“Real Time” host Bill Maher offered his mixed reaction to Vice President Kamala Harris' CNN interview, offering both praise and criticism of the Democratic nominee.
“I think she's done a great job. I think she's done an honorable job,” Maher said, starting the panel discussion Friday night. “I don't know why we thought she was as bad as everybody thought she was. Biden just got awful overnight and then he got awful for three years.”
Maher suggested that both Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was present during the interview, had been “insulting.” [his] Their “intelligence” is undermined by the things they try to gloss over. The host criticized Waltz for his comments suggesting that he speaks like a normal person.
“No you're not. You're a goddamn liar, like all politicians,” Maher responded. “I don't know what you did during the Iraq War. You were in the National Guard and I don't understand why they can't do that,” he paused.
The presenter added: “They're just insulting my intelligence.”
“when [CNN anchor Dana Bash] “They asked me what I said when Biden called you and said he wasn't running, and I said, 'Well, right away, he was the first person I thought of,'” Maher said, rolling his eyes. “I mean, fracking… Dana Bash was totally right. I was like, 'Here's the quote because you said this, and I'll read it to you. You said fracking should be banned.' Why can't they just say, 'Yeah, you know, I was wrong?'”
The HBO host praised Harris for “not taking the bait” when asked about former President Trump's comments about her race.
“That was awesome,” Maher said. “She said, 'The usual playbook,' and Dana said, 'That's it?' And I said, 'That's it. That's my answer. That's all you're going to get.'”
Will Ranzoni/CNN
Maher also said he was troubled by Harris' message, especially since she has repeatedly spoken about finding a “new way forward.”
“Isn't that a weird thing to say when you're in power?” Maher responded.
He also repeatedly mocked the setting up of an interview with Harris and her “vice president of emotional support.”
“It was kind of weird. He didn't say anything, just sat there for a long time. He just nodded while she talked the whole time. Women focus groups said he must be a great husband,” Maher joked in her opening monologue.
Maher later said picking a Democratic candidate was like “a dad coming in” to help a young woman buy a car.
“Maybe that's the strategy. They look like a married couple. They look like every interracial couple in every commercial,” Maher joked.
