Overtime with Bill Maher: Sen. Joe Manchin, Alex Wagner (HBO)

What this episode is about

Senator Joe Manchin and political analyst Alex Wagner discuss the implications of a recent list advising Democrats to avoid certain phrases like "privilege" and "unhoused person," arguing that authenticity and connection with voters are more crucial than political jargon. Manchin highlights the Democratic Party's loss of registered members and advocates for a return to centrist values to better resonate with constituents.

Key takeaways

• Democrats losing 160,000 registered voters hints at a party identity crisis—not a leftward shift.
• In politics, authenticity beats jargon; voters sense insincerity like a hawk spots a rabbit.
• Party unity? More like party mutiny—today's Dems are torn between progressive zeal and cautious centrism.
• Shutdown threats: an ironic staple of Democrats now, after years of GOP brinkmanship in Congress.
• Call me Joe, not a pronoun. Politicians should focus more on policies than on performative labels.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Bill Maher (Host) · 3 min speaking
• Joe Manchin (Guest) · 6 min speaking
• Alex Wagner (Host) · 2 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Alex Wagner, Third Way
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Chuck Schumer, Joe Manchin, Alex Wagner, Ted Cruz
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Joe Manchin, Pete Buttigieg

Notable quotes from "Overtime with Bill Maher: Sen. Joe Manchin, Alex Wagner (HBO)"

• Right. He is a former independent senator from West Virginia and author of Dead Center, Joe Mansion, and she's an MSNBC senior political analyst and of the Pod Save America podcast, Alex Wagner. And okay, here's what the people want to.

  about Alex Wagner · at 0:00

• And whoever is harmed is going to hold that against I know when Ted Cruz shut it down one year. Yeah.

  about Joe Manchin · at 4:23

• Chuck Schumer Yeah, he that Chuck Schumer kept the government open by rallying Democrats and passing a budget. He did the right thing. He's not going to do but and got an extraordinary amount of.

  about Chuck Schumer · at 5:08

• In her new book, Kamla Har said she wanted to pick Pete Buddha Judge as her BP, but didn't because she didn't think America was ready for a ticket with a black woman and a gay man. Was she right?

  about Kamal Harris · at 6:24

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Joe Manchin — Person · Main guest · 2 mentions · first at 4:39
  Former senator interviewed on Democratic messaging, government shutdown leverage, and party polarization/primaries.
• Alex Wagner — Person · Co-guest / panelist · 2 mentions · first at 0:09
  Provides counterpoint to Manchin on Democratic strategy, urgency of opposition politics, and shutdown-as-leverage framing.
• Kamal Harris — Person · Referenced political figure · 4 mentions
  Discussed regarding reported VP selection considerations and perceived electoral constraints around race/gender/sexual orientation.
• Chuck Schumer — Person · Referenced political leader · 2 mentions · first at 4:47
  Discussed as Senate Democratic leader facing intra-party pressure over keeping government open versus using shutdown leverage.
• Pete Buttigieg — Person · Referenced political figure · 1 mention · first at 7:31
  Raised as a potential running mate and described as a talented politician; discussion centers on electability and coalition support.
  In her new book, in her new book, Kamla Har said she wanted to pick Pete Buddha Judge as her BP, but didn't because she didn't think America was ready for a ticket with a black woman and a gay man. Was she.
• Ted Cruz — Person · Referenced political figure (example case) · 1 mention · first at 4:24
  Used as a historical example of a shutdown strategy and its political backlash, supporting Manchin's argument against shutdowns.
  And we couldn't figure out. I said, Ted, what are you proving here? We have to get back. Let's get working things.

Companies & orgs

• Third Way — Company · Case study · 1 mention · first at 0:19
  Mentioned as a center-left think tank that provided advice to Democrats on language use, sparking discussion on political strategy.
  Wagner. And okay, here's what the people want to know. The people, a center-left think tank, Third Way, recently calculated, circulated a list of 45 words. Oh, I read this. and phrases that want Democrats, they want Democrats to avoid.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 All right. He is a former independent senator from West Virginia and author of Dead Center, Joe Mansion, and she's an MSNBC senior political analyst and of the Pod Save America podcast, Alex Wagner. And okay, here's what the people want to know. The people, a center-left think tank, Third Way, recently calculated, circulated a list of 45 words. Oh, I read this. and phrases that want Democrats, they want Democrats to avoid using

0:29 uh including privilege, microaggression, unhoused person. Is this good advice for the party?

0:35 Not at all. Let the person be who they are. Now, is there a voter out there that can't tell you, I believe, if you're real or not real? And I've always said in West Virginia growing up, people could shake your hand, look in your eyes, and see your soul. It's all they they had. If you are who you are, they'll know it. If you're in it for the right reason, they'll know it. And if you've got to basically explain to them that you're uh maybe not radicalized or a complete different far-left that they don't understand, you know, the Democratic Party's lost 160,000 registered Democrats since this November election. If they think the country is going more left, why is the Democrats losing their own people? They've got to come back to center. Center left, center right where you run the country. And all these types of things are saying this makes this person non-electable or basically drives people away from the

1:20 party. The thing that drives me away is we're not getting the character and the quality of the person we used to get.

1:25 But I think the point here was that the words themselves are connected to ideas that people

1:34 I was asked I got to tell you this. I couldn't even believe it. Now I come from West Virginia, okay? And it's a wonderful, beautiful state with great people. I'm getting interviewed at one of the college campuses and the beautiful young person who did that, they says, "Now, how do you want to be addressed?"

1:50 I says, "I'm Joe Mansion." And he says, "No, he or it or I says, what are your pronouns?"

1:55 And I said, "What are your pronouns?" I says, "It is not one of them, but yes, they."

2:00 She gave me that option. They She gave me that option. She didn't say it yet. She said they you want to be they.

2:06 And I wanted to be I wanted to be Joe, right? And I kept saying Joe. And and she had a hard time with that.

2:12 Oh, really? Yeah. Well, well, maybe because you senator. Yeah. Never to make to make big changes in life.

2:21 The interview didn't go that well after that. Okay. All right. Um, is the government headed toward a shutdown? Inferior.

2:27 It's ridiculous. It's I'm I'm going to say it's not. I think there's enough Democrats that'll work with Republicans not to shut it down. They're just not talking. This whole thing's blown apart. you know this they said we're going to use this and wedge this or wedge that. If you vote to shut down you're basically telling the American people I can't do my job.

2:46 And what's funny who runs the legislative branch the Republican party? The idea that Democrats need I'm listen I understand the Senate or the Congress.

2:57 Listen House the it's a Senate that it's going to go to the Senate. It passed the House. It passed the House, but the Senate is basically

3:05 what passed the House the shutdown. The Well, they will. That's not a problem. The CR is going to

3:09 No, they passed at the basic CR. Can I just set the table first before you say this? For years, it was the Republicans who threatened to shut down the government when the government and they did sometimes. Now, it's the reverse. The Democrats, the reason why this is an issue is because some people in the Democratic party are saying this is the only leverage we have against the president and the Congress, which is on his side. The only thing we can do is shut down the government, which is ironic a little because again, they were always formed not doing anything.

3:37 They won't even talk to each other. Bill, I'm sorry, Alex. You There is a There is a sense that the Democrats are up against a wall. They have nothing. This president has run rough shot against the Constitution. He does not care about bipartisanship. He doesn't care about arguably half the country. And people are saying, "Where the hell are the Democrats?" Democrats have a series of talking points that haven't really resonated. You have a few singular Democrats who are out there fighting the good fight as joyful warriors. I'm not going to name names, but you know those in the legislative branch, where are they? If this is their only lever, shouldn't they pull?

4:07 If that's what they're concerned about, then you when you shut the government down, how many people are harmed by that down the chain? I mean, so many different ways. How you get your service?

4:15 Well, that was always their argument. That is the argument there. And I've told him,

4:18 and does it really change it? Because at some point you have to go you have to go back.

4:23 And whoever is harmed is going to hold that against I know when Ted Cruz shut it down one year. Yeah.

4:27 And we couldn't figure out. I said, "Ted, what are you proving here? We have to get back. Let's get working things." And they finally did. You know, who came up and made the deal with with uh McDonald, Senator McConnell from uh Kentucky was Ted Cruz. I mean, was Joe Biden.

4:42 And the Democrats got mad. He says, "Don't you send that Joe Biden up here anymore to make a deal.

4:46 I have a hard time too many bills." Imagine that Chuck Schumer is going to do a redux of what he did last time given the blowback that he got from his own party. But we'll see.

4:52 He got it from the left. He got it from the extreme left. He has to be the leader. If he's going to be the leader, he has to stand strong. This does not Don't punish the c country for not doing your job and sitting down working with people. The whole thing about this

5:06 What do you mean doing a redux of what he did? Chuck Schumer Yeah, he that Chuck Schumer kept the government open by rallying Democrats and passing a budget. He did he did the right thing. He's not going to do

5:17 but and got an extraordinary amount of blowback. And we're talking about it's not just like let's just be clear. Yes, it is funding the government. is also funding Trump's agenda which there are masked agents pulling people off the streets. It's like the handmaid's tail down in the south. I mean the people are looking at a country that they don't recognize. Half people feel like this is not

5:38 shutting it down is not going to change that. I shut it down more power. You give the president more discretion power.

5:45 I'm not I'm luckily not a person that has to decide that. I just think that it's it's more complicated than just, you know, we don't like this and we're going to shut the government down and take

5:54 the Senate was designed for the minority to have a voice. That's the thing. The difference between the House and the Senate is the House operates on 218 simple majority. The Senate was never designed that way. The Senate was designed to cool things down. It's going to come hot as a firecracker. Democrats, Republican. Yeah, we haven't done too good at that.

6:11 No, the B but you're talking about the bottom line is this. Do your job. Talk to each other. get to know each other. They don't do that.

6:19 Uh, in her new book, in her new book, Kamla Har said she wanted to pick Pete Buddha Judge as her BP, but didn't because she didn't think America was ready for a ticket with a black woman and a gay man. Was she right?

6:35 Yeah. I mean, I wish we were, but I don't I mean, I think based on what we saw, that was probably the right calculation. I was I was the person I was the person that kept saying, "Why don't you have a 30-day mini primary after Joe Biden dropped out? Find out that the cream will rise. Find out what the new issues are and get rid of some of the old issues that you're dragging along with you that the Democrats have been, you know, saddled with." They don't want to do that. They

6:58 There are gay people in the Trump administration. Yeah. Um, one of And they're really standing up for

7:03 One of them is always fighting. Scott Bessant. Yeah. One of them is always like saying, "I'm going to punch you in the face."

7:10 Literally. No, really. I know I literally Yeah. Okay. So, so there Yeah. Well, I'm just saying

7:17 I know Scott is a good person. I I can't I didn't hear that. I don't know. So, Pete Buddhaj is an extraordinary tal like extraordinarily talented politician and maybe could run for the presidency himself one day maybe will but I just think her calculation about what where the country's at.

7:31 His support among uh African-Americans is zero. Well, so you know the strategy and the thinking was maybe not off.

7:38 I'm just saying politics is complicated. Yeah. Okay, people are complicated. I mean, I know the Republicans would say, "Well, if you had the right politics, we don't care if you're black. We've had Herman Kaine run. We've had lots of people run. Uh, we have, you know, 20% of black men voted for Trump in the last election. Uh, and gay, we don't care about that either. I mean, Trump was in the news recently. They asked him about that and he's like, uh, some people like spaghetti, some people like steak. That's why they have menus.

8:09 I think you kind of have to love that answer. So maybe it's just I mean this is what they used to say about Hillary and people said oh you just hate Hillary and and we're not ready for a woman president and they would say just not that one. We just don't like that one. You keep insisting and I liked Hillary. I voted for her. I thought she'd be a fine president, but you know, I can't look into them and say, you know, you don't think the Republicans would vote for a woman.

8:39 I just think misogyny runs deeper and stronger than we'd like to imagine. I'm I'm not

8:46 I think the country is ready for a change and if it has a good woman and a good strong woman. I think when every time I had to negotiate a a bill and I had senators, female senators, I always got I thought a better bill. The compassion they brought to it, the understanding they brought to it was different than what a man thinks and they had so much more. So maybe maybe

9:07 but then why are we so far behind most other countries in the world? I mean, I don't know. White women keep giving elections to Donald Trump. So, you know, there's that reality, too. It's not just we're talking about a binary here where it's men and women that just misogyny knows no gender.

9:24 I'm just saying but why is America you're saying America's so misogynistic they wouldn't vote for a woman leader and I'm saying Pakistan did.

9:33 So why are we behind and I think maybe a hundred countries at least have had a woman leader.

9:39 Yeah. My daughter when Heather when I said when I uh she said dad you know what kind of business you're in? I said I'm not in business. I'm in in in ideology and and trying to do things right in public service. She says, "No, you got two business. You have a Democrat you have you have a uh Democrat and a Republican business. It's billions and billions of dollars and they close it down. They control the primaries. You they can they can basically control who you're voting for. Think 160 million people voted in the last year election 2024. Only 20 million people decided who you're going to vote for. You can't even get in. Primaries closed. And now if you in a state this and I will say this about California. Thank god California's an open state. You have to have 51%.

10:20 They are basically as open as it gets and some of the states and most of the states are closing down. If you're 51% of the people registered no party affiliation like me which you call independents. Only 23% are Democrats. Only 26% are Republicans. Okay? 51% no party affiliation. They got no representation. When you get to Washington you got to pick a side. And that side says you better be you better be a good enough Democrat or good enough Republican. And if you're not, Bill, they'll come after you in primary and get rid of you. We've got to change the system that allows the people truly to choose who they want. All right, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much. You were a great audience. I appreciate it.

10:58 We'll see you next week, God willing.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Overtime with Bill Maher: Sen. Joe Manchin, Alex Wagner (HBO)"?

Bill Maher (Host), Joe Manchin (Guest), Alex Wagner (Host).

What is "Overtime with Bill Maher: Sen. Joe Manchin, Alex Wagner (HBO)" about?

Senator Joe Manchin and political analyst Alex Wagner discuss the implications of a recent list advising Democrats to avoid certain phrases like "privilege" and "unhoused person," arguing that authenticity and connection with voters are more crucial than political jargon. Manchin highlights the Democratic Party's loss of registered members and advocates for a return to centrist values to better…

What is mentioned in this Real Time with Bill Maher episode?

7 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Joe Manchin, Alex Wagner, Third Way, Kamal Harris, Chuck Schumer, Pete Buttigieg. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Overtime with Bill Maher: Sen. Joe Manchin, Alex Wagner (HBO)"?

The episode runs 11 min; the transcript is about 2,370 words in 49 timestamped sections.

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