Bill Maher: It’s not that I’ve gotten old. It’s that your ideas are stupid

No one across the political spectrum is safe. From the acidic wit of Bill Maher, the comedian and host of Real Time on HBO. In recent episodes of his show, he has brought his sharp analysis to big news topics, such as the presidential election and protests on college campuses. I wanted to talk to him about all that and more. He has a new book called What This Comedian Said Will Surprise You. And I should note that HBO and CNN share the same parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery. Bill Law, it's a pleasure to have you. It's always a pleasure to see you.

So in the middle of

your

book, you write, some people think I've changed. I assure you not. I'm still the same single, childless, marijuana-smoking libertine I always was. I have many defects. But you can't accuse me of growing up. Sounds like a really fun good book. That's why I want to bring this up to you because I know you like to hear disagreements. People who tell me, and there are many who say, I love Bill Maher, but he has matured too much. He has become irritable, he has become grumpy. He has become one of those old men who say children are crazy.

In my time it was better. What do you say to them? You are wrong. I mean, they're wrong and the kids are crazy. It's interesting. They have this idea, the younger generation, maybe every generation does that just because something is new makes it better. And that is not true. New is not synonymous with better. But you sound old-fashioned but conservative. Well. I heard a couple of people say or maybe they wrote it online that, well, I'm a hypocrite because you were for the protesters in 1968 or whatever when they were demonstrating against the Vietnam War. Yes, that was very different.

First of all, the students were not against their own. These students were threatening other students. That didn't happen in the Vietnam War. And being against the Vietnam War made sense. It was a war we probably shouldn't have been in. But listen, this is demonstrating and protesting a terrorist group. I mean, Hamas is fine, to be fair, a lot of students are doing that. There's a lot outside, you know, people have mixed up what the students are doing and what the protesters are doing outside. But let me ask you a broader question: A lot of people will say, look, this is how you get change.

You know, it's loud. Some people say the wrong thing. Some people go too far. But the whole tradition of this type of expansion of rights is confusing. It's chaotic. Know? Yes, we are probably a bunch of excesses, as there probably were in the sixties. There were the Black Panthers and the Weathermen and things like that. But they think of you as someone who, you know, was okay with all that. But you've come back. I have my turn. Yes. People have told me, you make fun of the left more than before and I feel guilty because the left has changed now.

The right has also changed. And even worse. I mean, the right no longer believes in democracy. I mean, they've joined this sociopath named Donald Trump who believes elections only count when we win. Okay, well, that's worse. But it's not that the left hasn't changed too. So I'm going to mention it wherever I see it. I mean, there are things that have to do with, you know, gender, race, freedom of speech and just

ideas

about, you know, that you can be healthy at any weight. And gender is always a social construction. And maybe we should give communism another chance and maybe we should get rid of capitalism and the Border Patrol and tear down the statues of Lincoln and get rid of the police.

But, you know, no, it's not that I've

gotten

old. It's just that

your

ideas

are

stupid

. Well. The concepts are still common sense, but common sense is common sense. And I'm going to mention it anywhere on the spectrum. Let me ask you about something related that you've written and talked about, which I find very interesting. Do you think that men in particular have lost their youth, have lost the ability to communicate, to know how to deal with women? Yes. I think this is going to be a very big problem. I think young people thought it was a great thing when Tinder came out.

Oh my God. Look, I don't even have to talk to a girl. It's all here on my phone. I can scroll through it like she's a menu, like she's ordering on GrubHub. But the truth is that Tinder is mostly men. You know, it's like two-thirds of the men on the site. So those aren't good odds if you're a man. And then most women say they'll swipe left on anyone who isn't six feet tall, which would leave us out. So what will be the result of this? My guess would be a lot of horny, frustrated, angry Trump voters is, I guess, where these guys are going.

You know, they already have this group called Incels. Have you heard of that? Incel means involuntarily celibate, and they are very angry and very vocal. And I don't blame them. I remember when I was an incel, but you know, we didn't have a word for it. Women haven't changed that much. I know if you look in the media, it seems like we're all fluid, queer, trans, on the spectrum and non-binary, but I don't know, you know, The Bachelor is still on. I just don't think women have changed that much and are communicative creatures. You have to talk to them.

And I think men are losing that ability. I think that, you know, they just think that they can text an eggplant emoji and write down what's going on and they'll be home free. No, you have to go to court. Yes, you have to woo a little. Women have not changed in that sense. A lot about how the left has gone crazy. But to be fair to you, you've always pointed out that the right has gone even crazier by embracing Trump. I want to ask you why you think it happened. Because, you know, this was Ronald Reagan's party, free markets, free trade, he loved immigration, he was very optimistic.

What do you think did it? You know, now he's severe, pessimistic. America is doomed. It's an American butcher shop. Well, I think the basis is that we start to hate each other. I mean, you famously mentioned Ronald Reagan. He used to have a drink at the end of the day, often with Tip O'Neill, who was the leader of the House and the Democrat, but they were just two Irish friends who could get together and have a whiskey at the end of the day. The day. And they knew they weren't going to get along on many issues, but they didn't hate each other.

They could drink together. This is inconceivable today. Can you imagine Joe Biden having a drink with Mike Johnson? It would just never happen. When you hate people, you don't listen to them. So it doesn't matter how reasonable they may be. We've reached this point where each side thinks the other is an existential threat. You hear that term from both sides all the time. That's just a terrible place to be because we find ourselves in this situation where both sides are literally siding with the enemies of the United States instead of the opposition party within the country.

I mean, you see Republican MAGA people wearing t-shirts that say, I'd rather be with Russia than the Democrats. I mean, I mean, Trump supported Putin against our intelligence agencies. Fox News literally uses Russian talking points. I mean, Tucker Carlson went there and did the whole dog and pony show endorsing Putin, basically. And on the left you see them marching for Hamas, a terrorist organization. This is a terrible place to be and it can happen here. The last chapter of the book is called Civil War. And you know, you hear more about this all the time. People who really want it.

Civil war. Come on, let's do this. Let's get this going. Let's have this national divorce. It can't work. It will not work. Half the country is not going to self-deport. Even if you win every election. So what? That? What should I say? Someone like Obama came trying to be the unifier. Remember, he famously invited then-president John Boehner to two screenings at the White House. Boehner went with a couple, he got so much shit for it that he never came back. Biden has tried to get closer. What is the strategy that could work? Apparently it's not that.

I mean, I think we're past that. I don't know. I do not know what it is. I mean, I think this goes back to the fights we had in the Supreme Court, like in the late '80s or early '90s. This goes back a long time. Therefore, it will take a long road to return to some kind of normality. I don't know. Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can get back to the top. I don't know what that means in this country, but I know one thing. Donald Trump is not going to concede the election.

So what will happen in January 2025, on the 20th, when Inauguration Day arrives and he doesn't win the election? He's not just going to disappear. And if he wins and is president and it's January 20, 2025, he will never give that up because he doesn't understand the Constitution, he doesn't care. I don't think he ever read it. He simply knows power and victory and our side is right. Where do you get more hate mail from the left or the right? I don't know, because I don't read it. I don't that. I don't mind. There is more. A pleasure to have you.

Thank you. Always.