Bill Maher Reflects on Trump’s Tariffs
Comedian Bill Maher recently acknowledged his previous misjudgments about President Donald Trump’s tariffs during a podcast released on Monday.
In the latest episode of the “Club Random” podcast, Maher spoke candidly with progressive YouTube host Brian Tyler Cohen, admitting he tends to be honest with his audience.
“To set an example, tariffs. I remember telling people, ‘By July 4th, the economy will be impacted,’” Maher recounted.
“But, well, that didn’t happen,” he added. “It might happen eventually. The reality is what it is. I’m not coming at this from a place of ‘I just hate Donald Trump.’
He went on to say, “I don’t know what Trump’s strategy is, but the stock market is currently at record highs. I don’t see signs of a country in depression.”
Reflecting on his earlier predictions, Maher admitted, “I thought these tariffs would have already sunk the economy. They didn’t.”
Cohen chimed in, explaining that the tariff situation is a key reason he has stopped making definitive predictions.
“If I were good at predictions, then Hillary Clinton would have been president in 2016,” Cohen quipped.
Back in April, Maher criticized Trump’s “completely backward” approach to China, implying that he seemed to hope for a recession to correct his trajectory.
“He’s chosen to fight the wrong bully,” Maher remarked during that previous discussion.
Since taking office, Trump has implemented numerous tariffs targeting various countries, aiming to rectify what he perceives as unfair trade practices against the U.S.
Maher previously challenged one of Trump’s key tariff arguments, asking his panel on “real-time,” “Why do you want to bring back production? It’s like we’re in the 70s. We can’t compete with countries that make jeans for $11 anymore.”
He noted that while China is advancing rapidly into an AI era, Trump appears to want to revert to old manufacturing methods. “If new jobs come about, who will fill them? Robots,” Maher remarked. “Progress is moving forward, whether he likes it or not.”
As the protracted trade war continues, Trump and the European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen have unveiled a new trade agreement between the U.S. and European Union, which will impose a 15% tariff on most EU goods imported into the U.S.
