Bill Maher has spoken out against people voicing shock at those who don't "hate" Donald Trump—although the comedian clarified that he is still not a fan of the former president.
During a recent installment of his Club Random podcast, Maher spoke with fellow comic David Lee, who expressed surprise at the host not being familiar with the works of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.
"It's always annoying when people go, 'Oh, I can't believe you don't know this or you're not into this,'" Maher responded. "I had this just at dinner the other night... I sent a friend of mine something... I know she's a big fan of Patti Smith. That's not my kind of music. I recognize she's a great [performer], artist, whatever she is. I don't know.
"I'm sure a million years ago I gave it a try [and] I was like, 'This is not pop music,' which is great for some people. And so then there was like, 'You don't like [Smith's music]?' No, I don't. And then [the conversation] went to Leonard Cohen: 'You don't [like his music]?' Not what I've heard. Again, I sampled it. It didn't make me want to go deeper."
Saying that he was also questioned for not being a fan of Tom Waits' music, Maher added: "Well, apparently the thing I cannot get into is what like 98 percent of people cannot get into. You know, when I listen to music I just want to hear what I want to hear, what makes me happy."
Taking his point of view into the political realm, Maher brought up people's reactions to supporters of Republican presidential nominee Trump, of whom the TV personality has been highly critical over the years.
"It just reminds me of the way people, politically, do some same thing," Maher said. "Like... 'I can't believe you don't hate Donald Trump.' Like, I happen to, but I get it why other people don't and why they find the threat more coming from the left.
"I don't agree with them, I'd like to talk them out of it, but I wouldn't be there going like, 'What? you don't see Trump's an a**?' It's like saying to gay man, 'What, you don't like p****?' P****'s the best. How can you not like p****?' Like, they just don't. You have to accept people."
Last month, Maher said that Republicans had been "indulging in an orgy of magical thinking" following an assassination attempt on Trump.
Trump was grazed by a bullet at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, minutes into his campaign speech on July 13. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper. One rally attendee died in the shooting and two more were seriously injured.
"There is not even an assassination attempt that can't be made just a little worse by adding religion," Maher said on his political satire HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher at the time. "Since the bullet that was meant for Donald Trump missed him... Republicans have been indulging in an orgy of magical thinking."
Maher, a critic of religion, mocked Republicans who made public statements about how divine intervention was at play during the former president's shooting.
Some examples included right-wing media personality and former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon who said in a statement from prison: "Trump wears the armor of God" and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who said on Fox News: "Yesterday, there were miracles. And I think the hand of God was there too."
"My point is, that Donald Trump, even if you like him, is powerful enough as a past president, a likely future president and to be perfectly frank, a cult leader," Maher said. "America doesn't need a Demi-God."
Steven Cheung, communications director for Trump's campaign, told Newsweek via email following the comments that "Bill Maher is a vile s*** stain on society."
Back in 2013, Trump sued Maher after the comedian suggestively joked on Real Time that the onetime real estate mogul's true father was an orangutan. Later appearing on NBC's The Tonight Show, Maher said he would give $5 million to charity if Trump could prove his father was not an orangutan, echoing Trump's offer for former President Barack Obama to release his college records.
Trump responded by sharing a copy of his birth certificate alongside a statement from his lawyer, who said it demonstrated "that he is the son of Fred Trump, not an orangutan." Once Maher didn't hand over the $5 million, Trump sued him for breach of contract. Trump eventually withdrew the lawsuit.
In an interview with Newsweek in March, Maher said that while he wasn't thrilled with the then-likely presidential showdown between Trump and Joe Biden in November, he was steadfast in his decision over who he would be backing.
"I've said this many times: If it is Trump and Biden, I would vote for Biden's head in a jar of blue liquid versus Donald Trump," he declared.
Vice President Kamala Harris since became a late entrant into the 2024 presidential race after Biden announced in July that he would not be seeking reelection.
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