Bill Maher couldn't rattle Julián Castro

Julian Castro and Bill Maher.
(Image credit: Screenshot/HBO)

Bill Maher doesn't seem like he's too keen on 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful and former Housing Secretary under Barack Obama, Julián Castro. But Castro seemed unfazed by the host's tough questions.

Castro, who has largely flown under the radar, has continued to become a bit more visible on the national scale. After releasing a "radical" manifesto on immigration earlier this week, Castro appeared on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, where he sparred with the host about immigration and Joe Biden.

Maher challenged the effectiveness of Castro's immigration policy, saying it was like if former President Barack Obama had first come out by campaigning on reparations or affirmative action. "It seems like [immigration is] the obvious issue for you," Maher said. But Castro countered that President Trump is "hell-bent" on using immigration as a "political ploy," and he wants to show that he has "a completely different" vision for how to approach the issue.

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Maher also criticized Castro's earlier comments about Joe Biden, who has recently been on the receiving end of a string of complaints from women who said Biden's physical contact made them feel uncomfortable. Biden joked about the matter on Friday, which Maher approved of. Castro, though, was having none of it.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.