Bill Maher Defends Governor Whitmer Against Liberal Criticism

On Friday, HBO host Bill Maher came to the defense of Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has faced backlash from some liberals for her multiple meetings with President Donald Trump. Maher encouraged Whitmer to embrace these meetings rather than showing discomfort, suggesting she take a lesson from other talk show hosts who met with Trump.

“I was trying to assist her last week by saying just own it,” Maher stated. The topic arose during a panel discussion on his show, where Maher spoke with liberal podcasters and journalist Kara Swisher, alongside former Republican Kevin McCarthy.

Whitmer has faced criticism from within her own party for her two meetings with Trump. Specifically, after her visit to the Oval Office on April 9 to seek assistance for her state, a photo surfaced where she appeared to hide her face during the encounter, igniting a wave of anger from liberals. Conservatives, meanwhile, suggested she seemed uneasy about collaborating with Trump.

At a recent event at a Michigan Air Force Base, Trump praised Whitmer, calling her “a very good person.”

Maher acknowledged that some on the left might view Trump as trying to provoke Whitmer, but reiterated that it’s important for her to build a constructive relationship with him. He remarked on the unusual public reaction to her efforts, asserting that her being photographed hugging or smiling with Trump shouldn’t make her “the biggest monster in history,” as some critics claimed.

In his remarks, Maher continued to stress that meeting with the president should not be seen as a wrongdoing, a sentiment echoed by McCarthy, who stated that national unity shouldn’t hinge on political differences following elections.