Real Time with Bill Maher Ep. #740: Byron Donalds, Molly Jong-Fast, Michael S. Roth
103 snips
Aug 29, 2026 
Michael S. Roth, Wesleyan president and author, discusses higher education and campus culture. Byron Donalds, Florida congressman and gubernatorial nominee, talks trade, immigration, and mental health. They spar over tariffs, naval strategy in the Strait, public health and vaccination concerns, and political influence in primaries.
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Actively Recruit Diverse Political Voices
- Do broaden faculty viewpoints deliberately rather than relying on government fixes.
- Roth says Wesleyan brings editors, Republican officials, and veterans to campus and even proposed an affirmative-action–style program for conservatives.
College Should Teach How To Think Not What To Memorize
- College value is shifting from information transfer to forming habits of learning and thinking.
- Roth argues students can get facts from phones; campuses should build thinking skills through experiments and dialogue.
Donalds Frames Tariffs As Renegotiation Of Bad Deals
- Byron Donalds frames tariffs as renegotiating bad trade deals rather than pure protectionism.
- He cites USMCA and says revisiting 40 years of trade policy is needed to bring manufacturing back.
