"Real Time" host Bill Maher said he received scorn from a "pretty famous" person for welcoming Republicans on his HBO show.
In an interview published Monday by Reason Magazine, Maher was asked how often he is accused of "platforming," a growing sin among the left of allowing a conservative on a mainstream liberal platform.
"I had [Ron] DeSantis and Ted Cruz on this year, and Bill Barr. And yes, to answer your question, I can think of two people—and I won't say who they are; one of them is pretty famous—just yelling at me in an email about that," Maher said. "And my answer to that is: F— off. You know what? You live in your ivory tower. I'm going to talk to everybody in the half of the country that you find is so deplorable. They're not going to self-deport, even if they are deplorable. And some of them are! And some on the left are deplorable too, and incredibly obnoxious. That's the country!"
He continued, "When historians look back in a hundred years, if we're still here, I don't think they're going to divide the country like we do into these two camps. They're going to say: As a people, they were obnoxious. It happens in different forms on both sides. As a people, they didn't believe in science. On the right, they think global warming is a hoax or whatever nonsense they believe about that. And on the left, they think men can have babies. That's what they'll say. They'll say, 'As a people, they just lost their s—.'"
"Real Time" host Bill Maher said a "pretty famous" person scolded him for "platforming" Republicans on his HBO show. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Last September, Maher grilled then-Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over his uphill battle to defeat former President Trump in the GOP primary.
"You did not take my advice," Maher began the exchange. "I was on the show – a few times we talked – I said, 'this guy's crazy to run this time.' … You could run for the next 20 years. If you were Biden, the next 40. Why run against Trump? You're trying to thread this needle that will never happen. You can't disavow him because that's the base, and yet you're running against him. And that's why, I mean, let's face it Ron, if the campaign was going well, you wouldn't be on this show."
Maher doesn't only welcome Republicans on his HBO show. He also invites conservatives on his "Club Random" podcast, including former GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy.
"Real Time" host Bill Maher challenged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on his viability in the GOP race against former President Trump. Youtube/HBO The liberal comedian called Ramaswamy a "likable guy" but insisted his chumminess with Trump would keep him from winning the Republican nomination.
"You got to decouple from Donald Trump. That's the path," Maher told Ramaswamy.
Both DeSantis and Ramaswamy have since suspended their campaigns following disappointing results at the Iowa caucuses.
Maher, an outspoken critic of Trump, warned Democrats last week they can't run on opposing him in order to win in the November election.
"I also think it's not a great strategy to run a Democratic campaign based on 'How can they like this guy?!' Because some people just do… Maybe it's better to look at why he is winning among the people who 'are rapists. And who do drugs,'" Maher said, whipping out his Trump impersonation. "Maybe there's a fly in the ointment there."
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