Bill Maher, the host of ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’, criticized some prominent Democrats for running “shadow campaigns” for the 2024 presidential election, while praising Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who announced his primary challenge against President Joe Biden.
Maher welcomed Phillips as a guest on his show last Friday and told him that he liked the idea of his candidacy, although he did not officially endorse him. He said he compared Biden to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court justice who did not retire in time and allowed former President Trump to appoint her successor.
“We both struggle with the same thing. We like Joe Biden, right? And we think he’s done a good job. Ruth Bader Ginsburg did a good job and did not know when to quit, and that’s why you’re here,” Maher said to Phillips.
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The ‘Real Time’ host also accused other Democrats of being dishonest and secretive about their presidential ambitions, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I mean, Gavin Newsom, our governor, seems to be all over the world,” Maher said.”
“I saw that,” Phillips agreed.
“You know, they’re going to the battleground states in the private — they’re really doing it, but I feel like at least you are honest, and you’re saying, ‘No, I’m gonna do it.’ Just do it,” Maher added.
Phillips, who has been urging other Democrats to join the primary race, said that there are “21 of us on the ballot in New Hampshire,” and that anyone who is 35 years old, born in the U.S., and has $1,000 can “become a candidate for president in the United States.”
He also revealed that he tried to persuade Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who he thinks would make “an outstanding president,” to run for the White House.
“And she’s one of those who’s running a shadow campaign,” Maher smartly added in between.
“Everybody’s waiting until 2028,” Phillips said.
“And I’m making the contention to all of you tonight that I’m not sure that we will have a 2028 election in the way that we expect to happen if the inevitable happens and it is President Biden against Donald Trump. I mean, the numbers are astounding everybody. If we don’t start to acknowledge that — there’s this bizarre and very dangerous culture of silence in Washington, in certain political-industrial complex circles, that is dangerous — I mean, dangerous. And we’re putting blinders on. It’ll make 2016 look like a joyful year.”
Phillips repeated his call for more competition in the Democratic primary, saying that “the more the merrier” and that “it’s still not too late to jump into this race.”
“I wish we had more competition instead of a coordination. This is not that difficult, and I don’t understand why people are so hesitant to do what the country needs so desperately,” Phillips said.
“I called candidates who I say are more proximate to the race. They wouldn’t take my call. They had their political people take the call. They asked me not to use their names. You know, when I say every most of my colleagues talk about this every day in hushed tones in the hallways, it’s saying the quiet part out loud.”
Maher, who used to be a staunch supporter of Biden’s, expressed his skepticism about the president’s reelection prospects in a previous interview with Democratic strategist James Carville.
“I think we’re on the same page with Biden,” Maher said.
“Did a great service, but whereas in 2020, maybe he was the only one who could have beaten Trump, I think now he’s the only one who will lose to him.”
“He did great not just because he beat Trump, but, you know, a lot of stuff he did — Afghanistan, Ukraine he handled right, everybody else’s economy was worse than ours after the pandemic. These are some pretty big things,” he added.
He continued saying, “But he will lose because at some point, perception becomes reality. And look, do I think he can do the job? Absolutely. Government, as you well know better than anybody, is done in small rooms like the Oval Office, where people are talking quietly and decisions are made. I think he still can do that fine. He cannot run for president. He’ll look bad in the debates… I think, going to lose.”
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