America turns 250 at a time when even celebrating the country can feel political. In the latest episode of the GZERO World podcast, Ian Bremmer sits down with comedian and political commentator Bill Maher to discuss patriotism, polarization, and the arguments Americans are having over what their country represents.

Maher argues that patriotism should not belong to US President Donald Trump or any one political party. Americans can confront the country’s failures, he says, without losing sight of the ideals and institutions that have helped drive progress: the rule of law, civil rights, scientific inquiry, and a system of checks and balances designed to restrain power.

The conversation also turns to the future of the Democratic Party, the political costs of ideological purity, and the challenge of winning back the center ahead of 2028. Maher weighs in on Trump’s second term, too, arguing that while the president continues to test the limits of executive power, Congress, the courts, and members of his own party have shown that America’s guardrails still matter.

It is a wide-ranging conversation about the country’s past, its present divisions, and whether Americans can still find reasons to celebrate the experiment they share.

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America at 250: Patriotism, Trump, and America's future, with Bill Maher

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

America at 250: Patriotism, Trump, and America's future, with Bill Maher