Bill Maher says he won’t be leaving HBO’s “Real Time” anytime soon.
The comedian and political pundit confirmed as much during an interview Friday on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” after suggesting in December on his “Club Random” podcast that he “may quit” due to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election a month prior.
“What I was saying was that I didn’t want to do another Trump term,” Maher told Tapper. “Not just because I don’t think it’s going to be possibly a great time for America ... but because I’ve already done all the jokes about Donald Trump. I don’t know what else to say.”
“I was hoping that in the episodic television show that is America, I was hoping for some new characters,” he added, about Trump’s continued cultural and political reign. “But it’s like they rebooted ‘Matlock,’ but instead of getting Kathy Bates they put Andy Griffith back in it.”
The 1980s legal drama starring Griffith was rebooted last year with Bates in the titular role.
Maher sparked rumors about his potential “Real Time” exit while discussing the election on his podcast and telling guest Jane Fonda that he “may quit because I don’t want to do another” four years of Trump jokes on his HBO show, which has aired weekly since 2003.
“I did Trump,” he continued on his podcast at the time. “I did all the Trump stuff before anybody. I called him a con man before anybody. I did. He’s a mafia boss. I was the one who said he wasn’t going to concede the election. I’ve done it.”
Left: Noam Galai/Getty Images; Right: Evan Vucci/Associated Press
Maher correctly predicted Trump’s ongoing refusal to concede the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. But the comedian told Tapper that he won’t let Trump “get in my mind” — and downplayed his prior concerns.
“I’m not gonna chase every rabbit down the hole like I did the first term,” he said, adding: “He’s a kooky guy who says a lot of kooky things, and I’m just not gonna pre-hate anything. I’m just gonna hope for the best and then when something serious happens I’ll comment.”
“It’s perfect, perfect for comedy,” Maher added. “But I’m not going to take it seriously.”
Maher may not turn Trump fan, but he isn’t the only media figure hoping for the best these days. Tech and media titans who’ve previously criticized Trump (or even booted him off their social media platforms) have made curious 180-degree shifts since the election.
“I think they’ve gained a lot of respect,” Trump said Thursday at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago. “We’ve had everybody: Jeff Bezos came, Bill Gates came, Mark Zuckerberg came — many of them came numerous times. The bankers have all come. Everybody’s coming.”
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25824833/STKB309_WATCH_DUTY_B.jpg)
English (US) ·