Overtime – Episode #684: Rep. Byron Donalds, Tara Palmeri

Welcome to an HBO podcast from the HBO Late Night series, Real Time with Bill Maher. All right, here we are in our time with Republican congressman from Florida, Byron Donalds, and Puck News' senior political correspondent, a host of the Somebody's Gonna Win podcast, Tara Palmieri.
Okay. All right.
Will Kendrick Lamar perform Not Like Us,

his diss track aimed at Drake at the Super Bowl?

Important questions, all.

You got to. You got to.

It's a great song.

It's a great song?

Great song.

Okay.

Great song.

And what is his beef with Mr. Drake?

Damn if I know, but it's cool.

You just like this song? I just like this song. Okay.
What do you think of Ron DeSantis' wife, Casey, potentially running for Florida's governorship herself? Wouldn't be the first time, George Wallace, remember George Wallace, the racist governor of Alabama, and I think his wife took over when he was... Yeah, it's very Claire Underwood.
What do you think? You may be running for governor yourself. I mean, nobody's in a race right now, so we'll see what happens.
Oh, you mean you might jump in there? Yeah. You've got to ask the reporter.
You've got to ask the reporter. My sources tell me that Byron Donald is a favorite.
Casey is doing well, too, in the polls, and Matt Gaetz, surprisingly. Yeah.
He does well in the polls in Florida. He does.
He does. We'll see what happens.
I had him on my podcast. You know, everybody's a monster till you talk to them.
Yeah. No, I'm sorry.
What I meant to say is everybody's a monster. Period.
What do you think of the Trump? What do you think of the Trump White House admitting more influencers and podcasters? Oh, into the press corps? Yeah, the press room is different. I mean, it reflects America.
I think it's great. Yeah, you do.
But it's mostly right-wing influencers and podcasters, obviously. But I think it's a good step.
I mean, this is how people are getting their news. It is.
I mean, how can you deny it? I was actually over there the other day, and it's packed in there. And I think though all the reporters, whether you're Legacy or the podcasting people, they're all happy.
And then they have like the one rotating chair, which I guess is pretty cool. So there's always like somebody new that comes in.
You're at the White House, you're talking about? Yeah. But it was Axios that they gave the new media seat to, and that is to Mike Allen, who is like an established reporter in Washington.
Axios around for, like, five years, sold for $500 million. I don't really consider it new media, and I thought it was interesting that that was their first new media...
Well, it is. It is new media, because old media sells for a dollar.
That is true. What do you mean by that? Well, that's what Bezos bought the Washington Post for.
He bought it for, like, a dollar, didn't he? So, you know, the's because he's worth like half a trillion dollars. So it was, yeah.
It's all relative. But I'm interested in this.
You're at the White House. What, were you just hanging around? I know some people over there, you know.
No, I'm asking. You're like, you have that kind of carte blanche? You can just walk? No, no, no.
I was there for, I think it was an education event that the president did. And a lot of the staff I know from the campaign trail.
Right. So walking in there, it was like I was on the campaign trail.
So everybody's just saying hello, hugging, let me show you my office. So I was kind of walking around.
Got to stand to see the, you know, the press room. They go, stand at the podium.
I'm like, no. I'm not going to do that.
Give them four more years, right? Well, then maybe you can answer this one. Has Mar-a-Lago culture, it's actually addressed to you, come to D.C.? Are the cruel kids popular? Yeah, I mean, I think just the aesthetic of Mar-a-Lago and the people around Donald Trump, they haven't even just changed D.C.
They changed Palm Beach. It's like the long platinum blonde hair, the big eyelashes, the buccal fat removal, the lip filler.
They look like Kristi Noem. Or, um, I don't know.
Sounds like Hollywood. Mara Trump.
Yeah, it's a look. It's very Kim Gilt-Wil.
And actually, in Palm Beach, they're calling it, like, the Mar-a-Lago look,

and they're asking plastic surgeons for it.

It's only a matter of time before it comes to D.C.,

and everybody's looking like that.

In red, tight red dresses, you know.

I'm getting excited.

The boys are going to be gone.

Byron, can you get me in?

Listen, I'll talk to the president. We'll get you in.
I was kidding. Do you think Trump will attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner in April? Well, I mean, many people say attending the Correspondents' Dinner that year that Obama made fun of him from the podium is what was the motivator for him to get into the presidential race to begin with.

I mean, he had been talking about it for years, so I don't think it's just that.

But what do you think?

I think he will probably do it this time.

Me too.

And I think he'll go there and just, like, spank the press and be absolutely ruthless.

Whereas last time, I don't know why he didn't go last time.

I think he just has this different sort of energy.

He feels like he owns the press.

No, I think he was really just pissed with the press and was like, why am I showing up?

Thank you. Last time, I don't know why he didn't go last time.
I think he just has this different sort of energy. He feels like he owns the press.

No, I think he was really just pissed with the press

and was like, why am I showing up?

But I think now, he's in this...

I think for him, he's in this mode of...

I'm president again.

You were all against me, but I won.

So I'm gonna do the victory lap.

So I can see him definitely going,

hitting the press a little bit,

but then also being a little magnanimous and enjoying the event and taking off. Not that part.
That part is not happening. But look, I mean, everybody did count him out.
You know, everybody said it would never happen again. I mean, I didn't count him out.
Right? No, no. And that's why you get to walk around whenever you want.

He loves loyalty.

We know that. Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told

business leaders that Trump is serious.

Yes, I saw that. He thinks

Trump is serious about annexing Canada

and making it a 51st state.

I mean, really,

walk me through the mechanics.

Greenland, Gaza, now.

The question is, how many electoral college votes are they going to get?

That's the real question, because there are a lot of liberals up there.

Not all, though.

That's true.

Canada is not quite the place you think it is everywhere, especially the Western. Lumberjacks and like...
The lumberjacks are conservative. That's why I think it should be a territory.
Why take the chance? A territory? You're kidding. I don't know when you guys are kidding or not.
That's the thing. You can't...
There's no parody that rises above what the reality is. So you're going to have to tell me if you're kidding or not.
I think everything is on the table until it's not. Including taking over Canada.
No, no, no. We like the Canadians.
So they can be a sovereign country? Yes, they can be. We like the Puerto Ricans too, right?

We love Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico's great.

Well, Puerto Rico, they're already American citizens.

Of course they are, yeah.

That's right.

I mean, we'll see what happens.

We wouldn't throw paper towels at just anybody.

Thank you very much, everybody.

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