There are only two late night hosts left to speak on the election and Donald Trump’s victory, with Bill Maher taking his chance with the season finale of Real Time on Friday night. The weight of what these hosts say is definitely in question following the election — and should’ve been before if we’re being honest — but there’s also that desire to see what happens next with some of them. Seth Meyers reaction to the election was a good one and Stephen Colbert provided some balance with his election commentary, but Maher was really one I was interested to see given his fiery rhetoric a week ago.
As expected, the tune has changed a bit in defeat and Maher extended an offer to have Trump on the show for an interview if the president-elect accepts. That seems a little more dicey than President Obama, especially given Maher’s past experiences with Trump and the fact that he called him a fascist on television just last week.
The host’s monologue was certainly one that attempted to be lighthearted, while also carrying a bit of that crow-eating tone that plenty of people had to deal with this week. You can’t spend months railing on a guy, watch him win, and then not have some bitter taste in your mouth. I’ve never actually eaten crow, though, so maybe bitter is going a bit too far. Crow could be delicious and we have just been bad mouthing it all these years.
The monologue does begin the criticism of the Democrats that continues throughout the show, especially with where they should go from here. There’s also a few jabs at Trump’s possible cabinet, including Sarah Palin, and a few knocks on people who focused more on the Clinton emails than anything related to Trump.
Despite the congratulatory tone and the offer of an interview to Trump, with a few mentions of “working together” with his panel, Maher was quick to note that he and other folks on the liberal side aren’t going away. He even had hats made saying “We’re Still Here” that look similar to the very popular line of Trump hats we’ve seen all election. Why you would spend money on a hat that looks like something you’d find a flea market is beyond me, but everybody seems to have them on all sides now. It’s been a hat election.
And while laying out the slogan on the hat, Maher was quick to also set some new rules for liberals and share his hopes that this will shift people behind him on some of his favorite issues. This includes a more skeptical eye towards Muslims and a departure from more politically correct thinking. That likely won’t go over well with many, but Maher has always stuck by those issues so it’s not surprising to seem them now.
He also makes sure to tell liberals to watch who they nominate in the future, to avoid telling people they can’t be stupid, and for everybody to stop being nice. Maher then loses it by saying we should run Anthony Weiner for president in 2020.
Maher also talked with former Attorney General Eric Holder about the election and where the future should go. One thing they bring up is abolishing the Electoral College, something that seems to only limit Democratic candidates or come up when a Democratic candidate loses. At least in recent memory.
The discussion continues later in the Overtime segment, with an appearance from John Legend and “Liberal Redneck” Trae Crowder. It’s good that this is the finale until January 20th — both Trump’s inauguration and Maher’s birthday — because I don’t think people want to discuss this election much more than this. After John Oliver on Sunday, hopefully we can get a little break. Some dog videos or a nice expose on McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Who knows.
(Via Real Time)