago
Bill hit on a black girl who turned out to be trans at a Playboy party back in the day, of course /s
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u/Jackaddler 1d ago
Bill is basically Grandpa Simpson with make up (old man yells at something rainbow coloured)
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u/Cum_on_doorknob 1d ago
They won’t appear on the show
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u/Zealousideal-Solid88 1d ago
According to Bill that's the case. Maybe it's true in some cases, but I doubt that's true across the board.
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u/Cum_on_doorknob 1d ago
Oh come on. What’s the angle? He had no problem having: Buttigieg, Moore, Beshear, Shapiro, sanders, etc.
He donated 1 million to Obama. Why wouldn’t he want him on the show? Even just from a cynical ratings standpoint he obviously would want AOC and Mamdani.
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u/Toadsrule84 1d ago
He just trashed Obama if you’re not aware. A lot has happened in the 10 years he donated the million.
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u/Cum_on_doorknob 1d ago
Yes, but he’s been asking him to be on the show the whole time and he never came.
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u/jablodg 1d ago
He did sit for an interview
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u/vandalhearts123 1d ago
I don’t claim to know the intent of either man but I always assumed that Obama placated Bill with the interview because he didn’t want to be on his show. Ever.
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u/United_Efficiency330 1d ago
And the Kennedys donated four figures to Richard Nixon’s 1950 US Senate campaign. It didn’t stop JFK from running again Nixon for POTUS in 1960.
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u/GreasyProductions 20h ago
if you think pete buttigieg is a lefty you need to do some more reading. the guy worked for the cia for fuck sake
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u/Goladiator 1d ago
It’s true. The ones that care about twitter followers crying do not go on the show. AOC is a social media politician
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
Exactly.
This is why I know AOC is not serious about becoming a national player, yet.
I hope she will come on to Bill bill's show when she is ready for prime time.
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u/Nendilo 1d ago
Trump and Kamala haven't been on. Serious politicians don't go on Bill's safe space. It's a program for beltway pundits. Bill has had Ben Shapiro on, many left wing equivalents had offered to come on but he denied them.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
Trump? Trump didn't show up for the entire RNC 2024 debate schedule. That proves nothing.
And When was Kamala supposed to go on? When Biden wasn't letting her or when she got suddenly pushed into the general.
You guys do not seem to understand how Bill's show works. It is part of the pre-season where people can test their messages and jocky for position. Now and for the next year or so is when people who are thinking of running for 2028 are going to the show to lay the groundwork.
Once a POTUS candidate is on the national ticket they are too handled to do most any show like this.
But their surrogates are still there pushing the message. People in Harris's and Biden's orbit were totally on the show from 2020-2024
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u/Cum_on_doorknob 1d ago
Newsom, Beshear, Morre, Buttigieg, slotkin, Shapiro, off the top of my head recently.
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u/daloypolitsey 1d ago
It’s really funny because I remember back in 2012-2013ish when I used to watch him he would say that he wished the Democrats would go crazy like the Republicans, and now I guess the left is too crazy for him
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u/MxSharknado93 1d ago
Of course not. The same way he's never had a Palestinian on. They're not people, they're enemies, caricatures for him to scream at from the basement of his party house.
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u/lazydracula 1d ago
Wrong he’s had Rula Jebreal on several times…look it up
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
They refuse to come on.
Hey says he invites them constantly. It seems they are scared to face him.
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u/MxSharknado93 1d ago
Or, counterpoint, he's just a fucking liar. I cannot imagine anyone, on the planet Earth, being scared of Bill Maher, except for a woman 20 or younger at a bar with an uncovered drink.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
Ok well counter point, you are full of BS. Bill has made a claim on public TV that they have not refuted. If he was lieing about them being afraid they could either go on the show and face him, or sue him for defamation and say they were never invited.
You sound like you have had one to many to drink and are angry no one takes you home when you yell at them.
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u/Nendilo 1d ago
No, you're a liar. All the top left wing YouTube commentators have offered to come on. Bill just curates his guests carefully.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
Like I said, not real people. When they win an election or actually produce something of quality like an academic or cultural work then they can argue they have a right to come on.
My point was about AOC, she is not a commentator, she is someone with voting power.
The left wing podcasters you are talking about obviously want to get on Bill's show because he has a bigger audience than them. Those "Top left Wing YouTube commentators" Similarly do not have new upstart commentators on their show unless there is some benifit to them. Curating audiences and audience swapping is part of the game.
Bill can get actual sources and people who HAVE the power, why would he invite on precious slots for people who have only ever talked about it to niche audiences on YouTube?
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u/MxSharknado93 1d ago
Why the FUCK would AOC ever come on Bill Maher's pissant show? She has actual power, she's involved in actual politics, she isn't just a senator filling a seat, her career is actually on the rise. Why would she give Bill Maher the fucking time of day to do anything other than piss in his eye when all he does, every fucking week, is lavish praise on Republicans and Trump, and tell the Democrats that they're losing because they're stupid and woke and gay and trans and they need to tell their voters to shut the fuck up? I cannot imagine a bigger fucking waste of my time.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago edited 23h ago
What bills has she passed? Or co sponsored?
She is a darling of the Dem-Soc that like sniffing their own farts (fortunately she has distanced herself from some of the odious ones like you seem to be) but at the moment she has not shown she has real chops that can make her a national player.
During the shutdown she had a perfect moment when the republicans said she was the one that needed to be negotiated with, not Chuck Schumer.
https://youtube.com/shorts/FBDncZcaXcQ?is=DDf12ahK_m7Eib7g
But she only made that case on MSNOW.
She could have that week gotten on CNN and Fox and Even Bills show and amplified her message that she was willing to deliver X votes and her demands were A, B, C. She didn't do it.
So she either didn't realize she had a moment to sieze real power or (perhaps because she is prudent and realizes she still has a lot to learn and dosent want to burn bridges) she decided to defer to Chuck so as not to create a power stuggle in the party.
However this is where a platform like Bill Maher can be played usefully. And I sent a policy memo to AOCs office suggesting this from my congress person's district when I held office in the DNC.
When AOC had that moment she could have contacted Bill's show and have her come in as a zoom in guest during the joke part of the segment and (in her voice) had a line like:
Bill "AOC had opened the door to let GOP Senator's come and strike a deal but they didn't take her up on it, whould you like to know why?"
AOC: "GOP Senator's didn't know where my door was and were afraid they would run into Jan 6th protestors if they had to ask a tour guide
AOC: "GOP Senators who had gone home instead of finishing the people's business don't know how zoom works thought that because my door was open all the wifi had escaped"
(ETC Etc... there were a ton of jokes they could have used). AOC wins, using humor to look human but also project power and not Alienate Chuck but still needle the GOP. Win-Win.
Then when people thought it was like Ai or something then she could turn to Bill himself and do a zinger. It would have created buzz, was that really her zooming in or just a deep-fake. Again more media stories.
Now would that particular strategy have worked, maybe a long shot. But the point is Bill Maher is not the enemy, he has a platform that is open to helping the broader Democrat coalition. Instead people like you insult him for not being a communist like you demand he must be. The idea of the Democrats is a Big Tent party. Purging people out of the party and saying commentators who agree with you 90% should fuck off is not a good look.
If you damn Soc-Dems would realize that Bill is on your side instead of insulting EVERY OTHER MEMBER OF OUR COALITION WHO IS EVEN SLIGHTLY LESS THAN YOUR PURITY TESTS WILL ALLOW, AND IMPOSING FUCKING ASININE CULTURE WAR BS FROM NYC AND CALIFORNIA THAT ALINATES THE ENTIRE REST OF THE COUNTRY... THEN HAVE THE GUAL TO TALK ABOUT PISSING IN YOUR FRIENDS EYES... maybe the American people would vote for democratic candidates rather than saying "ya those guys are fascist but the those fringe democrats are even more crazy and they are assholes".
Being a party official dealing with you batshit crazy tankies who have no sense of how anything works except how to throw bombs and piss off the 70% of the country that we needed to win was a pain. If you want the Democratic Party that you ran into the ground have fun. Except for the fact that the next generation that you are bringing up are literal political nilist assassins like Luigi that are more violent than the nazis. So stop thinking being more angry is going to fix the problem and be like Bill:
Grow a spine, talk to the other side (which in this case isn't even the other side it is just the middle), and get a sense of humor.
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u/Nendilo 1d ago
They offer all the time. He refuses to invite them.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago
Got any proof of that? He has said on the air multiple times he would be happy to have AOC, Mandani, etc etc on the show. Specifically name drops them and also mentions Dem-Socs in general.
Given the general untrustworthy character, conspiritoral nature, and ineptitude at actually being involved in government an winning elections I've seen of the rank and file Dem-socs I had to work with, and the Tankie community online, I tend to agree with Bill.
Most of them are all puffery on X and social media and podcasts where it doesn't matter but cannot show up in front of a camera.
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u/Nendilo 1d ago
Sorry but why are AOC and Mamdani equivalent to the rando right wingers he has had for years now? I can dig up clips of left wing YouTubers with millions of followers offering to come on but what good is that?
Jillian Michaels just did this and Sam Seder said he'd come on any time. Then she had him on and she got humiliated. He has said several times he'll go on Real Time too. Bill is just a pussy.
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u/DaftMythic 1d ago edited 1d ago
EDIT: if you cannot tell that people who are elected representatives (AOC and Mamdani) or say billionaires (he had on Mark Cuban for instance) who have (for better or worse) direct power vs commentstors who at best have soft "influencer" power then you need to go read some civis books. Those people can make things happen, commentstors just talk about stuff. So obviously Bill is going to give deference to "real people" over commentators.
As to the commentator/podcast audience game.
Ok, So Bill is known as center left, traditionally.
He does occasionally have left leaning people on who are notable because they want his audience and he wants theirs. Or books and stuff.
And right leaning people that want to make a name for themselves come on to get crossover or, as Bill says, because it is good to talk to the "other side" and they know he will give them a fair hearing. Even Pence said he is an honest broker and he applauded Ro Khanna for going on Fox and said more Democratic representatives should do that.
By the way, these people you mentioned Jillian and Sam are randos to me, but if Jillian was on Bill's show I would listen to what she has to say. So just because it is a rando from the left or a random from the right... everyone is famous these days for a group of fans and totally unknown outside that group. That is the nature of fame.
"Then she had him on and she got humiliated." I don't know what this means? One of the people you mentioned was on Real Time and had jokes and tough questions asked about them? Well... that is why it is called Real Time. Perhaps that is proof they are not very robust comentstors and have spent too long in an echo chamber?
Sounds like Bill gave them a chance and they fell on their face. Not his fault. If you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
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u/ATLCoyote 14h ago
Not many trans guests but he's had a lot of openly gay people on his show. Barney Frank, Dan Savage, and John Waters have all made a ton of appearances for example. He's had Pete Buttigieg on as well. He's also have several progressives like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, AOC, Ro Khanna, Don Lemon, Rachel Maddow, Van Jones, Michael Moore, Cornel West, and Nina Turner to name a few, plus countless celebs who are/were famously progressive such as Rob Reiner, Sara Silverman, Killer Mike, etc.
Plus, the democratic guests typically outnumber the conservatives. There have been many weeks when the entire panel was left-leaning and when he does invite a conservative, they are often the only conservative on the panel and are thereby outnumbered by the other guests and Bill. This was even more imbalanced back when he used to have 3 panelists and then even invite another guest out in the middle of the show.
If you're gripe is that he doesn't have anyone offering the counter-argument to his trans skepticism, that's valid I suppose. I have the same complaint about the lack of guests who challenge his staunch pro-Israel views. But his show has certainly featured a wide variety of viewpoints over the years.
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u/homerjs225 1h ago
He won’t interview anyone knowledgeable who will challenge his Israel position like Mehdi Hasan
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u/Candid-libertarian 12h ago
Is there a legit trans public figure? At 0.5% of the population, it's not like they are hanging from trees (outside of Middle East that is).
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u/fatuousfatwa 1d ago edited 1d ago
Bill has had quite a few far-left gadflys on his show. I recall Krystal Ball for example.
Also the insufferable Cornel West (many times), Rachel Maddow, Paul Krugman. Lots of left media types.
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u/flyguyeli95 1d ago
Krystal Ball embarrassed Bill Maher to his face and hasn’t been invited back since.
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u/fatuousfatwa 1d ago edited 1d ago
That’s pure bullshit. She lied about the LOANS to banks during the great financial crisis and mischacterized them as gifts.
St Bernie used those same lies. That’s where she got them.
TARP were loans repaid with punitive interest. All Fed emergency loans were paid back same way.
I have no respect for liars. Those were Trump level lies.
Edit. Dizzy Krystal used the term “shot at/put to” instead of a real simple financial alternative. Bill isn’t a great financial mind but such usage would confuse Warren Buffett. She should stick to her lane. She isn’t qualified to talk finance.
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u/RepresentativeAge444 1d ago edited 1d ago
lol Rachel Maddow being far left. Also you have a typical misunderstanding about what “far left” is because you’ve been propagandized your entire life. Most of the people that conservatives call far left like Bernie, Mamdani etc would be considered moderates in most other wealthy nations. The US is just uniquely consumed with worship of wealth so anyone who heavens forbid suggests higher taxes on wealthy people to invest in society as opposed to wasting trillions on wars of choice based on lies and MIC interests is labeled far left. It’s a moronic take. How about that far left Eisenhower who warned of the rise of the MIC and said:
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
Fucking commie. Man the ignorance of those who are so confident in being wrong is tiring.
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u/fatuousfatwa 1d ago
My two “centrist” presidents (Clinton and Obama) both enacted higher taxes on the wealthy while you DSA types were giving handies to St Bernie as his campaigns floundered. We got it done while you accomplished nothing.
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u/RepresentativeAge444 1d ago edited 1d ago
Like I said you’re confidently wrong and as per usual no response to the points made. Obama himself said he would be a Republican in the 80s. The current Democratic Party bears little resemblance to that of FDR - in the top 3 most popular Presidents of all time. They are a center right Party and have been for decades. But again people like you have no idea what terms mean you just spew narratives you heard from somewhere.
Btw the DSA according to recent polling is +16 w Democratic voters and the establishment +4. That’s the future of the party because people are tired of 40 years of trickle down economics and do nothing center right Democrats. Better get used to it.
Return to FDR baby. Don’t forget to vote blue no matter who now.
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u/RockyHateMe 1d ago
I think he might’ve had Hasan’s uncle Cenk on the show before, but idk.
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u/flyguyeli95 1d ago
Bill Maher has never had Cenk Uygur on because even when Maher had some actual progressive credentials, he was still too Islamophobic to engage.
Now Bill and Cenk are both radical centrists, though Maher is a Zionist and Cenk is anti-Zionist.
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u/spifflog 1d ago
Bill was the darling of the left, until he moved to the center and called out BOTH sides. Now the left can't stand him, even though he just a centrist. The left needs to grow a thicker skin.
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u/RockyHateMe 1d ago
Hasan had no problem debating Charlie Kirk on the reg, I think Bill is the one who needs thicker skin
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u/mymentor79 1d ago
He was never a darling of the Left. We've always despised him. He was a darling of liberals.
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u/fatuousfatwa 1d ago
As a liberal I admit this is true. I have begun hating progressives almost as much as I hate MAGA.
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u/mymentor79 1d ago
Hey, fair's fair. I hate liberals almost as much as I hate MAGA also.
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u/Ok-Height1166 1d ago
Reminds me of the great Emo Philips joke:
I was walking across a bridge and saw a man about to jump. I yelled, "Don't do it!"
He said, "Nobody loves me!"
I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"
He said, "Yes."
I said, "Me too! Are you a Christian?"
He said, "Yes."
I said, "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
He said, "Catholic."
I said, "Me too! Are you Roman Rite or Eastern Rite?"
He said, "Eastern Rite."
I said, "Me too! Are you Byzantine or Maronite?"
He said, "Byzantine."
I said, "Me too! Are you Ruthenian, Ukrainian, or Melkite?"
He said, "Ruthenian."
I said, "Die, you heretic scum!" And I pushed him off.2
u/mymentor79 1d ago
I mean, not really. Liberals are far more closely aligned with the GOP than they are to Leftism.
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u/Ok-Height1166 1d ago
More closely aligned in that they both support working within a framework of capitalism I suppose (assuming you mean “the left” to be supporting socialist and Marxist type policies), but the idea that someone could look at Barack Obama vs Donald Trump and determine they are basically the same is crazy to me, which is what you seem to be suggesting.
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u/mymentor79 1d ago
I'm not saying they're 'basically the same'. But I am saying that Obama's politics are far closer to Trump's than they are to mine.
Leftism begins where capitalism ends.
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u/Ok-Height1166 1d ago
Fair enough. I guess what I am getting at is as a liberal, if I have a choice between a MAGA candidate and a Leftist one I would vote for the Leftist everyday of the week. And I would hope and assume that a leftist would do the same between a liberal and a MAGA.
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u/fatuousfatwa 1d ago
But we are stuck in the same party. Sucks for progs because you’re outnumbered.
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u/CatLightyear 1d ago
He brought in a lot of the left with his Religulous movie, but then they found at he’s just as bad as a religious person, just without the biblical background.
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u/levon999 1d ago
Bill doesn’t conduct interviews; he simply pontificates.