Friday’s edition of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher brought out the best and worst of the eponymous host. On one hand, Maher reacted to Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s ever-growing list of scandals by claiming he would have thought a Nazi tattoo was a conservative thing and that in the past, sex scandals have only been disqualifying for Democrats. However, in the Overtime segment, he battled with Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy for claiming with no evidence that CBS firing Scott Pelley means 60 Minutes is about to turn into Trump TV. Maher began the Platner conversation by asking Murphy, “Is this tent big enough for this Graham Platner guy? I must say, I don't want to make any judgments, because I'm just learning who he is, and unfortunately, so is he. I mean, this is a new kind of guy, and it is not just in the Democrats, people who, like—if you look at their history, you can find things that make them look very conservative. Like a Nazi tattoo. What I would—in the past—associated with the conservatives. And then there's things like that. He has also flirted with communism, and now he's got a sex scandal. Which in the past has just been something that absolutely made somebody toxic in the Democratic Party, unlike in the Republican Party, where they don't care at all.”   It was the best of Bill Maher and it was the worst of Bill Maher. First, the worst, on Graham Platner "I mean this is a new kind of guy and it is not just in the Democrats, people who, like—if you look at their history, you can find things that make them look very conservative.… pic.twitter.com/LsSLyOUoGU — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) June 6, 2026   Maher says he’s “just learning,” but last October he made the same “Nazi tattoos are Republican” claim when discussing Platner. He also omits counterexamples of Republican versus Democratic sex scandals such as Roy Moore and Bill Clinton, but at least Maher is talking about Platner, which is more than you can say about Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers. Murphy tried to paint the race between Platner and the Senate’s most liberal Republican as a morally complicated one, “Yeah, this is going to be a complicated race. He is imperfect. He has made a lot of mistakes. He has been pretty clear about it from the outset. He’s built a pretty big movement in Maine because people like his ideas. On the other side, you got Susan Collins, who just last night cast one of the deciding votes to give $70 billion to Trump's secret police.” He also claimed, “I think he is the clear choice there.” Also on the panel was former Obama national security advisor Susan Rice, who bizarrely added, “I remember when a tan suit was a scandal.” What that has to do with anything, nobody ever said. Later, during the Overtime segment, Maher disputed Murphy’s idea that 60 Minutes was trying to appease Trump: But I've seen ones that are not very favorable to the president. That’s what I’m saying. I don't know if I would have noticed any different if I hadn't been reading about it. Also, I just don't think being a 60 Minutes correspondent is that hard. I don't feel like Scott Pelley. I don't feel like Scott Pelley was a national treasure. Companies change hands all the time. I never liked him. Sorry, I just never did. Companies change hands. People bring, people bring in their own people, their new ownership, you know, just because something changes doesn't mean. I feel like we see everything through such a partisan lens. "Oh my God, 60 Minutes has a new cast. So does Saturday Night Live. Murphy tried to double down, “Yeah, but Bill, it's not just, it's not just 60 Minutes, right? I mean, they literally, they took down his chief late night critic. CBS News at 6:30 does sound and feel different. This is not just about 60 Minutes.”   Later, during the Overtime segment, Maher tells Murphy, "I don't know if I would have noticed any different if I hadn't been reading about it. Also, I just don't think being a 60 Minutes correspondent is that hard. I don't feel like Scott Pelley. I don't feel like Scott Pelley… pic.twitter.com/9a4E9kkCiZ — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) June 6, 2026   Maher was less solid on CBS as a whole but insisted on sticking with 60 Minutes, “But we're just talking about 60 Minutes now. But yes, I agree. He's a danger to media. He's a danger to freedom of speech. But just 60 Minutes. I don't know. I mean, and I'm not gonna make that decision until I see a smoking gun. Like, something like, ‘Oh, wow. You know, now we're, we're, you know, tick, tick, tick. Candace Owens and Alex Jones on 60 Minutes.’ I mean—” Murphy still kept trying, “They’re always going to maintain a veneer of objectivity, right? The good ones who are trying to carefully transition a country from democracy to autocracy, don't do it overnight, right? It is methodical that over time you feel like you don't have the space to criticize, and if you are going to put forward the administration's propaganda, you get an elevated seat at the table. So, that doesn't just turn on a dime. That is a project that authoritarians or would-be authoritarians.” Maher concluded by quipping, “Okay, when I, when I see actual evidence of that, I'll be on your side.” Unfortunately, Maher’s concession about the rest of CBS let some crucial statements go unrebutted. The Late Show’s financial struggles have been well documented, but more importantly, if Murphy thinks Tony Dokoupil’s 6:30 newscast is so much different than John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois’s then that says more about them than it does about Dokoupil. It is simply not credible to claim to watch CBS and claim they are paving the road for a Trump-run autocracy. Here is a transcript for the June 5 show: HBO Real Time with Bill Maher 6/5/2026 10:36 PM ET BILL MAHER: Is this tent big enough for this Graham Platner guy? I must say, I don't want to make any judgments, because I'm just learning who he is, and unfortunately, so is he. I mean, this is a new kind of guy, and it is not just in the Democrats, people who, like—if you look at their history, you can find things that make them look very conservative. Like a Nazi tattoo. What I would—in the past—associated with the conservatives. And then there's things like that. He has also flirted with communism, and now he's got a sex scandal. Which in the past has just been something that absolutely made somebody toxic in the Democratic Party, unlike in the Republican Party, where they don't care at all. What about this one? Have you been reading about Mr. Platner and what you think they should do? Because if he wins, they think they will get the Senate, so it is a very key seat. CHRIS MURPHY: Yeah, this is going to be a complicated race. He is imperfect. He has made a lot of mistakes. He has been pretty clear about it from the outset. He’s built a pretty big movement in Maine because people like his ideas. On the other side, you got Susan Collins, who just last night cast one of the deciding votes to give $70 billion to Trump's secret police. That’s a character issue as well. So I think you are seeing more candidates run today that don't have perfectly clean, personal histories. And the question in Maine is going to be if he is a bridge too far or if his ideas— MAHER: Well what do you say? You’re in the Senate. MURPHY: Well, I think he is the clear choice there. MAHER: Do you say, Nazi, schmazi and then texting, schmetxing? And I’m just asking, maybe that's the right answer. MURPHY: Like I said, I think it's a super complicated race. But I think the question is between the incumbent who has enabled Trump's corruption and Graham Platner: very imperfect but who has fought and put his life on the line for the country, which is not something that’s insignificant. MAHER: No, it’s not, and I just think it is a different country. It's a broken country. It is full of broken people and with that information on both sides. And I think people just go, “He's pissed. I get that.” MURPHY: Yeah, and this last set of allegations are serious allegations and he’s going to have to talk about with the people of Maine and they’re ultimately have to make that decision. But that will be their decision to make. MAHER: Okay. Graham Platner, any thoughts? SUSAN RICE: I remember when a tan suit was a scandal. MAHER: I do too. Holding the coffee. Remember that? He had a cup of coffee when he saluted. RICE: It was tea. *** HBO Real Time Overtime 6/5/2026 BILL MAHER: But I've seen ones that are not very favorable to the president. CHRIS MURPHY: Yeah. MAHER: That’s what I’m saying. I don't know if I would have noticed any different if I hadn't been reading about it. Also, I just don't think being a 60 Minutes correspondent is that hard. I don't feel like Scott Pelley. I don't feel like Scott Pelley was a national treasure. Companies change hands all the time. I never liked him. Sorry, I just never did. Companies change hands. People bring, people bring in their own people, their new ownership, you know, just because something changes doesn't mean. I feel like we see everything through such a partisan lens. "Oh my God, 60 Minutes has a new cast. So does Saturday Night Live." MURPHY: Yeah, but Bill, it's not just, it's not just 60 Minutes, right? MAHER: I agree. MURPHY: I mean, they literally, they took down his chief late night critic. CBS News at 6:30 does sound and feel different. This is not just about 60 Minutes. MAHER: Trust me. I feel it too.  MURPHY: Yeah. MAHER: Okay, so I’m part of it. I get it. But we're just talking about 60 Minutes now. But yes, I agree. He's a danger to media. He's a danger to freedom of speech. But just 60 Minutes. I don't know. I mean, and I'm not gonna make that decision until I see a smoking gun. Like, something like, “Oh, wow. You know, now we're, we're, you know, tick, tick, tick. Candace Owens and Alex Jones on 60 Minutes.” I mean— MURPHY: Yeah, but they, but they're, they're always going to maintain a veneer of objectivity, right? The good ones who are trying to carefully transition a country from democracy to autocracy, don't do it overnight, right? It is methodical that over time you feel like you don't have the space to criticize, and if you are going to put forward the administration's propaganda, you get an elevated seat at the table. So, that doesn't just turn on a dime. That is a project that authoritarians or would-be authoritarians. MAHER: Okay, when I, when I see actual evidence of that, I'll be on your side.