President Donald Trump is once again clashing with HBO host Bill Maher, blasting him as defenseless and totally deficient after Mahers Friday-night interview with California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The president, who once hosted Maher for dinner at the White House, unloaded on the comedian in a lengthy Truth Social post after watching the exchange with the Democrat governor. According to WND, Trumps irritation was not only directed at Maher and Newsom, but also at conservative media outlets that, in his view, continue to elevate Mahers profile despite his hostility to the right.
I hate seeing Fox, and other Conservative Outlets, constantly making Low Rated Bill Maher relevant as it pertains to the Republican Party, and beyond, Trump wrote Saturday evening, accusing the media of giving undue weight to a liberal entertainer. He then turned his fire on Newsom, whom he derisively labeled Gavin Newscum, calling him an admittedly Low IQ person, who said he cant read a speech, is dumb, and essentially, incompetent, and he took Bill Maher over the coals. Bill Maher was defenseless, and totally deficient.
Trump argued that Maher either lacked the basic command of facts or simply froze as Newsom painted a rosy picture of a state that has been hemorrhaging residents and businesses. Either he didnt have the knowledge, or he choked, because Gavin went on and on about how good California is doing, while its doing very poorly, having, by far, the worst year its ever had where, for the first time in History, more people are leaving than coming, Trump stated, underscoring a trend conservatives have long cited as evidence of failed progressive governance.
The president said Maher initially acknowledged Californias decline, only to let Newsom filibuster with talking points that went largely unchallenged. Bill Maher started by saying that California was doing poorly, only to have Newscum speak for an extended period of time, and lie about the facts. All you have to do is look at whats happened to Los Angeles, San Francisco, the horrendous homeless problem all over every street, the Railway catastrophe that is Billions of Dollars over budget, and has never been built, the inability to rebuild the 25,000 homes that were destroyed by the fire because he refused to allow water into the street from the Southwest (If it werent for our Superstar EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and me, they wouldnt have any homes being built right now!), Trump wrote.
From Trumps vantage point, Mahers performance was not merely weak but damaging to conservatives when networks treat him as a legitimate voice on the right. Fox should stop putting this person on. Hes not representing us. You look weak, stupid, and ineffective, and I hate seeing that. DONT USE BILL MAHER ANY LONGER AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOU! I hate hearing that Bill Maher said Bill Maher is a MORON, though slightly more talented than Jimmy Kimmel, Trump declared, urging right-leaning outlets to stop outsourcing their arguments to a liberal comedian.
Ironically, during the interview itself, Maher did press Newsom on some of Californias most glaring failures, including the states notorious high-speed rail boondoggle and the soaring cost of living. He challenged the governor directly on kitchen-table issues, asking, Are they going to say good about gas prices? Are they going to say good about how high their rents are?
Maher went further, ridiculing the long-delayed rail project that has become a symbol of big-government excess and mismanagement. So many people live I mean theres a whole litany. I mean the train! Gavin, you got to get rid of the train! I say this as a friend, you got to let that train go! Let the train go. Its up to $231 billion, Maher said, highlighting a price tag that conservatives have long cited as proof that progressive dreams come with staggering taxpayer costs.
Some on the right, including Fox News host Tomi Lahren, saw Mahers questioning as a rare moment of accountability for a Democrat governor often coddled by the media. Touting his performance, Lahren said, I love the way Bill Maher called him out. Gavins so smug he doesnt know how to take that question.
Lahren argued that Newsom hides behind macroeconomic bragging rights while presiding over a state in visible decline for ordinary residents. Every time hes asked about the failures in California, he repeats the same thing. He says fourth largest economy in the world yeah, but thats not because of your leadership. Thats because California is a great state. You are doing everything you can, Gavin, to kill it. You and the Democrats who run it, she said, framing Californias success as something achieved in spite of, not because of, progressive rule.
She also mocked Newsoms evident presidential ambitions, suggesting he cannot even handle gentle scrutiny from a generally sympathetic interviewer. The fact he wants to run for president we all know but he cant take a simple question from a friendly interviewer, Bill Maher? Boy Gavin! Kamala might come knocking on your back door she might actually be more powerful than you! Lahren quipped, hinting at the internal power struggles within the Democratic Party.
Trump, for his part, reminded followers that his disdain for Maher is rooted in personal experience as well as politics, recalling their White House encounter in unflattering terms. Bill Maher is a weak and ineffective person who I got to know very well during my dinner with him at the White House. He was nervous, scared, and the first words he uttered as he entered the Oval Office were, Can I have a drink? It was very endearing but, at the same time, absolutely pathetic, Trump recounted, using the anecdote to reinforce his portrayal of Maher as unserious and easily rattled.
As California continues to grapple with mass outmigration, rampant homelessness, and a rail project up to $231 billion, the clash over Mahers interview underscores a deeper divide on the right about who should speak for conservatives in the national conversation. Trump and his allies are signaling that they have little patience for liberal commentators being treated as arbiters of Republican thought, especially when those commentators, in their view, allow Democrats like Newsom to spin failure as success while everyday Californians bear the cost.
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