Weeks after enjoying a surprisingly gracious dinner with Donald Trump , comedian Bill Maher unleashed a scathing critique of the President, accusing him of "flirting with authoritarianism " and warning that dictator jokes don't remain jokes for long.
“Trump is the only president when you’re relieved when he doesn’t keep his campaign promises,” Maher joked, drawing a big laugh from the crowd.
Maher specifically took issue with Trump's past remarks about staying in office beyond two terms, despite the constitutional ban under the 22nd Amendment , and his line about being a dictator "only on Day One."
“That’s the problem with dictator jokes. They don’t stay jokes. And flirting with authoritarianism doesn’t stay flirting,” Maher warned.
The comedian painted a vivid analogy to relationship cheating. “I’m telling you, humans cannot be trusted to just flirt with other attractive humans, and the MAGA crowd cannot be trusted to flirt with dictatorship,” he argued. “Not everyone who flirts cheats. But all cheating starts with flirting.”
Maher, who was a vociferous Trump critic during his time in the White House, has been unexpectedly supported by some conservatives and libertarians of late for his public denunciations of "wokeness." But on Friday, he made it clear that his dinner meeting with Trump wouldn't silence him from decrying what he perceives as grave dangers.
Earlier on Real Time with Bill Maher 's Friday show, the host began by confirming his end-of-March dinner with Trump, brokered after rock star Kid Rock urged the sit-down. Maher reported that the dinner was proof he could be objective, confessing, "Everything I’ve not liked about him was, I swear to God, absent." But Maher soon fell back into old habits, cautioning his viewers that Trump's public demeanor is another matter.
"I've gotten some s–t from the loony left for just reporting, honestly, how the president responded in private when I was criticizing him to his face," Maher said. "I was truthful about it. And that gives me standing to say to conservatives, 'Now okay, you enjoyed my honesty and balls, now I want to see your balls,'" he joked. "What I mean is — it's your turn."
Even after their temporary peace for dinner, Maher indicated there's no cease-fire in sight: he continues to view Trump as perilously close to full-blown authoritarianism, and he's not joking.
“Trump is the only president when you’re relieved when he doesn’t keep his campaign promises,” Maher joked, drawing a big laugh from the crowd.
Maher specifically took issue with Trump's past remarks about staying in office beyond two terms, despite the constitutional ban under the 22nd Amendment , and his line about being a dictator "only on Day One."
“That’s the problem with dictator jokes. They don’t stay jokes. And flirting with authoritarianism doesn’t stay flirting,” Maher warned.
The comedian painted a vivid analogy to relationship cheating. “I’m telling you, humans cannot be trusted to just flirt with other attractive humans, and the MAGA crowd cannot be trusted to flirt with dictatorship,” he argued. “Not everyone who flirts cheats. But all cheating starts with flirting.”
Maher, who was a vociferous Trump critic during his time in the White House, has been unexpectedly supported by some conservatives and libertarians of late for his public denunciations of "wokeness." But on Friday, he made it clear that his dinner meeting with Trump wouldn't silence him from decrying what he perceives as grave dangers.
Earlier on Real Time with Bill Maher 's Friday show, the host began by confirming his end-of-March dinner with Trump, brokered after rock star Kid Rock urged the sit-down. Maher reported that the dinner was proof he could be objective, confessing, "Everything I’ve not liked about him was, I swear to God, absent." But Maher soon fell back into old habits, cautioning his viewers that Trump's public demeanor is another matter.
"I've gotten some s–t from the loony left for just reporting, honestly, how the president responded in private when I was criticizing him to his face," Maher said. "I was truthful about it. And that gives me standing to say to conservatives, 'Now okay, you enjoyed my honesty and balls, now I want to see your balls,'" he joked. "What I mean is — it's your turn."
Even after their temporary peace for dinner, Maher indicated there's no cease-fire in sight: he continues to view Trump as perilously close to full-blown authoritarianism, and he's not joking.
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