# Real Time with Bill Maher **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 10, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367 "2023-10-10T21:03:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 49
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/961 "2025-03-26T13:07:19Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > There was a time when I would have looked forward to Maher interviewing Trump; I would have expected him to embarrass the feck out of him, or at least pose some genuine questions. You can’t embarrass Trump. The man is shameless and takes no responsibility for his actions. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/962 "2025-03-26T17:10:03Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > You can’t embarrass Trump. The man is shameless and takes no responsibility for his actions. Not even close to the truth. It’s very much the opposite. He’s an overly sensitive snowflake who can’t handle even mild criticism. That’s why he’s on social media every day, constantly obsessed with responding to every slight against him. Taking no responsibility is true, in the sense that he will make excuses and deflect blame to everyone but himself. But he gets embarrassed very easily, he just tries to cover it with bluster and fake bravado. He’s an octogenarian toddler put in charge of the free world and it takes little effort to get under his skin. This was just over a year ago: > **[Trump storms out of courtroom during closing arguments in E. Jean Carroll's...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna135756)** > > Carroll was seeking at least $10 million in damages from the former president for repeatedly defaming her. Trump was ultimately ordered by the jury to pay her $83.3 million. His fragile ego couldn’t handle the criticism. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/963 "2025-04-12T19:37:40Z")
Called it. > **[Bill Maher Dishes On Dinner With Trump, Calls Him 'Gracious And Measured'](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bill-maher-donald-trump-dinner-gracious-measured_n_67fa6b01e4b0493abe65e7ca)** > > The "Real Time" host, who recently lobbed preemptive insults at critics of the meeting, recounted it Friday in a lengthy monologue. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/964 "2025-04-12T20:42:02Z")
You forgot to mention that Maher’s guest in the one-on-one interview segment after the monologue was Steve Bannon! 😉 My take on this, FWIW, was well expressed moments later by one of Maher’s panelists, Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin. He told Maher that he believed that he (Maher) went to that dinner in good faith, but Trump wasn’t there in good faith. To Trump, this was a PR stunt and Maher was a pawn in that stunt. Certainly Trump can be congenial when he wants to be, but that’s not who he is. We see the real Trump _persona_ all the time, for instance in his interaction with journalists. The most dignified thing Maher could have done is mention that he had a nice dinner with Trump and left it at that, instead of pretending that this ridiculous PR stunt was some kind of revelation about the “real” Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/965 "2025-04-12T21:00:35Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Called it. > > [Bill Maher Dishes On Dinner With Trump, Calls Him 'Gracious And Measured' | HuffPost Entertainment](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/bill-maher-donald-trump-dinner-gracious-measured_n_67fa6b01e4b0493abe65e7ca) Trump’s “charm” is, according to Maher, “emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days”. Yeah. Dems, those unattractive, strident complainers, should listen to Bill and show they can be just as charming as Der Leader. \*“You know, not many people knew it, but the Fuhrer was a terrific dancer.” ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/966 "2025-04-12T21:00:47Z")
Did Rump explain what the huge red marks were on his tiny hands? > **[Trump's Nearly 5-Hour Physical Exam Raises Questions About His Health After...](https://www.latintimes.com/trumps-nearly-5-hour-physical-exam-raises-questions-about-his-health-after-massive-bruise-saga-580544)** > > President Trump's physical exam lasted nearly five hours, almost twice as long as Biden's in 2024. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/967 "2025-04-12T21:02:13Z")
_Five hours??!?_ Did the poor doc have to listen to a Trumpian monologue about the wonderfulness of Hannibal Lecter? My recent physical exam lasted less than 15 minutes, mostly to review recent labs and allow the internist to fill out his laptop questionnaire. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/968 "2025-04-12T21:14:11Z")
I’m sure that you have your medical issues, but this could be anal in nature. Pound for pound, Rump has a much bigger Ahole to examine than you’ve ever had on your worst day. Plus there’s the smell and the digested Adderall. ( They say his stool can even kill a cologuard. ) [![](https://www.cologuard.com/-/media/project/exactsciences/websites/cologuard-pattern-library/images/i-have-a-kit/lilcg_072522_waving2_smile_00349-1.png?h=336&iar=0&w=422&rev=fcf24254bab0469ba1b98e88aefcd721&hash=D1B24C907F7FB5BA2EF393410869B325) ](https://www.cologuard.com/-/media/project/exactsciences/websites/cologuard-pattern-library/images/i-have-a-kit/lilcg_072522_waving2_smile_00349-1.png?h=336&iar=0&w=422&rev=fcf24254bab0469ba1b98e88aefcd721&hash=D1B24C907F7FB5BA2EF393410869B325) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/969 "2025-04-12T22:12:42Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > Did Rump explain what the huge red marks were on his tiny hands? The party line is that it was from shaking hands all day. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/970 "2025-04-12T22:19:38Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The party line is that it was from shaking hands all day. Q: Would a reasonable person believe that this explanation was either accurate or true…? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/971 "2025-04-12T22:41:49Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The most dignified thing Maher could have done is mention that he had a nice dinner with Trump and left it at that, instead of pretending that this ridiculous PR stunt was some kind of revelation about the “real” Trump. I agree. But of course that choice would not have put Maher in the position of - pleasing Donald - owning the Libs - demonstrating that he knows better than everyone else …so clearly that was not an option. Maher got taken. And he proved that he’s an idiot about human nature: his position ‘_if he didn’t scream at me and throw things then he must be a reasonable, decent, gracious guy_’ is just plain stupid. As others have said, bad people will sometimes bestir themselves to be affable. That doesn’t make them good people. Maher did his best not only to sane-wash Donald but also to accord him credit for being Fully In Control, Smart, and Competent. I’ve no doubt that Donald will be pleased, but will Maher find that worth his jettisoning any last shred of integrity anyone might accord him? And most revolting of all, Maher did it in the most self-congratulatory way possible. Posturing as _Big Brave Man Forcing Libs to Change Their Views_—pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/972 "2025-04-12T23:16:12Z")
I have no doubts that Maher would prefer Trump’s company over Obama. No doubt what so ever. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2025, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/973 "2025-04-12T23:20:19Z")
Trump lets him say the n-word to his heart’s content. ---
**Author:** ![Boudicca90](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boudicca90/32/16818_2.png) [@Boudicca90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boudicca90)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/974 "2025-04-13T00:00:52Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Maher got taken. And he proved that he’s an idiot about human nature: his position ‘_if he didn’t scream at me and throw things then he must be a reasonable, decent, gracious guy_’ is just plain stupid. Maher wasn’t “taken” or fooled in any way, this is his true nature that he has continued to deny for years. He has embraced who he truly is and has gone full MAGA at this point. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/975 "2025-04-13T00:13:57Z")
In the last couple of months, Donald Trump has: - Extorted $600 million out of law firms who were, at some point, mean to him - Extorted millions out of media outlets who were, similarly, mean to him - Removed the protection detail from people whose lives were genuinely at risk because they, similarly, were mean to him - Has turned the Department of Justice on people who were mean to him - Has revoked the Visas of people in this country legally who said things that Trump doesn’t like - Has extraordinarily renditioned people essentially for the color of their skin - Has revoked the security clearances of people and law firms who were mean to him. This can be crippling to law firms who may, at some point, choose to represent clients in lawsuits against the Federal government - Has barred certain press outlets from certain public spaces because they didn’t bend to his will I could go on. I mean … I could go _on and on and on._ Maher made a living from saying mean things about Trump. Can any of you allow – even just the slightest little bit – that what Maher did is as much an act of self-preservation as it was gleefully dining with Hitler? I can. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/976 "2025-04-13T00:29:49Z")
When a piece of shit acts like a piece of shit it’s because they’re a piece of shit ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/977 "2025-04-13T00:38:55Z")
Then why wouldn’t the converse be true? I don’t have any reason to believe that Trump _wasn’t_ affable, charming, jocular, measured, thoughtful, even borderline human at this dinner. Is that because that’s Trump’s well-known baseline, or was he – and maybe Maher, too – playing a role that each thought would benefit him? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/978 "2025-04-13T01:39:49Z")
Maher hates “woke” and is an antivaxxer. I don’t doubt that he and Trump had things in common they could bond over during dinner. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/979 "2025-04-13T01:58:05Z")
I saw that piece and I found it tone deaf, Maher got it wrong. The visit should serve as a reminder that people are not cartoon characters, and evil people are not storybook villains that are villianing 24/7. Some, probably most,of the worst people in the world cared for their families and loved their children and were polite to their guests, even as they caused death and misery for millions. Sociopaths are notorious for being charming, that’s what makes them so dangerous. Sometimes we miss things because they don’t look like the way they are portrayed in books and movies or the way we expect them to look ……things like pandemics or dictators or fascist coups. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2025, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/980 "2025-04-13T05:04:05Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Maher got taken. And he proved that he’s an idiot about human nature: his position ‘_if he didn’t scream at me and throw things then he must be a reasonable, decent, gracious guy_’ is just plain stupid. As others have said, bad people will sometimes bestir themselves to be affable. That doesn’t make them good people. I have to agree, sadly. Maher is falling ever lower in my estimation. What he’s doing here is playing the Great Mediator, claiming that the only reason the US is so divided is that people won’t just Talk to Each Other. Wrong. As Maher said himself back in his saner days, Democrats politically have moved to the right, while Republicans have moved into the mental hospital. Trump has always been in the mental hospital, but in his younger days was at least able to function. Now he has dementia. This is not someone you can reason with. > [@Zoobi](#): > > I have no doubts that Maher would prefer Trump’s company over Obama. No doubt what so ever. Bullshit. Maher has spent virtually his whole career dumping on Trump. I don’t recall him ever saying a bad word about Obama, and he had a very congenial on-air interview with him back when Obama was still president. > [@DavidNRockies](#): > > Maher made a living from saying mean things about Trump. Can any of you allow – even just the slightest little bit – that what Maher did is as much an act of self-preservation as it was gleefully dining with Hitler? > > I can. What do you imagine Trump could do to him? > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I saw that piece and I found it tone deaf, Maher got it wrong. > > The visit should serve as a reminder that people are not cartoon characters, and evil people are not storybook villains that are villianing 24/7. > > Some, probably most,of the worst people in the world cared for their families and loved their children and were polite to their guests, even as they caused death and misery for millions. Sociopaths are notorious for being charming, that’s what makes them so dangerous. > > Sometimes we miss things because they don’t look like the way they are portrayed in books and movies or the way we expect them to look ……things like pandemics or dictators or fascist coups. Well said, and I fully agree. Maher was played for a fool, and it’s not something I can defend. I mean, I could defend him going to that dinner for the fun of it and making jokes about it, but not his straight-up pontificating about it. > [@Boudicca90](#): > > Maher wasn’t “taken” or fooled in any way, this is his true nature that he has continued to deny for years. He has embraced who he truly is and has gone full MAGA at this point. This is just stupid. Maher spent his entire career dissing Trump. Even on last Friday’s show, much of the monologue was about how stupid Trump’s obsession with tariffs was. It was only when he went over and sat down on that stool for his “report” on the dinner with Trump that things went south. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=48) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=50)