Comedian Bill Maher delivered a warning to Democrats Friday night, telling HBO’s “Real Time” audience he believes some parents might be so concerned about issues like transgender ideology and critical race theory (CRT) in schools that they’ll hold their noses and vote for former President Donald Trump.
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Maher’s comments on the electoral implications of these issues aired on his “Overtime” segment, which included a panel discussion on the current political schema.
The host specifically detailed the issues motivating his own political participation after journalist Julia Loffe said people who supported and enabled Trump should apologize and “repent,” basing her argument on the former president’s negative comments and statements.
But Maher said the situation is far more complex than Loffe and others let on.
Maher hit back that most people he knows who supported Trump have said, “The biggest mistake liberals make is thinking I like him.” The comedian said people generally have two options in elections and often find themselves voting for who they “hate the least.”
Loffe said it was still unacceptable, but Maher further described a distinction he said needed to be made if people want to understand why some have chosen Trump over opponents.
“To me, the two biggest issues are democracy and the environment,” Maher told singer Trace Adkins, historian John Meacham, and Loffe. “Those are my two big — one and two.”
The TV host then acknowledged he’s not a parent and that others will vote based on other concerns, including trans ideology and CRT — controversial issues embedded in some school curricula that have riled parental advocates across the U.S., Fox News reported.
“But I don’t have kids,” Maher said. “I know people who say, ‘I have kids, and I don’t like it when they come home and say, uh, they divided the class today into oppressors and oppressed. And if I change my sex, I don’t have to tell my parents.'”
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The comedian said the intensity of concern over these issues could overshadow the issues people have with Trump and the controversies surrounding the former president.
Maher said some of these parents might even say they agree with critics’ contention “Trump is a creep” — but that they have deeper concerns and worries that lead them to support him anyway.
The comedian hit back at liberals who fail to understand this dynamic and encouraged both sides to find a way to live together amid such stark divides.
“I think we’ve crossed this line,” Maher said. “And the question is: how do we walk it back? How do we walk it back from, ‘I hate you so much that I can’t live with you?’”
He continued, “And we have to live with each other. This is not an apartment where we can put the tape down the middle of it. We have to find a way.”
Maher’s words offer something for every American to ponder.
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