Bill Maher wrote his new book, “What This Comedian Said Will Shock You” (Simon & Schuster), for two clear reasons.
“I wanted people to buy a book that was like an encyclopedia of all the good things I’ve said over the last 20 years,” the “Real Time with Bill Maher” host told the anthology. talked about. TV program.
“The other reason I wanted to do this was because I thought I could look back at everything that happened and see if I had changed or if politics had changed,” Maher, a lifelong Democrat, explained. did.
“For the past 10 years, I’ve often been accused of, “You’re making fun of the left more than you used to.” My answer is yes, absolutely, because the left is even crazier than it used to be. Body.”
I started by talking to Maher about his book, which will be published on Tuesday, and asking him what gives him the courage to advocate his side.
Maher: “Why am I making fun of the left even more? Because of identity politics, hypersensitivity, victim culture, cancel culture, hostility to free speech, pointless white self-hatred, kids who can’t even write yet. Because there’s this imposition of complex ideas about race and gender, all of this kind of stuff that’s going on on the left.
“That doesn’t mean I’m a Republican or more conservative, because I didn’t. It’s just because I’m on Team Blue that I don’t bend the knee and don’t do anything stupid.” It means ignoring things.
Rereading your editorials, were there any that you felt were particularly prophetic?
“There were certainly a number of issues that I took the lead on.
I think I’ve been at the forefront of marijuana reform. I’ve been outspoken on the idea that edibles are killing us.
I have also long been an outspoken proponent of the idea that college is a scam and that in most cases you are better off not going to college. The Democrat idea that more education will always make you better off is bullshit. Instead of making college available to everyone, we should make it so that most jobs don’t require college. In fact, most jobs don’t require college.
I think I was outspoken against the idea that children lack self-esteem. They have too much respect. We turned them into little monsters. ”
In the wake of October 7th and all the frenzy that unfolded on campus, do you think there’s a chance that the pendulum will swing back to normalcy as a backlash against extremism?
“I hope so. So many people ask me if I was wrong to be more naive about the left than I was before. I mean, if I ever had any doubts about that question, they were erased by the reaction to October 7th in many parts of this country, especially on college campuses.
The left has gone to great lengths because it has committed itself to Hamas. I mean, is it true? Are the people who consider themselves the most liberal people in the world on the side of those who outlaw homosexuality and force women to wear burqas? Really?
You leave this book in a very eerie place, including a chapter on the Civil War. How seriously does he take that threat, especially ahead of the 2024 election?
“I think it’s probably an absolute nightmare coming up.
We have to get back to this place where we didn’t hate each other just because we had different political opinions. I’ve said it a million times, you can hate Trump. You can’t hate everyone who likes him. That’s half the country. I would never vote for him, but when people vote, I do.
That’s because the left has a lot of bad ideas. Abolish the police and try communism again, tear down statues of Lincoln, abolish the Border Patrol, etc. Capitalism may have to be abolished, but white supremacy was never abolished. What’s worse is that you can be healthy at any weight, but gender is just a social construct.
These are terrible ideas. And we only have two choices, so a lot of people look around and say, “Sure, Donald Trump has a lot of bad things about him, but I’m going to vote for it.” I have no intention of doing so.” [progressive] It’s okay to have a menu. ”
What is the number one takeaway you want readers to take away from your book?
“Unless we can get back to a point where we literally don’t hate each other so much that we turn against our fellow Americans, we’re going to perish like the Roman Empire.
This is America and we must not forget the ‘unity’ part. ”
