During a recent podcast interview, Bill Maher, comedian and host of HBO’s “Real Time,” remarked that the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump was his “favorite day of 2024.”
Although Bill Maher has consistently denounced the assassination attempt on former President Trump, he told Matt Friend on the Daily Beast’s podcast “Friends In High Places” that comedians should be allowed to joke about the incident since Trump survived, despite one of his supporters being killed in the shooting.
“It would be different if he got killed,” Mahar said.
Trump supporter Corey Comperatore, a former fire chief from Pennsylvania, was killed when the shooter missed former President Trump, grazing only his ear.
Two other attendees at the Trump rally were seriously injured before a sniper neutralized the assailant. Bill Maher joked that it was “so on brand” for Trump that the shooter was taken out instead of the former president.
“That’s so Trump. It’s so on brand… it’s always somebody else holding the bullet or the bag,” he said.
Maher did clarify, however, that there are limits to making jokes about the assassination attempt. He condemned those who would go as far as to “joke” about the shooter missing his target.
“There will be people who will do jokes, comments [along the lines of] ‘What a shame they missed,'” he said, echoing similar remarks her made in the hours after the shooting.
“It’s not right. Nobody is more against Trump being president than me but that is not something you fool around with.”
During a comedy show in Minneapolis on the night of July 14, Maher criticized the incident and even praised the now-iconic photo of the former president, fist raised, with the American flag waving behind his bloodied face. In the interview, Maher discussed how the shooting forced him to completely rework his routine that evening.
“Soon as the car pulls up at the hotel, before we got the bags out of the back, the guy from the hotel came up and said Trump’s been shot. I was like ‘What?’ And he said, ‘But I think he’s okay,’ and he showed me the thing on the phone,” he said.
“I was like okay, in two hours I’m going to write this whole new ten minute thing about it,” he added.
Maher knew he would immediately condemn the assassination attempt and expressed gratitude for Trump’s well-being, though he admitted he had selfish motives.
“I was glad I staked my opinion on that, and we got it out virally which is great,” Maher said.
“But the other reason I said I’m glad that he’s okay is because now I can keep doing jokes about him,” he added.
“Because I want to,” he said.
WATCH:
The opening of my comedy show last night a few hours after the shooting if anyone wants to know my thoughts…. pic.twitter.com/bMov0INLEr
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) July 14, 2024
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