We always knew that far-left HBO host Bill Maher was cynical, but every now and then he reveals just how cynical. Appearing on Cuomo Prime Time, Monday, Maher admitted that Hillary Clinton was a “terrible” candidate who “obstructed justice” with her secretive handling of e-mails. Quite a contrast to what he said in 2016 about the noble “wonk” who only used a private server for efficiency.
Talking to Chris Cuomo, the comedian declared that 2020 would be the “dirtiest election ever” and worried, “What are they going to attack? How are [Republicans] going to swiftboat the candidate? Because that’s what they are going to do.” Maher then conceded, “Now there's a lot of reasons why the Democrats lost [in 2016].... Hillary was a terrible candidate, that's absolutely true.”
In a moment of clarity, Maher added, She committed obstruction of justice.... I mean, smashing up your phones.”
Here’s what the HBO host told Chris Matthews on July 13, 2016 about Clinton and her e-mails:
So I think she probably just didn't understand that much what she was doing.... I think the important thing is what was the intent with the e-mail? Was the intent something nefarious? Of course wasn't. In fact, most of the people in the State Department used a private server because the government server was not efficient. She needed a private server to get her work done cause Democrats do work. Government work. They don't hate the government. They actually want to get it done. She’s a wonk who needed something that worked.
Notice how casually Maher promoted talking points he obviously didn’t believe. It’s not the first time. Just prior to the last election, on November 4, 2016, the host admitted on his HBO show how cynically he attacked Mitt Romney and George W. Bush as evil monsters:
I know liberals made a big mistake because we attacked your boy, Bush, like he was the end of the world, and he wasn't. And Mitt Romney, we attacked that way. I gave Obama a million dollars, I was so afraid of Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney wouldn't have changed my life that much or yours. Or John McCain. They were honorable men who we disagreed with, and we should have kept it that way. So we cried wolf, and that was wrong.
Of course, it’s only in retrospect that media figures like Maher admit what they really think about people like Bush, Romney and Clinton. It’s one thing to say Maher is just a comedian. But outlets like CNN and MSNBC routinely bring him on as a serious political analyst. Clearly, talking points come first.
A partial transcript of the segment is below:
Cuomo Prime Time
6/10/19
9:21 PM ETCHRIS CUOMO: Now Bill Maher isn't subtle. He takes on the right, he takes on the left and now he's taken on Las Vegas with a residency at the Mirage. Tonight the provocative host of Real Time on HBO is here with some heavy concerns and fears. What a pleasure Bill Maher joins us on Prime Time, thank you.
MAHER: Good to be here.
CUOMO: Oh please, thank you for taking the opportunity. So, so much to ask you about, so much I want to get your sense of. Let's start general. How would you describe the state of play going on in our political culture today?
MAHER: Well, not good. I mean first of all, we can't even agree on a set of facts. You know, if you can't agree on the facts, how can you come up with a solution. I don't think we ever had it that bad. And I know this goes back aways. The Republicans always blamed of Robert Bork fiasco. When was that? Like late eighties, that was Reagan era and they're saying, and it's tit for tat and I go back and forth on impeachment because I feel like yes, it's the right thing to do. But if they impeach Trump, whoever the next Democrat is you know they will impeach him because they don't care about the facts.
They'll do it for anything. I mean, they tried to find something on Obama desperately. I mean Hillary, Benghazi, which was a completely nothing burger. They kept her on the stand once for like 12:00 hours, all to get one sound bite.
...
CUOMO: Why don't the voters who support the President who almost to a man or woman say, I'm a patriot and what pisses me off about the Democrats is that they don't love our country enough, why didn't the example Helsinki, let's say, why wasn't that enough to change their view?
MAHER: I have - because it's a cult. It's a great question, I ask it all the time. Why do Republicans get when I've called patriotic immunity? They can do anything and they're not questioned whereas a Democrat in office, the least little thing and they make it up you know, he apologized on foreign soil.
Okay, was not in the rule book? I don't remember that. Or you know, he wear a tan suit. Remember Obama?
CUOMO: Oh sure.
MAHER: He saluted with coffee in his hand, how dare. What? Your guy's a traitor. He literally sides with countries that aren't America and you're talking about a tan suit. I don't get it.
9:10
CUOMO: Look and that's when he's talking about somebody that he likes. Bill Maher has painfully obvious honesty about things and we go a step deeper. Whom does he think will emerge to knock some sense into the dueling Democrats? What is his advice for the crowded 2020 field? The emphasis is crowded and what is the cancer that he says is killing progressivism? All that is next.
...
MAHER: Remember, this is going to be, because it is Trump, the dirtiest campaign ever. You have to look ahead. What are they going to attack? How are they going to swiftboat the candidate? Because that’s what they are going to do.
CUOMO: How much of it do you put on us in terms of how we police the election, what we cover, what we don't?
MAHER: The Democrats?
CUOMO: No, the media.
MAHER: Oh, the media. Well.
CUOMO: Although according to the President, it's one and the same and that's why you can't believe us.
MAHER: Well, you know I don't have a lot of faith because you know, we don't live in the era of news divisions as loss leaders like we used to. The news division didn't used to have to make a profit, then that changed and then it — you have to report to the board like everybody else and show your earnings and in that atmosphere, they are always going to be looking for eyeballs.
That's going to be most important thing is getting people to click, getting people to watch and in that atmosphere, I mean look at how much they overcovered Hillary's emails in 2016 and what effect did that have on the election. Now there's a lot of reasons why the Democrats lost and many of them were - Hillary was a terrible candidate, that's absolutely true.
CUOMO: She didn't help the situation with the emails or how she handled her answers and her actions.
MAHER: Absolutely, no, right and she committed obstruction of justice. — Now Trump did I think in much worse fashion but you know, I mean smashing up your phones and--
CUOMO: They had a story about if but it was a bad op.
MAHER: Yes, okay but they over-covered, they over-covered it, they beat it to death. I mean even Bernie Sanders had said in one of those early debates, enough about Hillary's emails. I don't know but no, I don't trust the media if that's the question, that's my answer.
...
MAHER: Welcome to my world because I'm one of the few people out there also who has no team even though I think I have a team. I'm - I certainly caucus with the Democrats and as long as Donald Trump is President, I am down the line Democrat.
CUOMO: But you go after them.
MAHER: Exactly, I go after them because they need going after, they need some tough love and I'm not going to stop but yes, their stuff is raggedy too. They have some things they have to answer for and then they don't help themselves a lot and I think a lot of this far Left political correctness is a cancer on progressivism.
I think when you talk to Trump supporters, they're not blind to his myriad flaws but one thing they always say is he's not politically correct. I don't think you can underestimate - overestimate how much people have been choking on political correctness and hate it.
