Bill Maher on Friday’s “Real Time” commended past Republican guests for coming on his show — and slammed numerous high-profile Democrats he said were too “afraid” to do the same. Maher made an exception for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), who appeared as recently as March.
Maher named several Democrats in his monologue, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. He first poked fun at Newsom, however, for his “perfect hair.”
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“Hey, at least Gavin comes here,” said Maher. “People ask me all the time, ‘Why haven’t you ever had Hillary or Bill Clinton on? Why didn’t you have Kamala on during the last campaign?’ You think we don’t ask? We ask these people every week. They say no.”
Maher noted that it took eight years “and a petition” to get Obama on his show in 2016.
“And these are people, all people, I voted for,” the “Real Time” host continued. “Think about that: they’re afraid to come on the show of a guy who voted for them. The Republicans? They show up, and when they do, they take their beating like a man.”
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Maher went on to play a montage of him sparring with past Republican guests, including former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Trump’s former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and former Trump aide Steve Bannon.
He then reiterated that he “would love” to have more notable Democrats on the show, specifically naming Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and New York City’s Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani.
“But I can’t subpoena the guests,” joked Maher. “And I can’t fix that what the Democrats are scared of, more than anything else… is being primaried from the far-left, even though most Democrats are not far-left. They’re mild-mannered and moderate, at least in my bathhouse.”
Warren has notably appeared on the show six times between 2009 and 2017.
Maher said Democrats are scared of “being primaried from the far-left” by coming on his show. Noam Galai via Getty Images
Other notable members of the Democratic Party who have sat down with Maher include House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Obama’s former chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.
Maher appeared to suggest on Friday that Democrats might win more elections if they came on his show. He cited former CIA analyst Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who urged her party in April to shed their “weak and woke” reputation and “fucking retake the flag.”
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“She’s right,” said Maher. “People vote on instinct. They can smell fear a swing state away.”
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