Maher had a long monologue about how well he and Trump got along when they had dinner in a weird segment about how both sides can get along. It seemed like he wanted to get the point across that Trump isn’t this big scary horrible person that everyone thinks he is.
My favorite comment on the video sums it up: “Kid Rock probably met with Trump an hour before and said, ‘Just laugh at his shitty jokes and he’ll like you.’”
Yes, Bill, we all know that narcissists are charming in one on one situations, especially when they want something from you…like hoping that maybe you’ll go on your show and tell everyone how great they are.
I used to watch Maher a lot, and I agreed with many of his views. But, after the massive covid debacle, it seemed that his connection to reality seemed to slip and he platformed some serious deniers of reality.
This is an interesting (and quite entertaining) critique of him:
I’ve met quite a few assholes, and most of the time, their friends are generally normal, well adjusted people. They will say things about their asshole friend like “oh, Bob? No he’s actually a nice guy, you just need to get to know him”.
What that almost always means is that Bob will be very nice to you if he gains something from your relationship. And when you stop being useful to him, your friendship with Bob will end immediately.
I would imagine Trump is a lot like Bob. I’m sure he’s incredibly charming and charismatic in certain situations.
Reminds me of a joke I heard recently by a female comedian, who noted that the cooking and cleaning her family did on Mothers Day made her feel even worse, because it showed her that they can do better, they just choose not to.
Reference my conversations across the aisle thread. Whatever Bill thinks or projects what he hoped to accomplish regarding engagement with “the enemy” he didn’t. He showed how easily powerful people can use smart people for their own purposes. The most charitable take is that Trump simply met Bill as a favorite to his buddy Kid Rock, and Maher did the work for him.
Jeffrey Dahmer was for sure charming and even seductive when it chose to please him.
It would obvious be a giant mistake to assume that represented him as a whole.
I’m still ok with Maher and other Dems going to talk with Trump and having seemingly normal relations with him. I think the Dems have to show that they can walk across the aisle, into the lion’s den, even if they’re not getting what they want. This however, doesn’t mean groveling or being used a a PR prop by Trump - if that’s what ends up happening, they have to call it out, and loudly.
Bill Maher reported exactly what he felt happened, and that’s fine. But I do think it also puts more onus on him to call Trump out even more loudly when Trump does more crazy damaging stuff to our country in the future, and criticize him for not being the reasonable seeming guy he hung out with in the White House. If he doesn’t, then yes, he was just used as a prop by Trump. I still think Bill Maher won’t hesitate to criticize trump when he does idiotic stuff. But for sure, it’ll influence him to pull his punches a little now, which is also what Trump was hoping from the interaction.
I’m also quite aware that Bill Maher is making a big push to draw more Republicans (MAGAs) to his show even though it’s traditionally been very left. I definitely strongly disagree with the way he jumps on COVID as a Dem-mismanagement issue where he strongly sides with Republicans, and even against the scientists now and there are other major issues as well where his using ‘common sense’ leads to similarly bad conclusions. (You don’t want to ‘common sense’ your healthcare. That’s why medical doctors require so much training, it’s hard and easy to go wrong.)
Sorry, this kind of reminds me of when Tucker Carlson did an interview with Bill Nye. The whole interview Tucker Carlson was setting him up with nonsensical gotcha question, doing the fake confused look or hysterical laughter while Nye made his points, and then would interrupt him right before he made a good point. You know…Tucker 101.
Bill made a response video where he “wondered what happened to the nice reasonable Tucker that he once knew.”
Tucker was never nice and reasonable. Nor is Trump, Kid Rock, Ted Bundy, or Jim Jones. These are all horrible people who know how to fake “nice and friendly” when it suits their needs.
For sure though, we need more Dem leaders showing up on Fox news, Joe Rogan, other right-wing media.
Dem leaders have got to learn to speak and lead even with people who not only disagree with you, but often disagree with reality. By showing up as ‘normal people’ as well, they will help the wall of misinformation that portrays everyone on the left as a ‘lunatic left’. Hiding just lets them spew this stuff and claiming it’s truth because the left won’t show up to disavow it.
If Dems claim to have better ideas for governance (which I’m sure they do, although right now that bar of performance is in the sub-basement), they should go out there and talk the talk and walk the walk.
No, I disagree with that oversimplistic interpretation.
He wasn’t deceived at all. He said very clearly he’s just going to report what happened with his meeting exactly, and try not to sugar coat any of it. I do believe him when he said it was a pretty ‘normal’ encounter.
But he did also emphasize he wasn’t converted to MAGA (nor was Trump to Maher’s POV), nor was he trying to give Trump a bigger platform than the one he has. Sure, this will help Maher gain more Repub viewers which he’s trying really (obviously) hard to do, but I’ll welcome that as well at this point - anything to break through the wall of Fox disinformation for Dear Leader.
Okay, but there’s a difference between “showing up,” and doing a show telling everyone, “When you’re with him in person, he’s a really great guy and there was a lot we could talk about.”
1 - If he truly believes that, he’s a naive idiot.
2 - By having a whole segment about it on his show makes him a useful tool.
Again, talk to them? Sure. Negotiate? Of course. Come back and tell every that an insane narcissist is actually a swell guy? No.
I’ve already seen one of the few MAGA types in my FB feed link to a clip of this video, basically using it as proof that Trump is an okay guy, and not the narcissictic sociopath claimed by the radical leftists. Maher has enabled this by portraying Trump as an “okay” guy. That’s on him. There’s no “break through” occurring. Are there MAGA types who watch Maher? Doubtful. What they will see is right wing types selectively-created clips as I just witnessed. Further normalization of Trump, which just expands the boundary of previously-unacceptable behavior by a sitting President.
I found it interesting he said “I voted for Clinton. I voted for Obama…silence”
What you posted it my biggest issue. What he is doing is not normal, so beyond the pale. And people look for every excuse to normalize and rationalize why it was OK to toss a vote his way. Again, folks like my parents are quick to say…see, he is not as bad as you think.
And make no mistake, Maher is trolling for viewers and giving Warner Bros Disney cover.
Bill is pretty tiresome to listen to in his podcasts and he is an admitted traditional/old-school Democrat or center left, however you want to characterize it.
In his podcasts, he talks a LOT about the inability of people on the right and left to sit down together and talk, debate and disagree, cordially. He continuously calls out the default position these days of shouting at each other, amping up hyperbole to 11 and apparent dissolution of nuanced points of view and the notion you are with me or against me.
I didn’t watch is commentary yet on Trump, not sure I will and thus makes me very qualified to comment on it :+), but sounds like what he set out to do…sit down with someone he disagrees with on almost everything, yet have a cordial polite conversation with him.
