With the writers’ strike over, the late night comedy shows are back and first out of the gate on Friday was HBO Real Time host Bill Maher, who chose Florida Governor and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis to be his first guest. The interview was typical Maher as the two teamed up to mock the New York Times, but Maher’s liberal atheism still came through as the two also battled on election integrity laws and abortion.
Maher recalled how “I saw the New York Times did such a despicable hit piece on you, that I saw, because I forget what the lead headline was but it was basically, ‘Ron DeSantis fucked up the pandemic.’ And then, like, at the very end it says 'Florida's death rate, overall, was better than the national average.' Now, if you're going to do an article-- if you're going to do an article about Florida and the pandemic, shouldn't that be the lead? Shouldn’t that be the-- talk about burying the lead.”
Of course, it should be the lead. As for DeSantis, he took the opportunity to tout his record:
Yeah, shouldn’t it be the number one state for in-migration. I mean, if we did so bad people would have been leaving Florida. People are coming, wealth’s moving to the state, the economy has done better than any other large state and education, we are now ranked I think in the top five on most metrics in education. Now that wasn't true and I was a kid growing up in Florida. So, we did it right but what we did is we understood, you can't stop society because of one respiratory virus. That’s not even the way to help health overall.
Shortly after, Maher changed topics to some of DeSantis’s election reforms and was not sure the amount of effort put into passing the laws line up with the scale of the problem which make it look “like you’re just trying to stop black people from voting.”
After DeSantis called such framing “nonsense,” Maher continued, “I don't think it's nonsense. Black folks don't vote for the Republican Party and very big numbers.”
Maher was also unconvinced with DeSantis’s claim that “I got a bigger percentage than other Republicans have gotten when I ran for re-election.”
“Whoop-de-do. That's not -- I wouldn't brag about that,” Maher dryly retorted.
Moving on to abortion, he declared, “And then abortion thing, a six week abortion ban. I don’t get that either because six weeks, like, if you’re, I know you say it’s a case of conviction. If it’s conviction, wouldn't it be: moment of conception? That’s what conviction is to me. If you believe the second, you know, before the guy can get the towel, there is a third person in that room.”
DeSantis would explain that politics is also about the art of the possible, “Well, no, I mean, it’s a legislative issue, so they have to figure out what they think, and so the legislature identified the moment where there's a detectable heartbeat as the time where there's legal protections. Now, they did provide exceptions for all of the difficult cases that you hear about, but basically once there is a heartbeat, it shouldn't be used as a form of birth control.”
Maher was correct about the New York Times’ depiction of DeSantis’s COVID record. Now, if only he could stop relying on their depictions of other aspects of the Republican agenda.
Here is a transcript for the September 29 show:
HBO Real Time with Bill Maher
9/30/2023
10:15 PM ET
BILL MAHER: I saw the New York Times did such a despicable hit piece on you, that I saw, because I forget what the lead headline was but it was basically, "Ron DeSantis fucked up the pandemic." And then, like, at the very end it says "Florida's death rate, overall, was better than the national average." Now, if you're going to do an article-- if you're going to do an article about Florida and the pandemic, shouldn't that be the lead? Shouldn’t that be the-- talk about burying the lead.
RON DESANTIS: Yeah, shouldn’t it be the number one state for in-migration. I mean, if we did so bad people would have been leaving Florida. People are coming, wealth’s moving to the state, the economy has done better than any other large state and education, we are now ranked I think in the top five on most metrics in education. Now that wasn't true and I was a kid growing up in Florida. So, we did it right but what we did is we understood, you can't stop society because of one respiratory virus. That’s not even the way to help health overall.
MAHER: Well, you could if it was bad enough, but not that one.
DESANTIS: Right, well, they were wrong on the death rate, they were wrong on closures, they were wrong and everything and yet they ask act like, what, we're going to shrug our shoulders and move along?
***
MAHER: It looks like you’re just trying to stop black people from voting.
DESANTIS: Oh, that's nonsense.
MAHER: It-- I don't think it's nonsense. Black folks don't vote for the Republican Party and very big numbers.
DESANTIS: But I got a bigger percentage than other Republicans have gotten when I ran for re-election.
MAHER: Whoop-de-do. That's not -- I wouldn't brag about that.
DESANTIS: We’re making progress, man.
MAHER: And then abortion thing, a six week abortion ban. I don’t get that either because six weeks, like, if you’re, I know you say it’s a case of conviction. If it’s conviction, wouldn't it be: moment of conception? That’s what conviction is to me. If you believe the second, you know, before the guy can get the towel, there is a third person in that room.
DESANTIS: Well, no, I mean, it’s a legislative issue, so they have to figure out what they think, and so the legislature identified the moment where there's a detectable heartbeat as the time where there's legal protections. Now, they did provide exceptions for all of the difficult cases that you hear about, but basically once there is a heartbeat, it shouldn't be used as a form of birth control.
