Real Time with Bill Maher welcomes Trump’s Republican challenger in 2020

Tonight’s Real Time with Bill Maher will feature an interview with Bill Weld.

Fans will want to tune in to Real Time with Bill Maher tonight. The HBO series will feature familiar faces returning to the show, including Bill Weld who is seeking to win the Republican nomination for president from Donald Trump.

Viewers are no doubt eager to catch up with Bill Maher after he took last week off for a Memorial Day break. A lot has been happening in politics both in Washington, D.C. and abroad. Most of late night has been off this week so political humor fans will be looking for Real Time to carry the load tonight.

Expect Real Time to deliver the goods tonight. The statement from Special Counsel Robert Mueller should be covered as well as the increasing number of calls to start impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. That topic will surely come up during the top-of-show interview. Here’s a break down of tonight’s Real Time with Bill Maher guests.

Top-of-show interview

Bill Maher will sit down with former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld to start the show’s guest segments. It will be Weld’s first time on the show.

Weld was governor of Massachusetts from 1991 through 1997. He had an unsuccessful bid for the senate in 1996 where he lost to Democrat John Kerry. Weld was the vice presidential nominee for the Libertarian Party in 2016, on the party’s ticket with Gary Johnson.

In April the 73-year-old Weld formally announced his candidacy for president in the 2020 election. This came a few months after he returned to the Republican Party following public criticism of President Donald Trump.

Maher will likely press Weld to criticize Trump even more as well as evaluate the likelihood of Weld taking the Republican Party’s lead from the president. Weld’s pro-choice views and support of LGBT rights certainly contradict with traditional Republican positions and those of President Trump.

Mid-show interview

For the mid-show interview, filmmaker John Waters returns to the show. It will be his eighth time on Real Time with Bill Maher.

Waters has been active in the entertainment industry since 1964. As a director, screenwriter, and actor he has developed a dedicated fanbase surrounding his underground films and cult classics.

Waters is also a successful author. Just this month he published his memoir Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder. The book provides Waters’ unique perspective on his career, the entertainment world, and fame. Expect an entertaining conversation between Waters and Bill Maher.

The panel

Fans can be sure that Robert Mueller’s statement will be the main focus on the panel discussion. Whether Mueller did a satisfactory job of explaining his position and where Democrats can go next will likely be debated among the guests.

Political analyst Kirsten Powers will be on the panel. Tonight will be her first appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher.

Powers held a position in the administration of President Bill Clinton. She was then a columnist and appeared on several Fox News programs. Now she is an analyst for CNN while also writing for USA Today.

Political journalist Jonathan Swan is also on the panel. His previous visit to Real Time came back in August of 2018.

As a reporter for AXIOS Media, Swan has been credited with breaking several major stories from the Trump administration. These include the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate pact, Steve Bannon’s dismissal, and Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Rounding out the panel is defense analyst Lawrence Wilkerson. The retired U.S. Army colonel has made several stops to Real Time, most recently in June of 2018.

Wilkerson, a Republican, served as chief of staff for former Secretary of State Colin Powell. But that hasn’t kept him from criticizing many foreign policy decisions by the administration of President George W. Bush.

Wilkerson has also expressed concern over how the Trump administration is handling Iran. That should be another major topic discussed with Bill Maher on tonight’s show.

Real Time with Bill Maher airs tonight, May 31, on HBO at 10:00 PM ET. It will be the 17th episode of the 17th season. Follow along on Twitter and submit any questions you may have for the panel that may be read on air. Enjoy the show!