No, Bill Maher, Trump was not being "gracious" when he had you over for dinner.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Angry, bitter, and hateful is all they have. They are going to get vicious with Maher just like they did with former lefties like Gabbard and Musk; and we all know how that turned out.


https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220233230

SunSeeker (55,417 posts)
Sat Apr 12, 2025, 09:22 PM

No, Bill Maher, Trump was not being "gracious" when he had you over for dinner.
From ©️ First dropped on X by Penguins Against Trump. (@FlippersUpNow) :

Bill Maher thinks having dinner with Trump is somehow noble. “There has to be something better,” he says—like sitting down with a man who tried to end American democracy over filet mignon is a brave middle path.

But this isn’t new. Authoritarians love this move. Putin has done it for years—inviting Westerners, celebrities, and “skeptical thinkers” to sit at his table. Feed them well, flatter them a bit, let them feel like the only adult in the room. It creates just enough cognitive dissonance to blur the horror.
“He wasn’t so bad in person.”
“He listened.”
“He made some good points.”

Hitler did the same. He brought diplomats and journalists to his mountain retreat, played the calm visionary, talked peace and order while the trains were already running.
And it worked. It always works—for a while.

What Maher doesn’t understand—or pretends not to—is that these dinners are not diplomacy. They’re pageantry. Theater designed to disarm critics and normalize tyranny.

When you toast with a strongman, you’re not bridging divides.
You’re giving them legitimacy.
And helping them launder their image through your platform.

So no, Bill. You didn’t rise above the noise.
You got played.
And you helped play us.

SocialDemocrat61 (4,031 posts)
9. Maher supported Nader in 2000

helping Bush steal the election.

Freely casting a vote is stealing. So much for "our democracy."

KT2000 (21,333 posts)
5. He placed himself above Corey Booker

with his snide insult. He is still blaming the left for the awful things the right is doing to the people of this country.

I watched with 2 people and we all agreed, he has lost it.
I did like Josh Rogin's attempt to explain what happened at the dinner and Maher could not handle it. He has to be noble, not the stooge.

Emile (33,976 posts)
11. Bill Maher is another centrist idiot trying to divide the democratic party.

Extremists only.

[Texacon]

I will never understand the idea that you cannot talk to someone. How are you supposed to solve anything if you can’t talk to someone with an opposing viewpoint?

KC

[Ralph Wiggum]

I will never understand the idea that you cannot talk to someone. How are you supposed to solve anything if you can’t talk to someone with an opposing viewpoint?

KC

Leftists cannot sufficiently explain their reasoning so they want to silence the opposition.

As for Maher, I've seen his stand-up show once. He's no Carlin, Seinfeld, Pryor, Murphy, etc., but his live act is interestingly bereft of politics...more societal observations.

Here's what he actually said (since I don't pay for HBO and watch his Friday night show):

Bill Maher Says His Dinner With Trump Showed ‘Why The Democrats Are So Unpopular’

HBO host Bill Maher on Friday described President Donald Trump as a “possible friend” while reporting on a star-studded dinner at the White House and lambasted critics who said he should have refused to meet with the Republican president because of all the areas where they disagreed.

Maher joined UFC President Dana White and musician Kid Rock at the White House for the dinner, which took place in late March. During the “Real Time with Bill Maher” show’s monologue, the comedian described speaking candidly about policies he disagreed with, and said Trump’s “no anger” reactions during the dinner were “emblematic” of why the Democratic Party was unpopular.

“Honestly, I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I would never feel comfortable talking to them the way I was able to talk with Donald Trump,” Maher said during a 13-minute report on the dinner. “That’s just how it went down, make of it what you will. Me, I feel it’s emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days.”

Maher described how he disagreed with Democrats on multiple issues, notably Israel’s war with the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas, child sex changes, biological men competing in women’s sports and wokeness. He related his favorite moment of the dinner.

“So MAGA fans, don’t worry, your boy gave me nothing, just hats. Hats and a very generous amount of time and a willingness to listen and accept me as a possible friend even though I’m not MAGA, which was the point of the dinner,” Maher said. “My favorite part of the whole night was [when] we were standing in the blowjob room — we were — and he said, ‘You know, I’ve heard from a lot of people who really like that we’re having this dinner. Not all, but a lot.’ And I said ‘Same. A lot of people told me they loved it, but not all.’ And we agreed, the people who don’t even want us to talk, we don’t like you.”

After audience applause from the reference to former President Bill Clinton’s liaisons with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky died down, Maher then tore into those who didn’t like his attendance at the dinner, taking aim at Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey’s record-setting Senate speech.

“Don’t talk. As opposed to what, writing the same editorial for the millionth time and making 25-hour speeches into the wind?” Maher asked. “Really, that’s what liberals have? He takes the piss out of everybody else and we can hold ours?”

https://dailycaller.com/2025/04/12/bill-maher-says-his-dinner-with-trump-showed-why-the-democrats-are-so-unpopular/

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

I will never understand the idea that you cannot talk to someone. How are you supposed to solve anything if you can’t talk to someone with an opposing viewpoint?

KC

Remember all that hippie bullshit about how we should talk through our differences because peace is a moral imperative?

They weren't sincere. They just wanted the US to stop killing their Marxist allies. It was never about peace. It was all just a ruse.

[CollectivismMustDie]

When you are the center of your own universe, independent of any objective measurable change, of course everyone else is the extremist.

[ADsOutburst]

There are two choices, dems: Be willing to talk to your opposition (that doesn't have to mean eat dinner with them), or consign yourself to the fringe. Stay in your little corner of the world, and keep losing.

[SVPete]

I realize DUmmie-grade Dems and -Progs cannot handle facts that show Trump as a human rather than as a monster, but did anyone point out to SkinCancerSeeker that Maher was actually there, but SkinCancerSeeker was 10s or 100s or 1000s of miles away?

[ADsOutburst]

Someone's perception of another person changes when they meet that person face-to-face, after being inundated with negative propaganda about that person. Imagine that.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Someone's perception of another person changes when they meet that person face-to-face, after being inundated with negative propaganda about that person. Imagine that.

I've been lightly bashed here and our former home when I have praised Maher. My perception is that he is a traditional liberal, not a radical leftist of the Bernie/A0C/Crockett ilk. And at least he calls out his own party when they're wrong. He'll never vote for Trump (obviously, President #45/#47 can't run again), but occasionally it is refreshing to hear Democrats call out their own when they are patently stupid.

[SVPete]

I've been lightly bashed here and our former home when I have praised Maher. My perception is that he is a traditional liberal, not a radical leftist of the Bernie/A0C/Crockett ilk. And at least he calls out his own party when they're wrong. He'll never vote for Trump (obviously, President #45/#47 can't run again), but occasionally it is refreshing to hear Democrats call out their own when they are patently stupid.

I don't think I've criticized you over this in the now-distant past, but if I did, Maher has proven me wrong. He's liberal, but not a blindered goose-stepping DU-grade Prog. It's entirely possible/probable that the crazy exhibited by Progs of that variety has driven him from those extremes.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I don't think I've criticized you over this in the now-distant past, but if I did, Maher has proven me wrong. He's liberal, but not a blindered goose-stepping DU-grade Prog. It's entirely possible/probable that the crazy exhibited by Progs of that variety has driven him from those extremes.

It wasn't you but perhaps we've tangled before on certain issues. However unlike libs, I don't get butt-hurt if someone disagrees with my point-of-view.

Polite and civil discussions are incredibly useful and instructive, even in our own admittedly safe space. Although leftists are allowed here, they simply don't sign up because they can't carry on a rational conversation.

[SVPete]

It wasn't you but perhaps we've tangled before on certain issues. However unlike libs, I don't get butt-hurt if someone disagrees with my point-of-view.

Polite and civil discussions are incredibly useful and instructive, even in our own admittedly safe space. Although leftists are allowed here, they simply don't sign up because they can't carry on a rational conversation.

The two lines I’ve tried never to cross, ever since starting on discussion sites in 1997, have been no ad hominem attacks and no straw man arguments. Both abound in DU, precluding rational and courteous discussion.

[RonE]

 When Gavin Newsom was a guest on Bill's show, Bill clearly nudged Newsome toward a run at President. Considering Newsome's  political record, I'd appreciate any reasoning behind that.

“So MAGA fans, don’t worry, your boy gave me nothing, just hats. Hats and a very generous amount of time and a willingness to listen and accept me as a possible friend even though I’m not MAGA

And Bill, if you're paying attention by now you know MAGAs aren't the ones who need to be calmed down when they don't get their way.

[Old n Grumpy]

And Bill, if you're paying attention by now you know MAGAs aren't the ones who need to be calmed down when they don't get their way.

We just ride it out and hope for the best, while democrats have to throw a tantrum and get ugly and destroy things. They don’t know how to listen and refuse to accept the truth about some of their policies being unacceptable to mainstream Americans.

[BamaMoose]

I knew when Maher said “Don’t talk. As opposed to what, writing the same editorial for the millionth time and making 25-hour speeches into the wind?” that the DUmmies panties would collectively wad.  I'd like to see a simple three question nationwide poll:

1.  Who is Cory Booker and what is his role in the Federal Government?

I would expect no more than 20-30% of the public would get this one right.  Probably much less if New Jersey was excluded from the question.

2.  Did you hear about his marathon speech?

Probably more than 20-30% heard about the speech, only because all the MSM made a big deal about it.  But the majority of stories that I read only focused on the length of the speech, not the content.  So, a certain percentage of the population will retain the random bit of trivia that it was the longest speech ever on the floor of the Senate but won't have any idea what it was about.  Even the DUmmies, who supposedly have an above average knowledge about the working of Congress, keep calling it a filibuster which is totally incorrect.

3.  Can you quote or paraphrase anything he said in his speech?

And that is the most important question.  I haven't seen any articles anywhere identifying any part of his speech that was even remotely memorable.  Even the Dummies, who want to compare his speech to those given by Lincoln, Churchill and MLK, can't actually come up with anything notable about his speech, except its length.  Apparently, spending 25 hours repeating "Orange Man Bad" doesn't actually rise to the level of the Gettysburg Address.

But, of course, when that's pointed out, the DUmmies will attack the messenger and ignore the actual message.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Need to leave this subject alone, but here is a major reason the leftists are completely deranged with TDS & EDS:

Washington Post columnist clashes with Bill Maher on ‘falling into the trap’ of talking to Trump

Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin accused "Real Time" host Bill Maher in a testy exchange on Friday of having "fallen into the trap" by meeting with President Donald Trump the previous week.

Maher, a longtime Trump critic who's nonetheless stood out on the late-night circuit with his criticism of leftist excess, said Trump was "gracious and measured" during his visit to the White House, acknowledging his warm words might not be well-received by progressives.

Rogin, however, pushed back on Maher's decision to visit the White House and suggested that he had been used as part of a "PR stunt."

"I think you've fallen into the trap, and I think I represent 99% of the internet when I say this: you've played the game of proximity is principle," Rogin said. "I'm not questioning your motivation, I'm questioning Trump's, OK?"

~~~ my comments here, I'm assuming this woketard believes that 99% of "The Internet" means everyone on BlueSky.

Back to the article:

Rogin emphasized that both he and the audience trusted that Maher met with Trump in good faith, but questioned Trump's motives for the dinner.

The praise seemed to have struck a nerve with Maher, who told Rogin, "You don't have to patronize me, dude. I don't know you. I've never met you."

"Not everybody has to like it. That's what we said. There are people who didn't want it to happen at all. You sound like one of them, it's OK."

Rogin attempted to talk over the late-night host but was abruptly cut off by Maher asking, "Did you hear what I said? What is the alternative to not talking? Just sit at your lunch table and don't talk to anybody?"

Piers Morgan, a guest on the panel, also pushed back on Rogin's interpretation of the meeting, pointing out that most Americans aren't as tribal as social media might lead some to believe.

"If you go on social media for five minutes now, you just have this tribal fury raging all day long. Everyone's got to be implacably there, implacably there, and actually, most Americans and most Brits; they're not like that," Piers explained, adding, "And then, the idea that Bill Maher is now going to stop criticizing Donald Trump… is preposterous!"

Maher then affirmed Piers' idea, noting that he didn't hold back on Trump during his opening monologue or during his interview with former Trump advisor Steve Bannon earlier in the show.

Not giving Rogin a chance to respond, Maher jumped right back into challenging his interpretation of the Trump meeting.

"The fact that you began your little rant with ‘the internet,’ that tells me everything. You take your cues from the internet. Good luck," he told Rogin.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-columnist-clashes-bill-maher-falling-trap-talking-trump

[ADsOutburst]

Whitmer is also getting the Maher treatment (as I mentioned in another thread).

[SVPete]

So DU-grade Progs suddenly think Maher is too stoooooooopid to recognize a phony being phony?