Thanks. That part was especially hard to watch.
I think two things are going on here. One is that Maher was indeed surprised and taken in by Trump – that was the whole intent of the dinner and why Trump’s buddy Kid Rock arranged it.
The other thing going on is that Maher likes to glom onto some controversial half-truth, elevate it to the status of some profound revelation, and champion it as a great insight that only he is privy to. That’s his standard schtick. Thus, the fact that medical science is imperfect and always evolving becomes “never trust doctors” and “do your own research”. The fact that some fairly obscure Democrats in Congress have made stupid statements aligned with the far left becomes “Democrats are all so woke they are their own worst enemies”. And the fact that Maher had a pleasant conversation with Trump has now become, in effect, “Democrats are so unpopular these days because they fail to see what a nice guy Trump really is”.
Maher would have a lot more respect – or as some would say, might have some respect instead of none at all – if he was more reality-based and stopped courtin’ controversy with his signature smug arrogance.
He also seems to have forgotten his own contradictory views on Trump. After the election, he urged his viewers not to panic – he said that, for all we know, Trump will just spend his time playing golf, and said basically (I don’t recall the exact words) “I’m not ready to start hating yet”. Then a month or so after Trump was sworn in and the multiple disasters and abuses started to unfold, “OK, now I’m hating”. But now suddenly everything is OK again because Trump fed you a nice dinner and didn’t get mad at you even once? 
I admit it. This is a low point even for Maher, who’s had more than his share of low points.
So it’s a little of both. I can believe that.
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?
Well said , house policy here is turn off volume or change channel when trump comes on. I used to watch Maher, his writers are good, but now seem to be doing the heavy lifting for him. Reading Jeff Tiedrich is much more amusing.
Yep. 
AOC, obviously.
Trump would cheat at golf and throw a tantrum if you pointed it out, and Trump doesn’t drink alcohol; instead he’d order a “round for the house” to get everyone to love him then stiff you with the bill somehow.
Well, you would have to let Trump “win”. And his riding around in a cart means he’d take forever trying to locate lost balls (no pun intended).
With AOC though, you’d have to endure constant yammering about golfing’s colonialist history and how golf courses have destroyed the environment.
I’m glad I gave up golf long ago.
Ii don’t golf or drink beer honestly.
Didn’t AOC work as a bartender before getting elected? She’s probably great at the sort of smalltalk you have over beer, she’s clearly the superior choice there.
Look, I don’t care for golf. I’m a lefty type, who is engaged in politics, and think golf courses are a huge waste of resources, especially in the desert where I live. If you invited me to play golf, I would most likely turn you down. But I wouldn’t yammer at you, unless maybe you were a friend I felt like teasing.
If I decided to accept, I would not spend the time scolding you about the activity we were doing (again, unless I knew you and we had the kind of relationship where I knew I could razz you a bit). Because I have learned how to be polite and participate in society.
If I am capable of that, why wouldn’t AOC be? All sign point to her being good at that stuff – it’s why people like her.
Seriously. And as a straight cis-woman, I’d much rather look at AOC than Trump.
Trump doesn’t drink and AOC is an ex-bartender, so with luck I could talk her into skipping the game and going directly to the bar, which is my idea of a good time at the golf course.
Keeping in mind that I’m really pissed at Maher for his ineffably stupid pontificating about the Trump dinner, judging from his off-the-cuff remarks in interviews and in the panel discussions, I still think he has a sharp wit, as ignorant and/or opportunistic as he may be otherwise. I think his writers mainly contribute to the monolog, and though they may offer some lines for him to use in the panel discussions, a lot of his comments are driven by the flow of the conversation and I think at authentically his.
But yes, I agree about Jeff Tiedrich. That bit he wrote to Maher was priceless!
True, although with Rump I guess you might get to find out which drugs he’s taking.
When someone shows you who they are, believe them, and Trump has shown us who he is on multiple occasions. Just because he’s nice to me one day doesn’t mean he isn’t going to bite me as soon as it’s advantageous for him to do so. Maher got fooled by superficial charm.
Kinda blows my mind that a guy who’s spent 40 years in Hollywood hasn’t yet figured out that someone being nice to your face doesn’t make them a good person.
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? Or ask him about something that would threaten his ego or his reality?
Ideally, yes.
I mean, if I had the opportunity to ask Trump one question, face to face, it would probably be “Why don’t you go fuck yourself?”
That’s what Newsom apparently did. He says Trump really squirmed when he brought up the “Newscum” thing.