On Friday's Real Time show on HBO, liberal comedian Bill Maher demonized newly confirmed Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch as a "right-wing asshole," a "Scalia clone," and someone who "has never shown any empathy toward a human being" before suggesting that "back alley abortions" might return.
He also accused Republicans of "cheating" to get him onto the Court, and of being motivated by racism in refusing to support former President Barack Obama's call for military action in Syria in 2013.
Maher took aim at Justice Gorsuch early in his monologue:
I don't know why you'd be happy today. Today is a day Republicans are happy. They got their two favorite things -- a right-wing asshole on the Supreme Court and Trump finally blowing some shit up.
A bit later, he made his latest charge of racism against Republicans:
In 2013, 98 Republicans signed a letter saying bombing Syria in response to a chemical attack was unconstitutional without congressional authorization. But this is different because Obama was President then. That would have involved bombing while black, and you can't -- can't do that.
Maher then made the first of several references to abortion -- a topic he seemed fixated with for this episode -- as he suggested that Republicans only care about babies if they are in the womb or in Syria:
Interesting side note to this: No change in the Trump policy on Syrian refugees coming here. Republicans feel about Syrians in Syria the same way they feel about the fetus in the womb. When it's a beautiful baby in Syria, it's a sacred, precious gift from God. Once it leaves, you're on your own.
He then turned to Gorsuch again as he added: "And, you know, speaking of protecting fetuses, the Republican Senate has confirmed Scalia clone Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court -- proving that in America cheating still works, ladies and gentleman. Cheating still works."
Notably, in February of last year, Maher joked and laughed on his show about former Justice Antonin Scalia's death.
During the show's regular panel discussion, Maher took a moment to mock the Republican desire to protect babies and then turned to excoriating Gorsuch again:
But Neil Gorsuch could be there for 40 years, and this guy has never shown any empathy toward a human being, okay, and all the people -- please -- do I have to go back to the trucker in the freezing cold who was going to die, and he sided with the corporation?
Okay, but, you know, this is what's -- this is what we're looking for, so those people who said Hillary was the lesser of two evils, good luck with your back alley abortion.
