Overtime – Episode #676: Van Jones, Gov. Jared Polis

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Speaker 5 Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO Late Night Series, Real Time with Bill Ma.

Speaker 4 All right, he's a CNN host and author of the Van Jones Substack Van Jones, and he's the 43rd governor of Colorado, Gary Polis.

Speaker 4 Okay.

Speaker 4 For Van, what explains the fracture between Jews and blacks on the left, and how can an alliance be restored?

Speaker 4 Well, I guess they're talking about the old 60s when Jews were prominent in the civil rights movement and went in the the South and some of them got killed.

Speaker 6 Longer than that, listen, 1909,

Speaker 6 blacks and Jews' backs were against the wall. We had actual apartheid here.
It was so bad that what we were doing in the U.S. South inspired Hitler and inspired the Afrikaners in South Africa.

Speaker 6 What we were doing here, Blacks and Jews' Backs Against the Wall created an organization together, a black Jewish alliance. It was called the NAACP.

Speaker 6 Okay? Next year they created an organization together called, that we now call the Urban League.

Speaker 6 So, this has been every decade in the whole last century, a disproportionate share of what was deepening and defending democracy were African Americans who believed in justice for all and Jewish activists who believed in repairing the world.

Speaker 6 And so, we basically co-authored and co-created what you now call American democracy. In fact, if you like American democracy, thank a black and thank a Jew.
You're welcome.

Speaker 4 So,

Speaker 6 there is a deliberate effort on the part of Iran and Russia and China to drive a wedge and to make sure that every African American under the age of 30% of the country

Speaker 4 They're getting a lot of help from people who want to divide the world into colonizers and colonized and the oppressed and the oppressors.

Speaker 4 This is how a lot of the youth come to see what's going on in Gaza as some sort of an extension of the civil rights movement in America, and it has nothing to do with it.

Speaker 6 But the thing is, there are some dumb ideas on the left, there are are some reductionist ideas on the left, but we also have geopolitical adversaries that are jumping on that and making it worse than it should be.

Speaker 6 And I think what we've got to remember is even if we don't agree on what's happening overseas,

Speaker 6 black people can agree that hostages should be free.

Speaker 6 We came over here as hostages. We're not for hostages.
Black people should be able to agree that hate crimes against Jewish people are wrong.

Speaker 6 We stood up for Muslims where they were getting jumped on after 9-11. We stood up for Asians where they were getting jumped on after COVID.
We just took up for Jews.

Speaker 6 We should be able to agree that Hamas is not a freedom-fighting organization. They're a freedom-taking Nazi organization.
They did not deserve black support.

Speaker 4 And

Speaker 6 we should be able to agree that both Palestinians and Israelis deserve a secure homeland. So there are issues that even we just disagree what's happening in Gaza, don't like B.B.
Netanyahu.

Speaker 6 There are other issues that we should be working together on. I'm fighting for that.

Speaker 4 I won't add much, but I want to say Kamala Harris, Doug M.

Speaker 7 Hoff, the Black-Jewish Alliance.

Speaker 4 Yay, there it is.

Speaker 4 It lives.

Speaker 4 All right. For the panel, what does the panel think of Trump doing Joe Rogan's podcast today? And is it a mistake for Kamala not to do it?

Speaker 4 Yeah, I think it is a mistake.

Speaker 4 Estate if she didn't do this show. Yeah.
Did you invite her? Yeah. Of course.
No, we didn't invite her.

Speaker 4 Of course she should. We would have bumped you for her.
I hate to say it.

Speaker 4 I hate to tell you.

Speaker 4 I hate to tell you.

Speaker 7 Yeah, I in this real time, I hope, and I know she's going to be campaigning in Texas. I hope she does the podcast.
I think the more people see of Kamala Harris, the more they like her.

Speaker 7 She needs to get out there. I think some of that is a staff reticence that they had because of Joe Biden, which you couldn't put out there.
We understand that. You can put her out there.

Speaker 7 She's terrific. She's likable.
She's joyous. She's fun.
She's clever.

Speaker 4 Get her out there. Roy.

Speaker 4 For a guy who's not an official surrogate, you're on the waiting list.

Speaker 4 What did the panel think of Trump's stint as fry cooker at McDonald's?

Speaker 4 And it's, you know, I mean, I already addressed this. You know, it's like they see in different ways.
I think it's brilliant. I think it's brilliant.

Speaker 6 Yes.

Speaker 6 I think when you have somebody who is a world-famous superstar, who's a billionaire, et cetera, et cetera, and they do something you don't expect, it's brilliant media.

Speaker 6 And I think we've got to acknowledge that this guy is beating the the pants off of us with these so-called publicity stunts.

Speaker 6 It gets into everybody's feeds, and people who are not looking at politics will look at that. I think we just have to have more fun ourselves.

Speaker 6 We were having a great time during the Democratic Convention. If we have more fun, if the Democratic Party is a party of fun, people will join it.

Speaker 6 We should be doing crazy stuff, too.

Speaker 4 And if I might add.

Speaker 4 One more thing.

Speaker 4 It's like, don't immediately just go to, I hate him for that. Yeah.
Which is what but but everybody I know here in Hollywood does that and it's like you're you're first of all you look weak.

Speaker 4 You look weak. You look like you're so easily gotten.

Speaker 4 You know, you look like you overreact to anything.

Speaker 4 I think politics comes out of personality. I'm going to do something extensive on this one day, but personalities.

Speaker 4 Your personality first. I know people who are conservative politically because I know them.
That's just who they are. They're squares.

Speaker 4 And that's okay.

Speaker 4 And there are people who just like they think Trump is fun like that. I don't get it, but I don't get Taylor Swift.

Speaker 4 You know, not that I'm comparing them, but I'm just saying.

Speaker 7 I bet you would have bumped me for Taylor Swift, too. What's this? You would have bought me for Taylor Swift.

Speaker 4 How did I know her exactly?

Speaker 4 Of course I would. Everybody else is turning you down.
I'd bump Kamala for Taylor Swift.

Speaker 4 I'm just saying. I agree.

Speaker 4 She's a classy person,

Speaker 4 and the success she's had,

Speaker 4 the influence she's had is amazing. I just, you know,

Speaker 4 Nikki Glazer was doing my practice, and I said, I don't get this, Nikki. You've been to 18 concerts.
Tell me. And she's like, the music is so amazing.
And she said, just watch the Eras tour.

Speaker 4 You know, it's a three-hour thing on Apple, I think. And I,

Speaker 4 okay, I did not move the needle at all.

Speaker 4 It's just, this is not great music. To me, but that's just me.
I don't get her music, and I don't think Trump's jokes about Arnold Palmer's dick are funny, but other people do.

Speaker 4 It's not relevant.

Speaker 7 So for those of us who love Taylor Swift and I'm a dick Swifty, that is some of the fun that Kamala Harris is bringing into politics.

Speaker 7 So I did like a Swifties for Kamala kickoff in Nevada where I was just campaigning for her. We got all this energy exchanging friendship bracelets and having fun.
So

Speaker 4 there's a lot of joy there, Phil.

Speaker 4 I like to do friendship bracelets.

Speaker 4 I'm not

Speaker 4 both about it. You'll fuck yourself out.
I love all the joy and all the everything that, you know, she does great stuff, but, you know, I just don't get the music.

Speaker 6 All right.

Speaker 4 What are your thoughts on the Menendez Brothers potential being released on parole? And is it a positive sign for proponents of criminal justice reform?

Speaker 4 Well, what does it say about the difference between, if anything, between now and 30 years ago, how we look at the law? And also, obviously, it has a lot to do with the Netflix series.

Speaker 4 I think it's Netflix that just came out, which, you know, I haven't seen all of it, but the parents, I I mean, I didn't watch too much of it, but enough to go, oh, wow, kind of blown their heads off, too.

Speaker 4 And

Speaker 4 they, you know.

Speaker 4 Maybe these kids have been in jail for too long. Yeah, yeah, look,

Speaker 6 I don't know much about the case. I know that Kim Kardashian played a role as well.
And I think that people a few years ago were kind of laughing her off.

Speaker 6 Oh, you know, she's not serious about this stuff. Kim Kardashian has become one of the most effective criminal justice advocates in the country, surprising a lot of people.

Speaker 6 And I think we need more people who have that kind of power, taking on some tougher causes.

Speaker 6 A lot of times celebrities get involved in like the, let's put mittens on kittens, you know, something that nobody's going to get mad about.

Speaker 6 And so good for Kim Kardashian.

Speaker 4 Okay.

Speaker 4 What are the chances this election plays out like the midterms in 2022 when women came out to vote to protect reproductive rights?

Speaker 4 Well, I'm going to jump in first on that because I read an interesting story in the paper yesterday, which

Speaker 4 might not be so good for that, which said

Speaker 4 they thought when a lot of these states went medieval on abortion, there'd be less abortions, actually more, because pills, women get the pills in the male, the abortion pill, the RU486,

Speaker 4 I am.

Speaker 4 And also telemedicine. You can get doctors in different states.
So like it did not have the effect. It's still wrong, but it didn't have the effect that people thought it would.

Speaker 4 So therefore, it might not have the political effect. I don't know if Democrats can count on this as much as they thought they could.

Speaker 6 Well, I think in Pennsylvania, because

Speaker 6 it's not a big issue there, I think we may not have the turnout. But I think even though people have been able to get around it, you can't get around when you have a medical complication.

Speaker 6 And when you see these stories of women

Speaker 6 bleeding out in parking lots, those stories ripple out bigger than just the

Speaker 6 numbers, the qualitative impact.

Speaker 7 On women turning on higher numbers from your mouth to goddess's ears.

Speaker 4 But look,

Speaker 7 this is obviously a winning issue for Democrats. There's no question of polls in Democrats' favor.
That's men and women. But it is not the only winning issue.

Speaker 7 And I think when you do talk about choice and the right of people over their own reproductive health, you do have to talk about how you're going to help make sure that people can raise their kids in a loving environment, free preschool and kindergarten, tax credits for families that can't afford it.

Speaker 7 I mean, all those things that go into really having wonderful families across our country, including empowering women to decide if and when they have children.

Speaker 4 I'm for that.

Speaker 4 I'm for that. Thank you.

Speaker 4 All right. This week, LeBron James and his son Brunny made history being the first father-son duet or played together in the NBA.
Okay, well, I don't even want to munt.

Speaker 4 The question is, I didn't like it. I'm not going to be.
Tell me why. Why not? I'll tell you why.

Speaker 4 I did one of my best editorials here one night talking about sports, the last bastion of utter merit, which is why people love sports. Everything else is tainted.
Modeling used to be just merit.

Speaker 4 They'd have to go into a village in the Ukraine and find a 14-year-old

Speaker 4 who was like freakishly good looking. Well, now a lot, even the models, you know, were Nepo babies.
Nepo babies in politics, Nepo babies in everything.

Speaker 4 The one place where you could for sure know that the people who were there were absolutely the best, not only in the country, in the world, was sports. And this

Speaker 4 is the one,

Speaker 4 you know, the Lakers.

Speaker 4 They're a great team. But they did this with Kobe's last year.
They made that more about that and his retiring than it was about winning that year. And this is, you know, it just, it just,

Speaker 6 I don't like it. Well, I don't know anything at all about sports.
And

Speaker 4 I really don't.

Speaker 7 Look, if Shony Otani has kids, somebody's going to draft him at age two.

Speaker 4 Because I mean, that guy can play. Yeah.

Speaker 4 But if the kid can't play, he's going to make the team. No, no, but I mean, you want to.
There's no way that kid is on the team, LeBron James' son, if he wasn't LeDron James' son.

Speaker 4 LeBron James wanted to have this moment, this photo op, this first ever.

Speaker 7 I'm a Nuggets fan anyway, so if other teams

Speaker 4 defy the meritocracy or waiting for putting some punk talent on the field, more power than others.

Speaker 4 All right.

Speaker 4 And here's a follow-up question for you. What about this, that Columbus was a Jew?

Speaker 4 Oh, okay. So when I was growing up,

Speaker 7 Bill, Bill, when you and I were growing up, Columbus was a hero and explorer, discovered the New World. Of course, he was Christian and Italian.
The minute he became a colonizer, he became Jewish.

Speaker 4 I mean, seriously.

Speaker 4 That sounds good. That's a great answer.
I mean, no, if you missed the story, they dug him up. He was buried, I think, in somewhere in, I think in Spain.
His body was first buried in the New World.

Speaker 4 Well, he never even set foot in America, but okay. Somewhere.
And then they transferred it. I forget all the where it went.
But they dug him up, got the DNA.

Speaker 4 Of course, they don't know this for certain, but they're pretty sure that he probably was Jewish.

Speaker 4 I don't know what.

Speaker 7 That had always been rumored in Jewish circles, you know, like, was he?

Speaker 4 Was it? Really?

Speaker 7 Well, 1492 was the same year the Jews were expelled from Spain. Yes, correct.
And it was also noted that there were some Jews on his voyage, like his translator was Jewish.

Speaker 7 So it was rumored, but at that time, as I said, Columbus was a hero growing up. And so,

Speaker 7 but yeah, it was, it looks like he was verified. He was of at least some Sephardic origin.
So another tidbit for the history books.

Speaker 4 Van, what do you think of Puffy?

Speaker 4 P. Diddy

Speaker 4 and Mayor Adams in New York both saying that they're just penalizing successful black men.

Speaker 4 Oh, Oh, look, a rabbit. Look who's.

Speaker 4 A rabbit?

Speaker 4 No?

Speaker 4 I don't want to talk a mod. I don't want to talk about it.

Speaker 4 I'm not that courageous.

Speaker 4 Let's talk about juice.

Speaker 4 What would happen if Trump won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College? I think that would be the best thing in the world because then they would have to

Speaker 4 popular vote, and I think finally Republicans would then be a vote.

Speaker 4 Thank you very much. Thank you, guys.

Speaker 5 Catch all new episodes of Real Time with Bill Ma Maher every Friday night at 10, or watch him anytime on HBO On Demand. For more information, log on to HBO.com.