In a satirical piece for The New York Times, comedian Larry David took aim at HBO's Bill Maher, who recently stirred controversy by dining with President Donald Trump and subsequently describing him in unexpectedly positive terms.
David's parody imagines a dinner with Adolf Hitler, drawing parallels to Maher's experience by portraying a more "authentic" and "human" side of the dictator.
Maher's meeting with the President has ruffled feathers within liberal media circles, primarily due to his depiction of Trump as "gracious and measured," despite their stark political differences. "Look, I get it. It doesn't matter who he is at a private dinner with a comedian. It matters who he is on the world stage. I'm just taking as a positive that this person exists. Because everything I've ever not liked about him was, I swear to God, absent at least on this night with this guy,"
Maher remarked earlier this month. He further elaborated, "I've had so many conversations with prominent people who are much less connected, people who don't look you in the eye, people don't really listen because they just want to get to their next thing None of that was him, and he mostly steered the conversation to What do you think about this? I know, your mind is blown. So is mine."
According to Fox News, David's satirical article mirrors Maher's narrative, presenting a fictional dinner with Hitler in 1939. David reflects, "if only the world could see this side of him, people might have a completely different opinion." He writes, "Suddenly he seemed so human. Here I was, prepared to meet Hitler, the one Id seen and heard the public Hitler. But this private Hitler was a completely different animal. And oddly enough, this one seemed more authentic, like this was the real Hitler. The whole thing had my head spinning."
The New York Times' Deputy Opinion Editor, Patrick Healy, defended the publication of David's piece in the Opinion Today newsletter, acknowledging the "really high bar for commenting on todays world by invoking Hitler." Healy clarified that the article was not equating Trump with Hitler but rather exploring the notion of perceiving individuals beyond their public personas. "Larry David, in a provocation of his own, is arguing that during a single dinner or a private meeting, anyone can be human, and it means nothing in the end about what theyre capable of," Healy explained.
The controversy surrounding Maher's comments has sparked further discourse, with Washington Post columnist Len Krauze drawing comparisons between Maher's remarks and historical instances of flattery directed at figures like Hitler, Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong. Krauze opined, "By agreeing to meet with Trump, allowing himself to be privately charmed by a charismatic leader and then sharing his softened new take on the president, Bill Maher has made the task of holding Trump accountable that much more difficult."
As the debate continues, it underscores the complexities of public figures engaging with controversial leaders and the broader implications such interactions may have on public perception and accountability.
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