Bill Maher slams criticism of his attitude toward liberals: 'Your ideas are stupid'
WASHINGTON (TND) — Comedian Bill Maher pushed back on criticism of his attitude toward the political left in a CNN interview Monday.
Maher, who has previously said he tends to vote for Democratic candidates, mocked liberal stances on gender, economic and social issues Monday. He told host Fareed Zakaria he will point out ideological shifts wherever he sees them.
"There are things that have to do with gender and race and free speech and ideas about, ‘you can be healthy at any weight’ and ‘gender is always a social construct’ and ‘maybe we should give communism another try’ and ‘maybe we should get rid of capitalism and the border patrol’ and ‘let’s tear down statues of Lincoln and get rid of the police.’” the comedian said. “It’s not that I’ve gotten old. It’s that your ideas are stupid.”
Maher has made headlines recently for his criticism of issues promoted by left-leaning figures, including pro-Palestine protests on college campuses. He said he has made fun of liberals more than he used to recently due to the left’s perceived ideological shift.
They have this idea – the younger generation, maybe every generation does – that just because something is new, makes it better. And that’s not true,” Maher said. “New is not synonymous with better.”READ MORE | Bill Maher rails against Trump, says Democrats are 'still a sane party' compared to GOP
The Democratic and Republican parties think of each other as existential threats, he added, while highlighting the increased polarization that has taken root in government.
When you hate people, you don’t listen to them. So, it doesn’t matter how reasonable they might be,” Maher argued. “We have reached this place where each side thinks the other side is an existential threat. You hear that term from both sides all the time.”President Joe Biden has said former President and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, citing his pledge to be a dictator on the first day of a second term in the White House. Trump has also refrained from committing to accepting the results of the upcoming presidential election if he does not win.
“You hear more about it all the time – people who are actually pining for it, ‘Civil war. Come on, let’s do this thing. National divorce,’” Maher said. “It can’t work. It won’t work.”
READ MORE | Bill Maher calls Biden 'cadaver-like' compared to Trump: 'He's Dracula'
The deep roots of the increased polarization in the U.S. will make it difficult to form a collaborative government, Maher argued.
“This goes back a long way, so it’s going to take a long way to get back to some sort of normalcy,” he said. “Sometimes you have to hit bottom before you can go back to the top.”
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