Overtime – Episode #732: Sen. Chris Murphy, Amb. Susan Rice

Bill Maher opens Real Time with a sharp critique of Donald Trump's growing influence over major media institutions, particularly CBS and 60 Minutes, arguing that the recent leadership changes signal a systematic effort to install loyalists and suppress criticism. He acknowledges the difficulty in detecting subtle censorship but warns that authoritarian transitions often happen incrementally, not with a single dramatic move. The conversation pivots to Bernie Sanders' controversial proposal for public ownership of 50% of top AI companies, a plan that surprisingly finds common ground with conservative concerns about corporate overreach. Maher highlights the irony that Trump, not Bernie, has already begun taking equity stakes in major firms, revealing a left-right convergence on the dangers of unchecked tech power. He then turns to the $1.5 trillion defense budget, calling it an outdated, wasteful relic of Cold War thinking that diverts funds from urgent domestic needs like education and healthcare. Throughout, Maher frames these issues not as partisan squabbles but as existential threats to democracy and democratic institutions. The episode underscores a central theme: the erosion of institutional independence is happening quietly, through ownership changes and subtle policy shifts, not just overt censorship.