On Friday's Real Time on HBO, host Bill Maher made crude incest jokes about President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka, and, a bit later, got into a heated debate with former liberal CNN host Piers Morgan about whether there has been a substantial increase in violent crime over the past couple of years as the liberal comedian cited a chart that only included crime through 2015 and omitted the most recent figures.
Maher further demonstrated his show's difficulty in providing accurate information to viewers as Morgan also called him out for criticizing the recent attack on a terrorist target in Yemen as a failure when, in fact, 12 al-Qaeda operatives (the Pentagon says 14) were killed.
Five minutes into the opening monologue, Maher went tasteless in his attacks on the Trump family. Introducing the story of Nordstrom's discontinuing its business relationship with Ivanka Trump, Maher began: "Now, if you didn't know about this, Donald Trump's 'daughter wife' Ivanka -- she had a clothing line which was dropped by department stores, including Nordstrom. Of course Trump went ape s*** on Twitter about this."
He then added: "You know what, of all the people, Mr. Businessman, he should understand, they dropped it because the merchandise just wasn't moving. The only one interested in getting into Ivanka's pants is him."
At 10:31 p.m. ET, during the panel discussion, the HBO host accused Trump of lying about crime being at its worst in decades, but then incorrectly claimed that it was at its lowest level ever. Among the all-liberal panel members, it was left to Morgan to correct Maher on both the Yemen raid and on the recent increases in violent crime. Morgan injected: "Why have you left out the fact that they killed 12 al-Qaeda operatives? Is that not significant?"
Maher cluelessly responded: "They killed 12 al-Qaeda operatives?"
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Morgan pushed back: "They did. Why have you left that out?"
The HBO liberal then tried to brush off the correction:
MAHER: Probably because they were eight years old.
MORGAN: No. Because it sounds better to just say --- they weren't, though. That's not true.
The former CNN host then turned his attention to the crime statistics and Maher's use of an outdated chart:
And my point about the crime figures is -- what is true is, the crime figures in 2015 rose by the highest spike since '71. The figures for 2016 are for serious murder and gun-related crime are also likely to rise by a similar amount. I think everyone should be worried about the massive spike in crime.
Maher then started throwing a tantrum as the two went back and forth:
MAHER: There isn't a massive spike in crime! Now, you are crazy because we just saw the chart! Look at the chart. Put the chart up. Put the chart up. Look where it was, look where it is, look at the little-
MORGAN: 2015, the highest spike in crime -- serious crime -- in this country since 1971.
MAHER: Look at the chart. Look where it was. Look where it is.
MORGAN: Look at the last two years, Bill.
MAHER: Oh, for f***'s sake.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Friday, February 10, Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO:
BILL MAHER: Now, if you didn't know about this, Donald Trump's "daughter wife" Ivanka (pauses for audience laughter) she had a clothing line which was dropped by department stores, including Nordstrom. Of course Trump went ape s*** on Twitter about this. You know what, of all the people, Mr. Businessman, he should understand, they dropped it because the merchandise just wasn't moving. The only one interested in getting into Ivanka's pants is him.
(...)
MAHER: Let's do our list of lies. He said this week the murder rate is highest it's been. It's actually the lowest it's been.
(...)
MAHER: Jeff Sessions -- our new Attorney General -- said about crime, "I wish the rise we're seeing in crime was some sort of aberration or blip." Which it exactly is! Show the chart. There's a chart that we see of crime. Okay, but Jeff Sessions says no, "But my best judgment is this is a dangerous permanent trend." (Piers Morgan starts to speak) Wait a second.
PIERS MORGAN: -(inaudible) explain the context about it.
MAHER: Then, you have Sean Spicer saying the Yemen raid -- which was a giant, dismal failure -- we didn't get the guy were were going after who is now gloating and talking about the "fool" in the White House. We killed children and women. They knew we were coming. It was not a success. But he's saying, because Trump's says it's a success, we all-
MORGAN: Why have you left out the fact that they killed 12 al-Qaeda operatives? Is that not significant?
MAHER: They killed 12 al-Qaeda operatives?
MORGAN: They did.
MAHER: Yeah?
MORGAN: Why have you left that out?
MAHER: Probably because they were eight years old.
MORGAN: No. Because it sounds better to just say --- they weren't, though. That's not true.
MORGAN: And my point about the crime figures is -- what is true is, the crime figures in 2015 rose by the highest spike since '71. The figures for 2016 are for serious murder and gun-related crime are also likely to rise by a similar amount. I think everyone should be worried about the massive spike in crime.
MAHER: There isn't a massive spike in crime! Now, you are crazy because we just saw the chart! Look at the chart. Put the chart up. Put the chart up. Look where it was, look where it is, look at the little-
MORGAN: 2015, the highest spike in crime -- serious crime -- in this country since 1971.
MAHER: Look at the chart. Look where it was. Look where it is.
MORGAN: Look at the last two years, Bill.
MAHER: Oh, for f***'s sake.
