On Friday’s episode of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher said initial reports didn’t tell the full story about the flag, criticized attacks on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito over the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, and rejected the idea that the flag is a symbol of January 6, saying, “Nobody owns these flags” and “George Washington put up this flag. Does it now belong to George Washington?”
“The Supreme Court was once respected, but now I think it’s nothing more than politicians in robes, and Justice Alito’s flag fiasco is one example of that,” Maher began.
Maher then addressed the upside-down American flag, arguing that there is a double standard of “patriotic immunity” that allows Republicans to do things that Democrats don’t, but that this is a separate issue from the issue of recusal.
Turning to the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, Maher said, “I’ve only just found out that this flag has been flying in many places since day one, or from just one source. Alito is said to have given the flag to the MAGA people as a dog whistle to stop people who are stealing. It’s their flag, it means they don’t believe the election was fair, yet this flag has flown at San Francisco City Hall for 60 years.”
He continued, “And now, because of this unrest, Mayor London Breed has ordered the flag removed. … I’ve seen the American flag. Yes, I’ve seen the American flag vandalized by people who think that MAGA owns it. Nobody owns these flags, nobody owns patriotism. I think it’s very wrong for San Francisco to take this down and say, okay, now it’s yours. No, it’s not. Why? George Washington flew this flag. Now it’s theirs, George Washington.”
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