Real Time with Bill Maher (TV Series)

Episode #16.25 (2018)

Bill Maher: Self - Host

Quotes 

• Himself - Host : I know I usually say it's an honor to have somebody on my show, but it is an honor meet you and have you here. And I know... and I want people to know, we had this booking a long time ago. This isn't just because of the events of recent weeks. You were scheduled to come here, and I thank you for honoring it. And, uh... you know, some people on the right have accused you of, um, wanting to monetize. That's their argument against you. You're not here to monetize anything, are you, John?

  Himself - Guest : Uh, no. Uh, I am not. I didn't ask to keep my security clearances; former Directors don't do that. We keep those clearances because sometimes those in government...

  Himself - Host : Sure.

  Himself - Guest : Want to be able to avail themselves of our experiences, our expertise. Our, um, knowledge about certain issues. Uh... so, people serve on commissions, sometimes they serve on private sector boards, whatever, but this is the first time in 38 years that I haven't had a security clearance. And, uh, the basis for the revocation is, uh... is bogus. Um... Mr. Trump and his administration didn't adhere even to the process that they reaffirmed last year. And the politization of security clearances, either the granting or the revocation, is a real threat to our national security. Which is why so many people came out and opposed, uh, his action. And so I certainly hope...

  Himself - Host : So many people.

  Himself - Guest : Yeah.

  Himself - Host : Came out for you.

  [cheers and applause] 

  Himself - Host : Uh, Admiral McRaven said... he... he said "Please, revoke my security clearance. It would be an honor, considering what you did to Brennan." Yeah, so, everybody with a brain is on your side.

• Himself - Host : It's interesting Jared and Ivanka still have clearances; you, one of the guys who was the architect of getting Bin Laden, does not.

  Himself - Guest : And it seems as though Rand Paul was the one who put this idea into Donald Trump's head.

  Himself - Host : Yes. Dead to me, Rand Paul.

  Himself - Guest : A-And who... Rand Paul has never served on the Intelligence Committee; he knows not of which he speaks.

  [applause] 

  Himself - Guest : Uh... but yet, he has this impression... that I-I'm mon... I'm monetizing security clearances, uh, so he continues to spout out on these issues, but uh... again, I believe very strongly in the principle that national security is one of the most sacred and solemn professions, uh, in this government, and every American citizen deserves to have national security professionals, intelligence professionals, who are not going to be political, not gonna be politicized, and no president, ever, should take that capability away from them.

• Himself - Host : I've been having a hell of a time here on this show trying to get my guests to say the word "treason." I think the president is guilty of that, and you used terms like that. You said after Helsinki "It was nothing short of treasonous", which sounds to me like "treasonous." Uh... and then I noticed this last week, some people tried to get you to take it back and you wouldn't. And, again, I-I don't... I don't understand why people are so reluctant; I get it it's a scary word. It's like, you know, "don't break this glass case unless you need the..." But when it's time to break the glass case, don't not do it just because it's a glass case.

  Himself - Guest : Yes, and I'm not a... official at the Department of Justice where I'm issuing an indictment...

  Himself - Host : Right.

  Himself - Guest : Of Donald Trump on treason. But there were two principal reasons why I used that term. One is that I think I exhausted all the other adjectives in the English language to...

  [laughter] 

  Himself - Guest : ...t-to describe Donald Trump's failure to fulfill his responsibilities as President of the United States, number one. Number two, but when I saw him on that stage in Helsinki, failing to be able to say to the world and to Vladimir Putin, "Russia tried to interfere in our election. It never should have happened, it never should happen again, and if it does, Russia's gonna pay some very serious consequences as a result." But he didn't do that, and so "treasonous" is defined as a betrayal of trust, as well as aiding and abetting the enemy, and so that was the word that came to my mind.

  Himself - Host : Yeah.

  Himself - Guest : Now, he... he sh... I wasn't expecting Vladimir Putin to say "Okay, you caught me." He's gonna continue to deny this, but this was an opportunity for Donald Trump to fulfill his responsibilities and say "Russia, cut this out. Don't do it again, and if you do it, you're gonna pay a cost."

  [applause] 

  Himself - Guest : And be able to say to the... everybody... and if he... and if he'd said that, he could have said "Now, though, we have to work, United States and Russia, to be able to try to enhance stability and security around the globe. They're important things for the United States and Russia to do. I am very much supportive of trying to get relations between the two countries back on track. Critically important, the two largest nuclear superpowers in the world, but we cannot ignore what it is that the Russians tried to do." And so when Donald Trump failed to do that, I was irate, because I know how hard that professionals here in the intelligence community work to try to keep this country strong and safe. And for Donald Trump to be up there and to fail to say that...

  Himself - Host : He takes their side and not ours. That's a traitor. He calls you a lowlife. *You*, who spent your life defending this country, especially after 9/11, when we had all sorts of problems. And... and it could have gone a way worse than it did.

• Himself - Host : He... he said about... General Clapper; is he a general?

  Himself - Guest : Yes, he was. He is.

  Himself - Host : Yeah. That "they got to him." Like he... like you could get to a guy like that. He's not on our side. You... you're not on our side, you are a traitor if you're attacking our generals and admirals and people who keep us safe. It's not that much more complicated than that to me.

  Himself - Guest : And I'm proud to stand with Bill McRaven and Jim Clapper and Mike Hayden and others.

  Himself - Host : Yeah. All of them.

  Himself - Guest : The ones who are speaking out.

  [cheers and applause] 

  Himself - Guest : I-I... I didn't want to speak out after I left the government. I wanted to be able to... you know, retire and...

  Himself - Host : Right.

  Himself - Guest : And be able to spend time with family, and... but, this is a very abnormal time. This is a very abnormal presidency, and the stakes are so high. That's why I've decided to speak out and be outspoken.

  Himself - Host : And I... I can see it's not easy for you.

  Himself - Guest : It's not.

  Himself - Host : I see it. Believe me, I've been talking to people on TV for 25 years. I can see when it's not easy. And people don't generally go into the CIA for publicity.

• Himself - Host : Let's take the opposite of that; Donald Trump, who confesses everything openly. What do you make of this strategy that seems to be working so beautifully? Like, this week, he just said, right on the air, "I hired Jeff Sessions as the Attorney General totally because I expected his loyalty." I... I mean, to me that's impeachable. What... the thing he said about, um... to Lester Holt about... he fired Comey. He said it out loud! He said "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you can find Hillary Clinton's e-mails." I feel like if these things were things we... hacked, if we found surreptitiously, if you got ahold of his diary; "Oh, my god. Look what he said", we'd be like "We got the smoking gun." But because he says it blatantly and out front, people seem to just accept it.

  Himself - Guest : Well, he's trying to normalize all his behavior.

  Himself - Host : Normalize.

  Himself - Guest : And he's also trying to undermine the institutions of government, and those individuals who he believes threaten him. And so therefore, he's trying to undermine the intelligence community, the law enforcement community. Uh... th... he's taken a page out of the playbook of autocrats and authoritarians around the world, who try to co-opt judiciaries, who try to de-legitmize the free press, who try to use intelligence security services to go after their... their rivals. So, Donald Trump is the typical authoritarian who's trying to control power, and as he becomes more desperate, and I think that's what we're seeing now, because the walls are closing in on him, as all the people who used to work with him are now cooperating or testifying, uh...

  [applause] 

  Himself - Guest : About what happened... but... so... so, um, I've been angry because we have someone in the Oval Office who has really denigrated the office of the presidency. His dishonesty, he's unethical, he doesn't have principles. And I am very concerned, though; more than angry, I'm worried, because now we are in a crisis.

  Himself - Host : Yeah.

  Himself - Guest : And... and unfortunately, the Republicans... John McCain; a national treasure and hero.

  [applause] 

  Himself - Guest : I got... a-a-and o-o-our... our-our thoughts and prayers go out to John McCain and his family. I got into some real Donnybrook fights with John McCain over policy. I never once questioned his integrity and his interest in doing what is best for this country. But since John McCain has left the Hill, the Republican spines have gone with him, and there needs to be some reckoning in the Republican party that we can't allow this to go on.

• Himself - Host : We have an election coming up, and I'm trying to convince people, and it's hard because, you know, a lot of us in the past said "This is a very important election and blah blah blah." This is the one. I think we are in a crisis that is the third great crisis in American history; more than the Depression. First, of course, the Revolutionary War, whether we would even become a country. Then the Civil War. People usually say then the Depression. I don't think the Depression got it what is most fundamental about this country; it was economic, but I don't think it threatened the rule of law as we do... as we have now. Would you rank the crisis we're in now that way?

  Himself - Guest : I... I would, and I think it's gonna get worse before it gets better, because don't forget, Donald Trump has the authority of the President of the United States in his hands.

  Himself - Host : Right.

  Himself - Guest : In terms of what he can do domestically here, as well as what he can do internationally, to try to distract attention, whether or not he's going to pursue some type of foreign adventure, military or otherwise.

  Himself - Host : Right.

  Himself - Guest : But fundamentally, though, what he's doing to this country, he's dividing us. We Americans, as you pointed out, Revolutionary War and the Civil War, we fought hard for the freedoms and liberties that we have right now. And so he's dividing Americans, and so I'm really concerned that as he continues to play to his base, he's further dividing us, and I'm really concerned about whether this could spill over into the streets. And, so, I don't know what the principal protagonist in this drama is going to do, but I surely hope that those adults, and those people in the White House and in the Cabinet and in the Congress are going to recognize that they need to act before there's a real disaster. And by act, I mean whether it's going up to Donald Trump and saying "This is got to stop. You are ruining this country, and we're not gonna tolerate it any longer." They cannot turn a blind eye to this, they have to forget about their political affiliation. They need to do the right thing.