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Colin Kaepernick Calls Out Adoptive Parents For "Problematic" Upbringing; White House Pushes Back Against DeSantis "Woke" Attacks; Bill Maher And His Guests Answer The Viewers' Questions And Bring Their Unique Perspectives To The Topics Driving The National Conversation. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired March 10, 2023 - 23:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Colin Kaepernick is speaking out about his childhood and explaining how his white adoptive parents at times echoed some racist ideas. His comments were part of a CBS interview about his new graphic novel detailing his high school years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN KAEPERNICK, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, FOOTBALL QUARTERBACK: I know my parents loved me, but there were still very problematic things I went through. I think it was important to show that, no, this can happen in your own home. And how do we move forward collectively while addressing the racism that is being perpetuated.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): He took cues from his icon basketball star Allen Iverson, who he said wore his blackness like a suit of armor, and teenage Kaepernick wanted cornrows to match. He's getting what rolls, his mom asked?

KAEPERNICK: Oh, your hair is not professional. Oh, you look like a little thug.

UNKNOWN: Your mom said that to you?

KAEPERNICK: Yeah. And those become spaces where it's like, okay, how do I navigate the situation now? But I also has informed why I have my hair long today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: CNN attempted to reach out to Rick and Teresa Kaepernick for comment but not did not receive a response. So, I mean, he brings up a lot of interesting issues here. LZ, what do you hear?

LZ GRANDERSON, OP-ED COLUMNIST, LOS ANGELES TIMES: It's messy. It's messy because he's right. You know, he is right. I just personally would not have chosen to say that about my parents, who saved my life and raised me. You know, I'm not saying his argument or his perspective is wrong. You know, I'm in an interracial marriage. I've heard comments made that I had to check by people who love me. He's right. That does exist. But I'm not going to write a list about my relatives and put them on blast like that, although I guess I just did.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: But I didn't write a book. I'm not going to profit from it.

(LAUGHTER)

JOE PINION, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER SENATE CANDIDATE: I think it's lazy. I think that if you look at what has transpired here, every single Black child in this country with parents who love them have been told you have to be twice as good to get half as far, has been told that people will judge you by your parents.

There is the reality of, is that something that we should still have to deal with in this nation? Should you, as a Black person, have to consider what the name you want to name your child, have an impact on the resume that it's written on?

We shouldn't have to have those conversations. But it's a reality of America. You have to deal with the realities of the world in which we live today if you're going to achieve the world that we all see tomorrow.

And so, I think for me, listening to him talk about things that parents of any race, unfortunately, have to talk about Black children in a kind of retroactive view, you know, in a -- not looking at it in a 2022 world where we have had a Black president, where we have seen the horrors of George Floyd up front, we know in undeniable manners that the horrors, the evil sins of the origins of slavery and racism, they still have half-life that links us through to this day. All of that is real.

But I just think it's a clumsy way to deal with a real conversation that parents across the spectrum are unfortunately forced to have with too many Black children every single day.

PETE DOMINICK, COMEDIAN: I think it's -- I thought it was taken out of context. It might sound a little bit bad. But I think it is really important, I think, that parents who adopt kids who don't look like them try to do a good -- a really good job of learning about what that means and learning cultural things.

I won't talk about race, but I have daughters, and so I thought it was really important and still think it's important that I don't say and do things that create false expectations or that promote gender equity for my daughters.

Oh, you throw like a girl, don't cry like a girl. Those are mistakes. All of us here, our parents made mistakes. That doesn't mean that they weren't great parents. I think that that is a fair point.

CAMEROTA: But I think you (INAUDIBLE) on something that is really interesting, which is I think when he was adopted during that era, the expectation was that he would assimilate into the white family. He was -- I think that that was -- you know, they were uncomfortable with him when he had cornrows. He was supposed to assimilate and look like their community.

I think now, times have changed, to your point, and he is talking how they could have done what you're talking about, which has been more sensitive to his culture.

PINION: I think it's also a broader conversation. I mean, look, we are just looking at right now the unfortunate reality of what is happening with Ja Morant in the NBA, right? This notion that there is a toxicity that has been, you know, by media, thrust on to blackness that has very little to do with being Black.

You look at what happened with Allen Iverson, what he had to deal with, as grown man, making millions because of this -- quote unquote -- "wearing blackness as an armor." That is not his fault. It is still awful. But fast forward, it changed the entire dress code of the NBA because of Allen Iverson.

They changed the dress code of the NFL because of some of these things, that people were warned against those false characterizations of Black people.

[23:04:57]

CAMEROTA: Hold on, LZ, because I want to bring in an expert who can really relate to this topic. Rhonda Roorda was adopted by a white family when she was two years old. She is the author of the book, "In Their Voices: Black Americans on Transracial Adoption." She also worked as a consultant on the hit show "This Is Us" and that, of course, has a plot line about a white couple adopting a Black baby.

Rhonda, thanks so much for being here. So, I mean, because you share this experience with Colin Kaepernick, what did you think of him speaking out about his parents this way?

RHONDA ROORDA, AUTHOR: I would say it takes a lot of courage. But I applaud him because transracial adoption is bold, it's complex, and it is context-tied. And so, when many of us were adopted in the early 1970s, the National Association of Black Social Workers went on the record saying this is essentially cultural genocide and these kids may not be associated with people of color because they're living in white spaces.

And so, the question is, would they be able to grow and develop into healthy individuals, aware of their ethnicity and connected to the Black community?

And then right after that, social scientists, most of them are white, wrote studies that looked at sort of what Colin Kaepernick is going through. They looked at Black and biracial and also Korean children who were raised in white homes. And what we knew then, when you look at traditional research, is that most of us are living in white spaces. So, we have no racial mirrors. And I would hope that we can be a little bit compassionate to be adopting and understand that we love our parents, but yet we're trying to figure out how to be Black, authentic, love our parents but love ourselves. We're trying to figure out who we are, and we're trying to, some of us, trying to honor our ancestral heritage.

So, when we're trying to figure this out and our parents are living in predominantly white spaces with white friends, and we don't see anybody that looks like us on our -- at our dinner table, we're putting a whole lot of weight and burden on the shoulders of transracial adoptees.

And so, I think that authors, activists like Colin and so many other adult adoptees out here who are trying to honor our parents but also honor ourselves --

CAMEROTA: Uh-hmm. Yeah, Rhonda, I have a question for you.

ROORDA: -- realize how bold that is.

CAMEROTA: Yeah, I appreciate all that. But my question is because I read your notes, you said that there were times that you -- I don't know if you really thought you were white, but there was a color blindness to your childhood. So, explain what that felt like.

ROORDA: Yes. Okay, so -- so, Alisyn -- so, basically, the foundation of transracial adoption is on a color-blind platform and it's tied to federal policy, the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994, married with the 1996 American provision (ph). And it basically says we have Black and brown kids languishing in foster care, we need to push them through, and if there are white families, this is a pathway through.

So, many of us were raised not to see color. But in my case, even though I grew up in Washington, D.C., I was living in a bubble with my family. My father is from Netherlands, so he obviously likes to speak Frisian and Dutch and wanted us to know about his heritage.

What I'm saying is we need to honor our heritage as well. So, when we come to these families, we have our own DNA. I'm linked also to a rich legacy as well as Black family members.

CAMEROTA: Uh-hmm.

ROORDA: And I'm also part of my adoptive family.

CAMEROTA: Uh-hmm. Okay, Rhonda, stand back because I want get our panel's take on it. Molly?

MOLLY JONG-FAST, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, VANITY FAIR: I thought that was so moving and interesting and important. And I thought she was -- I mean, that is just -- I was like welling up a little bit. I mean, that is -- that she's -- you know, that is what we have to do and that is what we all do growing up. I mean (INAUDIBLE).

DOMINICK: I think those are also really enlightening, to hear her talking about this. But I also think, from what I've read, a lot of the same kind of outcomes can happen with biracial.

[23:10:02]

If your parents like -- Barack Obama always talked about his white grandparents and like the racism that your white father or if you're biracial, I think there is a lot of similarity. I want to know if Rhonda thinks there are some similarities with that. That is my question.

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, Rhonda.

ROORDA: There are similarities. I think where there are differences, so many of us as adoptees are dealing with trauma, loss, grief. We have been pulled from our ethnic communities, and we've been placed in white families and white spaces.

So, if I'm coming from Ethiopia in the winter and get dropped in Michigan when we just had some snowfall, my body is in shock. And now, I'm with people that look different, they have a different rhythm, they have different values, and we are asked with the transracial adoption policy to suck it up, to smile, to be grateful because we just got saved.

And so, what I'm asking and what I think Colin is saying is that we're not projects. We're human beings with a spirit, a soul and a body. And we are connected to a legacy.

So, white parents, I think, in doing parenting should also recognize they have an onus to do right by us and to do right by the families in which we came from. I have a mom and a daddy, but I also have my adoptive family, and you can do both. You can love your adoptive family, but we just want to love ourselves, too.

CAMEROTA: LZ, it's so interesting what she is saying because I think that there used to be a feeling in the '70s and '80s, we're doing right by this child by adopting them out of languishing in foster care system or out of poverty, wherever they are, so we are doing right by them, we are doing an altruistic thing, it's a win-win. But it sounds like what Rhona is saying, what Colin Kaepernick is saying, that is actually not enough for the adoptee.

GRANDERSON: No, and honestly, it's not enough for the parents either, if you really think about it. You know, I have locks, obviously. So, one of the things that has always been really cool is when you see the white parent coming in with their Black adopted child because you see parents who are actually making the effort, you know, realizing that, you know what, I don't understand how to work with this texture of hair, but I'm going to go out of my comfort zone to make sure that my child is okay.

I love seeing mommies like that. I'm not sure -- you know, I haven't read the book. Obviously, I don't know Colin Kaepernick has told the story with the graphic novel. When I said it was messy, it comes from personal place. I personally not talk about my adoptive parents --

DOMINICK: But I think that Rhonda -- GRANDERSON: -- publicly in that fashion.

DOMINICK: Hearing from Rhonda is such a great example of bringing on an expert in the situation that -- what it does is it allows us to realize that we in the media, we can take one sentence out of context and we can talk about it. But the truth is the context is brought to us by an expert who has this lived experience and it puts a whole different story to what Colin Kaepernick said hearing from Rhonda. I think that is great.

PINION: I think -- again, I think that the broader context is that we do have plenty of Black children who are languishing in the foster system. We know that once you have been placed more than two times, the life outcomes deteriorate the (INAUDIBLE).

CAMEROTA: And white children, I believe, are adopted out of the foster care system maybe three times more than Black.

PINION: Correct. Obviously, the organization is like the Harvest of Hope put together by Pastor Buster Soaries out in Jersey to try, to figure out how do we get more Black parents and Black young people engage in fostering young people.

But beyond that, again, I just think, to your point, it's messy in the way that the interview is done. Right? I think even when we talk about the comparison to former President Obama, there was a broader context, a more nuanced conversation, because at the of the day, I don't see the harm in parents trying to protect a child from the very real dangers of being a Black child living in America.

And if we're going to have the conversations on Monday about having to know that if the police show up, you want to have your hands on the steering wheel and on the dash board, and we are going to have the real conversation about making no sudden moves, and all of a sudden at the same time we are going to start giving other people whiplash for somehow saying you're trying to protect children for this reality, it is a mixed message.

It is in many ways a nuanced message that leads to less people putting themselves out on a limb to do what his parents did, which ultimately led to him having opportunities most people couldn't even dream of.

CAMEROTA: Thank you all very much for this. Rhonda, thank you. We are out of time. But I really appreciate all the context that you gave us and you sharing your personal story.

ROORDA: Thank you.

[23:15:00]

Thanks for having me, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thanks for being here.

So, Colin Kaepernick, as you know, in part helped circle the conversation about what some people call woke now. And now, Ron DeSantis, of course, is (INAUDIBLE) up that into a culture war. And the White House today is hitting back. We will talk about all of that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis making his first trip to Iowa. And surprise, he brought up woke ideology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): What we've seen as a great American exodus from states governed by leftist politicians, imposing leftist ideology and causing their societies to decay, to crumble. It is wrong to tell a second-grader they were born in the wrong body.

(APPLAUSE)

DESANTIS: It is wrong to have gender ideology imposed in our schools.

[23:20:01]

And in Florida, we don't let it happen. Just let our kids be kids. We've got to fight if we see it in medicine or the universities or the corporations. You can't just say, let it go, because then we are going to be living under an oppressive woke autocracy. Our state is where woke goes to die.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: My panel is back with me. Yes, Pete?

DOMINICK: I'm just nauseous watching him. He is so filled with hatred, and he is so spreading that hatred around this country. I just know so many people right now who are so afraid for their kids who identify as trans, for themselves who identify as trans. Not only that, LGBTQ people and, of course, people of color. It is so dangerous.

CAMEROTA: People in Florida, as he has pointed out, seemed to like it. People (INAUDIBLE) to Florida. His ratings are high.

DOMINICK: We have a lot of people in this country who are filled with hate, filled with the fear that drives that. The idea -- the word woke, I hear that word, and I hear something completely different.

CAMEROTA: Right. We have talked about that, that it means something different to everybody. But I do not know that it is hatred. Some people really like that he is pushing back on these cultural changes.

DOMINICK: To talk about kids, to say let kids be kids, and then you are not letting them actually talk about who they are, be who they there, it is despicable. He is using children and it is horrible. Coming from the Republicans who are constantly talking about protecting kids, they are putting kids in such danger around this country.

CAMEROTA: Joe?

PINION: I guess it is a settled issue. Look, I think that woke means different things to different people. Specificity of language is important. I have said and maintain that whether you are talking about woke or CRT or any number of words, they are just a colloquial catch- all (ph) to encapsulate all the things that people have issues with, their grievances, et cetera.

I think, to your point, if you're talking about these issues, I think there are a lot of people who are not filled with hate, who think it is concerning that we would actually be having permanent physical alterations to children before they can even consent.

DOMINICK: That's not happening.

PINION: That actually is happening.

(CROSSTALK)

JONG-FAST: I think there's a lot of fighting things that don't exist, but I would say, I mean, I do not think that second-graders are being told that they were born in the wrong body.

DOMINICK: That's right.

JONG-FAST: I mean, that is not how it is supposed -- if somebody is doing that, that person should be fired, because that is not how it works.

PINION: Every time we bring footage of it happening, people say it's a one-off.

(CROSSTALK)

JONG-FAST: I don't see any footage of that. I would just also say that the people who remove the books from the classrooms and they take the books out of libraries, those are usually not the good guys.

CAMEROTA: Hold on, I have a political question about him. LZ, is he in danger? Is Governor DeSantis in danger of becoming a one-trick pony? This has been very, very successful for him in Florida. Now, he is in Iowa. He is playing the hits again. Maybe he is just introducing it to a national crowd. But it is starting to sound, maybe because we play it so much, it is starting to sound awfully familiar.

GRANDERSON: It is awfully familiar, but I do not think that he is a one-trick pony, and I don't think it is necessarily hurting his campaign. I'm assuming that this is part of the campaign. Right? He has not officially announced, but to come on.

Because of the hundreds of bills all around the country, there is an audience for this. So, even if he is repeating himself, he knows that there are many states with a lot of people who want to hear that message. I do think it is a good opportunity now for the administration as well as other grassroots leaders to push back (INAUDIBLE). CAMEROTA: Hold on, let me just play this because here is the administration. So, this is White House Press Secretary Karine Jean- Pierre.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When Republicans, extreme Republicans, MAGA Republicans, don't agree with an issue or with policy, they don't bring forth something that is going to either have a good faith conversation. They go to this conversation of woke. But that is not actually policy. What that turns into is hate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Go ahead, Molly.

JONG-FAST: My question is -- DeSantis is trying to out Trump, and he is using books to do it. I'm not sure the base is going to want that.

PINION: I don't think he is using books to do it. I think that they're using books as an example. We talked about this yesterday. Every time that you end up having parents show up at a PTA conference to read a book that has been given to their children, that they then have to cut off the microphone because it is too explicit --

JONG-FAST: When does that happen?

DOMINICK: That doesn't happen.

PINION: That does happen.

DOMINICK: No, it doesn't.

PINION: I think, again, we just have to be honest here, right? Every time we have --

JONG-FAST: I have children, I've been to their schools, it has never -- I've never seen anything like that.

PINION: It happened in Virginia. It's part of the reason why Glenn Youngkin became the governor of the state of Virginia.

[23:24:57]

Here's what I'm saying, even if your argument is that it is not happening that often, the fact that when it does happen, people pretend that it does not happen.

CAMEROTA: It also has to do with what your threshold is, what your comfort level is, because there are lots of books, as we talked about, that kids are reading in high school that they are quite comfortable reading with their teachers, but in some other schools, they're not.

PINION: I agree. I just think -- again, to your point, there are so many issues in this country that we're not talking about. We're talking about this because it moved the needle politically. For better or for worse, we are here 11:25 Eastern time and we are talking about a man in Iowa who has yet to declare for presidency.

DOMINICK: I talked to the president of Florida Education Association, largest teacher's union in Florida. Conservatives in Florida are feeling exactly what Molly just said, they do not want books to be taken out.\

CAMEROTA: Okay. We have to leave it there. It has been a very week in the news. Have you been paying attention to everything that has happened? We are going to quiz the panel on what they know.

But before that, CNN's presentation of HBO's "Overtime with Bill Maher" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Now, I want to turn it over to our friends at HBO. Each Friday, after "Real Time with Bill Maher," Bill and his guests answer viewer questions and they bring their unique perspectives to the topics driving the national conversation. We are excited to bring you this lively discussion every Friday night. We are the first with it. Here's "Overtime with Bill Maher."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(APPLAUSE)

BILL MAHER, HBO POLITICAL TALK SHOW HOST: Okay, here we are on CNN, however that happened. We are glad to be here. We have author of "The New York Times" Newsletter John McWhorter. We Emmy Award-winning journalist Josh Tyrangiel.

Okay, here are the questions I hold in my hand.

(LAUGHTER)

MAHER: Let me do (INAUDIBLE) tonight instead of --

(LAUGHTER)

JOHN MCWHORTER, AUTHOR, NYT NEWSLETTER: Nobody under 75.

(LAUGHTER)

MAHER: Well they see it on YouTube. It's not right. Don't even do that. All right, were the former CDC director testifying before Congress of gain-of-function labs probably caused the pandemic? Should we be rethinking our approach to scientific research?

I don't know about scientific research but gain-of-function -- I don't know if people know what gain-of-function is, but that this how possibly this escaped. It is a very, very scary to me because if gain- of-function means we are taking the virus, manipulating it in our lab to make it worse so that we could study that, if the worst happens, which does happen when it escapes--

(LAUGHTER)

I would say this about that. I will just jump in. You can argue. If we think nuclear power, we can't have it, some people think that because it is great, except for that one in a thousand chance that it goes bad, it goes so bad, isn't this the same thing? Gain-of-function? Isn't it very similar to nuclear?

JOSH TYRANGIEL, JOURNALIST, PRODUCER: Yeah. It feels pretty self- evident that we are to have the highest possible restriction for this kind of research because -- I come from people who always worry about the worst possible outcome.

(LAUGHTER)

This is the worst possible outcome. Put that first.

MAHER: Yeah. I mean, if it happens, that the virus evolves way worse naturally, we will deal with it then. But to bring it about seems crazy.

MCWHORTER: This should have been really rethought. Yes, it is exactly like the nuclear issue. I don't see how the issues are different.

MAHER: All right. What impact, if any, can we expect the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, oh yes, to have on our financial system? I saw that this just happened. Silicon Valley Bank, one of the biggest banks in Silicon Valley.

Obviously, they are attacked, right? That is what they finance. I think the biggest bank failure since the 2008 crash. I guess we should have seen it coming because there has been a lot of layoffs and bitcoin. Is this what this bank is? Bitcoin?

TYRANGIEL: Silicon Valley Bank is a 40-year-old bank from the Valley. It was designed and funded originally to make sure that startups, which have a tough time getting money can get some money. If this were called the Lehigh Valley Bank, we would not really been paying that much attention to it.

It is the Silicon Valley Bank, part of it is sexy, but the truth is that it is a small bank. It got about $150 billion capital. JP Morgan has $3 trillion.

The only reason to be concerned about it is the knock-on effects of confidence. But it is a small bank. They got caught short. It's the oldest story in the world.

MAHER: Are we bailing out bitcoin losers?

TYRANGIEL: No. This is not about bitcoin. It's about a shortfall where they misaligned their bond spending --

MAHER: Oh.

TYRANGIEL: -- with the amount coming in. They lost deposit confidence. It happened overnight. It is possible this gets contained.

MCWHORTER: Is it absolutely central to the start-up industry or is it just the bank that some start-ups?

TYRANGIEL: It used to be four years ago, but now no longer.

MAHER: Yeah. Speaking of tech, Elon Musk just announced that he plans to build his own utopia in Austin, Texas.

(LAUGHTER)

It just gets a laugh on the promise.

(LAUGHTER)

Affordable housing for his employees. He is a visionary. We did not see electric cars or reliable rockets or landing on Mars. This guy thinks big. What are your thoughts? By the way, if I was going to build a utopia, all respect to Austin, I would not put it there.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

That's just me. I like Austin. I like Austin a lot. Keep it weird every time I go.

(LAUGHTER)

MCWHORTER: He lacks (INAUDIBLE). I'm not sure that he has thought hard about how a utopia would actually work beyond a kind of Disney World, beautiful picture that it would be in the beginning. I do not trust him to do this. I think I would rather see a bunch of people put their heads together.

[23:35:00]

(APPLAUSE)

MAHER: There is no such thing as utopia. How about that? Do not ever use the word utopia. I don't think that you can create a utopia. What a fool's errand that is. Talk about an overpromising conman. I'm going to build --

TYRANGIEL: Utopia is a personal concept, and my personal concept is not the same as Elon's, I am pretty sure. So, my first thought is I definitely will not be living there.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

MAHER: I can think of worse places to live and worse people to live on it. With collage enrolment down nationwide -- yes, I read that today, college enrolment. Kids are finally getting the hint. (INAUDIBLE) bunch of bullshit while (INAUDIBLE) -- oh, sorry. (LAUGHTER)

All right, twice in five weeks I messed up. Two out of five, I'm going to get better. Are young people catching on -- yes to the fact that -- yes -- yes card --

(LAUGHTER)

I agree with you, card. Are young people catching on to the fact that college may not be worth the investment?

MCWHORTER: They better. There's too much college.

MAHER: You're academia?

MCWHORTER: No.

MAHER: Too much what?

MCWHORTER: Too much God damn college.

MAHER: Right.

MCWHORTER: I teach --

MAHER: No swearing on CNN.

(LAUGHTER)

MCWHORTER: There shouldn't be this idea that to be a normal American is to spend four years living in a dormitory pretending to like Shakespeare.

(LAUGHTER)

That idea that everybody is supposed to go to college. Everybody is supposed to get a good, solid, high school education. That is another round (ph). But then you are supposed to go out and apply a trade, unless you want to do the rather rarefied thing of going to college. That is one way that the old days were better than now. It is (INAUDIBLE) that everybody goes to college.

It is not true that if you do not go to college, you're going to be selling pencils on the street. There are many perfectly legitimate careers. We just need to learn how to talk about it more.

MAHER: All right.

(APPLAUSE)

I could not agree more.

TYRANGIEL: There's another phenomenon that I think is fascinating, which is that kids are learning how to do stuff professionally from YouTube.

MCWHORTER: That is a good point.

TYRANGIEL: And so, if you are a coder, more often than not, you are watching a 90-minute video on how to use CSS, it is moving at your own pace, frequently much faster than the education system can possibly get you there.

One example from this weekend, the Daniels, the guys who directed "Everything Everywhere All at Once," they went to film school and they are the ones who said, don't ever go to film school. Watch YouTube.

(APPLAUSE)

MAHER: Well, that is for sure about the arts. You do not need school for the arts. In fact, it will probably make it worse. Either have it or you don't. It's not something that you can learn in school.

MCWHORTER: (INAUDIBLE).

MAHER: So, you can learn that on YouTube. But what about, you mentioned Shakespeare. Let me read into that, were you saying Shakespeare is past his prime?

MCWHORTER: I was being hyperbolic.

MAHER: Do you still like Shakespeare?

MCWHORTER: Shakespeare is a small guy but he said learning -- he said learn about him in high school. All of that should be packed in -- much more should be packed into the high school education. Maybe even have a 13th grade. Then if you are going into finance, go work in a bank. You can work in a bank when you're 19. That is the way I would like to be.

Shakespeare is great, but the four years where your mind is being expanded -- expand your mind when you are a teenager, then go get a job. There is nothing abnormal about that.

(APPLAUSE)

MAHER: They're expanding their minds when they're (INAUDIBLE). That is the problem. Okay, Walmart just announced that they are closing their last two stores in Portland.

UNKNOWN: Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

MAHER: In part due to rampant theft. Does this reflect a lax attitude towards crime in liberal cities? Portland is one of those cities I could see where Walmart would have some problems.

(LAUGHTER)

It's just not worth it. But, gosh, that's something not good about this country, that stores are saying we are just going to give up rather than -- we cannot even make a go of it because the security situation is so poor. I mean, I do not want to live in that country where we cannot keep a Walmart open in a major city.

(LAUGHTER)

Am I wrong?

TYRANGIEL: Portland has a problem. Portland is devastated. It is chaos now.

MAHER: How bad?

TYRANGIEL: It is bad.

(LAUGHTER)

You should be careful.

MAHER: Really? Even at the comedy show?

(LAUGHTER)

TYRANGIEL: I would say especially at the comedy show.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

MAHER: What if I need shaving cream at the last minute? Where am I going to go?

TYRANGIEL: And also, if you go in to a store in Portland, the shaving cream and the deodorant is behind a locked thing. You have to press a button to get somebody to open it for you.

[23:40:01]

MAHER: The shaving scream.

MCWHORTER: New York is full of that right now.

TYRANGIEL: Yes.

MCWHORTER: I'm beginning to order that stuff on Amazon because I get tired of waiting for that person.

MAHER: Right. As if Amazon didn't need any more help. I feel guilty about it.

MCWHORTER: Actually, large stores moving away, especially from central cities, that is 50 years old because of crime. It's an old story. It is hard to fix crime in a real way without draconian measures. It often creates more harm than help. But that is an old story. I'm not surprised. What surprises me is there were Walmarts sitting in what would be considered central Portland because it certainly wouldn't work in Philadelphia, Cincinnati or from what I hear even Denver.

MAHER: I'm going to miss this. I always loved Portland. I'm going there. I'm not sure when it is. But look it up on the website.

(APPLAUSE)

MAHER: Thank you, CNN. Thank you, guys. That was a lot of fun. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: And you can watch "Real Time with Bill Maher" on Friday nights on HBO at 10:00 p.m., then you can watch "Overtime" right here on CNN, Friday nights at 11:30. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Okay, you guys are ready. I can see that. It's very exciting. It's Friday night. You know what that means. It's quiz night. Let's see what the panelists remember from this week's news stories. Guys, here are the rules. You're going to -- when I count to three, you're going to turn around your answer. No cheating this time like last week.

(CROSSTALK)

Okay, here we go. Question number one, in Chris Rock's new comedy special, he A, forgave Will Smith, B, recreated the slap, or C, joked about entanglements? Okay, one, two, three. You all got that right. Very good.

Next, Novak Djokovic can't play in a U.S. tournament because "A, he has a torn Achilles, B, he is unvaccinated, C, the tournament spelled his name wrong? One, two, three. That is B, you're right.

DOMINICK: Viewers are telling me to hold mine in front of my face. That is me.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Okay, next, here we go, after Donald Trump's inauguration, Michelle Obama said she A, went straight to McDonald's, B, went out for drinks to George Bush, C, cried uncontrollably for 30 minutes? One, two, three.

PINIOIN: Along with the rest of us.

CAMEROTA: Okay, it was C, cried uncontrollably for 30 minutes.

GRANDERSON: I just want it to be A.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: Fair enough. You're playing a different game, but I appreciate that. GRANDERSON: going to A.

CAMEROTA: I like that a lot. Okay, here we go, next question, which country has ruled flipping the bird a god given right? A, Canada, B, United States, or C, France? One, two, three. No, no, you cannot --

(LAUGHTER)

Choose one. Choose one. Okay, A. Joe says C. Believe it or not, it is A, Canada.

I would have thought it was the United States because New Jersey is named the middle finger, the state bird.

(LAUGHTER)

Okay, next question. This week, it was revealed that Tucker Carlson said this about Donald Trump. A, I hate him passionately, B, I love him passionately, or C, he's terrible at golf? One, two, three.

DOMINICK: He said he hates Donald Trump.

CAMEROTA: Yeah, you all are right. If he said he's terrible at golf, I think Donald Trump would have been even more insulted.

GRANDERSON: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Okay, next question. This week, Governor Newsom announced he would boycott A, in and out burger, B, Walgreens, C, The Oscars? One, two, three. Okay. (INAUDIBLE) again, LZ?

GRANDERSON: I have no idea what Gavin is up to.

DOMINICK: Because they won't sell the after -- the abortion pill. Walgreens won't sell it in states where you can't get an abortion. So, the state of California is like, well, guess what, we won't do business with you, Walgreens.

GRANDERSON: Oh. Good for you, Gavin.

CAMEROTA: That's right. I appreciate that. You said "C, The Oscars. That's a good guess.

(LAUGHTER)

GRANDERSON: I thought he was mad like the rest of us.

(LAUGHTER)

DOMINICK: Maverick.

CAMEROTA: Okay, next question, this week, Oklahoma voters rejected a ballot measure to A, lower the drinking age to 18. B, legalize recreational marijuana, or C, bring the state's speed limit up to 85 miles per hour. One, two, three.

DOMINICK: I'm always -- you are hiding the answers like we're in grade school, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: (INAUDIBLE) this time.

GRANDERSON: I kept wondering why you are leaning like that. So weird.

DOMINICK: Did I win?

CAMEROTA: I actually do know what it would be like to sit next to you in high school. This is -- thank you. This is --

DOMINICK: I know, and I would be sitting next to you because you were probably super smart and I would pay you for the answers.

CAMEROTA: Yeah, excellent. Well done. Okay, guys, how much time do we have left? Oh, all right. Does anybody have any other question? First of all, you guys won. All three of you, tied. LZ, I think you threw the game and you took it at two-point loss.

[23:50:03]

GRANDERSON: The idea of Michelle Obama going to McDonald's after the inauguration just sounds wonderful to me.

CAMEROTA: It does. Don't you also like her going to drink with George Bush?

GRANDERSON: No.

DOMINICK: Not as much.

GRANDERSON: Not as much.

DOMINICK: I like that she did what a lot of people did. I cried longer and I drink heavily.

CAMEROTA: You did B and C.

DOMINICK: Yeah, I cried and drank.

JONG-FAST: Drank with George W. Bush.

DOMINICK: And I drank with George W. Bush, which is weird because he drank soda, of course.

CAMEROTA: Got it. Thank you. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Air Force One is getting a new paint job. The color scheme for the next Air Force One selected by President Biden was unveiled today. It's not the one that President Trump had wanted. You might recall that Donald Trump announced a darker red, white, and blue design in 2018. But that one was rejected because it would have required additional engineering.

It turns out that that darker blue paint threatened to overheat the sophisticated electronic components on board. So that was scrapped. And if you're thinking, hey, this new Air Force One looks a lot like the old Air Force One, you are correct. Really, there's just a darker shade of blue around the nose. This color scheme stays true to the same basic design the iconic aircraft has sported since JFK was in office.

Thanks so much for watching, everyone. Have a wonderful weekend. Our coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)