# 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:** 53
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1041 "2025-04-17T08:09:58Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > What it all boils down to is, who’d ya rather play a round of golf and have a couple beers with - Trump or AOC, amirite? Trump cheats at golf, and doesn’t drink… I’m going to choose AOC, especially as I suspect her golf skills match mine: none. But at least we’ll be able to laugh at our ineptness over a beer at the 19th hole. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1042 "2025-04-17T22:20:08Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Maher was just soaping, IOW he needs to maintain his audiences left right and marginal and he was threading the needle with the remarks. What was he going to do, come out and say he’s a fascist and a horrible person? Yep; how could we expect Maher to show any integrity or bravery, when he’s a sell-out? So people should stop calling him horrible things like “sell-out”. Honestly, the defence that Maher was so charmed by trump that his brain switched off is a better defence, because at least it means he’s not knowingly screwing over the country and reality. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2025, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1043 "2025-04-17T22:26:25Z")
No he’s too smart to fall back on that. He’s a grifter now like Tulsi and RFK Jr and the rest, just not as intense. ---
**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 19, 2025, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1044 "2025-04-19T18:08:21Z")
The tsunami of criticism that Maher’s been getting for his “report” on the dinner with Trump put him on the defensive on yesterday’s show. He tried re-iterating how he said critical things to Trump “to his face” – that he’s scaring people (Trump probably took that as a compliment) that he lost the 2020 election, that birtherism was “low”. But Maher still doesn’t get it. He said that he reported on Trump being “gracious and measured” because that’s what he was in person. “What do you want me to do, lie about?”, asked Bill. No, Bill, we expected you to be smart enough to recognize that it was Trump doing the lying. We expected you not to fall for a con job. At the very least, we expected you not to make such a huge big fucking deal about how “gracious” he was and that he never got mad at you even once. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2025, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1045 "2025-04-20T12:18:08Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > that he’s scaring people (Trump probably took that as a compliment) that he lost the 2020 election, that birtherism was “low”. He didn’t even pretend to have brought up any specific criticism of anything Trump is doing now. So tanking the economy, trashing the rule of law and free speech etc clearly didn’t come up in conversation. Guess that would have spoiled the good vibes. > [@wolfpup](#): > > At the very least, we expected you not to make such a huge big fucking deal about how “gracious” he was and that he never got mad at you even once. Right. There’s no reason for any of us to care how gracious a host Trump is or was. Most political commentators don’t even mention that stuff. A comedian / satirist…maybe they can bring it up on a long-form interview on Rogan but it’s still very much peripheral information. If it was just a nice dinner with no tough questions, don’t talk about it at all Maher. Don’t try to mould it into some point about Democrats having TDS or whatever. ---
**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 20, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1046 "2025-04-20T21:45:23Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > No, Bill, we expected you to be smart enough to recognize that it was Trump doing the lying. We expected you not to fall for a con job. At the very least, we expected you not to make such a huge big fucking deal about how “gracious” he was and that he never got mad at you even once. Well said. > [@Mijin](#): > > Don’t try to mould it into some point about Democrats having TDS or whatever. Indeed, that was possibly the most annoying thing about Maher’s entire ‘report card’ segment. Great comics often present a combative front because disproportionate anger can be funny. (Think Lewis Black and Don Rickles among others.) But if they present an ‘_I’m never wrong; I’m the great guru; everyone should listen to me_’ front…they cease to be funny at all. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1047 "2025-04-21T01:29:24Z")
But that’s Maher’s entire career ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1048 "2025-04-21T19:07:22Z")
Don’t look for Larry David on Bill Maher any time soon (hopefully a working gift link to an Op-Ed in today’s NY Times): > **[Opinion | Larry David: My Dinner With Adolf](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/opinion/larry-david-hitler-dinner.html?unlocked_article_code=1.BU8.gDWd.6NvUzK0Ha_hs&smid=url-share)** > > When a private meeting goes unexpectedly. ---
**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 21, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1049 "2025-04-21T19:16:07Z")
That was brilliant! Thanks for posting! (Yes, the gift link works!) It perfectly captures Maher’s idiocy. ---
**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 21, 2025, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1050 "2025-04-21T22:13:01Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > (hopefully a working gift link to an Op-Ed in today’s NY Times): Thank you for that. Larry David got Bill down perfectly, didn’t he? > [@](#): > > …eventually I concluded that hate gets us nowhere. I knew I couldn’t change his views, but we need to talk to the other side — even if it has invaded and annexed other countries and committed unspeakable crimes against humanity. Epic. (Who’d be surprised if Bill spends the entire next five days trying to think of a devastating insult for Larry David?) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1051 "2025-04-21T23:17:41Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > (Who’d be surprised if Bill spends the entire next five days trying to think of a devastating insult for Larry David?) _Can_ you insult Larry David? I’d think that anything bad you could say about him, he’s already said himself. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2025, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1052 "2025-04-21T23:25:27Z")
Let’s hope that when Maher does launch the insult that he does that fake giggle before the punchline, so we know what part is supposed to be funny. The asshole does his own laugh track for fuck’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1053 "2025-04-22T00:21:02Z")
> [@Frilly\_Heck](#): > > If I am capable of that, why wouldn’t AOC be? Because she is a strong liberal woman, and so therefore has developed a reputation be a shrill harpy scold, or rather had it generated for her care of right wing media, just like Clinton or Pelosi. ---
**Author:** ![Frilly\_Heck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/90ced4/32.png) [@Frilly\_Heck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frilly_Heck)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1054 "2025-04-22T02:50:44Z")
That’s what I suspect, but I’m hoping for a more interesting answer. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2025, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1055 "2025-04-22T13:07:37Z")
She also has darker skin. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2025, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1056 "2025-04-23T16:43:51Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Some, probably most,of the worst people in the world cared for their families and loved their children I really dsagree with this. Sociopaths and narcissists are well known for abusing and harming their spouses, children and other close family members. There is a reason Elon Musk’s oldest daughter has disowned him and constantly criticizes him. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1057 "2025-04-24T09:24:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I really dsagree with this. Sociopaths and narcissists are well known for abusing and harming their spouses, children and other close family members. There is a reason Elon Musk’s oldest daughter has disowned him and constantly criticizes him. Not all people who choose to do evil things are sociopaths or narcissists. ---
**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 24, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1058 "2025-04-24T15:00:29Z")
A lot of them are just really greedy and/or petty. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1059 "2025-04-24T19:22:28Z")
I don’t know if it’s relevant, but Maher and his show are facing a lawsuit by Laura Loomer over a joke that Maher did regarding a supposed affair with Trump. She’s suing for $150 million. > **[Bill Maher's Saying Trump "Might Be" "Fucking" Republican Activist Laura...](https://reason.com/volokh/2025/01/16/bill-mahers-saying-trump-might-be-fucking-republican-activist-laura-loomer-might-be-defamation-of-loomer/)** > > An excerpt from today's decision in Loomer v. Maher, by Judge James Moody (M.D. Fla.): the Complaint Plaintiff Laura Loomer is a "well-known conservative Perhaps his ass kissing was an attempt to diffuse the situation. ---
**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 24, 2025, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367/1060 "2025-04-24T19:33:03Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I don’t know if it’s relevant, but Maher and his show are facing a lawsuit by Laura Loomer over a joke that Maher did regarding a supposed affair with Trump. She’s suing for $150 million. I would call that “Clash of the Cretins”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=52) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-time-with-bill-maher/991367.md?page=54)