Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher signaled that he could back Republican Vice President JD Vance in 2028 if Democrats nominate a standard-bearer aligned with the partys ascendant socialist wing, blasting Democrats as "cowardly" and warning that radicals are tightening their grip on the left.
Mahers comments came during an appearance on ABC News "This Week," where he was pressed on whether he could ever see himself voting for Vance. According to Fox News, Maher did not hesitate when co-anchor Jonathan Karl posed the question.
"Yes," Maher replied when Karl asked if he could envision casting a ballot for the Ohio Republican. "If this is the Democratic side, yes."
Maher stressed that his vote is "in play" precisely because President Donald Trump is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, and he flatly rejected attempts to sanitize the hard-left agenda by rebranding it as mere "socialism." "My vote is in play because it cant be Trump running, so Im not living in communist America," Maher said.
He dismissed the familiar progressive claim that socialism is distinct from communism, pointing instead to the stated aims of the Democratic Socialists of America. "I mean, I know the talking point is that its not communism, its socialism. OK, Ive read the quotes from the DSA platform from their own mouths. Dont tell me Im not seeing what I am seeing," Maher said.
Maher also contrasted the openness of Republicans to appear on his HBO program, "Real Time with Bill Maher," with the conspicuous absence of Democrats, even though he has historically voted for them. "The Democrats dont come, and yet they got my vote. What... its just odd, isnt it? Why is that? So what is that all about?" Maher said.
He did not mince words about what he sees as a lack of courage on the left. "Democrats are cowardly. Theyre cowardly."
The HBO host warned that the Democratic Party is being steadily overtaken by increasingly radical activists and candidates, a trend he says he has been sounding the alarm about for years. "Their party is being taken over now by, you know, every day I hear about a new very radical," Maher said.
He recalled that his refusal to embrace the most extreme left-wing positions cost him fans roughly a decade ago, but he expressed no regret about resisting ideological conformity. "I feel very good about [it]. Like 10 years ago, like I did lose fans because, you know, I wasnt going to go along with some of this crazy stuff on the left too," he said.
Maher emphasized that his skepticism toward the right has not softened, but he is no longer willing to ignore what he views as dangerous excesses on his own side. "I didnt change really on what I thought about the right, but just, I cant sit and just not notice stuff which people seem to want to do because its all about my team or your team," Maher said.
He pointed to left-wing support for violent anti-Israel agitation as a moral red line. "But you know theres some crazy stuff. You know, when were cheering for the Intifada, I cut, Im out," he said.
Looking ahead to the next election cycles, Maher predicted Democrats will likely fare well in the 2026 midterms because those races will still function as a referendum on Trumps legacy. However, he argued that the 2028 presidential contest will be shaped by a very different dynamic.
"2028 is a different story because by then this wing of the party, this new wing with all the energy, and its not just a few people anymore," Maher said. He warned that the energized socialist bloc could dominate the Democratic nominating process if moderates remain passive.
As evidence of the partys leftward lurch, Maher cited candidates in states like Colorado and Wisconsin who are openly campaigning on abolishing law enforcement and the criminal justice system. "I read every day I read about a new person in some Colorado and Wisconsin, somebody who is saying some variation of not defund the police," Maher said.
"Abolish the police. No prisons, no police. Like, what world do they think we could possibly live in under these conditions?" he added, underscoring concerns shared by many conservatives about public safety and social order. The DSAs 2026 program, which calls for public ownership of major corporations and essential industries, the full abolition of police and prisons, and even abolishing the Senate, looms in the background of Mahers warning that if Democrats continue to drift toward this agenda, voters like him may look to figures such as Vance as a bulwark against an increasingly radical left.
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